Monday, May 14

The Dreamz Situation

If you haven't been watching this latest series of Survivor, this won't be of interest to you.  If you haven't yet seen the finale episode, don't read this if you plan on watching later.

There's lots of debate on the internets today about how immoral Dreamz was to betray Yau Man's trust and renege on the promise he made in return for the truck Yau won.  Most everyone thinks Dreamz did something truly awful when he went back on his word.  I have a different opinion.
If I was a contestant in the game of Survivor, one thing that I would know about myself is that, within the confines of the game, I'd say anything to better my chances of winning.  I would swear on my whatever's life to make a promise and then turn around and break that promise if it suited my situation in the game.  Absolutely everything I said to anyone in the game could possibly be a lie.  I would also expect that absolutely everything that anyone in the game said to me would potentially be a lie.  I am always surprised when players in the game don't take that into consideration.

I suspect that when Dreamz initially and impetuously made the deal, he (despite his arguments to the contrary) fully expected to follow through on his promise, and only later on did he change his mind.  Some people think because of this, it makes him a lesser human.  It makes him a liar and betrayer. I don't think so.

For me, anything goes within the confines of the game.  Like he said, there's "the game" and there's "reality".  In my opinion, you can say anything in the game and it should not be taken as a representation of the way you'd behave in reality.  So Dreamz, you're okay in my book.  Doesn't that make you feel better?

As for Survivor Fiji, I thought it started out pretty weak.  I didn't like the Upstairs/Downstairs luxury vs. poverty angle and thought the show was pretty boring until they ditched that concept at "the merge".  After that, though, I thought this was one of the most strategically interesting rounds of the show yet.  Many aspects and strategies and counter-strategies worked so perfectly that I actually started to wonder if the show was being "written" a bit.  A few too many perfect coincidences, I thought.  A couple of times when a contestant would say something bold and declarative, only to have that surety pulled totally out from under their feet.  There were some fantastic, literally, jaw-dropping moments this season, all of which made for great television entertainment and made up for the lacklustre start to the season.
Reflecting on the contestants, it's obvious that Lisi needs some psychiatric help.  She reminds me of Tony Soprano's sister Janice.  Nutjob.  YauMan was a real treat to watch, a great player.  As was Earl.  I was disappointed that Cassandra made it to the final three, as I never really like the player who succeeds solely by latching on early to a strong alliance.
Anyway, blah blah blah.



4 comments:

Tracy said...

Rob, ITA with your take on DreamZ. There's no way that boy knew at the time that he would go back on his word to Yau-Man. He's saying he knew all along that he wouldn't do it, which is why he lobbied so hard to boot Yau at the next Tribal Council. Nope, don't believe it. He changed his mind, and that's fine by me, whichever way he did it. He played the game and threw more curveballs than anyone.
It was pretty naive of Yau to believe DreamZ would keep his word anyway. Maybe even a bit conceited of him...you know? For him to think he had DreamZ all locked up and knew how he'd play. I dunno.
I'm glad the season picked up after the merge, and I hope that they NEVER do the cushy camp thing again. I wanna see survivors starving and crying and getting chewed up by nasty bugs - not drinking out of tea cups and sleeping on beds...that's what Big Brother is for.

Paul H said...

The best player was not the winner. Yau-man was the man. Earl was number two. Expect to see the wirey computer engineer in an all stars episode. I also wouldn't be surprised if Ford gave him a truck too. I enjoyed watching the guy figure out the best way to do challenges....like kneeling while shooting a bow and arrow. Another twist I enjoyed was the double immunity idols and the fact you had to use yours "before" the votes were tallied. Looking forward to Survivor China....

Derek Martin said...

I wish someone had found Yao Man's fake idol and tried to use it. Rocky might have been dumb enough. I thought Yao Man was perhaps trying to break the 'vehicle winners don't win Survivor curse', but it's like the Monkey's Paw - it'll still get you.

dylan said...

i thought the mistake that yau-man made was by making it obvious that they would vote dreamz out. If instead he and Earl had told Dreamz they would vote out Cassandra(playing up the whole "she doesn't deserve the final three" angle) Dreamz probably keeps his word and gives Yau-Man the immunity. then a quick knife in the back from earl and yau and voila top three is the way they want it.
My other lol moment was Boo trying to convince ppl that Dreamz made no enemies. the betrayed members of the Four Horseman sure didn't like Dreamz.