Survivor Episode 11

Survivor Episode 11

GALLERY

The episode is not as dramatic as other episodes this season but it is still very entertaining. The drama centers around Tony’s blindside of Jefra in the previous tribal council. While Trish understands that Tony is simply eliminating Jefra before she can do the same to him, Kass is not very happy about the decision. From her perspectiv, Tony’s decision makes no sense. While Jefra may be against him in the future, Tasha and Spencer are definitely against him. To be honest, Kass makes good points and Tony did get duped by Spencer into believing there could be an all girl alliance. Regardless, it is hypocritical on Kass’s part since she made a terrible strategic decision by switching alliances because of an emotional objection to Sarah having power as the swing vote at the merge. Kass is also a control freak and does not want to be left in the dark about major decisions. As we already know, she does not know how to keep her feelings to herself. She is honest to a fault and clueless about how she is perceived socially by the other players. Of course, she voices her displeasure to Tony about his deception. Matters are made worse when Tony talks with Woo and Spencer about being a police officer early in the morning when it appears Kass, Tasha, and Trish are asleep in the shelter. Kass hears Tony mention her name. Accordingly, she convinces herself that Tony calls her a bitch and is talking negatively about her to Spencer and Woo. In reality, Tony is not talking about her. Of course, no one but Tony corrects Kass since it does not benefit Tasha or Spencer if Tony and Kass are getting along. Kass’s overbearing personality and poor strategic play is irritating to watch but they are also the reasons she is great television. Eventually, she is so annoying that Tony blurts out that he has the special idol and he will use it to vote Kass out if she tries to move against him.

Tony’s Reveal of the Special Idol

Tony does not reveal the information out of strategy. He is clearly upset with Kass and does it out of frustration. Accordingly, it is not a great strategic move. Nevertheless, it does not hurt him. Fear of the idol will give the other players pause in moving against him. Moreover, the special idol is idiot proof. With the ability to play it after the votes are read, he cannot get blindsided. At this point, he should just disclose the special powers and use the fear from them to dictate what the other players do.

Kass’s Plot Against Tony

After winning the reward with Spencer and Woo, she approaches them on her plan to vote out Tony. She knows that they can split the votes on Tony and Trish to flush out the idol. Moreover, she knows that Tony can only use it during the next couple tribal councils. Accordingly, the next tribal council is their last chance to flush the idol. The split votes would definitely accomplish it. Naturally, Spencer is interested since he is in the minority alliance with Tasha and the move would save them both. The issue is Woo. He has been a strong ally of Tony for the entire game. Consequently, he is loyal and hesitant to work against Tony. While he openly says he is willing to consider it, his facial reaction suggests he will not do it. In my opinion, eliminating Tony is the correct move. While he can be annoying, he has made a lot of big moves and the jury could respect and award his play. As a result, the best final 3 for Woo and Kass is them plus Trish. If they fail, Tony will be upset but it does not matter. He has no choice but to ally with them because Spencer and Tasha would beat any of them in the final tribal council.

On the other hand, Tasha talks to Kass and describes Tony as the “Jersey Russell Hantz”. Kass’s end game is to drag Tony to the end on the premise he will not get votes. Accordingly, she has to weigh those considerations. However, it proves how unaware Kass is of her situation. She has burned bridges by betraying her original alliance and running her mouth. In reality, she is being dragged to the end. She is definitely not getting any votes. Russell Hantz was great for television. He played very aggressively and got to the end in back to back seasons. However, he was too arrogant and nasty to the other players in his game so he lost both times and received no votes in his second season. I do not believe Russell is a one for one parallel for Tony. Tony has played very hard so they are very similar from that perspective. The difference is that Tony plays for the love of the game and it shows in his enthusiasm. While some players he voted out are sure to be hurt, he does not make things personal. He is excitable but not nasty. As a result, Tony has a legitimate shot to garner votes for Sole Survivor and win the game.

Tribal Council

With Spencer winning immunity and stopping Tasha’s streak at 3, Tasha needs Kass to target Tony in order to stay alive. Kass openly states that there will be a blind side in tribal council. Accordingly, the episode is edited to give hope that there will be another flip. However, Kass’s move is to try to force Tony to play his hidden immunity idols. Unknown to her, his special idol allows him the luxury of not playing any idol unless he knows for sure that he has been voted against. It is not a bad idea from Kass but her bluff had no chance to succeed. Consequently, Tasha is voted out. It is the correct move by the majority alliance. Spencer and Tasha have dominated the immunity challenges. If either gets to the end, he or she becomes a favorite to win the game. As a result, the majority alliance needs to get rid of them as soon as it can. I really liked Tasha’s game. She started out on the worst tribe and her alliances were against the numbers most of the game. Nevertheless, she continued to survive with her social game and was a beast in challenges. She is a smart player and great for television. She is an excellent candidate to play the game again.

Final 5

The final five comprises of Tony, Trish, Woo, Kass, and Spencer. Of course, Spencer is the clear target to eliminate next. He is a threat to win the game. Nevertheless, he is great at challenges and will be a tough out. However, he will definitely need to win those challenges. Tony is in a great position. He has two hidden immunity idols. If there is a final three, he is completely protected until the final four. If there is a final two this season, he is protected to the final three. Nevertheless, I doubt he goes anywhere. While he has made the biggest moves, Trish and Woo are completely loyal to him. While Kass cannot stand him, she sees that as a plus in the final tribal council since she believes he will not receive votes to win. From this perspective, Kass has a great chance to make it to the end too. She will definitely not get any votes and the other players know it and want to drag her to the end as a goat. In terms of Trish, she has played a great game. Unfortunately, they were subtle moves and it would be interesting to see she is able to articulate her importance to the jury. In my opinion, she deserves a chance at winning. Her obstacle will be that the jury has seen Tony moves during tribal council and Trish’s big plays were behind the scenes. Woo has down very little in the game besides being very likable and loyal to his alliance. He could garner votes at the end because the jurors like him. Based on merit, he should not be getting any votes. Consequently, he needs a bitter jury that is angry with whoever is sitting next to him. Unfortunately, his likability can hurt him at this point too. If his alliance realizes it, it can be a reason for it to vote him off.

1 Comment

  1. Like!! I blog frequently and I really thank you for your content. The article has truly peaked my interest.

    Reply

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