Survivor: Edge of Extinction Episode 8 "Y'all Making Me Crazy" Analysis

"I can't deal with soccer moms."

-Aurora McCreary

Wow.  Wow.  I can barely process what I just witnessed.  I knew we were in for something special when we left for Tribal Council halfway through the episode, but wow.  That was epic, exciting, and extremely satisfying to watch.  This was easily my favorite episode of the season so far, but how was the gameplay?  Let's take a look.

Who Played Well:

We'll start with Kelley, who had an excellent read of the Kama group and their weird vibe.  She managed to get through Tribal on the right side of the numbers and held onto her Idol.  She is certainly a bold one.  Her partner in crime, Lauren, also held onto her Idol and got through Tribal on the right side of the numbers.

Next we have Rick Devens, who earned some redemption after last week's disastrous episode.  He seemed much more flexible this time and was willing to work with Wardog, Lauren, Kelley.  He was the one who got the ball rolling in blowing up the game and can take the majority of the credit for Julia going out.  He had a great read of Kama's plan to vote David and got on the right side of the numbers.  He did misplay his Idol, but I don't blame him for playing it after going through that chaos.

David had a solid read of what Kama was up to and did a good job during Tribal Council.  He also managed to get Rick to play his Idol for him, even through he didn't need it.

Wardog gave Rick a nice assist during Tribal and did a good job bringing Julie and especially Ron over to his side.  He got through this mess on the right side of the numbers.

Ron started off this episode on the wrong foot by being too angry with Gavin, but did some damage control by letting Julia, Victoria, and Gavin take control.  He also managed to seize the opportunity and blow up the game by turning on Julia and getting on the right side of the numbers.

Finally, we have Julie, who did come off as unstable and I wouldn't be surprised to see her go next, but her concerns were 100% justified and Julia, Victoria, and Gavin did a bad job in calming her down.  She made the correct move in helping blow up the game and getting on the right side of the numbers.

Who Sucked:

First we have Gavin, who is in a weird spot.  He did win Immunity and got on the right side of the numbers, but lost a lot of control in the game and his closest ally.

The we have Victoria, who did a bad job of calming down Julie to get her back on her side.  She lost a lot of her control, but did get on the right side of the numbers, so that's something.

Finally, we have Aurora, who gave away way too much information at Tribal Council.  It was horrendously bad and she is incredibly lucky she wasn't the one to go home.

As for Julia, she came off looking very nasty on her way to the Edge and I was extremely happy to see her go.  She gave away way too much of her plan, treated Julie very poorly, and was antagonistic towards Rick and Wardog, which probably helped make her a target.  I think it's safe to say her betrayal of Eric last week was a terrible move.

Verdict:

It's time for some awards!  First is the Platinum Probst, which goes to the castaway who played the best in the episode.  This time it goes to Rick Devens for having a good read on Kama, blowing the game wide open, and getting Julia voted out.

Next we have the Rotten Coconut, which goes to the player (besides the person who got voted out) who played the worst in the episode.  This time it goes to Aurora McCreary for giving up way too much information at Tribal Council.

This episode was fantastic and I loved the fall of Julia.  It was simply exhilarating and 100% satisfying.  Keep it up Edge of Extinction!