Survivor Insights 83: Survivor Nicaragua – Quitters Never Win (Episode 12)

1) The Quitters: Just eleven more days in the game and two castaways decided to quit. I could not rule out if this is the ideal decision for Na’Onka and Purple Kelly. I was kinda sure they have their rational or irrational excuse to leave the game and it’s certainly unfair to judge them based on what we saw in TV. We only saw an hour of an episode which is filled with numerous editing and these two quitters, as what many people want to believe, had experience 28 days and nights without living in a comfortable shelter, with little food to eat and without warm clothes to wear.

According to Abraham Maslow, physiological needs (food, air, shelter, health, sex) are the basic needs of human survival. It is indeed true and no one can deny that.  Just imagine yourself living in a land and 50% of these physiological needs are removed from you. That’s SURVIVOR, right? It is 60% mental game and the remaining 40% is all physical. Every little thing is a tough and complicated test. If you are cold, bored, tired, thirsty and hungry, so are your tribemates.

This is a situation where you are not only playing a cut-throat game but you are also put in a place where you need to deal with people you do not know what their real personalities are and you also need to survive the inevitable elements Mother Nature can strike at you.

2) The Good vs The Right: The question is, did Na’Onka and Purple Kelly made the best decision for themselves? The real answer depends on what point of view you’re looking at. Life is not a one-way road and as what I’ve learned listening to Usher’s Raymond vs Raymond, there are ALWAYS three sides to every story you tell. There’s one side, the other and the truth.

Good – Dictionary.com defines the term as morally excellent; virtuous, sound or valid

Right – Dictionary.com defines the term as in conformity with fact, reason, truth, or some standard or principle; correct; most convenient, desirable, or favorable

Therefore, the decision to quit in SURVIVOR can either be good (for yourself) or it is absolutely not right (in the eyes of others).

A) On one side, I could say Na’Onka and Purple Kelly chose the wrong decision just because many people would label them as quitters. It’s also a two-times wrong decision for Na’Onka for not giving up the reward over the new tarp and rice for her tribemates after her announcement.

B) On the other side, it might be good to say Na’Onka and Purple Kelly stick on their word and made the right decision to leave the game for health reasons.

C) Where the truth lies? Ask them.

Good versus right and right versus good – The final decision is up to you and whichever road you take, there are still consequences.

3) Lucky Dan: Of the nine remaining castaways in Nicaragua Rainforest, Dan was the luckiest for doing nothing so special and no one wanted to vote him out. Dan was not selected to participate in this week’s reward challenge but he has chosen the right team to cheer on and ended up in a Survivor Cinema watching the premiere of Gulliver’s Travel with Benry, Chase and Na’Onka. Power and fitter players (Alina, Marty and Brenda) were voted out before him for three straight episodes in a row. His luck continues to roll and Dan was in instantly in the final six due to Na’Onka and Purple Kelly’s unexpected decision to quit.

4) Chasing power: Chase made an easier route to the million-dollar prize money the moment Na’Onka  gave her the hidden immunity idol, not by any strategic-means but by pure hood love. Her simple way of saying Chase deserves to win.

Question: Will Chase use the idol to his full advantage? Reading spoilers is not part of my routine therefore the right answer is: Let’s see and wait.

5) The Mother in Holly: Holly did the most heroic act in SURVIVOR Nicaragua in Day 28. Just imagine the anxiety and hunger she went through yet, she still chose to give up the reward over a tarp and rice. This decision instantly made her the most deserving person to win the title even if she’ll not win any immunity challenges, right? However, and I assume Holly knew it, the game is not about charity. SURVIVOR is all about outwit, outplay, outlast and what Holly did was only a part of the circle.

Episode Rating: Due to the learning resurface during this episode especially to what Jane (“There’s people out there that are a whole lot worse off than we are, and they are not playing Survivor”) and Benry (“Winners never quit and quitters never win”) said during the Tribal Council, I give it 9 of 10 stars.

Photos courtesy of: Survivor.com