Survivor 46: Episode 7 "Episode Several" Gameplay Analysis

 "How did you get inside my head?"

-Charlie Davis

I don't love the placement of the double boot episode here.  I'd really like at least one normal episode between the Mergatory and the double boot just so we get a better understanding of the full tribe dynamics.  That said, I still really enjoyed this episode and watching some of these dynamics play out.  There's plenty to talk about here, so let's get into who played well and who sucked.

Who Played Well:

Hunter was put into a potentially disastrous situation by being the only Nami in the orange group.  However, he managed to get in with the Yanu group and make it through the vote while also managing to hold onto his Idol.

Kenzie had a strong episode starting with a very nice human moment where she helped Ben through his panic attack.  She also won Immunity and knocked Tim out of the game.  Since she has a closer connection Ben than Tim, this was the right call for her.  On that same note, Ben having that moment with Kenzie and forming a bond with her probably helped save him.

Getting rid of Soda was a great move for Charlie and Maria.  Weakening Nami and getting rid of a more skilled player instead of Venus is fantastic for them.  Maria also won Immunity.  They both had flaws in this episode however.  I don't like that Charlie told Venus that he voted for her and I don't like how honest Maria was with Venus about her aggressive play, but both of them were definitely net positive.

Who Sucked:

Yes, Venus did manage to survive the vote, but it wasn't really because of anything she did.  Her aggressive and obvious gameplay made her seem less threatening than Soda and that's why she survived.  She doesn't have any true allies and I predict she will be a losing finalist.

Tevin and Liz made a very bad move in taking out Soda over Charlie.  Charlie is a dangerous player and knocking him out weakens Siga.  Soda trusted Tevin.  There was no reason to get rid of her here.  Getting rid of Venus made more sense for Tevin instead of Soda.  It's good for Liz that she kept Venus as she needs to go to the end with her to have a chance, but they both dropped the ball by not taking the opportunity to take out Charlie.

It's minor, but I think Q and Tiffany made the wrong move in taking out Tim over Ben.  Tim is a much more transparent player and they can keep up the illusion of the Journey 6 alliance for at least one more vote.  It's minor, but enough for a net negative for them.  Q is much worse than Tiffany as he is way too controlling.  The way he talked to Charlie, Kenzie, and Tiffany in this episode was just bad.  

As for Tim, he was way too transparent in his loyalty to Siga.  After the Immunity Challenge, he needed to ask Q what the plan was and go with whatever he said.  Trying so hard to take out Hunter and turn on the 6 put the nail in his coffin.

Soda didn't do a good job of making her alliance feel secure with her.  They still made a bad move in taking her out, but maybe if she had done a better job of making them feel safe, that wouldn't have happened.

Verdict:

Since two people went home in this episode, I'll give out two Best and Worst Players of the Episode.  My first Best Player of the Episode goes to Kenzie Petty for bonding with Ben, winning Immunity, and taking out Tim.

My other Best Player of the Episode goes to Hunter McKnight for surviving the vote, taking out Tim, and holding onto his Idol.

My first Worst Player of the Episode goes to Q Burdette for trying to control too much of the game and for taking out Tim instead of Ben.

My other Worst Player of the Episode goes to Tevin Davis for taking out Soda instead of Charlie.

I'm very curious about the next episode as the "Next Time on Survivor" didn't reveal much.  I'm hoping for just a regular, old, postmerge episode at the very least.  Hopefully Tribal Council is crazy in a fun way and not in a dumb twist way.