Survivor: Palau, Episode 9 MVP: One Singular Sensation

Imagine: You’re on Survivor, and your tribe has been picked off one by one. You join the other tribe, and although they seem to be happy to see you, can you really trust them? Especially because you’re a physical threat and have dominated challenges, thus making you exactly the kind of person who is usually an early boot, post-merge. And then you lose immunity, throwing it away for half a pizza. You’d be wise to pack all of your stuff before tribal council, because chances are, you’ll be voted out, right?

Not if you’re Stephenie.

Stephenie went from being the ultimate outsider to being the ultimate insider in the Koror tribe. That earned her yet another MVP trophy. Let’s look at why she deserves the honors this week.

Alone at Ulong, Stephenie continued to work hard, rather than just moping on the beach and praying for a merge. She tended the fire, got coconut, and even tried to go fishing by herself. That’s impressive determination!

Once she arrived at Koror, Stephenie found herself the belle of the ball. First Jenn and Katie wanted to talk to her, then Coby pulled her aside and gave her all of the dirt on the inner politics of Koror. As soon as he let her loose, Jenn and Katie grabbed her again. Finally, Tom chatted her up about a final four alliance. Wow, what’s a girl to do?

Stephenie was understandably wary. Who should she believe? And what if all of it was a ruse to make her feel safe, then give her the axe? She was right to be concerned, but on the other hand, if so many different factions of the tribe all got together and told her different stories and all asked her to join them, it seems unlikely that they actually managed to coordinate those efforts ahead of time on the off chance that she’d be joining their tribe.

Nevertheless, Stephenie made a strong attempt to win immunity… until Jeff Probst busted out the pizza. It could have been a huge mistake to give up immunity, and indeed, that’s the only misstep our MVP had this week. She explained at tribal council that she didn’t think she could beat Tom. She was probably right – Tom is very strong, and this way, at least she got some food out of it. And if you’re going to risk your well-being for some food, at least do it for something with some protein in it, not doughnuts or cookies.

In the end, Stephenie was very safe at tribal council. She got only one vote, from Janu, who seems to be completely out of the loop – and was stunned to not be voted out herself. She’s in a great position politically, and now all she has to do is choose a side to avoid the fate of Christie in Survivor: Amazon. Well done, and well deserved, Stephenie.

Next week, someone winds up on an island alone. If it’s Stephenie again can she take it? I bet she could! See you then.

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out these other Survivor: Palau Episode 9 articles:

Betsy Wasser is the Associate Editor of Reality News Online. She can be reached with comments and MVP nominations at betsywasser@gmail.com .

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