Survivor: South Pacific

[dbuck]

Brandon wasn't there to redeem the Hantz name for Russell's sake, he seemed to hate the fact that his name was Hantz and therefore was guilty by association.
He wanted to play nice and honorably (many say that, so few accomplish-nor is it necessary) so that the 'world' could see not all Hantz's are like Russell.
I think Brandon feels he failed. Personally, I didn't give a hoot if he did or didn't 'redeem' the name, but I'm not the one related to and having the name Hantz and having to listen to what is said.

Brandon did prove that just by having a Hantz on a tribe didn't mean you got the same gameplay. He is not his uncle, obviously, and perhaps not much like his father from what I saw.
Brandon had issues and inconsistencies with the lying and cheating part of the game, and Russell has his own gameplay issues.

The fact that we have to try to spot a bit of humanity in Russell is the scary part.

 

[Skalen Fehl]

Now, I didn't think it was that bad and I thought Russell actually demonstrated a bit of love and restraint as he 1) told Brandon there was a difference in how he felt about him as a family member and how he felt about him as a survivor contestant and 2) he gave Brandon the option to have him not comment. That is more rope than Russell ever gave anyone else and I thought it served to show a bit of humanity in Russell.

Yup, I saw that as well and I agree. Also, Jeff Probst knows just how to get people to blab, and he got Russell to spill the beans. And it phased Brandon like water off a duck's back.

 

[The Wook]

Yup, I saw that as well and I agree. Also, Jeff Probst knows just how to get people to blab, and he got Russell to spill the beans. And it phased Brandon like water off a duck's back.

Not sure which Reunion show you were watching. The kid looked like he was gonna cry, particularly at the moment when Russell said "he didn't do anything right". Brandon can say, "I've got my wife and kids who support me", all he wants, but he's been made a pariah by part of his family for embarrassing the Hantz name, and it was evident all night he's deeply saddened by that. Which he should be, the kid disrespected the game, and repeatedly insulted his uncle with his "I have to redeem the Hantz name" crap.

There was nothing to redeem kid. Your uncle brought greatness to the game, changing the way it was played forever. And you accomplished NOTHING in the contest, except to bore us with your own personal battles to become a good Christian. The game of Survivor, a game built on deception, was the wrong battlefield.

Please God, no more Bible-thumping castaways ever again!

The Wook

ps~And since when is Coach this devout Christian man?! In his previous seasons he talked mostly about his affection for various eastern religions, but I don't recall him invoking the name *****, praying to *****, until it was expedient for him to do so in front of Brandon this season. What a charlatan! :rolleyes

 

[Star Wars Chick]

Not only that, Art, but Brandon's been disrespecting his uncle all season long, with his mantra, "I'm here to redeem the Hantz name". Well BULLSHEET! The Hantz name didn't *need* redeeming! Sure, Russell lied and manipulated his way through his seasons, but so the FRAK what?! Virtually everyone does...it's just Russell's better at it.

Russell treated Brandon with way more respect than Brandon had given him.

Merry Christmas.

The Wook

Totally agree. While I would never want to play this game because I would not want to be pushed into a game where you are supposed to lie and deceive, I can appreciate the fact that this game's slogan is Outwit, Outplay, and Outlast. While generally Russell would have been a character I hated, and I tried to hate him on his first season, I quickly embraced the fact that he had no misconceptions about what this game was, what it took to win, and that it was NOT real life, it was a game, and he was able to separate the two. What drives me nuts, more than anything in this game, is how the jury adopts a holier than thou attitude when they have been duped. Yet, you have seen almost every single one of them do what it took to try and save their own butts. They will bad mouth, or plant seeds of deceit, or lie, or manipulate, or bargain with, knowing they will back out of that bargain when the time comes. Yet, they get voted out and then all of a sudden, they NEVER did anything like that to anyone and can't seem to reward someone for playing the game as it is clearly set up to be played- by outplaying, outwitting, and outlasting. I feel like Russell lost both seasons when he clearly did this and he lost only because people couldn't deal with what the game entails and I feel Coach lost this season for the same reason. I think Sophie played a good game, but I really feel like she never would have made it there had it not been for Coach and I am so tired of coat tail riders winning this game because the jury doesn't have the you know what's to reward the present that played this game the best. I was glad to see Cochran got it in the end, that was nice- a true fan of this game.

Ok, end Christmas Survivor rant :lol

 

[The Wook]

I feel like Russell lost both seasons when he clearly did this and he lost only because people couldn't deal with what the game entails and I feel Coach lost this season for the same reason.

Yes, but would you agree that is where the similarity ends between Russell and Coach? They didn't vote for Russell because they were bitter he'd outwitted and outplayed them. But they didn't vote for Coach because he portrayed himself as a trustworthy Christian man--what was his mantra?...play with honor, trust, integrity--and yet he displayed none of those virtues in his actual gameplay. I don't think they punished him (the way they punished Russell) for just lying, I think they punished him for constantly saying, in the name of ***** ******, that he wouldn't lie, and then did. You tell me, who's the bigger villain? The man who lies? Or the man who non-stop preaches honor and integrity and doing the Christian thing, but then lies?

This season was a considerably less embarrassing showing for Coach, in that he wasn't so clownish. But he was still a joke. He was still a hypocrite. And he still sucked at challenges. (Remember when he was yelling at Mikayla to exit the challenge because she wasn't hitting the targets with the slingshot, and HE was missing every time he shot it too?!! :rolleyes) Coach isn't even in the same league as Russell in this game.

The Wook

 

[GDafi]

Sorry, here in Oz, we have not seen the last episode as it is not aired down here for another 24 hours.
So if I am covering old material I apologise, but the onley reason Brandon appears to have been in this season was he is Russell's nephew.
And if the producers hoped he was a chip of the old block, they seriously frakked up.
I have never seen an more opininated, bible bashing idiot.

A hot blonde is on his team, and she gets voted off because she's a temptress, so she should be gone. Hell join the human race, walk down the local main street, I'm damn sure you will see a young lady who looks great, looks great in a bikini(on the beach) and she will not tempt you, unless you are a loser who is an ex gang member( Mickey Mouse Club Gang me thinks), who claims to be a god faring man.
Then there is the meltdowns at tribal council, hell I still can not work out how the hell he made it past the first eliniation, but I suppose that is the game of Survivor.

Hopefully next season will be better.

 

[The Wook]

Sorry, here in Oz, we have not seen the last episode as it is not aired down here for another 24 hours.
So if I am covering old material I apologise, but the onley reason Brandon appears to have been in this season was he is Russell's nephew.
And if the producers hoped he was a chip of the old block, they seriously frakked up.
I have never seen an more opininated, bible bashing idiot.

A hot blonde is on his team, and she gets voted off because she's a temptress, so she should be gone. Hell join the human race, walk down the local main street, I'm damn sure you will see a young lady who looks great, looks great in a bikini(on the beach) and she will not tempt you, unless you are a loser who is an ex gang member( Mickey Mouse Club Gang me thinks), who claims to be a god faring man.
Then there is the meltdowns at tribal council, hell I still can not work out how the hell he made it past the first eliniation, but I suppose that is the game of Survivor.

Hopefully next season will be better.

ABSO BLOODY LUTELY!

Well put, mate. :thumbsup If they bring back another Bible-thumper next season I'm gonna be seriously cheezed off!

The Wook

 

[Crank729]

I am so mad that sophie won!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I hate it when People who did nothing in the game of survivor win!!!!!!!! Coach should have won just for the fact that he did a lot in the game!!

 

[dbuck]

If the jury voted at the reunion after cooling off and watching the show for several months, many survivor outcomes would probably be different.
When they vote in the heat of the moment, emotion and anger rule.

 

[Star Wars Chick]

If the jury voted at the reunion after cooling off and watching the show for several months, many survivor outcomes would probably be different.
When they vote in the heat of the moment, emotion and anger rule.

Very true, very true.

@Wook- oh absolutely. Russell and Coach are totally different players. I would definitely agree that is where the similarity ends with them.

I must say I liked Coach so much better this season than any other he's been on and was truly rooting for him all season. He took a horrible situation (his tribe did not want him, so unlike Ozzy's) when both players arrived, and he turned his tribe not only into people that embraced him, but that wound up dominating the game and he finally made it to the final 3.

What made me enjoy Coach this season is he kind dropped the Dragon Slayer persona, and believing that people are going to be honest in this game and believe the strongest of most worthy should make it to the end and will stand by that belief. Thinking and believing that people were playing that way is what did him in before. He completely changed his game for this season for one reason. To win. He realized what he was doing wrong and totally played this game differently.

The difference between him and Brandon in regards to their beliefs is that he knew in order to win this game, he would have to compromise. He knew that he could keep his tribe strong and they could make it to the merge with strong numbers and take out the other tribe, guaranteeing his people the final 6. But he also knew that once the other tribe was gone, they would have no choice but to HAVE to turn on one another and take each other out. Again, that is the game. He doesn't make the rules. So what else can you do at that point but either keep playing the game against people you have made friendships with and people you have made into a family in order to help them all get as far as they did. I don't believe they would have made it that far without Coach. I really don't think that is being a hypocrite, it is reality. Winning this game while staying true to your beliefs just do not go hand in hand. Brandon and Coach both knew this and Brandon couldn't leave his values behind to try and win. Coach tried to stay true to his word as much as he could but he was willing to separate reality from the game and when it was down to the final people, he did what he had to do. And I was ok with that.

 

[micdavis]

They should find twenty people that WILL play with Russell's method and watch them duke it out. That would be something to see.

Praying to God for idols and votes is not as fun to watch as a good blindside.

 

[The Wook]

They should find twenty people that WILL play with Russell's method and watch them duke it out. That would be something to see.

Praying to God for idols and votes is not as fun to watch as a good blindside.

Mike, you must've missed my post earlier in the thread suggesting the same thing. I'd pay to see such a season! :lol Here's my post so you don't have to dig around for it.

The Wook

Julia, let's just hope for a more secular season come this spring.

And ya know what I would do?! Instead of having a diverse cast of people in terms of their social skills and self-confidence, like we have every season, I'd have one season in which the teams were stocked full with Type-A personalities! Might be dangerous...lol...and that's why the producers wouldn't do it, but I dunno, I'm intrigued by the concept. Because quite frankly, there's not nearly enough strategy or bold moves in this game--Russell Hantz being the exception. He made his seasons soooo exciting, seasons without him, before and since, seem boring in comparison. I know you're not a big fan of his, even though you admired his avuncular handling of Brandon last night, but do you see what I mean?

The Wook