Editor's note: When the "castaways" began competing on "Survivor: Samoa," we asked Milwaukee resident and former contest Erinn Lobdell, the third-place finisher on last season's "Survivor: Tocantins" to provide weekly commentary on the competition. Lobdell, who grew up in Waukesha and works in Downtown Milwaukee, didn't pull any punches during the series or after last night's finale. We thank her for her input and are already looking forward to the next season of "Survivor."
The big question: did the right person win "Survivor: Samoa" this season?
Anyone will admit that it is easy to like Natalie. She is as sweet as she is charming and developed a lovely story of personal growth. We watched as she started out, in her pretty yellow dress, completely out of her element, happy to follow along with everything Russell said and did. Then, weeks later, we saw her kill a rat, practically with her bare hands, and single-handedly orchestrate a move to put a Galu member on the jury, when she knew Foa Foa was outnumbered, 2-1.
On the other hand, Russell determined how nearly every single vote was going to play out. He was playing the game before they got off those little boats and continued until the bitter end. Some have said he is the greatest castaway to have ever played the game. He was ruthless, cut-throat and incredibly strategic. And whether you liked him or not, Russell certainly played a game that will go down in the "Survivor" history books.
Mick also was in the final three.
I will say, as the last vote was read, I thought "Yay, I like Natalie." I do, she seems like a wonderful girl and I hope she enjoys her $1 million dollar prize. As I went to bed last night, mulling over what to say to all of you today, I had to ask myself, "What if I were on that jury?"
Surely many of you arm-chair quarterbacks thought the same thing... The difference being that I actually know what it feels like to decide who walks away a millionaire and who does not. It is not something to be taken lightly.
It may have seemed as though it was an easy decision to make in Tocantins, but it's easy to forget that it is a huge responsibility and you are often forced to choose between friends. While I love them both dearly, I was much closer to Stephen than JT.
He treated me with more respect than anyone in the game and always kept his word to me. If you recall, JT was the reason I sat on the jury and not in Stephen's place in the final two. I lost a lot of sleep over it, even after the vote was cast, but ultimately I had to set my personal feelings aside to cast my vote based on how the game was played.
I would also like to note that yes, I understand that I was choosing between two wonderful men, as opposed to America's sweetheart and a little troll. Oh yeah, Mick was there, too. No matter who is in the finals, a million dollars is a lot of money and deciding who gets it sucks.
The point is that when you are on the jury, I feel it should be taken seriously, not treated like a vote for prom queen. No one wants to see a bad guy win anything, but how does the damsel in distress come out on top? It is easy to be bitter about being out-witted, out-played and out-lasted, but isn't that LITERALLY the name of the game?!?!?
I suppose if i were on the jury,it would come down to this -- Natalie played a great social game with little to no strategy, while Russell played so strategically he forgot about the social game.
Short of handing the money to Mick, I would compare the two methods of play. In 10 years, or even next season, I just don't think we will be talking about how nice Natalie was. I promise, though, that we will still be saying that Russell was the greatest "Survivor" ever.
