April 3, 2010

"Could Coach be more of a douchebag? Seriously."

"Voting for a third person when you know that two people are targeted is the same as voting out the person with whom you were allegedly allied. It doesn't help him at all because he knows he can't trust Russell, and therefore he had to, had to get rid of him here."

In the "Heroes and Villains" season of "Survivor," the contestants were out filming when the previous season was on TV, so they didn't know what Russell had done to distinguish himself as a villain. Boston Rob, in his exit interview, said: "... I realized that 20 seasons in, you have 10 people that are considered the most villainous to ever play the game, and here’s a guy from the most recent season, so he had to do something so outlandish to get picked over all those other contestants." The other contestants may not have done as well in figuring out whether to trust Russell over Rob.

Rob on Coach:
Coach really wants to play with honor and integrity, and at the end of the day, he has the opportunity to do that and chooses another path. But that’s on him.

Coach actually appeared to take the easiest path possible in not voting for you, yet casting a vote that he knew ensured you going home. That seems like he was almost trying to not own up to his decision.

I think he’s a guy that was conflicted and he didn’t have it in him to do the right thing in this situation. So, it’s bad for me because it makes me go home, but he’s the one who has to live with it.
And what does Jeff Probst have to say about it? He's been Coach's biggest fan:
I love Coach. Always loved Coach. I still want to develop a show centered around “Tales of The Dragon Slayer.” But right now The Dragon Slayer is depressed. He’s lost his way. As much as he wants to live by a code, he finds himself trapped in a corner on a game called Survivor and there appears no way out. If this were a movie, this would be the end of Act II when all seems lost. Is it? Or can he rise up from the ashes and be reborn yet again?
On Rob's saying to Coach, after the vote, "You’re a little man":
I love how Rob went out. He didn’t pretend it didn’t matter, he didn’t say “good luck”, he simply said what was on his mind, the subtext of which was clear: Coach, you suck.
Coach. Coach. Coach. I too am a bit dismayed. I will need time to sort through this emotionally. I will certainly need more therapy to help me understand and try to forgive.

13 comments:

traditionalguy said...

Survivor. Is that a Final Four game? Oh, it's that Uriah Heep look a like contest.I'll stick to watching Duke and wondering if Shouting Thomas will need a psychological intervention if Duke loses. I also wonder if up in frozen Wisconsin Meade will get to do a day's gardening in the warmth of spring days yet. The hydrangas and the hibiscus are already going crazy down here.

tim maguire said...

Ernie Pantuso was on survivor? I thought he was dead. Didn't Sam and Diane go to his funeral?

LegosnEggos said...

Ah, it was a sad outcome. I was SO looking forward to Boston Rob and J.T. battling it out at the end. And, for the record, for all his talk, Coach ironically proves himself most ignoble in this game on a regular basis.

Skyler said...

Probst knows how to keep a more current season interesting by playing it up. There's no reason that Coach is more interesting than any other player, he's just the latest interesting player and promoting him helps keep the show going for another season.

jeff said...

I watched the first few seasons because I went to high school with probst and the show had real people on it. Now it has pretty people, a token old person, gay person, evil person etc. Fill in the slots. No interest in seeing the same people over and over.

Unknown said...

I'm surprised someone like "coach" that likes to project the image of taking the high road is on the villain team.

Julie C said...

I am loving this season of Survivor! And I say that as someone who has only been occasionally interested in the show (as a season-long event). I enjoyed Russell last season, but his continued self-aggrandizement is seriously irritating now. I love Boston Rob and I'm sorry to see him go!

Coach is so annoying, and he has now been revealed to be totally lacking in balls. He's less of a douchebag and more of a pathetic character. He knows Russell is trouble, but he is powerless. And now he's really in deep doodoo. I, too, thought it was odd that he was on the villains team. He sure thinks he's heroic. Such a tool.

Julie C said...

Also, Probst does the funniest commentary on his blog. He's respectful of the game, but doesn't lose sight of the fact that it's just a TV show.

michaele said...

Boston Rob has developed into an intereting man with more depth and sensitivity than I might have guessed based on his first stint on Survivor. I was really bummed that Coach proved to be a wimp and a man of no honor.I'll bet the producers were really disappointed to lose the fascinating clash of wills between Rob and Russell. Rob played with the nobility of the warrior that Coach aspired to be.

The Dude said...

Coach is a habitual liar who apparently believes his own tall tales. With luck, Russell will vote him off. Russell plays with great verve, confidence and self assurance bordering that seems ludicrous right up until he bends the others to his will.

The show is a microcosm of so many social organizations that it is scary.

Penny said...

Perhaps Coach's move was better than you think. Once his most trusted alliance member, Jerri, decided it was no longer about the alliance, but about the alpha male competition between Russell and Rob, it should have been clear to him that was the end of the alliance, and perhaps even his close ties with Jerri.

By not getting involved in the battle of alpha males, he was setting himself up as a lone wolf. By voting for one of the physically weakest players, he can come back next week to remind the Villains that it's ALL about physical superiority against the Heroes. They need to win the competitions to stay out of tribal council.

In the meantime, he didn't vote against Russell, so not the first person on his shit list. He didn't vote with Jerri, but he can convince her, and frankly, most of the players, to stay focused on getting rid of the weakest physical players. That's at least two more weeks of safety where Courtney and Sandra go first. That's also two more weeks to solidify any relationship he has with Jerri, and to get her on the side of the "lone wolf".

Rob understands strategy, and will forgive Coach. Too bad he got caught up in the alpha male wars.

This show is SO good, and this season the best ever.

Fen said...

Coach is a fraud. Especially with his almagamation of Cafeteria Mysticism - he picks his values as the situation dictates, then covers his disgrace with his faux enlightenment. The biggest flaw in his con is that he lacks the mental discipline that marks those who are on that kind of path - the most simple moral dilemmas cause him to meltdown.

I use to not liked Rob. But he's grown alot since then. And not only did he step up to lead his tribe, he was the clinch player in almost all of his tribes victories. You have to admit that he's played the game better than any other. For me, the winner of this episode will be runner up.

Methadras said...

Michael Brand said...

I'm surprised someone like "coach" that likes to project the image of taking the high road is on the villain team.


Maybe he's become concerned with winning rather than being a nice guy.