Survivor: David vs. Goliath episode 3 – Big takeaways

Episode 3 of Survivor: David vs. Goliath had no idols or advantages, giving us plenty of time to learn about the social dynamics of each tribe.

Only a few seasons of Survivor have been filled with this many dynamic characters that have a realistic shot of winning the million dollar prize. There doesn’t seem to be a Tony or Russell figure that takes the spotlight. It’s more of a combination of great characters and great strategists.

A major focus of episode 3 of Survivor: David vs. Goliath was the feud between Jeremy and Natalie. Although this led to a unanimous vote, it still gave us insight into the Goliath tribe’s social structure. We started to see who actually holds power. Here are a few big takeaways from Wednesday’s episode.

Queen Angelina gets what she wants. After the Goliath tribe lost the Immunity/Reward Challenge, the consensus was to get Natalie out. Not only was her aggressive manner getting on people’s nerves, but she also messed up on a puzzle that she stepped up for.

That didn’t stop Angelina. With Jeremy’s paranoia over strategy, Angelina felt that Jeremy was playing the game too hard. She reasoned that if there were a tribe swap, Goliath members would be able to trust Natalie far more than Jeremy, and she had a point.

However, this wasn’t just some far-flung idea. Angelina went to work, confronting all of her tribe members about changing their vote to Jeremy. While some tribe members including Mike and Natalia disagreed at first, the final vote said it all. The fact that Angelina was able to execute a unanimous blindside demonstrates the power she has in this game. I’m very excited to see if she’ll be able to keep her control after the tribe swap.

No set alliance for the David tribe. Last week’s Tribal Council saw Davie, Bi and Carl land on the wrong side of the vote. It appeared that Nick plus the power couples: Christian and Gabby, Elizabeth and Lyrsa, banded together to form a five-person alliance.

As episode 3 went on, that alliance looked more and more like a voting block. Bi was upset at Gabby for keeping her out of the loop, and Nick saw this as an opportunity to put the target on Gabby. Even Christian threw Gabby under the bus by blaming the Jessica vote entirely on her when people approached him about it.

So alliances seem to be shifting with the Mason-Dixon partnership in the middle of it all. It will be interesting to see how this pans out in the swap. If the power couples aren’t on the same tribes anymore, will they still align with the other David members?

Mike White is playing the game right. Coming into Survivor: David vs. Goliath, one thing that worried me about Mike was his attitude towards the game. In Josh Wigler’s First One Out podcast, we heard a revealing pregame interview with Mike White. He mentioned how he wouldn’t mind being voted out first because it would be a good story to tell at cocktail parties. Mike made several other comments that portrayed his lack of determination to win. However, that attitude has been working out in his favor so far.

Mike has been great at developing relationships with the tribe and has really fit in. Even when he was getting close to Jeremy, he saw the danger in over-strategizing and came to terms with voting him out. Yes, he may seem like an outcast among the young Goliath members, but he’s been included in tribe discussions, and now faces a tribe swap that I think will work in his benefit. I always thought that if Mike could make it through the first few votes, his social game will take him far.

With the intense rain, the coming tribe swap and no appearance of the Idol Nullifier, there are so many other interesting topics surrounding this season. Hopefully, episode 4 will shed light on them!