I’m not sure why, but a couple of Survivor quotes have been sticking near the front of my brain in recent weeks as I try to figure out who besides Christian is playing better than in their rookie effort. The first is the one that established the show in the beginning.

Mark Burnett: “Survivor is the ultimate social experiment.”

Even though he was in pure hype/promotion mode, original Survivor showrunner Burnett’s description still rings true 50 seasons later. Every season, whether it has all rookies, all returning players or a mix of the two forces players to experiment with their social and strategic skills to outmaneuver each other to get to the end.

Kelly Wiglesworth: “Survivor isn’t about surviving the elements, it’s about surviving the PEOPLE.”

This takes Burnett’s quote even further. If I remember correctly, Kelly said this when she was struggling with the decision to break away from her alliance that was dominating the game. How far will you test your own set of ethics/morals to get to the end and win? Can you keep your word when you’ve given it to people you no longer agree with? Can you betray them without throwing away Jury votes?

But there was one quote from this season that really sums up the challenge of playing Survivor for every type of player – the super jock, the cerebral strategist, the fame-seeking opportunist, or the “just there for the adventure” type.

Mike White: "This game is about persuasiveness. It’s really about being able to persuade other people to do what you want."

This quote really applies to every single aspect of the game, whether it’s deciding where to build a shelter, choosing alliance partners, choosing which role in a challenge you’ll have, sharing information, or by far the most important aspect: deciding how to vote.

If you make it to Final Tribal Council, you have to be persuasive. Those who aren’t often end up as the zero vote goat. You’re not gonna change anyone’s mind by throwing sandbags at a target, opening a coconut for someone, or playing an Idol. You have to be persuasive. Part of that process is finding out why people make decisions and appealing to THEIR values instead of expecting them to accept yours.

We saw this come into play in all 3 votes last week, even though two of them were close to no-brainers.

Kamilla tried and failed to convince Jonathan to vote for Chrissy. He was still upset about being left out of the vote to blindside Charlie and didn’t trust her as much his other option of siding with Coach’s “integrity crew,” of which Chrissy and Stephenie appear to be members. Kamilla lost her ability to persuade Jonathan. Chrissy did make a decent pitch to Jonathan, but I don’t think he was persuaded by her “They (Tiffany and Kamilla) won’t give you the million” pitch. Jonathan went with where he thinks the majority numbers will be after the blood bath, err, blood moon twist.

It was clear Aubry wanted Genevieve gone and vice versa. Neither one was gonna budge on that one. But Christian did face a challenge when Devens asked him to boot Joe instead. Devens knows he’s unlikely to get Joe’s Jury vote. Christian successfully persuaded Devens to support Aubry’s plan, which could end up with Joe’s jury vote going to Christian instead of Devens.

And while the Colby vote seemed the most obvious, both Dee and Emily expressed a preference for removing Coach. Cirie persuaded both of them to remove Colby, who I suspect let everyone know he was ready to leave anyway. But Cirie didn’t know that when she convinced the ladies that Colby was the “leader” of his alliance. Cirie persuaded them to change how they were voting.

Several remaining players (more than 7) haven’t really been tested in their ability to persuade how others vote this season, but in the early going, Christian and Cirie have had the strongest influence. Christian had a strong voice in removing Jenna, Genevieve and Mike White. Cirie was persuasive in removing Savannah and Colby. Those two have some momentum and are ahead of the pack. Rizo got Charlie voted out, which is impressive for an otherwise starstruck rookie. Mike White pulled the trigger on Q but of course, Mike’s gone now.

Emily swung and missed twice when she went after Ozzy pre-swap. Ozzy and Stephenie whiffed twice when aiming at Angelina. Everyone else has pretty much fallen in line with someone else’s plan.

So, when will some of these other players shine? Of the remaining players, Stephenie had a strong influence over rookies in S11: Guatemala (4 votes), Coach was in total control of his rookie tribemates in S23: South Pacific (6 votes), and Aubry (with Cydney) controlled the S32: Kaoh Rong post-merge (3 votes each). Chrissy got a couple of women removed in S35: HvHvH, Rizo removed three in S49, and in S45, Dee’s alliance wouldn’t make a move unless they knew it was ok with her. She had the most persuasive voice in four votes. By my less than scientific process (I’ll often give half credit too), only Tiffany in S46 (with Moriah), and Emily in S45 (with Bruce and Sabiyah) ever persuaded anyone to vote how they wanted.

That’s probably bad news for Devens, Joe, Ozzy, and Jonathan who have all tried and failed to persuade others to vote how they wanted in earlier seasons. They’re a collective 0 for Survivor by my tally.

Now that we’re in the Jury phase, this is probably the best time to start making your voice heard. Sure, you can still get to the finals, but you don’t want your Jury asking, “What did you do?” You don’t want to end up like Joe (S48), Charlie (S46), Aubry (S32: Kaoh Rong) and a few others, facing jurors who aren’t sure how you got yourself to the end.

Who’s gonna step up their game? Who’s gonna step up too much and find themselves on the Ponderosa at the next vote (like Emily in S45)? Who’s gonna try not to be noticed so hard they end up disappearing? Who’s gonna plan Ozzy’s blindside while he’s out fishing? He still just a few votes shy of breaking the record for most votes cast against him.

Let’s find out.

And away we go…

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Tiffany is pissed off about losing Kamilla but is smart for not going off on Jonathan right after Tribal Council. I wonder if anyone can hear her screaming while filming her confessional?

Aubry tells Devens and Christian she “forgot” to play her Idol. But she’s safe tonight if she doesn’t win Immunity. The guys are setting her up to be removed soon but I still say they should be planning Emily’s removal soon.

It’s interesting that Devens thinks they’d have blindsided Aubry if they knew she wasn’t gonna play her Idol. That’s nice to say after the fact, but the chance that she was lying to them was too great. If they weren’t gonna go after unarmed Genevieve, Devens probably still pushes to keep Joe off the Jury. Why boot Aubry when she’s voting with you?

Is it just me, or is anybody else sick of Coach talking about “war” in Survivor? I know his stories help break up the boredom. Last week’s secret scene was all about how his stories help pass the time. But do we need to keep hearing his declarations in confessional?

But Jonathan sets up Dee perfectly to have a public fight by saying “Are you being honest?” This is gonna force people to take sides between Dee and Jonathan. Dee should know better. She should have done like Sandra did with Russell in S20: Heroes vs. Villains, and just calmly said “I’m against you, Jonathan.” With Dee’s reputation as the last winner left, she never should have fallen for this.

But then Coach threatens everyone if they dare to tell a lie? That was dumber than Dee getting into a fight.

Emily: “(Coach) feels like 'Rules for thee and not for me.'” I’m with you on that one Emily. Coach might be the biggest (and worst) liar in Survivor history.

This is how I feel when I hear Coach telling one of his stories. If Joe had a thought bubble, it would read “How long do I have to pretend to be listening to this?”

Coach recruits Rizo, and Rizo does the right thing by saying “Yes,” but Rizo knows he’d be on the bottom of Coach’s alliance just like he was when Coach asked him to replace Kyle. Coach was even dumb enough to say out loud “You have to replace Colby.” After Kyle left, Rizo immediately started looking for new partners. What will he do this time?

But Rizo just said in confessional “I’m in a good spot,” the Survivor death phrase.

Hmm, why did Emily blow up Dee’s spot? She’s a horrible alliance partner. I don’t think she wants Dee gone. She’s really approaching Abi-Maria levels of informational incompetence.

But Dee recognizes her mistake. Will she be able to fix it?

Putting everyone’s Shot in the Dark in a bag is a fair way to pick who goes on a Journey, but the smart player will still figure out a way to rig it. Maybe volunteer to be the one holding the bag and picking the dice. Go to the player you want to leave first, then grab their SITD with the hand holding the bag, then make sure you’re the one who pulls out the unlucky SITD. Or, if you just want to make sure you’re not the one going, hold your own SITD at the bottom when someone else reaches in. Jonathan held the bag from the top and Chrissy pulled Stephenie’s SITD. This one wasn’t rigged.

Survivor has used this challenge many times. I don’t know if anyone has lasted an hour though. I remember Parvati won this in S16: Micronesia right before Cirie blindsided Ozzy.

I have dislocated my shoulder. There is no clicking or crackling sound when it goes back into place. It’s actually a huge relief because the pain disappears immediately. What you heard was a little audio sweetening used for dramatic effect. But people wincing as it slides back in is authentic. My softball teammates did that every time it happened during a game.

This water sequence reminds me of the climax of “Kill Bill Vol.1” in the epic sword fight between Uma Thurman and Lucy Liu. They had a water timer just like this one in that movie.

I wonder why Survivor producers thought this would be riveting TV. It would be better if two players had to do it, with the winner gaining an Advantage.

Stephenie gets a Steal A Vote. This could be a huge help to the “integrity” alliance. Eight players have had this Advantage. Three used it effectively, but three got voted out while holding it. I have a feeling this will do more harm than good for Stephenie, who has never been a good liar.

Cirie: “Stephenie doesn’t want to make eye contact.” Remember what I said earlier about body language and pregame relationships? Cirie knew Stephenie well enough to know when she was lying. Stephenie couldn’t hide her “tell” from Cirie. Dee doesn’t look like she buys it either.

Stephenie comes clean to Cirie, who promises not to tell anyone. Too bad Stephenie doesn’t know how to tell when Cirie is lying to her.

Cirie gets all the information about Dee from Rizo, and Cirie pounces on it. Survivor history has told us if Cirie wants you gone, you’re probably gonna be gone…unless you’ve got an Idol. Something tells me Dee is gonna need Immunity more this week than she did last week. Dee probably knows this too. Cirie’s voice will be heard in this vote for sure.

Damn! Two courses are set up for the Immunity Challenge. This tells me there will be 2 teams, and half the players will be safe. No pure merge vote yet.

There are a lot of people who want Dee gone now. Will they throw the challenge? Dee could be helpless in this one, especially with two people on the puzzle at the end.

Oh, ok only one person will have Immunity. Maybe we will get a pure merge vote.

Wow, the schoolyard pick is back! Too bad we didn’t get to see it.

Jonathan was a Captain and didn’t pick Dee? Doesn’t he want her gone? With two separate teams, there’s always the chance they’d be going to separate Tribal Councils. I say pick at least two people you know will vote with you, then pick someone you want gone. Then again, I don’t know if Jonathan would throw a challenge. Apparently, he was asked to do it early on by Dee, Kamilla and/or Tiffany so they could remove Chrissy, and he wouldn’t cooperate.

Christian was also a Captain and picked Ozzy, Devens and Emily. He was clearly picking people he knew would vote with him. He also picked Stephenie and Joe, whom he can afford to lose.

I’d much rather have seen the sequence of the Captains making their picks than Stephenie holding her arm up for so long.

I don’t think I’ve seen Emily pushing that boulder yet.

(Rewatch note: Emily and Joe were the first to push it out of the hole at the start).

Cirie, Chrissy, Aubry and Christian are the best at puzzles, and the women are all on the same team. Chrissy and Coach get the advantage of Cirie and Aubry directing them.

Those pieces must not be as heavy as pieces from other puzzles. Emily is able to carry each piece by herself.

Christian and Emily pull it out. Dee is safe for the moment. It didn’t look like anybody tried to throw it.

We’ve seen the second half of this challenge before. In an earlier version, everyone had to face the same direction. Those who couldn’t put their dominant foot in the back were at a disadvantage. But that’s not the case this time. Stephenie’s bad shoulder should put her at a disadvantage though.

All this talk about Boom Operators was a great chance to break the fourth wall and show the Production crew. Come on, Jeff, it’s season 50. Give some props to the crew. It’s not like we haven’t seen them before.

Christian has his arms further apart than everyone else. Did he do some scientific research on this one? I won’t be surprised if he did.

So, naturally, right after I say that Christian drops out. But Probst called him “Hubicki” again. Did anyone notice that Emily and Devens were the only ones clapping for him? I did.

Dee falls out. Her unreasonably large toes failed her.

Ozzy wins Immunity. That gives him a lifetime total of 8 wins, putting him one short of Boston Rob’s total of 9. But Ozzy also has 6 duel wins in S23: South Pacific. Ozzy is by far the better challenge athlete.

Coach: “I’ll take coconuts over Chinese take out.” And this guy says he never lies? Tiffany thinks Jonathan and Coach are driving this vote, but she doesn’t know Cirie and Rizo want Dee gone too.

Coach thinks he’s gonna control 11 of the 13 votes? Good luck with that one.

Then again, letting Coach appear to drive this vote sets him up perfectly to be the next target. The most aggressive people (Jenna, Q, Mike, Charlie) all suffered from it. Coach is stupidly positioning himself as a “leader.”

It’s interesting that Coach thinks Christian is a “middle player” when he’s been driving so much of the game so far. That tells Christian is playing even better than I thought he was. He might not get Coach’s jury vote, but I’d bet he already knows that. Coach always votes for whoever does best in the challenges: J.T. in S18: Tocantins, and Parvati in S20: Heroes vs. Villains.

Coach to Stephenie: "You can’t say ‘I’m not writing this person’s name down.’" Coach is giving orders. How stupid can he be? And how out of touch can he be not to know that Devens and Christian are close. Wasn’t everybody talking about that at the merge last week?

Stephenie to Devens “Is Coach running the show here?” In my book, Stephenie just labeled Coach a “leader.”

Rizo to Coach “We slay dragons at Tribal, we don’t slay dragons in camp.” How funny is it that Rizo is telling Coach how stupid his mistakes are? I still don’t care for Rizo’s grandstanding, but I gotta give him props here. Very few players have been able to talk Coach off the ledge. Rizo is perfectly positioned to blindside Coach now.

I loved the segment of Emily and Jonathan watching Coach talking to himself. Devens and Emily are trying to put a target on Coach. Do they realize doing this in front of Joe is ridiculously dumb? Will Joe realize this means he may have to cut Coach loose eventually?

Why aren’t we seeing what Dee is up to?

Oh never mind. There she is with Tiffany vowing to start a whisper fest.

15 minutes for Tribal Council. Will we see a tie vote?

Hmm ... Kim Spradlin and Chelsea Meisner from S24: One World are appearing on “Rock The Block?” I wonder if Home Improvement shows have oil/swimsuit challenges?

Three players made their targets bigger this time around: Dee, Aubry and Coach. Nobody takes Coach seriously, so I think Dee is in the most trouble, even though Coach is the most annoying.

Dee: “Use me as a vote.” That’s not a very strong pitch. But saying “The people that feel safe tonight, they should be scared.” That WAS a smart statement, even though it was delivered like Ciera Eastin did in S27: Blood vs. Water.

I don’t think it will work, but Dee starting a whisper fest is a wise tactic. I’d go with whoever Cirie wants gone. The lack of whispering subtitles tells me it’s not working.

Did Dee wait too long to implement her plan? Was her reputation too much to overcome?

Tiffany as she shows her vote for Coach “You’re a self-righteous hypocrite, and I hope I get to write your name every single day until you go home.” That tells me she knows Dee is a goner too.

Aubry plays her Idol. No boomerang for Christian. The Boomerang Idol is also 0-for-Survivor.

Dee knows she’s toast and plays her Shot In The Dark. That tells me she doesn’t even think her plan worked.

Thirteen votes means no ties ... I think.

Dee is gone but not quite in the 7-4 split like Coach wanted. Coach is gonna be more full of himself than he was before. I never thought that was possible. Even though he got his way at this vote, I think he just killed any chance he has of winning the game. I don’t even think his allies respect him enough. They’re happy to let him stick his neck out for them. The whispering they did behind his back confirms this. They’ll all pretend to keep supporting him so they can get his jury vote.

Tiffany has lost her two closest allies. To me, that probably makes her the safest person for the next few votes. She has become the “We can get her anytime” player now. She has no choice but to try and hook up with Cirie & Co. She’s probably drawing dead now too. Yep, Cirie voted for Dee. I’d bet my life that Cirie was the reason why Christian, Rizo, Emily, Devens and Aubry voted for Dee.

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Recap

I said it as soon as the cast was announced: Dee, Kyle and Savannah had no shot at winning this season, and it would be a major accomplishment for any of them to make it to the merge. They were dead before arrival. Even though I’m disappointed Dee got baited into fighting with Jonathan, considering the reputation baggage she came in with, I see no reason to lower her ranking on my Best Players list.

Last week, Rob C. talked with S12: Panama - Exile Island winner Aras about how influential the first juror can be. I’ve often said the best players put people on the Jury without making them angry. This could end up being very bad news for Coach, Jonathan and Chrissy, who’ve all annoyed Dee and Tiffany. Those two aren’t gonna endorse any of those three to win this season. The anti-“integrity” vibe on the Ponderosa will be strong. We all know how persuasive Dee can be. I’ll be shocked if Dee or Tiffany vote for any of those three if they have another option. They might not want to vote for Emily either. She might unknowingly be turning herself into a zero vote goat. I really wish the Ponderosa videos would return.

The other problem with the “Integrity” crew is this: Since they’re in the minority, the best chance for one of them to win is if they’re sitting next to two other ”integrity” members. Except for Stephenie’s Vote Stealer, they have no Idols or Advantages to protect one another, so when they compete hard to win Immunity, they’ll just be making it easy for the others to pick them off. They really need to convince Ozzy to flip and use his Idol to their advantage. I don’t think Ozzy’s gonna do that.

But take note of how Cirie, Christian, Rizo and Devens were all on good terms with Dee before this vote. I think that’s gonna pay off for one of them. That might not be the case for Emily since her big mouth was a big part of Dee’s downfall.

And I do have to acknowledge that Jonathan stepped up his game. He did a great job setting Dee up, even if he enlarged the target on his own back in the process.

By my tally, Emily and Devens swung and missed again, this time by failing to get rid of Coach.

Dee’s departure also means Sandra remains the only player to win Survivor (at least U.S. Survivor) in their first two attempts. To me, that cements Sandra as the #1 overall player,even over Tony, who Sandra took out in S34: Game Changers.

What do you think? Was Aubry smart for burning her Idol? I think she should have kept it for at least one more vote. This time it was very clear she was not at the top of the hitlist. She wasn’t even second or third in line.

How about Jonathan? Did baiting Dee like he did improve his chances of winning or increase the chances he’ll get booted. Are Coach, Tiffany and Emily all drawing dead now? Was it smart for Cirie, Christian and Rizo to cut Dee loose, or should they have piled on Coach? Let me know in the comments.