When we think about the intersection of ethics and the game of Survivor, it’s always a little complicated and individual. What I mean is that through the years, we’ve clearly seen how differing people enact differing ethical codes when playing.

 

For the most famous example, we only need to look to Survivor: Pearl Islands and the legendary moment of Johnny Fairplay and his dead grandma. We’ve also seen folks such as Tony swear on their children. And, of course, we’ve seen players who think these actions were so wrong, reprehensible and very much out of bounds.

 

And this is what I mean by individualized ethics on Survivor. Each and every castaway arrives in the game with a different list of what they won’t do and what they will do to win the game. But that’s kind of obvious, right? What I think is more interesting is how each player must present one ethical framework, but really play another one.

 

What do I mean?

 

Well, everyone wants to win Survivor, right? (Besides that one frustrating as hell dude on Marquesas, I guess.) But anyway, that’s common sense too, right? Everyone wants to win. Duh. But people can’t play that way. Everyone needs to play to win, but they need to look like they’re playing for the betterment of the tribe or their alliance. Especially at first.

 

What this means is that while all players fundamentally subscribe to the normative ethical theory of ethical egoism, they can’t be too transparent about it. Even though everyone knows! They have to present the theory of utilitarianism. That’s where it becomes tricky.

 

You see, ethical egoism is the theory that says the best way to enact ethics is to always do what’s in your own self-interest. And, of course, that’s what Survivor contestants do. But they have to be careful. Utilitarianism is an ethical theory that says one should always do the thing that helps the largest amount of people. That’s what they need to look they’re doing.

 

 

And, I think, this brings us to Ryan’s decision this week. Obviously, he thought the best decision for him consisted of giving Roark the boot. That’s the ethical egoism-inspired decision. But Ryan’s longest-lasting alliance was with Ali and, in some ways, the rest of the Hustlers. Giving Chrissy the proverbial boot would have been the utilitarian thing to do.

 

Herein lies Ryan’s mistake. As always, the best move is to do the thing aligned with egoism while making it seem like you’re being utilitarian. That’s why not telling Ali was dumb. Oh sure, he can fix the relationship in the short term – and I expect he will – but never in the long term. Ali will always now be closer with someone else. She will not trust Ryan to the end.

 

Why oh why didn’t Ryan tell Ali what he planned to do? He had the votes either way. Not telling Ali could only end up badly. It’s just dumb. And coming from a guy who’s been anything but dumb, it just seems weird.

 

All Ryan had to do was pitch something about needing to break up the Healers. There’s no rational reason to vote off all Heroes. And that was Ryan’s play, but he didn’t make it and now his ethical framework was exposed to everyone. Before they knew, but there wasn’t proof. Now they know with proof. And that’s bad for Ryan.

 

OK, that’s all for this week. Here’s where all the remaining players sit, in my mind:

 

Levu

 

• 1. Ashley – We didn’t see much of the Levu tribe this week. But what we did see was a pact between Devon and Ashley to go to rocks if necessary. I have to say, I totally understand this move for Ashley. I’m not a big go-to-rocks guy early in the game, but Ashley would have no shot if one of her few allies, like Devon, left the game.

 

• 2. Devon – As much as I liked this pact for Ashley, I didn’t like it for Devon. And maybe he wouldn’t have gone through with it, but if for even a second I thought I couldn’t get Desi to vote off Joe, if I’m Devon, I’m out. To me, Devon’s main alliance is Ryan. And Devon is one of those people who needs to get the merge to do some damage. If Ashley needed to go, well... whatever, man.    

 

• 3. Joe – With all that talk about Devon and Ashley’s pact, though, I have a feeling Desi might have turned on Joe. And I think that way because while Joe is sure playing a flashy game, he’s certainly not playing a good game. This dude is done, and done soon, I think.

 

• 4. Desi – After an episode where Desi spoke, we go back to her being invisible. And that’s kind of sad because Desi seemed to be a good player last week. I’m excited to see how her story plays out.

 

Yawa

 

• 1. Ben – That beginning quote from Ben, about his time at war and coming back, was truly affecting. It’s super hard to root against this guy. He’s likable and playing a good game. I’m happy for him that Chrissy survived the last vote. It sets up a nice Heroes reunion potentially.

 

• 2. Jessica – What is it with people helping other people find idols this season? This is twice we’ve seen one person encourage another without trying to get it for themselves. I don’t get it.

 

• 3. Cole – So Cole is bad at the game and now we see he’s absolutely disgusting. I’ve never seen my opinion of a castaway change so drastically so quickly. I mean, this guy looked like a major frontrunner after episode two, and now he just can’t stay the hell out of his own way.

 

• 4. Lauren – And speaking of Cole, doesn’t Lauren seem to be the kind of person who’s going to focus on eliminating Cole too much? At the detriment of her own game? She’s obsessed and I don’t think she rests until Cole’s gone. And, unfortunately, I think Lauren gets the boot before Cole.

 

• 5. Mike – Jessica and Mike made what seemed like a tight alliance this week. Now, we all know they already had a tight alliance as members of Pat’s Amazing Fantasy Team. Man, I can’t lose this season. All four of my team members are still alive, none seem in imminent danger and now one, woo hoo Dr. Mike, owns an idol. Awesome.

 

Soko

 

• 1. JP – My Winner Pick™ doesn’t actually look like a winner or anything, but nobody seems to focus on him as an elimination choice. That’s weird when he clearly looks to be the most physical player remaining. He destroyed those challenges this week. Here’s hoping he somehow slips through and Fabios this whole game.

 

• 2. Chrissy – You know, she probably should have spoken with Roark before she did, but Chrissy showed a lot of great play this week. She immediately read Roark as a liar, she easily turned JP’s vote, and she obviously convinced Ryan to vote her way. That’s an impressive triumvirate.

 

• 3. Ali – For the first time all season, Ali didn’t have control of a vote. And that, my friends, is why I bet she’s totally pissed next week. I bet she and Ryan make up, but after being at so many Tribal Councils, it probably got to Ali that she can be had.  

 

• 4. Ryan – I talked about Ryan’s decision earlier in this here blog, but we’ll really find out how good his social game is next week. If he can win back Ali, this week’s move made total sense. If he can’t, I think he blew his game.

 

In my opinion, this season is finally picking up some steam. These last couple episodes really worked. Woo hoo! That might mean a really good end-season run. Here’s hoping. In the meantime, I’ll talk to you all next week.