Survivor: China – Advice for The Remaining 9

We learned a few things this week. Because Jeff said that Jaime is on the jury, we can expect there will be three contestants at the final tribal council. We learned that several players are trying to improve their place in the game, but only some have been successful. And, we learned how delightful it is to watch someone present a false idol that Jeff disdainfully tosses into the fire!

With the merge over and Fei Long now in control of the game, game play over the next couple of weeks seems straightforward. But is it? Here’s my weekly trivia question: How many winners of the game entered the merge in a numerically inferior position, based on the tribe they were on at the time of the merge? Drag your cursor between the square brackets to see the answer. [ The answer is three. The first was All-Stars’Amber, who entered the merge outnumbered 4-5. However, Amber’s allies were on the other tribe due to a very recent swap, so her situation barely qualifies. The second time was in Survivor: Guatemala, where Danni came into her merge down 4-6, was never in a majority group, and executed a miracle I’m still not sure I understand. Finally, in Survivor: Cook Islands, after the mutiny, Yul’s group had made nice progress trimming down their foes, but he was still outnumbered 4-5 at the formal merge. If you thought of Chris from Survivor: Vanuatu, nope. Men were indeed outnumbered by women (4-6) in this gender-based season, but a pre-merge swap had the numbers officially even between the two tribes. ]

But now, it’s time to set the trivia aside and take a look at what each player should be doing in order to advance in this version of the game. It’s advice for the remaining nine!

Todd: Todd, you had a pretty good week. Everyone who matters saw you act like the sole adult while talking to Courtney, which should inspire a little confidence among your supporters. Jean-Robert may be a pain, but you are correctly acting like his friend and using his vote to help gain your objectives, and Frosti and James fall in the same category. However, the idea of going after James and his immunity idols next week could upset all that. Instead, I suggest you ask him to return the one idol that is rightfully yours, preferably in front of the rest of the alliance.

The game is going your way, but gosh, you need to stay calm and try to limit those panicky responses to situations that can be handled with a little cerebral effort. If you can get Amanda to handle some of the backstabbing, it will improve your chances in the endgame. Be aware that there is a chance of a coup in three or four episodes, so keep the others from comparing notes if you can, because it seems like there are several who think they are in your final three.

Amanda: Well done. You focused on the primary threat and got the others to see things your way. Using a Survivor: Guatemala reference, keep playing “Rafe” to Todd’s “Stephenie,” where it’s your plans that are executed while he catches all the flak. My first suggestion is to make sure that Todd stays in the game and remains the lightning rod for the ire of players on the periphery of your alliance who need to go soon.

The next step is to get rid of either Erik (preferred) or Peih-Gee to insure the numbers are secure, then cut one of the battling outsiders (Jean-Robert and Courtney – I say the latter) to curtail the unnecessary drama and restore some peace in camp. Things will heat up enough without dealing with that distraction!

Denise: I admit I got your advice wrong last week, as you are already solidly in the Todd alliance. Your ties to James or even Jean-Robert need not be discarded yet, though, and if you can wrangle your way to the endgame, you might collect both those votes. Things are going well for you, though the only way I think you’ll ever see another reward is if Probst gives some other winner the chance to take you along with them. Ride out your current position, but be ready to join an uprising against Todd and Amanda sometime around the final five vote.

Frosti: You ought to be safe for a few weeks, so instead of worrying about getting booted, try and work your way deeper into the primary alliance. You might have already worked your way past Jean-Robert and Courtney, but to get to the final three, you need to get past at least one more or win immunity at that time. As with Denise, a late-game flip against Todd may be a better route to get to the end game. One last suggestion – did you see that Jaime was taken out largely due to her close ties with Erik? Obvious duos are targets in this game, so cool it with the strategically-challenged blonde whose place on the ladder you’ve already passed.

James: The two immunity idols you hold are the biggest advantage a player has ever had in this game. They also make you a target, and Todd seems to be scheming to oust you next week, to get those idols out of the game. If you sense this is going on, you may have to play one. If so, as you do, inform Jeff, “I’m playing an idol Todd gave to me!” Remember, Yul got the more mileage out of his hidden idol by merely threatening to play it.

You are about the only person Jean-Robert can still have a semi-normal conversation with, but as you noted in tribal council, he’s a concern that you might want to separate yourself from. Keep your hands on both those immunity idols, as you may have to play them soon if you can’t win immunity. Terry from Survivor: Exile Islandshowed an extended immunity string is possible, and this crowd is no match for you physically. It’s a tough way to play, but if anyone can do it, you can.

Jean-Robert: Tribal Council offered you the exact advice I want to, Jean-Robert: shut up! Or to put it more politely, when in doubt, say nothing. Your pronouncements are getting on your allies’ nerves, and although your dependable voting ought to get you deep into the game, you are just asking for a “Jerri Manthey vote.” (For newer readers, that refers to a situation that arose in Survivor: Australia, where Jerri’s alliance was so annoyed with her personality that they stopped Pagonging the minority tribe for a week, just so they could get rid of her.)