I'm watching Philippines now and oh my gosh, it seems like every minute she was changing her gameplan. For the record, none of them usually ever came close to fruition. She sure changed her mind a lot though, it's exhausting!
I just finished rewatching Philippines and remembered how much I loved Lisa Whelchel. I loved her on the Facts of Life and seeing her out on Survivor and watching her story arch from an emotional mother to a bona fide player kinda reminded me of Cirie circa Exile Island. What really upset me was how her entire game was ruined by a delusional pedophile.
It's the Final 5 and Malcolm and Denise are far and away the biggest threats to win the game. Abi-Maria is a mega goat goat, and (redacted) is a returning player that no one wanted to see win. Malcolm has immunity so Denise seems like the logical choice. Abi is down for voting her out, while Malcolm and Denise are voting Abi. Lisa wants to vote out Denise and only needs (redacted)'s vote to do so. Unfortunately, (redacted) is delusional and thinks that all he has to do is get to FTC and he automatically wins for *reasons*. He isn't concerned about Denise, he thinks he can beat her. Hell, he thinks he can even beat Malcolm. So because Abi annoyed him and called him an idiot and a moron twice (which was totally correct, lol), he voted her out, guaranteeing that either Malcolm or Denise would be in FTC, ensuring that Lisa had lost.
We often talk about robbed goddesses when referring to the likes of Parvati, Wentworth, Cirie, Mama C, etc. but I think Lisa needs to be in that group, especially when considering who she got screwed by.
I always just found it fascinating to see the true people behind the glossy exterior of "the high class women of society."
Really the only person they had in this category was Monica Culpepper but she never seemed to shed her socialite image (yes, I'm sure I'll get many "neat woman comments."). She never seemed to shed her mask of perfection while Julie and Lisa you really saw who they were as people.
This maybe controversial but I am particularly drawn to Lisa this season. Her struggle of not being good enough or liked enough is compelling. She gives great confessionals and commentary and she tries to make moves (even if they fail). She also performed rather well in challenges overall.
Her loved one visit is honestly hilarious to me how she and her brother keep calling out “Sister” and “Brother” at each other.
She may have some controversial opinions about LGBTQ people and feminism due to her religion.
I for one would love to see her play again.
With Survivor filming for seasons 41 and 42 indefinitely postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, EW is reaching back into the reality show’s past. We sent a Survivor Quarantine Questionnaire to a batch of former players to fill out with their thoughts about their time on the show as well as updates on what they’ve been up to since. Each weekday, EW will post the answers from a different player.
Throughout our Survivor Quarantine Questionnaires, we have heard from lots of players who struggled once the cameras were turned off. And those struggles even extend to someone who has lived almost her entire life on camera. Lisa Whelchel grew up a star on The New Mickey Mouse Club and then rose to fame playing Blair Warner on The Facts of Life. But even someone who was used to the scrutiny and insecurity that comes with fame was unprepared for what happened after making it all 39 days on Survivor: Philippines.
“For starters, I cried for almost three straight days from the moment I walked away from Tribal Council,” says Whelchel, who tied for second place. “As a player, I think I just tried to hold everything in to play the game (with the exception of #SurvivorMeltdown, of course!) and the moment I was free to let down, it was like a flood. Thankfully, when I was still leaking tears months later, the Survivor therapist helped me not feel so foolish by explaining that it is not uncommon to experience a kind of grief reaction.”
Indeed, Whelchel’s reaction upon reentering society mirrors those of many of her peers. And the worst was yet to come. “Unfortunately, I wasn’t prepared for a whole new round of PTSD when the season aired,” says Whelchel. “That was, in some ways, even more traumatic. When I was on television in the eighties, it was before the Internet and social media so, although, I got my fair share of public judgment and even shaming, this was so much more. It didn’t help that I was more raw and open and undefended than ever before.”
While Whelchel won the fan-favorite Sprint Player of the Season award (and the $100,000 that came with it), even beloved players can feel the social media sting, where no one is safe. But ultimately, going through that trial by ire made the runner up even stronger: “This many years on the other side of it, I’m grateful. It was the equivalent of giving hundreds of people sledge-hammers and submitting myself to a fairly painful ego-annihilation. Ultimately, freedom to just be is on the other side of that, but it sure hurts get
... keep reading on reddit ➡
I first want to start out by saying I am only analyzing Lisa’s strategic character within the game of Survivor. I have never seen The Facts of Life and I do not follow her outside of the game, but I personally really found the character of Lisa in Survivor Philippines to be interesting and exciting (feel free to disagree). I know this is long but I wanted to do something in depth for the Survivor Summit & Symposium.
Overall: I’m going to try and break this down and cover all the important sections of her 39 days which I think show how Lisa played a calculated and clever game that many people did not see.
PRE-MERGE: So pre-merge Lisa really didn’t do anything. Her first few days she struggled bonding with her younger tribemates and felt on the outs until episode 3 she when Pete approached make an alliance with him, Abi, and Artis. She did benefit greatly from being on a strong tribe which got her all the way to the merge without going to a tribal council. It is likely that she would have been voted out if Tandang if they did go to TC, but I do not hold this against her because there have been many survivors who likely would have been voted out if their tribe went to an early tribal council (ex: Sandra in PI and Cirie in GC). Nevertheless, Lisa got to the merge.
MERGE (EP 7): At the merge is when strategic Lisa came out. Her plan is to stick with Tandang strong and make big moves. Her first chance to make a big move comes after she finds Malcolm’s idol. I truly believe this was an accident, but it really played to her benefit because now she knew he had it and she got a new alliance with him and Denise.
EP 8: This is a great episode for Lisa because it really shows that she has a strategic side. First, she has a deal to vote with Jeff, Carter, Malcolm, and Denise and go for Penner, Skupin, then Abi/Pete/Artis. Since Jeff/Carter are a pair and Malcolm/Denise are a pair, at Final 5, Lisa could go with either to the end, but likely won’t beat them. She realizes this, and decides to go forward with people she could beat, which are the rest of Tandang.
Penner was still the next to go, but he won immunity, so they all were going to go for Skupin. Skupin is Lisa's closest ally, and she realizes this could be her chance to make a big move and blindside Malcolm and take out his idol. I really believe this is a solid plan. Malcolm trusts Lisa
... keep reading on reddit ➡Two women in their 40s who were lambasted for being emotional but ended up surviving the whole journey only to be slammed once again at the final tribal council.
What are your opinions on them? Do you love them both or are you a fan of one of them?
What are the differences between them, according to you, because Lisa is definitely seen in a much better regard than Dawn here, I believe!
As a person who wasn't a fan of Lisa the first time I watched Philippines, I've come to realize just how beautiful her story arc was and I'm really curious as to whether all you think we'll see her again. I actually fully expected her to be on Second Chance and I'm wondering why she wasn't included on the ballot.
