The end of the Hantz supremacy

All week I’ve felt sick from a congested chest and nasty cough, and watching the last “Survivor:  Redemption Island” episode gave me a gigantic reason to smile.

Russell Hantz, the player every "Survivor" fan would love to hate, finally left the island, the second player to get the boot.  Not the island that his Zapatera tribe called home, but Redemption Island where he had a second chance to redeem himself after being voted out by his tribe mates.

Early on, dating back to his “Survivor:  Samoa” (season 19) this multi-million dollar oil company owner demonstrated his arrogance, untrustworthiness and dirty tactics.  It seems to be all part of his strategy to outwit, outplay and outlast the other players.  In “Survivor:  Heroes vs. Villains “ (season 20) his game play was the same and there was no denying the fact that being untrustworthy was the only game that this man was comfortable with.  In both seasons, he made the Final Tribal Council, but never got the vote for the million dollar prize.

Prior to the premiere of “Survivor:  Redemption Island” where Hantz played the third time around, news broke out that he leaked spoiler information on Seasons 19 and 20 to a message board commentator.  CBS and the “Survivor” producers filed a lawsuit against Jim Ealy (the source of the message board leaks) who in turn pointed the finger to Hantz.  Ealy provided the e-mails where Hantz informed him of the order of players who won challenges and players who left.  The charges were subsequently dismissed because Ealy cooperated with the investigation.  “Survivor” players sign contracts that prevent them from prematurely divulging the results of the show.  The penalty for contract violation is $5 million, a lot more money than the $1 million Sole Survivor prize money.  In the event that CBS and the “Survivor” producers decide to punish Hantz via a lawsuit, Hantz might have wished he never played this game.

Apparently, what made Ealy divulge his source was Hantz’s “attitude about the whole thing, and because Russell tried to implicate another player (as the leak), an innocent player, who wasn’t giving information.”  This was according to TV Guide’s Kate Stanhope (Today’s News:  Our Take, 2/1/11). 

It’s true that karma has a way of catching up with people who behave inappropriately.  That includes the liars, cheaters and creepy creatures of the earth.  There is a reason why Hantz never won the Sole Survivor recognition.  He might have wanted it so much, focusing all his negative energies to win it, but his means to the end obviously was frowned upon by the Universe.

When he said during his exit interview that Redemption Island was his last "Survivor," I could have danced the Happy Dance.  Not only because of the prospect of never ever seeing that evil demeanor on future seasons, it was gratifying for the world to see this hideous player fall to his knees and shed tears.  For the Universe, it was Russell Hantz payback time.  Yes, I could have danced... if only I wasn't too sick to celebrate.