Survivor 41: Episode 4 "They Hate Me 'Cause They Ain't Me" Analysis

 "I am like the threat of threats."

-Sydney Segal

Hot damn, what an episode.  This was hands down the best episode of the season so far and an elite episode of Survivor overall.  This was so fun and entertaining and almost none of it was spent talking about advantages.  It was about the characters, wackadoo strategy, and one hell of a Tribal Council.  I loved this episode so much and I can't wait to figure out who played well and who sucked.

Who Played Well:

Let's start over on the Luvu tribe.  Naseer was an absolute tank in the challenge.  Not only did he manage to pretty much single-handedly win the challenge, but he had to contend with Danny and Deshawn actively trying to throw it.  Him winning was one of the greatest things I've seen on Survivor in a while.

While Sydney had a minor meltdown when she wasn't able to make fire, which caused Erika to want to target her, I think it speaks to her social game that Deshawn and Danny were so gung-ho to save her.  Social games can save lives.

Moving over to Ua, Genie was very bad after Tribal Council when she lashed out at everyone, but she redeemed herself enough to get into the net positive side of things.  She really worked it to get back into the good graces of the rest of the tribe and somehow managed to get JD voted out instead of her, when she really should have been the one to go.

Then we have Shan, who is a tricky one.  Ultimately, I think she made the wrong move in taking out JD.  She has already burned bridges with Genie once, might as well knock her out of the game.  While she made the wrong move, she did execute her operation to perfection, by getting Genie on her side, getting the Extra vote from JD, and completely removing him from the board.  This could work out very well for her, but it could also completely tank her game.  While I don't agree with the move, she played it well.

Who Sucked:

Going back over to Luvu, Heather was terrible at the Reward Challenge and if she were on a worse tribe, I think she would already be gone.

Erika definitely got too antsy in wanting to play the game. Throwing out Sydney's name when she did was simply too early.  She would have been better off waiting until Luvu lost a challenge, if they ever do.  She would have been gone if it wasn't for the grace of Naseer in the Immunity Challenge.

Finally, entertaining as it was, Deshawn and Danny should not have been trying to throw the Immunity Challenge.  Maybe in an earlier season, there would be some logic to it, but there are far too many advantages out and about.  Throwing a challenge before there is any swap is way too risky nowadays.

Going back to Ua, Ricard ultimately made the wrong move in taking out JD.  He and Genie had clashed before and it seemed like he had more of a relationship with JD.  He doesn't even reap the benefit of getting an Extra Vote.

We didn't get enough of the Yase tribe for me to have an opinion one way or the other.

As for JD, his gut told him not to trust Shan.  She was keeping information from him and that made him uncomfortable enough to ask for his Extra Vote back.  He needed to keep that mentality.  When Shan started asking for the Extra Vote again, that should have been enough of a red flag for him to team up with Genie, use the Extra Vote, and take out Shan.  His initial instinct was right, but he didn't listen to it.

Verdict:

Best Player of the Episode goes to Naseer Muttalif for his stellar Immunity Challenge performance.

Worst Player of the Episode goes to Erika Casupanan for scheming and plotting too early and nearly getting voted out.

I loved this episode so much.  Hopefully, the rest of the season can follow in this one's footsteps.