Survivor: Gabon – Why Dan Lost

We didn’t see much of the Kota tribe in recent weeks while they’ve been winning challenge after challenge (after challenge after challenge after…), but what we did see sure seemed to point squarely at Dan’s departure. Still, he might have had a small chance of sticking around. What could he have done differently? Why did Dan lose?

In the beginning of my recap of this week’s episode, I noted that the Kota tribe would be smart to vote out Dan. When they actually did, I was pleased and surprised. I laid out some of the reasoning why I thought they were right in that article, but now is when we really go into detail by paging through What Gabon Survivors Should Have Learned. Let’s get to it.

In the recap, I said, “If they’re smart, they’ll realize that a merge is almost certainly near, so voting based on challenge strength is probably not the way to go. That could spell very bad news for Dan and his always-hungry stomach.” But strong or weak, hungry or eating like a bird, the first rule still usually holds sway. It references the importance of scheming and plotting – and of having good alliances.

But Dan didn’t have any of those on Kota. He was not aligned with original Fang members Susie and Randy – instead, they were viewed as competitors rather than allies. Not that it would have really mattered unless he could have gotten all three from Fang together and pulled over somebody from Kota (most likely Bob), and that was extremely unlikely.

So Dan needed instead to get himself in good with the onion alliance of Corinne, Charlie, and Marcus. But he was unable to do that. In my interview with him, he noted that while he wanted to get along with people – especially those he didn’t particularly like – he was unable to do so as the days went on. This was especially true when it came to the onion alliance, as their focus was apparently always on how the original Fang members needed to be loyal to them rather than on how they would be loyal to and reward the original Fangs.

But in discussing this problem, Dan noted of Marcus, “Had he made an effort to kind of be aware how other people were feeling, I think our relationship would be different.” The way Dan said it, it almost seemed like Marcus was the one who suffered due to the lack of a relationship between them. But it was of course Dan who suffered – and was voted out. As such, it was Dan who needed to find a way to create a better relationship.

One part of that probably should have been to stop questioning Marcus on what he was going to do for Dan. Instead, he needed to approach the onion alliance privately and swear fealty, saying whatever he needed to say. He didn’t need to be honest about how Marcus needed to promise him more to feel comfortable. By doing so, it only made the onion alliance (rightfully) suspicious of him.

In this way, he violated the part of the second rule that says to keep all scheming secret. Dan’s questioning ways made it obvious that at the merge, as he told me, “I would have immediately gone to Matty, who I knew was tight with Ace, and said we need to crush this alliance.” Since the others could see that, Dan became the natural target.

Dan needed to follow the third rule to be flexible and deal with some unlikeable personalities within the context of the game. As I mentioned, instead of questioning them, he should have portrayed unity with them.

While we didn’t really see it on the show, Dan’s own words indicate he had a problem with both the fourth and fifth rules. The fourth says players should not allow their emotions to control them, while the fifth implores players to pretend to be nice. As previously noted, Dan had trouble getting along with his tribemates. He specifically told me: “It’s difficult out there when you get to Day 14, 15, 16 and you can’t get away from these people. It got to me. I think in the beginning I did it by keeping my mouth shut. … [B]ut Day 17, 18, 19 I found it really difficult and I think that was part of the reason I was voted out.” Who am I to argue?

Another problem for Dan came with the timing of the Kota Tribal Council and the sixth rule. It says not to be too much of a threat. When Dan was operating as a member of the Kota tribe, helping them to win challenges, the others would probably have been more willing to put up with other issues. But the double Tribal Council came at a time when it was fairly obvious a merge would be arriving shortly. This meant Kota didn’t need Dan’s help anymore – indeed, the last thing the onion alliance would want is Dan winning individual immunity!

If the forced Tribal Council had happened just a few days earlier, perhaps Susie would have been voted off for her weakness. But then everything changed and strength became a problem. Specifically, it became Dan’s problem.

You might be surprised that I haven’t mentioned anything about Dan’s eating so far. While it was played up on the show, I really don’t think it was a major reason for him being voted out. However, we do have the now rarely referenced Appendix A, which talks about providing food and not being lazy. Dan was not lazy, and the providing of food was not so much of an issue. The closest thing I can point to is the final reference to Clarence stealing food waaaaaay back in Survivor history. Dan didn’t outright steal food, but the others claimed he was eating more than the others, so they apparently viewed it similarly.

Still, I really don’t think this was a major issue – certainly not as big a deal as the amount of TV time given to it would indicate. I think it was just one small part of the overall personality conflict between Dan and the onion alliance.

Getting back to the seventh rule, which discusses how the tribe as a whole should vote, did they get it right? Well, considering I predicted at the beginning of my recap that they’d vote off Dan if they were smart, you won’t be surprised to see me say that yes indeed, they made the right decision!

On the new Kota tribe, Dan and Susie were the outsiders – Randy managed to squirm his way into the core alliance. Susie said some stupid things and has all the scheming ability of a wet leaf. But Dan wasn’t all that far behind in the way he said things he shouldn’t have and pressed issues that were better left unsaid.

Dan couldn’t get along with the onion alliance, and that translated to him remaining an outsider. If this Tribal Council had not been forced, he would have been fine. But a Survivor player can’t base their hopes on always winning immunity. If the Tribal Council had come one or two game weeks sooner, Dan would have probably been okay because of his strength.

But as a nonmember of the core alliance as the merge approached, Dan was a huge threat. He could win immunity. But more importantly, he could jump to another alliance and counter the onion alliance, perhaps knocking them out of the majority. There was really no decision here; he had to go. And that is why Dan lost.

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out these other recent Survivor: Gabon articles here on RealityNewsOnline:

David Bloomberg is the Editor of RealityNewsOnline and can be reached at RNO@pobox.com.

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