Survivor 49, Episode 7 "Blood Will Be Drawn" Gameplay Analysis

 "We already had a boat today!"
-Alex Moore

We just had a normal merge!  Don't get me wrong, I'm fine with the Earn the Merge format with half of the castaways getting Immunity, but if everyone is living on one beach, it's a merge.  Sometimes it may have extra steps, but it's just a merge.  It was nice to have it be so straightforward for the first time in forever.  Anyway, let's get into who played well and who sucked!

Who Played Well:

Jawan and Sage both did a good job of selling their reasoning for voting out Shannon to the rest of Uli.  I thought they might have oversold it at first.  All they really had to say was that Shannon had thrown out everybody else's name.  They added a bit of embellishment, but Nate, Savannah, and Rizo all bought it.  They also formed the Bottom's Up Alliance with Steven and took out a massive threat in Nate.  It was a really good night for both of them, though I am afraid Savannah might murder them.

Sophie S. was Uli's target for the first part of the episode, though I'm not quite sure why.  Even though she wasn't actually going to go home because of how Uli was being played, she made sure no funny business could take her out by winning Immunity.  Plus taking out Nate is great for her.

Steven was the one who named the Bottom's Up Alliance and I think this alliance will benefit him the most.  It saved him tonight after Sophie S won Immunity.  He became the target, but the relationships he built saved him.  He might be the favorite to win now with Nate out of the game.

MC managed to find her Idol and get her vote back, unfortunately she got a little careless and was caught looking for it by Savannah.  Still, she got her Idol, realized that it was going to quickly become a public Idol, and played it to get a potential target off her back.  With how things played out, I think it was a smart call.  Plus getting rid of Nate is great for her.

We didn't get as much from Alex or Kristina, but they were both part of the Nate vote.  Hell, Kristina was the one who pushed for it the most.  It remined me a lot of the Edgardo vote from Fiji.  It was the safe and smart move to make.

Who Sucked:

Rizo, Savannah, and Sophi B all got played.  They were fooled by people they had built relationships with previously and all ended up on the wrong side of the vote.  I did like Rizo's Idol bluff though.  When you have a public Idol like that, I think you can try that bluff one time.  Now, with Knowledge is Power, that gets tricker.  I won't be surprised if Sophi B takes his Idol next week, but I still liked the bluff on his part.

Savannah was very transparent with her social game, to the point that it made some people not like or trust her.  Plus I don't think she should have gone for MC's keys the way she did.  Maybe if it was the Final 6 and MC was the biggest target that you're desperately trying to knock out of the game, it would be a different story.  But this is just the Final 11 and Savannah may have just made an enemy for life.  She would have been better off genuinely helping her to find the key and trying to build a bond that way.

As for Nate, he and his core alliance didn't do a great job of making Jawan and Sage feel comfortable and secure with the Uli alliance.  They were 5th and 6th on original Uli and they found stronger connections and potentially better alliances.  I have to imagine Savannah is more at fault than Nate is, but Nate aligned himself with Savannah.  If you align yourself with people who alienate other potential allies, you're gonna have a bad time.  Alas, Nate Moore is no more.

Verdict:

Best Player of the Episode goes to Steven Ramm for forming the Bottom's Up Alliance and taking out Nate, someone who he has never been on a tribe with.  All of the potential connections Steven has made in previous tribes are still in the game.

Worst Player of the Episode goes to Savannah Louie for her transparent and off-putting gameplay, being on the wrong side of the vote, and being so aggressive with trying to take MC's key.

I'm hoping Savannah goes full villain in the coming episodes.  That's something the new era has been lacking, but I think Savannah has a lot of potential to cause some chaos.