Messy, messy, messy! Adam’s gameplay hit some major roadblocks this week on Survivor: Winners at War. If this were any other season with newbies, the mistakes he made could be forgiven — it would be new players that didn’t know better, after all. However, this is an all-winners season AND Adam is a mega-superfan of Survivor, so he should know better. Adam broke plenty of unofficial strategy rules that nearly cost him the game. He’s lucky that he only got blindsided with the elimination target and wasn’t the one being the one voted out instead.
“Out for Blood” is the second week in a row where Adam threw Parvati’s name out to be the target. This time, however, he went full-steam ahead with making the moves and conversations to put Parvati at the top of the list. He talked to everyone! The problem here is that for a blindside to work, you can’t let the target figure it out or let their closest allies in on the plan to blindside. What if Parvati or her allies had the hidden immunity idol? Adam would’ve been cut.
Still, the mere act of trying to get diehard loyalists like Boston Rob and Ethan to turn on their close ally Parvati was baffling. There was no way her friends would take her out. Sure, they cut Danni from their Old School alliance the week prior, but that was a self-preservation tactic when Danni herself went after Parvati. Adam needs to take a seat, a breather, and reassess his perception of the game because his instincts are way off. I like Adam, but the cutthroat players are outwitting him at every turn.
Michele pleasantly surprised me with her performance of controlling the vote. Her strength on Survivor: Kaôh Rōng focused on relationships and ingratiating herself into the group so that she could make the right moves. This time, she played a direct game that set a target and delivered a surprising blindside; she made the right strategic move that will pay dividends. It’s still early to tell if Michele will win it, but this move has raised the confidence level of thinking Michele will go far into the season.
Over at the Dakal tribe, Tyson should be careful about who he talks to about potentially getting out Sandra. He has a history with Sandra and can utilize her as a (somewhat) secure vote. Taking her out of the game doesn’t benefit him in the long-run. Sandra is a huge threat, but he has a relationship with her. With Yul and Sophie, on the other hand, he doesn’t have that deep of a connection yet, so they could turn the game on him by simply bringing it up to Sandra. She’s a master of planting the seeds. We could be seeing another case of Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains where Tyson makes one wrong move that turns it all around.
Natalie is killing it at Edge of Extinction Island! This is the third prize that she’s won in a row that has affected the season. Now she can add Sarah to the list of people who could owe her a favor if she returns to the game. Edge of Extinction Island has improved drastically over its previous season because it’s providing a purpose for the players who are living there and biding their time. We don’t need all the powers that are being thrown in the game (there are too many right now!), but it’s been a good change from the initial idea.
The challenge during “Out for Blood” was a great return to a Survivor favorite. You gotta love the jumping platforms and the human ladder! From the outside, the obstacle course looks easy, but someone usually has a hard time making it across on their first time. Even a wave of winners couldn’t all do it. The choice of challenges this season has been a fun surprise and they’ve picked some of the challenging and team-dependent ones so far. Let’s hope some of the unique games (like complex puzzles and mazes) return again.
Ethan’s elimination was a complete blindside! With all the names going out (Parvati, Adam, Boston Rob), Ethan’s name had only been mentioned once in a beach conversation between Michele and Jeremy. The editors only gave us that one hint, which made it a jaw-dropping twist that kept us on our toes. Ultimately, the players still made the wrong call with this vote. Parvati and Boston Rob are much bigger threats to keep around, so one of them should’ve been voted out! Why waste the vote weakening Rob and Parvati by voting out Ethan? Just vote out Rob or Parvati! These winners are not getting it together.
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“Out for Blood” featured an intense and jaw-dropping strategic round that found the Sele castaways putting it all on the line to stay. This episode is a great example of why Survivor: Winners at War has been raising the adrenaline. Even when a vote seems assured, someone makes a move that throws everything into chaos. Adam’s poor gameplay, Boston Rob’s calling out the lies, Parvati bringing out the sharp teeth to cut Adam, it was a wild ride.
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