Brilliant and Boneheaded 'Survivor' Plays of the Week: Family Matters
Warning: This recap for the “Tiny Little Shanks to the Heart” episode of Survivor contains spoilers.
On Survivor, you know who your real friends are when the family members come around.
Kelley manages to best Jeremy (who nearly breaks down at the sight of his wife), Spencer (who finally tells his girlfriend that he loves her), and Joe (who’s dreamt of his dad visiting him on Survivor since he was a kid) to win time with her dad, Dale.
And who does she pick? We’ll get into that in a moment, but her decision is very telling about where everybody stands in her personal pecking order.
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We’re down to eight players, and that means everybody is taking a long, hard look at who they’re aligned with — and who they want to go to the end with. Nobody wants to go to the end with Joe. Even when he passes out during the immunity challenge, it earns him maybe three seconds of pity. Then it’s right to scheming for his elimination.
And after 30-plus days, the other players get what they’ve wanted since the beginning: Joe is voted out. At least his dream came true first!
Boneheaded Play of the Week: Kelley
Kelley’s choices for which other players got to bring their loved ones back to camp wasn’t necessarily boneheaded — just not very far-sighted. She picks Keith, Abi, Joe, and Kimmi, which leaves Jeremy, Tasha, and Spencer out in the dust.
Kelley was never aligned with Jeremy or Tasha, but Spencer has been on her side in the last few votes. Now he feels bitter toward her, and he starts strategizing with Jeremy and Tasha. They even make a pact to go to the final three together.
Of course, Kelley still has an idol to protect her, but if she’d just chosen Spencer instead of Joe for the reward, she might not even have to worry about using it.
Brilliant Play of the Week: Tasha
First of all, no clue why Keith wrote down Tasha’s name at tribal council. Doesn’t matter — she’s put herself in a very good place. She’s part of a final-three pact with Spencer and Jeremy (the latter of whom she’s been tight with for most of the game). She’s also playing into Kimmi’s grand idea of an all-girls alliance.
Her best move, though she second-guesses it, is to tell Jeremy and Spencer about the potential all-girls alliance. She’s right that it’s better the news come from her, to avoid any trust issues. Also, it makes them rely on her; they’ll need her to flip on the girls if they want to avoid elimination.
Tasha has been playing a very smart game (remember, she and Savage managed to stay alive while they were in the Angkor tribe, despite the numbers). Playing both sides here should be to her advantage.
Power rankings:
1. Jeremy — has an idol, a threat to win challenges
2. Kelley — has an idol, is the central figure in an all-girls alliance
3. Abi — everybody wants to take her as the goat to the final
Survivor airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on CBS.
