Survivor: Cook Islands, Episode 13’s Missing Intelligence Award – Farewell, My Nudie Boxer

First, a resounding “thank effing goodness” to Ozzy for winning immunity so Aitu couldn’t shoot themselves in the foot any more than they already may have! I am still of the strongly held opinion that they needed to oust either Adam or Parvati before thinking of turning on themselves.

Now, however, I actually do think the first time Ozzy doesn’t have immunity, they need to smack the boy down with a vote out. Don’t get me wrong, I like him, and I want him to go all the way. However, if I were Yul or any of the others, I’d want him out. He’s been a bit of a loner, and shown as not so much part of the Aitu vs. Raro drama, except for being the ultimate dolphin and winning a lot for Aitu when it was crucial, but I mean in the social aspect of it all. Thus, he’d probably win votes on the jury. Plus, he’s shown he’s great at all the things of which final challenges tend to be made. Adam’s balance sucks, his intelligence is questionable, and he actually hasn’t delivered as much as expected (by his own admission!) in challenges he should dominate. Were I Becky, Sundra, or Yul, I’d toss Ozzy next if he doesn’t have immunity, and then hope Adam doesn’t win it.

I’m wondering if Yul even stands a shot at winning this now. Juries rarely seem to vote logically by deciding who played the best game. Instead, they figure out who played the best game by screwing them over, and then vote against that person and give the prize to the moron who rode along and maybe scrambled around at final four and finally started playing the game. Thus, Yul stands hardly a chance against Adam, because Raro doesn’t strike me as mature enough to recognize being outwitted, outlasted, and outplayed. Oh wait, Parvati is TWICE as mature as Jonathan, so of course she will, right?

Does Yul stand a chance against Ozzy? Doubtful. People will see Ozzy as the ultimate Survivor in the sense of surviving, and since he didn’t piss them off as much as Yul did by being an excellent Survivor in the arena of general game play, he would probably win. Against Becky, I’m not so sure. If Yul truly is seen as “the godfather” of all of it, then Becky might win, which would be fairly deserving, because if you can pull some strings (or other things!) and get someone else to do your dirty work (Yul), then that’s pretty good game play. Against Sundra, I’m not so sure either. She hasn’t struck me as overly crafty. She just got into the close bond by default (the mutiny), so she hasn’t really played much from what I’ve seen. Raro might still go for her though, since Yul is seen as the mastermind.

All this roams around in my mind, and I think to myself, “hmm, looks like he should have kept Jonathan!” Because then, you would have a final two that was comprised of two people who did a lot to win the game both in challenges and in strategy. It wasn’t always good, and it sometimes bit them on their behinds, but they were playing and playing well. Yul stood a chance then, because Jonathan had ticked everyone off so much that recognizing his good game play would be more difficult for the petulant Raro people.

What does all of this have to do with the MIA for this week, you may ask? Well, not a helluva lot! My mind is meandering as I anxiously await the finale on Sunday, and I figured I’d let you meander with it. So there!

Of course, the one thing we haven’t seen from any of the players are thoughts on what it means to have such a large jury. Surely they’re discussing it, so I wish we’d see some of that, ya know? They should be running numbers and possibilities and banking on a major twist, but we’re not seeing that. It would help me in deciding who is truly thinking about the game as a whole and not just assuming. We all know what assuming does!

When it comes to the Missing Intelligence Award for this week, I must say, there weren’t very many candidates. The Aitu three are right to consider their fourth a major threat and to want to vote him off soon. Adam and Parvati, despite Yul’s silly admonishment, were right to work Ozzy over in the tent. And Parvati was right to use her main weapon in the hot tub and try to work Ozzy over. The point of the game is not to get voted out, so doing whatever you can to stay longer makes perfect sense.

Thus, I decided to look collectively at the game so far. Last week, I gave the whole Aitu tribe the award for voting out Jonathan. This week, I give it to all of Raro, who blew a huge numbers advantage by either NOT voting out Jonathan or by not keeping him feeling like he was in the loop and a major part of the tribe. He’d flipped once, as had Candice, but while Candice’s flipping seemed totally glossed over if not forgotten by Raro, Jonathan’s had not. It’s amazing what a smile and a pair of boobs will do for young men’s memories.

Raro refused to welcome Jonathan in, but they kept him around to pick other members off. They created a situation where Jonathan was the obvious outcast. He was obviously going at five, and he was not going to be a part of them no matter what he did.

Raro created the situation that allowed Jonathan to realize that his best shot at making it all the way was by flipping yet again. Jonathan created himself as the best candidate for a final two ever by the dual flip, and Raro allowed that to happen by their childish clique and immature antics around camp. Sure, they only had a 5-4 advantage by the time they walked into the merge, but it’s still an advantage, and it could have held if only they’d either voted out Jonathan over Jenny, or if they’d made Jonathan believe he was part of the inner circle. Aitu would have been picked off one by one, and voila, Raro stays intact, even despite the hidden immunity idol if they played it right.

For being childish, petty, and immature, Raro gets this award. Oh, and Parvati gets her own mini-trophy for billing herself as a boxer when her boxing involved waving her hands around topless. I’ve nothing against topless men or women fake boxing for my enjoyment, but don’t call yourself a boxer. Seriously. Rollergirl is more of a boxer than Parvati is!

Enjoy your award, Raro, because if I have my way, it’s the closest you’ll get to the million!

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

Heathyr Fields Ford resides in Washington state with her exceedingly patient boyfriend, four awesome kids, two large macaws, and a harassed cat. She can be reached at heathyranne@hotmail.com.

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