John Cochran: S23 and S26

[Way Wes Jr]

I'm going to compare Kass to John C. in the current episode thread, and I don't want to derail that thread with the "Did John make the right move in S23 or not?," debate.  So, here we go.

In my opinion John was handed a lose/lose decision at the infamous tribal council where he switched his vote to avoid drawing the rock of doom.  He had the choice of being on the bottom of the Savaii alliance, where he had been poorly treated (and received votes at every tribal,) or the choice of being at the bottom of the Upolu alliance, where he had a fresh start, and the hope that they would be grateful.  Meta-gaming aside (John was a big enough fan to realize that flipping would increase his chances of being brought back,) John decided to stick it to the "bullies" of Savaii.  [And face it, John has probably had experience with bullies in his life...]

Savaii had three people immune from the rock draw, Keith, the vote recipient, Dawn (female II winner,) and Ozzy (male II winner,) so mathematically the rock draw favored the Savaii alliance much more than the usual scenario.  But John wasn't interested in doing what was best for Savaii, given a choice between being at the bottom of either alliance, he turned out to be more interested in sticking it to Savaii.  [And ultimately the choice garnered him $1 million and a writing job at CBS.]

[Cricketoo]

Way Wes Jr., I totally agree with your take on JC's original flip, which seems to have earned him inordinate amounts of hatred and disgust on the boards.  I don't get it.  

I also think that we don't have all the information on Kass' flip.  She seemed to think that Sarah was in the final 3 with Spencer and Tash, and really, she had a better chance of knowing the truth of that than we viewers, who only see what the show wants us to see.  Was she stupid, or trying for a better deal with new people?  

[Eggman]

I think that Cochran did the right thing, not just for himself but for the game as a whole.  People who play poorly - who treat a person on the outside of their core alliance badly - should suffer the consequences. 

In that regard it's possible to interpret Kass' move as being a similar one.  For whatever reason, she was feeling marginalized, and she flipped.  In survivor, when someone feels marginalized, the onus falls on both sides, regardless.

[BK1978]

I was never a huge fan of Cochran but I was so happy when he flipped because I disliked the other members on his tribe more.  I also hated how they treated him like crap.  The only one I felt bad for was Dawn.

That being said I am not sure that Kass' situation was the same or at least from what we the viewers were shown.  It looked like Kass was in a sweet spot as she seemed tight with the other brains and she might have had a good path to the finals.  She threw it out the window because her feelings were hurt not because her teammates constantly treated her like crap, but because she was marginalized just once.

Cochran's flip reminds me more of Shambo's flip.  In that both where looked down upon by their initial tribe and so when they had the chance to jump they took it.