Lyrsa Torres was sad to go home in 14th place and completed what was a great run of pre-merge Survivor: David vs. Goliath episodes.
Lyrsa going home this week was unsurprisingly surprising. Coming into the episode, I thought that the Jabeni tribe would pull out a win. Even if they did lose, I thought Angelina had a solid shot at going, so even though this boot was more predictable, I was still surprised.
Who she compared herself to: Sandra-Diaz Twine
Lyrsa compared herself to her fellow Latina and two-time winner. Lyrsa came in 14th place, and Sandra won twice, so it is tough to say they are anything alike. Lyrsa had the opportunity to play the “anybody but me” card and vote for Nick but did not budge. They both were a bit sassy at times and did make good television.
She was someone who could have made a deep Sandra-like run had she made it through one more episode, so I would say the two are at least somewhat alike.
Comparing her to 14th placers
My first of two contenders this week is Cristina Coria from Cook Islands. Cristina did not get along with everyone on her original tribe and was one of the early favorites to go home. Of course, Billy Garcia was the boot at that Tribal Council, so she made the swap. Cristina was not bad past the swap, although her tribemate JP went home first.
Cristina dodged the bullet at the next Tribal Council. She was supposed to be next but found a way to make it one round further as Lyrsa did during the Natalie boot. Eventually, she was voted out but had she made it to the mutiny next episode she could have made it much further.
Next is Nicaragua’s Yve Rojas. Yve easily made it to the swap as well and could taste the merge coming up. She ended up on the wrong side of the numbers at the merge, but Tyrone was the sent home before she eventually was. Had she made the merge, she would not appear as too threatening like Lyrsa and would have had longevity in the game.
The verdict: Cristina Coria
Although I feel like Lyrsa had a much better social game, I feel like this is the best comparison. Lyrsa came to play the game, just like Cristina had done before her. I thought Lyrsa was the favorite to go over Natalie, but she wiggled her way out of it just like Cristina did for the Stephannie boot. Although Lyrsa could have made a deeper run than Cristina in any given season, both of them had two games that are very alike on paper.
Check out our merge boot comparison next week!