Survivor: David vs. Goliath – Biggest storylines in episode 8

We are down to 12 castaways on Survivor: David vs. Goliath. Seven original Goliath members, 5 original Davids, and a secret six-person alliance. Which group will win out?

One of the most exciting periods in Survivor is the first few Tribal Councils after the merge. It’s really those crucial votes that determine which alliance will claim the majority and take control.

At this point in Survivor: David vs. Goliath, it seems that the original Goliaths have the power. However, with idols, advantages and secret alliances, that power is bound to shift. It could even happen in tonight’s episode! So here are three storylines to watch for in episode 8 of Survivor: David vs. Goliath.

1) Will the “Strike Force” alliance stay in power?

Last week’s episode brought us the birth of yet another named alliance. The Strike Force consists of three original Goliaths: Alec, Alison and Mike; and three original Davids: Christian, Gabby, and Nick. That is a six-person alliance in a game that only has 12 people left!

On paper, it makes sense to stick with the Goliaths’ plan of voting out a David and allowing Carl or Davie to take the fall. If that happens, this Strike Force alliance would have the majority and could dominate the rest of the game.

However, that could change in an instance. If the Goliaths rather target a different threat from the David tribe, namely Christian, that could fracture this counterintelligence alliance. The big question will be: is Mike, Alec, and Alison ready to betray the Goliaths, or will they vote against their newly formed alliance?

2) Are the Goliaths going to turn on Angelina?

In three Tribal Councils in a row now, Angelina’s manipulative attitude has been exposed. This was especially the case during last week’s episode, as every Goliath now knows that she revealed their plan to the Davids before tribal.

With the Goliaths now having a two-person advantage on the Davids, they might decide to take out their disloyal member when they have the chance. Most of the Goliaths including Mike, Alison, and Dan, appear to be extremely annoyed by Angelina’s antics, which could motivate them to write her name down.

At the same time, keeping Angelina might help the Goliaths. Now that her aggressive social game is exposed, she really has nowhere to turn. So they might decide to keep her, now that her threat of flipping isn’t as serious since nobody can really trust her. This doesn’t change the fact that Angelina is a strong social player, so if she is spared, she could get back into the game when minorities get desperate.

3) Could we seen an epic Tribal Council with idols and a Nullifier?

It doesn’t happen often in the modern era of Survivor when no idols or advantages are played prior to the merge. We might witness the first idol play of the season in tonight’s episode.

There’s only two Davids left that are not part of the Strike Force alliance: Davie and Carl. Both of which have their own secret weapon: an idol for Davie and an Idol Nullifier for Carl. If it is clear that one of them is on the chopping block, Davie could play his idol, possibly sending home a Goliath in the process.

The other part of this equation is Dan. Basically, all the Goliath members, plus at least two Davids in Nick and Christian, know about Dan’s idol. If that news gets to Carl, things will get very interesting!

The Davids could decide to vote for Dan and use Carl’s Nullifier to ensure that the votes count even if he plays his idol. There’s still more Goliaths than Davids, however, if Davie plays his idol correctly, we could see Dan’s torch get snuffed out even with an idol around his neck!

If this epic scenario doesn’t happen, it doesn’t change the fact that there are still three idols and one advantage in play. They are also all possessed by castaways whose names are likely to pop up at Tribal Council. So this might be the night that an idol is finally played!