Survivor: David vs. Goliath episode 8 edgic: Subtle stories

Though Survivor: David vs. Goliath episode 8 takes aim at large, ongoing stories, our edgic discussion puts the micro-narratives and meta-narratives to task.

Welcome once again to our ongoing Survivor: David vs. Goliath edgic discussion! Last week was the merge; the second-most important episode in deciding a winner and the most relevant in narrowing down the field. As such, our four top contenders this week are the same as they were last week; it’s just the order that’s changed.

A big reason for that lies in the crazy events seen in the most recent Tribal Council, although the steps to get there paint an interesting picture. Christian and Nick were the Davids of the episode, whether it came from being the subject or being the object in motion. Gabby and Kara, the top women left in the game, were pushed to the sidelines, although their standing in the overall narrative might prove it beneficial or otherwise.

Let’s take a deeper look at the Survivor: David vs. Goliath episode 8 edgic with our chart and subsequent deep dive, starting with the winner contenders:

Nick Wilson (CP5): What an amazing episode for Nick, both from a narrative and a winning perspective. He managed to pull off a huge blindside using others’ advantages, got closer to Carl, had Alec compelled to spill the beans to him and he’s nowhere close to being the target. Furthermore, Christian remains the perceived hero needed to be taken out.

The one concern I have about Nick is how he’s viewed overall. We didn’t quite understand how he buried the hatchet with Carl, and it seems like he has had a very visible edit so far. He might encounter a scenario where he makes too many friends, with conflicting stories or levels of trust being broken en route to the end.

Christian Hubicki (CPP4): I can’t recall a near-merge vote target so openly discussed as emblematic of the hero to the viewers at home. Mike helped set up Christian as the player to beat, which would be tragic for anyone who wasn’t made as obvious to the viewers at home as such. Plus, we have Davids bending over backward to protect him, including Davie using his then-secret Hidden Immunity Idol.

Of course, being this much of a target with eight more Tribal Councils left does not bode well, but his cross-tribe protectionism so far has helped him stay in the game. He does lose a bit of win equity if Davie makes it to the end with him, but we’ll see how things shake out.

Gabby Pascuzzi (UTR1): We did not see a lot of Gabby this week, although she had a fairly strong edit in the previous episode setting up the actions of this past week. Gabby has been underestimated throughout the game. Even Mike suggested she couldn’t get an army to follow her into battle.

Here’s the thing; Mike also suggested Carl and Davie couldn’t surmount an insurrection; just like Alec previously hinted at after the Natalia vote. The Goliath overconfidence is an ongoing theme that fits the theme of the biblical story of the season’s name, and each time the Davids benefit from the opposite. Could we see Gabby pick up the pieces following this crazy Tribal Council? She did say she plays smart just as Dan dropped the sandbag and lost reward for his team …

Kara Kay (UTR1): Kara was one of two Goliath players shielded from the negativity surrounding the team’s epic blowup. Since Alison’s winner edit has been dead for weeks, we have to ask why Kara was so quiet in relation to Dan Rengering’s slow demise. The only answer, armed with the knowledge that Kara separates herself from Dan this week, is that Kara is about to step out and play this game on her own.

Since we’ve been reminded about where Kara stands in episodes where she’s not necessary to the plot, we could see Kara’s charm factor play into the events of this episode. Even then, her potential winner edit is so thin in Survivor: David vs. Goliath that she needs to showcase social clout and strategic prowess by the end of the coming episode or else she might be out of contention.

Mike White (CP4): If Mike was successful last episode, he would likely be one of the top contenders for the rest of the season. You don’t get a cool drone montage of strategic merit, get the vote right and put yourself in control of the rest of the game without doing so. However, he was wrong to suggest Gabby wasn’t true to the alliance, he was wrong to target Christian so early, and he was wrong to go to Alec to do so. Now his days are numbered.

Alec Merlino (CP3): Once again, Alec is in the middle of the merge action even if he’s not the catalyst of the big moves. Even by displacing trust within the Goliaths and letting Nick decide what to do, he’s showing that he can play the game with a subtle edge. However, he’s been counter-productive to the Goliaths, and they will likely outnumber the Davids on the jury, meaning his betrayal will catch up with him in the end (if not sooner).

Angelina Keeley (CPN5): Though I hesitated to give her an M-tone for her feminist comments about men getting credit and respect for the prior decisions of women players in Survivor, the edit’s tone didn’t reflect that. In fact, all we saw was everyone agreeing that she can’t be trusted, that she’s overbearing to the point of guilting others into using an idol on her and that even then, she’s still micromanaging the act of handing over the idol.

The edit piled on Angelina, although in an interesting way to give her an edge of sympathy.

Davie Rickenbacker (MOR4): Despite contemplating the actions of an event that would change Survivor: David vs. Goliath‘s foundations, Davie was edited in only as a necessary means. Whether he was a Kappa staff-wielding distraction or a vessel for a Hidden Immunity Idol, Davie’s personality shone through, but his impact and his decisions were middling.

Davie being on this season is a net positive, but after a silent, invisible merge episode, I can’t help but feel like he’s here mostly for his winning personality.

Alison Raybould (UTR1): Same old, same old for Alison Raybould; getting in a few words, then getting out. Here, she was part of the “I don’t trust Angelina” quick-cut edit with a confessional and an oddly gross cut of her spitting out water from her canteen. She’s still the most under-edited active character of the season, and she will likely stay as such until she is voted out.

Dan Rengering (MORM4): Though Dan suffered from the blowback of the Tribal Council and will likely be edited negatively from here on out, I gave Dan a MORM4 edit for a few reasons. First, his negativity was mostly from Angelina, who bashed him at the Reward Challenge but praised him as her angel after he used an idol on her. The second tinge of positivity came from the Immunity Challenge, with Dan following in the footsteps of his “hero,” Brad Culpepper, in winning the challenge.

I’m sure Dan’s edit is all downhill from here, but he offered straightforward introspect in a non-complex way, with positivity and negativity driven mostly from one character.

Carl Boudreaux (UTR2): Carl entered into a partnership with Nick due to Davie being buddies with him, and he stumbled into something bigger. He shared his Idol Nullifier information for no reason other than to set up future content and was completely out of Nick’s post-Immunity discussions. That doesn’t mean that Carl’s use within the story doesn’t have a future beat; it’s just not a winning beat.

John Hennigan (UTR2): The Mayor of Slamtown has been slammed. Him being underedited in his elimination episode was emblematic of his edit; better and more reserved than you would expect. He did get the narrative hubris payoff by calling the #BrochachoBlindside and saying “You Get What You Give” (the episode title) before getting the “s—” that Alec predicted, but everyone was sad to see him go.

You could glean positivity from the ending seconds. However, to me, it read more like everyone trying to secure a jury vote from a player just a few players knew was going home. I think the Comptroller of Slamtown won his vote, too.