Russell didn't win Survivor Samoa. Unfair?

After the first episode of Survivor Samoa I hated Russell Hantz, this season's evil genius. Watching last night's finale, I almost (but not quite) hoped he'd win.

At the end of this post you'll find a comment interchange between me, Brian, and Tucson — a regular commenter on my blogs and a fellow Survivor fan. Since this interchange occurred on a post unrelated to the show, I wanted to copy it to this post-finale pondering about Russell's unexpected second place finish.

Tucson and I ended up in basic agreement with a thoughtful NPR blog analysis by Linda Holmes: Russell blew it, because he thought Survivor was all about strategizing and scheming, not interpersonal relationships.

(Short version of Holmes' post is here; long version is here. It's must reading for Survivor geeks.)

Russell was an inveterate liar and jerk on the show. Question is, what's he like in real life? If he was acting on Survivor, it was a masterful performance. But I tend to think that Russell really is as unappealing a guy as he appeared to be.

And that he lied about being a rich oil company executive along with many other things. My Googling of "Russell Hantz" didn't turn up any evidence that he's a highly paid successful businessman.

However, I did find some well-deserved skepticism that Russell is who he claimed to be. Way back in September there was talk that Russell's bio was a lie. Seemingly he doesn't own any property in the part of Texas where he lives. And his "oil company" has a zero online presence.

When someone typed in the address of Hantz Tankering Service, which is the name of his company, aerial photos show a nondescript rural residential road. Methinks Russell is a fake.

Here's the interchange between Tucson and me:

———————————————

Tucson: At least Russell didn't win Survivor. There must have been a teeny bit of consolation in that.

Brian:
I'll confess, rather guiltily, that I actually was rooting for Russell
to win Survivor. At least, I ended up feeling that he deserved to win.
I didn't like him, but I came to respect his abilities to scheme,
manipulate people, and understand interpersonal dynamics.

It was a surprise to me that Natalie won. To my wife also.
Taoistically, she played a "yin" game. (And she also looked good in a
bikini.) I don't think she deserved to win, given the coattails
argument. However, it could be argued (and it was) that she simply
played a more subtle game, while Russell's was extremely overt.

I'm glad Russell won the $100,000 Best Player prize. He grew on me
over the season. Once in a while I'd even find myself liking the guy.
it was nice to see his wife appear on the results hour. I'd been
curious about what she would be like.

Tucson: I
disagree that Russell played the game well as evidenced by the fact
that he didn't win. I give him credit for finding the immunity idols
and his strength of will in the final immunity challenge. In the end,
the human factor plays a part and Natalie succeeded in that department
while using Russell well. Even during the reunion show Russell was
completely ungracious and without class.

Brian: Tucson,
good points. By "playing well" I meant that Russell's strategic vision
was outstanding. His summary of that at the final Tribal Council was
terrific, how he played this person against that person for this
reason. He had that part down.

But I agree with you that he overplayed that aspect. Russell assumed
that the jury members would value strategizing above all else,
forgetting that people are feeling beings as well as thinking beings.

I suspect that Russell won their heads, and Natalie won their hearts
(the viewer reactions echo this, since Russell was more popular among
people who watched him from afar on TV rather than putting up with him
on the island).

Tucson: "Russell
assumed that the jury members would value strategizing above all else,
forgetting that people are feeling beings as well as thinking beings."

Exactly. This is what the bartender guy summarized so well in the
final tribal council. Up to that point I was sitting on the fence
between Russell and Natalie. The bartender's (can't remember his name)
comments struck me as eloquent in that moment and I saw a change in
Russell's demeanor after that little speech. I think he knew then that
he didn't have it in the bag.

I was continually surprised that people in the game did not seem
very perturbed by Russell's brazen, cocky attitude. I realize that it
was mostly revealed to the audience and his "good old boy" side to the
players, but some of the smarter ones caught on pretty quick.

Nevertheless, he did play a smart strategic game and he would be a
formidable competitor in the dog eat dog world of business. I'll give
him the 100 grand but not the million.

One thing about Russell that I do admire was his ability to keep his
spirits and competitive attitude up during the bad weather when
everyone was shivering, suffering and complaining. Not one negative
peep or complaint from him. He almost seemed to enjoy and thrive in it.

I am just happy to see that utter ruthlessness does not always pay
off. I think all winners of Survivor have had to resort to scheming,
betrayal and manipulation as a necessary part of the game, but most
seemed to have some level of regret or remorse about it. Not in
Russell's case however.

Whatever. It's just a TV show, but one that can teach a lot about human nature.