I love a good underdog story. You know, the sort that does not see the protagonist endure loss after loss after loss, only to start winning after a melodramatic moment with a figure of inspiration, with poetic phrases and life-affirming moments in between. Get the balance right, and I'll definitely root for the underdog, rather than feel worse knowing that the supposed loser will win in the end. But that's just me and my ability to relate everything with myself.

There is, of course, an underdog story in Survivor: Samoa, and no, I'm not referring to Foa Foa. Sure, they lost almost every challenge, found themselves in Tribal Council more often than perhaps anybody else--what Jeff described as the worse performance of any tribe in the show's history. Sure, the folks at Galu were kicking them both in the challenges and in Tribal Council. And then the merge happened and they were taking advantage of every loophole they can find to send the purples home one, by one, by one. That's not exactly an underdog story: they really weren't helpless. Just look at Russell.

Who I'm thinking of is Shambo, the person who everybody at her tribe seemed to hate. It's sooo high school, right? There's this transferee who is nice enough to score himself some friends, but doesn't really earn their respect. You know, the person that you befriend only because you can copy off his math test with a little intimidation. That's who Shambo is. She claims to be a people person, and she does have a presence in the lives of other castaways, but they see her as a pawn rather than a contestant.

Sure, that thing always happens on Survivor. Still, feeling out of place in your own tribe? She may have isolated herself but the rest were isolating her anyway. She found friends in Foa Foa but she couldn't really do anything about it. Laura hates her for some reason. The guys think she's dimwitted, and were only willing to deal with her when their backs were close against the wall--and only as a puppet.

But she is a people person, and it was very evident after the merge. Her ties with Foa Foa were automatically flicked on, sure, and we know how that affected the first two post-merge Tribal Councils. Last night, it became more obvious, after she recruited John's help--a move that ultimately cost Laura the game. If she didn't reach out, last night's vote would've come down to a colored rock and some unlucky castaway.

What amazed me was how the other Galu members dealt with her. They treated her with the lowest regard and yet they were convinced that she was right, that the former tribes are no more, that they have to consider other ties to further themselves in the game. I mean, John! He was part of the male alliance, the very people that made her tribal chief just to manipulate the game! And now, more or less, he's doing her bidding! And to think Russell claimed to be the master manipulator this season--even he has fallen prey, somehow, to Shambo's charms. Who exactly has the upper hand now?

Well, Shambo doesn't really have it yet. Her victory in taking Laura down was just a personal one, apparently something that she's wanted to do the moment she arrived in Samoa. In some way, her reasons for wanting her eliminated is not as much strategic as it is a hunch. It's not exactly her taking down her oppressors, for lack of a better term--Erik may be out but the rest of Galu are still out to get her, especially when they see tangible proof that she's been helping the Foa Foa foursome (or "Foa-some", pronounced fow-ah-sum). But there she is, reaping the benefits of karma being at her side... for now, at least. This underdog story has yet to write its ending.





- Henrik Batallones, BuddyTV Staff Columnist
(Image courtesy of CBS)