Survivor: David vs. Goliath episode 9: The David advantage

In one Tribal Council, the Davids used two advantages to vote out Dan on Survivor: David vs. Goliath. Did they really need to use both in one night?

One of the most enjoyable scenes of Survivor: David vs. Goliath was watching the Davids talk to each other on the beach, revealing the advantages they found. It was really cool seeing them discuss as a tribe which one of their tools they should use and when.

When it came time for Tribal Council, Nick used his Vote Steal advantage on Alison, and Carl played his Idol Nullifier on Dan. Carl’s successful use of the Idol Nullifier made for a historic moment in the game of Survivor.

On the other hand, based solely on the final outcome, the Vote Steal didn’t change the vote. So was this a mental mistake by Nick or an over-conservative call by his alliance? Well, let’s breakdown the advantages that the Davids had and analyze how they used them.

Carl’s Idol Nullifier

Out of the three weapons the Davids possessed, Carl’s Idol Nullifier made the most sense to play. The Nullifier is a situational advantage, meaning that it works best only under perfect circumstances, and the situation was just right during the last Tribal Council.

First, you need to know who has an idol, and who they would play it for. Based on Kara’s conversation with Gabby and Nick, it became fairly clear that there was a good chance Dan had another idol. If the Davids wanted to vote out a big threat in Dan, Kara’s conversation was a key hint to use the Nullifier to ensure Dan would go home.

The other important part of using the Nullifier successfully is the need to have the numbers. The Davids decided to get the numbers by using the Vote Steal. Their thought process was if the Goliaths voted together, their six votes would still surpass the Davids’ five votes for Dan. Little did they know that Kara and Alec would stick to their plan of voting for Angelina.

Nick’s Vote Steal

That brings us to the Vote Steal advantage. Nick played this weapon just before it was time to vote, choosing to steal Alison’s piece of parchment. The final result was: five votes for Dan, three votes for Angelina and three votes for Christian. Nick voted for Dan, and with his extra vote, he wrote down Angelina’s name.

So it didn’t matter if Nick played his advantage or not, with Carl’s Nullifier, Dan was going home no matter what. Does that mean Nick just wasted his advantage? Not necessarily. It’s so hard to tell where the Goliaths were going to vote. As much as Kara’s plea to split votes between Dan and Angelina was genuine, you couldn’t know for sure that the Goliaths weren’t going to vote together.

For all we know, Kara, Alec, and Alison might have come into Tribal Council with the plan to vote out Christian. So Nick announcing his Vote Steal advantage may have scared Alec and Kara into voting Angelina. While Nick’s idea to use the Vote Steal wasn’t a bad one, the questionable part was who he chose to steal from.

It would have made more sense to steal either Dan or Angelina’s vote since Nick knew for sure that they weren’t voting with the Davids. There’s a good chance that Alison would have voted for the exact same person as Nick did with the extra vote, which was Angelina. Hopefully, Nick will explain to us during the next episode why he stole Alison’s vote.

Christian’s Hidden Immunity Idol

Another way the Davids could have avoided Christian going home was by having him play another idol for himself. That way, they could have let Angelina take the votes or use the Nullifier to send Dan home instead.

Either way, it would have been a waste to use an idol in this situation when they had the Vote Steal advantage. Out of the three tools the Davids possessed, the Hidden Immunity Idol holds the most power and is useful in a wider variety of situations.

Overall, the Davids handled their advantages cautiously but effectively during last Tribal Council. It will be interesting to see if they will continue to handle Christian’s idol and other advantages they may find in the same collaborative manner.