Dan becomes the focus of accusations both real and exaggerated for strategic effect
Here we go again.
There are so many angles on what transpired here onSurvivor.
My head is still spinning from it all.
With that said, lets dive in and start with Kellee.
(Well get into Missy and Elizabeth in a minute.)
(Well get into that as well.).
But heres whats so impressive about Kellee.
Kellee was still focused on getting Missy out because she felt Missy was the biggest threat in the game.
Only whenJamalwanted to move the target over to Dan did Kelle change gears.
She handled it extremely well.
Viewers, most likely, did not.
This was difficult to see.
But not as cruel as what came next.
I felt for her.
MISSY AND ELIZABETHIf I can play up that card in whatever way possible, Ill do it.
So this is where things get complicated.
In that sense, the Kellee and Dan stuff is not all that intricate.
But what about when people decide to use or accuse as a game move?
Like, you have a very open mom-daughter moment about how uncomfortable you are.
Right now, thats our only play.
However, where things get super tricky is the fact that Elizabeth didnotfeel that way.
The entire game is about deceit, so what makes one lie stronger or worse than the other?
I very rarely have any moral qualms about controversial moves.
I had no issue when Jonny Fairplay killed his own grandmother on national television.
That is certainly dicey.
This is not a defense of Dan, mind you.
Well talk more about him a little later.
But its about the lengths you will go to move the target off of yourself and onto someone else.
Part of me wants to completely bury them for that.
Im not going to defend it.
But Im also not going to sit here and pretend the situation is that black and white.
Because, once again, we have the intersection of personal and professional.
We cant sit here and pretend this is all happening in a vacuum.
The first rule ofSurvivoris to exploit any and every situation to your advantage.
Thats the mind-frame of the modern-daySurvivorplayer.
And you have to consider that mind-frame when looking at what Missy and Elizabeth did.
Again, Im not defending it.
But hopefully, I am at least giving it some context.
Because it is not a normal situation.
This is not real life.
Think about that for a second.
On the surface, that would seem terrible of Kellee.
But it wasnt, because she was also playing the game.
Its its own entity.
Its a very, very powerful thing.
Lives can be destroyed.
Plain and simple, it just sucks what happened to Janet here.
She enjoyed his company and the two got along well.
But she was troubled when Kellee expressed issues with the way Dan kept pawing at her.
So when Jamal proposed voting out Dan, Janet agreed.
She didnt do it because she disliked him.
(On the contrary, she said she was fond of Dan.)
She didnt do it for strategic reasons.
(Dan was trying to align with her.)
She did it because I just have a personal, emotional need to have these girls feel okay.
Thats what makes what happened next so heartbreaking.
Or a little bit of both?
That ultimately is the question we all have to wrestle with now.
Everyone draws their own line.
Everyone has their own code.
Some people refuse to swear on their family.
Others have no issues doing so.
Some people promise to never break an alliance in the game.
Others do so on a daily basis.
Sometimes, because I am a terrible person, that is fun to watch.
I felt awful for her.
I felt awful watching her wrestle with what had happened.
I felt awful watching Elizabeth essentially tell her to her face that she had lied.
I felt awful watching Janet talk about quitting the game right then and there at Tribal Council.
Thats a damn shame.
Well, first off, all, false accusations can potentially affect someones life in a pretty drastic way.
I also never got the sense this was just about Janet being on the wrong side of the votes.
And, in terms of thegame, that was her big mistake.
And the fact that it was such a mistake is what was so hard to watch.
Said Janet: I got played and then they crossed a line playing it.
We can all agree on the first part of that quote.
The second part is what is likely to be argued for a long time on both sides.
Because everybody in this game has a different line.
DANThat vote proved they wanted to keep playing that game with me.
Did they want to keep playing the game with you?
So thats not great.
All that said, we did see a pattern.
They werent making that stuff up for no reason and did acknowledge the truth on multiple occasions.
What really troubled me about Dan was his behavior at Tribal Council.
Did he really need to make a triumphant arm pumping motion when Kellee was voted out?
This was a woman who experienced a lot of emotional vulnerability at his (literal) hands.
If you had a long spindly mustache, would you have also been twirling that?
It was a bad look.
The next Tribal Council was even worse.
He only finally really acknowledged the Kellee situation after essentially being forced to.
Again, not a good look.
The fault is mine.
I am so sorry if I ever made you feel unsafe.
Thats all he had to do.
And the thing about that is, it also would have been a great game move!
Everyone would have respected it, whether they felt he was at fault or not.
Its a no-lose play.
But instead, Dan seemed to dig in his heels.
But I think we can all agree he could have handled this a hell of a lot better.
Cause thats…I dont want anyone feeling uncomfortable.
Production onSurvivorlikes to remain invisible.
(Nobody tell Sia!)
Thats what made what happened here so unique.
And intervene they did.
They were cautioned about personal boundaries and reminded that producers are available to them at all times.
Based on the outcome of those discussions, the game continued.
Producers continue to monitor the situation.
The less interference in terms of the personal dynamics of that society, the better.
How Dan received that warning and if that is what led to his celebration at Kellees ouster remains unclear.
The ultimate judgment on how production handled the situation will come from the players themselves.
If they felt safe and protected, thats all that really matters.
Of course, I will be asking Kellee and others about it.
JEFF PROBSTDan, youre right.
I will never let it go.
Well be here until day 39.
To quote Bill Paxton inAliens, Game over, man.
That was classic, vintage, old school Jeff Probst.
First of all, have you met Jeffrey Probst?
Its the mans job to poke, prod, and pry.
Thats what hes there to do!
And hell keep doing it until he gets what hes looking for.
Ive attended a bunch of Tribal Councils.
Some are petty quick and can be done in about 40 minutes.
Ive been to others that all told lasted more than two hours.
If Jeff feels one contestant is not giving him what he needs, hell ask that person again.
And if nobody is giving him anything useful, hell curse everyone out.
And thats why Probst is so good at what he does.
Theres no IFB in his ear with a producer feeding him direction or questions.
Theres no chance to go back and reshoot stuff later.
Nobody is able to get meat off the bone like Probst.
And Dan should know that.
Hes been to a few Tribals by now.
When Steven Spielberg shoots a scene, he doesnt simply do one take.
He may do twenty and then pick the best one to use in the movie.
Thats the way it works.
IN CONCLUSIONOkay, lets wrap this up.
Usually, I am not a fan of when two episodes ofSurvivorare wedged back to back.
That bums me out.
He was clearly bummed about being taken out.
And these episodes were nothing if not complicated.
Okay, were not done yet.
Weve got an exclusive deleted scene from the episode for you above.
How do you weigh in when it comes to what Missy and Elizabeth did?
What do you make of Dans reaction to everything?
And where do you stand when it comes to productions role in incidents like this?
Hit the message boards to weigh in.
Opinions are welcome as long as they are delivered in a constructive and considerate manner.
Lets all be adults here, okay?
And, with that, Ill be back next week with another scoop of the crispy.
