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""
» jolly2005 said on November 12, 2008 08:37 AM
Guys, bilib ako kay rob.. merong isang salita.. kahit na may sama sya ng loob kay kiko, pinanindigan nya ung cnabi nya about sa tribe ng naak.. akala ko din na c rob ung nag vote kay kiko ndi pala.. Si cris and kaye wala yan, jan pa lang makikita nyo na kung cno ung totoong tao.. Ndi nakuntento kung ano ung meron cla.. Nainggit maxado ung dalawa.. na impluwensiyahan ni marlon, mkikita nyo na agad ung dalawang angel na galing sa langit biglang bumagsak dahil na impluwensyahan ni lucifer.. Lol..
mamaya na ung chat with kiko and jace...im sure exciting to just worried kc diko lam ung procedure kung pano makipagchat s kanila eh!!!anyone there to tell me what to do???tnx....
Simple lang naman ang gusto kong mangyari: Tadtarin at gawing firewood sina Kaye at Cris, para gamiting pang-roast sa walanghiyang Marlon na yun. I despise traitors!
kainis ung last nyt episode, ang kapal ng mukha ni marlon na sigaw-sigawan c nanay zita to think na khit minsan wlang gumanon kay nanay zita sa naak tribe...then afterwards magsosori xa kundi ba nman plastic at tuso xempre pag di nya ginawa un bka un pa mging dahilan pra ivote-out xa for next TC...hay naku kung andun lang c kiko malamang di makakaporma ng ganon ung marlon na yan eh...of all the castaways c kiko lang naman ung kinatatakutan nya pano kiko has both;intelligent and strength which makes him as a big "threat" to everyone.....
What if kasabwat pala si Marlon? Remember the Extra Challenge days kung saan may kasabwat din doon. Unang assessment pa lang namin nung first episode ng SP, may feelings na kami na kasabwat ito. Pero abangan na rin natin kung kasabwat nga ba ito or strategy ba talaga niya ito?
maldita talaga yang si kaye na yan! badtrip di sila(kaye n cris) nag-iisip di nila alam ginagamit din sila ni marlon. malamang ang next na ma vote off is KAYE for sure...... crystal na bilog sana si KAYE ang next na ma vote off. tsaring.... wish ko lang!!!
HAY NAKU..MARLON WAS SUCH A PIG WITH A DOGMATIC CHARACTER..WETHER ON OR OFF THE GAME...I HOPE KAYE AND CRIS WILL BE VOTED OUT NEXT..THEY DO NOT HAVE A PLACE INSIDE THE TRIBE..BOBO ANG KAYE NA YAN..DI NYA ALAM SINASABI NYA..PATI RIN TONG DRIVER NA TO..IGNORANTE AT WALANG ALAM SA DYNAMICS NG GAME..PA EMOTIONAL EFFECT PA SA LAST IMMUNITY CHALLENGE..HIS FATHER NA INIIYAKAN NYA IS FOR SURE NOT PROUD OF WHAT HE DID...BEATCCHHHHH!!!NANAY ZITA AND JC..YOU ROCK!!!GOOD LUCK....
bilib talaga ako kay JC, a man of few words. Si Marlon, nuknukan ng ka plastikan, matapos mong awayin si nanay Zita, yakap kaagad, siguro naisip mo rin yung pinag gagawa mo no? ano ba ginawa ni nanay Zita at sobra ka maka react? ikaw ang over reacting eh.. ikaw ang manahimik, bigyan mo naman ng kahihiyan ang mga magulang sa attitude mo. At kay Charrise, lagi kang pa cute, kunwari ka pa pag andyan na camera, iyak iyak tapos mamya tatawa tawa, kapatid k nga ni Marlon, demońita ka rin, mas masahol ka pa kay Patani at least siya honest na gusto exposure eh ikaw.. feeling maganda,, lamang ka lng ng puti kay Patani pero mas gaganda pa si Patani sayo.. kita lahat ng ipin pag nagsasalita ka.. yuck.. Reyna ka ng ka plastikan.
marlon!!!!para kng hindi pinoy!!!wla kng glang tma c nanay zita "puro ka lng hangin" kya ang taba mo!!!ikaw lng ang devil na mataba!!!nakaka'wlang gana kang panuurin!!!watch ur attitude men!!!lack of values!!,,
hahah, imagine...nag pa late talaga ako sa work ko kagabi...kasi pang gabi ako, para lang mapanuod ung live interview ni kiko sa 24 oras...unfortunately, hindi ko p rin napanuod
wala akong ibang masabi kundi sumpa para kina kaye and chris lang...parang feeling ko puro ganun nlng ang ggwin ko sa mga comments...well kay marlon, given na yan na tarantado tlg yan..with rob, im sorry talaga masakit nga yun, akala ksi ni kiko eh.....sorry na
nice one marlon,,nagwagi ka ngayon pero next tribal council wala ka ng kawala..sayang si kuya kiko, ginawa nya lahat ng magagawa nya pra marating ng naak kung san sila ngayon..engot kasing tong sila cris at kaye, di muna nag-isip..mangyayari naman ang patas na labanan kung sila pa ring anim na taga-naak ang matira..pwede naman nilang i-open kila kiko,jc,rob at nanay zita yung patas na laro na gusto nila..di nila(cris&kaye) inisip yung ginawang effort ni kiko..nagpadala agad sila sa tampo at sa gatong ni marlon..sayang talaga..go na lang nanay zita...
paiyak iyak pa ang mga lolah!at bakit? (cha & kaye) dahil model ka? yuckZ! chaka minute...LOOSER! SYUSTIK! SYUNGET! GG ERA! atribida! ILUSYUNADA! INGYETERA! TONTAH! BUBAH! CHURVA???LOLZ..........
Hi Paolo, Congratulations for a very good show. Full of excitement and twist. I really enjoy watching Survivor Philippines. I hope there would be a second season, and wish it would be a celebrity edition. :) I'm just kind of curious how does a celebrity survived in that kind of island without food, it chills my blood just to imagine that though the first season hasn't ended yet. Anyway, keep up the good work and more power!!!! PS: Can you make a blog about the last 10 castway about their feeling after they are voted out and after they watch the full show. It's just kind interesting to know what's on their mind after their watch the whole show.
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