We’re still fairly early into the merge of Survivor: Island of the Idols, and this week’s episode will go a long way in shaping up the dynamics for the rest of the season.
From the serious issues in the merge episode to the double Tribal Council last week, the merge hasn’t fully sunk in yet. Now that there’s nine people left in Survivor: Island of the Idols, the game will start to pick-up and we might even see more structure develop for each vote. Here are three stories to watch in tonight’s episode.
1) Can the last tight duo survive?
Last Tribal Council broke up the pairings of Missy and Elizabeth, as well as Aaron and Missy. Ever since Chelsea got voted out with the suspicion of a showmance, close partnerships have been targeted this season. At this point, there’s really only one strong pairing left; Lauren and Tommy.
They’ve been together since Day 1 and are both playing great social games, expanding their influence. Although Missy wasn’t able to successfully blindside Tommy, it became common knowledge to her and Elizabeth that this strong pair needed to be separated. We’ll have to see if Elizabeth will be able to convince the rest of the castaways to break them up, or if Tommy and Lauren can take control of this game.
2) Can any “goats” turn into strong players?
The preview reaffirmed the fact that the “goats” or outsiders are banding together to take control over the game. With a lot of the big threats already gone, many of the remaining castaways might be perceived as good players to bring to the end. That said, there’s still plenty of more Survivor left to play, so it will be interesting to see if people like Karishma, Dean and Noura can gain the respect of the jury within the next five votes.
3) Old Lairo is in trouble
It seems like voting blocs have emerged in Island of the Idols, but that still doesn’t wipe away the potential of old tribal lines re-emerging. With back to back Lairo members getting their torches snuffed last week, original Vokai has the majority once again. Now that those two separate groups from last week are back together, who knows what alliances will form tonight.