An "Insider" Look at Survivor: Exile Island, Episode 13: Two on Two

I’m actually impressed with the quality of clips that are on the website this week. I didn’t expect much at all. A lot of people have been complaining about the “to be continued” aspect of the episode. I don’t have a problem with it at all, after all, we only have to wait three days to find out who goes home. The roughest part about it is for us writers, not having a bootee to talk about, and having to discuss the final four when it’ll be down to three within minutes.

Station by Station: The infamous reward challenge. Settle in, this might take a while.

I want to address a major situation from the episode. First off, I want to say that I do not condone Terry’s behavior with Cirie one bit. I thought he was, for the most part, snippy and inappropriate. He had no right to berate Cirie for dropping her torch – yes, she should have put it out of the way but there was no call for the federal case to be made of it. He also had no more right to say that Cirie slaps her kids around than Aras did to say that Terry makes disparaging remarks about women.

That said, it’s pretty obvious to me why Terry is getting an attitude. In his career as a military fighter pilot and more recently as an airline pilot, he is afforded a certain level of respect due his rank. He’s used to that. He’s gone from that position in life, and indeed a position on La Mina where he was all but worshipped, to being treated as a second-class citizen and worse, mocked and despised for his abilities. Again, I’m not saying it’s right, because he’s basically pouting about not getting respect, which is ludicrous. But it’s understandable.

Terry went into Survivor expecting to be treated as, well, as Cirie put it, King Terry. Remember how he thrived on it at La Mina? His complete failure to win over any Casayas to his side, except for Danielle, who he didn’t have until Exile Island, has to be playing with his head. He expected to do exactly what he has done, win immunity challenges – which explains why he refused to share hidden immunity at any time, as he was playing for himself the whole game – but he also expected to win allies who were in awe of his abilities. He never expected Aras to be so jealous, and face it, Aras hates Terry because he’s jealous of him. You KNOW Aras expected to come into this game and win every challenge and be King Aras. His behavior after the reward challenge should be proof of that.

And speaking of which, WAS Terry being whiny at the reward challenge? I don’t think so. During the challenge itself, he realized Aras was taking a different interpretation of the rules than he was, and wanted to point it out. Sure, it could be considered whining, but if he didn’t point it out then, it would be too late. Remember the Africa challenge where the producers messed up a question that could have changed the outcome? They may have just missed it.

Besides, I raised the same question Terry did, as I missed the part where they explained you could go back to multiple stations. Actually, all Jeff said was that you could “go back and correct your mistakes.” That plural s could have been the difference. And after the challenge, he just wanted to get it straight in his head that he messed up, when Aras started running his mouth. If I were Terry, my response would have been a lot stronger, along the lines of, “If you’d shut your f***ing mouth long enough, jackass, you’d understand why I’m asking.” Didn’t Terry already shake his hand and congratulate him? Thus admitting he lost?

Which brings me to Aras. I understood this week just why exactly I hate him so much. I used to think it was the tree-hugging bullcrap yoga meditating nonsense that he spouted early on, or even the douchebag hairdo, which shockingly still managed to be only the second-worst hair on the island after Courtney’s (or even third after Shane’s). No, those were valid reasons, but it comes down to a simple concept. Aras is a know-it-all punk.

He’s the stereotypical wet-behind-the-ears spoiled brat jackoff who thinks he knows everything about life because he follows yoga, or meditates, or is one with nature and dead turtles. And when someone like Terry comes along and proves by his very existence that he DOESN’T know everything, it chafes them like you wouldn’t believe.

When I was Aras’ age, I was working for a car rental company in Dallas. Just by being around my co-workers, it was obvious to me that graduating college and working at the mall the last few years taught me absolutely dick about the real world. Which also makes me wonder if Aras has actually worked a real job a day in his life.

At any rate, I had my plan. I became friends with some of the older people in the office. I don’t mean the 60-year-old grump that no one likes, I mean the 40-somethings that were just outside the cool range so that they would appreciate a young kid coming up and asking them to share their wisdom about life. And they did. You wouldn’t believe the knowledge I got and the information I learned. I was like Bruce Wayne traveling the world. Maybe this should be the “Mike Lesson” of the week.

My point here is, I don’t pretend to know everything (well, that’s not true. I pretend to know everything all the time), but I DAMN sure know more about life than Aras does, and I’m closer to his age than I am to Terry’s. Instead of calling Terry names and belittling him, Aras should shut his mouth and open his ears. Maybe he’d learn a thing or two. Just look at Nick and Austin. They idolized and respected Dan and Terry, yet they were still able to compete with them tooth and nail and vote Dan out without so much as a cross word spoken.

Aras needs to grow up, or at least needs to learn a little respect. He never learned humility, that’s for sure. Terry needs to realize that Aras is a lost cause, and sit back and enjoy watching life rip him a new one.

I Feel the Bloat Comin’ On: During reward, Aras says they have to remember the experiences, and tells Cirie he is glad he is spending it with her. She feels the same way. Cirie says that she was full just from the snacks, while we see Aras eating the entire five-course meal and asking for Cirie’s leftovers. The food looks awesome, and indeed Cirie says that it was delicious. In some cultures, a burp is a compliment to the chef, and Cirie sends along her compliments, immediately embarrassing herself in the process.