Reality High Test Results, September 28-October 4: Déjà Vu?

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 18 contestants from Survivor: Cook Islands and the remaining nine 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.

When I looked at Cao Boi’s answer to the first question, I began to wonder if I was going to have a headache this early in the teaching session:

1. True or False: You should keep telling stories even when it’s all too obvious that everyone is bored silly by them.

Cao Boi answered “True,” and I counted to 10 before I told him that he was wrong and the correct answer was “False.” Cao Boi protested that the others just didn’t have a sense of humor. I replied that their sense of humor might not be as obvious as his, but he still should make an effort to fit in with his tribe and not stick out like a sore thumb. I said that if I’d been in the tribe, I’d have been sick of hearing his stories over and over. In fact, I had heard him trying to tell his stories as the contestants and teams filed into class earlier, and nobody wanted to listen. Honestly, I have to agree with Brad – Cao Boi just isn’t all there when it comes to brains.

Meanwhile, I looked at the answers to the second question, and I alternatively smiled and sighed when I saw them:

2. You have been switched into new tribes. How do you manage to make new allies and gain a majority on your new tribe?

A. Form an alliance of four and try to add in a fifth member.

C. Alliances? I’m here to make friends, not alliances.

Becky, Candice, Jonathan, and Yul all answered “A,” and I was pleased to tell them that they were all right. In a tribe of nine people, the majority is five. So it would only make sense for two closely allied people from one tribe to join with two people from another tribe and make it a foursome. And if there were three people from the other tribe, then you have your five people, and you’re in the driver’s seat. And it was Becky who first began the plotting and scheming to form the foursome.

Parvati chose “B,” and I said that wasn’t the best answer, but it was a start. After all, if she can wrap two of the strong, young heterosexual guys on her tribe around her finger, she can use it as a start to make an alliance that can control her tribe. In any case, Parvati didn’t choose the best answer, but it wasn’t a bad one.

However, Jessica chose “C,” and I had to have a long, hard talk with her. I just couldn’t believe that she was here just to make friends, not alliances. David Bloomberg said in his fourth rule for Survivors that friends are nice, but this is a game. The game is full of people who made friends and allowed their friendships to interfere with strategy – Ian from Survivor: Palau being one of the biggest examples, as he decided to throw away a chance to make it into the finals to keep his friendship with Tom. Also, in Survivor: The Australian Outback, Colby decided to take Tina to the finals instead of Keith, and Tina beat him. If Colby had taken Keith to the finals, he’d have won. Unfortunately, Jessica doesn’t seem to get the fact that it’s a game.

Moving on, I looked at Yul’s answer to the third question:

3. You have the hidden immunity idol. Do you tell anyone on your new tribe that you have it?

A. Please, do I even LOOK suicidal? Of course not!

C. I’ll tell everyone! I want everyone to know that I’m a threat.

Yul answered “B.” I had to tell him that the best answer was “A.” However, at least he didn’t answer “C.” Becky is his closest ally. They became allies on Puka, bonding over the fact that they were both Korean-Americans. So once they both wound up on the same tribe, it’s only natural that Yul decided to tell her that he had found it. Fortunately, he was smart enough to agree with Becky that nobody else should be told. After all, the fewer people who know about it, the better – at least, in the early stages.

Moving on to the fourth question, I had to groan at the response of the new Aitu women and cheer at the response of the new Raro women:

4. True or False: It’s a good idea to have most of your women quickly drop out of an endurance-based immunity challenge when the guys will have to carry a lot of weight when the women drop out.

The new Aitu women answered “True,” while the new Raro ones answered “False.” I told Becky, Candice, Cecilia, Jessica and Sundra that the correct answer was “False.” While the women are probably going to tire a lot more quickly than the guys, it’s still not a good idea to have most of the women drop out quickly, since that gives the guys more weight to carry. Because the new Raro women dropped out after the new Aitu ones did (even if Stephannie was the first one to drop out for Raro), that gave new Raro the ability to win the immunity challenge.

But it was Jessica’s answer to the fifth question (the final one for the Survivor players) that made me ready to reach for the Excedrin. After all, it should be a no-brainer:

5. True or False: Survivor is all about plotting and voting people off.

Jessica (aka Flica) answered “False.” She really had no clue about how the game was to be played! Perhaps she was like Tina from Survivor: Exile Island or the Pagong tribe on the very first Survivor: focused more on the survival aspect of the game rather than the strategic aspect of it. This will be her undoing later on in the game, but because first Jonathan and later Cao Boi (after some hard selling by Yul) were able to get to her, she won’t pay for it right away.

What went wrong for Cecilia? Part of the problem may have been that she apparently became sick. That may have sapped her will to continue on in the game and left her vulnerable to the hard-sell approach used by Jonathan and Yul to get Cao Boi and Flica to vote her out instead of Becky. If so, that’s a real shame. But why was she the one chosen to be on the chopping block instead of say, Sundra? Now that’s an interesting story. According to the Insider info, it was because she was allied with Ozzy, and Sundra wasn’t allied with anyone from her old tribe. Looks like being without former allies can be very helpful to you. Let’s see how it helps Ozzy next week.

Now it was time for the teams of The Amazing Race to answer the remaining questions on the test. I had to smile when I saw Dustin and Kandice’s answer to the sixth question:

6. You agreed to get in a line, but the team in front of you happened to pass a travel agent. What do you do?

A. Go straight to the agent and get your tickets. It’s a race, after all.

C. Try to get to the front of the line that formed already by cutting past other teams.

Dustin and Kandice answered “A.” Some may think it’s cutting in line, but I’m not so certain. I’m thinking it’s just a race tactic. After all, Tom and Terry could’ve done the same thing, but instead they went straight to the line that had already formed. Although I can understand why they complained, I think that Dustin and Kandice were just being smart, not cheaters.

Unfortunately, Duke and Lauren had a lot to learn about one aspect of the race, if their answer to the seventh question is any indication:

7. True or False: You must make certain that you spend as little money as possible during the race.

Duke and Lauren answered “False,” and temporarily paid for it by losing all their money. Fortunately, the Roadblock enabled them to earn a lot of money for the rest of the race. Unfortunately, that won’t help them anymore, since they’ve been Philiminated. However, that wasn’t the only mistake they made. Witness Duke’s answer to the eighth question:

8. If somebody volunteers to help you get to their next destination, what should you do about the offer?

A. Make certain that the local guide is going to go straight to the next destination before accepting the offer.

C. Refuse it. You can get to the next location with the aid of the cab driver.

Duke answered “B,” and I had to tell him he was wrong. After all, the local guide wound up having to go to another place before taking them to the prison, ensuring that they spent extra time on this non-race detour. Fortunately, it happened fairly early in the leg, so they were able to recover from it, but it’s still not smart. Duke said, “Next time, I won’t make the same mistake.” Unfortunately, there won’t be a next time for them on the race.

Meanwhile, I wondered how many teams had lost their common sense when I looked at Peter and Sarah’s answer to the ninth question:

9. True or False: You should always make certain that you’re taking the right bus when you’re told to take a bus to a village.

Peter and Sarah answered “False,” and I counted to 10 before telling them that they were wrong. Fortunately, they found out their mistake fairly early, but the mistake could have been avoided if only they had taken the time to find out where the bus was going before getting on it. Luckily, they didn’t get lost, and they made up enough time to stay in the race, but they really shouldn’t make such stupid mistakes in the future. Sarah seems to know that, but judging from the previews, I don’t know if Peter knows it.

But I had a bad case of déjà vu when I saw Tom and Terry’s answer to the final question. Once again, my jaw dropped to the floor and my eyes became saucers. I blinked. When the answer didn’t change, I clicked my heels together and said, “There’s no place like home.” When that didn’t work, I pinched myself. When it became clear that it wasn’t a dream, I shook my head, and then slapped the side of it. When I realized it wasn’t a hallucination either, I called the witch doctor and this is what he said: “Oo ee, oo ah ah, ting tang, walla walla bing bang, yeah they’re also complete morons.” There’s just no denying it:

10. The clue distinctly tells you not to take a motorbike to the next destination. What do you do?

A. Walk to the next destination.

C. Spread your wings and fly there.

Tom and Terry answered “B,” and I counted to 10 before telling them that they were absolutely wrong! Unfortunately, Tom and Terry failed to read the clue properly and were punished with a 30-minute penalty. They were lucky Duke and Lauren got so lost and wound up at the Fowl Detour, otherwise they would’ve been out for certain. When I told Tom and Terry all this, they sighed and said they should’ve read the clue more carefully. I was considering sending them straight to Detention for their egregious blunder, but their acceptance of the fact that they screwed up made me decide against it. However, I did have to take another Excedrin.

What went wrong with Duke and Lauren? All kinds of mistakes happened, at least some of them being their own fault. I already covered two of their biggest ones on the quiz, but the clincher was that they got lost and wound up at the Fowl Detour. If they either hadn’t gotten lost, or if they had gotten to the Fuel Detour, they might still be in the race. But the combination killed their chances, since the Fowl Detour probably would take longer than the Fuel one.

As always, before the contestants and teams remaining in the game left, I gave them their grades. Becky got her first “A” and she was naturally delighted. Cao Boi got an “F” and tried to tell me another one of his stories, but I told him to skip it or I’d send him straight to Detention. That shut him up. Jessica also got an “F,” and I have to wonder what she signed up for. On the other hand, Jonathan got his first “A,” and he was happy about that! Parvati got a “B-,” and she seemed pretty pleased about it. And Yul got a “B+,” which pleased him as well.

As for the remaining teams, Dustin and Kandice got an “A-,” and they were delighted to hear that. Lyn and Karlyn got a “B” thanks to being kind enough to help David and Mary when Mary got a sprained ankle, and they were delighted to learn that they had pulled themselves up from that “D” I gave them in their first week. Peter and Sarah got a “C-,” and they weren’t too happy, but Peter was the one who reacted worse. He tried to protest, but I told him that if he kept it up, he’d find himself in Detention. As for Tom and Terry, they got an “F” just for their failure to follow the rules. They hoped they’d get a better grade next week.

Finally, I was left with Cecilia. I told her, “Part of me is sorry that you were sent home. But you really didn’t play the game. I’m willing to chalk up at least part of your behavior to sickness, but sickness still isn’t a totally valid excuse.”

Then I turned to Duke and Lauren. I told them, “Sorry that you’re out. Unfortunately, I think you deserved to be eliminated. You failed to ensure that your guide would take you directly to the prison, you didn’t ensure that you had enough money, and you got lost and wound up at a bad Detour. At least the cab driver was understanding and didn’t get mad.” Duke also added that despite his feelings about his daughter being a lesbian, he loved her and hoped they can build upon their relationship.

Before Cecilia left, I gave her grade to her. It was a “D.” She sighed and said, “At least, I didn’t flunk the class.” Unfortunately, I had to give Duke and Lauren an “F.” They kind of expected it, and Duke hugged his daughter before leaving. I wish them well.

Will Ozzy recover from the loss of his ally? Will Yul continue to earn points with me? Will Lyn and Karlyn continue to rise in esteem with me? Will Peter and Sarah and Rob and Kimberly earn trips to Detention? And will Tom and Terry recover from their egregiously dumb move? Find out next week!

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

Belle Book is a library clerk for a community college in Pennsylvania. The Amazing Race is her favorite reality TV show, so she’d love to be on it sometime! If you wish to contact Belle, she can be reached at BelleBook@aol.com.

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