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« Survivor: Fiji
May 13, 2007: And the Winner Is...
Bet you didn’t see that coming, did you? Me either. That pretty much sums up Survivor: Fiji — surprising. While I’m pleased with the winner, this season has been so all over the place that it’s fitting that the finale leaves you wondering what the hell just happened. Dreamz reneged, Yau-Man was booted, and Earl won a million dollars. Two of those three things I didn’t see coming. Yeah, it’s kind of easy to say that you figured Earl would take the whole thing, but to think that Yau-Man would not be sitting next to him at final tribal? No way!
It did make for good television. It was all very Dynasty, what with all the betrayal, double-crossing and courtroom grandstanding (Alex, I’m talking about you). Early on, and much to my dismay, we lost Boo. He made a good showing in the maze-challenge-from-hell that had castaways navigating dead ends and intermittent drawbridges while blindfolded. But Yau-Man won immunity again and killed any chance of Boo making it past fifth place. I’m not going to lie: Some part of me wanted to see Boo make it to the final four. I’m disappointed that he couldn’t work it out, though he did try to sway votes before and during tribal council. I think that’s the most we’d seen him speak.
Once down to the final four, it became clear to me that the show was just combing through some ancient torture manuals for these challenges. The castaways were basically hanging from their fingertips on a rack while undergoing water torture. Cassandra and Earl succumbed first, which wasn’t a shock. But I figured that Yau-Man, being the slightest of the competitors, would have no trouble “hanging in” to the end. Alas, he couldn’t outlast Dreamz, who fought hard to put himself squarely in the tight spot of his own making.
Dreamz “promised to God” that he would give up immunity at final four in exchange for a $60K truck. He took the truck and kept the necklace and tried to excuse this move as playing the game. Not cool. To my eyes, Dreamz wanted to be a man of his word. I believe he agonized over this decision. I saw the tears in his eyes, but heck, a million dollars is a lot of money. It can make people do strange things, which takes us to the final tribal council.
What happens to people in the jury? Is life in isolation so bad that it turns them into fire-breathing lunatics? How about this, Alex: ask a question and accept the supplied answer. It would have been nice if Lisi had curtailed her desire to try to make Dreamz look dumb. It was just silly and mean and it didn’t work. Ed, Mookie, are you guys still hung up on that idol thing? That was so six days ago. After all the ups and downs, this season ending with such an unpleasant tribal council was a letdown. There was way too much anger, and yet for all the bluster, not one jury member held a candle to Sue Hawk’s famous diatribe.
Even the live reunion show — which I attended — wasn’t all that exciting. Apparently, everyone has made up and is great friends. But the lack of hometown remotes and Dreamz still evading the question about his intentions makes me wonder....
Here’s to next season in China. Until then, answer me this. Would you have given Yau-Man the idol? Did Yau-Man maneuver himself out of the finals by setting up this deal?
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May 14, 2007 5:29 AM
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Definitely Yau-man out-maneuvered himself by setting up that deal. He shouldn't have made that deal with Dreamz in the first place and they should have voted Dreamz out instead of Boo. Then Yau would have won the last immunity challenge b/c of his endurance skills and he would have won the whole thing. Yau played a very good game until that last point when he made that deal with Dreamz and that's what killed it for him.
I agree that the questions asked during the last tribal were crazy. Alex would make for a bad lawyer (I hope he's not a litigator) and Lisi only showed how dumb she was when she asked how many zeros are in a million dollars. What a waste of time. But the show was very exciting with all the changes and reversals. I would have liked Yau to win, but I'm glad Earl won.
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May 14, 2007 7:14 AM
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I have a question. Since Earl received all nine votes, did anyone win money for 2nd place?
I might be in the minority, but I enjoyed the final tribal council. I hate watching the jury congratulate everyone on a game well played, blah, blah, blah. You know the jury is bitter about being outplayed. I like seeing it come out. Granted, some of it was over the top, but for the most part, I liked it!
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May 14, 2007 7:24 AM
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As a black man, I must say that Dreamz is a disgrace to our race. Aren't we already sterotyped enough without him playing right into it by backing out of his deal with Yau?
Over and over he kept saying, "I want my kids to see me keep my word. I want them to see what it means to be a man." His lack of education, and the million excuses for it was just too over the top. The casting of this individual may just have had me watching my last Survivor.
I did love the way the jury badgered him and made him feel so small. I am still in disbelief, what a scumbag he turned out to be. Hope your kids are proud of their daddy, Dreamz; we because we as blacks certainley are NOT........
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May 14, 2007 8:10 AM
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My opinion is it is just a game, and EVERYBODY applies underhanded tactics at some point. I agree with Dreamz that the game is separate from normal life. Anyways, I also agree how dumb the jury questions were. Alex trying to show off, Lisi ugh. It still amazes me that people who play this game are so shocked when they are lied to.
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May 14, 2007 8:26 AM
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After "Dreamz" so willingly "promised to God" that he would give up his immunity, and then didn't, I kept waiting and hoping for him to at least give the truck back to Yau at the Reunion Show. I just knew he was going to AT LEAST do that.
I've watched every season of Survivor. I've watched people lie and backstab. But in this case, to promise to take something in exchange for something else and then not fulfill the deal, well, that's called stealing. At the very least, "Dreamz" should have been a man and returned the truck to Yau in light of his not living up to his word and his "promise to God". I am embarrassed for him. Yau is too much of a gentleman to ask for the truck back.
"Dreamz" will always the Survivor who not only lied, but took a $60,000 truck for nothing.
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May 14, 2007 8:27 AM
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I know a lot of people are going to disagree with me but I was a little sad to see how upset everyone was with Dreamz. I can't believe he didn't get at least one vote. I don't know why I am surprised it happens almost everyone season. I was raised to believe that a lie is a lie. So it bothers me when the jury gets all over people for one particualar lie. Everyone in that jury lied to someone and were responsible for someone being voted out. I think it is unfair to hold Dreamz to higher standard than everyone else. That being said..
I was sad not to see Yau in the final three, and i do believe that he wanted Dreamz to have that truck. But come on, why didn't he or Earl suggest to Dreamz that if he gives the final immunuity necklace to Yau, they would vote off Cassandra? Earl certainly had no problem writing Yau's name down, so I don't believe it would have been a problem for him or Yau to write down Cassandra's. They both wanted to take her to the end because she would be easier to beat. That is the reason Yau lost. I really believe Dreamz would have given him the necklace if they had made that deal.
I wish the final three would have been Yau, Earl, and Dreamz.
I think the finale was a good one, but is anyone else kind of sick of the jury being really pissed off? I mean what is up with Alex? Does he not remember how He, Ed, Stacey and Boo treated Cassandra and Dreamz like second class citizens?
Well here's to hoping the China cast will not be full of sore losers.
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May 14, 2007 8:32 AM
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Skeptic, as a black man, I also was deeply disturbed by Dreamz's lack of ethics, especially when he swore on his child and to God. I understand it's a game in which people lie, etc., but at the very least I would have given Yau-Man the car back before keeping the idol. I was so glad to hear Boo challenge Dreamz as a Christian about keeping his word. Wonderful dialog...
And my goodness, Dreamz, can't you answer a question without a convoluted response? Yes or no. I could see it, too, that he agonized about keeping the idol.
Luckylady, I agree that everyone lied in this game, but I think people were mad at Dreamz about the car/promise. I think had the car not been in the equation, people wouldn't have held him to a higher standard.
Earl was the best out of the final three and it's too bad he couldn't have taken Yao. Granted, he would have lost, but it would have been nice.
Rhona, to answer your questions, like Earl said, I would have never put myself in the situation to make the deal with Yao. I would have said, "Yes, Yao, if I keep the car, I'll give you the idol."
No, I don't think Yau-Man out-maneuver himself, but as he said, he counted too much on integrity (or lack thereof) from Dreamz.
One final point about Dreamz and his decision to keep the idol. As much as Cassandra described him as a smart man, there was no way -- let me repeat that -- no way the jury was going to vote for him. He obviously didn't think about which votes he would get from the jury as he made his decision to keep the idol. He burned his bridges with his former alliance (Alex, Mookie) and the others, if you think about it, didn't have major issues with Earl. So, that said, Dreamz should have known -- or maybe he's naive -- that he wouldn't win the $$. He should have kept his word to Yao, IMO, because he doesn't have the $1 million and many people don't respect him.
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May 14, 2007 8:38 AM
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Outwit, out last, out play... but to out right swear to God in front of millions of people and then take it back? That was crossing the line of "playing" the game. Dreamz is nothing more than a two-bit con-man with that move. Yes, you do some backstabbing... Even Johnny Fairplay did things and stretched the limits of the rules but I don't think he crossed the line like that. Yau-man showed his class. He was a tough player. Earl was also at least man enough to admit that going to the final against Yau would be a mistake and Yau was good with that. That's how you do it. That's within the rules. That, as hard as it can be, is expected. Karma will get Dreamz - I just hope it's not at the cost of his son who now knows his father can not be trusted - even when he swears to God.
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May 14, 2007 8:44 AM
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Lisi - ugh. if i were Cassandra i would have gotten up and knocked the hell out of her. Lisi dear, Cassandra was in the final 3 and you weren't!
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May 14, 2007 8:57 AM
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I am angry at Dreamz & disappointed in Earl. Yau-Man asked Dreamz that, if he didn't give him the idol, would he at least not write down his name. Dreamz broke that promise too. And for Earl to stab Yau in the back--I'm very disappointed in him. Everyone knew that, nice as Cassandra was, she didn't deserve to be in the final three. It should have been Earl, Boo, & Yau-Man.
Even Earl admitted that Yau-Man played the best!
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May 14, 2007 8:57 AM
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Spider-Man, what you said at the end is exactly right. Dreamz should have been smart enough to know that reneging on his deal with Yao would assure himself at having NO chance at winning. Yes, he technically was there to the end and he theoretically had a shot at the $, but come on. Nobody was going to vote for him after his back-stabbing of Yao. He burned whatever bridges he still had standing with that act.
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May 14, 2007 8:57 AM
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Good season of Survivor. Very glad Earl won (what a cutie!). Disgusted that Cassandra was in final 3 - she had to know no one would vote for her.
Dreamz is an idiot and a liar - he tried to backtrack and make excuses, but he took Yau's 60k truck and should have been a man of his word and gave him the idol. If Dreamz had any brain he would have realized no one would vote for him anyway after shafting Yau-man.
Also - does anyone know who gets the 2nd place prize money?
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May 14, 2007 9:01 AM
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Imzadi, once Dreamz kept immunity Earl "had" to vote Yao out. He wasn't going to beat Yao. Even though shocked, he couldn't have been disappointed that Yao was there to vote off. And you know Yao respected that.
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May 14, 2007 9:01 AM
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"Yau-man...should have voted Dreamz out instead of Boo."
I thought that when I was watching last night, too, but then I remembered that Yau-Man had every reason to believe that Dreamz would give him the immunity if he won. At that point, Yau-Man believed it was in his best interest to keep Dreamz around. And had Dreamz truly been a man of his word, Yau-Man would have been right.
"Lisi only showed how dumb she was when she asked how many zeros are in a million dollars."
Was it me, or did Lisi seem to at first think six was the wrong answer? I almost thought she was going to say that.
"I did love the way the jury badgered him and made him feel so small."
I agree - he so deserved everything he got, and I was tickled that he got no votes.
Spider-Man - I agree with all your comments, especially about Dreamz. He wasn't smart. I said that in last week's blog - I didn't think he was smart enough to take it all.
In contrast to Rhoda's and other people's opinions, I loved the jury questions, even the stupid ones, and I think it's fun to see them angry. Some of the questions were completely inane (Lisi), but when Earl was asked how he heard about them having the HII, and he responded, "Dreamz," it was very dramatic.
In the end, I thought Boo and Yau-Man were robbed of higher spots, but I can't be upset about Earl winning. He did sort of command the game throughout. I thought it was a poor choice to take Dreamz to the final three, but it turned out to be the right one for the situation.
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May 14, 2007 9:02 AM
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