Pirate Master, Episode 8: What Happened to the Game Strategy?  7/20/07

By Don Hart

Going, going, gone. Any game strategy we saw in the first seven Pirate Master episodes seemed to disappear in Episode 8. It would be interesting to have a tally of all the "stupids", "morons" and "idiots" shouted around America during the July 17 episode.

Kendra made her big mistake Episode 7 by voting for Joe Don and against Louie, then somehow making it known to Jay that she didn't keep her promise. She was swayed by Joe Don's defense and ended up voting against Louie, with whom, ironically, she had appeared to be close. Jay saw somehow that she didn't keep her word, while Louie didn't have anything to say about her vote. Does Louie really understand what is going on? Kendra made the same mistake Sean made. She crossed Jay, and Jay is playing the game intensely enough to win. It is better to stay on Jay's good side.

The next strategic mistake Episode 8 was that none of the non-Triad Black Crew thought of intentionally losing the expedition challenge. The Producers threw a Ghost curveball into the game that seemed to be designed to break up the Triad. Sean, Joe Don, John and Cheryl were a far more formidable threat to the Triad than a Crew of Louie and the girls. Yet no one thought of throwing the challenge. It was aggravating to see the 6 non-Triad Black Crew give it their all in the challenge and then celebrate their $2,000 winnings. Wouldn't it have been worth it for the hapless 6 to forego the $2,000 in gold to see the Triad overthrown?

Of course, who could have counted on John losing the key? John may never have another chance of erasing his legacy of being the first Pirate set adrift as well as blowing the revenge challenge. And why were all the Ghost Crew just standing around while the goggled John searched for the key?

Out of nowhere Jupiter, in a good position in the game, made her biggest mistake at the all-Pirates dinner by outing the Crew's mutinous feelings. She set the stage for herself earlier in Episode 7 by nixing the mutiny. Why couldn't she have gone along with the mutiny and then privately warned Azmyth if she felt she felt she had to warn him? A secret alliance is a powerful tool in this kind of game but is so rarely used. Her downfall continued in Episode 8 when even before the dinner she discussed her plans with Laurel, one of Azmyth's worst enemies. Loyalty is one thing, but she compounded her mistakes by never clarifying her loyalty directly to Azmyth. Didn't she have an opportunity of talking to Azmyth alone? She talked when she shouldn't have and didn't talk when she should have. In the final analysis, she probably should have adjusted her strategy by abandoning Azmyth. Her place as Officer beside Azmyth was lost to Ben.

Azmyth of course also made a huge strategic mistake by blackspotting Jupiter. It showed just how much he was out of touch with the ship's dynamics that he didn't even realize that Jupiter was still his biggest ally. Again, it is just hard to believe that Azmyth and Jupiter never had a chance to talk together privately.

Nessa and Louie then initiated yet another mutiny plot. Jupiter was unable to nix the mutiny this time, but it was only a long shot for Louie to think that he could convince both Jay and Ben to mutiny. To exchange their positions of power with Azmyth and save Jupiter, Laurel or Kendra was really too much to ask of Jay and Ben. The way the game has progressed so far, in fact, a mutiny seems much too difficult to stage.

Jupiter, already in a terrible spot, could have saved herself by bidding for the Royal Pardon. It is difficult keeping track of how much gold each Pirate has amassed, but Jupiter must have had a bigger stash than Kendra. She didn't realize how dangerous a position for herself she had created. Without a good bid, her last chance was her defense to sway the Crew. When she said she would never mutiny against Azmyth she was appealing to Azmyth, not the Crew, and she lost any last glimmer of hope with Nessa, Louie and Christa.

It wasn't a total loss of strategy in Episode 8. Jay and Ben both improved their chances of winning with Jupiter's exit. They are letting the now friendless Azmyth take the heat. At the same time, however, Azmyth continues to amass a lot of gold with which he can use to his advantage. The big surprise continues to be Laurel. For the second time she showed courage in standing up to Azmyth. Christa, who has never received a Black Spot, meanwhile, continues to be so far under the radar that we didn't even hear Azmyth mention her when he was passing out the Black Spots. While Nessa and Louie were plotting mutiny, where was Christa? If Christa is going much further in the game, shouldn't she be getting some airtime by now? Keeping her mouth shut has worked well for her so far. We learned that two of the Crew got seasick in the rough waters. Christa was one. The other one was never shown. Could this mean Christa is going to be sick again?

There are weaknesses both in the overall game and the editing. The challenges seem all-too-similar each week, and the sabotages are lame. Key information is left out in the editing, two examples of which are who was the second bidder behind Kendra's wasted $4,000 and, as mentioned above, who else got sick? The previews for two consecutive weeks have given away the challenge winners. The preview for Episode 7 showed Kendra making her deal with the Triad, strongly suggesting a Triad win. The preview for Episode 8 showed Jay's willingness to mutiny, again suggesting a Triad win. Does the preview for Episode 9 of Jay trying to ally with Christa hint that he is no longer in power and needs a new ally? More Ghost Crew twists are sorely needed but must be inevitable now that we are down to just two voting Crew.

Any thoughts you may have please e-mail me at cosohub@ix.netcom.com.