User blog:TDFanatic52/Talking about Hide and Be Sneaky

Maybe I'm beating a dead horse or maybe I'm not, either way, this has been on my mind for a while. No, it is not who was the vote that got Bridgette eliminated (though I will talk about that)... but rather the episode in general. To me, this was one of the few episodes out of the entire series that the person eliminated did not do anything wrong, lose a challenge, but only because a group of people (in this case, guys) banded together to get the girls out with Bridgette as their first target.

From a strategic point of view, this episode had a lot of it coming from three people: Duncan, Heather, and Leshawna with only one bad player in Owen and a bad move by Heather. It should be time (unless the strategic elements in the episode was addressed previously) to discuss and analyze the plays these three had in this episode.

Lets start off with Duncan. During the hide and seek challenge, he rounded up all the guys and got them to be united. Now, after thinking about it, the first guy's alliance wasn't that good considering one of them got eliminated for not being scared by Chef. (Seriously, DJ's elimination was full of *censor*) But compared to the alternative guy's alliance in TDA, this alliance was amazing. After the challenge, he went and (presumably) campaigned and got rid of Bridgette who was viewed to be very likeable and athletic.

Regardless whether or not Geoff voted his girl out, it was a good B grade move. It got rid of a strong player in Bridgette, weakened the girl's numbers, and gave a bit more control over with the men. However, luck did play into Bridgette's vote since the girls (who had a 6-4 majority over the guys) were split 3-3 and could not decide on a single person to vote off.

Notice that I said B grade move. It is a respectable move by Duncan no matter what. Got rid of a threat, got rid of a person who can potentially flip Geoff over to her side... it was amazing. But there was something Geoff said early... about voting off Heather. Granted, Heather did get her immunity, but she made a mistake: she did not agree to give either DJ or Owen to Lindsay. Heather, though safe, did not keep her blind loyalist follower who will vote with her no matter what immunity. If Heather had dirt on everyone, wouldn't it make since to target her ride or die in Lindsay? Getting rid of Lindsay would weaken a strong female strategist and could have made Heather desperate to work with Leshawna's side more.

Now lets talk about Leshawna and Heather and the people they wanted to see off.

For Leshawna, it was Duncan. Heather said it best in the next episode when she said that Duncan is no fool. Though he is physically intimidating, his most fierce attributes are is street smarts. He pulled in all the guy's together to take a numbers advantage from the girls. Plus, as of this episode, we haven't seen Leshawna and Duncan talk much, so I can see why she doesn't trust Duncan. Gwen agrees with this and Bridgette wants him off for that and for being mean and cruel to animals.

For Heather, getting rid of Duncan would be a bad play on her end. As a strategist, Heather plans ahead, I believe that she knows that had she went and got rid of Duncan, she would lose a potential meat shield- a move that is known by keeping a bigger player in the game to prevent everybody else from targeting you. (See: Jeremy Collins, Survivor: Second Chance)

Who does Heather want off instead? Owen. And I do believe that she has good reason to do so and would have been the best move off the episode that could have made a Gwen vs. Heather finale. But, why Owen? In the episode, Heather mentioned that he is always so cheerful and happy. But I believe there is more than meets the eye.

Heather is a radar player, she is on people's radars. She is making moves and talking game and everyone realizes this. Owen is an under the radar player. Nobody suspects him of anything. People can take Owen (and those playing in the similar manner) far into the game while getting rid of the threats. Plus, Owen is easily manipulated. In Not Quite Famous,, Heather got Owen to vote for Justin for a piece of cake. Duncan held Owen over a small ledge until he agrees to form an alliance. And later  in the season, Gwen got Owen to help her for either half of the grand prize or a box of doughnuts. Obviously too much of a wild card for Heather.

While on the subject, Owen is the worst player of the episode. He was hesitate about the guy's alliance which is a bad play. If somebody wants you to be in their alliance, you say yes. Secondly, he told Gwen about Duncan forming a guy's alliance. He wasn't under pressure to do so. All Gwen did was ask where Duncan was and Owen cracked easier than an egg. It was hilariously painful.

Finally, a good theory and what might have been a good story arc from this episode until Are We There, Yeti? is an alliance or an agreement between Heather and Duncan. Though made an effort in Wawanakwa Gone Wild, I believe Heather voted for Bridgette and Geoff voted for Owen.

Let me try to explain as best as I can. (sorry if this gets confusing) Behind the scenes, Duncan and Heather talk, Duncan feels unsecure about Geoff's vote. Duncan mentions Bridgette's name, to which Heather made a deal with Duncan- she will vote for Bridgette if she talks to Geoff plus some safety. Heather then talks to Geoff and tells him that the only way to save Bridgette is to vote off Owen. She (for some bizarre reason) sticks to her word with Duncan and eliminates Bridgette.

For what reason would she have against Bridgette if the girls needed to stick together? 1) The girls have a 6-4 advantage over the guys. Without the McLean head statue, they can afford to lose one had the rest of the season been votes and not the awful you fail the challenge, you are eliminated episodes. Plus, in Brunch of Disgustingness, she told Bridgette that she dug her own grave when siding with Gwen and Leshawna instead of her and Lindsay. With that, Heather fulfilled her warning with Bridgette and thus had her dig her own grave.