S43.E03: I'll Sign the Divorce Papers

[SummerDreams]

3 hours ago, Nashville said:

Why does the decision have to be “either-or”?  Personally, I don’t think you can survive the current-day game unless the answer is “both”: a F2 relationship into which you heavily invest, AND a network of lesser-but-still-significant relationships with your original tribemates.

I see several problems with putting 100% of your energy into a single relationship, but they all pretty much boil down to the old “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” adage.  Multiple relationships give your game increased resilience, with accompanying potential for longevity.  Some examples:

1. Tribal swaps: what happens if you put all your time and resources into that one relationship, only to be split up from your buddy when Jiffy decides it’s time for an exciting game of buff-buff-boof which lands you in a new tribe where your OG tribe is now the minority?  You and the rest of the Vesi are now suddenly targets, and you have no real relationships with them - so when the Baka (or Coco) majority starts headhunting, whose name do you think will be served up on that silver platter?
2. Same deal with the Merge: what happens if your ride-or-die is voted out right before you have to immediately dive into the post-Merge mixmaster?  Answer: you’re screwed - other tribes/alliances will be looking for low-hanging fruit to pick off for their own self-preservation, and you just made it easy for them by becoming an island unto yourself.

Survivor (and pretty much every other unreality show with an actual history) has matured and evolved well beyond the point of one relationship and/or alliance carrying a player across the breadth of an entire season - so if you want to land in one of the F2 chairs, your strategy has to likewise evolve accordingly.

In general what you are saying is right, but from Jesse and Cody's point of view, Noelle and Dwight are not allies nor potential allies anymore because they were just betrayed 3 days ago. So from my understanding these two relationships are way worse than Nneka who would be loyal to Jesse and Cody till the end. Now the tribe is stronger, yes, but when they merge, Noelle and Dwight will instantly go to the other tribes and say "Jesse and Cody betrayed us, we want to get them out" and the other tribes will say "yes please".

[Nashville]

12 hours ago, SummerDreams said:

In general what you are saying is right, but from Jesse and Cody's point of view, Noelle and Dwight are not allies nor potential allies anymore because they were just betrayed 3 days ago. So from my understanding these two relationships are way worse than Nneka who would be loyal to Jesse and Cody till the end. Now the tribe is stronger, yes, but when they merge, Noelle and Dwight will instantly go to the other tribes and say "Jesse and Cody betrayed us, we want to get them out" and the other tribes will say "yes please".

Sitting here thinking, and realizing most of this discussion is probably moot; we’re still about 5 evictions away from merge, and the odds of Vesi surviving intact through 5 more ICs is damn near infinitesimal.  Such would require all remaining pre-merge evictions to come out of Baka and/or Coco, which - short of total or near-total self-implosion on the part of either Baka or Coco - would dictate a complete flip in existing tribal player/power balances.

In the event Vesi’s 4 remaining members somehow miraculously did make it to the merge unscathed, though, such a move would be an incredibly boneheaded move on the part of Noelle and Dwight; they would basically be forfeiting Vesi’s position of post-merge strength for no reason other than to service a grudge from Week 3.  Not that I think the remaining members of the other tribes would object too strenuously, mind you….  😆

[Lantern7]

I forgot to post Erik's take on this episode. Apparently, he elected to forgo cartooning this one time.