While good scripted fare is finally on an upswing with the arrival of Game of Thrones, The Killing, and the second season of Treme, reality television continues to dominate with the tremendous seasons of American Idol, Survivor: Redemption Island, and even Real World: Las Vegas that have been unleashed upon us this Spring. With this edition of the column, I want to take a look at Boston Rob’s overwhelming domination on Survivor this season.
Boston Rob Mariano is arguably the most popular Survivor contestant of all time. He first showed up in the third season but really developed his fame on Survivor: Allstars back in 2004. In that season he forged a bond with Amber Brkich and the two backstabbed their way to the final two using brilliant cutthroat strategy while staying loyal only to each other. The jury was so put off by the brilliance of Rob that they gave Amber the money. The newly formed couple had the last laugh, as Rob and Amber were engaged within months.
CBS broadcast their wedding and Amber and Rob even took part in The Amazing Race. Life was good, but Rob, an adventurer at heart, could not resist the game and took part in last year’s tremendous Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains. Rob was labeled a villain and formed a great alliance. However, Russell Hantz, a short, smart, vindictive player orchestrated his ouster and Rob was cut out of the game fairly early. In the six years since he had played, the game had introduced hidden immunity idols and some strategy aspects had changed. The Hantz/Rob rivalry was so riveting that CBS brought both players back this season putting them on opposite tribes.
Russell was voted out first on his tribe due to people having watched how abhorrent a human he is on the previous few seasons. Rob, meanwhile, forged an alliance with three attractive young females, former NFL player and incredible athlete Grant, and the insane Philip, a man who claims to be a former federal agent. Not willing to be ousted like last time, Rob uncovered the hidden immunity idol without anyone on his tribe suspecting he found it. He pretended he had stomach issues while his alliance was on the beach, and managed to uncover the idol before anyone grew suspicious of his extended absence. It was hilariously funny watching him scramble and dig seemingly under every tree in the camp. To cover up his find, the guy has even chucked new clues to it that are sometimes received in a reward challenge into a volcano. He has such blind loyalty from his tribe mates that no matter how conflicted some of them may be, they listen when he decides who they are taking out.
One of the more controversial ousters of this season was when Matt and Andrea forged a bond. Matt was originally part of Rob’s alliance, but as soon as he sniffed a forming couple, Rob orchestrated his ouster to Redemption Island, a place where ousted contestants have a right to re-enter the game. Matt went on to win 6 straight duels to earn his way back in the game and was promptly voted right out and sent back to Redemption Island. Moral of this story is that if you break Rob’s trust, you are toast. At the merge, Rob’s tribe had a 6-5 advantage in people and he made it his personal mission to segregate the two groups as much as possible. He built a separate shelter for his tribe, kept their food away from the other group’s food, prevented his tribe from eating fish that the others caught that he thought might be contaminated, and installed a buddy system so that no member was alone for the picking by the weaker tribe. The man is dictating everything, which is stunning since all these contestants have had a chance to watch him play.
Rob had a huge target on his back and his managed to not only survive, but be the dominant force throughout. He has single-handedly kept a certifiably insane Philip in the game, a man his alliance despises so that when push comes to shove and he faces the jury in the final three, he can have Philip with him, who will not gobble up any of his votes for the win. The only risk for Rob at this point seems to be Matt getting back in the game and going on an Immunity run to the final three. He would definitely gain some sympathy for lasting so long alone on Redemption Island and re-entering the game two different times after a Rob-initiated ouster. The three women are all pawns and Rob will most likely bring Natalie with him to the finale. She has done nothing to claim she should win though as being a blind follower is not enough. Grant might be an obstacle but Rob will take him out once they eliminate the final two members of the other tribe.
This season has been such a treat for Survivor fans with one of its greatest players doing a victory lap in such riveting fashion by literally throwing a perfect game. He has learned so much from last year’s ouster to the point where he has a PHD in Survivor. His charisma, intelligence, leadership skill, puzzle solving abilities and manipulative techniques have been the driving forces behind this year’s domination. It will almost be a shame should Rob stumble and not win. Luckily for fans, he is almost guarantied a spot in the May 15th finale and has already signed on to host a new reality show for the History Channel, where he will travel the world using as many different modes of transportation as is possible. Survivor, still alive and providing gobs of entertainment value 11 years later, airs Wednesdays at 7 P.M. on CBS.
No comments:
Post a Comment