Survivor: Cook Islands – Advice for the Remaining 9

It always amazes me how often Survivors ask the wrong questions when it comes time to vote somebody out of the tribe. In the last episode, Rebecca was jettisoned as the tribe felt she was an anchor in challenges, while Jonathan was kept because he worked hard catching fish and feeding the tribe. While both of these are valid reasons, the most important factor is which people are a part of the game plan to advance in the game. The original Raro tribe gained total control over the vote when Brad was eliminated. Nate might regret that move as he’s the only person left of the tribe who wasn’t originally a part of Raro.

Aitu has not lost a single challenge since Jonathan and Candice declared mutiny, and most of the time it hasn’t been close. The irony is that despite all their losses, Raro still outnumbers them. In addition, while they are teaching Candice a lesson by sending her to Exile Island, they may have inadvertently helped her by keeping her away from Adam. They appear to be going into full couple mode. If that had happened earlier, perhaps the tribe would have solved their couple problem by voting one of them out.

The double elimination was an interesting twist which caught the tribe off-guard. Nate and Jenny had no time to cut a deal with anybody, and Jenny found herself sent to jury duty. However, it leaves Nate in a very interesting situation. He has extremely good options if he plays his cards right. Then again, the tribe might be full of strategic nitwits (to quote Shii Ann, “Stupid, stupid people”) and vote him out.

Regarding the challenges, I think the puzzle aspect has been overused this season, whether it is dig stuff up and solve a puzzle, or swim out somewhere to get objects and then solve a puzzle. I like puzzles as much as the next person, but it seems like there have been only minor variations in some of the challenges this season. The one thing I didn’t understand was why the Survivors didn’t arrange the swimmers so that the strongest ones went for the pieces that were the furthest away. Teams should always play to the strengths of their members.

Two more have made the jury, and nine Survivors remain. What should each of them be doing to advance in the game? It’s advice for the remaining nine.

Aitu: Your tribe has done very well in challenges and has a close bond, but you are still outnumbered. If you merge, you’ll need to find the fifth vote in order to take control of the tribe. That person is Nate. If you can convince him the four original Raro members are just going to use him, he might be willing to take a new deal.

Yul: There are many ways to use the hidden immunity idol, but I think it would be a serious mistake to give it away. Even if you merge and you pass it to a likely target (Ozzy), four votes still doesn’t control the tribe; it still takes five to control the vote when eight are left. In addition, it leaves you vulnerable down the line. Keep the idol and use it to save yourself if you are in a bad post-merge situation.

Becky: If you merge, I’d advise you to do everything you can to win immunity, or at least keep it out of Ozzy’s hands. If Ozzy is wearing individual immunity, your position becomes bad as I think you’d be a target. If Raro suspects Yul holds the talisman and Ozzy is wearing immunity, the two targets are you and Sundra, and I think you’re the tougher of the two.

Sundra: If you merge, your position probably allows you to buy a bit of extra time, as I don’t think you would be the first target of the Aitu tribe members. Your biggest job will be to try to recruit Nate, as you were on his original tribe and might be able to sell him on the idea of everybody against the original Raro tribe. Good luck.

Ozzy: Right now, you’re the likely target if the tribes merge, so you need to go all out to win individual immunity. While you’ve been a great food provider on Aitu, Jonathan has proven to Raro that he can also feed the tribe, so that card is off the table. More than almost anybody else, you need to get one of the Raro members to defect if it comes to it.

Raro: Your tribe keeps losing immunity, but thanks to the mutiny of Jonathan and Candice, you still have the numbers if a merge hits. Your best strategy is to Pagong them, starting with Ozzy and leaving Yul until next to last, when you can try to split votes to force the hidden immunity idol out of the game and still get rid of an Aitu member. Any one of your tribe can win the money if you work together.

Nate: You have by far the most interesting position of any Survivor, as you control the fifth vote if there is a merge, and the third vote if there isn’t. If there is no merge, you need to talk to Parvati and Jonathan about the Adam/Candice situation. They are an unbreakable pair that won’t vote each other out, and the three of you can end that situation by taking one of them out. If there is a merge, you’ll probably be wanted for your vote and be approached by Aitu. Don’t take the deal. By sticking with Raro, you avoid making four jury enemies, and after all of the Aitu members are gone, you’ll be in an even better position to sell Jonathan and Parvati on breaking up Candice and Adam. While it may seem like you lost all your allies after the last vote, your position is extremely good.

Jonathan: You did a good job of filling the provider niche, which helped sell the tribe on keeping you around. You are now in a solid alliance of four people, and while that isn’t enough to control the vote, Nate has a solid position if he sticks with the plan shown above. Encourage the Adam/Candice romance. It can be used against them in the future.

Candice: I think you must have read Calvin and Hobbes, as Calvin’s father suggested that being miserable builds character. Honestly, I think Adam was the worst thing that could have happened to you on Survivor, as you made four enemies when you declared mutiny, and couples and Survivor don’t mix well. However, as you are stuck with the situation, you better use Jonathan’s belief that you are his tightest ally to make him your third vote. He’s your best bet as Nate doesn’t trust you and Parvati might be annoyed her flirting didn’t work as well as yours.

Parvati: You have a fairly good position and Candice and Adam are digging their own graves by coupling. All you need to do is work with Jonathan and Nate to break them up, and it keeps you safe for another vote, maybe two, as both members of a couple should be sent to the jury. See, this is the reason I told you before that flirting wasn’t the best strategy in the world. Learn something from it.

Adam: Candice is a very attractive girl, but she’s not worth losing the game over. Smart Survivors break up couples, and of the two, I’d vote you out first. See, Candice already has made four enemies on the jury, so I’d rather take her along to the end than you. Having already coupled, you need to find a third vote to ensure you remain part of a threesome that can control the vote. Jonathan is the most likely person, but you should sound out Nate and Parvati as well.

If you haven’t already, be sure to check out these other recent Survivor: Cook Islands articles here on RealityNewsOnline:

Jeffrey Clinard has been writing about Survivor since the second series, and has published over 100 articles about the show and given advice to nearly 150 different Survivors on RealityNewsOnline. He can be reached at realityfeedback@bookslv.com.

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