Once again on Survivor: Edge of Extinction, Wardog successfully gathered his troops to vote out another big threat.
Wardog has mastered two skills this season. Being the first player to get eliminated from a challenge, and crafting a blindside. For the third time post-merge in Survivor: Edge of Extinction, Wardog has decided who he wanted out, and then made it happen.
This week’s blindside was definitely Wardog’s most impressive move. Blindsiding Kama members including Eric and Julia are one thing, dethroning a kingpin within your own alliance is another. This is especially true when you consider who Wardog targeted.
Kelley Wentworth isn’t simply a three-time player. She has left her mark on Survivor, mostly due to her memorable idol plays. What made those moments so memorable was her perfect timing and the element of surprise. No one knew about her idols in Second Chance, and she knew exactly when to play them.
That skillset didn’t go unnoticed by Wardog. He understood that the initial plan of voting out Aurora didn’t make sense when they could take out someone who has a good shot of winning the game. He knew that he had to be exceedingly stealthy to pull this off, even without knowing that she had an idol. And that’s when Wardog went into full game mode.
His brief conversations with Aurora, Victoria and Devens were key. He understood who he needed to persuade, and how much time he needed to spend convincing each person. That time factor was essential with swinging Ron to his side.
Ron’s position in this game has changed the most. From being the “Puppet Master” on a dominant Kama alliance, to losing his closest allies and even being forced to vote against one. Wardog took that lack of stability into consideration and made the time to explain to Ron why it was the night to go after Kelley.
Not only did Wardog get the numbers to sway the votes, but he also kept Wentworth feeling comfortable. For basically this entire season, he has expressed his loyalty with the Lesu 3, so when he spoke about that at Tribal Council it didn’t come out forced. He chose his words effectively, preventing Wentworth from getting whiffs of his plan.
However, this move might not pay off for him in the long run. If the jury voted right now for a winner, Wardog has the best resume to be the Sole Survivor. The problem is that there are still eight people remaining, and now he becomes a threat to take out, so he may have peaked a little too early. Whatever happens, it doesn’t take away from Wardog’s perfectly executed blindside of one the greatest female Survivor players in recent years.