Survivor: Micronesia – Why Parvati Won

It might seem a bit odd that I’m writing about why Parvati won before I discuss why Amanda lost, but you’ll see why when Amanda’s column comes out. In the meantime, we’ll focus on the new millionaire. So why did Parvati win?

Throughout the season, we’ve looked back at What Micronesia Survivors Should Have Learned to see why various contestants lost. Now it’s time to do the same type of evaluation, but this time on the winner.

It should be clear (though for some reason, there are some people out there who don’t seem to see it) that Parvati knew the importance of scheming and plotting, and used it to her great advantage. She formed an alliance from the very beginning of the game – using the obvious connection to her friend Ozzy and also linking up with Amanda and James. Then, when she saw that she was a target from the other Favorites, Parvati did what she needed to do in order to bring in Cirie (of course Cirie wanted in to the alliance, but she also had very specific demands, as described in my interview with her).

But Parvati didn’t just have a five person alliance. She co-created the final three suballiance of herself, Parvati, and Amanda. Then when she was shuffled to a tribe separately from most of her allies, she formed a new alliance with Natalie and Alexis.

All of this put Parvati in a key position throughout the game. Of course, we know she blindsided Ozzy to take out a huge threat, but Parvati did much more than that. Indeed, Parvati herself spelled it out when I interviewed her:

I think pulling together the women’s alliance was a huge move for me because I was right in the middle and both groups trusted me and would have been very loyal to me.

For example, when it looked like Amanda was going to get voted out, Parvati told Natalie and Alexis she couldn’t vote against Amanda, but she didn’t stop them from deciding to do it. If it had worked, she would have still been aligned with Natalie and Alexis (both of whom had told Cirie they wouldn’t turn on Parvati) for the final three. When it didn’t work, she still had her alliance with Amanda and Cirie. She was set either way!

But Parvati also managed to avoid scheming and plotting too much, thus doing well according to the second rule. Yes, she backstabbed Ozzy – but she waited until just the right moment to do so. And she properly kept her scheming secret, such as not telling James or Amanda, whom she knew would in turn let Ozzy know.

Even when it came to voting off Alexis and Natalie, Parvati did it without incurring their wrath. She promised them what she could, and she stuck to it, so they felt like she had upheld her end of the bargain and even voted for her to win.

Another area in which Parvati did well was the third rule, which says to be flexible. After all, if I didn’t just describe flexibility a few paragraphs ago, I don’t know what is! She set things up so she could go in different directions depending on what happened in the game – smart move.

This rule also notes, “You need to have your finger on the pulse of every member of your tribe.” Again, Parvati succeeded, when I asked her what she saw on TV that surprised her, she laughed and told me, “I knew pretty much everything that was going on all the time. I was very good about being everywhere at once.” That’s precisely what a good player needs to do. Each time, Parvati was the blindsider, never the blindsided.

Parvati did an excellent job in terms of the fourth rule as well. It says not to allow emotions to control you. So let’s talk about Ozzy. He never suspected – never imagined – Parvati would turn on him the way she did. Why? Because they were friends outside the game. Fine, I can give him that. But the fact is that it didn’t really matter to Parvati. She came to win the money, and she knew that if she allowed him to stick around, she would not have a chance. So when the iron was hot, she struck. It was a key play and one she never would have made if she had allowed her emotions to take control.

Similarly, Parvati formed a bond with Natalie. Yet when the time came, she cut her loose. Sure, she also had formed bonds with Cirie and Amanda, but it was also strategically the proper thing to do.

The fifth rule tells players to pretend to be nice. As much as it seemed some of Parvati’s fellow players thought she would be the most easily beaten because she had pissed off some of the jurors, it didn’t really seem to me like she angered too many people. Of course Ozzy and James held a grudge. But beyond that? She helped boot Alexis and Natalie without any bad feelings, and even still voted for her though Eliza didn’t particularly like her. I would say she could have been nicer towards Eliza, as Eliza could have easily gone the other way (she was obviously very conflicted). But that was about the only situation where I’d say she could have done noticeably better here.

Indeed, by being so nice to Amanda, and by keeping their relationship close, Parvati helped to ensure that Amanda would pick her for the final two. So while Parvati was willing to cut the bonds of friendship with Ozzy, she used such a bond with Amanda to help her progress in the game.