Reality High Test Results, October 5 – 11: Who’s the Bigger Idiot?

Welcome back to another week at Reality High! As usual, I’ve got contestants and teams who are great when it comes to strategy, and some who just don’t seem to learn.

In any case, the remaining seventeen contestants from Survivor: Cook Islands and the remaining eight teams from The Amazing Race 10 returned, and I gave them the tests for this week. They took the tests, and returned them to me. Once I got the tests back, I took a look at them.

When I took a look at Candice’s reply to the first question, I had to smile a little:

1. True or False: If you think people on your former tribe sent you to Exile Island to protect you, it’s best to play dumb if people from your new tribe ask you about why you were sent there to begin with.

Candice answered “True,” and I was pleased to tell her that she was right. Once she returned to Aitu, Flica asked her why she was sent to Exile Island. She also asked if perhaps Adam and Parvati urged the others on Raro to send her there to protect her from Tribal Council. Candice privately believed they did just that; but she knew that if the others realized that, they’d probably think she’ll rejoin her allies at the merge and get rid of Candice before then so that Raro wouldn’t gain a numbers advantage. If I’d been in her shoes, I’d have done the same thing. The problem is, her dumb act wasn’t likely to fool anybody, but at least she tried.

But when I took a look at the answers from some of those on Raro, I had to wonder if I’d have to call the witch doctor for the third week in a row:

2. You were all recently switched up into a new tribe. What is the best way to do things till you hit the merge?

A. Work hard and form new alliances or maintain old ones.
B. Lie around but form new alliances or maintain old ones.
C. Lie around and order people around. After all, the girls would never get rid of a strong, young guy, would they?

Cristina, Jenny, Parvati, Rebecca, and Stephannie all answered “A,” and I was happy to tell them that they were right. They were all working very hard on the shelter, and we saw Parvati form an alliance with Nate. She probably also has an alliance with Adam, and she may be getting along with Brad despite the fact that Brad’s gay and gays won’t respond to a heterosexual woman’s flirtatiousness. Meanwhile, Jenny also seems to have an alliance with Brad from Puka.

Adam, Brad and Nate all answered “B,” and I told them that wasn’t the best answer, but it wasn’t the worst one either. Adam obviously still has an alliance with Parvati, since they voted to get rid of J.P.; Brad has an alliance with Jenny from Puka, and Nate has formed an alliance with Parvati since moving to Raro. They should be out working more, but at least they are forming or maintaining alliances.

But J.P. answered “C,” and I had to count to 10 before telling him that he was absolutely wrong! It’s bad enough to lie around and not do much of anything, but to actually act like you’re the king of the tribe and others have to bow down to you, well that’s even worse! When I told J.P. this, he continued to say that there was no way that the girls would even think of getting rid of any of the strong, young men before the merge, since they’d need strength for the challenges. I reminded him that the Sook Jai tribe from Survivor: Thailand dumped the strong, young Jed in the third episode because he was lazy. Of course, they also threw the challenge to get rid of him, which was wrong, but the point still remains: youth and strength just aren’t enough.

Meanwhile, I had to smile when I saw Ozzy’s answer to the third question:

3. Your only ally from your former tribe was voted out at the last Tribal Council. What do you do to make certain that you stick around?

A. Work hard and provide food for the tribe, pronto!
B. Gain as many allies as you possibly can.
C. Lie around and basically give up.
D. Both A and B are correct.

Ozzy chose “A,” and while the best answer is “D,” he got part of the strategy right. Ozzy knew that a great way to stick around is to provide fish for the tribe so that they would be less likely to vote him out. He obviously learned something from Rupert from Survivor: Panama and Tom from Survivor: Palau, both of whom were the big providers for their tribe, ensuring that their tribes would keep both guys around till the merge and beyond. Of course, Rupert wound up on the jury, so providing food for the tribe isn’t enough either, but it’s a start. However, what he needs now are allies, particularly a good “goat” to take to the Final 2, one that’ll make him look like an angel.

Unfortunately, I had to take a look at Stephannie’s answer to the fourth question, and I just groaned:

4. True or False: If you are the weakest link in challenges, by all means announce it to your tribemates after the loss of immunity.

Stephannie answered “True,” and I had to tell her that she was wrong. You just don’t announce that you are the weakest link in the challenges! That puts the target right on your back! It sure encouraged Nate to vote for Stephannie; and if the other women hadn’t realized that allowing Stephannie to go home would make them vulnerable to being picked off by the guys, it would’ve sent Stephannie home, not J.P. Stephannie admitted that she was wrong in making the statement and that she just said out of sheer frustration. I’m glad she admitted she was wrong to do so, but I still had to tell her to reserve such admissions of weakness for confessionals from now on.