Day 33: Funniest Moment
Survivor 39-Day Challenge
Hands down, the funniest moment on Survivor is the F — Stick in Micronesia (2006).
From the moment Jason found the fake immunity idol on exile (which was planted by Ozzy as decoy), I knew it would result in an absolute disaster. What I had not anticipated was the comedy it brought for the series.
At the merge, Eliza was the outcast from the remaining Favorites and Jason from the remaining Fans. Without a doubt, the two clicked relating to one another as people on the outs, essentially forming a twosome.
When Jason won the first individual immunity challenge of the season, Eliza was left vulnerable and she felt the target was onto her. Parvati couldn’t give her a definitive answer when she’s like all Favorites to the end. That was her cue.
Luckily, Jason revealed he found the hidden immunity idol and was willing to give it to Eliza. She was ecstatic, of course. The whole thing was a combination of comedy and tragedy, an absolute entertainment. Us viewers knew it wasn’t the real idol. Jason believed it was the real idol. So, when Eliza had the first look at it, it was momentously funny. (I heard somewhere that the cameraman in charge needed to get that initial organic reaction from Eliza or else he’d be fired.) “This isn’t it,” Eliza realized. “This is so stupid; this is just a napkin.” And I could not stop laughing.
Jason went to the beach as Eliza was unwrapping what turned out to be a fake idol. Cut to Eliza almost sprinting to the beach to confront a very unaware Jason. The exchange that followed is one of the best comedic scenes in a non-scripted show, if not the best at all.
Eliza confronted Jason and told him straight up “That’s not the idol.” Even after saying Ozzy might have put that as a decoy, Jason insisted it was the real deal.
Eliza: It’s a f — stick.
Jason: I know, it has a face on it. Don’t worry.” (cue my through-the-roof weird laugh)
Eliza: Ozzy put it on there, made a face on it. […] That can’t be the idol.” (at this point, my tummy hurt so very damn much from laughing so, so hard)
Eliza’s reaction to Jason’s insistence that the f — stick in fact in the real idol was funny. What’s even funnier was her reaction when she realized Jason truly believed that it was a legit idol. Jason’s flushed, too, when he saw Eliza suddenly squirming on the sight of his hard-earned hidden immunity idol. He’s almost like no, that cannot be not the idol. I’m not sure if he’s cocky or dumb; I’d go with the latter.
What transpired at tribal could not be more embarrassing for Jason. It was in fact a fake idol which everyone laughed at, and Eliza’s torch was snuffed as quickly as Jason could blink. I’m not sure if Jason had any footing in the game to begin with before that, but it definitely derailed his quite questionable strategic game.
And Eliza figuring out that the f — could not be a real idol and broadcasting it to everyone solidified Ozzy as an even bigger threat now in possession of an idol. A very vital information for the series of blindsides that followed, which could very well be attributed to her tragic-slash-comic ouster.
As for Eliza, well, what could she even do at that point. She’s going home anyhow, as she exclaimed at Jason. Without that stick, her elimination would have been just one of those boring tribal councils. But her vote-out will always be associated with this iconic funny moment; not too shabby in my opinion.
Runner-up: “Let’s go, Josh!” “It’s Reed who’s on our team.” Survivor: San Juan del Sur (2014)
