All Liz wanted as a reward was an Applebee Mushroom Swiss Burger, but denial left her only ‘hangry’ for revenge.
The Big Picture
- Survivor’s Reward Challenges can lead to crucial decisions on who to include, and more importantly, who to leave out.
- Liz’s emotional reaction to being excluded from the reward shed light on the importance of social awareness in the game.
- Liz’s strategic decision at Tribal Council to eliminate Tiffany over Q may have long-term consequences in the game.
When Jeff Probst revealed that whoever won the Reward Challenge would go to the Sanctuary, where good things happen, for an overnight stay featuring Applebee’s, there was one player who had a fire under her butt to win. Sadly, she didn’t. And if you thought it couldn’t get any worse, it did. confort had a complete temper tantrum after Q Burdette did not pick her for the reward following his Reward Challenge victory. He had three other names in mind, and he couldn’t care less that she hadn’t eaten. Q plays Q’s game. Liz’s emotional meltdown was based on having not being able to eat due to her various island allergies, but her lack of connection to her daughter and their weekly Applebee’s family night was lost as well. Q’s omission illuminates that it’s not always important who you pick to join in on a reward on Survivor, it’s who you leave out.
Survivor is one of the most brilliant social games to ever come to television. Throwing a group of strangers onto a tropical locale to coexist while forming a cohesive society just to vote one another out is something that became the blueprint for future reality shows. In a game where having strong social relationships with your fellow tribe mates is crucial when making every little decision. Survivor typically features a pair of challenge types. One for immunity, where a tribe or an individual is safe from being voted out. The other is reward, where a tribe or an individual earns a specific reward to help them in the game. From fishing gear to food, with letters from their loved ones in between, these Reward Challenges are like currency in the game. When players reach the merge, Reward Challenge victories often come with a major decision. Who will they bring along to share in the reward? Because they typically are for food or comfort, players tend to go hard to win. Sometimes a decision comes down to whom the winner wants to spend private time with in order to concoct a plan. Other times, it’s to ensure that certain players don’t have a chance to plot while they’re away. Sometimes who you leave out of a reward can be more damaging than who you include. Q Burdette learned that the hard way.
Survivor
A reality show where a group of contestants are stranded in a remote location with little more than the clothes on their back. The lone survivor of this contest takes home a million dollars.
- Release Date
- May 31, 2000
- Cast
- Jeff Probst
- Main Genre
- Reality-TV
- Seasons
- 46
- Studio
- CBS
- Creator(s)
- Charlie Parsons
Q’s Savage Decision Caused a Dramatic Reaction
With eight players remaining, Survivor 46 has been getting tighter and tighter. With major blindsides pervading the merge, every decision has had major consequences. In the latest Reward Challenge, the castaways played as individuals with a major reward on the line. As Jeff alluded to, it was the biggest reward of the season. Thanks to another round of incredible product placement, the winner would be sent to the Sanctuary for a feast of Applebee’s. Not since Karishma Patel on Survivor: Island of the Idols has there ever been a more visceral response to the chain restaurant. Liz Wilcox, who is notoriously allergic to everything in the world, has had very little to eat during her time on Survivor. She can’t eat coconuts, and since the tribe as a whole passed on Jeff’s rice negotiation, Liz has had little nourishment. Upon learning that the reward would include the Applebee’s classic Bourbon Street Mushroom Swiss Burger, Liz was on a mission to win. It had an even more special connection to her as she would spend every Survivor Wednesday with her daughter chowing down on Applebee’s together. Not only was there a desire to eat, but there was an emotional connection to this specific reward. Even before heading for the challenge, she pleaded for her fellow castaways to include her if she wins. Fate was not on her side. After almost nailing her sandbag in one shot, she fell short to the winner, Q. And Q chose chaos. Or Qaos as we’ll now officially coin it.
When given the option of whom to bring along to the Sanctuary, Q decided to bring Maria Shrime Gonzalez, as she had been the only one to check on him, Tiffany Nicole Ervin and Kenzie Petty, as he had been with them from the beginning. This meant four players were sent back to camp with nothing. Including the one and only Liz Wilcox. And she was pissed! And she made it well known to everyone in Fiji. It’s possible you could hear her screams all the way back in the states! Liz’s guttural reaction was real. This was a real person going through a real thing in real time. Never has any castaway had this type of reaction to not being picked for a reward. By exploding in front of the entire tribe, Liz made her feelings clear. It was evident where she stood, at that moment. Which is key. Things can quickly change on Survivor.
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Liz Balanced Head and Heart at Tribal Council
As Q stated throughout the episode, he did not regret his decision. In his mind, he felt he had made the right choice for his game. He showed little remorse for the woman who had literally been starving. For whatever reason, leaving her out of a reward would benefit him in the end. In a game of numbers, pissing off one person could have been his entire downfall in the game. With eight players remaining, Liz easily could have allowed her grudge to be the revenge she needed to vote him out. And yet, she showed that Q’s presence as a goat was better than keeping a strong player like Tiffany in the game. Her decision shocked some players and fans alike. But there may be a reason. And it’s filled with revenge. All it took was an inconsiderate comment that set Liz off the edge.
The majority of the episode followed Liz and the aftermath of her omission of the reward. While no one seemed too keen to console her or comment on Q’s decision with regard to Liz, her pain was evident. So when Q and friends returned the next morning, Kenzie and Tiffany were discussing the meal and how they were too full to even take a bit of Liz’s desired Bourbon Street Mushroom Swiss Burger, Liz was fuming. Like the brilliant Madeline Kahn in Clue, there were flames on the side of her face. Liz had every right to be furious. Yes, she easily could have removed herself from listening to the conversation, but Tiffany and Kenzie’s inability to read the room was one of the first displays of abysmal social awareness on their part. People do crazy things when they’re hungry. But once that tummy is full, bragging is rarely the answer.
Survivor 46 sees a ‘hangry’ Liz Wilcox
Liz’s overall decision at Tribal Council could easily be scrutinized as well. For someone who was up in arms when Q stole her thunder during his chaotic threat to quit a few Tribal Councils earlier, she could have redeemed the moment and built up her resume by stopping Tribal Council and telling Tiffany to play her idol in order to blindside Q. Not only would she have a bold move on her resume, she would ensure that Maria’s ability to claim a blindside against Tiffany didn’t exist. But Liz’s passionate anger towards Q was not enough to overcome her mind, realizing what the rest of the game could look like. For her, eliminating Tiffany made the most sense. Q is an easy vote out whenever they want. The morality of eliminating someone like Tiffany, who wants to be there, over Q, who was willing to quit, will forever be a dark stain on all who continue to keep Q safe. But alas, in a game for a million dollars, thinking about number one is all that matters. Q did what he thought was right. Liz did what she thought was right. Time will tell if it will bite her in the end. If there was anything we learned, when a hangry Liz Wilcox comes out, a Survivor moment would be made.
New episodes of Survivor air Wednesdays at 8:00pm on CBS. All seasons of Survivor are available to stream on Paramount+.
This article was originally published on collider.com