Survivor: Island of the Idols, Episode 8 "We Made it to the Merge!" Analysis

"I have a little doubt in my mind."

-Jamal Shipman

Well...this was a miserable experience.  Two hours of sickening behavior.  I'm simply disgusted.  This is my least favorite episode of Survivor and I don't really want to talk about it anymore, but I still need to take a look at the gameplay.  Let's get this over with...

Since this was a double episode, I'll split this into two parts.

Who Played Well:

I'll start with Aaron who managed to win a brutal Immunity challenge.  He also managed to patch things up with Tommy and and they both helped eliminate Kellee, who was a huge threat.

Dean, Elaine, and Lauren were all on the right side of the vote.  I'm not 100% sure if Dean made the right move in not telling Kellee she was in trouble, but he did protect his own game.

Jamal may have been on the wrong side of the numbers, but going after Dan was 100% the right call for him.  I also liked how he got Noura to spill the beans that Kellee was the one who told her to vote for Jack.

Finally, Noura was also on the wrong side of vote, but I liked that she turned on Kellee.  I think it allowed her to form a bond with Jamal.

Who Sucked:

Elizabeth and Missy were on the right side of the vote, but they severely crossed the line with their behavior.  It was flat-out despicable.

Dan was asked by Kellee to stop touching her and he didn't listen.  That's not okay.  Don't touch people who don't want to be touched.  It's not that hard!  His behavior was really gross and it's unfortunate he was on the right side of the vote.

Other:

Janet put doing the right thing ahead of gameplay and I love her for it.  She seems like an amazing person and it's awful that she got punished for doing the right thing.  It makes me sick.

As for Kellee, I love her and I'm devastated that she went home.  In hindsight, she probably shouldn't have worked with Noura so much.  If only she had played on of her Idols.  She was a massive threat and voting her out unfortunately makes sense.

Verdict:

Best Player of the first half of the episode is Aaron Meredith for winning Immunity, patching things up with Tommy, and eliminating Kellee.

Worst Player of the first half of the episode is Dan Spilo for inappropriately touching others.  I can't believe this has to even be addressed.

Let's move on to Part 2.

Who Played Well:

Aaron's behavior at Tribal Council was disgusting, but it didn't seem to hurt his game, which is just depressing.  He won Immunity and eliminated a big threat in Jamal, but it sucks.  

Dean did about as well as he could with the target painted on him by Jamal.  His name wasn't even brought up and he got rid of Jamal.

Elaine, Lauren, and Tommy were all on the right side of the vote and keeping their heads down.

Janet was amazing and spoke nothing but the truth to Dan.  I loved her calling out Elizabeth and Missy and their treatment of her was just awful.  I wouldn't have blamed her at all if she had quit, but I'm glad she didn't.  She was also totally justified in playing her Idol and I would have done the same thing in her position.

Noura wasn't brought up as a target and may be able to sneak into the majority.

Who Sucked:

Elizabeth and Missy may have gotten rid of Jamal, but their behavior was inexcusable.  Missy also won Immunity.

Dan also helped get rid of Jamal, but his excuses at Tribal Council were pathetic.  Kellee told him to stop and he didn't listen.  Screw this guy.  I love that Jeff would not let it go.

We really didn't see enough of Karishma for me to have an opinion on her game.

As for Jamal, he is nothing short of amazing.  He seems like a wonderful human being.  He was in a tough spot before he lost his vote in a B.S. twist.  From a strategy perspective, he was the correct vote, bur he will be missed.

Best Player of the Episode goes to Dean Kowalski for managing to avoid being a target with Jamal's attempt to sabotage him and for being in the majority.

Worst Player of the Episode goes to Elizabeth Beisel for her repulsive behavior and being called out by Janet.

This was just the worst.  Sorry if this write-up was more all over the place than usual, but I'm still very upset about this episode.  I'm gonna go throw up.