Survivor: Winners at War, Episode 2 "It's Like a Survivor Economy" Analysis

"It looked like a hole."

-Adam Klein

Survivor: Winners at War continues to deliver and another winner that I wasn't super stoked to see again is out!  I can't believe how well this season is going for me.  It's unbelievable.  But how was the gameplay itself?  Who played well and who sucked?  Let's find out.

Who Played Well:

Starting on Dakal, we'll kick things off with Kim, who managed to find a Hidden Immunity Idol.  Unfortunately, she had to give half of her Idol away.  She picked Sophie, who questioned why Kim would do this and on the surface, this looks like a bad move, but who else was she supposed to go to?  Tyson would be totally willing to flip on her.  She doesn't have a lot of other options.  Sophie is someone who would at least be willing to consider working with Kim if it benefitted her.  Kim was stuck in a tough spot, but I think she picked the best person she could have to share half of the Idol with.

Speaking of Sophie, she and Sandra nailed the Immunity puzzle and I liked how she handled the Kim situation.  Go my winner pick!

I also really liked seeing Cops-R-Us come back together.  Sarah and Tony need each other to make it through this game and I really like that Sarah is forcing them to keep the alliance on the down low, but still take the time to check in with each other.  Not everybody is going to be doing that this episode.

Over on Sele, Denise found the Hidden Immunity Idol with Ben, which forces them into an alliance, which is great for Ben.  I also really like how Ben wanted her to give half of the Idol to someone other than him to expand their numbers.  They brought Adam in and he talked Denise out of giving half the Idol to Parvati, which was a terrible idea, and Adam got it instead.  They both managed to hide their Idols during Rob's check, which was crazy impressive.  Ben came off as a wild card and Denise blew the puzzle, but all three of them had a net positive episode. 

Speaking of Rob, he handled Amber's elimination really well, saved his closest ally, Parvati, and helped eliminate Danni.  He wasn't perfect though.  His bag check missed the Idol, he lost an ally in Danni, and he blew the puzzle.

Jeremy made the correct decision and traded his fire token for the Safety Without Power advantage.  He was also on the right side of the vote, as were Ethan and Michele.  I am a bit worried about Ethan.  I thought he came off a little sketchy in this episode, but we'll see.

Who Sucked:

The only person we really have to talk about is Parvati.  She did a bad job of making Danni feel secure, which cause the old school alliance to fall apart.  Yes, Danni was paranoid, but Parvati could have prevented that from happening.  She ended up being on the right side of the vote, but lost an ally.

Nick, Tyson, Wendell, and Yul didn't do anything of note.

As for Danni, she let her paranoia get the best of her and tried to make a move against Parvati too soon.  It could have worked, but approaching Rob the way she did was a poor call and she paid for it.

Verdict:

The Best Player of the Episode goes to Adam Klein for stopping Denise from giving half of the Idol to Parvati, getting it for himself, hiding it during the bag check, and for eliminating Danni.

The Worst Player of the Episode (besides the person that was eliminated) goes to Parvati Shallow for failing to keep Danni comfortable and losing a member of the old school alliance.

I'm loving this season.  I can't believe the legends are all still in the game.  It's crazy!  I can't wait to see what happens next!