An "Insider" Look at Survivor: Exile Island, Episode 6: You Keep Using That Word - I Do Not Think It Means What You Think It Means

Yet another new low for the Insider. This week, we get the two bootee interviews, the challenge, the voting booth video, and one other THIRTY-SEVEN SECOND clip. That’s right – every single past Survivor will complain to anyone who listens that the episodes simply don’t have enough time to show what goes on around camp. They have all this technology, virtually unlimited resources to show almost whatever they want, and they don’t. It’s either the height of laziness, or the height of stupidity. Anyone who has the chance to interview Mark Burnett, please ask him how he can let this happen. Look at the Amazing Race or Apprentice internet extras. They actually SHOW interesting things.

It simply boggles my mind why they even waste the time to post what they do. It’s a total waste. Pretending to call these videos “exclusive insider footage” is an insult to the intelligence of every person who watches the show. It’s Gumby-eque, like hitting someone in the head with a textbook while shouting “get smarter!!”

Dan’s Final Words: It was a wonderful adventure that ended way too soon. It was so beautiful out there, and all he has to say is, thank you to his family for letting dad go out on another wild adventure. He loves them so much, he can’t wait to see them.

He is a little surprised by Terry’s decision. He would never have voted for Terry, he thought they could go to a 2-on-2 and have a showdown. But Terry has to play his game, and Dan can respect that. They’ll always be friends.

Of course, this couldn’t possibly compare to a space flight (I can’t imagine that it could), but it’s completely different. It’s an opportunity to live with nature, something he’s never done before. It’s beautiful and wonderful, he saw two new bird species every day. Spoken like a scientist! If he could, he’d go pitch a tent on that beach right now. I always like the ones that take time to appreciate their surroundings – without drawing hearts around dead turtles or something.

The tribe underestimated his grit. There’s now no one else other than Terry who can dive. And again, I wonder what the hell Nick and Austin bring to the tribe? But you can’t second guess their decisions. They made a tough call and he’s not going to begrudge them that.

He hopes the tribe gets close to even numbers at the merge, he wishes them the best. Stay in, fight hard. They did what they thought they had to do, even though he thought it was the wrong decision. He’s still there in spirit.

He was surprised that he wasn’t self-sufficient, but he feels he would have figured that out. He’s comfortable being uncomfortable. That’s something he wanted to find out. It was actually wonderful – living with nature was wonderful, like iguanas coming up and letting him pet them. These last few sentences were said with one of the biggest smiles I’ve ever seen. He must have been a kid in a candy store out in space.

Dan, the Day After: Once again, almost throughout the videos, he speaks with an air of wonder, pure enjoyment, and a huge smile taking over half his face. I’d love to just sit and listen to him tell stories for weeks. How can you vote this guy off?

He learned he is a little naive. He took a handshake from a guy, maybe a little too early. He wanted to find out how he would do in deprived circumstances. He’s done a lot of difficult and challenging things in his life, but always with a phenomenal amount of support behind him. He wanted to know how he would do without that support, and he felt it was fantastic.

He also wanted to know how he would behave when it came between his word and the money. He got his answer in the first three days. The relationships were much more important than the prize. He was really happy to learn those things about himself.

The hardest thing he will have to explain when he gets home is not to his family, but with the people he used to work with. At the puzzle challenge at the end, he thinks he was deprived of enough nutrition or whatever that his judgment was impaired and he didn’t even know it. He did something very uncharacteristic for him – he went to solve a puzzle, had the solution in his head, it didn’t work immediately, and he backed off and started looking randomly for another answer. You do that in space, and you can die.

He expected it to be interesting and difficult, but it was also fun. It’s crazy to say that you were starving AND having fun, but he had fun every day. He ate maybe an ounce of food the whole time, but he had no hunger pangs. He was weak and had bad judgment, but he wasn’t suffering. He never thought he would go without food for 12 days, but it was easier than he ever thought it could be. If you would have asked if he could go that long, he would have said no. But it turns out you can. The experience was easier than he thought because the deprivation wasn’t as bad as he thought, and the camaraderie was so much better. Nevertheless, it was the most physically difficult thing he’s ever done. Mentally, it was a breeze – a beautiful, incredible, wonderful experience.

He never thought about quitting. The game was energizing spiritually, draining physically. There were times he was staggered from dehydration. Someone asked him along the way if he’d felt despair since he’d been there. Anything but!

He understands what invigorates him might not happen with other people. He didn’t have the medical problems that others have had. There were people who were up all night with nightmares, diarrhea, and other aliments. There were explosions from lightning bolts ten feet from their heads. Some people didn’t like that! He would never judge someone as a wimp because they couldn’t handle it. Survivor is difficult. If you’re not wondrously amazed by the environment, it can be a very scary place. He could see very strong people not being able to complete the game.

When Nick said they were getting rid of the weakest link, that ticked him off. He realized he was going because their alliance held and his didn’t, but they did not get rid of the weakest link. Can I get an AMEN?

Look back on the facts. He’s the one who held Aras down while they won the point in the wrestling challenge. Next point, Aras steals the pillow from Nick and scores. Day later, he’s underwater untying knots blind, with no goggles, Nick’s in the boat and Austin is on shore waiting to put together a puzzle piece. Yeah, he’s lousy on the balance beam, falling off, walking like Grandma Moses, but where’s Nick? He’s up on the crow’s nest too woozy to participate. At least Dan is out there busting his butt! May I editorialize and add that Dan’s poor balance didn’t lose the challenge, Austin’s careful pouring did. One might argue that Dan couldn’t get the puzzle with a lead, but at least he admits he screwed up on that one and it was uncharacteristic of him.