Tandang: There Goes the Tangled Web

Going by the episode, Tandang appeared to be on good form this week, cruising to a win in the immunity challenge.  I was surprised, therefore, to watch the videos on the CBS site and find that prior to the challenge, Tandang was at a very low ebb indeed.

As a frustrated Michael explained, they are a good, cohesive team; they just aren't any good at survival.  Being of an old-fashioned, play-nice school of Survivor, he didn't name any names, but it's a shock to hear that his team hadn't succeeded in making fire, even though they have flint.  They've had five days of rain, of course, and RC explained on her facebook page that the shelter was not up before the rain started.  Artis, speaking after the challenge, confirmed that they went six days without fire and therefore virtually no food, saying they were as depleted as a tribe could get.  Pete went even further, saying that he had no idea how they won the challenge, but had they lost it would have been over for the tribe.

Tandang camp: so bad that Monty Brinton waited until
the challenge to take this week's official pictures.

Clearly, that's hyperbole.  If nothing else, the despair would have continued for five of them, but really it was the rain that was the problem, and if it stays sunny for a few days, I expect all of the tribes will be feeling better.  But Tandang was hit harder than the other tribes.  For all their issues, Matsing were able to get fire before the rains started, and their shelter seems strong.  Kalabaw look like they have had success in starting fire thanks to their deluxe kit, plus they have a cave for dry storage or extra shelter.  Tandang definitely had the worst living experience of the group, not to mention a returner from a season when they were allowed to bring waterproof clothing.

And that's what we need to bear in mind when looking at what the tribemates were doing this week.  Lisa was the most obviously affected, no doubt compounded by the divorce a few days prior to going out to the Philippines.  Like Roxy, she seemed to be feeling the insincerity of game-relationships, or perhaps she just didn't want other people to see her crying, because she reacted by taking herself off to the well when she needed her moment.

This is a terrible, terrible move in Survivor, to isolate yourself voluntarily from your tribe.  Yet I have full sympathy for her.  Were I to play the game (an impossibility, but we all think about it), I'd probably need to do the same thing: find myself a solitary moment just to get my head straight from all the stress and paranoia. It would be a catch 22 situation: hoping that there's nothing going on back at camp in my absence, but fearing that I'd have some kind of meltdown and destroy my game if I didn't get a break.  I can't know what Lisa's thought processes were, but I can't blame her for this error either.

Of course, the downfall here was that everybody assumed she was looking for the idol, and it was clear from their conversation that this is not the first time she's gone off by herself.  It's such an obvious conclusion to jump to--nine times out of ten, they'd be right--and it fits in with their assumption that Lisa is shady.  I should probably note here that it's entirely possible that Lisa has been looking for the idol, and that was the only time she went off to cry instead.  However, she's not going to find it without the clue.

On the not-really-a-plus side, Lisa has succeeded in keeping her cover.  As far as we can tell, Michael is still the only person who knows she's an actress.  Personally, I am cherishing the thought that they never learn her secret and were blissfully unaware until the promos started airing and they were all: "What the... how come Lisa's getting all my screentime?"

Anyway, back to that idol clue.  Lisa narrowly missed out on spotting RC's discovery of it, but RC managed to keep her composure and come back for the clue later.  Apparently, RC was happy to retrieve the clue in Abi-Maria's presence.  Perhaps it was because she didn't want to risk waiting until she was completely alone, but either way, she trusted Abi enough for that.

Abi didn't see it that way, instead thinking it was lucky that she happened to be there when RC found the clue.  From there, her paranoia escalated until she confronted RC with her Godfather bit.  It's not the first time we've seen bullying tactics used on Survivor, and it won't be the last, but it is unusual to go down the intimidation road so early and with so little provocation.

Not to be fucked with

I have to assume that the misery of camplife was putting Abi under a lot of stress.  It's also possible that she was coming to realise that RC, the girl who looked like a simple model pre-game, was actually smarter and readier to take the initiative than Abi had bargained for, and this was all about trying to regain control.

It didn't really work.  RC was caught off-guard by the confrontation and responded meekly enough--which was possibly an act, although I think the shock of finding that she was not solid with Abi hit her hard, especially since she was probably looking to Abi for moral support too.  But RC knows what she's doing in this game and sooner or later she'll rally and adapt her gameplan... this time marginalising Abi-Maria.

The other problem with the confrontation is that it hinted at Abi's age.  Bullies aren't necessarily older, but intimidation tactics are usually used by older people on younger ones.  If Abi wants to play that she's in her mid-twenties or so and be underestimated, she really can't be going down the godfather route.  I can't see how she can recover from this mistake, so she's going to need to adjust the gameplan.

Part of the problem for both girls is that the tribes were so small.  Both have seen enough of the show to know the types of people that get cast and make up a typical tribe.  They were looking for the bubbly but clueless girl to befriend and lead, but there wasn't one on their tribe.  Similarly, they wanted to find the guy who was all ego and muscles but no head for the game, and since Pete looked the part, they tried to make him fit it.

Pete's plan, of course, was to hide his intelligence, so he should have been happy to be underestimated in this fashion.  But then came the challenge, and with Tandang's morale so low, everybody was hungry to win.  Pete and RC stepped up to do the puzzle, both putting aside the fact that they were trying to hide how much of an all-rounder they could be at challenges.  They delivered a blinding performance giving Tandang the victory.  Cue confessionals from half the tribe describing how tribe morale had gone through the roof.

The breakdown of roles at the challenge was a little interesting.  Abi-Maria explained in an online video that she figured she could do all of the elements of the challenge, but she didn't shine at any of them, and other people were so keen to step up that she felt she would 'sacrifice' herself and sit out.  Curiously, it sounded as if she just announced this to Jeff without discussing it with her tribe, but I'm going to assume there was agreement beforehand, since nobody else commented on it.

What was notable was that Abi looked decidedly cheesed off as she explained this; it's hard to resent a win, but it's also not great if your tribe performs excellently without you.  Similarly, I was surprised Artis didn't put himself forward for the puzzle.  As a computer engineer, I would expect him to be decent at puzzles, but perhaps I'm wrong.  Alternatively, RC and Pete might have been insistent that they would be the ones to do the puzzle, or Artis might be trying to hide his intelligence too (and thus doing a better job of sticking to his guns than the younger pair).

Still, the only security Artis has in his tribe is that Lisa will go before him, and that's not much.  He's good and strong physically, but his age is always a red flag.  If he'd performed well in the puzzle, that would have raised his stock.  As it is, they can view him as disposable: "If we get rid of Artis, we've still got Pete and Michael to get us through challenges."

In similar trouble is Lisa.  She did put herself forward, but as a caller, and neither RC nor Pete credited her for their success with the puzzle.  Pete, in an online video proving that his ego was able to withstand the elements, laid claim to doing all of the challenge, carrying the physical and puzzle portions.  RC declared on Facebook (RC has won that coveted reward of my eternal gratitude with her Facebook page) that the puzzle happened to be one that her brother had downloaded for her to practice on, so she took over, ignoring what Lisa was saying.

RC concluded her Facebook update by noting that challenge proved that they had a great, four-strong challenge team and that Lisa and Abi-Maria were deadweight in that regard.  Damning words--though I assume events will not prove them a spoiler, since RC's smart enough to understand CBS' contract.

Tandang's challenge team ponder their next step:
an American remake of The Full Monty

Beyond the morale boost of victory, they now have dry conditions to make fire and the reward of a tarp in case the rain returns--plus comfort items and the rope that tied everything together.  Less stressful conditions plus the younger half of the tribe breaking their cover means that the stage is set for a potential shift in dynamics.

The previews suggested that Pete and Lisa would have a bonding moment (I hope so, since I'd like to see a return to the computer geek side of Pete rather than the manic ego side).  Even without this tip off, the game's been on for a week, everybody's adjusting to their new lifestyle, and I would expect Lisa to start getting over her First Week Breakdown™.  She's been lucky to avoid Tribal Council for this first stretch, but she still has a lot of ground to make up, shaking everybody's early impression of her and making friends!  We'll see if she can do it.

Michael will no doubt be encouraging her, since she could be a very loyal ally to him as I discussed last week.  Furthermore, since Abi created a rift between herself and RC, RC is bound to draw closer to Michael, her father figure on this island, both emotionally and strategically.  RC swam the English Channel in a relay with her real father; she's up for an adventurous partnership and could be this season's replacement for Australia's Nick, as far as Michael is concerned.

Also of relevance, in the game, immediately after the challenge, RC was bubbling over what a great team she and Pete had made during the puzzle, that they just clicked and worked together perfectly.  While challenge partnerships often have no bearing on strategic ones, it's still worth mentioning that RC's perspective of 'Dumb' Pete has shifted to one where they can work together on an intellectual level.  It's possible she could start making a direct connection with him rather than going through Abi-Maria.

We don't know Pete's plans, but it seems unlikely that he has settled for a flirtation with Abi as his one lifeline in the game, not when he wanted to be the puppet master of the tribe.  I expect that either he's discovered this isn't as easy as he thought or he's deluding himself that he's in charge, but we'll have to wait and see which it is.

Anyway you look at it, Abi-Maria's gamestock plummeted this episode.  She's going to have to step up her game, make new bonds and reaffirm old ones.  I don't think she's at the bottom of the totem pole, but she's handicapped her chances going forwards.  Intriguingly, she and RC are still tied by the clue.  Presumably they will collaborate on solving it, but surely both girls are now less willing to let the other be the holder.  Will Abi try and guilt RC into letting her hold it by way of 'proving' her trust?  Will either girl try and get the idol in secret?  I can't wait to see what's going to happen there.

I'm all out of contrived segues.  Let's just get to Kalabaw.