With Episode 9 of Survivor 47, we finally had what felt like a full merge vote with all three original tribes battling it out ... only for one player to again lose their vote, and a fun, chaotic tussle over the target eventually blandified itself into an 8-1 pile-on after extensive whispering.

The result was so close to being great: A big move, engineered by Genevieve, to continue her Sneaky Threat Elimination Plan (this would be STEP 2), lots of strategic back-and-forth in camp and at Tribal as the plan leaked and counter-plans were pitched, and in the end, a solid (and very popular) player was taken out. Genevieve's plan worked, even if it was "a shitshow" to get there. The shitshow was the fun part!

As with every new era episode, there was a LOT going on this episode before then. Some of it meh (the challenge, more on that below), some of it majestic (the journey task location, above), some of it tedious (a guaranteed lost vote, for no obvious reason). But in the end, the players themselves rose to the occasion and made the episode exciting, as they are wont to do.

A big theme of the new era has been production inserting large numbers of events and/or overly complicated mechanisms for getting through the episode, all of which mostly appears to be there to fill time, just in case the players are boring. Yet a constant of the new era has also been fantastic casting, chock full of game-aware people who just want to have fun and play Survivor. Maybe it might be good to trust those players occasionally? Or ... you could read through my extensive suggestions below, almost as complicated as the reward/punishment rules in the RC/IC this week. Take your pick!

Fixing the New Era multi-stage challenge

You could all but see production slapping itself on the back during this episode as people complained about: (1) Not being able to plan a blindside, because not everyone is in camp (Genevieve), and (2) The one person whose vote they needed ended up losing her vote (the Tukus, about Caroline). (Note: If you're a future Survivor contestant, your confessional will always make the cut if you're praising a twist or acting frustrated because it's ruining your big move.) The players cleared these hurdles, but the hurdles being there in the first place wasn't ideal.

The New Era multi-stage challenge (i.e. this week's RC/IC) has many problems. Most importantly, individual immunity should always be available to everyone - under their own power - in the post-merge, and this format takes that away. Having to get to the immunity stage as part of a pair/trio is deeply unfair. Individual immunity should always be that: individual. It's only a matter of time until someone who feels safe decides to game the system, and intentionally throws this challenge to blindside a "partner." For example: Sam was in trouble, and for some reason chose Andy as his partner (had Sam *seen* any of Gata's pre-merge challenges?), and the pair was out in the first stage. Can we be sure Andy didn't intentionally throw the challenge to take out Sam? (Yes, I know, they lost because of the ripped bag, but still.) As I asked back in Ep6, when it was six-person teams: Can't we just have separate reward and immunity challenges? It worked just fine for 40 seasons!

Also, the whole pairs-to-individual thing really isn't *that* exciting, but if it has to be done, why not make it for reward? Imagine the Colby-Jerri pairs challenge in The Australian Outback ending in a Colby-Jerri faceoff for the Barrier Reef trip, and let's say Jerri wins. Does she take the cowboy with her, or her BFF, Amber? How pissed would Colby be if it's the latter? What if Colby wins and takes Amber over Jerri?

(Realistically, this has no chance of happening, because the whole point of this type of challenge, seen since 43, is to fill up a lot of screen time. It's at least two separate challenges! But they couldn't then fit in another one for an individual IC, unless they got rid of the journey ... which they absolutely should.)

There are also several other problems with the overly complicated multi-stage challenge, chief among them being the people eliminated in the first stage losing their votes. Probst sells it is at creating "stakes" in the challenge. Not getting a food reward is stakes enough! Did you not see Gabe's near-catatonic bliss at finally getting food after 16 days? Please note that not one person missed anything when the "no vote" punishment was removed from this challenge in Survivor 46.

There was also a bit of sleight-of-hand going on with the journey, clearly intended to fool the audience into thinking it was fair: Initially the bottom two pairs all lost their votes (viewers: "Four lost votes?! That's bad!"), but they were later told they would have a chance to "earn it back." Rachel and Andy expected puzzles for that task (as in 45), where everyone would indeed have a shot to regain their vote. That was not the case. Instead, it was like the (also unfair) Ep1 journey in 46, where no matter what, one person was *guaranteed* to lose their vote. Most viewers saw three people getting their votes back, and said, "Phew, okay, that's better." No, it's not! Someone (1) missed out on food, (2) lost their vote, and (3) had no chance to win immunity! All because they and/or their partner performed poorly in one rinky-dink stage on a team challenge! Ugh.

A more general part of the problem is the show's insistence on having some big, different "event" in each post-merge episode in the new era. There's the split-Tribals episode, the auction episode, this episode with the multi-stage challenge, the rice negotiation episode (next week, sigh). There will probably be another journey episode for some reason. Just last season, many fans said, "Wow, the last five episodes of 46 were just (RC/) IC/ Tribal, just like classic Survivor! Why can't we have more of that?" To which production apparently said, "Eh, you'd get bored, trust us. We know better." Sigh.

Fixing the New Era multi-stage challenge, part 2: The vote

The other part of the equation is that production clearly enjoys screwing with the strategy by keeping the contestants separated as long as possible before Tribal. That's been a feature of the post-IC pre-merge journeys from the beginning. This time around, it initially looked like having the complicated, janky rewardees (2 pairs)/ non-rewardees (1 pair)/ punishees (2 pairs) set-up was actually paying off, with all the hubbub in camp, and Sam and Teeny feeling confused during Tribal, each having different targets in their heads. But then it all fell apart after extensive whispering, and a consensus was reached. What looked like an interesting, chaotic, haphazard split vote was actually just a pedestrian 8-1 consensus vote.

So what could be done to preserve that pre-vote chaos, but still let everyone vote? My proposal is this: At least for one Tribal, nobody is allowed to leave their seats (I know, people have been suggesting this since at least EoE). But it might be time to try it! This would work well in the two-separate-teams challenge (as in Ep7 this season). Let one team win a food reward, the last standing for each team wins individual immunity, then they go off to separate camps, one with reward, one without, all as usual. Then they *both* go to the same Tribal, it's a normal post-merge one (with two people immune) where everybody in both teams votes together, but again, they are not allowed to leave their seats, except to vote.

This forces the players to figure out how to execute a plan when people are in separate camps, and coordinate with their allies on the other team. Maybe it's as brazen as one person announces who they're voting for. Maybe it's pointing. Maybe it's whispering. (But they can't leave their seats, so it's a game of telephone, which maybe someone can hijack?) There's no need to do this every time, but it might be fun to try at least once. Maybe it fails, and we still get the same result. But at the very least: Every person votes, and it has a better chance to result in a split vote, and not an 8-1 landslide.

Gata got got

One confusing part of the episode was that the first 8 minutes were all about Gata - examining the aftermath of the Sierra blindside, and the fracturing of the tribe after Andy flipped on them. What stood out about this is: We got long-term plans from the remaining Gata three - heavily laden with so many flashbacks that it felt like we'd accidentally stumbled into one of the classic clipshow "recap" episodes - but most of what was discussed did not actually happen in this episode.

It started off with Sam and Rachel pledging to try to work together, with each forging their own paths, to appear less threatening. Still, the key fulcrum point of the episode was Rachel telling Sam about the upcoming Sol blindside, Sam pledging not to vote Sol or blow up Rachel's spot, then immediately doing that. How can Sam and Rachel still be working together after that?

We also saw Andy "apologizing" to Sam, a gesture that seemed insincere at best, but at least framed Andy's flip in empathetic terms (Sam and Sierra had treated him as an afterthought at the merge, which they indeed had - we even had Rachel saying "Oh duh, I forget about Andy every time," to which Sam agreed, just last episode). It's not really clear that either of these men really intended to work with the other after this, but we subsequently saw Sam and Andy pair up for the RC/IC, hours later. (Which did not go well for them.)

Finally, we had Andy and Rachel appearing to reach a detente of their own the next morning (again, weighed down heavily with flashbacks to Andy and Rachel trying to work together in the premiere). Maybe because it came last, but this seemed like it had legs ... but then we never once saw Andy and Rachel talk to each other again (even at Tribal, where they were sitting next to each other) for the rest of the episode. Rachel talked to Genevieve. She was part of the group of the younger women at the well, planning to take out one of the stronger men (Kyle or Sam - one of which explicitly goes against her deal with Sam). Technically, the three Gata voted together, but it seemed in no way intended by the three as a group. Rachel even begged Sam not to vote with her against Sol.

So this can only have been here for long-term narrative purposes, like Ep5's at-the-time bizarre sequence where Rome warned Sol that Genevieve didn't want to work with him long-term, something we had not seen her say, but which Genevieve confirmed in confessional, with the phrase "I know that and you (the viewer) know that, but I don't want Sol to know that." This was brand new information to everyone, since we really hadn't heard from Genevieve at all in the first four episodes, and had no idea what her game plans were. But it ended up happening, obviously!

So what does the Gata sort-of-truce mean? Is this the editors being unreliable narrators, and we'll see a continuation of the three Gatas sort of, vaguely, working against each other the rest of the way, but somehow still voting together? Was the Andy-Rachel pairing real? Sam-Rachel? Andy-Sam? It's all very confusing at this point. How funny would it be if these three were the Final Three, and they just sort of stumble into it? Well, let's game that possibility out.

Sam: I know, I know ... I keep flogging the premiere's over-the-top highlighting of Sam ("I'm a wolf in wolf's clothing," the first overall confessional, and a cut to Sam as Probst says "a million dollars" in his opening monologue). This episode also let Sam show some emotion, as he reacted to finding himself on the bottom, switching positions in the power rankings with the newly ascendant Andy. It's certainly plausible that Sam could eventually sell a "I had to work my way up from the bottom at the merge" story at the end. He's obviously close to Sierra. He also took a big swing trying to save Sol. (It didn't work, but neither did Sandra's attempts to get the Heroes to work with her in HvV, and they later rewarded her for that effort). Sam needs to start scoring some W's, but having the backing of the first two jurors (depending on whom he's next to) is a pretty good spot to be in at this point.

Rachel seems like a better bet thus far, though. She's been pushing a women's alliance, first at Gata (with two women now gone), then at the Social Hour. On the other hand, Sol saved her with his advantage, and she returned the favor by being the (at the time she agreed) deciding vote in sending him to the jury. She was also stood out to Tuku as a threat before that advantage play. If Rachel gets to the end, she already has the narrative built-in that she's a dangerous threat (Caroline and Genevieve both said so last episode). It's hard to top organic conventional wisdom. She does have an idol to help get her there, too.

Finally, there's Andy. Pre-game, he said he wanted to be underestimated, which would help him play a villainous game later. His passing out at the Ep1 IC (and subsequent word-vomiting mat chat, when he was still barely lucid) certainly gave him a leg up there. The problem for Andy is, he's going to be in power for most of the post-merge. So far, he's working with other people's plans, offering himself as a number. He doesn't yet have any moves of his own. It's tough to win jury respect when you're neither in danger nor visibly guiding the strategy, but there's still plenty of time. Given where he started, an Andy growth arc is right there, ready to exploit for the jury. He probably needs to lead the charge against Sam or Rachel, but that's within his grasp.

The Tuku four

So we've covered Gata (side note: The yellow team has won all four non-tribal team challenges so far, and yellow Gata was the clear winner of the pre-merge match-ups, with four first places in six challenges). What about the also-ran tribes? Tuku still has the biggest numbers overall. It didn't make much sense with 10 left for Genevieve to target one of her own ostensible allies, but here we are at Final Nine, and there are four Tuku and only two Lavo left. So let's start with the almost-majority.

Caroline: She's clearly very smart, people like her, and she's incredibly positive and supportive about everything and everyone around her. I can't name anything she can point to as her "move" so far, apart from deciding to vote out Tiyana over Gabe in Ep7. A low profile is actually a good thing at this point in the game, though, so as long as she gradually raises her threat level over the remaining five episodes, she's in a good spot. Having her vote back next time is a good start.

Kyle: Somehow, Kyle went from sitting-duck Kyle to zero-votes-against Kyle this episode. He agreed to whatever plan was offered, as long as it wasn't him. We've been told this is a good approach. Still, hard to see this working out too many more times for Kyle, especially if he wins another immunity. He's definitely a threat to do so (his 93.8% mark is currently #1 all-time in single-season Mean % Finish in individual challenges, ahead of Worlds Apart Joe Anglim's 92.5%). But there are so many ICs left, it seems implausible that he'll run the table. And when he loses again, he's probably out this time.

Sue: Everybody (?) loves rumored 45-year-old Sue. Her name coming up as a target this episode was a bit of a surprise, but in classic Sue fashion, she apparently was unaware of it, and never contemplated playing her idol (as far as we know - as with Gabe, we rarely hear from Sue, except about her seething hatred of Kyle). For a while, it looked like Sue was getting Gabler's "clueless pre-merge, accurate post-merge" edit. But so far, she's seemed just as out-of-the-loop on Beka as she appeared on Tuku. She said she's lost if Gabe goes. She has an idol (and a Shot in the Dark, with which she could read the room, as Rachel did). She could save herself with that idol, but will anyone tip her off that she needs to play it? So far, signs point to no.

Gabe: Gabe is one of the two people whose quotes in the post-46 trailer were included in the premiere, but as voiceovers. Gabe's was about wanting to be the first head on the New Era Mt. Rushmore. A bold statement, which we later saw him repeat in the merge episode. All good, but ... where's the beef? So far, Gabe's big move is forming a three-person alliance with Caroline and Sue. In a way, Gabe is bizarro Andy. Andy was on the bottom, but we've heard from him constantly all season. We know what he's thinking, he does seem like a credible threat, even if people don't seem to respect him (so far). Gabe, in contrast, has been in the majority all season, yet we almost never hear from him. We know he sees Sue and Caroline (in that order) as allies, but we don't really know his long-term plans, beyond "winning." The reprise of the Mt. Rushmore quote at the merge added to the confusion - again, what had he done to earn that? Both Andy and Gabe talk a big game, but have yet to demonstrate those chops. For evidence, just look at this episode: As chaos spiraled at Beka camp before Tribal, Gabe (with Kyle) was parked squarely in a hammock, completely out of the loop. Yet he kept insisting at Tribal that Sue was fine, no problems ahead. A bad look, even though it worked out. His name has come up as the alternate to Kyle several times, hard to imagine it won't again. Still, the quote lingers ... something big to come?

Just two Lavo left

That brings us to the smallest original tribe remnant: Lavo. Genevieve was okay with burning her connection with Teeny to pull off this Big Move against Sol, so is it safe to say they're not together any more? We shall see.

Genevieve: As with Gabe, she had a disembodied voiceover to kick off the premiere: "I'm either gonna blaze my own path in here, or I'm gonna burn down this island." Can't it be both? Genevieve has absolutely seized control of the game over the past two episodes, but to what end? Who is her closest ally? (Last week's episode says it's Andy. It's not clear at all that he sees it that way, although they at least discussed the Sol plan together this week.) Caroline has already taken note that Genevieve's really smart, and agreed (in confessional) with her strategic mantra that they should get rid of the sneaky threats first. Guess who Caroline will now see as a sneaky threat? Genevieve's go-for-broke gameplay has been fun and refreshing, but it's really hard to see how she can spin this into long-term success. But Genevieve is smart and creative, so don't rule it out! Also, Kyle was barely aware Genevieve was playing, so maybe her threat level is less obvious to everyone else than it is to the audience?

Teeny: Finally, there's Teeny, who seems to be universally liked by both cast and audience, but nonetheless has had the worst luck imaginable. They're constantly trying to make moves, only for everything to fall apart and their closest ally leaves instead, from Kishan to Sierra and now to Sol. (Teeny didn't seem especially close to Rome, but they were at least friendly enough with him to be able to talk their way out getting caught red-handed showing Rome's idol to Kishan.) Teeny's path through the game has thus far been pretty much Aubry Bracco's Game Changers experience: The Grim Reaper - everyone they try to work with drops dead (in the game). In theory, this path could last all the way to the end, and Teeny would win just because everyone else got taken out somehow. But as with Sam, a win or two along the way would definitely help their chances. Still, it's always helpful to be liked, and Teeny definitely has that going for them.