Survivor Episode 8+9, and NOT 10

It took me a while to watch this mega episode. Maybe it's because my obsession with the new series Watchmen has transcended TV and now I'm devouring the graphic novel as well. But mostly it's because I had an inkling of what was in store and didn't want to have a shitty night.

In what has felt to me like an overwhelmingly supportive and positive season, there were absolutely no feel-good moments this time around. This could have been a momentous episode for far more lighthearted reasons. End Boss Kellee v. End Boss Missy is a fight that I wanted to see. What we got instead was Survivor gameplay at its worst.

I'm skipping any attempt at a recap because I really have just summary points to make:

Who were the winners here? 
No one.

Who were the losers?
Let's hit the highlights: all women, particularly the women on this season of Survivor. Which in itself is also particularly unfair. Somehow a man making a woman/women feel unsafe/uncomfortable has resulted in all the women coming out looking like bad guys. How is that possible?

Let's get into the really nasty stuff first, though, and then maybe we can end on a high note (though no promises):

- Dan.  In Tribal #2 his a refrain of "Why won't you let this go?" reeks. Kellee has been thinking the same thing for 20+ days. She TOLD YOU to back off. You did not. His response in imitating someone being uncomfortable as he accidentally brushed by someone around a crowded fire belittled Kellee's experience in their interactions. And he partially defended himself by claiming to come from the industry that produced the MeToo movement, while blatantly ignoring the fact that the same industry also produced Harvey Weinstein. I get that I am watching a TV show and that I clearly don't have all the facts. But I also find it hard to accept his response to what happened as being remotely close to acceptable. Whether he's a real sketchball or not, I'm not sure. But  that's the point. As Moon noted: "I don't believe his touchiness is sexual or nefarious. But it obviously disturbs his tribemates. They told him to stop and he hasn't." That's the point.

- Aaron. Aaron is such a fucking douchebag that I'm removing him from my team. Seriously. Touchy Dan too for that matter. Aaron: you are an ass hat. "I have a mom and sisters so I'm clearly sensitive to this issue" is a bullshit stance. Fun fact: we all have mothers, it comes as a package deal with human existence. Doesn't mean women have been treated fairly or respectively through human history. Jamal actually defends Aaron in his exit interview, which I think attests to Jamal's character. But if Aaron really didn't have enough real info to recognize what was going on then maybe he should pay more attention, listen more closely, and start considering that maybe he's not the king of the universe.

Okay, and here are some highlights:

- Kellee. Kellee played a fantastic game up until she trusted Lauren in the 11th hour of tribal council. She spoke her truths and anticipated what would happen if she made a big deal out of what was happening. And she was right. Hopefully Survivor history will recognize her as a kick ass player and not because of what happened. Because if you remove all the harrassment/uncomfortableness/gender biases that went down here, what we're really looking at is a showdown between Kellee and Missy. And Kellee wasn't going to have the numbers, or at best it would have been really close. So she should have played an idol.

- Janet. This is the sort of leadership that we need more of in this day and age. She's playing a game where people are expected to lie, manipulate, and back-stab each other. And she still knew exactly when a line was crossed, and stood behind that even though it was going to cost her. When she said "This has become a moral issue" then maybe she shouldn't have tried to address that issue via the avenues of the game. Maybe she should have had a more serious conversation with the producers at that point. But that's not a detail to get too hung up on. Janet did was she believed was right, and then got villified for it afterwards.

- Jamal. Say what you will about Jamal, the man has character. He may be bossy at times, but he is also compassionate, eloquent, intelligent, and sensitive. I really think what Jamal said during Tribal #2 is about as good as it gets when it comes to difficult issues like this. (Side note, though: he really needs to work on his meta game. The way he used that IoI advantage was a D+ effort.)

- Survivor. After finishing this episode I was left with intense feelings of anxiety, sadness, and anger. And for that, Survivor, I thank you. Survivor producers forced us all to experience and process an emotionally challenging situation that is all-too-common in today's society. I think they easily could have reframed this in a way that diminished what happened to Kellee and how Missy and Elizabeth behaved. I did not have fun watching this episode. But it certainly gave me a LOT to think about, and I'd like to think that most viewers of the show will be able to at minimum recognize how complicated these kinds of situations can be. Survivor definitely made mistakes on this one, but I appreciate that they didn't shy away from showing these events anyway.