There are times in Survivor where you have to mislead. It's impossible to win the game otherwise. Sometimes, you might have to flat-out lie. Some winners have lied a lot.
Some players have betrayed alliances - they almost never win. Ocassionally, a player makes an alliance with everyone, and the amount of betrayal bites him in the end.
Where's the line? You can't win without misleading a little, but, how much lying is too much?
The brilliance of the format is that it's left for the jury to decide. As Jeff says, you will be held accountable in the end.
I mention all this becuase Kim might be the most deceitful player ever to win the game. She's up there with Russell. Russell never won, but Kim dominated her jury. Why? Is it the package? Is it that she was, nevertheless, likeable?
Comparing her to Russell might be unfair. The best analogy might be Boston Rob in All-Stars. Rob made an alliance with everyone, stayed true to only a few, dominated physically and strategically, but lost in the end to a highly disgruntled jury. Why didn't Kim share a similar fate? She had an ALLIANCE with Kat, Mike, Jay and Troy. I'd have a difficult time voting for someone who broke an alliance with me. Sabrina and Chelsea were in that alliance, but both of them were less guilty than Kim (Mike nailed this point at the final tribal council).
In one of the last tribals, Chelsea made a plea to Kim's loyalty, but it included a threat. She warned that a betrayal of that magnitude would doom her with the jury. Chelsea implied that that was where the line was (which is convenient for Chelsea).
Kim played a great game, but she might have crossed my line earlier than that. The episode beforehand she admitted to the camera that she has lied so much, she can't remember the truth. That's when she lost me.
I know Kim's extremely likeable. I know it's just a game. But, I'm not sure I would have voted for her.
At the final tribal, Christina was asked about the abuse she received at the hands of Colton and Alicia. She shrugged it off - 'it's just a game, I love all these guys.' I don't know if I would be that casual about it. Alicia breaks down over comparing Christina to her students because of what it meant about the students (not Christina). Colton is on trial for saying to Bill 'get a real job', but NOT for telling Christina to 'jump in the fire.' Kim's lying, the abuse of Christina - that's all fine. But, if you mention thw Wizard of Oz when discussing Leif, you're in hot water. I find it weird what people choose to get indignant about. We live in strange times.
No comments:
Post a Comment