Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans, Episode 6 "The Blood Moon" Gameplay Breakdown

 "I feel like a spicy pickle!"

-Rick Devens

While I don't know if I would call the Blood Moon the biggest twist in Survivor history, it was certainly impactful.  Since this was a much larger cast than usual, the Blood Moon simply feels like a natural extension due to the math of the season.  That said, this was a massacre and we lost three people that I was really hoping to see continue on.  It sucks, but that's Survivor.  So, let's take a look at who played well and who sucked.

Who Played Well:

We'll start with Aubry.  She finally took out her arch-nemesis in Genevieve, which might free her up to play the game in a stronger capacity.  I also like that she told Christian and Devens that she was going to play her Idol, but didn't.  Rizo proved last season that this is a possible strategy to pull off long term.  I still wouldn't want that level of attention, so if I were Aubry, I would play it sooner rather than later, but I like that she didn't play it here.

Christian won Immunity and was part of the group that took out Genevieve.  He also managed to patch up his relationship with Ozzy, got his Shot in the Dark back, and learned about Ozzy's Idol from Ozzy.

If I were Devens, I think I would have pushed a little harder to take out Joe over Genevieve.  Just for the sake of his own safety, I think it would have been wise.  However, it worked out and he helped get a major threat out of the game, so I'll give him a net positive.

Ozzy may not have wanted to go to Exile, but I'm sure he'll be okay with it once he gets back and learns about the Blood Moon.  Good on him for finding what turned out to be Safety Without Power dialed up to 11.  Since his Boomerang Idol is such public knowledge, it ended up being a good thing that Emily and Christian learned about it from him.  Plus I like the relationship he formed with Rizo.  I think the two of them plus Cirie can do a lot of damage.

Cirie, Dee, and Emily took out Colby, which hurt my heart, but was a solid move.  Colby is the stabilizing force of his alliance, as opposed to Coach, who could tear everything apart by accident.  I think there were good reasons to get rid of either of them, so I'll trust the three of them here.  Plus Dee won Immunity.

Jonathan made the right move in joining forces with Chrissy and Stephenie to take out Kamilla.  Kamilla already blindsided Jonathan once, so I like that he seized this opportunity.  Plus he has a much better chance of winning with the old-school players.  He also did a good job of playing nice with Dee after the Charlie blindside.  Chrissy made some really good arguments to convince Jonathan to flip.  And Stephenie won Immunity.  A great episode for all three of them.

Who Sucked:

Coach tried to play it a little too deceptive in his conversation with Dee.  He tried to throw Emily under the bus and it didn't work at all.  I wouldn't have been at all shocked if Coach had gone home.  Both Dee and Emily described him as shady and untrustworthy.  I suspect he could be the first member of the Jury if he doesn't turn things around fast.

Minor negative for Tiffany as she ended up on the wrong side of the vote, which was more on Kamilla and Dee than on anything Tiffany did.

Joe really didn't think his vote through.  It's good that he was willing to cut Genevieve, but that wasn't the right move for him.  She played her Shot in the Dark.  Had she been safe, it would have been a revote and Joe would have gone home.  He either should have played his own Shot in the Dark or thrown his vote on Devens.  Voting for Genevieve just doesn't make sense here.

As for the fallen, Kamilla flipped on Jonathan last week.  When you do that, you can't be surprised when the people you blindsided flip on you in response.  She didn't do a good enough job of making him feel secure with their alliance, which is vital after you blindside somebody.

I think Genevieve would have been better served trying to get the rest of her group to vote out Joe or even Aubry.  There was no way Christian was turning on Devens, but trying to knock an Idol out or focusing on the beef between Joe and Devens may have been smarter.  She was in a nearly impossible situation, but I do think she had better avenues.

Colby had a truly bad break and I'm not talking about the possible fracture in his foot.  He was seen as the guy holding the opposing alliance together and that's a great person to target.  Maybe if he had leaned into his injury even more, but when Cirie wants you out, that's a hard bullseye to avoid.   

Verdict:

Since three people went home, I'm giving out three Best and Worst Players of the Episode.

Best Player #1 goes to Christian Hubicki for patching things up with Ozzy, winning Immunity and taking out Genevieve.

Best Player #2 goes to Aubry Bracco for taking out Genevieve and holding onto her Idol.

Best Player #3 goes to Jonathan Young for keeping a cool head with Dee and taking the opportunity to knock out Kamilla.

Worst Player #1 goes to Coach Wade for coming off as shady when he tried to target Emily.  I do like that he was willing to sacrifice Colby though.

Worst Player #2 goes to Joe Hunter for voting for Genevieve when he should have voted for Devens or played his Shot in the Dark.

Worst Player #3 goes to Tiffany Nicole Ervin for being on the wrong side of the vote and losing a close ally.

Now that the Blood Moon has set, I'm really hoping for a business as usual episode.  I'm really excited to see what sort of chaos occurs between Jonathan and Dee and Coach and whoever he is beefing with.  Should be fun!