Ryan’s Analysis: Survivor 42, Episode 12

Survivor 42, Episode 12 "Caterpillar to a Butterfly" Gameplay Analysis

"This is past calculus."

-Mike Turner

What a fun episode of Survivor! I loved it. I love when the person I am utterly convinced is going to win the game gets taken out. It makes the show so much more exciting, especially when heading into the finale. With the frontrunner gone, let's talk about who played well and who sucked.

Who Played Well:

Omar was the person who needed to go out of the game. So I will give credit to Romeo, Jonathan, and Mike for being part of the plan to make that happened. Jonathan and Mike are very fortunate that Maryanne was so persistent because their plan to take out Romeo was stupid. They eventually got on board, so I'll put them in the "Played Well" category, but just barely.

Maryanne was the one who organized this vote and got Romeo, Jonathan, and Mike to go along with it. Using the Extra Vote to split between Omar and Romeo was brilliant. It was a fantastic episode for Maryanne.

Who Sucked:

I'll give her credit for winning Immunity, but Lindsay not playing an expiring Idol just because she thought it might go back into the game was beyond foolish. If it goes back into the game, just find it again! But if an Idol is expiring, it does you no good to not play it. If Lindsay had saved Omar, that's a big play she can use against him at the Final 3 if he gets there. Instead, she lost her closest ally and has nothing to show for it.

As for Omar, most of the damage against him was done last episode when Drea called him out on her way out the door. I think that woke a lot of people up to Omar's threat level. That said, he should have done more to convince Lindsay to play her Idol on him. He could have talked up that the Jury would be impressed if she did that.

Verdict:

Best Player of the Episode is easy. It goes to Maryanne Oketch for organizing the Omar vote and convincing Romeo, Jonathan, and Mike to go along with her plan.

Worst Player of the Episode goes to Lindsay Dolashewich for not playing her Idol on Omar.

I am super pumped for this finale. It could go a few different ways and I can't wait to see how it shakes out. I'm predicting Jonathan goes at 5, Lindsay at Final 4 Fire-making, and Maryanne wins over Mike and Romeo.

If you liked this breakdown, check out my other write-ups at www.stacysbloggoingon.blogspot.com/.