The Cast - offs: "What might have been"
By: Paolo Bediones
October 30, 2008 |
(265) Comments
Finally, it’s the merge.
The two tribes have become one.
No more Naak, no more Jarakay.
Just Chalam.
But before the real battle of outwitting, outplaying and outlasting begins with the individual reward and immunity challenges as well as the various attempts to make new alliances and break old ones to survive, I would like to take this opportunity to look back at what has been and answer the question:
What could the castaways who were eliminated have done to stay in the game longer?
I had the chance to talk to all of the first eight Castaways to be voted off before they flew back to the Philippines and we would discuss extensively about what they feel or think they could have done to at least make the merge.
For some of the guys who became my roommates they would wake up in the middle of the night for two major reasons: They were looking for sand beneath them instead of a comfortable mattress and they had a realization of what they could have done and what could have been.
Since I was not privy to all of the things going on at camp, I had to watch together with all the viewers to be able to assess the situation and determine what may have been the catalyst or the trigger that led to their early exit.
I coupled this information with whatever I saw at challenges and how they would interact with one another as well as the Tribal Council sessions where I would have a more intimate view of how they saw one another.
Let’s do this in chronological order:
CHEV
The Bisayang Palaban could have stayed longer if she were a bit more sociable.
She did more than enough at camp and she did okay at the challenges but I feel she could have tried making more friends in the beginning, maybe even asking for advice on how to play the game which obviously she wasn’t knowledgeable in.
If she didn’t antagonize and intimidate the men of Naak so much with her disposition then maybe she wouldn’t have been voted off first.
EMERSON
Totally opposite of what Chev did and didn’t do.
Emerson came out in the first few days with guns ablazing. He immediately tried and failed at playing the game. He implemented his strategy too early.
He would say one thing to one group or person and another to some other tribemate.
What he didn’t count on was getting caught when the Naak members started comparing stories and realized he couldn’t be trustworthy.
The fact that he and Vevh had an altercation at the Thai Pillow Battle didn’t help matters any as well. And because of that he was the second to be voted off.
Lesson here is to learn how to adapt first before playing the mind games.
GIGIT
Gigit was a strong contender who could have made it all the way to the end.
He had the right combination of brains and brawn. He understood enough of the game to know that strong ones shouldn’t be voted off early in the game to ensure victory at the challenges.
He was a work horse at camp as well and didn’t rub any of his tribemates off the wrong way until it became evident that he was a man that could not be controlled.
When told to vote for Nina he was strongly against it. The next target was Patani but Gigit wanted Nikki to be taken out because she was homesick. It was this behavior that alarmed his alliance and consequently made him their target.
What Gigit could have done is told Nina how he was protecting her which would compel her to tell her all girls alliance to not vote Gigit and maybe go for Marlon instead. But he decided to keep it to himself.
Lesson here is when there’s an opportunity to tell a tribemate you are protecting them use it because in the future they may try to protect you as well.
PATANI
Although the Yaya ng Bayan was pretty happy about being voted off since she already got what she wanted from the game, just for the sake of argument let’s talk about what she could have done.
She was the entertainer for both Naak and Jarakay when she was part of both tribes. She was a worker at camp as well.
Her weakness was in not taking the game seriously, openly wondering why people were making alliances and behaving strangely even at times finding much humor in what was going on.
It was this candidness that made her an easy target especially at Tribal Council when she declared that it was okay for her to go home since she got the exposure she wanted.
Lesson here is for whatever reason, valid or not, never ever say it’s okay for you to go home.
NINA
Nina was a unique case because there was literally nothing she could have done to stay in the game except maybe turn back time to the moment she was about to be stepped on during the Spooling Around reward challenge and try to avoid her tribemates’ feet.
Although she could have hidden her injury from me and decided to play the next day, her injury would have gotten the better of her and she will end up seeking medical attention anyway.
It's also interesting to note that if you do have a serious injury or accident and you keep the production people from finding out about it you can be eliminated if found guilty of withholding that information.
A broken toe cannot be taken lightly. Nina, just like Gigit, had what it takes to make it to the end since she also learned quickly upon Patani’s ouster that Survivor is a mind game and not an all-heart game.
VEVHERLY
In the Giant Sepak challenge, Vevh was bruised and battered by the wooden ball. But being the true fighter that she is she kept on pushing until there was nothing left in her.
Her injuries, which she didn’t want any medical attention for, gave her tribemates a convenient reason to vote her off.
However, Vevh clearly knew that with or without the injuries she was probably the next in line to be eliminated since she did not have an alliance to begin with.
Vevh made sure that although she knew her body was quitting on her she was not gonna quit the game without facing Tribal Council.
Remember quitting the game before Tribal Council does not cancel the session, which means someone will be voted of Naak.
Until the end she was doing the honorable thing and was thinking of her tribe.
The lesson here is to make sure that early on you have at least one other person that you have as an ally which could lead to a full alliance with other tribe members.
JOHN
John is an example that no matter how healthy and fit you look on the outside, it’s still the inner workings of your body that is more vital.
Having too much muscle mass was actually a disadvantage for John and he was not prepared (read: did not bring much fat) for island life.
His resources were depleted after every challenge and weren’t replenished at all except for the occasional banana or two and a few “spoon fulls” of rice.
Some feel that this vote was a convenient one for Jarakay since his health worsened and they needed to boot someone off.
The result as we saw it was an even more weakened Jarakay tribe that lost challenge after challenge.
I think however from a producer’s standpoint it was a good thing that John was voted off at the time.
I remember riding home with John on the Yellow Dumptruck (that saved his life) when a strong downpour drenched everyone crammed in the back.
He began shaking again and his fingers stiffened as he called out for Doc Zoe and Sam.
When we got back to base camp we were all relieved that he was with us and that we didn’t have to rescue him again if Jarakay voted someone else off.
Lesson here is that if you do become a Castaway, it’s okay to bring a few extra pounds of fat since you will lose it anyway.
NIKKI
The call center cutie could have lasted longer if she did two things: one, contribute a little more at camp and make sure her tribe notices it, and two, stop herself from declaring anything that may be perceived as homesickness, weakness or giving up.
Nikki contributed at camp and at challenges but her fellow tribemates were more overt in their actions compared to her subtle style.
She also did well in the challenges where she either wasn’t told to sit out or simply be a puzzle maker. She was instrumental in the Thai Pillow Battle fighting it out and assisting Marlon in pulling Rob to the Jarakay mat to win immunity.
But since first impressions last more often than not, she was tagged as the one always sleeping and at times lifeless, not being used to island life and its physical nature.
I think if she reached the merge she would go far, what with her disposition and natural likability making her a non-priority target and a non-threat.
Lesson here is that early in the game make that impression that you are useful at camp and at challenges and make sure it sticks.
There you have it, the first eight Castaways who were voted off and what I think and feel they could have done to at least make it to the merge.
Okay, that’s it. Till next time, enjoy Survivor Philippines and prepare to fall off your chairs in the next few weeks.
The two tribes have become one.
No more Naak, no more Jarakay.
Just Chalam.
But before the real battle of outwitting, outplaying and outlasting begins with the individual reward and immunity challenges as well as the various attempts to make new alliances and break old ones to survive, I would like to take this opportunity to look back at what has been and answer the question:
What could the castaways who were eliminated have done to stay in the game longer?
I had the chance to talk to all of the first eight Castaways to be voted off before they flew back to the Philippines and we would discuss extensively about what they feel or think they could have done to at least make the merge.
For some of the guys who became my roommates they would wake up in the middle of the night for two major reasons: They were looking for sand beneath them instead of a comfortable mattress and they had a realization of what they could have done and what could have been.
Since I was not privy to all of the things going on at camp, I had to watch together with all the viewers to be able to assess the situation and determine what may have been the catalyst or the trigger that led to their early exit.
I coupled this information with whatever I saw at challenges and how they would interact with one another as well as the Tribal Council sessions where I would have a more intimate view of how they saw one another.
Let’s do this in chronological order:
CHEV
The Bisayang Palaban could have stayed longer if she were a bit more sociable.
She did more than enough at camp and she did okay at the challenges but I feel she could have tried making more friends in the beginning, maybe even asking for advice on how to play the game which obviously she wasn’t knowledgeable in.
If she didn’t antagonize and intimidate the men of Naak so much with her disposition then maybe she wouldn’t have been voted off first.
EMERSON
Totally opposite of what Chev did and didn’t do.
Emerson came out in the first few days with guns ablazing. He immediately tried and failed at playing the game. He implemented his strategy too early.
He would say one thing to one group or person and another to some other tribemate.
What he didn’t count on was getting caught when the Naak members started comparing stories and realized he couldn’t be trustworthy.
The fact that he and Vevh had an altercation at the Thai Pillow Battle didn’t help matters any as well. And because of that he was the second to be voted off.
Lesson here is to learn how to adapt first before playing the mind games.
GIGIT
Gigit was a strong contender who could have made it all the way to the end.
He had the right combination of brains and brawn. He understood enough of the game to know that strong ones shouldn’t be voted off early in the game to ensure victory at the challenges.
He was a work horse at camp as well and didn’t rub any of his tribemates off the wrong way until it became evident that he was a man that could not be controlled.
When told to vote for Nina he was strongly against it. The next target was Patani but Gigit wanted Nikki to be taken out because she was homesick. It was this behavior that alarmed his alliance and consequently made him their target.
What Gigit could have done is told Nina how he was protecting her which would compel her to tell her all girls alliance to not vote Gigit and maybe go for Marlon instead. But he decided to keep it to himself.
Lesson here is when there’s an opportunity to tell a tribemate you are protecting them use it because in the future they may try to protect you as well.
PATANI
Although the Yaya ng Bayan was pretty happy about being voted off since she already got what she wanted from the game, just for the sake of argument let’s talk about what she could have done.
She was the entertainer for both Naak and Jarakay when she was part of both tribes. She was a worker at camp as well.
Her weakness was in not taking the game seriously, openly wondering why people were making alliances and behaving strangely even at times finding much humor in what was going on.
It was this candidness that made her an easy target especially at Tribal Council when she declared that it was okay for her to go home since she got the exposure she wanted.
Lesson here is for whatever reason, valid or not, never ever say it’s okay for you to go home.
NINA
Nina was a unique case because there was literally nothing she could have done to stay in the game except maybe turn back time to the moment she was about to be stepped on during the Spooling Around reward challenge and try to avoid her tribemates’ feet.
Although she could have hidden her injury from me and decided to play the next day, her injury would have gotten the better of her and she will end up seeking medical attention anyway.
It's also interesting to note that if you do have a serious injury or accident and you keep the production people from finding out about it you can be eliminated if found guilty of withholding that information.
A broken toe cannot be taken lightly. Nina, just like Gigit, had what it takes to make it to the end since she also learned quickly upon Patani’s ouster that Survivor is a mind game and not an all-heart game.
VEVHERLY
In the Giant Sepak challenge, Vevh was bruised and battered by the wooden ball. But being the true fighter that she is she kept on pushing until there was nothing left in her.
Her injuries, which she didn’t want any medical attention for, gave her tribemates a convenient reason to vote her off.
However, Vevh clearly knew that with or without the injuries she was probably the next in line to be eliminated since she did not have an alliance to begin with.
Vevh made sure that although she knew her body was quitting on her she was not gonna quit the game without facing Tribal Council.
Remember quitting the game before Tribal Council does not cancel the session, which means someone will be voted of Naak.
Until the end she was doing the honorable thing and was thinking of her tribe.
The lesson here is to make sure that early on you have at least one other person that you have as an ally which could lead to a full alliance with other tribe members.
JOHN
John is an example that no matter how healthy and fit you look on the outside, it’s still the inner workings of your body that is more vital.
Having too much muscle mass was actually a disadvantage for John and he was not prepared (read: did not bring much fat) for island life.
His resources were depleted after every challenge and weren’t replenished at all except for the occasional banana or two and a few “spoon fulls” of rice.
Some feel that this vote was a convenient one for Jarakay since his health worsened and they needed to boot someone off.
The result as we saw it was an even more weakened Jarakay tribe that lost challenge after challenge.
I think however from a producer’s standpoint it was a good thing that John was voted off at the time.
I remember riding home with John on the Yellow Dumptruck (that saved his life) when a strong downpour drenched everyone crammed in the back.
He began shaking again and his fingers stiffened as he called out for Doc Zoe and Sam.
When we got back to base camp we were all relieved that he was with us and that we didn’t have to rescue him again if Jarakay voted someone else off.
Lesson here is that if you do become a Castaway, it’s okay to bring a few extra pounds of fat since you will lose it anyway.
NIKKI
The call center cutie could have lasted longer if she did two things: one, contribute a little more at camp and make sure her tribe notices it, and two, stop herself from declaring anything that may be perceived as homesickness, weakness or giving up.
Nikki contributed at camp and at challenges but her fellow tribemates were more overt in their actions compared to her subtle style.
She also did well in the challenges where she either wasn’t told to sit out or simply be a puzzle maker. She was instrumental in the Thai Pillow Battle fighting it out and assisting Marlon in pulling Rob to the Jarakay mat to win immunity.
But since first impressions last more often than not, she was tagged as the one always sleeping and at times lifeless, not being used to island life and its physical nature.
I think if she reached the merge she would go far, what with her disposition and natural likability making her a non-priority target and a non-threat.
Lesson here is that early in the game make that impression that you are useful at camp and at challenges and make sure it sticks.
There you have it, the first eight Castaways who were voted off and what I think and feel they could have done to at least make it to the merge.
Okay, that’s it. Till next time, enjoy Survivor Philippines and prepare to fall off your chairs in the next few weeks.
265 Response(s) to "The Cast - offs: "What might have been""
» pinaytunay said on December 2, 2008 10:20 PM
great post pao! i agree with most of what you said. im waiting for your next evaluation on those who were voted off...
ahuhuhuhuhu.... why nanay zita????? cnu p panonoorin q s castaway????? haaay naku, paolo kung hindi lng kita mahal maglilipat n q ng channel.
hi poh sa lahat.....new member poh ako d2!!! bye the way ......im jake commemt ko lng pao....i hate marlon as in super kc naka2bad trip sa sa survivor or what i mean sya yong pangit na ugali sa palabas.........eeeewwwwww!!!!!!!!!! marlon alam moh? sbi nag ate ko? if ever bf ka nang ate koh? na cguro hihiwalayan ka nya!!!!!!!go naak !!!! basta buti nga kai marlon sana d n lng sya belong sa castaway..............
weeeeeeeeeeeee ate kaye ok lng po yan basta alam nila lahat ang nagawa mo sa tribe hehehe... idOl ko si ate kaye kaso natanggal na siya T_T pero ok lng cute naman siya ^_^ wao go!! go!! more powers!! sa mga natira^_^
hi pao...all i can say after reading your blog is...oo nga! :D uhhmmm...how 'bout w/ kiko??
galingan mo nalang kaye. sayang wala ako sa pinas, gusto sana kitang panoorin sa television.ang ganda mo...
JC and Nanay Zita I admire you sana isa sa inyo ang manalo. Hope Marlon will be vote out soon. Stop your dirty strategies, you will not win the game. Hope you will realize your wrong doings there. Prove something!!! don't you feel everybody is avoiding to talk to you about your stories they all know you are just destroying thier trust to one another. Be true to yourself you seems paranoid. Hope you will be vote out you don't deserve to win.
grabe c marlon lahat gagawin para lng makakuha ng kakampi but i know the remaining survivors r more wiser this time kng sino dapat ivote out.weve seen enough of marlon sana hwag syang gayahin ng iba. to mommy zita were proud of u kya mo yan. we love u...
pansin ko lng daming mababait dito, halos lahat sila galit kay marlon...yung feeling na matino sila harap muna sa salamin, kung wala kayong salamin hiram kayo kay kaye..bato bato sa langit ang tamaan may bukol..bwekekekekek..
Good job,Pao!Dito ko sa SP napatunayan yung credibility mo as host.Kaya mong I-twist ung isip ng mga viewers.Aaminin ko isa ako don.i'm a type of person na talagang mahilig mag analyze,at bihira akong pumalpak sa conclusions ko.Pero sa diskarteng ginawa mo,nabiktima ako.Lalo na yung time na na vote out si John,nakita ko yung utak galing mo.Gusto mong isipin namin na si Nikki na i-vovote out nila.Kaya nagulat ako ng si john.Kaya ako lalong naging SP addict.Kasi napaka-unpredictable ng mga mangyayari,as in hindi boring ung show.Pang masa na ieenjoy ng mga highly educated people.Nagiging kapuso ako pag SP na,kahit loyal kapamilya ako...SP the best!
im not really a fan of kiko,inaaway ko p ung tita ko hus really the avid of kiko,n si kiko ang unang maalis kasi malakas ang personality at my pagka leader ang dating,pero nainis ako kina kaye at cris nung i vote out nila si kiko,parang lumabas ung pagiging mahina ang ulo nila nadala sila ng buyo ni marlon,mataas p naman ung pagkilala ko ki kaye kasi sila n lng dalawa ni nanay zita ang natirang naak n babae pero lumabas ung pagiging mahina ng faith s kapwa nila n naak kung iisipin si kiko ung gumagawa ng way n intact sila at matira silang naak s finals pero dhil lng s sabi2 ni marlon nwala parang bula ung pinaghirapan nilang panalo s mga challenges at si cris nagpadla naman nawalan n din ng isang salita,kaya hndi mawawala ung guilty feeling mo s tatay mo at dinagdagan mo p ki kiko, and to you marlon wag ka muna lumabas ng bahay nyo at baka kung ano p ang mangyari s u....people of the philippines HATES U marlon......
ithink kaye and others like christ is so weak. they easily get poluted by others opinion like marlon...they dont havetheir own paniniwala or opinion deals with subject matter in the island.. madali silng mabola and i dont agree with kaye na si marlon ang nagbigay sa kanya ng talino para i vote out si kiko.. sa mundo may uto uto at nagpapauto.. si KAYE sya si uto uto...hahaha
napanood ko p kagabi khit wala na c kiko andun pa rin ung mga cnbi nya about dun sa isda cya pal ang my sabing my lason un........ go kiko.. ur d man talaga..........
marlon!ang sama ng ugali mo!pinapakita mo pa sa tv
....haaaizzt... ...nka2 bad3p tlgA c mArl0n khIt cNU pNag AawAy nyA prA lNg mAnAl0 sNA sA sU2nod syA nA aNG mAtAnggAl...lAlo akUng mbAd3p nUng inAwAy nyA pA c mA2 zItA... ...whAhAhAhA...c mArl0n bAd3p nUng lzT chAllEngE nLA...ngAiUn n rEaLizE nyA n mhIrAp AnG wLAnG frNdz...hahahahaha
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