Season 50, Ep 5: It's Dee's Game
Well, I miss Mike. And I still miss Q. I miss their fun quips about the game.
But, alas. No Mike and No Q. I know Mike White is busy being a Hollywood writer and director, but does anyone want to give Mike anded Q their own show? Maybe something like The Soup? Remember The Soup?
A lot of juicy moments in this episode. From Ozzy and Christian's work towards forgiveness and mutual understanding, to Charlie's slip up with Rizo leading to his vote off (presumably), to Rizo believing himself the master manipulator but Kamila seeing right through it. And let us not leave out Coach crowning himself Tidewalker as well as knighting Joe and Colby. Why are all these dudes so smitten with the idea of a sausage party at FTC? They are way too excited for the strong men to be the last ones standing.
It's a double elimination, so only one tribe gets to be safe. And because Cila and Vatu lost the challenge (another one that looked SO exhausting), they each have to send someone home. Poor Vatu, they now have to go to tribal for the third time in a row. That Q vote off rally biting them in the ass, I'd say.
This week, we are back to old wounds surfacing. Christian leads us through his take on Ozzy's response to the Mike White vote off. Christian rightly guesses Ozzy has some scars and wounds that he "just poked at." Christian really is incredibly wise and perceptive. He's so good at the social stuff (remember his therapy carousel with Joe). He's recognizing that Ozzy is primed to be extra sensitive to perceived betrayal and being left out of votes. And Ozzy has a lot of pride. Ozzy is angry when they return after the Mike vote out, but the next day--after some meditating (and some metaphors about waves), he decides to be chill. He's going to make peace with Christian, but he's not going to let this go. Christian betrayed his trust, he tells us, which means he should go. And despite Christian later telling Emily that Ozzy is being a baby, it's not wrong for Ozzy to think this way. Ozzy is willing to forgive Christian, to not be bitter. But he has learned something about Christian and that's important information for his game. If Christian shows that he can't trust Ozzy, then that means Ozzy can't trust Christian. They aren't allies. Simple as that.
Honestly, I was nervous about Christian's moves last week. I get why he would see Mike White as a threat and want him out, but I also didn't know if it was the right moment to go after him. Pre-merge Survivor is so much about solidfying trust and bonds and a sense of safety. If you upset that balance with the people who are counting on you, you risk their trust moving forward. And as we all have been told a thousand times by players, trust is everything. If Christian saw himself playing with Ozzy long term, he might have done better to more heavily consider Ozzy's potential reaction to a Mike vote out--not just in the loss of someone he (Ozzy) wanted to align with, but also being left out of the vote. You leave a person out of the vote, you make them feel that they aren't important, trustworty, or, worse, on the very bottom. And when they feel that way, they react, potentially unpredictably. What's more, Christian then identifies himself as a big and risky move maker, which can scare people. Honestly, this tribe is so darn chaotic.
But, in the end, Angelina goes home and Christian is still alive in the game for whatever reason. Probably because he was lucky that Ozzy wanted Angelina out enough the week before. And perhaps that giving up of this shot-in-the-dark was really a meaningful trust move for Ozzy aka "Polly Prissypants."
On Cila, Dee appears to have had a good thing going. She had a four person alliance who seemed to be willing to keep her in the game, which, for her, I think was likely precarious given her previous win. A winner is a potentially easy target on seasons with returnees. They had their win, already. Give someone else a chance, right? And of course they are big threats because they have proved they are successful at getting to the end. But I think Dee doesn't like to be told want to do. She wants to be the one who knocks. In the future, it could go either way. Sometimes when one takes the leadership role, people like to fall into place: Richard on the very first season, Coach and Ozzy on season 23 (South Pacific), Rob on season 22 (Redemption Island), Colton with the men and Kim with the women on season 24 (One World). And sometimes others are more NO THANK YOU or feel too threatened. Usually on the later seasons, players see obvious attempts to claim a leadership role as threatening. Not just because they might be more powerful players, but because everyone really wants to play their own game, not someone else's. Dee was an obvious leader (to anyone looking) on season 45, but she didn't showcase it enough to be threatening and she had enough allies that she was able to maintain safety. So Jonathan (and, to some extent Charlie) suggest to Dee that the plan is for Rizo and expect her to go along with it, Dee is turned off. She wants to play her own game, not Jonathan's. And she clearly doesn't want any one (or any man) assuming she's a number for him. Probably in Rizo she sees someone who could be a number for her. He's at risk and might very well know it. She sees herself as throwing him a safety line, which would likely make him loyal to her. Encourage loyalty is always a good tactic. Something Jonathan doesn't seem to be as adept at.
Charlie continues to be downright haunted by Rizo's "admission" that he didn't vote for his number one. He can't seem to see past his own anger and take stock of the larger narrative/tribe dynamics. And he's acting a little too sus. I'm not sure what Charlie is thinking by waking up Rizo "at the crack of dawn" to ask him who he told the Billie Eilish idol about. Charlie is caught in a lie, trying to sell to Rizo that Jonathan told him about the idol. Rizo knows this isn't true so he clocks him as a threat and starts selling his name. Cirie-feeling on the bottom in her new tribe--is reeled in by Rizo, Kamilla, and Dee.
Okay, so, Charlie being taken down by his old wounds. He's not seeing the big picture, only the ghost of Maria and her vote for Kenzie. Dee calls him potentially "the dumbest player" and Kamilla says his game is "too slow" and that he's playing multiple angles. I'm sure we are missing out on things. We haven't spent a lot of time with Charlie this season. It feels like he's too comfortable in his alliance despite his obsession with Rizo. (Rizo, who wants to be "the greatest of all time" and doesn't mind telling people how well he played the game. It's hard to garner what exactly people think of Rizo. They seem to feel threatened by him because they don't know his game while at the same time not being as threatened by him because he seems like a goofy kid a little too pleased with himself.) I love Charlie Davis. He's one of my all time favorite players. Charlie Davis, you need to wake up. But, no, it's too late. Dee gets her way. Rizo has won over Cirie and maneuvered his way into safety. Christian does just enough to save his butt.
Goodbye, Charlie.
Goodbye, Angelina.
Happy healing.
