Survivor: Guatemala, Episode 12 MVP: Sold!

If you had asked me who would go home in Episode 12 of Survivor: Guatemala, I wouldn’t have hesitated: Danni. I like her, and there were other players I’d prefer to see go first, but I figured she was out of options. The other two members of her alliance, Bobby Jon and Gary, were already gone. She and Gary had already gotten lucky for one week as the formerly strong six eliminated Jamie. And she’d yet to be even a credible threat to win an individual immunity, so this was bound to be the end for her. But in this episode, Danni played so incredibly well that not only is she still in the game, but she is also this week’s MVP.

Danni’s first good move was to take advantage of the classic Survivor auction. She got a bargain with her beef jerky. I don’t think most people out in the wild crave beef jerky (with the possible exception of Kel in Survivor: Outback), so she got it for cheap. Cheap though it may have been, it was a decent source of protein and probably sustained her much better than, say, Cindy’s milk and cookies. Then she got more to eat, splitting a sandwich and fries with another player. But even more valuable than food was the $200 Danni paid for an advantage in the immunity challenge.

Jeff did explain that the advantage wouldn’t necessarily be enough to win immunity. But Danni knew that immunity was her only real shot at staying in the game, so she was very smart to buy that advantage. Then when the challenge started, she used it to her benefit. You might argue that she’d have been better off if she had waited until she didn’t have any moves left before she used her “switch with another player” card, but you can’t argue with the results- Danni won immunity.

Here’s where things got even more interesting. I thought that when Danni won immunity, the choice of the five would be pretty simple- they’d eliminate Lydia. Judd, Stephenie, Cindy, and Rafe were tight as a final four, so voting out Lydia one tribal council early was no big deal. But those four weren’t as tight as they appeared, and it didn’t take much discussion for Stephenie and Rafe to decide to vote out Judd. I won’t go so far as to say that Danni engineered Judd’s ouster, because she didn’t (though she helped), but the fact of the matter is, it happened, and now Danni is in an even stronger position than she was before.

Cindy, for example, didn’t know that the rest of her alliance was turning on Judd. Danni might be wise to try to align with her, suggesting that otherwise, she’s next. At the same time, formerly meek player Lydia is starting to assert herself. She realized her position in the tribe wasn’t a strong one, so she worked to better herself. Danni might want to talk to Lydia about a final two alliance, pointing out where Lydia is in the pecking order with Steph and Rafe.

Of course, it’s entirely possible that this advantage will fall apart in the next few days at camp, but for now, Danni has a fantastic opportunity to go much farther than she thought she could. She played this part of the game just about perfectly, and for that reason, she is this week’s Most Valuable Player.

Betsy Wasser is the Associate Editor of Reality News Online. She can be reached with any feedback or MVP nominations at betsywasser@gmailcom

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