Editing determines in great part how we perceive the players. We have seen the editors categorize different types of people and edit them in a certain fashion.
One popular type of edit is that of the "Player on a Journey":
The Journey of Self-Discovery.
These players are often narrators. Many get a lot of screen time and are often very popular players but, if all we get to hear about is the journey rather than the goal, these players aren't winners. How to recognize such players? They talk more about the experience and the others than about their own plans. They're the ones we see changed by the experience. We feel what those players have to go through. We end up hoping they got something out of the journey.
Examples of such players:
Leann in Vanuatu
Ian in Palau
Brandon in Guatemala.
The Journey to Prove Yourself.
These players have confessionals that are more about the obstacles and their worries. These players are not always well liked, especially at the start, but they have a story of perseverance. They last longer than at first expected and gain our admiration, sometimes even our "love". If plans are expressed, we feel that there's something wrong with those plans. Think of Yau Man constantly talking about how the idol was his million dollars. We are led to believe that these players got something out of the journey.
Some of those are:
Eliza overcoming adversity.
Angie fitting in only partially and after many efforts.
BJ in Palau, proving himself against a real man's man.
Cirie, the couch potato, afraid of what's behind leaves, who wanted to make her family proud.
Yau Man proving he is valuable.
Frosti in China wanting to prove he wasn't too young and too small to compete.
Peih Gee wanting to prove she could persevere despite the odds.
Amanda wanting to prove she could compete in this game and win challenges
The Hero's Odyssey.
These "heroes" are presented as one dimensional characters. We see them in all their glory but they aren't fleshed out as human beings. At most, one emotion is expressed and it's repeated constantly, like Rupert's insecurity. Tom expressed insecurity sometimes but we had seen his calm confidence before. Rupert started being insecure and, when he started to talk about "his island", we saw delusion, not conviction. Think also of Terry, who rarely talked about himself. One occasion sticks out: He spoke of his Navy pilot experience around the fire shortly after the merge. We didn't fully share that moment because we heard it more from the shelter where the women were laughing at the story and the male bonding. A second occasion could've presented itself during his wife's visit but what did we get from that visit? We learned that his wife was more competitive than he was. Mechanically, his confessionals were always about the competition and his numbers.
Rupert wanting to prove he isn't a fat kid anymore.
Stephenie making it alone in Palau had more than usual fleshing out as if she was the winner of Ulong!
Gary, a hero's story mainly in airtime and commercials (aided by the fall's NFL season). Will the QB get sacked?
Terry trying to lead his Boy's Club to victory.
Ozzy, the challenge king of CI. Yul said Ozzy played a part in the strategy talks but that dimension wasn't shown.
James wanting to be accepted by the fruit loops he had to hold together.
A less visible but recognizable edit could be called the Tourist or the Happy Camper
This player is not very visible at the start since the important characters have to be established. We see that they are there but they don't have much connection to the game. Some, especially the ones that are to last long into the game, can eventually be used as a connection to the players' surroundings. They talk about the cultural experience, the beauty of the locale, the amazing experience or act as cheerleaders for their team. Others remain practically anonymous until their departure. Jan in Thailand, Butch in Amazon, Darrah in PI, Julie in Vanuatu, Jenn in Palau, Lydia in Guatamala, Ruth and Nick in EI, Cecilia, Flica, Brad, Jenny, Sundra and Becky (the only tourist to ever face the jury) in CI, Erik and Denise in China are examples of these tourists.
An interesting case to show how these tourists aren't meant to be seen as playing the game was Stacy in Fiji during the Edgardo boot episode and its aftermath. It was Stacy's moment to shine yet all the glory went to Earl. He got the confessional explaining the plan. Stacy had to have talked about how she wished her idea would work but talking to us about strategy wasn't Stacy's role. Worse, the following week, the recap told us that Earl's alliance eliminated Edgardo and again Earl told us how well the plan had worked. Stacy was all but forgotten as was the intent.
We occasionally get Tribute edits.
This is reserved for players who leave a positive mark even if they don't win. Who they are is as, if not more, important than what they did in the game. Rudy in Borneo was the archetype of this edit. He was followed by Rodger, the gentleman farmer of the Outback. In later years, we had Astronaut Dan and Timber Tina. Amy O'Hara's story in Guatemala was due, in part to Burnett's penchant for Law enforcement officers but mainly for overcoming her injury. She put to shame Palau's quitters. The repetition of Amy's story looked like Burnett's way to show them how one should play his game. Chad also would have had a tribute edit but he talked about his handicap once and that ended that. So, instead of Chad talking about it, the camera always focused on his prosthetic.
An interesting case of a "Tribute" edit was Christy. She could've been the sweetheart of the Amazon and she probably was a favorite to many but she didn't get her full due. The problem was that she was one of the main rivals to the eventual winner. It was impossible to give all the credit to Christy without killing the winner's story. The editors solved the predicament by showing that living with Christy wasn't easy; she could dish it out and others, besides Jenna, had trouble getting along with her, Joanna for example. She had a partial Tribute that only Deena and Butch (a nobody) expressed fully.
A type of edit we haven't seen much lately is The Sweetheart.
The archetype of this edit obviously was Colleen. She was a fan favorite but the sweetheart story is more about how the others talk about the person. Colleen was well liked by her tribe but not taken very seriously as a player or at least not seen as a threat. Lis was much the same way in the Outback. All we heard of Lis playing the game was when Alicia noted how strong Lis was as she battled to get in Tina's alliance. It was a red herring to make us doubt the outcome and too late to change the fact that Lis was "only" a sweetheart with Rodger, Colby, Keith and Tina among others telling us how they liked her.
In the later seasons, Jenn could've had that story line but she "dared" go up against Stephenie in early challenges. Stephenie was more than a sweetheart and, to build her Hero edit, we couldn't be pulling for Jenn. The solution was easy to find: Hide Jenn. "The Best Female Athlete", ballyhood by Probst in an obvious sales pitch, overshadowed more than just Danni.
Michelle in Fiji had a minor sweetheart story line but it wasn't given much prominence. We heard Earl say he wanted to keep "the little monkey" and the tribe gave Michelle key roles in many challenges. Her main contribution, playing Earl's spy, was only presented in her final episode. Nothing bad was said about Michelle but she wasn't featured much either, probably because she was going to be the victim of a new twist and the editors wanted to keep our reaction in check. There were some grumblings at her exit but imagine the outrage had it been Colleen!
Which brings us to the players who are edited as Victims.
Early on, this player is seen as a good person. Some even seem too nice for this game. They usually are the victims of the season's villain. They get a good story to show their qualities but they are always fighting a losing battle. They have no power in the game and nothing to shield them from their tormentor. As the first episode of Season 14 was titled: "Something bad is about to happen", Anthony in Fiji was set up early to prepare us for his painful exit. Others come to mind like Dolly, Mia, Lisa, Rory and even Sarge in Vanuatu, Brooke, Margaret and BJ in Guatemala, Sally in EI, Stephannie and Cristina in CI and Aaron in China, who had power but had it stripped from him like Sarge. Maybe having so many victim edits explains the dislike for Vanuatu. What was expected when "Sacrifice to the Gods" was a theme of the season?
Telling the difference between a "victim" and a "tourist" is sometimes a big help in finding which player is given the winner's edit. What was the main difference between Anthony and Flica's story for example? In episode #1, Anthony was presented as someone who wanted to play the game. He was the first to tell us that he was looking for Probst and the tribe flags and he discussed with Edgardo the strange beginning. Flica almost always looked like she only wanted to have fun. She saw that she was the ousider in Raro, she liked her new friends in Aitu until Jonathan had to scold her for not playing the game. There was no attempt by the editors to make us hate or love either but there was a sense that we were supposed to see Flica's elimination as natural while many could say Anthony didn't deserve the abuse he got. Why was the difference so palpable? Flica was eliminated by Yul and his alliance while Rocky was the one that caused Anthony's elimination. We were "allowed" to feel that Anthony's elimination was unjust because we weren't meant to feel anything good for Rocky. Had we felt that Flica didn't deserve her exit, we could have resented Yul. Note that Cecilia's lack of development also served Yul's cause, although here it was either Cece or Becky so we had a strong reason to accept Cece's elimination.
Another example: Margaret and Brian in Guatemala. Margaret, the caring nurse of episode # 1, was the victim of Judd and the 'Axis of Evil". We saw that Brian was a schemer and he showed a lot of cockyness, especially after saving Lydia in episode #2 and starting episode # 3 by saying something like "That vote was 100% me but I don't care really what happens to Lydia." When Danni cut him, it was "necessary".
This brings us to another prominent type of player, our Villains.
Sometimes, villains present themselves and don't need any special manipulation. Roger in Amazon, Fairplay in PI, Judd and Jamie in Guatemala, Rocky and Lisi in Fiji are prime examples. Remember that Jamie immediately stepped in the villain's role when he told us he couldn't win with Stephenie on his tribe. These players are even seen as villains by the other players.
Sometimes, villains are forced upon us. Silas was pictured as bad as he could be so that throwing a challenge to eliminate him wouldn't be held against the eventual winner. For all the negativity we heard about Jonathan, we didn't see much before the mutiny. Adam and Parvati were described as nicer when Jonathan wasn't there by Yul and company. In fact, the two were shown as better players when Jonathan wasn't looking at them. Jonathan being the main narrator and the manipulated villain gave an unusual angle to the story of CI, one that few seemed to appreciate.
One interesting case is again found in the Amazon with Rob Cesternino. Since Rob wasn't the winner, (probably to Burnett's disappointment!) Rob should have been THE villain of the Amazon but the guy gave the editors another problem: He was Damn Funny! They had to show his funny scenes even if it meant stealing thunder from the winner. More on her later.
Many strong women received manipulated or amplified vilification. They often are portrayed negatively and as being bossy. After sometime in the Outback, Jerri became a true villain, disliked by her tribe mates but, at the start, the Ogakor alliance, including Tina, liked her and hated Keith. We were made to hate Jerri immediately with scenes of her "diabolical laughter". Deena in Amazon, Ami in Vanuatu, Sylvia in Fiji are prime example of women pictured as bossy when they really did the same as what other male leaders had done before.
Jaime in China was vilified in a more complex manner: First, she was seen flirting with the innocent Erik. The images that were shown after his big revelation, first a grimace and then plunging in the water to flash her ass, made her look like a temptress. Throwing the challenge to eliminate Aaron, a "victim" not a "villain", and laughing about it, meant she was to be seen as a villain. Showing her as a "Dumb Blonde" terminated her portrayal and, not coincidentally, her game.
Jaime was one of many "Femmes Fatales". The editors often make it simple, instant vilification. How dare these women use their charms to gain an advantage? Did Liliana and Misty's actions really warrant being voted out? Parvati's strategy of "infiltration by flirtation" appeared to be accepted by the editors until Jonathan showed us that she didn't have what it takes to be a Survivor. Ironically, she was booted right after her flirtatious ways returned and she tried to attract Ozzy in her web. Yul and Becky saw her as more dangerous than Adam.
I expect some will object that Jenna won playing the femme fatale. Again, as with Christy's aborted "Tribute" edit and Rob's unconventional villain edit, one must realize that most of the negativity towards the "cute girls" was directed at Heidi. Even if Jenna made some derogatory comments, Heidi got the worse of the negative spotlight. For one thing, Heidi was much more the subject of derision from the other players and from Probst himself. Jenna was almost seen as being under the "bad influence" of Heidi.
We also have players that aren't really villains but are the "Comic Relief."
These players can be obnoxious or simply antagonistic but they aren't to be taken too seriously compared to the villains. Examples that come to mind are Coby and James in Palau, Shane in Exile Island, the injury-prone Boo in Fiji, who set up a listening post near the water hole to know if he was being talked about while we saw the group talking about him at camp, Dave and Jean Robert in China. The editors will use reactions from others, sound effects, weird musical themes or even animal imagery to let us identify these players.
A less prominent type of failing player but still an easily recognizable one is the Lazy player.
When you hear someone being called lazy by positive characters accompanied by camera shots to prove it, it's a very strong sign that the player won't win. Early on we had Nick B. and the MallRats described as such. In later seasons, John K. in Vanuatu, Courtney in EI, Sekou and JP in CI, Sherea in China all received that stigma. It's so bad that two players were depicted as particularly lazy only to favor a strong move made against them by an eventual long term player. Although I have no doubt that Billy WAS lazy, I don't think BobDawg was lazier than others. We saw every scene of Billy dozing off and simply ignored Bobby, not giving him a chance to present his case. The editors wanted to justify the actions of Ozzy and Danielle, not ruining their image completely since they would face the jury.
Another role is that of the Dumb Player.
Contrary to the lazy player, there is rarely something specifically said about the "Dumb Player" except of course for Sean in Borneo, the original dummy. Before his demise, the dumb player can be recognized by the ironic story lines that evolve around him. The failure of SuperPole 2000 was an indication that Sean wasn't that smart well before the "Alphabet Strategy". In later seasons, the dummy role was mainly reserved to the player who makes a big mistake that terminates his game. Dummies can be likeable players but something tells you that they aren't as focused as they should be. Alex Bell in Amazon was such a player. Alex may have been liked for opposing Roger's gay bashing but his trysts, first with Shawna and then Jenna, showed he didn't have his head in the game. The arrogant way he led his alliance after disposing of Deena and especially telling Rob he was out at F4 were dumb acts. Other dummies include Burton who twiced caused his own demise and Bubba (who could also be seen as a victim). Some even call Gregg in Palau a dummy for sticking to "The Plan" but never putting it in effect. Add Nathan who worried about being the dum-dum that falls for the girl but who stupidly followed Parvati's belief that Mr. Harvard-Yale-Stanford couldn't possibly have the idol. The 3 Horsemen of Fiji, Edgardo, Mookie and Alex were dummies who believed that Dreamz could be trusted. Hummm, only men!? Maybe Lisi should be here rather than as a villainess!
This naturally brings us to the Final 2 Foil, often called the Goats.
This edit has often been as easy to spot as the winner. This player is often talked about negatively by his fellow castaways. The player often receives a combination of negative traits such as being lazy, weird, a liar or asocial. Clay was the archetype of this edit. Some say he invented the way to play to guarantee second place. Often, the F2 Foil serves to justify the winner. Matt was presented as "cweepy", a loner that scared his fellow castaways. He was portrayed as someone who had no idea on how to play the game and became Rob's lap dog. Lill's Outcast status and her role in betraying the hero of the season was enough to make her the Final 2 Foil of PI. The very mouthy and less than ideal "survivor expert" Sandra's victory was justifiable and acceptable when compared to a goat and a villain. Twila, Katie and Stephenie all showed their asocial behavior which was amplified by untrustworthyness for Twila, laziness and incompetance in Katie's case and entitlement in Stephenie's. We heard the numerous reference to Danielle's laziness and the editors let us hear Probst hammering the fact that, for someone who described herself as a competitor, she chose to sit out a challenge and didn't compete against Terry. Courtney in China was also shown as the one everybody wanted to face in the end.
By the end of the season, Dreamz's role as a goat need not be detailed. It's interesting that we were never meant to "hate" Dreamz before the "Truck incident". Early on, Dreamz had too many nice moments about his difficult past that we figured he was either receiving a "Tribute" edit or he was going far into the game. When we saw the negativity surrounding him, the tribute edit was dismissed, it left the Final 3 Foil.
From a comparison of CI and Fiji, an interesting question is: Why was Becky a tourist but Cassandra a true goat? Lisi, Stacy, Boo, Alex, Edgardo and Mookie. All spoke against Cassandra, even vehemently in Edgardo and Mookie's case. Becky was called a lazy princess by Cao Boi and Ozzy before they left on their expedition to Raro but we saw that she wanted to get rid of the importunate outsiders. Cassandra was said to have made a big error, to have done something to merit vengeance and we heard that she wasn't very nice. Add that her lack of involvement in challenges which was underlined by Probst and Cassandra was a goat.
Finally this brings us to what makes a winner's edit. One could say whoever doesn't fit anywhere else and be done with it! If you have read this far, I guess I should give a last effort, shouldn't I?!
The winner emerges from the story of the season.
The winner fits the themes of the season. That player is on a journey but unlike the ones on a journey of "Self-Discovery" or "Proving one's Worth", the winner's journey is focused on the goal of making it to the end, of winning the game. In addition to being on that journey, the player will tell the viewers about their plans. We will see their determination and, when they have distractions, it is more to round out their characters, presenting them as human beings. Examples of such a distraction was Brian's drunken evening in Thailand. Tom was also seen drunk and his shark hunting expedition united the tribe. Again, to compare with Terry, LaMina was never seen having fun.
Since strong women are more often vilified rather than edited as winner, we have to look at different hints to see if a woman is the winner. Women winners are often more seen as being part of the action rather than heard directing it. Their importance is often defined by others talking about them. Look at episode #1 in Guatamala and instead of counting the number of words, look at how central Danni was, especially during the Tribal Council. She was presented as someone to watch for.
Aras was the closest winner to have a journey of Self-Discovery. He started as a weird yoga instructor who wanted to develop an energy field using the hands of his tribe mates in Viveros. From there, he quickly took charge of Casaya, becoming like a corporate manager, planning meetings and distributing tasks. Every time he argued with Bruce, he apologized and told us he had to restrain himself. We saw his plan of holding his alliance of nutballs together and using Cirie's strategy to get to the end. His conflict with Terry, in challenges and on a deep, personal level, made it so that the only way he could reach the end of his journey was to beat the Navy pilot. Aras grew during EI and since we heard that "he had set himself hardcore for the win", gaining maturity, as we saw in the finale's talk with Danielle, was all that he needed.
The Themes are strory lines that get repeated often during the season. The set up of the season is often the first theme and Jeff can even guide us towards those early themes but then the editors attract our attention on specific discussions from the players to establish the story of the season.
For this post, suffice it to say that Danni was the player that personified the themes of Guatemala as smartly identified by a poster named Veruca Salt:
- "Survivor is a game of Endurance and women have more endurance than men"
- "The Deserving Players should go to the End"
- "You have to be Trustworthy" ( Think of Gary's lie about his indentity and Judd's lie about the idol.)
Fiji had themes of: "You need to conquer the Land", "Survivor is a Game of Poker", "Beware of Snakes" and "Don't underestimate Yau Man". Earl, being the King of Fiji, having a good poker face, coming to an understanding with snakes and being to only one to value Yau Man, had to be the winner of Fiji.
To return to Jenna's unusual edit as a winner, we saw that Christy's presence couldn't let Jenna be presented as a positive person, that Rob's on camera presence couldn't oppose her to a true villain, but we had Heidi take most of the negative rap and we had Matt's Final 2 Foil edit as justifications for her win. Maybe the editors counted also on her final challenge wins as sufficient redemption because it showed she had at least Outplayed her rivals. From the start however, Jenna had been seen as part of the "Beautiful Women who Rule the Amazon." That theme was presented by the men who eagerly wanted to meet those beauties and how the "cute girls" gained control of Jaburu. The final showdown was definitely between Jenna and Rob. In the end, a woman did rule The Amazon.
Winners show us their Game Plans.
In her editing thread at SurvivorBlows, Veruca Salt came up with an interesting way to classify the winning gameplans. Here, I will use these categories, as she defined them, to explain what to look for in the winner's story. Note that there are no real walls between each category, as players can use more than one plan as the situation evolves but they've been put in their main category, the one that guided their actions through most of the season.
The Clinical Player
Players such as Richard, Brian, Vee, Danni, and Earl essentially did not allow emotion to run their game. Vee's famous "No more drama" summed it up quite nicely. These five are prime examples of a player having a plan and sticking to it. Each had a different method based on the type of person they were but their game play was clinical. They removed themselves emotionally from the game despite the emotion around them. This allowed others to make mistakes while they observed and listened, getting to know their opposition which is essential to this game. With every pitfall that came, they maneuvered the game their way and watched the others fall.
Danni is an interesting case. She led her tribe's alliances before the merge and used her ability to stay off the radar after it so she could fall in any of the 2 next categories but, from the start, she played to be everyone's friend and listened for their ideas. When Gary was scrambling, her comment of "I'm not ready to go home" was a flat, emotionless statement. One of her biggest move, the Blake vote was like a gambit in chess. She weighed the consequences and got rid of an unreliable player to gain Gary's trust. He later helped her to gain Rafe's trust. That was the key to her game. Her gambit paid off.
The Head of the Family.
These players took on a role that allowed others to gravitate towards them for instruction, direction, counsel or comfort. Players such as Tina, Ethan, Tom, Aras, Yul and Todd in their own fashion, did this. Tina was a mother figure who gave "time outs" and guided the votes for her alliance of "Good People". Ethan was that reliable brother who had a good head on his shoulders and had a calming presence, playing the role of the assistant coach. Taking over when Lex lost his head saved his game and puts him in this category. Tom was the father who instructed or ordered a group who allowed and needed a patriarch. Aras was the sane member of the family who held it together. Yul was a wise older brother who diplomatically guided his alliance through difficult times. Todd was the gifted son who could play Survivor like no one else. Emotions came in now and again by them but they all had this quality that people essentially listened to and followed their ideas.
The Under the Radar Player
Sandra, Chris and Jenna won essentially by not being seen as "the next one on the block", playing as if under the radar even if they were very visible. To many viewers, the under the radar players are the invisible ones but the label also applies to someone who poses no threat and is essentially overlooked. Each of these players were completely overlooked by others as someone who could or would win this game. Granted, Chris was the first target but he recovered his balance when it came to deciding that vote. He was not put on the block once after that, even if he ended up being a lone man unto himself. He was a player who, physically, really had no capabilities compared to the other men. He was no threat to anyone. Jenna was young, spoiled, emotional and, on a physical playing level, she was average. Sandra had a mouth and an attitude and was absolutely no asset to her tribe in challenges. She got every thing she could out of the "Anyone but Me" strategy.
All three butted heads with others and got emotionally charged. They were probably one of the last people that anyone on their season thought would or could win. Under the Radar people slide through but they don't have to be quiet about it.
Winners have a Consistent Edit
There can be an evolving story arc but, generally the winner doesn't have large ups and downs in his portrayal. Any change arising in the latter stage of the game can be seen as a way to make us doubt the outcome.
Those are some of the guidelines I use to watch a new season and see what Burnett is trying to tell us from all these new contestants.
Of course, editors have many more tricks. I can list briefly a few:
The Music
A musically gifted poster named applejacks taught me that a season will have 3 main musical themes. Here is how he defined and explained them:
A 'tense' theme that is heard during challenges and at critical moments. In many seasons, it mainly featured string instruments.
A 'positive' theme, often made of wind instruments. Different motifs from this theme are heard at various, happy times. It also surrounds the main tribe and players.
A 'comic' theme - This one reveals a lot. We've heard mainly percussion instruments playing a certain theme - a marimba for example- sometimes accompanied by metallic sound effects. This theme is often heard and it's used to point out stupidity, a bad move or a funny mistake in a challenge (think of Leann and her friend in S9). This 'comic' theme painted the characters as naive, stupid, weird or eccentric.
The music is used to underline how a player should be perceived. From Palau, we had:
- Coby and Caryn usualy got the 'comic' music during their confessionals. For Coby it was so obvious at times that it suggested his ideas weren't meant to be taken seriously. He was used mainly for comic relief as seen above.
- Stephenie received the tense motifs very often, announcing that she was going to be an important part of the game.
- Ian got positive motifs, helping the audience like him.
-When the music stops or we hear a dramatic change, the events unfolding should be considered very important.
The winner usually receives a mixture of the three motifs, even the comic one used on occasion to either humanize him, (think of the elephant in trees comment from Yul) or to make us doubt he could win.
The Complex Tribe
Determining which tribe is the one of interest is rarely a question of voting strategy. In China, we heard that Fei Long was working well together and had chosen a leader whereas Zhan Hu was miserable and had belatedly appointed 2 leaders. Courtney said in a clip that didn't make the show that mud was everywhere and JR mentioned he hadn't slept in three days but we weren't witness to that. We saw ZH's pityful conditions so we knew which tribe the editors was favoring.
Airtime is also important and the best indicator is what happens to a tribe after they go to tribal council. Moto was ignored after the Liliana vote. The tribe with the winner is never ignored. Not much was shown from LaMina except for their focus on winning the numbers game, counting on Terry to the point that they couldn't do anything without him and voting to keep the Boy's club strong. Casaya had more complexities but the focus was more on their idiosyncrasies rather than the strategy. We saw plans in actions but the main alliance was hidden until Cirie won the coconut chop challenge.
If the editors concentrate on strategy, somethings are important to note. A tribe that goes to tribal council will always reveal some of its dynamics but it's important to see what is shown. For example, when Raro booted JP, we never saw who told Adam and what convinced Parvati. We were left with the impression that she was hesitating, even after Brad had agreed to the women's idea. What the TV show hadn't revealed was that Parvati was sitting on the raft as Jenny was convincing Brad! There was a picture of it on the CBS gallery. We didn't know either if Nate knew of the vote or not before the recap. Those questions were never revisited since they weren't important.
When Aitu voted out Cecilia, we saw complex negotiations. Of course, we didn't hear CB and Flica say what they would do but we knew what was the thought process. We still had plenty to see from the tribe such as how would Candice re-integrate the alliance and what changed Ozzy's mind from refusing to work to turning into the provider.
That led us to believe that Raro would be going to TC often. All the votes on Raro were based on who annoyed them at the time so the inner complexities weren't necessary to show. Aitu was a strategic tribe who voted out pleasant players like Flica and kept Jonathan because they had a plan. They were the complex tribe and even revealing most of their discussions didn't tell us what was brewing! Something is always hidden under the surface of the complex tribe. The winner was on Aitu. When we saw Raro become the lazy tribe after the mutiny and Aitu was glorified as the underdogs, we knew the winner had stayed in Aitu. Many had already figured that before then, of course.
On some rare occasions, the complex tribe doesn't contain the winner and then both tribes receive almost equal attention. It was the case in Vanuatu where 6 of the 7 end game players were in Yasur but the winner in Lopevi.
Animal Imagery
The editors associate animals to represent some players. It's not my area of expertise but it is a fun thing to follow.
When Rupert lost immunity in episode 10, what was the first scene shown? A snake eating a big chameleon. We later saw it slowly swallowing the huge prey. Who was the snake and who was the chameleon? Was any viewer still as blind as Sandra who didn't see Rupert's ouster coming?
In the opening credits of Cook Islands, Ozzy was associated with a white bird. We later had an episode where Ozzy captured a white bird and Yul killed it for their meal. It really seemed intended to show that Yul would "kill" Ozzy in the end.
Judd was associated with the Howler Monkey. Both made a lot of noise but, as the monkey didn't do anything else, Judd's game didn't match his howl.
In EI, Cirie was associated with an all-seeing Owl, Terry was a predator and a small frog was seen associated with Aras. It was interesting when one posters noted that the type of frog shown had no known predators because it had a toxin and was avoided by the carnivores.
When Jean Robert went hunting for a hidden immunity idol, he was accompanied by a frog. Was the frog intended to remind us of the fable about the Frog and the Bull where, due to envy, the frog died trying to become as big as the bull? JR was certainly trying to play a bigger game than he could handle.
There are other editing tricks like when Cao Boi spoke, we saw clouds float by at fast forward to underline how long he went on. Did anyone take Cao Boi seriously?
ETA: So that I could properly reference the Guatemala themes as well as the Gameplan and Music sections of this post.
Thank you, trixiego, for your guidance.
