Today in TV History: ‘Survivor’ Proved That Mutiny Doesn’t Pay

Of all the great things about television, the greatest is that it’s on every single day. TV history is being made, day in and day out, in ways big and small. In an effort to better appreciate this history, we’re taking a look back, every day, at one particular TV milestone. 

IMPORTANT DATE IN TV HISTORY: November 9, 2006

PROGRAM ORIGINALLY AIRED ON THIS DATE: Survivor, “Mutiny” (Season 13, Episode 9) [Watch on Amazon Prime]

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT:  Besides being television’s stalwart reality competition show, Survivor is often the most narratively satisfying reality show. Whether it’s the format of the show (competition does tend to lend itself to easily recognizable stories) or how well it’s edited, the events of Survivor are often some of the best narrative on television. Players who take their allies for granted get upended. Unrepentant jerks get their comeuppance at tribal council. And every once in a while, my favorite recurring theme: the small but scrappy alliance that is able to outlast the multitudes.

That latter event is how Season 13 played out. Season 13, set in the Cook Islands, had all the makings of a disaster before it even began. The producers — Mark Burnett and Jeff Probst primarily — had the bright idea to structure the season from the outset as a battle between four tribes divided by race. So a tribe of white players versus a tribe of black players versus a tribe of Latino players versus a tribe of Asian players. The setup was awkward, and the controversy it created put the show under a dark cloud. And while the “race wars” aspect of the season didn’t last very long (by episode three, two integrated tribes were formed), the benefits of casting a season with racial/ethnic parity became an unexpected benefit.

And then there was the mutiny. At the beginning of episode 9’s reward challenge, Jeff Probst offered the players the chance to defect to the opposing tribe if, for whatever reason, they wanted to. Candice, with her allies on the other tribe, did so, and Jonathan, thinking Candice was his best ally at the moment, followed her lead. The optics of this were striking, and not simply because in this racially-composed season two white players ditched their nonwhite tribemates to join their white allies on the other tribe.

It left the Aitu tribe with a mere four players to Raro’s eight. Aitu’s composition might have been the stuff of the movies: brilliant, soft-spoken Yul; brash, athletically gifted Ozzy; physically weak but socially strong Sundra; and overlooked strong ally Becky. Up against a tribe with at least two hulking gym bodies, a foxy-boxer, and twice their numbers. Instantly, viewer sympathy went to the Aitu four, but how could they be expected to last through even the next three immunity challenges to the merge, much less have the votes to stay afloat within a merged tribe.

Spoiler: they did. Watching the Aitu tribe instantly forge themselves into an unbreakable — and unbeatable — force was one of the most satisfying developments in any season of Survivor to date. Perfectly edited, karmically blessed, classic Survivor.

[You can watch the “Mutiny” episode of Survivor: S13 on Amazon Prime]

Joe Reid (@joereid) is a freelance writer living in Brooklyn. You can find him leaving flowers for Mrs. Landingham at the corner of 18th and Potomac.