Survivor: David vs. Goliath Episode 4 "Time to Bring About the Charmpocalypse" Analysis

"I drive a freakin' PT Cruiser!"

-Davie Rickenbacker

Drop your buffs!  It's time to take a look at the latest and greatest episode of Survivor: David vs. Goliath.  We got another great episode as the tribes switch from two to three, but how did our players do?  Let's take a look.

Who Played Well:

We'll start with the tribe formally known as David, the Vuku tribe.  Although he spent the episode at Exile Island, by the end of it Carl ended up on the Vuku tribe.  He did manage to win his race against the tide and found himself an Idol Nullifier.  It remains to be seen if he will be able to use it correctly, but I know I'd like to have that in my back pocket.

Next we have Davie, who had a pretty stellar social game in this episode.  He got in good with Alec and somehow managed to convince him to flip on his Goliath tribemates.  It really was impressive.  Plus, he managed to get through the night without playing his idol.  Nerves of steel.  He now has near total control of the tribe.

Then there's Elizabeth, who also contributed to Alec's flip.  She also had a very good social game with Kara.

Moving on to the tribe formally known as Goliath, the Jabeni tribe.  First we have Angelina, who gave her tribe the comeback it needed to avoid tribal council.

We also got to see Nick working his alliance naming magic on Mike.  I think they formed a solid bond and Nick learned that Dan has the Goliath idol.

Over on our new tribe, Tiva, we got to see more of Christian's fantastic social game as he won over both John and Dan and helped Gabby deal with a tough emotional moment.

Even though Gabby had a break-down this episode, we only saw her crying with Christian, so I think she may by okay.  Plus she is the one who led her tribe to victory and won not only immunity, but reward as well.

John continues to surprise me as we got to see him bond with Christian and open up about his own vulnerabilities.  He's in a great spot and I'm shocked he is as good at this game as he is.

Who Sucked:

Going back to Vuku, we have to talk about Alec.  His decision to flip on the Goliath tribe and vote out Natalia was incredibly stupid.  It's sends disastrous signals to the rest of the Goliath tribe, it could damage his relationship with Kara, and it gives the David tribe the numbers advantage as Carl joins them.  He bought into the big move narrative and I wouldn't be surprised if this move comes back to haunt him.  If they lose again, Alec will definitely be on the chopping block.  On no level was this a good move.

We also have Kara, who ended up on the wrong side of the numbers, but I won't hold that against her because she made the right move.  It's not her fault Alec is an idiot.  But it is her fault they lost the challenge and got them sent to tribal council in the first place.

On the Jabeni, we'll start with Mike who gave up too much information in telling Nick about Dan's idol.  It might work out for him, but I would have held onto that card a bit longer.  

We also have Natalie, who has not learned a thing about her social game.  She continues to come off as bossy and abrasive.  When Mike sees that Natalia has been voted out, I won't be surprised if he takes that as a signal to vote out Natalie.  She is my prediction to go next.

We really didn't see enough of Lyrsa or Alison in this episode for me to comment on their play.  And Dan really didn't do anything of note.

As for the eliminated players, I'm bummed to see Bi go.  I was hoping for a Natalie Anderson revenge arc from her, but I think she has probably the best reason for quitting we've seen besides maybe Dana Lambert.

I'm so happy Natalia was voted out.  Even thought it was bad gameplay from Alec, it was really satisfying to see Natalia get taken down.  She was way to bossy and direct.  Her social game was really poor, which is interesting because that is what she criticized Natalie so much for.  Logically, she should not have been voted out, but emotionally it was fantastic.

Verdict:

Since we had two people eliminated in this episode, I will give out two "Stacy's Blog Has Got It Going On Awards".  The first goes to Davie Rickenbacker for his great social game, getting Alec to flip, and for holding onto his idol.  The second goes to Carl Boudreaux for finding the Idol Nullifier.

I will also give out two "Not The Player For Me Awards".  The first goes to Alec Merlino for his incredibly stupid decision to vote out Natalia.  The second goes to Natalie Cole for her terrible social game and her inability to learn from her mistakes.

This season just continues to deliver and this was another really fun episode.  I can't wait to see what happens next!