The Devil You Know

If information is currency in Survivor, information about how players play the game is a part of that. Two times in this episode we heard that players knew how Venus played the game and weren’t sure how Soda played the game:

• “At least we know what kind of game Venus is playing” -Liz

• “I know what kind of game Venus is playing” -Tevin using Liz’s words to convince Maria that Soda was the better target

Even if someone is unpredictable, knowing that they’re unpredictable creates a certain amount of predictability. It’s the same thing with idols. Knowing where they are is almost as good as having one.

So if the choice is Soda or Venus, the players made the right decision.

It’s always better to play the game from a position where you have more information. Soda had tons of different relationships and was in a spot where only she knew how deep her game was. Her problem was that the knowledge gap was too visible to others. Tevin and Liz saw this up close and decided to cut ties because they knew Soda had info they didn’t have.

If Soda had the knowledge gap and no one knew, she’d be in a great position. Because they could see it, they felt threatened.

This group also felt like Venus was on the bottom, despite her active gameplay. Chaotic gameplay is often seen as something to get rid of, like Soda suggested. Chaotic gameplay without agency, which seemed to be Venus’ position this round, is less threatening than players playing a more opaque game. The more you know about how someone plays, the easier it is to play around them.

Venus was right, however, that Tevin was the biggest threat from the four Nami folks on this split tribe. The reason is pretty clear. Tevin told us that it seemed like Charlie was at the bottom, but Tevin and Maria knew that a different game was being played, one across tribal lines.

The real knowledge gap here is with Tevin, Maria, and the +1 alliance. While Charlie, Liz, Soda, and Venus all played this round thinking about former tribal lines and how to step over them, Tevin and Maria had already solidified their strategies for this next phase. They had more information and because no one knew about it, it created a hidden knowledge gap where they actually knew what game they were playing.

Player of the Episode: Maria

• Great immunity win. I don’t love when challenges get rushed - for example by moving to balancing on one foot - because it can change the main goal of the challenge. That said, she crushed it and outlasted everyone

• She handled the Venus conversations well. She was direct, didn’t make any promises she couldn’t keep, and even offered some feedback. I suspect that it had more meaning when Maria did eventually tell Venus she’d vote with her at that tribal. I can see them finding common ground going forward

• Tim is gone and Maria is the Siga connection for the rest of the +1 alliance

• As a sidenote - for those following along from last week - Tim said in exit press that Ben was his real #1 and that he said Maria was his number one to throw Q off. His loss and lack of interest in the alliance becomes Maria’s gain

Look Out For: Ben. We keep being told that Ben is a threat and we haven’t really seen it. Tiff, who has been established as a reliable narrator, said it again this episode. It’s hard to portray a great social game, which he clearly has, and I think we’re going to see more of that.

In Danger: Q. The Q fall from grace has got to be coming soon. He has gotten an over-the-top edit for the last couple rounds. We saw Charlie mention him as a target, we saw whispers from Kenzie and Tiff that his Qlock was ticking, and while I thought the Yanu three might run this post-merge, it looks like it might be the Yanu two soon enough.

Until Next Time,

Kevin 🐍

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