Astounding Survivors

People on Survivor are automatically stronger than me, but this last week's episode was pretty remarkable for two of them. In fact, I was really impressed. Now mind you, I still disliked most of the people on there. These two stood out though.

In both cases, they seemed to be the people who would flake out of the game in the first episode. One woman had a very serious panic attack and let herself get overheated. The other woman was freaking out because she thought a bug crawled into her ear.

Now, normally, these would be the people who would go home first. In this game, anyone who appears weak is seen as an easy vote. In fact, as I was watching it, I assumed these two would be the first exits. In both cases, it was possible they might even be medivacked out.

I think almost everyone assumed the woman who was saying she had a bug in her ear really didn't have a bug in her ear. We have a tendency to not believe people who claim to be in pain, which sucks because often they are. In this woman's case, it was certainly true. She laid down and everyone was clustered around her. The camera actually focused on the nasty bug as it crawled out of her ear!! It was SO gross. One of the people grabbed it and killed it for her.

I think a freaky bug in the ear would have been enough to send most people packing. However, this contestant decided to stay. Once the bug was out of her ear, she knew she was going to be okay. She even went on to compete in the next challenge.

Speaking of that challenge, the contestant who had the panic attack dominated this challenge. This contest involved diving for four paddles. Most people will dive for one, maybe two. This woman dove for all four. I have never seen anyone do that on Survivor. After they got the boats to shore, they had to pull the boats to a certain spot and then do a puzzle. She participated in both of these, even taking a very active role in solving the puzzle. Most people would have been good with just the diving part, but she did all of it.

It was really neat to see people get off to a rough start on the show, but not let that destroy them. In both cases, they worked through the personal challenges they had and pushes forward. It was inspiring. I may actually enjoy this season.