Survivor: Cook Islands – Flica Flames Out

At the beginning of last week’s episode, Jessica/Flica expressed her disdain at being out of the loop on the Cao Boi vote, and said she wished her tribemates had let her know what was going on. That leads us to our first question: If the others had told her, to paraphrase George Strait, “This is where Cao Boi rides away,” what exactly would she have done? From here, it looks as if she would’ve raised a stink, told Cao Boi exactly what was happening, tried to counteract it, and caused even more dissension in camp. For that reason, the others made the right decision to leave her out of the loop.

Now for a question or two regarding the reward challenge. Was sitting out of this challenge the best thing that could’ve happened to Nate, given he was still with the opposing tribe? If he’d done poorly, Aitu would’ve held a grudge against him for sabotaging their efforts, and this could’ve hurt him in the long run. If he’d done well, his Raro tribemates would’ve had a beef with him, and he might have been the next one out.

Was Brad kicking himself after electing not to swim in this challenge? Granted, he knows his abilities, and if he says he’s better at puzzles, I’ll take his word for it. However, due to Rebecca’s struggles in the water, we never got to find out. While we don’t know for sure that Raro would’ve won if Brad had hit the water while Rebecca did the solving, we do know that it didn’t work the way it was done. The irony is, Brad looks “all wet” for not hitting the water, at least in the eyes of some of his tribemates.

Here’s a question regarding the Aitu tribe: Could Ozzy possibly look any more impressive? When the season debuted, it looked as if Yul might be the season’s most dominating player. But for not the first time, Ozzy looked as dominant as Boston Rob in Survivor: All-Stars. And outside of the challenge, he continued playing the game as if he wrote the rule about providing food by sneaking up on, and capturing, a bird that became a tribal meal. But how will this play out after the merge, assuming Ozzy makes it that far? Will the tribe decide his food-providing prowess is more than offset by his challenge prowess? Will he be so intimidating his own allies turn on him?

Later, when Ozzy was climbing coconut trees, Candice described him as part man, part fish, part monkey, and said he was a “little jungle boy.” Since this season was hyped as being all about race, this is a fair question to ask: If Candice had made these comments about Nate, or if Ozzy were African-American, would CBS have left these comments on the cutting room floor? If they had aired them, would Candice have been vilified as being a racist?

I would really like to hear from my African-American readers on this one: Would you have been offended if these things had been said about an African-American player, or would you have even noticed? For those of you who may not remember, the late Howard Cosell once got in a lot of trouble for referring to running back Alvin Garrett, an African-American, as a “little monkey.” Would a similar controversy have developed this time as well, or anyone have noticed in a season where race was brought to the forefront?

Here’s a comment and question regarding Exile Island: Jeff Probst stated that it was safe to say Adam had the worst night ever on Exile Island, but what would Bruce have to say about that? At least Adam had a few pieces of faux-shipwreck to use in making a makeshift shelter. I don’t recall Bruce having any such luxury, and Bruce himself faced a ferocious storm while he was there.

Now it’s time for a look at Jessica’s Early Show and RNO Interviews. The interviewer on the Early Show has been chided as clueless for the comments she made to Jessica. But to me, Jessica appeared equally clueless regarding the game.

First, there was her comment that she was fishing for the others to be honest with her and tell her she was being voted out, and that she would have had more respect for them if they did. Well, she might have more respect for them, but those who enjoy the strategic aspect of the show certainly wouldn’t. Why would the others give her a chance to attempt a counterattack?

Then there was her comment that the others were threatened by her ability to understand Cao Boi on a level they didn’t. To me, that sounds like the kid in school who claims the other kids are scared of him because he’s smarter than they are, when in reality, it’s more a question of personality. From all indications, the others were irritated by how Jessica interacted with them, not Cao Boi.

Finally, there was her comment that Jonathan did inappropriate things, prompting the red flags to go up. What I’d like to know is, what is her definition of “inappropriate”? If she’s referring to his conniving, manipulating, and scheming, all I can say is, to quote a friend of mine, “Well duh, it’s Survivor.” Besides, did she level with HIM and him she was voting for him? If she was referring to remarks that made her uncomfortable and had nothing to do with the game, she should have been specific. Otherwise, it sounds like what she defines as inappropriate comes largely from her not understanding the game.

She confirmed this in her RNO interview, when she admitted not being familiar with the different seasons and strategies. Then she gave us this little nugget, “I think it benefits you in the game if you are aware of the different strategies people have in order to manipulate and stay in the game longer.” Nice that she figured that out after she was ousted. What I want to know is, would she have become a rollergirl if she weren’t familiar with the strategies of the game? Then why do that with Survivor?

Then she continued to show how little she understood the game by harping on integrity and honesty. How long has the show been on now? She had no excuse for not knowing how crucial plotting, scheming, and deception are to playing the game. Yes, I read her comments that she was focused on winning the roller derby championships, but she knew how to prepare for that, so why not Survivor?

Would she have done the show if she knew what it was really all about? She claimed she would have more respect for the others if they’d leveled with her, but I’d have more respect for her if she’d been more aware of exactly what she was getting into.

Judging by the previews, the show could take a dramatic turn on Thursday. See you then!

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

Ken can be reached with any comments, criticisms, or money orders at YourNextOfKen@aol.com.

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