An “Insider” Look at Survivor: One World, Episode 9, Part 1 – “May the Best B**** Win”

Jay the Day After

Jay opens his exit interview describing his Survivor experience as “a blast.” There are some things he would change, however. For example, he wouldn’t step down for chicken wings just because he thought he was safe.

Overall, Jay was shocked and surprised by how much you learn about yourself, life in general, and other people in 25 short days. For him, the game was a blessing the whole way through.

Jay thought about home a lot during the game, specifically his relationships with friends and family and where he wants to go in life. He realizes that he takes too much for granted in his life. He’s been to four other countries before being on Survivor, so he knew how to do without material things, but this was his first time away from home for this long, which made him appreciate family and friends more. He realized that he was “on the go” at home, but what he needs to do is soak in the small moments a lot more.

Jay firmly believes that the game has changed him. He now wants to do things like sit with grandparents, spend more time with his nephews in the yard, and invest himself in his family more. He says the game makes you a stronger person: it shows you that you can do just as much without food or resources; it makes him a smarter individual; and it makes you improvise more. He’s walking away much stronger and smarter, with a more positive outlook on life.

Jay is hopeful that his family will see that he tried to play a nice, honest game which was more conniving than they thought. He also hopes that he made them proud that he didn’t make a fool of himself too often, and that he proved to be a strong competitor. He’s not sure what they’ll think about his stepping down for food, however – he doesn’t believe anyone would think he’d do that. In the end, he hopes he represented his family and city well. Now that it’s over, he’ll just have to wait and see what they think.

Going back to the immunity challenge, Jay says that everyone judges and says you’re a fool when you step down for food. The way Jay sees it, though, if you think you’re safe, it’s extremely important to step down and take the food – that’s what will get you through the next few days.

Jay also points out that the viewing audience doesn’t know how many alliances you’ve made and what’s going on strategically in the game. He stepped down because the person he thought was going home (Alicia) was already out, so she wasn’t going to win immunity. He trusted his alliance and didn’t know Troy was going to play the idol. The audience doesn’t realize how quickly things change; that night, everything shifted in the last ten minutes before tribal. Stepping down may not look like a smart decision, but it was the wisest decision for him at the time. As Jay admits, “That’s the game for you – you never know what can happen.”

Jay explains that he is proud of how he played the game. Going out there, he didn’t know if he’d tell a million lies or just a few; what he tried to do was get around the truth without telling too many lies. More importantly, Jay had fun, which was the biggest thing for him. He set out to give the game his all, have fun, and get as far as he could. Looking back, he wouldn’t change a thing.

For Jay, dealing with personalities was ten times harder than going without food. He’s not a suck up, and if he doesn’t like someone, it’s obvious. The biggest part for him was when someone said something he didn’t agree with or he thought was stupid – he’d have to bite his tongue and smile. Putting up with drama, while still being friends with the other castaways – that’s way harder than going without food.

The whole experience from day one, realizing that you’re on your own in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of knuckleheads you’ve never met before, opens you up to people and relationships, Jay says. He says it changes the way you think about life and how you embrace people. The game taught him to have open mind towards everyone.

Jay is the type of person who tries to live life to the fullest every day, but he says the game makes you see how much more you really can live each day – you have to take advantage of the life you’ve been given. Survivor made him appreciate family and food more, as well as life in general.

Secret Scene Jay

The Tikiano tribe prepares a meal – Alicia and Christina wash dishes in the ocean, and Kat tends to a pot of rice over the fire. In a confessional, Kat tells us that everybody has a role that they play, and she’s been feeding her tribe since day one. Why? Because she makes the best rice.

Back in the shelter, Jay watches Kat divvy up the food. He mentions that Kat should make sure that everyone is getting the same amount, and Alicia chimes in, suggesting that everyone could get one more scoop. Kat snaps back, “You don’t think I know that?”

In a confessional, Jay says Kat “protects that pot – she’s the rice Nazi.” She doesn’t want anyone else to touch the rice or season it – she thinks she’s the queen chef. But Jay is pretty sure Kat is cooking the rice so that she can have more than anybody.

Cut to Kat getting defensive and insisting that everyone’s portion is even. Back in his confessional, Jay says it’s tough to watch Kat scoop out more for herself than anyone else. But what can he say? He’s just trying to play the game the best that he can, so he bites his tongue. He doesn’t want Kat pissed at him for causing any drama.

Impact of Voting Out Michael (Chelsea)

Reflecting on the blindside from last week’s episode, Chelsea says the girls are now much more comfortable – they can run the show from here on out. Voting out Mike hurt, though; they had made close relationships with him.

Chelsea admits that eliminating all of the guys holds some danger for her: there are girls she doesn’t want to sit with at the final Tribal Council. Given the endgame possibilities, Chelsea feels that there’s going to be a lot of strategic play going on from here on out.

Chelsea then explains that after Tribal Council, when someone has been voted out, you can feel that someone is missing. The whole aura around camp is different when one person is gone who’s been there a while. One downside: Mike did a lot of work around camp, so now a lot more people who normally wouldn’t get wood are going to do that. The upside? Fewer mouths to feed and more room in the shelter to sleep. Chelsea then smiles and says she’s, “All about slimming down the tribe.”

I’m So Abrasive (Tarzan)

Tarzan admits that he’s abrasive and rude, and that he suspects two of the girls hate his guts at this point (he doesn’t say who). He likes to be frank, to say what he means to say when he thinks he should say it, regardless of how it might be perceived by society. That’s the way he’s always been, but then, he’s always been protected because he was in an operating room. Clearly, it doesn’t play out here.

Tarzan thinks the girls will take out Troyzan or “Jay-bird” because they’re so tough. Yes, they might throw him out because they hate him or dislike him or don’t like his presence, but if they’re smart, before they do that, they should take out Troyzan or Jay-bird before it’s too late. Tarzan believes that Troyzan and Jay can beat the girls, both physically and mentally, on most immunity challenge tasks – probably.

My Savage Color (Tarzan)

Tarzan explains why he’s wearing Monica Culpepper’s bright red tank top. He’s been carrying the shirt around since Monica, one of the “savages” of his tribe, was “dispersed.” When Monica left all of her garments behind, Tarzan saw that this shirt might be useful; it’s a stretch shirt, so he though he might be able to get into it.

As it turns out, the shirt is “a Chinese trap sort of thing.” It looked so easy to get on, but he couldn’t do it the first time. He finally managed to figure out how Monica got into the shirt, and it provides warmth, so he’s going to keep it on for a while.

Tarzan assures us that he’s so masculine that despite it being a feminine shirt, he still feels like a masculine man in it. In fact, Tarzan explains, “It makes some of my loose skin tighter!” He’s also fond of its bright red color: “It’s my best color, my fire color, my warrior color, my savage color.”

Can’t Be Too Comfortable (Christina)

On day 23, Christina tells us, the game is getting a little rough. Her muscles are worn out, she’s lost a significant amount of weight, her energy levels are low, and food is scarce. Strangely enough, though, she finds that she still has the energy to want to win the game and play as hard as she can.

Christina has discovered that there’s no escaping the game. You’re always on edge – even in middle of the night, you’re talking with people, strategizing. You’re constantly thinking about your position in the game.

And it’s only going to get worse from here: she says the further you get in the game, it won’t be relaxed at all. The game will be much more stressful because you’ll have to be cautious and watch what you say. If she gets to the final four, she’ll have to know what she’s said to people in the past, especially with the people they vote off. She says you have to be careful, because the jury will make the decision of who they want to win.

Christina says that she’s constantly on edge wondering if she’s making the right decisions, saying right things, promising the right people, if she’s in the right alliance. Should she have one alliance, she wonders, or have another on the side? Right now, Christina is “quasi-comfortable” in her position, but she’s always looking over her shoulder. She says you can’t be too comfortable – this is Survivor, and someone might stab her in the back and blindside her!

Catfight is Coming (Christina)

Christina believes that her alliance with the girls is still very tight. They’re keeping it “ambiguous,” however, because they don’t want the guys to know that it’s six girls eliminating all the guys.

Christina continues to play the card that she’s a lone ranger, on her own, so that she can get sympathy from Troyzan and Jay. She likes them, and thinks that they are phenomenal players, but they’re going to be tough for the girls to beat during individual immunity challenges. It will be easier to play against six girls at the end of the game rather than versus those two guys.

According to Christina, Jay and Troyzan have a slight inclination they’re in trouble, but they want to believe they’re safe. If they’re smart enough, though, they’ll figure out what’s going on. She’s playing it that she doesn’t know what’s happening to them. She’ll do whatever she needs to do to keep her from being next to go.

After the men are gone, Christina thinks it’s going to be a good old Survivor: One World catfight. She laughs and then offers up her best sound-bite of the season: “May the best bitch win.”

The Guys Are Dumb (Alicia)

According to Alicia, the remaining male castaways are “the dumbest guys on planet Earth.” Why would they align with a bunch of girls? The six men could have banded together, using Alicia as their swing vote, and this (the Pagonging of the men) never would have happened. The problem was that the men weren’t unified when the tribes merged. Now, their inability to work together is backfiring on them.

Alicia insists that if Jay and Troy think they can trust “those four girls,” they’re stupid. She then mocks Jay for saying at Tribal Council that he was confident in his alliance and would be so blindsided if they took him out. Alicia imagines telling Jay, “We just took out two guys and you think you’re going to make it to the top? No, boo, you’re not.”

Alicia ends her confessional by returning full circle to her original point: “I don’t want to say anything, but the guys here are dumb.”

I Know How She Feels (Kim)

Kim, coming off more and more like a female Brian Heidik (calm, cool, calculating), explains how she’s dealing with Chelsea’s struggle over eliminating the men. The girls, Kim tells us, convened and talked about how Troy and Jay definitely needed to go, but Chelsea was having a hard time with it. The other girls explained to Chelsea – “in the nicest way possible” – that Jay or Troy might go on an immunity run. They might not have another shot to get rid of them, so they have to do it as quickly as they can.

It doesn’t concern Kim that Chelsea’s conscience is getting the best of her. She knows exactly how Chelsea feels because she feels the same way. But there’s a difference between letting her conscience help her make her decisions and drawing a line and saying, “This is the game –I’m here to play for a million dollars.” Of course taking out the guys sucks, especially if they told the person they could stay – but obviously they can’t. It’s not as easy to keep the game and her conscience separate as she thought it would be, so she understand how Chelsea feels.

Kim is sure that Chelsea will come around. While understanding that they’ll have to go back on their word is a hard concept, the less time there is left in the game, the clearer they can see the end, particularly once they set their plan in motion. Jay and Troy will be the hard ones, because the women have a great connection with them and they’re fun to have around. Once they go, though, Chelsea won’t feel attached to anyone in particular – “Except me,” Kim explains with a laugh, “and I hope she lets me stay!”

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Andy Baker is an avowed Superfan who thinks he has forgotten more about Survivor than you will ever know. Adulation and condemnation both warmly welcomed at Andrew.Brooks.Baker@gmail.com.

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