Survivor 44: Episode 9 "Under the Wing of a Dragon" Gameplay Analysis

 "I want some subtitles."
-Yam Yam Arocho



This was another fun episode of Survivor, even if I could do without the rice negotiation.  I just loved the strategizing after the challenge and thinking about all of the different ways it could go.  This is why I love Survivor.  Take notes, Jeff!  Anyway, let's get into who played well and who sucked.


Who Played Well:

To start off, I do think the members of Soka and Tika made the right move in going after Ratu.  Ratu just had too much hardware to ignore with the Extra Vote and Jaime's Idol, even though it was fake, literally no one in the game knew that.  It needed to be treated as real.  I like that Frannie pointed out that Tika is playing both sides, but I do think Danny was right in that Ratu needed to be dealt with first.

Carolyn, Frannie, and Heidi were particularly good from that group of 6.  Carolyn really worked her social game and I loved watching her connect with everybody.  Frannie won Immunity and Heidi found a Hidden Immunity Idol that nobody knows about.  Good for all of them.


Who Sucked:

Lauren, Jaime, and Kane all seemed to have a bad read of the tribe dynamics.  They all ended up on the wrong side of the vote with Kane going home with Jaime's "Idol" in his pocked.  If Jaime or Kane had had a better read of the situation, they would have at least tried to play it.  The only good news is with the fake Idol and Lauren's Extra Vote out of the game, it lowers Ratu's threat level.  I don't think Lauren or Jaime will be going out next.  There is much bigger fish to fry.


Verdict:

Best Player of the Episode goes to Frannie Marin for winning Immunity and for weakening the Ratu group.  It was a toss-up between her and Heidi, but I like that Frannie sees what Tika is up to, but was willing to go along with the Ratu vote for now.

Worst Player of the Episode goes to Jaime Lynn Ruiz for being on the wrong side of the vote and for having a bad read on the situation, which resulted in her not even trying to play her Idol.  As far as everyone in the game is concerned, Jaime lost a real Immunity Idol.  That's not a good look.  As a reminder, the person voted out is not eligible for either Award.

This was a fun episode and it leaves me wondering what is going to happen next.  There are four people I could see winning this game and I have no idea which way it's going to break.  I love it!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Argylle (2024) Review

Image
 "The human skull is shockingly brittle." -Aidan Elly Conway (Bryce Dallas Howard) is a very successful spy novelist.  She draws attention from the espionage community when plot points in her books come true.  When Elly is attacked on a train by a group of spies, she is rescued by another spy, Aidan (Sam Rockwell), who needs her help with his mission and to do that, she needs to write another chapter of her latest book. Spoilers Below.  Go ahead and read on because I don't recommend this movie, but either way, you've been warned. What Works: Argylle has a really fun premise that really works in the first half of the movie.  It's a fish-out-of-water, buddy-cop, spy movie, and it's a blast.  Watching Ellie predict where to go based on what the characters in her books would do is a lot of fun.  It's what the whole movie should have been. The opening sequence follows Agent Argylle (Henry Cavill) on another dangerous mission as he pursues the villainous LaGrang
Read more

Top 10 Movies of 2023

Image
2023 is finally over and it's time for me to put my Top 10 list together.  2023 was definitely a weaker year for movies.  There were definitely some great movies, but there were also plenty of disappointing and bad movies as well.  I still managed to put together a great Top 10 with a couple of worthy contenders that just missed the cut.  Let's take a look! #10. They Cloned Tyrone They Cloned Tyrone is a wild and fun sci-fi tale that takes place in the hood.  A drug dealer, a pimp, and a prostitute discover a cloning conspiracy and the results are intelligent and hilarious.  This is a really smart and funny movie with some amazing performances across the board.  This was a movie that kept me guessing the whole way through.  What an absolute blast. #9. Renfield I'm guessing Renfield will be the most controversial entry on my list as I feel like I'm the only person who liked this movie.  I love the old Universal monster movies and the fact that we get a direct sequel, whi
Read more

Madame Web (2024) Review

Image
 "When you take on the responsibility, great power will come." -Santiago Cassie Webb (Dakota Johnson), a New York paramedic, hits her head in an accident, which unlocks the ability to see glimpses of the future.  When she sees Ezekiel Sims (Tahar Rahim) attempting to murder three teenage girls, Cassie intervenes to save them.  As Cassie learns to understand her power, she also discovers the connection between her, the girls, and Ezekiel. What Works: I think the core idea at the center of this movie is a good one and has the potential to be interesting.  Cassie's superpowers are kinda lame.  It's not like they're going to help in a combat situation.  Ezekiel is basically evil Spider-Man.  He has legitimate powers and is a massive threat.  That's an interesting conflict.  How does someone with lackluster superpowers take on a supervillain.  It's a fun idea that I would like to see tried again with greater success.  What Sucks: This movie was embarrassing to
Read more