The 115 Funniest Things to Ever Happen on Survivor
#53. Chris gets his stories mixed up
Vanuatu - Episode 13
Remember when I said that Survivor seasons are much
better the second time you watch them? Well this moment
is a perfect example of what I am talking about.
A lot of my favorite moments on the Funny 115 are things that weren't
necessarily funny the first time you saw
them. Rather, they are moments that got a lot funnier once you knew how
the season was going to
end. In fact, most of these moments you
might not have even noticed the first time around.
Moments like these (the ones that are only funny on
repeat viewings) are the ones that I like to call "retroactively
funny." And
they are some of my favorite moments
on the entire countdown. Even if, at the time, they were only funny
and/or ironic to the editors.
A good example of a retroactively funny moment is Jon's "I guarantee
Sandra's not the winner!" confessional
at the start of Pearl Islands. It's a quote you might not have even
remembered
the first time you watched
Pearl Islands, but I can guarantee you that it stands out to you during
the
second viewing. And there are moments like
that all the time in Survivor. The editors love
to use foreshadowing. The editors love to
tip off how the season is going to end. And I have to imagine they are
laughing their asses off when they put those
scenes in the actual episode. Because if can you recognize a
foreshadowing scene for what it is, if you can spot
a retroactively funny moment the second time you go back to watch a
Survivor season, it often becomes one of the
funniest moments of the entire season.
Case in point: The 13th episode of Survivor: Vanuatu.
Chris Daugherty is in full-blown liar mode by this
point, he is just lying through his teeth to just about everyone. He's
dumping the most convoluted and elaborate
lies to everybody, he's weaving four different storylines depending on
who he is talking to, and I have no idea
how he is able to keep it all straight in his head. Every single person
Chris talks to gets a different story
about the deal they have to the final two. And every single person gets
a different scenario about how Chris is
going to get them to the final vote. And after a while, with so many
stories and scenarios floating around, you would
think that Chris would accidentally slip up and tell somebody the wrong
story. Right? Wouldn't the odds be pretty
good that Chris might slip up and accidentally tell somebody the
wrong thing?
Well in episode thirteen we hit the jackpot. Because Chris does
screw up when he is talking to Eliza. And he does it right on camera,
too! Chris accidentally tells Eliza the wrong storyline, Eliza catches
him on
it, and then Chris does the clumsiest recovery possible in an attempt
to get her to forget it. It is a rare glimpse
into the twisted mind of Chris Daugherty, and it shows that even he
gets confused by his web of lies sometimes. It also happens to be one
of my favorite retroactively funny moments in Survivor history.
The scene: It's down to the final five, and Chris
has two alliances he can ride all the way to the end. He can either go
with Julie/Eliza, or he can go with Twila/Scout. Chris's ideal
plan is to go with Twila/Scout
(because they are older and easier to beat in the challenges), but he's
keeping Eliza
strung along just in case he needs her vote somewhere
along the line. So even though Chris has no
intention of taking Eliza to the final two, he definitely doesn't
want her to know this just yet. Eliza needs to think that Chris is
going to take her all the way to the final
two.
So Eliza and Chris are sitting on the beach right before the immunity
challenge in episode thirteen. And they
are shooting the breeze about how the rest of the game is probably
going to play out. And... well... let's just
say that Chris is a little careless in his word choice during this
conversation with Eliza. Because he accidentally
(and absent-mindedly) tells her the storyline that she really
isn't supposed to be hearing. It's hilarious. Take a look.
CHRIS: "Everything's
good. We just have to see how this immunity challenge goes.
And if, you know, and if it falls in the right direction, we'll talk."
CHRIS: "And do what's
best for us." (Chris then turns to look at her)
"... To the final three."
ELIZA: "Oh yeah."
(She pauses for a second, then looks up and corrects him.) "... The
final two."
Chris is silent. He doesn't realize he
just screwed up.
Then realization hits him. He does a
mini Chad gape.
CHRIS [quickly correcting himself]: "Well yeah."
(He's stammering) "I... I mean..."
(He pauses, then looks at her and nods, sincerely.) "Right."
Ha ha ha. Sorry.
I love this moment because it happens so quickly. And I love how Chris
passes it off like it was just a slip of
the tongue. Great moment. Especially if you know what happened the very
next day in the game:
Like I said, this moment is only funny if you know how Vanuatu is going to end. And that's why I call it retroactively funny. It's not something you would even notice the first time you watch Vanuatu, but the second time you watch it, it will crack you up. This scene is the only time that Chris screws up one of his storylines during Vanuatu, and it is one of my very favorite "oops" moments in Survivor history. If you ever go back and re-watch Vanuatu, keep an eye out for it.
I can't believe I accidentally said that!
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