Survivor 49, Episode 12 "The Die Is Cast" Gameplay Breakdown

 "Have fun eating each other alive."
-Rizo Velovic

Lololololololololololololol.  The Knowledge is Power Advantage is one of my least favorite Advantages in all of Survivor and I am tickled pink that, once again, it failed.  It's never worked once and that makes me so happy.  I wish Jeff would take a damn hint and not use it again, but I doubt he will.  Anyway, let's get into who played well and who sucked.

Who Played Well:

I can't believe that anyone bought it, but it seems like Rizo managed to convince Kristina, Sage, and Steven that his Idol expired at the Final 6.  I truly hope they were all more skeptical than they appeared to be on screen because that's ridiculous.  He also managed to play his part in keeping Sophi B loyal to their trio, he held onto his Idol, and helped knock out Steven, his biggest threat.

Savannah also played a big role in keeping Sophi B loyal.  I was skeptical of her choice to bring Rizo and Sophi B on Reward.  Those are her two closest allies.  I thought she might have been better suited to at least bring Sage to try and win her over to her alliance, but taking Sophi B ended up really working out for her.  She also won Immunity, which seemed to save her from going home.

Who Sucked:

Kristina and Sage should not have flipped on Steven.  That said, Steven needed to go home for either of them to have a chance at winning.  He's a massive threat on every level and really good at challenges.  However, Rizo is also a massive threat.  He may not be good at challenges, but he does have an Idol and a tight trio.  Kristina and Sage's best move would have been to target Rizo.  If he plays his Idol, then Steven goes home.  If he doesn't play it, he's out.  That's a win/win and a missed opportunity.

Sophi B is someone who I've really liked all season, but in this episode I found her incredibly frustrating.  She says the right things in her confessionals, but doesn't follow through.  She's right that she needs to turn on Rizo and Savannah, but she doesn't do it.  The emotional component of the Reward lured her back in and away from making the right move.  She told Savannah and Rizo about her Knowledge is Power and while that didn't end up hurting her game, it was still a terrible idea.  She also misplayed Knowledge is Power.  She should have taken Rizo's Idol.  He and Steven both have to go for her to have a chance.  This defangs Rizo and either one can go home.  Hell, if she wanted to get really fancy, she could have taken the Idol from Rizo, the votes would most likely land on him in that case, then she could play the Idol on Rizo to knock out Steven.  It's a power move in front of the jury and she could keep an ally that way.  It would certainly have been better than what she ultimately did.  I think her best option may have been to take Rizo's Idol and hold onto it to use at the Final 5.  I think she's out of time to make a move now and I don't believe she can win anymore.

As for Steven, poor guy.  His plan almost worked.  Maybe if he had tried to target Rizo anyway, they could have taken him out with an Idol in his pocket.  He was just a much bigger threat than Sophi B.  

Verdict:

Best Player of the Episode goes to Rizo Velovic for getting people to believe his Idol expired at 6, holding onto said Idol, keeping Sophi B loyal, and taking out Steven.

Worst Player of the Episode goes to Sophi Balerdi for letting her emotional connections control her game, telling Rizo and Savannah about her Knowledge is Power, and totally misplaying said Advantage.

Finale time!  I'm very curious to see how this will play out.  I'm rooting for Rizo and he's only got to survive the Final 4 somehow to pull it off.  I do think there's a world where either Sage or Savannah could win, but I'm hoping it's Rizo.  Can't wait to see!