Survivor: Edge of Extinction Episode 9 "Blood of a Blindside" Analysis

"This sucks"

-Rick Devens

This was an absolutely brutal episode of Survivor.  With two Tribal Councils crammed into one episode, I was expecting two minor characters to be eliminated.  Nope.  Instead, we lose our final two returnees, including my winner pick (of course).  There was quite a bit of bad gameplay in this episode, let's take a closer look.

I'll be looking at this episode in two separate parts and giving awards out for both rounds of play.  We'll start with the David elimination.

Who Played Well:

We'll start with Lauren, Kelley, and Wardog who all did a good job of forming an alliance of six and getting rid of David.  This was an especially good move for Lauren and Wardog.  Getting rid of a returning player and preserving their group of three is great for them.  I don't love Kelley getting rid of David and I think this leads to her downfall.  Kelley and Lauren also both held onto their Idols.

Aurora managed to save herself by winning Immunity, but I do think she made a mistake in voting out David.  But if everyone else was going for David, it was smart of her to pile on.

Who Sucked:

Gavin, Julie, and Ron all got themselves in the majority alliance, but they made the wrong move in going after David.  It makes way more sense to go after the Lesu three rather than David and Rick.  The trio is much more powerful.  The correct move here was to vote out Kelley.  At least Julie seemed open to turning on Wardog, but Ron was the one who shut that down.

Victoria didn't get in the numbers and she voted out David, which, again, was the wrong call, but Victoria is playing "anybody but me" and I don't think it matters as much for her who goes home.

Finally, Rick was the only person to vote with David and set himself up as the next person to go.  He was pretty great at Tribal Council, but he could have easily been the next to be voted out.

As for David, it's a bummer to see him go.  He's a great character and my winner pick...so I'm a little salty.  There wasn't a whole lot he could have done.  The Lesu 3 convinced everyone else to make a bad move and David couldn't do anything to stop them.

Verdict:

The Platinum Probst Award, which goes to the person who played best in the episode, goes to Wardog DaSilva.  He was the one who convinced everyone to go after David.  This move was only good for him and Lauren and he was the mastermind.

The Rotten Coconut Award, which goes to the worst player in an episode (besides the person who was eliminated), goes to Ron Clark.  He was the person who could have flipped the game up here and taken out a member of the Lesu 3.  His stubbornness led to a bad move for almost everyone in the game.

Now, onto the second half of the episode.

Who Played Well:

Rick's great relationship with David paid off in the form of an advantage which allowed him to win Immunity.  He also ended up on the right side of the numbers and voted out Kelley, which is great for him.

Ron and Victoria were also on the right side of the numbers.  Getting rid of Kelley and breaking up the Lesu 3 was exactly the right move, even if Ron probably pissed off Julie in the process.

Who Sucked:

Aurora may have been on the right side of the numbers and made the right call in getting rid of Kelley, but she gave her Extra Vote to Ron, which was a very stupid move.  

Lauren, Gavin, and Julie were completely blindsided and on the wrong side of the vote.  Julie was way too focused on getting rid of Aurora, who is not that much of a threat.  At least Lauren held onto her Idol.

Finally, we have Wardog who orchestrated the elimination of Kelley.  On paper, this was a good idea. Taking out the returning players is almost always the right move, but I think Wardog made his move too soon.  He broke up his power trio which could have completely controlled the game and put himself in a vulnerable spot.  He's made some enemies and shown that he is a solid player.  I wouldn't be surprised to see him go next.

As for Kelley, she got a little too comfortable.  The ease in which the vote for Aurora came together should have been a red flag.  She got a little too gutsy with holding onto her Idol and paid the price.

Verdict:

The Platinum Probst Award goes to Rick Devens for winning Immunity, being on the right side of the numbers, and knocking out his biggest threat, Kelley.

The Rotten Coconut goes to Julie Rosenberg for being too focused on voting out Aurora and for being on the wrong side of the numbers.

That was a surprisingly good episode.  I had very low expectations going in, but it turned out to be very exciting, if heartbreaking.  Good on the newbies for getting rid of all the returnees.  It's an impressive feat, no matter how the rest of the season plays out.