Survivor 42, Episode 9 "Game of Chicken" Gameplay Analysis

 "I hope they freeze."

-Rocksroy Bailey

Well that took an unexpected turn for the heavy.  That 2nd Tribal Council was utterly fascinating to watch.  There was a lot more here to talk about than just good and bad gameplay, which I am not equipped nor qualified to talk about, so let's take a look at who played well and who sucked.

Who Played Well:

Let's start with Drea.  Major props to her for trusting her gut that something was wrong and using her Idol to defend herself.  She and Maryanne were fantastic at Tribal Council and I think playing their Idols will really take the targets off their backs for awhile.

I also want to give credit to Lindsay for surviving that vote.  She clearly has a good enough social game with at least Jonathan and Maryanne that while there was technically a 50% chance of her going, she was never in any danger except from a potential Shot in the Dark.

Finally, Romeo was fantastic returning from Tribal Council.  He played it cool and tried to blame the Hai vote on Chanelle.  He did a great job of hiding his anger.  I also love the Rocksroy vote for both him and Omar.

Who Sucked:

Jonathan had a rough episode for someone who won Immunity.  He was very domineering towards Lindsay, he told Maryanne that she was the backup vote, and came across very poorly and a little ignorant at Tribal Council.  

Finally, I don't like that Hai and Mike turned on Rocksroy.  He was the perfect person to take to the end.  He was loyal and had no shot to win.  Mike is right.  Now they look untrustworthy.  Hai may have won Immunity, but I really did not like how he handled receiving a vote from Romeo.  This isn't Survivor: Africa.  As long as you don't go home, the votes mean nothing.  Chill.

As for Rocksroy, I don't think it's a good idea for anyone to pitch an all one-gender alliance anymore.  If someone pitches it to you, sure, you can consider joining it.  It just seems like whoever pitches the idea always has it blow back on them.  That, along with how comfortable and inflexible he was, makes Rocksroy a poor Survivor player.

I am very pumped to see Tori go out of the game.  There really wasn't much she could have done at this point.  It was smart to play her Shot in the Dark, but with Maryanne and Drea playing their Idols, she was doomed.  Good riddance.

Verdict:

Since two people went out in this episode, I will give out two Best and Worst Players of the Episode.  The first Best Player of the Episode is Romeo Escobar for playing it cool after Tribal Council and helping to get Rocksroy out of the game.

The second will go to Drea Wheeler for trusting her guy and playing her Idol to save herself.

The first Worst Player of the Episode goes to Jonathan Young for his poor social game with Lindsay, telling Maryanne she was the backup vote, and his bad look at Tribal Council.

The second goes to Hai Giang for his poor reaction to receiving a vote and for turning on Rocksroy.

I'm very curious to see what the fallout of these Tribal Councils is going to be.  It's sure to be interesting.