Survivor: Vanuatu, Episode 3 MVPs: All About Immunity

We’ve seen lots of little twists and turns in Survivor. We’ve seen two tribal councils in one night. We’ve seen a player spending a day with the opposing tribe. And we’ve seen a player giving immunity to another player. But we’ve never seen all of these twists all at once. The best Survivor players need to be able to adapt quickly to any surprises that might be thrown at them. I think this week’s MVPs did just that.

For the Lopevi tribe, immunity winner John K. played the game the best this week. John K. knew that as a strong, young man, he was a likely target at tribal council. He fought hard to get that immunity, and he succeeded. Then, when he got to the women’s camp, he wasted no time in learning the dynamics of their tribe. He saw how the tribes were divided, figured out who was in danger, and even got an idea of which players might be on the outs with the rest of the tribe – not that it would be hard to figure out that Eliza’s constant chatter could get old fast.

Once he got to tribal council, he gave immunity to Ami, saying that she didn’t need it and that Yassur would have to work things out on their own. At first I was surprised that he didn’t try to shake things up a little more by giving immunity to someone who was targeted, but after I thought about it, John’s decision makes sense. After all, none of the women offered him anything in exchange for immunity, so he literally had nothing to gain. His choice of Ami, then, was a good one. She’s young, strong, and part of a majority alliance, so she’ll likely make the merge and will remember him fondly. Plus, now that John K. knows all about the dynamics of the Yassur tribe, he can use his knowledge as leverage to stay around for a while longer. John K. was dealt an unexpected hand, and he played it well. For that reason, he is Lopevi’s MVP this week.

As for Yassur, I’m still not especially impressed with any of the players, but I do think that two of them deserve MVP recognition this time around. After all, if Probst can have two tribal councils, I can give two MVP awards to the women, right? Eliza was smart to get rid of the mercurial Dolly last week, but then she proved herself to be foolish this week by leaving the majority alliance and promising to vote again with the younger women. Eliza, it doesn’t matter which group you’re friends with – it matters which group has more votes. And you’ve now jumped ship twice, so you’re looking as unreliable as Dolly. But Eliza’s dumb move was Lisa’s gain. Lisa saw the slot in the burly girl alliance, ditched the younger women, and voted with them. She is now in a much more secure position than she was before, and gets one half of the MVP crown.

The other smart player this week was Ami. It was pure luck on her part that John gave her immunity – it could have easily been someone else, and it’s not like Ami campaigned for that immunity necklace. But once she had it, she took advantage of her newfound safety to talk candidly to Twila. Twila is a member of Ami’s majority alliance, but she’s still on rather shaky ground. Twila is having a lot of trouble fitting in with the all female Yassur tribe, by her own admission. Post-merge, the men might have an easy time getting some other women to vote her out, if she even survives that long. Ami gave her some good advice – discover your inner feminine side, make friends, and let the other girls French braid your hair. I got an email from a reader saying that Ami’s suggestion was condescending and obnoxious, but I don’t agree. Ami gave Twila some good advice that could keep her in the game and keep Ami’s own alliance strong. Still not sure if telling Twila how to act was a good idea? Then read Mark Burnett’s book about the first season of Survivor. Very early on, Kelly talked to Richard Hatch and advised him to be a little less bossy to the rest of the tribe, because he was getting on people’s nerves. Richard took her advice, won the game, and became a legendary Survivor player.

One big twist, two tribal councils, two individual immunities, and three MVPs. Congratulations to John, Lisa, and Ami. All three of you played well this week and had the opportunity to gain an advantage in the game. I can’t wait to see how well you use it.

Betsy is the Associate Editor of RealityNewsOnline and can be reached with any comments at betsyw42@hotmail.com.

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