Survivor: Game Changers: Why did Zeke Smith join the jury?

One can explain the most recent elimination of Survivor: Game Changers by the words ‘threat assessment,’ but calling it good or bad seems premature.

There’s another juror ready to watch and observe how the rest of Survivor: Game Changers plays out. Yes, Zeke was voted out on last night’s episode, even though yours truly thought that Sierra made the bigger and thus more likely target and bet accordingly.

But alas, here we are! I have set my disappointment aside and am ready to do some analysis on why Zeke went home instead. It all has to do with the idea of a threat in Survivor.

Make no mistake: Andrea wasn’t wrong when she said Zeke was a big threat in the game. He was playing a fine social and strategic game. In the very episode he went home, we saw him making overtures to Troyzan and Brad in particular about working together down the road. Since they seemed open to it, Andrea may very well have guaranteed more safety for herself and Cirie down the road.

But here’s the case Sarah was making. Although Zeke was not the most loyal of players, he had a vested interest in still working with the women for a little while longer. Andrea, Cirie, Sarah, Michaela, and Aubry form a distinct power bloc, assuming they can stay together.

And they did stay together on this vote, even though Michaela was in tears after the elimination. Check out the vote below:

In case you can’t watch the video, here’s the vote breakdown sorted by the person voted for (i.e., Andrea voted for Zeke):

Tai: Brad, Sierra, Troyzan

Sierra: Tai, Zeke

Zeke: Andrea, Aubry, Cirie, Michaela, Sarah

Keep an eye on those Tai voters going forward, by the way. Even if Sierra, Brad, and Troyzan intended them as throwaways, that shows a willingness to write an alliance member’s name down. That could either serve those three well or come back to bite them. After all, this is Tai we’re talking about, and he has two idols.

Obviously, Andrea deserves the most credit for getting Zeke out of the game. She won immunity and the chance to make the move, as she said in a confessional during the episode. We can’t fault her for taking it. Additionally, Sarah gets a share for going along instead of putting herself out there for Zeke.

Next: The best seasons of Survivor

It came up at Tribal Council that voting out Zeke results in a putative 5-4 majority for Andrea and Cirie’s alliance, and Sarah has flipped once already. It could be that she flips again and Andrea regrets making her move.