Survivor: Island of the Idols, Episode 1 "I Vote You Out and That's It" Gameplay Analysis

"He reminds me of an ex-boyfriend."

-Noura Salman

Here we are, season 39 of Survivor.  I have to admit, I wasn't looking forward to this one.  Final 4 fire-making and another dumb twist.  Ugh.  But the premiere was a very solid episode with plenty of funny moments and interesting strategy.  Plus watching Rob and Sandra smack-talk the newbies was really fun, but let's get into the gameplay!

Who Played Well:

Let's start over on the Lairo tribe with Elaine.  She had an excellent read of Ronnie and saw right through his B.S.  It was really impressive.  She's also a part of two alliances, one with Tom and Vince and one with the women.  She managed to convince Aaron and Ronnie to vote for Vince over herself and got her biggest threat, Ronnie, eliminated.  An impressive night for her.

Karishma, Missy, Tom, Vince, and Chelsea all got into at least one alliance and were on the right side of the numbers.  Vince and Chelsea did screw up the puzzle, but they overcame their challenge performance and survived the episode.

As for Dean, we didn't see much of him and he didn't have a great challenge performance, but he was on the right side of the vote.

Over on Vokai, Janet had a great night.  She got in the majority group, got the fire started, and did well in the challenge.

Jamal, Molly, and Noura did an excellent job on the puzzle and got in the majority alliance.  I didn't love that Noura told Jason that he was in trouble, but so far it hasn't blown up in her face.

Finally, Jack, Lauren, Kellee, and Tommy are all in the majority and seemed to make some bonds with people.

Who Sucked:

Back on Lairo, first we have Aaron who was the only person not on the right side of the numbers.  He was also way too honest with Elaine about why she was being targeted.  He needed to shift the blame onto someone else or play innocent.  Now he's probably next to go.

We also have Elizabeth who at the least made some alliance, but her involvement with the Island of the Idols was abysmal.  Going up against Boston Rob in a fire-making challenge was beyond stupid and choosing to lie about what the Island actually entails is baffling.  I don't like her odds of winning.

On Vokai, we have Dan, who at least got in with the majority, but his lack of awareness is concerning.  He had no idea he was making Kellee and Molly uncomfortable and he really needs to be careful.

We also have Jason who went looking for a Hidden Immunity Idol way too early.  Rookie mistake.  Stay calm and make personal bonds.  Worry about the Idols later.

As for Ronnie, he tired to play this game too fast and too hard.  He was too busy thinking about Day 39 when he should have been thinking about Day 3.  When you go after someone that everybody likes, you run the risk of hitting some backlash.

Verdict:

The Best Player of the Episode goes to Elaine Stott for having such a good read of Ronnie, getting into two alliances, convincing Aaron and Ronnie to vote for Vince, and eliminating Ronnie.

The Worst Player of the Episode goes to Aaron Meredith for being on the wrong side of the vote and for making an enemy out of Elaine with his honesty.

I really enjoyed this episode and I'm hoping the rest of the season can live up to it.  Let's not spend too much time on the Island of the Idols though.  I don't want to spend the entire episode with Rob and Sandra.

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