4 Survivor 47 players playing the best game at the merge
By Bryce Olin
We're basically halfway through Survivor 47, and a few players are playing better games than others. That's bound to stir up some drama because the tribes merged in Survivor 47 episode 6, which aired on Wednesday, Oct. 23, and there are only 12 players left. !
We shared the four Survivor 47 players who are playing the best right now! Let's get the list started with Genevieve Mushaluk!
Genevieve Mushaluk
Genevieve is responsible for one of the two biggest moves in the game so far. I think Kishan Patel was the biggest threat voted out of the game so far, and Genevieve is the mastermind behind that vote. She even did it in a way that made Rome Cooney feel like he was responsible for the move, which was brilliant. It speaks to Genevieve's instincts. She knew Kishan was a threat, allied with the threat, and then waited for the perfect opportunity to remove the threat without blowing up her own game in the process. She also gained the trust of every single person in her tribe, which should be huge beyond the merge.
Speaking of instincts, Genevieve is the only player in Survivor 47 who noticed something was out of place at camp and went exploring. She got the advantage in the immunity challenge, which resulted in her sitting out an incredibly difficult challenge and enjoying a meal. No, she didn't win this immunity, but she did make a huge move, ate, and sat out a grueling challenge. Who knows the toll that will take?
I'm expecting Genevieve to continue to make alliances and build relationships. To me, she is the biggest threat from a strategic perspective. She's thinking about the game in ways that I don't think the other players are right now.
Kyle Ostwald
Heading into the merge, I thought Kyle was a threat to win the game, but I didn't think that he was going to be this big of a threat. In challenges, Sam Phalen and Kyle are likely the biggest physical threats remaining. They tag-teamed the maze at the end of the first leg of the immunity challenge, and then Kyle went on to win individual immunity on a balancing and strength challenge. If Kyle can continue to win challenges or has that in his back pocket when the target shifts to him, he's going to be in a good spot.
Socially, I also think Kyle is a genuinely good, friendly person. Rome made a huge mistake targetting Kyle in episode 6. His tribe knew that Rome was feeding them lies because they have spent the last two weeks learning what kind of person Kyle is, and they knew he wouldn't just immediately flip on them or throw them under the bus.
Strategically, I don't think we've seen Kyle play that part of the game as much yet because his tribe has won A LOT of challenges. So, this is the part of the game that's still an unknown, but if Kyle is even half as good strategically as he is physically and socially, he's going to make a deep run this season.
Sierra Wright
I wasn't sure if I would put Sam or Sierra in this spot, but after what happened in episode 6 and the previews we've seen of episode 7, Sierra is playing the better game than Sam.
Sierra and Sam have been allies since Day 1 on the Gata tribe. While Sam and Sierra were both allied with Anika Dhar and Rachel LaMont, Sierra had a much closer bond. She walked the line as far as she could when she made the decision, with Sam, to blindside Anika and keep Andy. Although we saw Sam walk through the decision, it was much more on Sierra to make the move because she was much closer to Anika and Rachel than Sam was. Overall, she deserves the most credit for one of the biggest moves in the game so far in voting out Anika.
Beyond that, Sierra was the one who talked Sam into keeping his hidden immunity idol instead of playing it to save himself and betraying Andy's trust. By the looks of things, Sam went and did that by himself in episode 6 when he told Sol Yi that he'd rather play with him than Andy, which has now circled back to Andy. Sierra might be in trouble if she stays with Sam, but she has a lot of prospects in the game, and I think she's destined for a deep run based on how she's been playing.
Caroline Vidmar
Caroline deserves a lot of credit for how she's played Survivor so far. She hasn't been behind a lot of the big moves or major moments, but I think that's by design. Her game feels like it's to stay out of the drama, make smart, calculated decisions, and build strong enough relationships to get her to the end.
So far, it's working. Caroline has a great ally in Sue Smey. Caroline also tried to keep the Tuku tribe together during some moments of chaos, which is a smart move given that their tribe has the most players left. If they stayed together as a strong five, they could be the final five at this point in the game.
Beyond that, Caroline figured out that Sue has an idol. For some reason, Sue didn't tell her, but Caroline and Tiyana were smart enough to figure out what happened with Sue, the red paint, and the idol.
The social game is where I see Caroline thriving so far, probably better than any other player in the game. Caroline has connections with everyone, and she's building rapport with others. After the challenge, Caroline and Tiyana teamed up to keep Rome happy to make sure he didn't grow suspicious of a blindside. Those skills will come in handy again.
Caroline also navigated a tricky situation with the amulets. Teeny Chirichillo, Caroline, and Andy teamed up to play their amulet advantage and remove the target from their backs in the first challenge they were able to do so. It was a very smart move, for sure.
Now, the real part of the game begins. Yes, any of these four players could get voted out in the next episode, but I feel like it's worth mentioning who has been playing the best up to this point in the game.
We'll see what happens in Survivor 47 episode 7 on Wednesday, Oct. 30!