Ryan’s Analysis: Survivor 48, Episode 10

Survivor 48, Episode 10 "My Enemies Are Plottin'" Gameplay Analysis

  "Fried chicken and waffles!"

Well, this episode was pretty much a race to the bottom.  It had some funny moments, but this was definitely a below average episode of Survivor and easily my least favorite episode of the season.  The fact that it was a choice between Mary and Star was just ridiculous and frustrating.  Let's get into who played well and who sucked.

Who Played Well:

Taking out Star was a great move for the alliance of Eva, Joe, and Shauhin for sure.  It keeps them in power and any of them could win against the others in the end.  Picking off the people at the bottom is smart on their part.  They made Mitch feel comfortable enough to stick with them, plus Joe won Immunity, and I liked the conversation Eva had with Mary after Tribal Council.

It sucks for Mary to lose Star as I think Star was probably the only person Mary could beat at the end.  But it wasn't her choice or her fault that it happened.  She was put in a desperate situation and survived it by turning on Star.  She did what she had to do.  I still don't think she can win, but maybe she can get that runner-up money.

The most interesting part of this episode was the choices Kyle made.  I think his Reward picks were questionable no matter what his motive was.  On paper, his picks should have been at least Kamilla and Mitch.  The optics are that they are 5 and 6 in the alliance.  He should be putting in the appearance of making them feel comfortable.  He could put whoever in the 3rd spot.  Probably Shauhin, but Eva and Joe would have been fine as well.  He tells us that his plan was to piss off Mitch, Star, and Mary so that they would be more likely to take the shot at Joe.  One, I don't think that's good for his game, and two, then he should have taken Eva, Joe, and Shauhin on Reward and left Kamilla at camp with Star, Mary, and Mitch to put that plan together.  Now, all of that said, I'm still going to give him a net positive for this episode because the plot against Joe never came together and taking out Star was a good move for him.  I'm nervous he may be starting to play with his heart too much though.

Who Sucked:

Mitch screwed up hard and I don't think he can win the game after this episode unless we get a surprise Final 2 between him and Mary.  He absolutely needed to go to rocks here to have a chance to win.  And he's completely wrong about not being able to make a move with people you don't trust.  He doesn't need to trust Star and Mary to work with.  He just needs to trust their motives and goals and that they align with his, at the very least for one vote.

Out of all of the castaways, I think Kamilla was in the best position to influence Mitch to flip.  I don't know if it was possible and I don't know how hard she tried.  In the episode, it didn't seem like much, but maybe they cut out the part where Kamilla spent the entire day trying to convince Mitch to flip.  I don't know, but based on what we were shown, she didn't do enough to get Mitch to flip and that was an absolutely critical move for her.

As for Star, I think she needed to scheme and plot some more.  I don't think she could have gotten Mitch to flip, but maybe she could have gotten Mary to go home instead of her.  If she makes it one more episode, she's probably next, but she had a chance to win Immunity, no matter what Joe says.  She also should have played her Shot in the Dark.  I'm sure it felt like a trick from Mitch, but might as well take the gamble at that point and hope you win Immunity next time.

Verdict:

Best Player of the Episode goes to Joe Hunter for winning Immunity, keeping Mitch with his group, and taking out Star.

Worst Player of the Episode goes to Mitch Guerra for not forcing a tie and I believe he can now no longer win the game.

I'm holding out hope that next week will be more interesting than this episode, but I'm not holding my breath.  I just don't see Kyle, Shauhin, Joe, and Eva breaking up at this point.  I'm guessing Mary is gone next, but maybe something crazy will happen.  Fingers crossed!

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