Watching Survivor

So, let’s continue my little comments on the upcoming survivor, along with what they said, and what Jeff said about them at EW.com. After all, that’s half the fun of watching Reality TV - waxing eloquent (or not) on every little attribute and attitude and words that you find, and then seeing if you were right all along about them once the Season starts! Who doesn’t love completely uneducated opinions on people they’ve never meant? Exactly.

So, we already covered the first five Faves (in first name alphabetical order, of course) - so let’s tackle the remaining five.

Fittingly, we’re going to start today with the one, the only, Jonny Fairplay. Before we get into the dirt, however, I want to say CONGRATS! to Jonny and his girl Michelle Deighton, who welcomed their baby girl on Wednesday. Mom and baby girl Piper Addison are said to be doing fine, and we at Watching Survivor wish you all of the best!

Now, on to the DIRT.

Jonny says: I’m either the first one out or the last one here.

Said Jeff: You can’t do the season and not invite your most notorious person. And Fairplay delivered, I will say that. He delivered and we got what we expected we would get, which is that character he created called Jonny Fairplay. What gets me is just how effective it can still be. He can call you stupid and somebody will get mad. And I’m looking at this going ‘why are you getting mad at this guy? he’s created a character, he’s trying to get under your skin - and it’s working!’ This guy is no threat to win this game - zero.

Says me: Well, first off - Jonny said at a recent press day that parenthood changes the way you go into the game, and that he is playing for his little girl this time. But also that he’ll still be the guy we love to hate - he’ll do the best thing for his baby girl, but he’ll still be the scumbag he was before. Nice.

Unfortunately, I think he was more correct in the previous statement - I see Jonny going out really early, because he just isn’t going to be as focused on the game and the dynamics this time. He’s used to being the Big Ego, and he’s supposed to figure out how to tame that and work well with other people who are also 2-timers and Big Egos in their own right? I don’t see it happening at all. Jonny is a constant - he will ALWAYS be JFP. Unfortunately, I feel this will bring his early demise from the show.

Jonathan said: These are serious players now. There are no players with names like Chicken who are just there to get blown up.

Said Jeff: Penner only plays to win. He’s not interested in third. He’s not interested in second. and you saw that at Cook Islands. And Penner is gold. At Tribal Council I can just look at him and know that he’s ready to light somebody up. And Penner is the biggest complainer that we’ve had on the show. He complains about every challenge, and I get a kick out of it. I’m so happy he’s on the show. And Penner could win - absolutely. He’s a smart dude, and I think he probably learned a couple things in watching his season’s playback.

Says me: The BIGGEST complainer? Really? Bigger then Courtney? Maybe it’s not quite as annoying because he’s not a stick. Or something. Anyway - I tend to agree with Jeff on the rest of it thought. Jonathans a smart guy, a real smart guy, and if anyone can pull together what he learned last time and put it into play this time - it’s him. Of all of the 2-timers, I think he probably has the best chance of making it to the merge, and farther still.

Ozzy says: My mistakes last time were basically being too much of a loner. I’m never going to go anywhere by myself except to use the bathroom.

Said Jeff: Ozzy’s big problem is going to be that he’s Ozzy. Ozzy played a brilliant physical game - the only thing Ozzy lacked was the social skill of how to play Survivor. And that’s probably going to be the deciding difference. If he can figure out a way to survive socially due to the kind of target he’s going to have on his back due to his physical strength, then he can do really well. Otherwise, it wouldn’t surprise me if Ozzy went out really early because you just don’t want him around.

Says me: OZZY! YAY! I adored Ozzy, and was pulling for him to win the first time around. Unfortunately, everyone will know that going in. He’s incredibly strong, and excelled at the physical challenges last time around. That puts a target of HUGE proportions on his back this time, because the fans will know it. If he can be more social like he plans, and form the right alliance, he might last a while, but I am afraid I see the fans running scared and booting him before merge, as soon as they have the chance. Which’ll make me cry, because I adore him so. SIGH!

Parvati says: I have tricks up my sleeve like you would never know. Not just the flirting game this time, at all.

Says Jeff: To me, Parvti is this season’s Amber. Last time, Parvati used her flirting and it got her a long way. But we didn’t really see her do a whole lot more then that and the question was, what if underneath that she’s got a strategy? What if she’s figured out how to play this game - could she last long enough to become a threat? Parvati’s a question mark. She could do the same thing, come out and giggle a couple times, eat some chocolate cake and go home. On the flip side, if Parvati’s figured out how to play this game, and maybe she teams up with somebody….

Says me: Well, we all know that flirting can get you everywhere, right? But they know that’s Parvati’s way. Jeff compared her to Amber, and Amber rode Rob’s coattails and let him do all the dirty work for her and walked away a millionaire. Can Parvati do the same? Would the SuperFans REALLY fall for that this time around? Again, it all falls to whether the 2Timers can manage to quell the egos and play together against the SuperFans who are gunning to best them in the game. I don’t think Parvati has a chance, either.

Yau-Man says: Last time I was able to play the weak old man under the radar before the merge. I definitely cannot do that.

Says Jeff: You can’t do a favorites season without Yau-Man. He’s sort of the Rudy of this season. He’ll be the oldest guy and the most frail and probably be one of the most popular. Yau-Man’s problem is going to be those things. He’s so popular, everyone there knows that he’s popular and well liked, and everybody knows what happened to him in Fiji. But I think Yau-Man’s going to have to come out and play aggressive. I don’t think he can play that same game of just chopping coconuts and being everyone’s friend.

Says me: I LOVE Yau-Man. As you can see, I’m thrilled with quite a few of the choices of 2-timers. Heh. Unfortunately, the fact that everyone loves him, and that everyone knows he’s stronger then his frail bones show us will see him with a huge target on his back as well. I’m not sure which will go first, but I see him and Ozzy going out really close to each other. They know he’s strong, and he has heart. Even super fans can’t hope to win against a guy with a heart as big as Yau-Man’s is. They’re going to boot him, and as fast as they can.

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So there you have it! There’s my thoughts on the 2Timers, and in the coming days, I’ll give off completely unfounded opinions about the SuperFans too. Clearly, I don’t see any of the 2Timer’s winning this season. I could be wrong, but you’ll only know if you watch along with me! Keep checking back!