As we cautiously tiptoe into another episode of a Survivor season that has completely gone off the rails with tenuous hopes that things will get better than last week, there is a general consensus that Janet Carbin is the only remaining contestant worth rooting for. She was, unbelievably, the only woman on the season to understand that Dan Spilo's sexual harassment of Kellee Kim went beyond the game, and now it feels immoral to stand behind any other contestant.
The back-to-back eliminations of two eloquent and upstanding human beings in Kellee and Jamal Shipman spelled a dark reality for the future of Survivor: Island of the Idols. Among those left in the game is the perpetrator of the unwanted touching; the two women who despicably used the harassment as strategy; and all the other contestants who either have spoken in support of Dan or stayed silent. Then there's Janet, who considered quitting at the last tribal council because she felt the other contestants hated her. Moreover, Janet realized that when playing a game with 10 other people whose words, actions and inactions are extremely damaging to countless women and survivors of sexual harassment watching at home, it no longer becomes a game. Janet, clearly rattled by the unacceptable judgment of those around her, decided to press on, unsheathing an immunity idol to protect herself in tribal council. Although she didn't need to play it, the fact she felt unsafe as the one person who stood up for what is right speaks to how wrong this season has gone.
Even a lifetime's worth of CPR may not be enough for lifeguard Janet to revive this disaster of a situation. If the players in the game continue to cast ethics aside in lieu of unconscionable strategic gameplay, Janet will remain on the outs of the majority alliance. If Dan comes back to camp angered that Jeff Probst asked him about his sexual harassment in a public forum, he will take it out on Janet. If Missy Byrd and Elizabeth Beisel haven't yet learned the severe misguidedness of their decision to use Dan's harassment to advance themselves in the game, they too will be in a hurry to oust Janet from the game. And unless Jamal's brilliant rebuke of Aaron Meredith's misogynistic rant at tribal struck a chord with Aaron, it's not likely that he's going to abandon his tight alliance to offer a life raft to Janet.
So now the growing chorus of Janet supporters are left with an uncomfortable truth: the days of the only salvageable character in the merge episode's wreckage may be limited. And if they are, it will be even harder - impossible for some - to stomach the remainder of the season, especially if Dan stays in the game while a silenced Kellee watches from the jury. The challenges, the idol hunts, the visits to the Island of the Idols - which hit a new low last week when Jamal was not given a lesson from Boston Rob and Sandra so much as a fast-track ticket to the jury - they all seem like moot points compared to the gravitas of the larger issues encircling the season. To make matters worse, Janet is the only person left on the island that we can trust at this point to contextualize this mess for us.
As we head into another Survivor Wednesday, the anticipation lies not in who will make the most bombastic strategic move or who will win immunity, but rather whether this season can tack itself in a direction that doesn't feel as disgusting to watch as its last two hours. Several former Survivors have already said they are done with this season, but for many of us who are hanging on, Janet is our only hope.
Survivor airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EST on CBS.