Survivor: Island of the Idols, Episode 3 "Honesty Would Be Chill" Gameplay Analysis

If I would have chopped my head off, they wouldn't have flinched."

-Karishma Patel

This was my favorite episode of the season so far.  Both tribes have really compelling stories and I was excited for either one to go to Tribal Council.  We also had a really exciting Island of the Idols test and an excellent arc for the player who went home.  I love it!  Now, let's get to the gameplay.

Who Played Well:

Let's start out on Lairo with Aaron, who had quite the bounce-back week.  It was his idea to split the votes between Vince and Karishma, it worked perfectly, and he doesn't seem to be on the bottom any longer.

Chelsea, Elizabeth, and Elaine were all in on the Vince-Karishma split and it worked.  I do wonder why they were so okay with one of the members of their girls alliance being the backup vote though.

Missy was ultimately on the right side of the numbers, but she really wanted to take out Tom.  Overall she still had a fine night.  She couldn't get enough people on her side and let Vince go.

Finally, Tom has a solid social game that got him through this episode.  It seems like Elizabeth and Elaine really like him and won't let him go as easily as Missy would like.

Over on Vokai, we have Tommy and Kellee, who did a good job of reassuring Jack that he wasn't on the outs.  Jack also did a good job of acting calm about being left out of the vote.  

We didn't get much from Lauren, but she absolutely killed that puzzle to win the Immunity Challenge.

We didn't get much from Jason either, but he seems to be safely out of the bottom and in with the majority.  Good for him.

Who Sucked:

Back on Lairo, we got our first confessional from Dean and it wasn't a great start.  Saying they should split the vote when everyone else is around wasn't great, but it sure was hilarious.  He was also terrible at the puzzle and it's amazing he wasn't on the chopping block.

We also have Karishma, who is getting in her own head as paranoia consumes her.  She needs to take a more active role in her game.  She was terrible in the challenge and had Vince played his Idol, she would have gone home.

Over on Vokai, first we have Dan, who has made himself the number 1 target of Jamal with his demeanor.

Jamal on the other hand didn't handle the aftermath of Tribal Council very well and is playing too aggressively.  I wouldn't be surprised if he was the next to go.  He was amazing on the puzzle to be fair.

Janet was pretty bad in the Immunity Challenge and is lucky the rest of her tribe managed to catch up for her mistake.

Finally, Noura continues to be a train-wreck by annoying everyone.  I hope she sticks around, but I don't think it's likely.

As for Vince, I'm bummed to see him go.  He did a great job at getting the Idol and was in a great position before being sent to the Island of the Idols.  He really should have played his Idol, especially because everyone assumed he had one and it was only good for two Tribal Councils.

Verdict:

The Best Player of the Episode goes to Aaron Meredith for managing to get back into the good graces of his tribe and pulling off the Vince/Karishma split vote.

The Worst Player of the Episode goes to Karishma Patel for having a bit of a meltdown, crashing and burning on the puzzle, and being the backup vote.

This was a great episode of Survivor and I love that we haven't had a tribe swap yet.  Let's keep it up!