Survivor Philippines: In Defense of the Biggest Villain Ever - Marlon

Survivor is a hilarious, thrilling melodrama, where people's minds and bodies are taxed to the limit. There's a lot of politics, a lot of humanity, and a lot of really slick editing. No one is duped into thinking it is 'reality.' It's simply a great show. - Quote

Marlon Carmen, this schemer of a player on Survivor Philippines, has sealed his image as this show's most evil character. Some viewers want his blood. How could someone do such a thing? He must be like that in real life.

Is Marlon showing his true character? Or is he playing a character in order to go further in the game?

HIS STRATEGY: He is playing everybody. He is using every opportunity, every chance opened to him to get into someone else's mind and plant little seeds of doubt and distrust. He is the instigator. He is the perpetrator. He is treacherous. He is dangerously clever.

HIS STRENGTH: For Marlon to draw out his plans, he would need a sharp mind. Thus, he would carry out his moves with strategic thought, never once thinking he could hurt someone. He was ruthless in that sense. He did not let his feelings get in the way of his game. Not once was he offended. Even as Rob tried to tick him off during the endurance reward challenge, remembe? Instead of taking offense, Marlon channeled his disgust into making others feel disgusted.

Marlon also has foresight. He is aware of his "enemies" (the other castaways) and thus, can play his cards right. He knows when to make his moves on them.

He really is the devil personified.

HIS WEAKNESS: For all his "evil genius", Marlon is one noisy player. He wasn't content playing stealth. He laid his strategy out in the open. A good CIA agent he will not make. Heh. He is irritating and LOUD. And I, too, am revolted by it.

HIS MISTAKE: He said this week his argument with Zita was a ploy to tick her off. It was, I admit, a mean-spirited move. What the hell got to him? It was what I was asking when I was watching the scenes unfold. Up until this point, he was already playing a good game. This was the only situation so far where Marlon allowed his emotions to get the best of him. And he began to feel guilty. The devil is human after all.

HE IS A BAD, BAD MAN (?)

A lot of the viewers assume that for Marlon to play the game that way, what they are seeing is what he is in real life. Where does that evil drive come from, if it isn't innate in him? To some viewers, his scheming ways go against the Filipino culture. Those aren't Pinoy values Marlon is displaying, they say. It's so Westernized, they say.

And now, let me refute all of those...To quote one narrator in my favorite whimsy TV program --- THE FACTS ARE THESE:

Survivor is a game that transcends cultures. You have to realize that there is no Westernized way, nor a Filipino way to play this game. There isn't even a right or a wrong way. There is, however, a strategic way to play it.

Some Americans, in their own version of Survivor, are also appalled at the arrogance of some of their castaways. They also have Marlons of their own, someone their viewing public also hate with a passion. Just like we do with our Marlon. They also root for the nice ones, they also pick castaway favorites based on their likeability. As viewers, we're not all that different from each other.

Although, yes we cannot discount the fact that our Pinoy culture and the values we hold as Pinoys are big factors to how people play this game differently than other cultures. But being Pinoy or non-Pinoy has little to do with it. Scheming and betrayal is not exclusive to other cultures. Betrayal, turning back on someone, distrust --- it's all about human nature.

The system of Survivor is in politicization. You have to be prepared to give up some of the values you uphold, if you would like to stay longer. You cannot come to this game clueless. You cannot play and be virtuous at the same time because as you will soon realize --- it's going to be hard to make it work.

Case in point --- The Naak Family --- which has somehow evolved into this ideal Filipino family viewers have come to love. Look at how all of them have, at one point, committed offenses against each other, in spite of saying they are in a very tight alliance ---

• Cris and Kaye betrayed Kiko by voting him off.
• Kiko betrayed Rob when he gave the black pearl to him.
• Zita has toyed with the idea of voting off JC.
• JC has broken her promise to Zita.
• JC, Kiko and Rob didn't fully disclose to the Zita, Cris and Kaye that they have an inner alliance. That's keeping a secret from their family. That's technically dishonesty.
  

Were they wrong to make those choices? In the real world, those things would have counted as real offenses you should be confessing to your priest. Because, being Catholic, you know that lying and dishonesty is a sin. People break off relationships because of it in the real world.

But in Survivor? One has to learn to recognize that the system will leave you with no choice but do it. That's the kind of system Marlon understands. And he understands it very well.

To say you won't do those things when you're not really there in the island yourself? It's easier said than done. (Please refer to my analysis of the Naak Family again). Being on the island, you're left with little things to do. You can't drive to the mall, hang out at Starbucks, text your friends, use the internet, relax at the movie house or socialize with other people other than your tribemates. When there is little thing to do, you either sleep, swim at the beach or you become idle. What happens to an idle mind? There is a saying that goes ---

"An idle mind is the devil's playground."

EDITING HAS A LOT TO DO WITH IT

To say that he is very scheming is actually a compliment when one is a Castaway. But I do not believe he is ALL evil. A lot of how Marlon is portrayed can be attributed to beautiful editing. Yeah, yeah...blame it all on editing.

Look, since Day 1, Marlon's boorishness has been pounded to us, the viewers. The pounding hasn't failed even to this day, eight weeks or so running.

And by pounding, I mean we have a "Marlon evil factoid" on a daily basis, did you not notice? You can thank the GMA editors for that. They have prepared very well in making him the biggest villain.

For 24 hours in a day, they have at least a 2-minute Marlon exposure. 2-minutes times five nights the show is aired, that's 10 minutes in a week. Can you honestly tell the kind of person he is in roughly those minutes? Those carefully chosen, carefully edited minutes?

I can't even tell if I've cooked my pasta right in five minutes.

NOT A ROLE MODEL

Because Marlon understands this game's dynamics, I'm pretty sure he isn't there to present himself as a role model. And for a player to come to the game aspiring to be one? This would have to be a huge mistake. The show isn't intended to make role models out of castaways. It's not the kind of show one joins because "you want the world to see how incredibly amazing Filipinos are". Geez, you might as well take part in the Olympics. That kind of thinking would serve better there.

And...if you're watching this looking for a role model, you're watching the wrong show. Or better yet, you're looking for a role model in the wrong medium.

HE IS, IN FACT, PLAYING

This piece wasn't written because I glorify what Marlon does to make it far. And I'm not saying he's supposed to win this game. Because the truth is, that's not for any of us to decide. That's the jury's job.

One glaring truth about this is that Marlon may be doing something right with the kind of strategy he's delivering. As the most hated person on the show, he has already outlasted 11 out of 18 castaways thus far. His time may be up next. But so what? Don't you think Marlon doesn't know that?

The guy is playing. And he is playing very, very well against his fellow castaways.

And c'mon admit it. Without someone like him, it wouldn't make the series that much interesting, wouldn't it? As someone who has given up on Survivor nine seasons ago (my last Survivor Addiction was All-Stars in '04), he sure did revive my interest for it.

Survivor Philippines Week 8

What a week it was for Survivor Philippines.

When I expected the show to become predictable in its remaining weeks, here comes Marlon screwing it up for everyone....and I love it!

It all started with JC making the mistake of choosing three of his allies to share his reward with him. JC picked Kiko, Rob and Zita. They all left the camp to go on an immersion in this Thai village and was there for 24 hours. They left two more of their allies, Cris and Kaye, back at camp.

And as you know...a lot can happen in camp in 24 hours.

In their absence, Marlon swoops in and gives Cris and Kaye the lowdown. He gives them a different picture of "what would be" if the two decide not to stick it out with their All-6 agreement with the others. And what happened was, Cris and Kaye decided they will now play the game as it should've been.

With five of them remaining at camp and four out on immersion, they definitely have the numbers now. They hatched their devious plan. They would shake up the other group and crack its foundation. When the four returned from immersion, the deception started. They used Rob for source material and slowly plants it in Kiko and JC's head he cannot be trusted. Poor Kiko, the perceived leader of the tribe, had no idea what was coming.

At the tribal council, Kiko was voted off, five to four (against Marlon). Someone in his alliance jumped ship and at this point, because they were so clueless, they did not know who.

But there was a special twist, Kiko was given the black pearl which he can in turn give to someone who is still in the game. The black pearl puts one additional vote on that castaway.

Kiko gives it to a very surprised Rob...his ally! Back at camp, Rob is very pissed and goes off on Kiko, who will not sit at the jury.

The five's devious plan worked!

Trust me, it sounded and looked a lot more interesting on television than what you're reading now. :D

But I have to say that, as a player, I have so much respect for Marlon.

As a person, though I have high respects for Kiko. It was just too bad, he had the worst strategy ever. He played based on principles, which as you should know, doesn't hold any value in a game like Survivor. He also played with his heart. And that was biggest downfall. He left it all to feelings and gut-feel, with nary a Plan B or C.

Smart guy over-all. But sorry to say, he did not use his head on the game.

Survivor Philippines Week 7

Only nineteen years old and probably the youngest of the castaways, Jace's naivety was the reason for his getting voted off the island. Thinking that he has a secret alliance with JC from the other tribe, Jace believed his plan was set, to the point of disallowing another tribemate (Marlon) to try and convince someone else to vote their way (Cris).

As predicted, Jace lost via a solid block vote by Naak. Although,surprised of the result, he says he has no ill-fillings since this is all a game.

Meanwhile, Marlon knew Jace's mistake. But he's also changed his strategy now from enabler to an asset. If this move increases his chances of rising to the totem pole, Marlon is indeed the only SurvivorPH player who knows how this game works very well.

Also, this week, the first individual immunity challenge was won by the oldest tribe member, Zita.

The immunity challenge also had one of the most memorable moments on SurvivorPH TV:

Marlon was unfortunately trapped in the cage that the host had to tell the others to help him. His body couldn't fit the small hole he dug up. I like Marlon but...FUNNIEST.MOMENT.EVER!

Survivor Philippines Week 6

The girl who slept a lot has been voted off this week. Nikki's boot was unanimous, her tribe mates have already determined this before Tribal Council.

What was her strategy going into the game? She didn't seem to have one except sit back, lie down and try to get along with everyone.

She wasn't the strongest, she wasn't the smartest, she wasn't a leader, she wasn't even funny or interesting. She didn't contribute to the team at all. And she complained of homesickness.

You can blame all that on editing, but she was obviously picked for eye-candy.

She should have been out a long time ago, but the girl got lucky and has cruised through. Why her team kept her before Gigit or even Patani, I wouldn't know. And that says a lot about how stupid Jarakay's strategy is as a team...so now that it's a merge next week, they will be picked off one by one by the majority --- the other tribe.

Survivor Philippines Week 5

I missed two of the five episodes that ran this week. But I made sure to watch the Tribal Council last night, when John was voted off the island. His boot wasn't a shock. While he did his part during the challenges, John was in fact physically weak. He was the first castaway to be brought to the hospital for health reasons. His alliance and tribe mates saw this as a sign they have to take him out. The result? A unanimous vote. John was booted, 5 to 1.

It may look as if his alliance betrayed him. But does his alliance have a choice? In this game, the only person who's been really hurt by the decision is John. Because he lost his chance at winning.

He know he's no longer valuable. His muscles have grown stiff. He has a deficiency. Which can only be corrected if he gets to rest and gets back to eating three balanced meals a day.

Besides, if that happened to anyone of his alliances, he will most likely vote to keep them out too.

Even if they kept John, he is not going to last the individual challenges now that the merge is about to happen. Can you imagine John during an endurance challenge? He will be the first one shivering from the cold out there.

His alliance didn't betray him.

His best friend in the game (Jace) did not betray him.

His body did.

Survivor Philippines Week 4

Three girls left their camp this week. The first one was Patani, who had to go the same time as the last elimation in the Jarakay tribe, by virtue of the double Tribal Council. Only her elimination was aired after the weekend. So in our TV timeline, she went home this week. Patani's good to go though. She's gained more off the island rather than on it. With exposure (exfowsyur, as she'd say it) as the main reason why she joined, Patani is quite visible on Channel 7 these days. She got what she wanted. I bet she already feels like a winner.

Next to go was Nina, the working mom. Because she broke her foot in the last reward challenge, Nina couldn't play anymore. She walked back to her tribe, with her feet in a cast and told them she had to leave because the doctors explained to her it would be impossible for her to play. Her only consolation was she left without being voted out. But I don't know if that's a good or a bad thing. As competitive as she is (and she's one of the intelligent ones in this group of 18), it's a pity she will go down on record as the person who got defeated by an injury.

And then finally, last night's tribal council, Vevh was the latest castaway voted off. Poor, naive Vevh.... she also had her foot injured and was already limping. Before tribal council, she already knew she was leaving because some of her tribe mates are in an alliance and she isn't part of it. She resented that fact; cried over it. Says she went into the game trying to play fairly and to win good friends, not traitors. What the hell was this girl thinking joining Survivor?! If it was the way she thought, then voting her was a good call. I like Vevh as a person, she also sounds sensible like Nina. But as a player, she is so wrong for this game. Her final words --- she hoped her tribe mates aren't as "deceiving" as they are in real life. What is that?? Someone doesn't understand how this game is played.

This week also had new twistsssss....several new twists, that I don't think having more twists will be good for this show. It's too much to take for someone who is already familiar with the program, how much more for someone who isn't?

Survivor Philippines Week 3

I got spoiled. And it got this week's elimination right.

Gigit was voted off this week. According to spoilers he was booted early because he was able to blog on his journal while the filming of the show was still happening. He did not take down the entry, but he removed the date, I think.

He did not see it coming. If I wasn't spoiled I also wouldn't see it coming; he was one of five possible people who could get the boot. Just a bit surprised the vote was unanimous, when there are two alliances in the group. They were united for this one? How did that happen? (Marlon!!!!) Jarakay is so stupid for voting an asset to the tribe at this point. Worse, it's a double elimination. Someone else will go in the next episode (Monday).

There was something new in last Friday's tribal council. The castaways were asked to stand away from the Tribal Council area one by one while the rest of the castaways talked about them with Paolo Bediones (host). According to the him, the Caucasians (people from the Survivor franchise) saw this new "twist" and liked it. If they should adapt it in other countries, well you know where the idea came first.

Only, this is so typically Pinoy. It's so passive-aggressive. Tribal council is where confrontations happen. It's where you put everything out on the table, and then hopefully arrive at a closure. Or deal with it again when you go back to the camp.

But this new twist allows the others to spill what they feel, without the benefit of the other person hearing it because he's standing far away. What happens when you get back to camp and the ally of that person you squealed at tells him a different story of what you said in the council?

By the way, that's a weird photo of Gigit up there. What's he mimicking? An action figure?

Survivor Philippines Week 2

What a player Emerson was. He stirred the pot early on. He claimed he doesn't know the game of Survivor and haven't seen one episode of it. But he was the first to ruffle the feathers of his tribe and pitted castaways to distrust each other. For someone who played deviously the first week, Emerson wasn't smart enough to cover his tracks. And so, his tribe mates saw through him. Karma made a huge payback and Emerson was voted off the island this week.

Meanwhile, during the Immunity Challenge, Jace of the Jarakay tribe probably gave Survivor one of its best TV moments...by duping Kiko of the Naak tribe. Playing with a "gentleman's agreement" where the two even shook hands, Jace made a run for the Thai pillow the two were wrestling over, and left Kiko on the ground. Kiko got pwned.

Jace didn't play fair and square. But is there such a thing in Survivor?

Survivor Philippines Week 1

I have a bunch of "Who Knew's"

Who knew Emerson, who virtually didn't have any exposure the first three days, had such deceptive intentions? He's going to be interesting to watch.

Who knew Chev was going to be voted off? (Speaking of Chev, who is she planning to paddle in this photo?) I thought they were gunning for JC, who had to stop mid-game during the immunity challenge; or Kaye, who failed to solve the final puzzle.

And along this line, as I believed JC was more reponsible for the team losing, who knew he could avoid getting the boot by managing to convince a tribe member to vote for Chev?

So many surprises this week.

Including ---- who knew I'd be addicted to Survivor again? A local franchise at that? Who knows how long my newly-revived addiction for Survivor Philippines will last?

Survivor Philippines finds a star in Patani

Yep, they found an unlikely TV star. They found someone many Filipino households will be taking about for the next few weeks. Her name is Patani, a name I'm guessing the network asked her to use since her real name is Jervy (Patani is her middle name). Right there people is what you call branding. That's one thing GMA did right for this franchise. [I won't start about what they did wrong because there were plenty of flaws. It wasn't as good as I was hoping it would knowing that there's too much hype about it being handled by a prestigious News and Public Affairs department, rather than an Entertainment department. I'll chalk it up to.... first day (week) jitters?]

Anyway, "Patani" has more character. She's a person named after a vegetable, after all.

Her VTR intro says she got on the show because she wants to be famous, that she wants to have fans. Amusingly honest. Not like when one of the castaways said they got to the show to prove what Filipinos can do. Note to future reality contestants --- Puh-leeaase, enough of that crap! If you're on a "reality TV program" to "prove something", get off TV and join a non-profit organization or get involved in your community and prove something there. Plant a tree, promote recycling, build a free school for street kids, do medical missions. Don't do TV, unless what you really intend is to whore your way to publicity and prestige.

Like Patani. Who makes no qualms about saying that's what she wants. That's why, of the 18 castaways introduced last night, she stood out to me. Well, she also stood out because she was in this silly get up (on the VTR, not as pictured). Heh. But you see, Patani already knows what works for Reality TV. This nanny is born to be in it. Think of all the sound bites she will provide to this otherwise boring, repetitive format.

Photo from SurvivorPhilippines TV

I envy her smooth brown skin, by the way. Were those photos airbrushed? :D

Survivor Philippines airs every night at 9 PM on GMA.

Survivor Philippines' 18 Castaways

• Kristina "Kaye" Alipio, lingerie model 
  
• Leona Rica "Nikki" Dacullo, call center agent 
  
• Jervy "Patani" Daño, 20, babysitter 
  
• Veronica "Vern" Domingo, 29, taekwondo coach 
  
• Vevherly Gador, 20, student 
  
• Chevyline "Chev" Macias, 26 years old, former GRO 
  
• Zita Ortiga, 46, laundrywoman 
  
• Maria Nona "Niña" Ortiz, designer/wellness coach 
  
• Anna Charisse Yacapin, 26, product officer 
  
• Marlon Carmen, 30, waiter 
• Crisanto "Cris" Cartagenas, company driver 
  
• Emerson Dino, 31, technician 
  
• John Anthony Lopez, 27, auto mechanic/model 
  
• Raymund Francis "Kiko" Rustia, model 
  
• Cesar "Gigit" Sulit, 48, web designer/mountaineer 
  
• Robert Vincent "Rob" Sy, sales officer 
• John Carlo "JC" Tiuseco, 23, basketball player 

Thanks to the guys and gals at Girltalk for this update. I may not get to follow the show when Survivor Philippines begins airing nightly come Sept 15. But the Girltalkers will keep me in the loop just fine.

Heroes Season 3 Spoilers and Why, Survivor Philippines?

Hey, you...

If you've been checking this blog everyday and have found nothing new, I've been actually keeping a daily update on this other TV blog I was tasked to build traffic for. So, if you don't see me here, there's a good chance I've been hauling my big couch potato ass on ClickTV.

This doesn't mean I'm abandoning this blog. I just have to give the other one extra attention, since it's fairly new. Mom bloggers will understand when I say that a new blog is like a baby --- we've got to wean them for awhile.

When I've found my balance, and as new episodes stock up... then I can continue to bore you with TV stuff over here, too.

So, in the meantime, head over there as I've just posted some Heroes Spoilers: someone we already know is getting new special powers. And also, I talked about the upcoming program, Survivor Philippines.

Speaking of the Survivor Franchise --- I just checked Survivor South Africa this afternoon because I got curious, I've never watch any other version except the US. And I WAS BORED TO DEATH. The castaways they had? Boring personalities...everyone was nicey-nice. I don't think they understood the game. The host didn't help either. He spoke in one tone. The challenges? Eh. I don't think I'm gonna go and check the German version I was able to get hold of. I'm quite sure I'd end up more or less bored, too. Besides, I wouldn't understand it.

I hope to the immunity idol, the Philippine franchise knows what it's doing!