It appeared as if the domination of original Naviti was dragging on for another week. Instead, Bradley Kleihege was sent packing to cap off the pre-merge.
Ever since the Morgan boot, week after week Survivor Ghost Island has teased us with the idea of the original Malolos winning out. The end results each time had previously been the same. Outside of the emotional Stephanie boot, I had become most certain that a Malolo was going home each night.
Once again, the editing this season has steered me the other way. The focus was on Bradley’s problems all episode, so it was not your usual misdirection. But is being considered annoying the real reason he was voted out? If so, does this even make sense?
The Bradley focus began after the challenge with Donothan. We saw Donothan’s irritation after a victory, and this is typical for the classic editing misdirection. With the merge in sight, players typically play it rather safe, I was not expecting the big move to take place.
Back at Naviti’s camp, we saw Bradley with some real attitude. This escalates until the rest of the tribe gets together with plans to get Bradley out. Domenick and Chelsea have to know that it might be worth bringing Bradley along.
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Chelsea had appeared to be a steady hand for Bradley. A few episodes ago she looked to be actively pursuing the obliteration of original Malolo. Perhaps the absence of “Naviti Strong” Kellyn, Desiree, and Sebastian opened up a spot for this decision. I just do not see her working with Libby over Bradley come to the merge.
Libby had already betrayed Domenick, but Domenick still ended up saving her. The reasoning for this could come because of his prior relationships with original Malolos. He was aligning with Laurel and targeting an alliance with Donothan.
Down the road, we already know he wants to take out Chris. By voting with Libby and Donothan, he might have their vote the merge, as well as Laurel’s. But this also possibly costs him some Naviti votes. However, Domenick does not have to take all of the heat because of Chelsea. Since this was not a solo move, he will not immediately be sent to the bottom of the minority alliance and labeled as a flipper.
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Now back to Bradley. Bradley showed plenty of overconfidence for the entire season, and it reached an all-time high this episode. He failed to recognize what Domenick brought to the table. He had never gone to Tribal Council with Domenick and clearly did not realize the previous split that occurred between Domenick and Wendell against Angela and Chris. Domenick was a true wild card. Since Domenick knows he is safe regardless, he is not afraid to make a move.
Everyone can get irritated by others at one point on Survivor, but you need to keep it in. While complaining is not off-limits, Bradley was being straight up rude. While he was originally in a good position, I do not think he was playing for jury votes in the long-run. I doubt any original Malolos would have had any chance of voting for him.
I am still not convinced it was the right move. Obviously, it was great for Libby and Donothan, but now Domenick is going to have to work very hard to get back in the good graces with original Naviti. He has gone to two Tribal Councils, and both times decided to vote for a Naviti.
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In the end, this is a great ending to the pre-merge. If Libby had been sent packing, it would have been lackluster, but Bradley really ends it with a bang. I do not think I am going out a limb by calling the pre-mergers the group with the greatest potential ever on an original cast.