Ryan’s Analysis: Survivor 48, Episode 9

Survivor 48, Episode 9 "Welcome to the Party" Gameplay Analysis

 "Let's party."

-Shauhin Davari

Man, I loved watching Kyle and David square off in this episode.  It kinda reminded me of "Spy vs. Spy" watching them scheme against one another.  I also loved the editing of the Immunity Challenge.  It felt like watching a movie as Joe's ball clicked closer and closer to falling out, but managing to hold on for the win.  Cinematic.  Anyway, let's get into who played well and who sucked.

Who Played Well:

I think Eva made the right calls on her quest to get an advantage.  Given her position in the game, I like that she went for the Safety Without Power, but didn't go for the Idol.  She did get caught sneaking out of camp by Shauhin, but she inadvertently did damage control by telling him, Joe, and Kyle about it.  All that said, I don't like voting out David for her.  I think she would have been better off sticking with David and Mary.  David is loyal and beatable in the end, which is the best kind of ally you can have.  It's not game ending by any means, but I think taking out someone like Kyle would have been a much better move for her.  I'll still give her a net positive though.

Shauhin, Kyle, and Kamilla absolutely made the right call in getting David out.  Sure, all three of them could beat him, but he was threatening to destroy their games and there are other people they can beat.  Kyle and Shauhin both did a really good job of planting seeds and connecting with people to take out David.

Joe managed to win Immunity and I really liked his picks for the Reward challenge.  Mitch and Shauhin were absolutely the right choices.  Maybe he could have subbed out Eva for Star, but, more importantly, he left Kyle, Kamilla, David, and Mary at camp together.  That's one way to make sure people aren't scheming behind your back.  Leaving people who don't like each other or aren't getting along back at camp together is a move I love.  Like with Eva, I do think Joe would have been better served in taking out Kyle over David.  This also makes it harder to win with his loyalty and honesty game, but I'll still give him a net positive.

Mitch managed to seize an opportunity at the Reward by throwing out David's name to Joe, Shauhin, and Eva.  He made some inroads with this alliance and the person he wanted out went home.

Who Sucked:

Both Star and Mary ended up being on the wrong side of the vote.  I also think Mary was too obvious of a duo with David.  They needed to do a better job of hiding how close they were.

As for David, he and Mary were a threatening pair.  He was totally justified in being paranoid about Kyle, Kamilla, and Shauhin.  He was right!  But his presentation was all wrong.  He came off as too aggressive.  I think with a softer touch, he could have gotten Joe and Eva to go with him instead.

Verdict:

Best Player of the Episode goes to Kyle Fraser for being the main architect of David being eliminated.

Worst Player of the Episode goes to Mary Zheng for being left out of the vote and being too obvious a duo with David.  As a reminder, I don't give out either Award to the person who was eliminated.  That's too easy.

Now that the Strong 6 has broken, I'll be very curious to see if Kamilla, Mitch, Mary, and Star can band together to make a move.  I think the game could really shake up here and I can't wait to see what happens. 

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