By Don Hart

If there is one piece of advice to give players on shows such as Survivor or Big Brother before they go on their respective reality shows, it is: “Always keep open the option to form an alliance with your worst enemy.” It is a variant of the old adage “Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer.”

Both before and after Jerry’s nominations, when Jerry had won HOH at five houseguests remaining, we were shown scenes of Renny and Keesha cavorting with Dan and Memphis, but not a single scene of any necessary plotting with Jerry. What were Renny and Keesha thinking? They had spent almost two months in the House and did not have a single clue that Dan and Memphis were working together. As happens so often in Big Brother, the viewer has to ask, “Did they come to play or simply just lie around?”

It appears that Dan and Memphis were able to hide their alliance, but with only five houseguests left, how could the other three have not caught on? This lack of perceptive ability really irritates the viewers, especially those who like to see the best game play.

Even if we give Dan and Memphis credit for hiding their alliance, the question still lingering is why Jerry, Renny and Keesha could not have seen that it was time for the two stronger guys to go. Keesha had put all her eggs in Memphis’ basket despite repeated warnings from her supposed “closest ally” Renny not to trust him. Jerry moronically put his eggs in the same Memphis basket. And Renny, it seems, did nothing to influence Jerry’s nominations.

So, it is to Jerry and Renny that the “Keep your enemies closer” especially applies. Renny had to see that she was lowest on the Dan-Memphis-Keesha-Renny totem pole, and it was time for her to act. A scene that I simply cannot get out of my mind is one where Jerry and Renny are both in the kitchen, Jerry on one end, Renny on the other. From what we saw, they kept their distance from each other, not exchanging a word. Wasn’t that at least one opportunity to compare notes?

A similar situation happened on the 2001 installment of Survivor in Kenya, Africa. Gay Brandon Quinton and seemingly homophobic Frank Garrison won a reward challenge together where they were able to get away together from a horrendous game park locale and watch the film “Out of Africa”, with popcorn even. They had a golden opportunity to compare notes, bring in fellow Samburu pals Kim Powers and Teresa Cooper and attack weak link Tom Buchanan of the opposing, stronger ex-Boran quartet of Tom Buchanan, Lex van der Berghe, Ethan Zohn and Kim Johnson. But Brandon and Frank wasted that golden opportunity, kept their personal differences alive and subsequently were the next two voted out.

So, a corollary of “Keep your enemies closer” for Survivor and Big Brother players is “You don’t have to like the person(s) in your alliance, but you may have to make alliances with those you dislike if it helps your chances to win.” Jerry and Renny, just like Brandon and Frank, could not get over their personal differences and blew their chances of winning. Keesha and Renny needed to make a deal with Jerry for Final 3 before Jerry’s Final 5 nominations. They would have evicted either Dan or Memphis at five left and stood at least a chance of getting rid of the other one later. Once Jerry made his nominations and did not put Memphis and Dan up on the block together, it was too late. The game was lost for Jerry, Renny and Keesha.

“What were they thinking?”

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