Last week, you will recall that we saw the exit of Russell Swan due to medical complications. This left tribe Galu with an even number of men and women. It did not take long for the surviving male castaways to decide that the situation was unacceptable. They figured that Shambo would be the easiest to turn, because she had not developed a bond with the other women, and decided to reward her by letting her stick around as far as the jury if she agreed to play ball.
“When we get down to the final five, we can burn her, no problem. Bros before hoes.” said Dave. In the normal course of events the previous statement would be offensive already, but it’s even worse in a setting where the men are determined to dominate the women at all costs. There is constant state of entitlement when it comes to the male castaways. At this point, it seems as though they believe that the real game won’t even begin until they eliminate the women. The women, on the other hand, seem clueless as to their actual vulnerability. When are these women going to buy a vowel and get a clue?
Once they agreed to bring Shambo into their covenant of masculinity, the Galu men immediately began to formulate a plan.
Alone with camera, Erick revealed the plot:
“So I was thinking about it, thinking about it, thinking about it. The way we’re going to lock Shambo in is not only to tell her, hey we’re cool with you, but us four guys are going to nominate Shambo our new chief. She’s gonna feel so important and so flattered that she is going to be as deep in my pocket as the lint in the bottom.”
Of course, the guileless Shambo takes the bait and accepts the nomination. The fellow women in the tribe are astounded by how quickly the transaction takes place, but they don’t stop to consider whether or not a plan is in motion. Shambo takes the nomination in stride and in her acceptance speech, she promises to work hard and be fair to her fellow tribe members.
Once again, the men are in control of the tribe. Even in a game, patriarchy needs the support of women to dominate. In conversation with the camera Dave discusses his concerns,
“I think us four guys plus using Shambo as a wedge is a good plan. The only strategic drawbacks I could think of is that Shambo is just so dim that she could screw up our plans if we tell her anything.”
Whether he realizes it or not, this is an admission by Dave that an alliance with the men is not in Shambo’s best interest. The men don’t want to inform Shambo of anything going on behind the scenes, because they fear that the women will finally realize that they need to start working on the strategy side of the game.
At the reward challenge, Probes announces that Shambo is the new leader of Galu and asks whether she is surprised, to which Shambo responds,
“Not too much. I’ve had a lifetime of leadership skills. Just the way I was raised, second generation marines. So I just gotta keep things in perspective and be calm.”
With that, it seems the men really do have themselves a patsy, as Shambo clearly has no clue that she is being played like a cheap fiddle. I guess she missed the outwit part, in the outwit, out-last and out-play slogan of “Survivor.” Though Shambo did not participate in the challenge, Galu wins. In her first real decision as leader, she decides to send Laura over to Foa Foa, to keep the guys strong for the challenge.
Back at Foa Foa, Russell has come to the realization that with number of losses suffered by his tribe, they are not going to able to arrive at the merge with numbers on their side. With that being the case, he decides that now is the time to start reaching out to Laura. Suddenly, he discovers Christian values and begins to relate with her. He promises her final two should she agree to the alliance. In what is the most intelligent decision made by a female castaway thus far, Laura remains uncommitted.
Natalie, Russell’s ever-ready slave follows his lead and begins to chat up Laura. “I have to keep Natalie for my little toy,” says Russell. “She has to be there for me so that I can manipulate her mind and she can do what I want her to do.” This irritates Liz, because she is left alone to get a fire started so that water can be boiled and food prepared. She rightfully complains about this to her fellow tribe mates, but unfortunately, this just reminds Russell of his dislike of her:
“Liz is so stupid; I don’t even see how she can walk without falling down. When it comes to this game, you gotta be street smart and Liz has got a mouth on her, I don’t think she knows when to shut up”.
At the elimination challenge, Foa Foa starts with a lead. They are desperate to end the long string of losses. Unfortunately, Jaison is so tired that he is unable to adequately participate. At one point, he even stops attempting to solve the puzzle and has to be goaded by Russell to continue. In the end, Foa Foa is unable to pull off the victory, thus allowing Galu to avoid tribal council.
Back at Foa Foa, Russell begins to consider eliminating Jaison, which makes Liz ecstatic. She had assumed that because she and Natalie are both smaller and weaker than the men that the elimination would be between the two of them. Unfortunately for Liz, when the votes are revealed she is sent packing, despite a tremendous effort at the elimination challenge. Once again, the supposed size and superiority of the men cause Foa Foa to eliminate a woman. Russell even commented that Jaison was a liability during the challenge and yet, the desire to privilege masculinity meant that a woman was still kicked out.
If the women do not begin to seriously play this game, it is very doubtful that there will be a female winner of this season’s “Survivor.” Even after the merge, they will not have the numbers to simply vote off the men. They will have to turn the game and use the men’s supposed strength against them by stating that each male’s physical strength is a threat. If the male castaways believe that strong men have a better chance at winning both reward and immunity challenges, then it is possible to convince them to participate in their own elimination. It is time for the women to take a page from the male playbook and play like they actually want the million dollar prize.