Ryan’s Analysis: Survivor 44, Episode 9

Survivor 44: Episode 9 "Under the Wing of a Dragon" Gameplay Analysis

"I want some subtitles."

-Yam Yam Arocho

This was another fun episode of Survivor, even if I could do without the rice negotiation.  I just loved the strategizing after the challenge and thinking about all of the different ways it could go.  This is why I love Survivor.  Take notes, Jeff!  Anyway, let's get into who played well and who sucked.

Who Played Well:

To start off, I do think the members of Soka and Tika made the right move in going after Ratu.  Ratu just had too much hardware to ignore with the Extra Vote and Jaime's Idol, even though it was fake, literally no one in the game knew that.  It needed to be treated as real.  I like that Frannie pointed out that Tika is playing both sides, but I do think Danny was right in that Ratu needed to be dealt with first.

Carolyn, Frannie, and Heidi were particularly good from that group of 6.  Carolyn really worked her social game and I loved watching her connect with everybody.  Frannie won Immunity and Heidi found a Hidden Immunity Idol that nobody knows about.  Good for all of them.

Who Sucked:

Lauren, Jaime, and Kane all seemed to have a bad read of the tribe dynamics.  They all ended up on the wrong side of the vote with Kane going home with Jaime's "Idol" in his pocked.  If Jaime or Kane had had a better read of the situation, they would have at least tried to play it.  The only good news is with the fake Idol and Lauren's Extra Vote out of the game, it lowers Ratu's threat level.  I don't think Lauren or Jaime will be going out next.  There is much bigger fish to fry.

Verdict:

Best Player of the Episode goes to Frannie Marin for winning Immunity and for weakening the Ratu group.  It was a toss-up between her and Heidi, but I like that Frannie sees what Tika is up to, but was willing to go along with the Ratu vote for now.

Worst Player of the Episode goes to Jaime Lynn Ruiz for being on the wrong side of the vote and for having a bad read on the situation, which resulted in her not even trying to play her Idol.  As far as everyone in the game is concerned, Jaime lost a real Immunity Idol.  That's not a good look.  As a reminder, the person voted out is not eligible for either Award.

This was a fun episode and it leaves me wondering what is going to happen next.  There are four people I could see winning this game and I have no idea which way it's going to break.  I love it!

I'm excited to see what happens next! If you liked this breakdown, check out my other write-ups at www.stacysbloggoingon.blogspot.com/.