Question: When didSurvivorget so woke?
Survivorhas always considered itself a microcosm of society.
Those are the fireworks that fans sign up to see.
“I Was Born at Night, But Not Last Night” – Janet Carbin, Jamal Shipman, Karishma Patel, Kellee Kim, Dean Kowalski and Noura Salman on the Seventh episode of SURVIVOR: Island of Idols airing Wednesday, Nov. 6 (8:00-9:01 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Photo: Robert Voets/CBS Entertainment ©2019 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.Robert Voets/CBS
Survivor: Island of the Idolshas turned intoSurvivor: Island of the Cultural Exploration and Explanation.
And it has been pretty awesome to see.
(Unless itinvolves Mr. T, that is.)
Look, Jeff: I work an at all-girls school, okay?
I know the power of women when they get together and they understand their collective power.
And in this tribe, 4-3, were outnumbered.
This rankled Kellee who responded that, I find this idea of a womans alliance so sexist.
Its really offensive to be like, Oh, the women outnumber the men.
They can just take over.
The amount of fear inSurvivorabout a womens alliance outpaces the number of times theres actually been a womens alliance.
Not to mention, we dont talk about mens alliances.
We dont fear mens alliances.
And yet three men have been sitting at the very end.
And thats not a thing.
For some reason, it would be a thing for three women to be sitting at the very end.
As Janet pointed out, To assume that women are going to bond based on gender is very negative.
Thats putting women down.
And I think there is probably something to that.
But here is where the discussion getsreallyinteresting, and this was barely touched on in the show.
Lord knows I have.
Way too much, in fact.
(I have no idea why my wife has not divorced me.)
And its not even close.
Meanwhile, on the original Vokai, Noura openly discussed wanting to form a womens alliance there.
That means on both tribes there were women forming or wanting to form womens alliances.
The players both maleandfemale have been conditioned through viewing the show to believe this could be a thing.
That is a massive double standard.
But the key question out there that was not really answered on the show is… Why?
And that is not the only way viewers have been conditioned to think about womens alliances.
Thats an unfair slam that gender stereotypes women as being incapable of working together.
For one thing, they can, as proved by the examples laid out above inMicronesiaandOne World.
But also, hardlyanyalliances regardless of gender stick together on these shows.
An all-female alliance on this past summersBig Brotherwas formed immediately… and broken apart almost as immediately.
AndChelsea told methat the womens alliance on Lairo also quickly took a backseat to a different inter-gender fivesome.
But you will find just as much dissension and defection in pretty muchanyreality show alliance, regardless of gender.
Again, if people ever talked about mens alliances they would assuredly break up just as easily.
Jesus, why am I still going on all about all of this?
I shouldnt have brought any of this up.
Ive made this all way too confusing and muddled.
But I wanted to go deeper.
I cant ignore facts, even when they are inconvenient.
Now, I could be wildly off on this.
Thats pretty damn cagey.
So shes gotten rid of Jack, but still has Jamal to worry about.
How about calling him out at Tribal, and in a way in which he cant really fight back?
And if that was indeed her plan?
Like I said, brilliant.
Okay, last note about all of this.
What happens if in season 40 the women once again all talk about forming a female alliance?
Is that shown, especially after Kellees speech?
Are women no longer allowed to talk about gender alliances?
And are men no longer allowed to acknowledge their possible existence?
I have no idea!
And, to be honest, I dont really care.
But it will be absolutely fascinating to see how it all shakes out.
Okay, that went on for a while.
But it was fun, right?
Kinda, at least?
And, as 1980s era NBC would say, thats one to grown on!
Younger viewers who came toSurvivorlate may not understand what a big deal Rudy was.
(Both times he set the record for oldestSurvivorcontestant ever, which still stands today.)
I was fortunate to be out there on location for his second go-round onSurvivor: All-Stars.
I was fanboying hard.
And Rudy was just…Rudy.
He never made a big deal out of anything, which was exactly his appeal.
I still have print outs of all four, three of which never made it onto newsstands.
That includes Rudys, meaning he will always be a winner in my house.
Okay, lets get back to the episode!
Light My FireOne hand giveth, the other taketh away.
Oh, he also mixed it up with Noura for taking what he deemed as too much rice.
Noura responded by proclaiming, I hate Jamal.
Im so over him.
Im over his face.
Other than that, how was the play, Mrs. Lincoln?
Thanks, but No ThanksFINALLY!
Thank you, Janet Carbin.
Thank you for not being swayed by the celebrity of Sandra and Boston Rob.
Thank you for restoring strategy and patience to the proceedings at Island of the Idols.
Thank you for making like Nancy Reagan and just saying no.
(Whoa, two first lady references in two straight paragraphs?
Get ready for your close up, Angelica Singleton Van Buren!
It was all worth it!
Your place in history is now secured.)
For everything else, white-on-white Adidas Shell Toes are totally acceptable.
So long as they are store-bought clean.
Steak should be cooked at medium-rare to medium temperature.
Martinis and anything thats served in a martini glass are for people over the age of 70.
All types of pasta should collectively be referred to as macaroni.
Always carry your cash and credit cards wrapped in a rubber band or maybe a money clip.
If youre a guy and you should probably use the hairdryer, you need a haircut.
Its never okay to mess around with the best friends girl.
Your best friends girls best friend, on the other hand?
Im dying to know what the macaroni test would have been.
But if she lost, she would lose her vote at the next Tribal.
And then she did something even more remarkable she sat and actually considered her options.
Super smart play by Janet.
Missy called it a danger zone.
Lauren told her not to feel violated.
My question is, did anyone say anything to Dan?
And my next question is, would it even make a difference?
The problem for Tommy is, the other side could see how close he and Lauren were.
As Missy said, that made Dan irrelevant.
And now with next weeks merge, well never know.
Its all window dressing, and all that actually matters is the puzzle.
If you are faster in the puzzle, you will win the challenge.
And Im usually right.
But not this week.
Those precious seconds Vokai gained by outshooting their competition gave them the margin they needed to win.
Look for my next apology in season 78.
Idol ThoughtsIm fascinated by Kellees move to give Dean her idol.
Im fascinated by the way she came up with the idea right in the middle of a confessional interview.
And Im fascinated to see how it all plays out back at camp later that night.
Lets also acknowledge Jamal playing his idol… for Noura!!!
Noura, who was over his face.
Noura, who had been gunning for him for days.
Noura, who then returned the favor by voting out his biggest ally in Jack.
When he then saw two votes for Jack, that had to sting.
Misusing your idol and watching your ride-or-die go within a minute of each other.
And next weeks merge means another reset.
Speaking of things being in full effect, check out our exclusive deleted scene from the episode above.
And check out ourweekly Q&A with Hostmaster General Jeff Probst.
And check out ourexit interview with Jack.
Thats a lot of stuff to check out!
And also dont forget about mymid-game interview with Boston Rob.
Its 100 percent macaroni free!
If you need even more, follow me on Twitter@DaltonRoss.
What did you make of all the womens alliance talk at Tribal.
Should Janet have taken Rob and Sandras offer?
And was Kellees idol play brilliant or the thing that takes her down?
