Survivor 44 Premiere "I Can't Wait to See Jeff" Gameplay Analysis

 "Bing!"

-Jaime Lynn Ruiz

Survivor is back, baby!  And boy did it come back with a vengeance.  That was an elite premiere of Survivor.  Seriously one of the all time greats.  I absolutely loved the episode.  We have a stellar cast and two tribes that I think could be extremely exciting to watch, especially if one implodes like I think it will.  Let's get in to who played well and who sucked.

Who Played Well:

Let's start on the Soka tribe.  I really enjoyed Claire getting information out of Matthew at the Immunity Challenge.  We don't get a ton of interactions between people sitting out of the challenge.  I like how she learned more about the dynamics on Ratu, threw Lauren under the bus, and possibly built a connection with Matthew.

Frannie and Matt built an alliance and seem like they could be a solid pair if they don't get found out.  Matt got sent on the Adventure, but at least it was random and he didn't want to go.  I think he played the game correctly even if he did lose his vote for the next two Tribal Councils.  It was a tough draw, but I think he was okay overall.

Over on Tika, Carson and Helen did a great job on the Savvy puzzle.  I especially liked how Carson didn't volunteer to do it to avoid putting himself in the goat position.  They also made an alliance with Sarah and could control the game.  I don't love that Sarah wanted to go on the Adventure, but at least it was random.  She got herself the Inheritance Advantage and told a decent lie when she got back.

Who Sucked:

Let's go over to Ratu.  The whole tribe will appear in this section.  Let's start with Brandon, who was probably the least bad of the tribe, but I hate that he volunteered for the Sweat Challenge.  That absolutely impacted his performance at the Immunity Challenge and was part of the reason his tribe lost.  I don't mind that he got the Hidden Immunity Idol, but he could have handled the situation with Maddy better.  Ultimately, I have to give him props for saving himself with the Idol, but the fact that he needed to play it so early shows some serious holes in his game.

Matthew also should never have volunteered to do the Sweat Challenge.  It's such a waste of energy.  Speaking of wasting energy, he had no business climbing that rock.  He injured himself and was very lucky he didn't get medically evacuated and that Bruce was, so he could sit out of the challenge.  He also put himself in the leadership role on the tribe, which hasn't hurt him yet, but it's still a bad idea.  Finally, he wasted his Shot in the Dark.

Unless you get yourself in a bad spot early on, you shouldn't want to go on the Adventure.  It just puts a target on your back.  Lauren rigged the rock draw to get sent on the Adventure.  It was a smart way to pull off a bad move.  While she did get the Bank a Vote Advantage, Claire exposed her lie to the rest of her tribe.  She easily could have been eliminated here and all because she sent herself on the Adventure.

Jaime came off as incredibly wishy-washy in this episode.  I would never align myself with her.  Plus she wasted her Shot in the Dark.

Finally, Kane ended up on the wrong side of the vote thanks to Brandon's Idol play.  Everyone else has plausible deniability.  And with Maddy gone, Kane is the only one left who voted for Brandon.

Finally, let's move over to Tika.  Carolyn blew the lead for her tribe in the opening challenge.  That and her awkward social game make her a likely early boot  from her tribe.

We really didn't get enough gameplay from Danny, Heidi, Josh, or Yam Yam for me to have an opinion on their games.

As for Bruce, it sucks to see him evacuated so early.  You just can't let yourself get too excited about the adventure and being on Survivor that you hurt yourself and get removed from the game.  Had he been one second slower and a little calmer, he'd still be in the game.

And Maddy got tunnel vision on Brandon.  Sure, she doesn't have to trust Brandon, but gunning for him so hard so early made her a target.  It felt short-sighted.

Verdict:

Since two people were eliminated in this episode, I'm going to give out two Best and Worst Players of the Episode.  For Best, I'm giving it to Carson Garrett and Helen Li for solving the Savvy puzzle and getting into an alliance with each other and Sarah. 

For Worst Players, first I have Matthew Grinstead-Mayle for volunteering to do the Sweat Challenge, recklessly going rock climbing and falling, taking the leadership role, and wasting his Shot in the Dark.

Second is Jaime Lynn Ruiz for being so wishy-washy and wasting her Shot in the Dark.

If this episode is any indication of the rest of the season, we're in for a wild ride.  I can't wait to see what happens next, especially on the Ratu tribe.