RC's Adventures in Tandangville: Episode 8: The End of Fraud

*First and foremost: I wish peace to the hearts of all the victims of the Connecticut tragedy. May their road ahead be filled with the brightest of lights.

Episode 8: The End of Fraud

"Rather fail with honor than succeed by fraud"- Sophocles

Mariah vs. Nicki? Paris vs. Lindsay? Britney vs. Christina? The entertainment industry has seen it’s fair share of clashes over the course of time, but they all might pale to the epicness that became RC vs. Abi-Maria on Survivor: Philippines.

RC: Day one

Abi: Day One

******

RC: Day 36

Abi: Day 36

What began as a mutual alliance that was beneficial to the two of them, it quickly became a cold, distrustful partnership that had more friction than a collection of roller coasters in a theme park. In the second episode, Abi had already began conspiring against RC; Abi claimed that RC was spending too much time with Mike, and when RC countered that Abi was spending a lot of time with Pete, Abi froze out RC. It wouldn’t be the first time, and it wouldn’t be the last time. And soon enough, when the two ladies were on the beach, RC suggested they look for the idol. Abi flipped out, citing that she needed to rest in fear of being viewed as a liability. RC tried to assuage her teammate, but Abi flipped again. Suddenly, the smiles were gone, and RC pretty much assumed that Abi was completely irrational. Things escalated to a higher level of tumultuousness when Pete planted the idol clue in RC’s bag. RC was vilified, and whenever RC would try to get an explanation from Abi, it was such an awkward moment. RC was frustrated, and she claimed that she hadn’t done anything wrong. Their relationship was already devastated by this point, and RC’s isolation would increase henceforth…up to the point when she was eliminated from the merged tribe and made the first juror member.

What a conversation with Abi might of looked like:

Hello, Abi..

Oh, so it's going to be that type of conversation...

Can somebody dig a hole in this sand for me to hide in?

We're done here...right?

Bye, Abi...

Upon Abi’s own elimination, some two weeks after she had last truly interacted with RC, Abi was expecting a warm welcome from RC at the Ponderosa. Boy, was she wrong. Now, it was RC’s turn to freeze Abi out, and Abi was flummoxed by RC’s reaction. The tables had completely turned, and now, it was Abi’s turn to experience the powerlessness that RC had felt for so long at Tandang. Abi was so used to controlling the perception of RC, but at Ponderosa, she had become a magician with a snapped magical wand. Her chicanery had been stifled. The prestige had been played out. And faster than you can say “abracadabra”, Ponderosa was suddenly filled with much of the same tension that had existed on Tandang.

Tables successfully turned.

This pretty sums up Abi in a pinch

There are many folks who feel that RC was being too cold to Abi, and I advise those who feel that way to rewatch the previous episodes. Then, they can see the extent of Abi’s cruelness towards RC, and how she was constantly conspiring against RC at nearly every turn. It was never pretty, and it was impossible to not feel compassion for RC as she was often left bewildered at the irrationality of Abi…the same woman in which RC had been joking and smiling with not a half-week previous. In Abi and Pete’s eyes, RC was necessary collateral; RC was seen as a dangerous player, and rather than use her to help Tandang achieve greatness, the “masterminds” decided it was a better idea to decimate the tribe from the inside out. It still doesn’t make any sense, really. They were a tribe capable of dominating the game, but due to Pete and Abi’s jealous inadequacies and stunning skullduggery, the tribe tasted a mouthful of course sand opposed to sweet licks of imminent victory. The tribe had horrendous communication, and more leaks than the Titanic, post-iceberg.

The leaking roof at the Tandang camp...poetic much?

Early trouble in paradise???

Indeed, people probably wanted RC and Abi to have some warm, tender moment at Ponderosa, but that is just a self-serving agenda. This transcends basic notions of ‘higher roads’ or being the ‘bigger person’, because such constructs won’t help to erase the pain that somebody may of collected along their journey…in other words, life can’t always be so ob-la-di-ob-la-da…Week after week, RC had to sit silently on the bench, like a gorgeous gargoyle rests atop it’s perch. She had to watch Abi advance from week to the next, without any great repercussion. Is it really any shocker that RC would reach the end of her tether? And how are we supposed to perceive Abi’s apology as genuine, when Abi was viewed as such an illogical, unstable personality? Sometimes, saying ‘sorry’ can’t erase the pain and hurt. Sometimes, when spoken by certain lips, it becomes a word filled with phoniness and reverse intentions. It’s truly easy for Abi, who reached the final five, to go up to RC at the Ponderosa and say “Hi” and to wave her hand. Abi had a great run in the game, whereas RC, a smarter, more competitive player, had lost her horse in the race far too soon. Abi’s “generosity” was just as much a farce as any other jab or attack she had summoned RC’s way during the course of the game. She had treated like RC with subhuman respect, and once the game had ‘ended’, suddenly, she was trying to talk to RC like it was day one, and they were smiling and cavorting in the jungle again. But that’s hardly a feasible reality, right? Maybe in Abi’s twisted fantasy of a reality, that’s how life plays out, but what Abi discounted though, was the extent that she had hurt RC’s feelings and destroyed her game. Indeed, it is a game, but it’s a game played by real people, with very large stakes. And if you’re going to destroy one’s game plan, you better expect a subsequent backlash.

No, wait...that's not the right finger...

Cause breaking up isn't so hard to do...

So it’s safe to say that Abi was in the wrong from the get-go. The anecdotal evidence strongly backs up this claim. RC found the idol clue. RC shows the clue to Abi. Abi runs off to tell Pete about the clue (behind RC’s back). RC tries to get Abi motivated to search for the idol. Abi refuses, and instead, looks for the idol with Pete, who she claims to be more 'genuine'…right. Abi finds the clue, tells Pete, and leaves RC in the dark. The clue is planted in RC’s bag, and Abi refuses to believe RC’s explanation. RC is humiliated in front of the rest of the tribe. “I warned her. I’m a really loyal friend, but if you mess with me, you’re dead” Abi speaks not so privately to Pete, and this ludicrous passage confirms just how delusional Abi was, seeing that RC never crossed her, and kept relations with Abi far longer than most would. Abi was the one loaded with bluster, and RC was always the calm voice.

You just can't...

...Make this shit up.

In conclusion, it behooved RC to have the last laugh. And watching her own Abi was truly rewarding to anybody who had ever been bullied over by somebody else. RC achieved validation by seeing Artis, Pete and Abi walk through the Ponderosa entrance, but it came at the price of her own security at Ponderosa. As a strong willed woman, RC simply had to tell Abi off, and lay down the ground rules at Ponderosa. And in the process, it neatly tidies up one of Survivor’s greatest feuds. On the island, it was Abi that ran the show, and RC was left in her own isolated world, but at Ponderosa, RC will let her voice be heard, and she won’t let Abi try to cast any more of her flawed spells. With eyes of daggers and sharp criticisms, RC wins by a unanimous decision. And in all fairness, the fraud that was Abi, most likely never should have been allowed into the ring in the first place.

The following is a summary of RC and Abi's relationship in 40 simple pics: