Survivor 45: Episode 2 "Brought a Bazooka to a Tea Party" Gameplay Analysis

 "Big Toe Energy!"

-Dee Valladares

This was another really fun episode of Survivor.  I'm really digging the vibe of the Reba tribe.  It's a fun group and they got up to some really goofy moments that I don't think would have made the cut in a shorter episode.  I'm loving this cast and I really like the new sit-out rules for challenges.  But now, we have to figure out who played well and who sucked!

Who Played Well:

Let's start over on the Belo tribe.  Brando did a good job of getting in with the women of the tribe and he and Kellie both did a great job on the puzzle and got into another alliance with Bruce and Jake.  Both of them are in a great spot going forward.

Bruce is still having a pretty mixed social game.  Some of his tribe is annoyed by him, some really like him.  I also don't love that he volunteered to go on the journey.  I think that's generally a bad move.  All that said, I do think he improved his position from last episode by building that alliance with Jake, Brando, and Kellie.  It's a close call, but I'll give Bruce a net positive score.

Moving on over to Lulu, Emily did a good job of changing things up and focusing on her social game.  I think she should have been the person to get voted out, but she bonded enough with Kaleb to make sure that didn't happen.

Kaleb really did a good job of bonding with Emily and he is definitely her closest ally.  While I still think Emily should have been voted out, it's not as bad for Kaleb because he has that bond with her.

Finally, let's move over to Reba, Drew, Julie, Austin, and Dee all got into an alliance and have control of their tribe.  I don't love that Drew volunteered to go on the journey, but he played it well once he got there.  He had good conversations with Brandon and Bruce, won Safety Without Power, and I loved that he was honest with everyone about what happened.  I think that's probably the right strategy moving forward with these journeys in the game.  It even got Austin to tell Drew about the Beware Advantage, which I don't love for Austin, but at least he managed to get the next clue on the path to the Idol. 

Who Sucked:

I only have people from Lulu to talk about here.  I do think it was bad for Sean to vote out Brandon over Emily.  I think trust is infinitely more important than challenge strength.  Brandon is in the running for worst challenge performer of all time, but that doesn't matter.  Emily will cut your throat and I don't think Brandon would have.  And we weren't shown a bond forming between Emily and Sean to make the move more justifiable.

Finally, we have Sabiyah.  After Tribal Council, Emily was trying to justify her move, but Sabiyah wasn't really open to hearing it.  It's fine that she wants Emily out, but she should at least pretend to hear Emily out.  You need to play nice.  If Emily had gotten her hands on an Idol and needed to play it, I would bet her target would be Sabiyah.  Taking the Beware Advantage was also a risky play for her.  She still doesn't have her vote back.  Though I wonder why she didn't use her torch to melt the wax seal at Tribal Council.

We really didn't get enough from Katurah, Kendra, J. Maya, or Sifu for me to have an opinion on their game.

As for Brandon, he seems like a really sweet guy.  It was obvious the tribe liked him, but he really needed to do some conditioning training before going on the show.  I think if he had been just a slightly below average challenge competitor rather than one of the worst in Survivor history, he'd still be in the game.

Verdict:

Best Player of the Episode goes to Brando Meyer for getting into 2 separate alliances and for his comeback performance on the puzzle.

Worst Player of the Episode goes to Sabiyah Broderick for her negative interactions with Emily.  As a reminder, I don't give out Awards to the eliminated player.  I think that makes it too easy.

All three of these tribes have interesting dynamics and I can't wait for the next episode.  We're off to a fun start.  I hope it keeps going!