Yes, I actually watched Survivor: Pearl Islands this year. I've seen a few bits and pieces of earlier shows, but this is the first one that I've watched all the way through. In the end, it was the spitfire Sandra that walked away with 1 MEELION dollars after stumbling and fumbling her way to the finals.
One of the things I found curious about the final round of questioning was how much they picked on Lil for "contradicting the philosophy of the Boy Scouts" (she was forced to wear her uniform, as everyone unexpectedly started with only the clothes on their back). By that I mean she lied and backstabbed a few players to get to the finals.
To me, this is a game. It is only a game. How you act on the show, in my opinion, has absolutely no bearing (at least, not necessarily) on how you act in real life. I think my belief stems from playing lots of "everyone for himself" style board games, such as Diplomacy. If someone backstabbed me in a boardgame, it certainly didn't mean that they would backstab me in real life, because a boardgame isn't "real life". I certainly didn't take it personally. In fact, the only difference between Diplomacy and Survivor is that there's a million dollars at the end of the tunnel. Oh, that and you're half naked, starving and sunburned most of the time.
Andrew's comment in the reunion that Lil should be held to a higher standard because she happened to be wearing the Scout uniform is bullshit. Andrew played the game fairly straightforward and honestly, but for all we know he's a total dirtbag in real life. In fact, I'd trust Lil over Andrew any day of the week in real life.
That being said, I've learned a few things if I ever want to compete in this game. First, be in good physical shape. This is important in the first part of the game where sucking at physical challenges can get you voted off the island (as it did with skinny Ryan) though, ironically, it can work against you in the second half of the show if others fear your abilities. Also, don't bothing scheming in the first half of the game, as that will also likely get you voted off early. That, or being a total asshole and/or weirdo. Second, avoid lying whenever possible. At worst, be non-committal and don't make any guarantees. Probably easier said than done.
The final four is the most difficult I think, and primarily boils down to personality, luck and winning the challenges. Darrah was voted off for no other reason than they felt she was the most physically competitive and therefore the biggest threat. Jon was ultimately voted off because Lil simply didn't like him and/or liked Sandra better - not that he had a chance in the finals anyway.
Sandra (who absolutely sucked at the physical challenges btw) won because, ultimately, there was always someone with bigger fish to fry, or be fried, and she just went along for the ride. Good strategy. :)
