Survivor Commentary

Gender War
It’s not over yet…but it’s close
by Rich Glanzer

Season after season, week after week it’s the same thing. The guys go after the strongest player, the women sit back letting the men do their dirty week. I’m almost surprised the men didn’t go after Rory last week. I mean he did finish 2nd to Sarge in the immunity challenge, right?

Now it appears the women will run right through the men, and the Survivor Battle of the Sexes will be won by the women. And if that happens, Sarge, Chris, and Chad deserve all this and more. I’m rooting real hard for the last six players all to be women. Stupidity should not be rewarded.

However if there’s one other constant besides men playing stupid in Survivor, it’s this…you just never know. Richard Hatch wrote the book on how to play Survivor, but that book is old and antiquated now. The best way to play this game is to be flexible, and keeping your options open. The six women left are Scout, Twila, Leann, Eliza, Ami, and Julie. This is not an unbreakable alliance. While Scout, and Ami seem to be gung ho on this girl power trip, Eliza, Julie, and Twila seem the type to want the million dollars more than a Sisterhood Bond. Leeann probably would join the Twila/Leann team.

The men this week have virtually no chance of breaking the six women alliance. If I was playing, I’d recognize this situation, and not try to stir the pot too much.

However, I’m sure the three remaining men are going to try and keep Twila and Julie in their dwindling Lopevi alliance. I mean after all, Lopevi does have a five to four edge with Rory being voted off. And Twila and Julie probably will lie till the bitter end and pretend to be with the guys. This will give the guys false hope, and not plan for the big week coming up. And this will hurt the reaming two Y chromo zones who don’t get voted off even more.

What the men should do is sellout their leader (Sarge), and not to make too much noise. They shouldn’t be viewed as trying to break the alliance. And most importantly, they should keep their eyes open. They should try to recognize that Eliza feels little allegiance to her alliance. They should try and find #’s 5 and 6 in the women’s alliance and then try as hard as they can to prove it to them, that they are indeed 5/6.

The guys may catch a break and there may be a reward challenge that shows where everybody stands in the tribe. Survivor has done this type of challenge before, and it’s always interesting to see where everyone stands. Boston Rob was very lucky (or was it on purpose) that he did not win this challenge during the All Star season.

However none of these guys are nearly as smart as Boston Rob. Or Anna Nicole Smith for that matter, but that’s beside the point. Given the men’s Survivor intelligence levels, their best bet is #’s 5/6 (Eliza and Ami?) come to them with this strategy.

But what I expect is the men are going to get exactly what they deserve. To be unceremoniously picked off one by one. All because they were afraid of a little competition. Here’s some free advice to the next nine males picked for Survivor. When you vote off your strongest competitor, that big giant X on his back, goes on