The tribal council in Survivor 47 episode 9, "Nightmare Fuel," was one of the most chaotic tribal councils we've seen on Survivor in a long time! Not all of the Survivor 47 players engaged in the chaos. One of those players was Caroline Vidmar.
Jeff Probst and Charlie Davis discussed Caroline's strong performance during tribal council on the new episode of the On Fire with Jeff Probst podcast.
During the episode, Jay Wolff asked Jeff and Charlie about answering questions at tribal council and if Jeff got frustrated when there were side conversations being had. After Jeff said that he didn't mind at all and that he actually encourages the players not to vote until they are ready, Charlie heaped praise on Caroline for using her time at tribal council to signal to her alliance that everything was fine and they needed to "stick to the plan" throughout the chaos.
"So, let's dissect what she (Caroline) said, 'Chaos is beneficial for people in a bad spot'," Charlie said. "That could just be an observation, of course, but it's also gameplay. Caroline is signaling to the people who she wants to vote with her, saying 'Don't let the chaos win. Stick to the plan. You're going to help someone else's game. Someone else is in trouble, and they're trying to not be in trouble. Keep them in trouble'."
Honestly, it's a fascinating answer, and it's a total power move from Caroline. No, she hasn't, on the surface, made a lot of big moves in the game so far or moves that she can, alone, claim. But, this is control if I've ever seen it on Survivor. She knew exactly how to play every single player in the game to pull off a unanimous vote against Sol Yi.
Caroline wasn't alone. Genevieve Mushaluk echoed Caroline's calm, but Caroline might be the most influential player in the game right now, based on how she played that last vote. Inside, she might have been worried, but she did not waver at all.
"The inexperience player or unprepared player can get burned," Jeff said. "The smart player, the prepared player, knows how to do what Charlie's basically saying Caroline just did. Which is to take that question and use it as a weapon."
I couldn't agree more! And, while we've seen this level of gameplay in Survivor before, we haven't necessarily seen this in Survivor 47. We're getting to the point in the game where players need to make some bold plays to stand out from the rest of the pack. It's a close game so far, and these little examples of brilliant gameplay, just like how Rachel LaMont did in episode 8 at tribal council by playing her Shot in the Dark, are going to be what makes the difference in the game.
"You just got to be courageous enough to say anything you ask me, I know how to get where I want to go," Jeff finished.
I think we know where Caroline and Genevieve are going in Survivor 47! What about the rest of the players? We'll find out soon!