“There’s A New Sheriff In Town:” A Deeper Look At Survivor Game Changers Episode 8
Episode 8 of Survivor: Game Changers starts with the merge – and how Cirie, Zeke and the other castaways respond will shape the rest of the game.
Double the episode, half the drama
This week’s two-part episode served its role — and unlike previous double episodes, the purpose wasn’t to build momentum. The effect was quite the opposite.
The first half of Survivor: Game Changers has been bananas. After a string of big-name boots and twists, the show needed to pump the breaks a bit. This might be Game Changers, but the product still has to be recognizable.
The big twist this week? The merge. We knew it was coming because it syncs up with Sierra’s Legacy Advantage (she could use it to gain immunity with either 13 or six players left). The second twist? Brad and Tai had to forfeit their merge feast so that the rest of the tribe could partake. Yawn.
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There was a time when the merge was the big twist in a season. Now, it’s the expectation, the turning point between phase one and phase two of the game. There’s nothing wrong with a return to normalcy.
The cost of doing business was a pair understandable boots. Hali, who had some fun, against-the-ropes moments earlier in the season, just never seemed to connect with any voting block. And no one wanted to see Ozzy’s inner challenge beast unleashed with Immunity on the line. In any case, his on-screen talents might be better suited to making weirdly impassioned jury speeches.
If the first seven boots were any indication, there will be plenty of exciting moments to come. I’m waiting for Jeff Probst to toss an unclaimed Idol into the middle of Tribal Council right before the vote — and remember, there are still three Hidden Immunity Idols and a Legacy Advantage in play.
But for at least one week (and two hours of air time), it made sense to tread water with the pacing of the show while everyone re-calibrates — the players, the producers, and the audience included.
Cirie’s big move
It was a big night for Survivor’s “Black-Italian Grandma.”
The first half of the episode devoted a significant amount of time to the relationship between Cirie and Michaela. There are clearly some parallels between the two as well as some stark differences. Cirie is one of the more cerebral players in Survivor history while Michaela is often brash to a fault.
Cirie made a point of telling Michaela she would try to save her, but she’d have to trust her and keep her vote on Zeke. That’s either an excellent way to blindside someone while taking their vote out of the equation or a way to save a potential ally without tipping off the rest of the players in the game.
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The beauty in Cirie’s move is that no matter what happened, she was going to end up on top. If she failed to sway Sierra and Debbie’s voting block to target Hali, Cirie would have been with the majority in voting out Michaela. When the larger half of the vote split voted out Hali, Cirie was able to maintain the appearance of her tacit, short-term alliance with the Sierra/Debbie-led block.
But was it actually Cirie who saved Michaela? Sure, Michaela has a reputation for being a physical player, but she really hasn’t found overwhelming success to date. She’s also been on the chopping block all season, so it’s unlikely that she’d be one to organize a coup. Hali made for a more obvious target; the only reason Michaela would’ve been in danger is if Hali truly did have a Hidden Immunity Idol.
So Cirie gets to take credit for saving Michaela. Their de facto non-disclosure agreement pretty much prevents Michaela from poking around to verify the validity of Cirie’s play to keep her in the game. Michaela can’t afford to lose her closest (and only) ally.
If Cirie can navigate Andrea’s knee-jerk emotional responses to every perceived slight, and rein in Zeke, intent on wreaking havoc with his penchant for self-defeating moves, she’ll be in the driver’s seat.
Remember: Cirie was one poorly revealed production decision (a final two, opposed to a final three) from pretty much running away with Survivor: Micronesia. Regarding non-winners, she’s right up there among the very best to have ever played this game. Underestimating Cirie at this point would be a huge mistake.
Zeke’s bad play
Speaking of Zeke, the man needs to know when to lay low.
After “winning” the last week with grace and eloquence when faced with adversity, Zeke threw out his playbook for reasons that don’t make a lot of sense.
His first mistake was telling the other tribe at the merge that he was a transgender man. While it did garner sympathy from his new tribemates, it also painted an even larger target on his back. Everyone was quick to point out how his story would appeal to a jury. That’s not to say the decision didn’t make sense to Zeke, but from a purely strategic standpoint, that was information that might’ve actually weakened his standing in the game.
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Had Zeke not come out to his new tribemates, his old Nuku tribemates would have been bound to silence, lest they effectively out Zeke all over again. Ozzy would have been unable to openly suggest why Zeke had such a strong narrative appeal should he get to the Final Tribal Council.
Zeke’s second, far more damning mistake, was abandoning a potent voting block with Cirie, Andrea and Sarah. Targeting a strong strategic player like Andrea makes some sense if you’re assured of maintaining a numbers advantage after cannibalizing one of your own. What Zeke attempted was foolhardy.
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- Jeff Probst defends Survivor Game Changers’ outlandish idol count
- Big Brother 19’s handling of transphobia makes me proud of Survivor
- Survivor Game Changers: 5 Players we most want to play again
If your plan is to defect from your voting alliance, you absolutely cannot be the one to broach the subject to the opposing voting block. It’s one thing if Sierra and Debbie approach Zeke about flipping on Andrea; it’s quite another if Zeke is the one initiating a mutiny. In the immediate post-merge gameplay, the nail that sticks out is likely to get hammered. Zeke made it far too easy for the Sierra/Debbie block to tattle-tale on his attempted defection, driving a wedge in what was already a minority alliance.
Aligning with mutineers in Survivor is like being in a relationship with a married man: if he’s willing to cheat on his wife, he’s capable of cheating on you too. Zeke’s desire to make big plays knocks him out of the inner circle of any alliance he had. Now, he’ll have to survive as a swing vote — until the remaining contestants band up against him.
Unless Zeke finds a Hidden Immunity Idol or starts winning challenges, his days are numbered. You can’t go to the end against him and win. You can’t really trust him to be a significant part of your voting block.
Next: Survivor Winners: Ranking All 33 Sole Survivors By Season
Zeke Smith: Nice guy, awful diplomat.