Tribes merge,
Dugan ousted Original Fei Longs use majority power to eliminate Dugan
A six-four vote ended public relations major Jaime Dugan’s
stint on Survivor: China Thursday night. Dugan gave a strong
showing during her three weeks on the reality show’s
camp; she appeared capable of making it to the very end.
What stopped her?
Tribes merge, but old loyalties remain The show began with an announcement by host Jeff Probst
that the castaways would merge into one tribe. The 10 castaways
threw away their old, sweat-stained Zhan Hu and Fei Long buffs,
and donned black ones to symbolize their new tribe.
Though unified in name, the castaways remained bound by their
old loyalties.
This was a troubling
reality for Dugan, as it meant that she and her fellow original
Zhan Hus were vulnerable to the majority alliance formed
by the original Fei Longs. It became obvious, though, that
Dugan’s fate hung in the balance
more so than any of the other Zhan Hus when Amanda Kimmel
identified Dugan as “the silent leader of the Zhan
Hus.” In other words, the one that the tribe would
be best-served to send home first.
The cards were stacked against Dugan; she knew that. What
she didn’t know, though, was that the “immunity
idol” she’d discovered earlier in the week and
planned to use to save herself at Tribal Council, wasn’t
the real thing.
The immunity idol…that wasn’t
Early in the episode, Dugan noticed that James Clement had
walked down to the lake and away from the camp to hunt
frogs. She suspected that Clement had possession of an
immunity idol, and decided to rifle through his bag to
look for it. Sure enough, she found two wooden plaques
with Chinese symbols on them. Dugan identified these as
immunity idols, but placed them back in Clement’s
bag without being seen.
The next day, Dugan noticed a third, and seemingly-identical,
wooden plaque lying in the dirt. Believing it to be a third
immunity idol, or one that Clement had accidentally dropped,
she pocketed it.
What Dugan didn’t know was that the plaque lying in
the dirt was not the real thing, but a blank board that Clement
had knocked off the awning when he pried off the real immunity
idol. The board, while carved with symbols, did not have
a “Congratulations” message engraved on the back,
like the real idols did.
The drama intensifies when James walks through camp and
notices that someone has picked up the blank, meaningless
board. He becomes overcome with laughter, and is delirious
with amusement, as he realizes that one of the original Zhan
Hus has picked up the blank board and believes it to be an
immunity idol.
It’s no surprise, then, that during Tribal Council,
when the votes have been cast but not yet revealed, Dugan
announces that she has what she believes to be an immunity
idol. Probst takes the board from her, declares that it is
not the real thing, and throws it into the fire pit.
Viewers might expect Dugan to show shock or disappointment;
she shows neither. She nods, remains composed, and when Probst
reveals that the votes aren’t in her favor, she hugs
her closest friends on the show and leaves the council hut.
Dugan’s exit, it should be noted, was the most gracious
the show has seen yet.
In her final words, after leaving Tribal Council, Dugan
says, “I learned that I am probably too nice for the
game of Survivor. I wish Erik and Peih-Gee the best of luck.
I tried playing the hidden immunity idol. It wasn’t
it, but it was worth a shot, so I am glad I tried it.”
by Anna Groos
Dugan will have role in remaining episodes
Dugan bid farewell Thursday night, but it’s not the last viewers will see
of her. Any castaway voted off this late in the game gets to return as a silent
observer at future Tribal Councils, and sits on the jury that decides which of
the final two castaways will be the sole survivor.
It’s not a million dollars, but a nice privilege for
a game well-played.
Contestants Jamie Dugan and Erik Huffman prepare
to have dinner with friends and family in Spartanburg
before watching the debut episode of the series.
