Survivor: Edge of Extinction Episode 4 "I Need a Dance Partner" Analysis

"We could, at the very least, come in second."

-Rick Devens

I'm starting to get nervous about Edge of Extinction.  The decimation of original Manu, the invisible edit for most of the original Kama tribe, more time spent out on the Edge, and Rick getting booted out.  None of these are good signs going forward.  I'm not saying this was a bad episode by any means, but it was a major bummer.  But, bummed out or not, I have a job to do.  Let's take a look how everyone played in this episode.

Who Played Well:

Starting over on the new Kama tribe, we only have Julia and Ron to talk about.  Ron hatched a very clever scheme of distracting Joe for long enough so that Julia could search his bag.  Pulling this off right after the tribe swap was really smart and it makes me worry for Joe going forward.

Moving over to Manu, we only have Aubry to touch on.  I like that she is bonding with the rest of the tribe over how crazy Wendy is.  This may save her if they lose Immunity.  If she plays her cards right, Aubry might make the merge, which would be awesome.

Finally, we have the brand-new Lesu tribe.  We'll start with Kelley who helped convince Wardog to vote out Rick instead of her closest ally, Lauren.  This bond she has formed with Wardog is really paying off.

Lauren also helped convince Wardog to vote out Rick, but she also showed nerves of steel by not player her Idol.  It was a bold move, but she had a correct read on the situation and I gave her major props.

Finally, there is Wardog, the swing-vote.  I though playing the middle might blow up in his face, but he manage to play it well enough to not be targeted and made the right call (as much as I hate to admit it) to vote out Rick.  Wardog's closest ally is Kelley, so saving Lauren was absolutely the right call for him.

Who Sucked:

Going back to Mana, we, of course, have to talk about Wendy.  Not only did she let the chicken free, but when the others wanted to go hunting for them, she begged them not too, which only created a larger rift.  Wendy is incredibly bad at Survivor, but I want her to stick around as long as possible.

Finally, we have my winner-pick, David.  I don't know how much he could have done to change what happened, but he clearly didn't do a good enough job bonding with Wardog to vote out Lauren.  Instead, David loses his closest ally and is likely to be voted out next.

We really didn't see Aurora or Julie at all, while Joe, Eric, Gavin, and Victoria didn't do anything positive or negative.

As for Rick Devens, I'm really bummed to see him go.  Like David, he simply didn't do a good enough job of bonding with Wardog.  I'm rooting for Rick to be the one to come back into the game.  He is by far my favorite character this season.

Verdict:

The "Has Got It Going On" Award, which goes to the best player in an episode, goes to Lauren O'Connell.  She didn't let sickness stop her and convinced Wardog to vote out Rick and knew to hold onto her Idol.

The "Not The Player For Me" Award, which goes to the worst player in an episode, goes to Wendy Diaz.  Letting the chickens go and begging the others not to go after them is insane.  She's a great character, but a terrible player.

I'm nervous about this season going forward.  Losing Rick here was a major bummer and I don't like the direction the story is heading.  I didn't dislike the episode, but I'm a bit worried this may be nearing the beginning of the end of my enjoyment of this season.