RC's Adventures in Tandangville: Episode 4: The Candle That Burns The Brightest

RC's Adventures in Tandangville

Episode 4: The Candle That Burns The Brightest

The biggest merge of this past week occurred on Survivor (sorry Star Wars and Disney) and for this week’s adventures, I was going to go into rhetoric about how Survivor merge’s are more “liquidation” than “merge”, but a certain tribal council forced me to change the direction a little.

RC stares ahead at the beginning of the end...

So cute with the fuchsia flower!

Even the sun has to cry sometimes...

At this point, I think it’s fair to assume that I have a small teeny-tiney crush on Ms. RC (remember the Jennifer Paige song in the 90's? "It's just/A little crush" No? Just me?), and I had mixed feelings going into this “merge” episode. Concerning RC’s benefit, the show could of went in a couple of directions. While a merge can bring new life to members on the outside looking in or on the potential chopping block (Stephen and JT on Tocantins, Russell’s alliance on Samoa, and Danni on Guatemala, just to name a couple…) it can also take the life away from those that had partaken on a powerful tribe. But in the case of Tandang, it never was a “powerful” tribe, and this fairy tale was supposed to have a fairly different ending. Ideally, the noxious nuisances: prickly Pete or crabby Abi would of gotten blindsided this week, and RC and Mike would of ended up on the bottom of a different totem pole. But it would have been okay; because with the prospects of a new week, anything would have been possible. Unfortunately for poor RC, she went from one dysfunctional “family” to another.

It's called a break-up cause it's broken...

One can only wonder if this will be Abi & Pete's next incarnation...

Because life is always hard/For the Belle of the boulevard.

Until the Dangrayne merge, I’ve had little to offer about the Kalabaw tribe, but they’ve had different issues than Tandang. Dawson sat on valuable info. Katie stunk at challenges. Their leader, Jeff Kent (I’ve always sort of hated the Giants and Dodgers…though it‘s nice to see that Dusty Baker‘s toothpick obsession lives on through Kent) has had a back-and-forth relationship with Jonathan Penner, but his mission has been clear from day one: do not let a veteran win under any scenario. Kent’s zeal to get Penner out created a convenient scapegoat from day one, and he used that strategy to convince the rest of his tribe that they always had a common enemy. It’s a strategy that he likely shared with the remaining members of Tandang, and one would become convinced that it’s become his Holy Grail mission: take down the vets or die trying. At points, it almost reminded me of Brendan Synott’s edit(Tocantins); whereas, Brendan was more intrigued by the social aspect of the game, and had zero endgame in mind. Another millionaire in the game, Russell Hantz, had an endgame (a tad too overzealous, albeit) from the beginning, and never got caught up on little subplots and side-missions that Kent has developed. If he would of aligned with RC/Mike, they would have had numbers and a couple vets to use as buffers. Trading all that away seems about as crazy as the notion of giving Amanda Byrnes her driver’s license back (there's a reason why Kent played baseball-and didn't actually control the scoreboard...clearly, numbers are lost on him). Kalabaw could of blown the game open and begin to tear apart the once powerful Tandang core, but instead, Kent and company remain on the outside, despite an opportunity to take reins of this game. Maybe Kent wasn’t even the problem though? We get a glimpse of Denise pining to reunite with Malcolm, so even if Kent was interested in Mike’s offer, it would all be moot without the support of Denise. Carter is nothing more than Kent’s personal Lemming, going to bat for him whenever a pinch hitter is necessary (and just for the record, I’ve seen a wet noodle show greater animation than Mr. Williams). Only Penner seemed to have his head screwed on right, and his track record of being a smart, decisive player continues in this episode. But this show was all about numbers, and the bottom line was that RC and Mike couldn’t create a favorable formula to ensure their continuance in the game.

Like soldiers coming back from war

"The money lies in the RBI's"

This isn't going to end well...

"..."

"Damn...that RC is sooooooawesome..."

What could of been, I suppose...

“If your ship doesn’t come in, swim out to meet it!” -Jonathan Winters

Back to RC, my heart still shatters whenever she’d describe her life at Tandangville. What confounds me even more is just how innocuous her actions really were. She was unfairly targeted, and as the days plodded along, her flummoxed facial expressions just confirm these suspicions. And how does she repay her tribe for their treatment? Well, for starters, by giving 110% at every challenge and helping her tribe look like such a dominating force. Whether it be on the land, on the puzzle board (literally), or underneath a blanket of water, she became the antithesis of what it meant to be a member of Tandang: A warrior who busted her butt at every challenge and never regressed to the puerile nonsense that encapsulated the behavior of most of her fellow castaways at Tandang. It wasn’t fair, and it wasn’t always fun to watch, but that’s Survivor, I suppose.

RC...maybe the wooden turkey can summon an alien force...

...or maybe just Dolly the Dalek.

(Targets located)

"Exterminate! Exterminate!"

Unwanted in Tandang, and rejected by Kalabaw, she knew she had to perform well at the first individual Immunity. In a challenge designed to favor those with far smaller frames, RC still performed admirably. Though, even without hindsight’s inevitable shadow, one can watch RC, as she reaches the end of her rope, and the sheer disappointment on her face when Denise pulls off the victory. Her edit then calls for an obligatory booster shot of optimism, where she feels “good” about the events that are transpiring (she could do the math that Kalabaw failed to do), but by Tribal, she looks clearly defeated. The ‘end of the rope” metaphor just makes far too much sense in this scenario, and RC’s drained mannerisms at Tribal offer the glimpses of a competitor who will never surrender, but also, has become greatly disenchanted by all of the chaos around her.

RC swoons at the sweet Immunity necklace

Getting jiggy with it...

You can almost feel her determination...

An apropos metaphor, for sure...

"Hold on, RC!!!"

Blisters become the scars of war

Grrrr, Denise...Grrrr

As soon as Penner plays his Idol, RC keeps her chin up, but she must of known that it had become a futile exercise. The voting that went down suggested that everybody must of known what was going down beforehand; Mike throws a vote at Penner in a move to break a tie that would of occurred had Penner not played the idol, and these votes might as well of been written on an acetate surface opposed to parchment…because I’d offer that Mike and RC knew going in that they didn’t have the votes. Perhaps, if you subbed Penner for James Clement (an idol in each pocket to balance his shorts), I would have been a little more optimistic, but there was zero chance that Penner wouldn’t of activated his force field. His ultimate lack of trust in his tribe allowed him to prevail, and RC was sent packing. Her last hug with Mike is a nice moment. Because for all of her isolation in the game, she always had at least one shoulder to lean on.

A necklace of her own...

RC's last voyage from the beach *cries*

One big happy family *scoffs*

Yup. Pretty much sums it up.

Still smiling

"Abi...we are never, never, never getting back together!"

"What the f%&*is Abi talking about?"

I think she knows by this point.

"Wake me up when September ends"

"Rendezvous then I'm through with you...Pete"

Like an ol' Black & White film...no words necessary here

And her name is called by Jeff.

Her only ally

The brightest bulb has burned out?

Mike may not of been the most durable of all the castaways (if the camp had a hospital, he’d spend more time there than a character on a soap opera), but he was always loyal to RC, and his negotiations with Kent and Penner were some of the only optimistic moments of the episode. I wasn’t particularly fond of his Australian edit, as he seemingly tried to be everything to everyone, and ended up alienating many other castaways in the process. This time around, he was more “behind-the-scenes”, and didn’t try to ruffle feathers or steal the show. He existed within the group, and he apparently learned from his previous mistakes…of course, nothing could change the fact that he was stuck playing with the Three Stooges and the Church Lady (no real offense, as I kind of like Lisa)…

Lots of redemption with this fellow

Watching RC at the Ponderosa confirmed many of my suspicions about Tandang, and the hospitable environment harvested there. Speaking more candidly to the Survivor shrink and the camera, she explains how Tandang was never a tribe, and her expectations of her team (simple things like making fire, building a shelter) fell far shorter than she expected. Rather than surviving together, they ended up surviving each other. We leave her off as the queen of the Ponderosa, and any trespassers henceforth will have some ‘splaining to do. At the Ponderosa, she’s clearly elated to finally be away from that toxic environment, and the only “clique” she now has to deal with is the bottle cap popping off her Gatorade. She has a cavalry of candy at her disposal (that would make Lamar Odom blush, mind you), swarms of sugary sweets, a broken scale, her own personal pool and even a little canine friend. Outside of her zeal for some sort of gummy confection (really, you can an order a soup there that contains bull‘s nads but you can‘t find a bag of gummy worms!), she has it all. One can feel her becoming a little restless as an idle queen though. Soon enough, she yearns to return to the game, and her proclamations of desiring to return next season or a future season is a titillating moment. It’s only a shame that this couldn’t of been a Redemption Island season, because the whole concept of the Island was designed with somebody like RC in mind: a player who had been bullied and ridiculed for much of her time, and would ultimately give her a chance to turn the tables on the people who made her life hell.

The "RC Diet" in full effect

"If Elisabeth can have a diet book, so can I!!!"

The Angel and the mirror

This is so adorable!

RC can even make 'brushing teeth' look sexy!

I think she looks a little like Eliza here

This little guy knows where the pretty lady is...

Pulchritude personified

The greatest thing that Survivor can offer somebody is the chance to discover aspects of themselves that they had never really explored before. Whether it be the act of surviving the elements without a security blanket or coexisting with people, many that have inclement personalities that you would never fraternize with on the other side; it has a little something to offer everybody. It’s what makes it the ultimate game show (of which, I shall summarize in greater detail in a future post).

How RC probably felt half the time in Tandangville

Despite the fact that RC aligned herself with a couple of locusts initially, I still consider her to be a very strong social player, and her physical capacities were never in question. Aesthetically, pound-for-pound, she is one of the finest contestants to ever charter the “castaway” corridors CBS has hosted for the past decade. The fact that she had such a great time in spite of so much bullshit gives her the enviable skill of making lemonade and brownies out of, well…piss and shit, I suppose (gross…I know). Another of my Survivor faves, Lindsey, caterwauled her way through Africa when the tables turned on her, but RC handled the game and her situation with irrefutable grace and poise.

Leopard Bikini...

Leopard bikini...when dipped in a bowl of Lucky Charms

In a far more fantastical world, our heroine draped in leopard regalia would of won this game…and I wouldn’t have had to shed my first tear watching a television show since the All My Children finale. But it’s players like RC that make Survivor a fascinating character study. In other game shows, you hardly have time to learn about the competitors (unless your name is Ken Jennings), but with Survivor, you witness the capacity of emotions for people you would most likely never meet in any other venue of your life. They begin as strangers, but by the end, they are like a collection of friends and enemies. Watching somebody like RC open up the book to her life was a transcending moment…especially when she touched upon bullying in her past, because I could surely relate. And without over romanticizing the situation too much, it becomes one of those rare moments where reality television actually feels like reality.

Focused

Spotlight

Never gets old...

So, with a load of love large enough to fill both tribes bags of rice, I thank you, Ms. RC, for your inspiration and offer you congratulations…we shall surely see you in the future episodes of “RC’s Adventures on the Dangrayne jury”!