Survivor: Cook Islands- Survivor Live, Episode 6

First, my trivia question. This week, the Aitu tribe got to sit in on Raro’s Tribal Council. Of course, this has happened before. This week’s trivia question is this: Who was the first ever to be allowed to sit in at another tribe’s Tribal Council?

Proceedings start off for real as Dalton reiterates that he hates when the winners of a challenge also have to vote off a tribe member. This season, Cao Boi was the unfortunate victim of that twist.

Oh heck, two bootees, let’s have a second question. The first time we saw this dopey twist (with the challenge-winning team also sending somebody out of the game), who was the unfortunate victim? As usual, the answers will be near the bottom of this article.

Cao Boi says he was only bummed for about five seconds after being booted out, explaining, “After that, let it go. Deal with it, then let it go. The next moment is a different moment.” He wanted to participate in the last challenge but with three other strong younger men on the team, he was outvoted by the others.

Dalton compares “Plan Voodoo” to Big Brother 5’s Nakomis’ “Six Fingered Plan.” Both hosts like the plan. Jenna likes the idea that it would either force the hidden idol to be played, or show where it is. Either way, everyone would be back on a level playing field.

Cao Boi says he asked Yul if he had the Idol, and he said “No.” Both hosts are surprised Yul pulled off the lie.

Dalton gives credit to Cristina for putting up a good fight in the challenge. It is appropriately called “Kicking and Screaming,” by the way. All agree that it got a bit dirty out there. Cristina says that afterward, Yul (from the other team) gave her water. However, her whole tribe didn’t even talk to her, not even saying “nice job” as she lay there, exhausted and choking. Cao Boi confirms that they just left her sitting there.

Jenna assumes Adam (an alpha male, one notes) is the one directing the anti-Cristina “Haterade.” Cristina says Adam and Jenny are the ones manipulating the tribe.

Today’s first caller is Sho, from New York. He asks what they learned from the game. Cao Boi says it’s not to naively trust people who haven’t proven they deserve it. Cristina pretty much agrees.

Dalton asks Cristina who she trusted that then betrayed her. After initially waffling she says, “Jenny said one thing and then did another.” She didn’t get along with Ozzy initially, but they got past it. She was never sure if J.P. and Cecilia were on her side or not. Later on, she got to know J.P. better and now realizes he is a great guy.

Dalton mentions that Jenny drew a shooting gun on the voting card as she voted out Cristina. Classy. Not. Cristina wasn’t sure if it was Parvati or Jenny who had done it until she saw the show. Asked her reaction, she says, “It was hurtful, it was disrespectful.”

Jenna points out that it is a bad move, in case Cristina comes back into the game. Well, since Cristina didn’t know for sure who did it, maybe not.

Cao Boi asks if they knew she was shot on the job and she says that she told them. She cannot be absolutely positive Jenny was there at the time, but she thinks so. More on this topic later.

The clip where Cao Boi outlines “Plan Voodoo” is run. Dalton likes that the plan because both the hidden idol holder and the original White tribe need to be attacked; both their positions in the game are too strong. With Candice sending unsubtle messages to Adam to Tribal Council, it’s apparent that bond is still strong. Cao Boi jokes that Candice probably DID send a come-on to Billy, too!

Andrew from L.A. asks Cao Boi if he told the rest of Aitu that they stumbled into Raro’s camp. They did, and they told the whole story truthfully. It took over an hour to row there and even more to come back, because of the wind and currents. Candice raised the idea of going back to raid the other island at night. However, when Cao Boi told her she’d be rowing this time, that was the end of that!

Cristina feels her tribe was inhospitable and rude to the visitors, however they did give them some tape off of their paddle. Cristina knew you might need these people as allies down the road. Jenna admits she wouldn’t be giving up anything that was edible, like the spices or cocoanuts.

Don from Toronto wants to know how they think they’d have done if, when the tribes were redrafted, they ended up on the other side. Cristina says she would have tried for an alliance with Yul and Becky. She’s not too sure that Jonathan, Ozzy, or Candice were trustworthy. She expects she would have gotten along with Flica and Cao Boi as well.

Cao Boi doesn’t answer but reminds us that every tribe had an “oddball” member. Jenna says that Flica referred to them as “alternative.” Dalton jokes that in Cao Boi’s case, “he’s an oddball.”

Cao Boi confirms that Jonathan also got the “bad wind” treatment. Dalton reminds us Jenna said she would get the treatment on the show. She says, “Maybe later.” Cao Boi says the red mark fades in five minutes if you aren’t actually sick with bad wind. Cristina relates that after her treatment she kept picking at the mark and now she has a permanent scar… but, the pain did go away!

Dalton introduces a “Probst’s Thoughts” segment, where series host Jeff Probst records a message to the departing player. This message is for Cao Boi. Jeff says, “If we could have a guy like you on every season, I promise you, we would.” Jeff goes on to say he likes his sense of humor, even his pushing the envelope by making ethnic jokes within his Asian tribe and insisting it was appropriate. Perhaps everyone didn’t agree, but Cao Boi stood his ground. Jeff ends by saying, “You brought a lot of entertainment to the show with you funky ways and it was very fun to have you on.”

Expressing his thoughts on the initial ethnic tribal split, Cao Boi wonders how five people could represent the millions of Asians. He insists you can only represent yourself. Jenna comments that some stereotypes came out (like Africa-Americans not doing well in the water), but most of the jokes were made within their own original tribes.

Cristina doesn’t necessarily agree with all Cao Boi is saying. I’m not clear if she’s addressing him in particular or talking about folks in general, but she cautions that one needs to be careful what they say and consider how it may be interpreted. I get the feeling Cao Boi gets and ignores that particular bit of advice at least one a week!

Segment two begins with a call from Mike in Boston, who asks if they all saw Candice blowing kisses to Adam at Tribal council. Cristina says she was a little more concerned about getting voted off. Jenna suspects watching people eat held little attraction for her, either. Cao Boi reminds us he is a vegetarian, so he didn’t miss the feast.

Jenna’s dad told her that as a show of solidarity, Nate should have announced he was not going to partake in the feast. Cao Boi likes the idea because it shows loyalty to your tribe. Jenna says she wouldn’t miss out on a feast. Dalton says it’s a delicate balance; you don’t want to offend future possible merge-mates on Aitu.

Jim in Texas asks Cao Boi about the Aitu tribe’s distrust of Jonathan. He says Jonathan’s eyes roll when he talks and he constantly goes back and forth to people, so you know he’s working them. He’s aggressive and makes people feel uncomfortable. The hosts like that Jonathan’s playing hard but say it has to be done in a more subtle way.

Still pictures of both Ethan and Ozzy are shown. The resemblance, to my eye, is very slight. When prompted by Dalton, Jenna says Ethan is the cuter one. Just. Shoot. Me.

Dalton says he’s waited long enough, he wants to see the challenge clip run, complete with choking. Post clip, Dalton says the only thing missing was handcuffs. He asks what rules the players were given. Cristina replies, “No choking, pressure points, no control holds, no kicking.” No hair pulling, either, I guess. I think every one of those rules was violated, but rule enforcement was non-existent.

They all agree that Candice set the tone with her high level of resistance in the first leg. I can testify that Parvati and Rebecca had nothing left when it was time to pry Sundra away from her perch!

Dalton asks Cristina about the decision to send Candice to Exile Island several episodes ago. Cristina didn’t think it mattered, and Adam was very vocal about it. She now realizes the other white tribe members may indeed have been trying to protect Candice.

Brett from North Carolina wonders if their opinions of their tribe mates changed after watching the show. Cristina initially thought everyone was nice, but then found them “very rude, conniving, and very disrespectful. It wasn’t a game any more, it was more of a personal thing with me, and about me being a cop. It got out of hand and I had to say something around the campfire. I knew it was a risk but I had to say what I had to say.”

Cao Boi says, “I have no hard feelings. You gotta take people the way they are and accept them the way they are. If you don’t like them, then keep them out of your life. Surround yourself with as many good people as you can.” Dalton comments on Cao Boi’s “inner calm” that he (Dalton) noticed back in the pre-show interviews.

Jenna says his tribe may have been too young to truly understand him. Cao Boi says that as Asians growing up in America, they all have issues from suppressing their true feelings because it’s how they were brought up.

Dalton asks Cristina about throwing a challenge, noting the “karma chameleon” is still in effect (except for self-evicting Stephannie, a Latino has gone every week). She says initially, she was not in agreement with the decision but really couldn’t do much about it.

Some new information comes out next. Cristina voted Billy off because, although it was not shown, he was sick (up-chucking and dehydrated), and not drinking the water. “He was not going to be able to help us later on,” she says.

Rich from Long Island is a retired New York police officer and knows former winner Tom Westman. He thinks Jenny has transformed from a background character to the series villain. He is outraged at Jenny’s classless voting card. In fact, he’s pretty pissed about doing that to a cop and hopes Cristina gets back at Jenny at the Reunion Show. When he calls Jenny the “lowest of the low,” Dalton mercifully cuts him off before he says something too wrong… or too slanderous.

Dalton is not defending her but wonders again what Jenny’s intentions truly were. Jenna says even if you don’t know Cristina’s history, you don’t go there with a cop. Additionally, “It’s a very cowardly way to pick on someone, because they can have no retaliation.” Cao Boi notes that in other votes Jenny has also included little diagrams, and thinks it’s probably not maliciously intended, but just immature.

Maybe, but I’m with caller Rick on this one. Even if her crime is merely being thoughtless, I say she has some serious explaining and apologizing to do. Whew, some heavy topics are coming up this week!

Ashley from Oregon asks Cao Boi, was he comfortable making “Plan Voodoo” on the assumption Jonathan had the idol? Yes, he believed Yul when he claimed not to have the idol. Cao Boi insists he would have continued to work to flush out the hidden idol and understands why Yul went after him. Dalton says it was a good plan because Cao Boi was already a target and needed to deflect attention elsewhere. Jenna asks why he was a target and he says it was either Flica or himself.

It’s time for more of “Probst’s Thoughts,” and this time Cristina is the subject. Jeff says he liked Cristina the minute he met her. “She takes life seriously, maybe a little too seriously at times,” he says. Jeff respected that she held her ground and fought for what she believed in. Cristina appreciates these thoughts. Both players like Jeff Probst a lot.

Dalton asks Cristina if being a police officer affected how others perceived her. She suspects, “I think it played a big factor. It overshadowed who I was as a person.” “It was more about me the cop” and says no one else was referred to as, say, “Becky, the real estate lawyer.”

Ricky in Chicago wants the tied vote situation clarified. Cao Boi says they “duel” to resolve it (usually a race to make fire). Jenna says they used to revote, but the two who tied were immune. As far as I know, Cao Boi has it right for the current show.

Cao Boi details for us that his plan called for the guys were to vote for Candice and the ladies for Jonathan – split by gender, to keep it impersonal.

This brings us to the final segment. Cao Boi reveals his presence on Survivor was foreseen by many Vietnamese fortunetellers. They told him that around age 41-42 (he’s 42) he would be in a situation, jail-like, where people would be eliminated all around him. But he would survive it and never have to worry about money again. Umm… wow.

Cao Boi is looking forward to being judged by the whole world and Jenna notes he scores high in the CBS popularity poll. Actually, he was ranking high earlier on but now he has dropped back into the pack. Parvati has assumed a tiny lead over Yul. Me, I just don’t get the whole Parvati thing, my tastes run more to Ms. Oakley!

Cristina says she’s getting plenty of ribbing from her fellow cops, but it also comes with a lot of support from Survivor fans.

The clip is run from the start of this week’s episode where Cristina is displeased how she was at being called “annoying” at the previous Tribal Council. Adam insists she doesn’t say “please.” The hosts commiserate with her. Cristina says she opened herself up and if the worst that happens is she cried a bit, that’s not so bad.

Cristina says both Adam and Jenny have a way of talking that deflects attention from themselves and onto others.

The next caller is “Big Daddy” from Alabama, who does Jenna’s MySpace page. Jenna plugs her upcoming VH1 appearance on Sunday the 22nd, 10PM. He wonders why Nate and not Cristina was the one kidnapped by Aitu and thinks it was a bad decision. Cristina and Jenna agree with Big Daddy.

Dalton suggests Cristina is the strongest female; so if he were in Aitu, then letting Raro vote her off is fine by him. No one else agrees. Cao Boi says they all liked Nate. Dalton disagrees, saying, “I can’t believe that with Yul and Jonathan and Becky, that this would be a decision based on who they want to hang out with. It’s got to be strategy all the way. So what’s the strategic reason?”

Jenna notes Aitu doesn’t need Nate’s strength because they are already winning most of the challenges. She thinks that by removing Cristina from the equation and forcing Raro to make a quick decision, they might make a mistake and vote out someone like Adam. I’m guessing it would probably have been Rebecca going, but it would have been interesting to see how some of the folks in multiple alliances like Parvati, Adam and Jenny would have voted.

Todd from Georgia is surprised he’s on the air. He uses many words to ask how it feels to be eliminated. Cristina says, “It sucked!” Cao Boi says, “I don’t get to continue my adventure any further, so it’s time for a new one. It’s fine for me.”

We almost missed it this week, but it’s time for the “minus 10” feature. Dalton reads ten categories for Cao Boi and Cristina to comment on, each in less than ten words. They will respond to alternate questions, Cao Boi first. Here’s how it went:

• (Cao Boi) “Plan Voodoo” – Awesome
• (Cristina) Throwing challenges – Not called for
• Marathon softball – Lack of sleep
• Law enforcement – Really awesome
• Bad wind – Be careful, you may get it
• Billy Garcia – Incredible person, off the game
• Ethnic stereotypes – We all do it
• Being called “annoying” – Rude and disrespectful
• The Loyal Order of Moose – Take care of the young, take care of the old, take care of each other (too many words, he’s buzzed)
• J.Lo – Beautiful

Some notes on the above. Cao Boi played in a charity softball event that was a hundred hours long. The Loyal Order of the Moose is a fraternal organization dedicated to making lives better for children and the elderly, and Cao Boi is a member. Additionally, Cristina worked as a technical consultant on JLo’s movie, “Angel Eyes.”

Sharon from Ohio asks when they noticed the romance between Adam and Candice. Cristina never saw it. Cao Boi says she’s a smart player and a great liar, but Dalton says she made a mistake that tells her current team she is ready to throw them under a bus

Austin from California has his question reworded to be, “What other player do you like?” Cristina names Brad. Cao Boi likes Brad too but picks Ozzy. He also likes Flica.

Time must be drawing short, as it’s time for “Jenna’s Big Question of the Week.” She asks Cao Boi, “What are you going to do now?” he says, “You know where I’m at? If you have an adventure, give me a call!” Cao Boi tells us he’s a priest in the Moose Order, and as such he has to play the game without backstabbing or being devious.

Jenna asks Cristina the same thing. Her plans are just to go back to work and do some charity events. Jenna mentions Ethan’s annual Survivor soccer charity event. I’ll be telling you more about that in a few weeks and the organizer is a regular reader of this column.

Dalton has the promo clip for next week run. Nate causes Aitu stress; Ozzy’s stock skyrockets; and one Exiled Survivor takes a beating.

Morasca the mean wants them to make a rule about not eating any more fish because they aren’t suffering enough. Cao Boi says he only drank cocoanut juice and ate cocoanuts. For him, that was all he wanted. Dalton points out that they aren’t being given food, they’re finding it.

Cao Boi and Ozzy thought they’d be better off if the game was in a tougher environment and without Survivor school, because they are better at that aspect of the game.

Alas, that’s the end. To the rocking strains of the Survivor: Live theme, Jenna dances us out in a wacky Bizarro-Riverdance fashion. We’re done!

CBS Website Clues:

Last weeks’ promo items were pretty indicative of the episode. So this week, I’d be expecting smoke and mirrors. Or I would be, had any website clues been posted.

Trivia Answers:

Here are the answers to my trivia questions. First off, in the Survivor: Vanuatu season, Lopevi tribe member John K. was the one who sat in on the Yasur Tribal Council, surprisingly bestowing immunity to Ami.

Secondly, Survivor: Palau’s Willard was the victim of the first incarnation of what I call the worst Survivor twist since the ridiculous “Outcast Tribe.”

In Conclusion:

This was a very enjoyable episode. It’s too bad we didn’t get a full episode of Cai Boi, who is one of the more interesting players ever. It was also unfair to Cristina, who was rather shafted in the game and never got to fully tell her tale.

Everyone is invited to share his or her opinions at the eAddress below. I’ll be back next week to report on another Survivor Live interview!

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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