Survivor 46: Episode 11 "My Messy, Sweet Little Friend" Gameplay Analysis

 "I feel like a Ninja Turtle right now."

-Ben Katzman

The trainwreck continues!  The gameplay may have been bad, but the entertainment was pretty dang good.  I think when all is said and done, 46 is going to fit in nicely with Gabon, Nicaragua, and San Juan Del Sur as the trainwreck seasons of Survivor, and I'm all for it.  Let's get into who played well and who sucked!

Who Played Well:

I believe that Charlie should have been the person who went home in this episode.  Since Maria won Immunity, the next biggest threat is Charlie and he is also a tight ally of Maria.  The fact that he wasn't even mentioned as a target is insane and speaks to his social game.  Venus going home is fine for him, which can't be said for most of the remaining players, and I liked how he comforted Kenzie after Tribal Council.

Finally, Maria managed to save herself by winning Immunity.  Plus taking out Venus was a good move for her.  I don't like how she handled picking people to go on Reward.  I think Ben and Liz would have been the best choices, but even if she wanted to bring Q instead, just make the call and don't bother justifying it.  Just pick who you need to strategize with and move on.  Drawing it out for so long was a bad look and didn't do her any favors with the other players.  That said, I still think she had a net positive episode.

Who Sucked:

Ben, Kenzie, Q, and Liz were very foolish to get rid of Venus.  I think both Q and Liz needed to go to the end with Venus to have a shot of winning.  Now neither of them can win unless we get a surprise Final 2.  Ben and Kenzie can both still win, but they should have focused on a good player, like Charlie, instead of someone who cannot win the game, like Venus.  Even if Ben wanted to keep the Siga 3 together, getting rid of Kenzie would have been a much better call than Venus.  I know he voted for Kenzie, but I'm assuming that was in case of an Idol or Shot in the Dark.  And Liz was definitely too careless in talking smack about Q.  He was right behind her.  I get that Q is annoying, but Liz should be trying to work with him, not talking crap about him in such an open setting.

As for Venus, her lack of game awareness is hilarious and astounding.  She was far too over-confident and really didn't have any reason to be.  Her aggressive gameplay and chaotic energy cost her the game.  She isn't very good at Survivor and I would love to see her come back and play again!  She was also trying to target Q, which was a terrible move for her.  She should have been rallying everyone against Charlie.

Verdict:

Best Player of the Episode goes to Charlie Davis for comforting Kenzie, not being a target, and taking out Venus.

Worst Player of the Episode goes to Liz Wilcox for taking out Venus and getting caught talking smack about Q when she should be working with him.  I think she has officially lost the game by voting out Venus.

I wonder if the goat slaughter will continue in the next episode or if people will start targeting actual threats.  I'll be happy either way because this cast is just so fun!

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