Survivor: Cook Islands – Survivor Live, Episode 10

Before we begin with Survivor Live, we have my trivia question: Which African-American male has had the highest (meaning, best) finishing position in Survivor History? As usual, the answer will be near the bottom of this article.

Due to the local holiday (U.S. Thanksgiving), Survivor Live was not held until Monday afternoon this week – that’s why you’re seeing this article later than usual.

The show begins with Dalton enthused that the last three weeks have been great viewing on Survivor, ever since the mutiny. Jenna agrees; she especially likes the challenges.

Attention now turns to Nate. He looks about the same, but he’s wearing a tie and his hair is under control. Jenna thought Adam might be the guest this week, because he had no ties to Aitu to save him.

Dalton asks why the Raro tribe was so sure Yul hadn’t found the hidden immunity idol. Nate says he thought Yul had found it, and he mentioned to Adam and Candice that they should think about targeting someone else. But Adam was playing it up like he had the idol, and his public denials of the possibility that Yul had it was all a part of that act.

Jenna feels that with Ozzy winning the immunity challenge and the hidden idol not having to be played, things worked out perfectly for Yul this episode. Dalton asks Nate who would have been the target if both Yul and Ozzy didn’t win immunity. Nate says Yul was their prime target, because “he’s brilliant” and “Yul’s always thinking long term.”

Raro saw Jonathan talking to Yul a lot. In response to Dalton’s inquiry, Nate says that on the way to Tribal Council he figured the chance of Jonathan flipping was about 70 percent.

An even better indicator followed an earlier conversation he had with Candice. They discovered that no other Raros beside Jonathan had been approached by any of the Aitu four about swapping sides. This implied to them that Aitu had been successful with Jonathan.

Nate says they could read Aitu’s faces going into Tribal Council and they were very calm, so the Raros knew one of them was in trouble. Once Nate saw Jeff reveal his name on a vote, he knew he was done for.

The clip of Yul’s strategy/coercion with Jonathan is aired. Dalton reminds Nate that after the mutiny, he promised Jonathan would not break them up, and Dalton wonders what happened. Jenna says, “Karma is a bizzle,” and Nate agrees.

Nate says they got too comfortable with the amount of food Jonathan was bringing in. Also, he was their “get out of jail” card, meaning, if they had to vote again he was gone. I must say, they forgot to play that card last week!

Our first caller today is Brandon from Arkansas. He wonders if Nate was mad at Ozzy as well. Yes, and he had very strong words for Ozzy upon his exit. Nate respected Ozzy as a player, so it upset him when Ozzy didn’t give him any warning that he was about to be booted.

Remember that one for later, we’ll be referring back to it. The hosts have said many times that one should not announce to targets they are about to be booted, or else things may change in an unfavorable manner. They don’t say it today, though.

Jenna notes that it was Jonathan who decided who was to be booted. She points out correctly that his best interests are not necessarily the best interests of the others. Dalton points out that the other obvious choice, Adam, is not really a strategy threat. But since Nate was, that’s why he was the correct choice, and that’s why they let Jonathan appear to have his way.

Ron in Oklahoma asks what interaction they have with the crew during filming. Dalton intercepts, relating that the crew only talks to you during an interview. Otherwise, they ignore the players and everyone goes about their own business. Nate says, “You forget they are there after a while, you zone them out.”

Dalton says when he spent his one night on Exile Island (pre-show); they filmed him trying to make fire for about a minute, and then walked away. He says, “That told me I was no way close to making fire!” Jenna confirms the crew is mute when questioned by a player; Rob Cesternino only wanted a nod to indicate how the Jets were doing, and he got nothing from them.

Linda from Washington wonders when Nate figured out he was gone no matter if Jonathan flipped or not. Nate admits he had harsh words for Jonathan but says, “I think he’s a good person outside the game… but inside the game, there was bad blood between us.”

The hosts aren’t too sure Nate would have been the target, but I am. Jenna thinks Jonathan had alpha-male issues with Nate. I say Aitu knew Nate was the biggest threat on Raro and needed to be addressed first.

Nate relates that Jonathan called them, “Lazy, and psychos, and stuff.” He insists they were doing just fine before Jonathan got there.

Dalton reminds Nate he sent Jonathan to Exile Island on day two. Nate says it wasn’t just about stealing the chickens; it was because removing a male from that team would weaken them the most, as they would only have one male left. In that case I might have chosen a big, buff, young stud named Adam instead of elder Jonathan.

Speaking of Jonathan, Jenna points out his bad track record in the game and calls him, “A ticking time bomb you can’t rely on,” and adds the words “hyena” and “scavenger.” She continues that Yul should take Jonathan to final two if he wants to win or an alliance mate if he wants to be nice.

Virginia’s Taylor asks Nate why Raro had Hiki’s boat. He says when they merged, they both got two boats each and that’s just how the boats were split up. Jenna admits she doesn’t pay that close attention and can’t remember the original tribe names. I can’t think of a better way to end the first segment.

The second segment begins with a graphic telling us Nate’s first CD is about to come out. His hip-hop group is named “E2 THE I.” It also tells us he plays with other bands as well.

Dalton asks Nate about the mutiny, and how since then Raro is portrayed as the villains. Nate agrees it was weird and adds, “That mutiny was the death of us.”

When Aitu kidnapped Nate a few episodes back, he learned that Candice wanted to get back with Adam and Parvati and that Sundra was interested in reuniting with the original Hiki members. So when Candice jumped, he knew she would be okay with them. However, he knew it was “bad karma” when she didn’t wait for the merge to rejoin them.

Jenna mentions that Candice seems to have received a free pass when she mutinied. Nate reiterates that Candice was more welcome and comfortable with them.

The next caller is Sharese from New York. She asks his reactions to J.P. and Jenny being voted out. Nate heard the question as “J.P. and Stephannie,” and we don’t get his thoughts on Jenny’s ouster. Safe to say, he was upset it wasn’t Jonathan who was sent home instead.

What Nate did say is, he knew the women were trying to control the numbers. Nate insists he wasn’t out of the loop, he knew what was going on, but just didn’t agree with it. Additionally, when they voted out Stephannie, he wasn’t being a “race traitor,” it was because she was less an asset than J.P.

He says that when you merge, you don’t see color. They knew J.P. was bossy, but Nate could live with that and they needed him in the challenges.

Jenna asks if they were shocked when they found out (12th-place) Brad was going to be on the jury. Nate says, “Quite shocking.” He explains that the shots of he and Jenny smiling at that point was not because they were happy to be done with Brad, but because they had just figured out that they had made it to the jury as well.

He reiterates the boot reasons for Brad that we already knew – not swimming, not voting against Cristina, and comments that brought his loyalty into doubt. After seeing post-game how readily Brad would have flipped back to be with Yul, he feels all the more vindicated.

Dalton wonders if the “Brad not swimming” discussion was over-played. Nate reminds us he was kidnapped at the time and not part of the pre-challenge planning. In an earlier challenge Brad had volunteered himself as a strong swimmer, so in a challenge where Nate couldn’t participate, the timing of Brad deciding not to swim caused Nate concern. He thinks Brad was trying to get under the radar and be perceived as less of a threat.

The next clip is the rather disturbing (if you are male) shot of Nate on the zipline. Jenna says that even if you have a belt, you run out of notches. Nate confirms that he lost so much weight his pants didn’t stay up.

Dalton’s next clip is of Nate’s parting words, where he crapped on Jonathan. Jenna says his and Survivor: Amazon Christy’s parting words may have been the best angry parting words ever. Nate nods and says, after starving and sweating only to be shot in the back, it stung.

Both hosts note that almost every booted player has had bad things to say about Jonathan. Jenna reminds us she’s called him “abrasive.” (I think that’s about the nicest thing she’s said, actually.) Dalton is fine with the fact that lying is a part of the game and feels you can be a traitor when it’s called for, but you have to make people like or respect you somewhere along the way if you want to win.

Dalton hustles us back to the phones. Ray from Pennsylvania guesses about the way the even number of jurors will be resolved. He thinks the last person voted out will get two votes. Dalton guesses one juror will be nullified. Jenna takes it a little further and says she thinks the final immunity challenge winner gets to nullify a vote, though they still get to ask a question. We’ll see.

Alas, there are no free buffs for clever theories this week, so Ray asks his question. In retrospect, does Nate see Jonathan had no choice but to flip sides, as he was fifth of five on Raro? Nate sees that point.

Jenna points out Jonathan’s possible use as a desirable final-two opponent and asks Nate if he’d have let Jonathan get that far. He replies, “No satisfaction for him, he’s done (at five),” and adds, “Jenny should’ve still been in the game.” Yes, Jenny wasn’t going to flip, she told us that last week. Not booting the untrustworthy Jonathan cost the Raros the big money.

Jenna also points out that Yul may have lied to Jonathan and that he’s still in fifth place. That’s true. She adds that with this flip, Jonathan has screwed himself with both tribes and shown himself to be a traitor. Dalton says it’s one way to get to the final two. Jenna says he can’t win though, and Dalton agrees. Last week, I pointed out that $100K makes the sting go away quickly, and I’ll stand by that.

Nate has obviously been thinking about this situation a lot. He suggests that what Jonathan should have done was say to Yul he was with them and he’ll help them vote out Nate, but to vote against Yul instead. Like earlier caller Linda said, Nate knows that would still force him out of the game, but it would also force out the hidden idol and put everyone back on even footing.

Well, perhaps… but next week the vote would be four-four and Jonathan would be trying to beat Yul in a fire-building tie-breaker contest. Very possibly, he would end up in eighth place instead of fifth or second.

Dalton says they could probably talk about this topic all day, and finally, there’s a statement no one can disagree with. But it’s time to move along.

Dalton next introduces the “Probst’s Thoughts” feature, where a message Jeff Probst recorded about the departing player is played. Jeff remembers when he first met Nate and says Nate had made it onto the show about five minutes after they met him. He hopes Nate stays in touch with him; he likes his spirit, and says he was a threat from day one on the show. Nate says Jeff “has a warm spirit” and made it somewhat easier to be out there, especially at Tribal Council. He promises he’ll keep in touch.

Dalton reminds us he was at the first Tribal Council, and tells us Nate’s humor and openness is exactly what they like to see. Nate says the Tribal Council was a very cool place.

Lindsay in California asks if Nate wants to go into the entertainment business like his brother. “Definitely so.” Jenna likes the “Daily Ten” show, on E! Channel.

Starting the final segment as usual is the “minus 10” feature, where Dalton reads ten rapid-fire categories for the guest to comment on, each in ten words or less. Few of the rambling responses were that short, so I’ve tried to focus on the gist of what he said. Here’s how it went:

• 10. Jonathan Penner – Whack, whack, whack, whack, and extra whack
• 9. The Survivor booze cruise – Fun, faded, full, gluttonous, enjoyable, exciting, and awesome, it was cool
• 8. Eli Manning – Disappointing, disappointing, disappointing, whack
• 7. Paddling – Hard, no unison, rough, whack
• 6. Parvati – Sweet, cute, va-va-voom, boxer, princess, that’s my home-girl
• 5. Mutiny – Death, virus, whack, snap, karma
• 4. Nancy-boy – That was a whack comment, my boy took it the wrong way. Love ya, Brad!
• 3. Harry Smith – Very cool
• 2. Manihiki – Heart, because it was rough in the beginning
• 1. Jenna’s footwear – (shakes his head) That’s gotta get a straight “snap”

After Nate has used the term several times, Jenna asks him to define “snap.” It can either be used for something good, or something bad.

Jenna asks about opening the bottle that told them they had to boot a second player. Nate says, “We knew it was a bottle of funk.”

Ross in Ohio is calling to ask what it is about the hidden immunity idol that makes players stupid. Nate says, “The idol is a shotgun. When you put it to someone’s head, they don’t think right because they fear (it).”

Expressing some thoughts that have been dying to get out since before the last segment ended, Jenna leaps into a rant. It’s about the hidden idol, and whether it’s “fair and necessary” that “you dig for an hour and you get to the final two.” Dalton says it’s fair, but the others disagree and it gets rather spirited.

Nate thinks everyone should be given a six-hour chance to find the hidden idol and calls it “luck of the draw” that some got to search while others didn’t. Jenna and Nate refer to going to Exile Island as “an opportunity.”

Dalton reminds us that neither Terry nor Gary (hidden idol finders from previous seasons) made it to final two.

Jenna next says, “The people that are finding it are ‘not the most exciting people,’ so it’s not like they would stand out without the idol.” Dalton asks her if she doesn’t feel Yul is standing out in this game and she clarifies, “Personality-wise.” She admits he stands out challenge-wise, but says personality-wise, he’s under the radar. Dalton disagrees with Jenna on this, too.

Nate thinks Yul would stand out because “he’s strong, and his strategy is amazing, and he knows numbers. He can always calculate numbers and possibilities.” Aren’t we talking about numbers like four and five here?

However, Nate feels Yul has had an easier ride because of the idol. I can’t really buy that either, as his team’s constant successes in challenges has had nothing to do with the hidden idol.

Dalton points out that people go to Exile Island because others send them as punishment; they don’t go by choice. Jenna says, “But not everyone gets to go there.”

Jenna continues by saying that although the hidden idol does make the show exciting, “As a person who has played the game, from that perspective, how is it fair for you to get past me when you only dug for an hour and I’ve done so much more work?”

Nate completely agrees, and then he and Jenna agree the game isn’t fair. Nate doesn’t think it’s fair that Ozzy, who has been feeding his tribe, may well go home first. This mess mercifully ends with Jenna and Nate agreeing that Survivor is not a fair game.

Having not played the game, I don’t agree with most of that. Beyond what Dalton said, these are my own rebuttal points:

• Ask Adam or Candice if Exile Island is “an opportunity” or hell on earth.
• It took a lot more than an hour of random physical labor to find the idol.
• Jenna did work that equates to an hour of heavy digging?
• Many different types of players have won the game, and that’s what makes it exciting. On day 39, no one cares who caught the most fish. The one with the best personality usually comes up short as well.

Here’s a counter-proposal of my own: Limit the power of the hidden immunity idol so it is only effective for a specific number of Tribal Councils. If not used, it must be forfeited and buried again in a new location. On the last season of Big Brother, Mike Boogie won a somewhat comparable power that was only effective for three votes. Three seems like a fair number for this game, too.

The next clip is the merge celebration. Dalton asks if the Aitus were drinking as much as the Raros. Nate says it’s the editing.

Patricia in California asks if Nate tried to talk to Jonathan to try and cultivate his loyalty and his vote. He did, though it was not shown. Nate reiterates that he likes Jonathan as a person but still wishes they’d kept Jenny and tossed Jonathan instead.

Dalton asks Nate about the way he “Denzil’d” Brad. Nate says, “I was definitely portrayed as a bad boy, because Brad and I were cool. But, I think it was smart for us not to say anything, it’s the kind of game where the person who’s going, you just don’t let them know. Because, you don’t want them to try to do anything.” He ends with, “To keep him in the dark and play him? Yeah, maybe it wasn’t ‘nice Nate,’ but definitely, I needed to play him.”

One flashes back to the start of this article, where Brandon called in, and Nate related that he ragged on Ozzy for not telling Nate he was going to be booted. If it was okay for Nate to treat Brad as he did, what Ozzy didn’t do was mild by comparison. I like my players to go out angry, but you have to stay rational, too.

The final call is from Phil in Texas. He remembers that Brad and Stephannie were both voted out because Nate played up minor statements they had made and wonders if Nate did that to deflect attention from himself. Nate says, “Stephannie, straight up, had tapped out. Her head was not in the game and I saw the difference. I love her, but, she shouldn’t have been in the game further than J.P.”

About Brad, Nate says that with his comments, “Brad shot himself in the foot,” because he raised trust issues. Nate does not regret that they got rid of him, and it was a consensus opinion at the time.

At last it’s time for Jenna Morasca’s “Question of the Week,” “Can you tell us a little more about what you are going to do now?” The CD is coming out soon. His group’s name (“E2 THE I”) stands for “Ebony to the Ivory” and refers to the black-white integrated nature of the duo. He would also be interested in following opportunities through his brother’s show.

The final piece of business is running the CBS promo. Jonathan’s betrayal sends the tribe reeling; and lines are drawn over sharing food. And Jonathan says, “Bollocks!”

Jenna thinks it’s “appalling” that someone is sneaking food. She admits she did it whenever she could, just not in front of the others. She wonders, “Is this the fall from grace of the “Angel Tribe?”

Jenna boxing-dances us out, and we are done.

CBS Website Clues:

• One tribe member is berated for their vote at the last Tribal Council, causing others to plot this Survivor’s exit from the game. Can this Survivor save themself from elimination?
• At the Reward Challenge, the Survivors are left stunned when one of them reveals some shocking news to the group.
• The Immunity Challenge tests the Survivors’ recollection of the past thirty days of the game. Which Survivor’s memory will serve them well and keep them safe for another week?
• At Exile Island, one tribe member’s spirit takes a beating. How will their seclusion from the tribe affect their morale?
• Emotions run high when one alliance decides to eat dinner alone without including the other tribemates. Will this behavior work in their favor or make them bigger targets?

Trivia Answers: This was a bit of a trick question – there are two answers. Sean Rector from Survivor: Marquesas and Ted Rogers from Survivor: Thailand both finished fifth.

Last week’s question was about votes being recorded against only two players in every tribal council in a season. Although my response to the question was correct, there was an error in its basic premise… that scenario does not apply for this season. Whoops! Both Jonathan and Candice received votes when Cao Boi was eliminated. Thanks to readers Asher and Justin for pointing this out, and in a mature manner.

Everyone is invited to share his or her opinions at the eAddress below. I’ll be back next week to report on the latest Survivor Live webcast. Scheduling returns to normal now – the Thursday episode will be followed by Survivor Live on Friday afternoon.

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

Brian lives in Toronto where he can be reached at uncle_bto@rogers.com. He’d like to hear your opinions and promises to respond to all serious email!

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