Survivor 48, Episode 5 "Master Class in Deception" Gameplay Analysis

 "That was an abysmal failure."

-Jeff Probst

Sigh.  This episode was so close to being perfect.  Everything involving Joe and Eva was just so sweet.  I definitely wasn't crying right alongside Jeff.  If only Sai had been voted out instead.  Then this would have been such an elite episode of Survivor.  Alas.  This was still a great episode with very interesting gameplay.  Let's figure out who played well and who sucked.

Who Played Well:

We'll start over on Civa with Cedrek.  I'm really impressed that he managed to pull off the move against Bianca with such little time.  He learned that Bianca didn't have a vote minutes before Tribal Council and managed to convince Chrissy to join him in voting her out in that tiny window.  He saved Sai and got Chrissy to make a questionable move for her game.  Nice work!

Moving over to Lagi, Eva obviously had the huge emotional moment that showed how close she is to Joe, but I think that moment also bonded her to the rest of her tribe in a huge way, especially with Star.  Star decided to hit the refresh button on her game and seemed to genuinely bond and create an alliance with Eva.  Star told her tribe about the Beware Advantage and got them to help her solve it.  Eva was the one who cracked the code and got Star her vote back.  All of this is great.  Where it gets questionable is Star giving her Idol to Eva to form an alliance.  I do think this creates a solid alliance between them and gets a target off Star's back and onto Eva's, but I think Star could have had her cake and eaten it too.  With some finesse, she could have kept the Idol and still formed an alliance with Eva.  Since it's such a public Idol, Star could have used the Idol to make it through the Earn the Merge and gotten rid of that target quickly.  In short, I think there was a more optimal play for Star, but I do think it was a net positive episode for her and a great episode for Eva.  The bond she made with Star was strong enough to get her an Idol.  That's impressive.

Moving over to Vula, Joe, Shauhin, Kyle, and Kamilla all bonded strongly over the hardships their parents had to overcome which led to the four of them creating an alliance.  I don't know if it will hold, but it might now that both Thomas and Bianca are out of the game.  I hope it does.  I really like these four.  All of them also did a good job post-Tribal Council.

Who Sucked:

Going back to Civa, it's unclear if Mitch was in on the plan to vote out Bianca and just put a safety vote on Sai.  Either way, it's still not a great move for him and Chrissy.  I think Chrissy should have stuck with taking out Sai.  Sai was gunning for Chrissy and wrote her name down.  She would have been better off with Bianca in the game because they actually have a working relationship.

Sai continues to be bad socially and has rubbed nearly everyone in the game the wrong way.  Plus she was completely left out of the vote and would have been eliminated if Cedrek hadn't saved her.

Back on Lagi, Charity hasn't exactly been well liked by most of her tribemates and her tears on the Reward felt phony to Eva.  Maybe they were genuine, maybe not, but she isn't seen as being genuine.

We really didn't get enough from David or Mary for me to say either way.

As for Bianca, Sai warned her not to trust Cedrek!  I understand her thought process.  Her closest ally was eliminated and she was looking for someone new to build a strong connection with.  She just picked the wrong person in Cedrek.  She should have played it safe and let the two sides vote without her revealing that she was lacking her vote.  I think her play could have worked if it was someone other than Cedrek, so I feel really bad for her, but that's Survivor.  

Verdict:

Best Player of the Episode goes to Eva Erickson for bonding strongly with her tribe, especially Star, helping Star solve the Beware Advantage puzzle, forming an alliance with her, getting the Idol from her, and seeing through Charity's tears.

Worst Player of the Episode goes to Sai Hughley for her poor social game and being completely left out of the vote.

It looks like the Earn the Merge is next week, so I'm looking forward to the chaos.  There are lots of people on this season I like and I hope they all team up to take out Sai!  Fingers crossed!