In any sort of real-life quest, some rough
equivalence of brains and brawn would
ordinarily bode well for one's
success. Not so on Survivor
however, as Gabriel Cade can attest.
His relatively early ouster in the
Marquesas came as a surprise to viewers,
and at the same time reiterated the notion
that the game is primarily one of
nebulous, ever-changing interpersonal
dynamics.
By resisting
demands to declare his permanent
allegiance, and by maintaining a semblance
of independence, Gabriel became a maverick
and a threat, whose elimination was made
necessary by the numbers game that future
Tribal Council votes can represent.
By simply refusing to play the game, the
game simply played him.
Our lasting
impressions of Gabe are generally quite
favorable, are of an earnest, able
competitor who ~ like other earnest and
able Survivor contestants before
him ~ by rights ought to have reached the
final four but was struck down before the
merger. Another victim of Survivor's
surprise element that keeps up all tuning
in episode-after-episode!
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