Ryan’s Analysis: Survivor 45, Episode 8

Survivor 45: Episode 8 "Following a Dead Horse to Water" Gameplay Analysis

  "Hopefully I stop sucking."

-Jake O'Kane

Wow, what a fun episode.  It was great to have the auction back and I loved Kellie's reaction to getting voted out.  Best of all was Jeff pulling out a knife and stabbing the bag of rice.  More evil Jeff please!  Anyway, let's get into who played well and who sucked.

Who Played Well:

Let's start with Jake, who was in a terrible position at the start of the episode and didn't get very far in getting himself out of it, but I like his awareness of the situation and seeing through Emily and Kellie's attempt to stop him from playing his Shot in the Dark.  He absolutely made the right call in playing it.

The plan to take out Kellie from the Reba 4 and Emily was an awesome move, especially for Drew and Austin.  I think Kellie was the biggest jury threat and they can still take out Jake and Bruce later if they so choose.  This weakens the Belo alliance, weakens any potential women's alliance, and gives Austin a 2nd Idol now that the other 2 parts of the Advantage Amulet are out of the game.

Who Sucked:

Bruce was way too slow in getting after the Auction money.  This gave him less power at the Auction itself, which led to him losing his vote.  He did save himself by winning Immunity at least.

Finally, Kendra, Katurah, and Kellie were all way too eager to turn on Bruce and Jake.  I get that Bruce is tough to play with, but maybe they should have been trying to go to the end with him.  They were too blind to the move and failed to see how close Reba and Emily are.

Verdict:

Best Player of the Episode goes to Austin Li Coon for taking out Kellie and getting a 2nd Idol.

Worst Player of the Episode goes to Katurah Topps for being way too focused on Bruce and Jake and missing the threat that Reba and Emily posed.

This was probably my favorite episode of the season, so far.  This cast has been wonderful and I'm excited to see how Kendra reacts when they get back to camp.  Plus I'm stoked Jake survived.  He's my favorite cast member left in the game and I want him to keep the dream alive. 

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