Survivor 51, Episode 4 "That's the Magic of Survivor" Gameplay Breakdown"

 "Wah!"

-Eric Macksoud

I never thought I would see the day where my favorite video game character, Waluigi, would be mentioned on my favorite TV show.  Am I thrilled that Eric is our Waluigi fan representative, not really, but I'll take it!  I'm rooting for Eric slightly more now because of this.  Oh yeah, I suppose there's an episode of Survivor to talk about here.  I would have liked one more episode before going to three tribes, but I like the format of going from two tribes, to three, and then merging, so I hope that's what we do here.  Anyway, with these new tribes, lets get into who played well and who sucked.

Who Played Well:

We'll start on the new Dina tribe.  I'm really enjoying the bromance between Eric and Kilby.  I'm glad I'm not living on the same beach as them, but it's fun to watch for a few minutes on TV.  Kilby came into this tribe in a terrible position and I think he did a phenomenal job finding a way off of the bottom.  And, if possible, I think Eric really needs to keep Kilby around.  It feels like the rest of original Savu just tolerated him because he was their number, but having someone around who actually likes him would be a huge boost to his game.  I also thought he did a good job reassuring Sharonda that he was still Savu strong.

Speaking of Savu, getting rid of Jenna was absolutely the right move.  The Helicopter Alliance stuck together and Ori managed to keep the only other Savu.  It seems like they all did a great job of making Jenna feel safe.  I like that Alexis tried to get Jenna to turn on Devin and Jelly.  It would have been smart for Jenna, even though I don't think it would have worked due to the Helicopter Alliance, but it was certainly the better route.  It didn't end up working, so Alexis resigned herself to cutting Jenna loose.  It was the right call.

Moving over to Toka, I really like the potential of the alliance between Carter and Thien An.  I think they could do a lot of damage together.  Apparently Thien An also has an alliance with Maggie, which I don't think we knew about before this episode, so I'll give them retroactive credit for that.  They could absolutely run this tribe if they play their cards right and I hope they can pull it off.

Props to Kristin for all her knowledge about the fruits and leaves of Fiji.  It made a great first impression on her tribe.  She wasn't able to patch things up with Carter, but I think she did enough good with the other members of Toka to land in the positive.

Who Sucked:

Back on Dina, I know it sucks to be sick, but if it was at all possible, Lewis really needed to suck it up, be social, and help with the new camp.  I don't know how sick he felt, but he's in a whole lot of trouble if Dina loses.

Back on Toka, Brady handled the Patt vote very poorly.  He got mad at Carter, Lewis, and Maggie for not filling him in.  He can absolutely be mad about it, but he needed to approach this with a much cooler head.  It seems like Maggie is completely out on working with him now and I don't blame her one bit.

I'll give Mike credit for being willing to work with whoever will get him out of this jam.  He's certainly adaptable, but Maggie and Thien An thought his conversations were phony with no substance.  He's gotta work on that emotional connection.

We really didn't get enough from Cristian, Linnea, or Sharonda for me to say either way.

As for Jenna, she's really not good at Survivor.  Devin announced to the entire tribe in their first Tribal Council that he was targeting her.  That's not someone you go back to work with.  The concept of the devil you know vs. the devil you don't came up in this episode.  Sometimes it's smarter to work with the devil you know, but when the one you know has been that against you, it's better to take the gamble and jump into the unknown.  I don't think it would have worked out, but Jenna should have joined with Alexis and Ori to try and take out Devin.  I don't think Ori would have gone for it, but maybe, somehow, this would have led to Alexis going home instead.  It's better than trusting anything that Devin says.  Jenna was screwed by the swap, but she also played poorly.

Verdict:

Best Player of the Episode goes to Danny Kilby for doing such a good job of building a relationship with the members of Dina, especially Eric.

Worst Player of the Episode goes to Brady Booker for his reaction after Patt's elimination.  He burned at least one potential ally there, if not three.  As a reminder, the eliminated player is not eligible for either Award, otherwise Jenna would have won this.

Hopefully we get some more Waluigi references throughout the rest of the season.  That would WAHnderful!