A sad Survivor finale

I know...two posts in one day...shocking!! And I still need to do that second book review (thanks to the person who commented on the earlier review!)

But I have to rant about Survivor for a minute. Yeah yeah yeah, I know. "Its just a tv show." And "the motto of the show is 'Outwit. Outplay. Outlast." Or something like that. In other words, contestants are supposed to lie, cheat, and steal in order to win. Its the way the game is played. So why am I upset?

I am upset for several reasons. Number one, the best player did not win. Number two, one of the nicest people to ever play the game did not win. Number three, one of the nicest people who played one of the cleanest games did not win. Number four, two of the final three contestants, one of which was the winner, did not deserve to be in the finals in my opinion. Both of them were hangers on, letting other people figure out the strategies and win the challenges, while they voted as they were told to vote. Number five, the reason why Earl won, and by a unanimous decision for the first time in Survivor history, was NOT because he was the best player in the game. It was because his closest competitor in the final three, Dreamz, went back on a promise he made to Yau-Man. Yau-Man, one of the least likeliest people to win Survivor, was just about to do exactly that, when Dreamz destroyed all of Yau-Man's careful strategy and determination to win several challenges.

If you watched the season, you know what I'm talking about. If you didn't, you probably don't care. So I don't think I need to go into the whole story. But I am really sad about the whole thing. I'm not really pissed off, I'm just sad. Its one of those moments that causes a neon "Remember, no one ever promised you that life would be fair" sign to flash before my eyes.

For me, the only thing worse to ever happen on Survivor (besides Rob and Amber's engagement right before she won, ewww) was Johnnie Rotten (or whatever his name was) pretending that his grandmother died so he could get some sympathy attention and perhaps keep from getting voted out. In Johnnie's case, I think he could be mentally ill, and I hope he gets professional help before he hurts himself or someone else. But Dreamz is not mentally ill. He is simply a liar. Yes, there was strategy in Yau-Man's decision to give Dreamz the truck in exchange for immunity later on. Of course there was strategy involved. But there was also goodness involved as well. Yau-Man knew that Dreamz desperately needed and wanted a car. He knew how Dreamz grew up. Dreamz was not shy about his rough upbringing. He played Yau-Man by promising to G-d that he would give up immunity if the situation came about. And he played everyone else by pretending to agonize over his situation. He even brought his son into the mix, saying he had to do right to set a good example for his child. But in the end, greed won out over goodness. And he couldn't even admit to the depths that he had sunk. "Oh, its ok," he says with a wave of his hand. "Its a game. Its not real life. Everyone else cheats and lies in this game. Its how you win."

The one thing I can be grateful for is that the members of the jury did not reward treachery of this magnitude. Dreamz did not receive a single vote, and he was skewered by several of his fellow contestants, especially when he claimed at the final tribal council that he would "use the money to do a lot of good." Good for who, Dreamz? And would anyone want money that was "earned" in the face of such betrayal? I think its also sad that again for the first time in Survivor history, all three finalists were individuals of color. That is a good thing. The sad part is that one of them got there by lying and the other two got there by letting others do all the work.

I hope Dreamz' son is proud of him. I hope Dreamz can sleep at night.

And I hope Yau-Man has good Karma for years to come. He didn't win a million dollars, but he won a whole bunch of respect, and a ton of fans. Life may not be fair, but I believe good things will come his way. Its always fun to root for an underdog, and Yau-Man was the reason I kept watching this season. Congrats Yau-Man!

librarianintx