Shan had to make a big decision on this week’s episode but did she choose wisely?
“Do I bring the strategist or do I bring the loyalist?
Hold on a second.
The Ua tribe on ‘Survivor 41’.Robert Voets/CBS
That wasn’t fair, and that wasn’t nice.
I take that back.
The Jaguars after enduring the second-longest losing streak in NFL history actuallywonthis past week.
Naseer Muttalif on ‘Survivor 41’.Robert Voets/CBS
I mean, they had to leave the country to do it, but they still won.
Not so with Ua.
Nothing wrong with that.
Ricard Foye on ‘Survivor 41’.Robert Voets/CBS
But did Shan make the right decision in keeping Ricard?
I tend to think no, and the conversations between Shan and Ricard illustrate exactly why.
Here’s the thing: Both Shan and Ricard consider themselves cutthroat players.
Genie Chen on ‘Survivor 41’.Robert Voets/CBS
Shan even refers to herself as an assassin and gave herself a goofy assassin’s theme song.
But two assassins can only play together for so long.
you might’t have two alphas vying for the same prize.
You heard Ricard in this episode.
And so did Shan.
It’s simple: If you are Ricard, at some point you have to get rid of Shan.
you might’t go to the end with her.
My guess is that he knows that.
And if he knows it, then Shan should know it too.
Which is why you keep Genie.
So why wouldn’t you keep her over Ricard?
She is someone you’re free to use and someone you’re free to beat.
Ricard is too good!
Ricard is too smart!
That’s the person you nurture and keep on your side.
Ricard and Shan have been allies because their alliance has been mutually beneficial.
But what about when it isn’t?
Only one person wins the million dollars.
By keeping Ricard around, she has given him the opportunity to do the same thing to her.
We’ll see who is humming the evil theme song last.
Okay, here’s what else went down this week.
He then made the mistake of telling Sydney, who was an ally of D&D.
Because it is dumb.
And I don’t want to root for dumb people doing dumb things.
Or we could focus on Liana going though Xander’s bag to find his advantage and idol info.
But we’re not going to focus on any of that.
Over and over she went.
Hell, I haven’t seen that much eye-rolling since I once rankedSurvivor: Caramoanas a top 10 season.
Well, that’s not entirely true.
Many challengers have come and gone, attempting to surpass Eliza as the most expressive juror of all time.
If this week’s episode was any indication, Tiffany stands a decent shot at dethroning the queen.
Of course, that didn’t last.
(By the way, Unleashing the Idols is the name of my newSurvivor-themed death-metal band.)
It was fun enough, as Yase and Luvu gained immunity as well as some tarps.
The big problem has been these advantage- and idol-dispensing prisoners' dilemmas.
As for this specific advantage…
However, I get the sense that Genie is a solid individual.
We know she worked hard around camp and seemed to be generally liked by folks.
She just wasn’t as flashy as the others, which explains why she received far less screen time.
And for moreSurvivormusings, be sure to follow me on the Twitter@daltonrossand the Instagram@thedaltonross.
