Episode Report Card Miss Alli: B+ | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT So Long, My Lovelies
By Miss Alli | Season 16 | Episode 6 | Aired on 03.12.2008
It's so funny, because what I've always admired about Jonathan is his understanding that this is a game; that it's not your life. No villains in Monopoly. He knows he'll be fine; he knows the wife and the kids and the work are more important than playing Survivor. But look how he's struggling anyway. And look how important it is to him to reassure himself that he tried as hard as he could. That's why his emphasis while he's leaving isn't really on how sad he is; it's on repeating that he did everything he possibly could to stay in the game. It's interesting how important that feeling is to him, I think. That he just wants everybody to know he really, honestly, truly tried as hard as he could not to quit; not to have to quit. This is the difference between natural quitters and natural fighters like Jonathan, I think. Natural fighters, if they're smart, still know when to quit -- when your leg is about to fall off is a good example. But they hate it, and they worry and blame themselves, kind of. I'm not sure why I found this exit so much more compelling than the other medical departures, other than the fact that I have so much affection for him, but I think it's related to how much fun he was having, and how much he really relished being there, and how random and idiotic his injury was. This isn't fire ants or freakishly falling into the fire. This should not have happened. Nobody should be dragging each other around a challenge course that could even potentially have sharp objects in it. In the middle of the woods! Absolutely insane. This never should have happened, but it's his leg that's at stake, you know? You can't stand around arguing about whose fault it is or how unfair it is while your temperature hits 105 and you keel over.
I will miss you, bub.
When we come back from commercials, the Jonathan-less Airai is returning to camp, happy about the impending arrival of their native Micronesians but still bummed about Jonathan. James, of course, puts his sadness over Jonathan's departure in terms of how much he does not want to hang around with a bunch of girls. "I'm not that persuasive in a verbal manner to woo people on my side, and they are," he says. I'm not sure I entirely get that, but I think it means "girls are crafty." He tells us that he thinks he'll be okay if he makes the merge, but he adds with a laugh that the odds of that do not look excellent right now.
A boat paddles up, and -- hey! It's Joe and Edwin! Joe and Edwin visited the tribe in Palau right after the sort-of-merge and taught them how to fish! Remember when Coby got all pissy because Ian and Tom and Gregg didn't take him fishing? Remember how stupid that was? That was Joe and Edwin! Remember that time the tribe had a party, and Tom drank rum straight from the bottle until he couldn't stand up? That was Joe and Edwin! Joe and Edwin bring fishing, petty conflicts, and drunkenness! Joe and Edwin! They've brought a bunch of food with them, but as Eliza explains, they've also brought a bunch of other stuff, including an extra machete and a couple of knives. So this is working out well. Parvati asks if Joe is married, and he says he is. "That's okay; we can still hang out," she says. I have no idea why I found that kind of funny and endearing, but I did. If I believed she took herself as a flirt that un-seriously, she'd be a lot less irritating.