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.