Survivor 45: Episode 6 "I'm Not Batman, I'm the Canadian" Gameplay Analysis

 "She took my sandwich."

-Austin Li Coon

Wow, that was an absolutely wild episode and a ton of fun.  It was already shaping up to be a great episode with all of these personalities interacting for the first time, but that Tribal Council really took the cake.  It was fun to finally see the Shot in the Dark twist pay off, but now we need to figure out who played well and who sucked.

Played Well:

I really like the switch in target from J. to Kaleb from the Reba 4 and Sifu.  I believe that at the merge (or mergatory), the primary goal should be to survive the first vote and, if you can pull it off, try to get someone eliminated who you've never been on a tribe with.  If you have a working relationship with anyone you've already been on a tribe with, try to keep them.  Sure, Reba may not trust J., but they can work with her.  None of them had been on a tribe with Kaleb, so I'm glad they switched.  That said, having everyone put their vote on Kaleb was a risky call.  A safety net vote thrown on J. would have been smart, even if it's just one or two instead of a full split.

Even though a safety net vote would have been good, I'll give everyone besides Kaleb and J. props for being part of the majority and being united to survive the vote.  

I also want to give special commendation to Dee.  With J. out of the game, it seems like Dee has gotten away with throwing a vote on Sifu at the Sean vote.  As long as Julie doesn't blow up her spot, Dee might be home free.

By getting rid of J. on the revote, both Kellie and Austin managed to power up their Amulets even more and Austin managed to fully power up his Idol by not voting.  He didn't need to vote, so good for him.

Finally, Kaleb's threat management may leave something to be desired, but his Shot in the Dark was the right play.  I also like that he threw Bruce under the bus in regards to his Idol.  Kaleb has social bonds with just about everyone.  If anyone can get out of this mess, it's him.

Who Sucked:

Bruce may have found an Idol, but that's the only good thing he did in this episode.  I hate that he was just waiting for people to talk to him instead of showing initiative.  Plus throwing Kaleb under the bus was a bad call for him.  He has a working relationship with Kaleb.  J. was set up as the perfect person for Bruce and the rest of Belo to take out.  They didn't know her and the rest of Reba was fine with her going.  Bruce really blew it.  J. may be out of the game, but Kaleb isn't and Bruce just burned that bridge.

As for J., she, more than anyone else, really needed to throw a safety vote on someone, especially after her name was brought up at Tribal Council.  Emily would have been good, as Kaleb's ally, or Kellie to get rid of one of the Advantage Amulets.  Not every vote needed to go on Kaleb.  J. would have saved herself if she had voted for someone else.

Verdict:

Best Player of the Episode goes to Austin Li Coon for powering up both his Idol and his Advantage Amulet.

Worst Player of the Episode goes to Bruce Perreault for targeting Kaleb instead of J. and not making bonds after moving to a new beach.

I don't love that we're voting out two people in the next episode.  Let's just have a normal episode after all this madness!  That said, I'm intrigued to see what Kaleb does next and what the fallout will be of this vote.