[QUOTE=JSexton]
In terms of game design, it’s a bad move by the producers, as it directly hurts people who have been playing the best in every aspect of the game. A fair game should never punish good play.
That said, the producers are not setting out to make a fair game. They are trying to create an interesting television show. The goal here was clearly to shake up the “one team domination” that’s been going on for several seasons. And it worked.
I don’t fault Peih-gee and Jaime for throwing the challenge. I do think they were idiots for not consulting Erik and for tipping their hand. It wouldn’t be hard to just barely lose and not look like jackasses.
[/QUOTE]
But you know what? I think the problem was that they wanted to tip their hand. I think that Jaime and Peih-gee just honestly thought that their “throw the challenge” idea was the mostest original and mostest cleverest idea in the history of ever. It was killing them that no one knew they had done it; they wanted credit. In their heads they were already imagining the mad props they’d be getting for their brilliant move, but the problem was no one knew. So they went with the giggling and the shit eating grins until someone finally busted them.
Which is a problem for several reasons. They pissed off James, which was pointless because you never want to piss someone off pointlessly - you never know how you might need James down the line, and now they have zero chance of getting his help. If they had thrown the challenge and then shut the hell up about it, and put on a good show of attempting to win, there’d be no hard feelings. They’ve also tipped Erik to the fact that he’s not part of the core group, and you never know when that thought might get past the barrier his genitals have built around his brain. And, perhaps most importantly - they’ve pissed off Probst and Burnett, by spitting on their game. From a meta perspective, there is no good reason to do that, because how hard would it be for Burnett to devise another twist to hoist the girls with their own petard?
And their strategy was flawed on its face, even if they merge at 10, because it assumes that Frosti and Sherea will remain loyal to their original allegiance. By then, Frosti and Sherea will have spent a week with their new tribe, sharing all the bonding that winning together promotes. They know Jean-Robert is on the outs with his group. Why in the heck would Frosti and Sherea rejoin Erik, Peih-gee, and Jaime, and face a tie with all that entails? They’d be better off joining Amanda, Courtney, Todd, and Denise to vote off E, J, & PG, then pick off J-R, and be in the final six guaranteed.
