Editor's note: As the action heats up on the CBS series "Survivor: Samoa," we thought it would be interesting to ask former contestant Erinn Lobdell, the third-place finisher on last season's "Survivor: Tocantins," for her insights on the competition. Erinn, who grew up in Waukesha and now lives and works Downtown, will provide analysis following each episode through the end of the series.
The game of "Survivor" is pretty serious business. It tests your mental toughness as much as it tests your physical strength. On Day 15, only two weeks into a nearly six-week journey, we already are seeing signs of people beginning to break down.
It's getting just plain hard to watch these people being beaten down by rain day in and day out. Jaison is hysterical. Erik, the bartender, has found God. McDreamy has been cuddling a tree for days and Dave thinks he is a weather man -- "It should only rain for three more days..."
Watching has becoming almost annoying. When people talk to me about "Survivor: Samoa" they say one of two things. It's either "Don't you love / hate Russell?" or, they say "Man, this cast is a bunch of whiners."
Admittedly, as I sit on my couch with my cuddly little puppy and my glass of hot cider, I just want the incessant complaining to stop. But then a funny thing happens, as I look over to my boyfriend to say "Fast-forward to the good stuff," I am instantly reminded of a time when I spent days huddled in the rain -- freezing, crying, praying, doing anything possible to find a happy place in my mind and just hang out there for awhile, wanting nothing more than to be right where I am now. It has been raining in Milwaukee for two days, if you think the survivors are complaining too much, I challenge you to go outside without an umbrella for an hour. Then, we can talk.
All of that being said, one must be impressed by the Russells. When everyone else was throwing their pity parties, both Russells went to work. Good Russell clearly takes his leadership role seriously; so seriously that it is really no surprise that he has worked himself to the point of exhaustion and extreme dehydration. How scary was it to just see him face-down on that table maze? Medical evacuations are never a fun way to leave the game. I think those who have been taken out that way always have a lingering sense of "What if?" For instance, what if Russell hadn't been trying to be the man and sat out of the challenge? The poor Foa Foans would have had their pizza and Liz and Monica would be saying their goodbyes.
The thing I love most about this game is how quickly it can change. For seemingly no reason at all, Liz and Monica have earned another three days at camp. Anything can happen in three days. A tribe swap, a merge ... anything. Now is not the time for these two to be laying down a vendetta or just laying down and accepting that they are the next to go.
Big moves, girls. In a game that's been dominated by the men so far, you have got to start making them.
