Hall Of Fame Moment: Changing the Balance of Power in the Marquesas

In Survivor: Pearl Islands, Burton said you can hate somebody's guts and still be in an alliance with them if you have the same goals. Never was this more evident than in Survivor: Marquesas, when five people destined for the chopping block managed to put their differences aside, systematically overthrow what was previously the controlling alliance, and pull off the biggest power shift in Survivor history. For waking up and smelling the pecking order, Paschal, Neleh, Sean, Vee, and most definitely Kathy have earned a Hall of Fame moment.

It all started when Kathy and Rob were selected as merge ambassadors for their respective tribes: Kathy, for the reformed Maraamu, and Rob for reformed Rotu. Rob told Kathy how Zoe had confided in him that Kathy would be a target. Kathy, not knowing how devious Rob could be, took him at his word.

Once the merge occurred, she tried to reason with Paschal and tell him he and Neleh were being played. But the judge was intent on re-aligning with the Rotu-core. Later, Rob asked Zoe if Kathy was being targeted, right in front of Kathy. In one of the most transparent lies of all time, Zoe paused, then unconvincingly denied the Robfather's allegations. But the damage was done, and Kathy knew she needed to win immunity to stay in the game. Lo and behold, that's exactly what she did, keeping her balance on a platform longer than the other nine. In her place went Rob, who'd caused all the trouble in the first place.

After tribal council, Kathy asked Zoe to clarify what exactly was going on. Changing her story, Zoe said telling Rob that Kathy was a target was just a ploy to keep him off-guard, but Kathy wasn't buying what Zoe was selling this time, either. Later, during the next reward challenge, the real estate agent tried to convince Paschal and Neleh to vote with her, but they were still set on voting with the original Rotu four, unaware that they'd be the targets once the game was down to six. In one of the greatest moments of foreshadowing in Survivor history, Kathy stated that they needed to experience the turmoil, and see how people act, and then they might commit.

While Kathy was no longer the target at this point, she still knew her days would be numbered if she didn't do something soon. She found an unlikely ally in Sean, who was now targeted for the first jury spot, and everyone knew it – including Sean. Again, she worked on Neleh and Paschal, and had about as much luck as she did before In fact, Paschal said there way no way he would align with Sean and Vee, claiming he'd be embarrassed if Sean made the finals.

Then came the challenge, which consisted of answering questions about the islands, with each player being given a three bundles of coconuts. For each question someone answered right, they got to chop one of someone else's bundles, with the winner being the last person to still have bundles remaining.

Predictably, Sean was the first one out, despite answering the first two questions correctly. Next out, not surprisingly, was Vee, followed by Kathy. Next came Paschal and Neleh, with the challenge eventually being won by Tammy. If the order didn't open the eyes of "Pappy" and "Sweet Pea," the behavior of the Rotu core most certainly did, as they were way too obvious in congratulating each other on working together – indeed, they found themselves with a “Moment” of their own, a Reality TV Hall of Shame Moment, that is.

At this point, it was as if Neleh and Paschal had been bonked on the head by one of the bundles of coconuts, and they now saw the game in a different light. Knowing where they stood with the "Core Four," they aligned themselves with Kathy, Vee, and Sean, and ousted John, the self-proclaimed leader who'd once boasted that Neleh and Paschal were openly rooting for his success in the game, and it was like having two free passes.

In changing allegiances, Paschal went back on the proclamation that he'd never align with Sean, and in doing so, showed how to put game play over emotions.

After tribal council, Neleh commented on how her new alliance had beaten the Rotu core at their own game. Tammy and Robert, who'd previously been in the driver's seat, got a chance to see how the other half lives, finding themselves on the outside looking in for the first time since the game started.

When it was time for the reward challenge, the Survivors were randomly put together in groups of two, and the winning pair was, surprise… Sean and Paschal. Not only did they work together to win, they seemed to genuinely enjoy each other's company during the reward, which couldn't help but solidify their alliance.

In a complete turnaround, Paschal went from saying there was no way he'd align with Sean, to saying, "I feel very fortunate to know him." In the span of just a few days, the two had gone from being unaligned, to being aligned for the sake of convenience, to mutually respecting each other. Indeed, at the Reunion show, Paschal called Sean, "an extraordinary young man."

When they returned, Tammy and Robert, who'd since found themselves distanced from former alliance member Zoe, did the only thing they COULD do, and that was make a last-ditch effort to re-align with Neleh and Paschal, claiming that despite his comments to the contrary, John wasn't speaking for the group. But it was too little, too late, and like their behavior at the fateful immunity challenge, much too obvious.

Knowing a lie when he heard one, the judge stated that their comments were insincere and didn't make any sense. In a similar vein, Neleh commented that the two got caught in their own game and were trying to manipulate her and Paschal, and she wasn't falling for it. Nor was she falling for Zoe's attempts to garner favor by making sea shell necklaces. In fact, Zoe was voted out unanimously at the next tribal council.

The next tribal council saw Robert wearing the only necklace that really mattered, that being the one of immunity. Predictably, Tammy was sent to the jury box. When they were down to six, Robert failed to repeat his immunity victory, and at the ensuing tribal council, his ejection made the abolishment of the original Rotu four complete.

In being part of the final five, Kathy had gone from almost being the first one voted out of Rotu, to almost being the first one voted out of Soliatu, to engineering an unlikely alliance that propelled her into the final three when all was said and done, and almost winning the game – not to mention the hearts of viewers everywhere.

Paschal and Neleh, meanwhile, had gone from being a sure bet to finish just short of the final four, to actually making it there. Sean ended up buying himself 12 more days on the island. And say what you will about Vee, she did end up winning the game. These five went from being a group that had absolutely no reason to align, to aligning for the sake of convenience, to staying aligned until they had to turn on each other.

For being able to see which way the tribal council wind was blowing, doing something about it, and staying together despite attempts to break them apart, Kathy, Paschal, Neleh, Sean, and Vee are awarded a Hall of Fame Moment for causing the biggest power shift in Survivor history. In addition, Kathy deserves special mention for trying to bring the alliance together even before the "coconut" challenge. Her original pleas to Paschal and Neleh may have been in vain, but set the stage for one of the greatest moments in Survivor gameplay history.

Ken can be reached with any comments, criticisms, or money orders at YourNextOfKen@aol.com.

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