Survivor 48 Episode 8 OOO: There's Something About Mary

The Cameron Diaz-Ben Stiller flick is at the forefront of my mind after this week’s episode. Coincidentally, I would rate the episode at a similar Rotten Tomatoes audience score of 61%. 

It was fine. Nothing groundbreaking happened, but it wasn’t bad. We saw social dynamics shift and get placed under pressure, and it confirmed where people stand. With that being said, let’s get into it.

Outwit

Who outwitted someone this episode? Nobody, really. I didn’t think anyone played the episode particularly intelligently. David came on too strong. Chrissy didn’t do anything. Kyle did not conceal his affinity with Kamilla, and Shauhin has no idea who actually is allied with him and who isn’t.

It’s tough to reward it to anyone, but I think it falls to Joe. Joe got what he wanted with Chrissy out, but he didn’t have to do all the legwork — that was Kyle. Once again, the votes were off him and his ally, Eva. He sat back and let things happen around him, and he added his weight to the scale only when necessary. That’s smart strategy, which will earn him the award this week.

Outplay

The obvious choice here is Eva, and it’s going to her. Outplay won’t always go to the individual immunity winner, but I think it’s clear after earning immunity, a reward, and an advantage as a result of a single win in an iconic challenge that this one goes to Eva.

Outlast

I was split between Star and Mary here. Star survived despite losing her vote, very valiant, and Mary has set herself up to outlast longer by burrowing into the majority alliance out of nowhere. For this one, I give the nod to Mary because I think she actually did something to outlast here. Also why Kamilla gets snubbed despite avoiding the boot with her name out there. 

May has positioned herself as an ally of the strongest group, and her top choice in ally is a bigger target than her. If she can hang around and get to the end, watch out because her early-game story is really strong and Cedrek as the mayor of Ponderosa will likely vouch for her.

Predictions

Disregarding all of what I just said, I’m worried they may take a shot at Mary next week to cripple David if David wins immunity. But, I’m going to play it safe, and also possibly set us up for another doldrum episode. I think Star goes home. If I’ve learned anything, it’s that the people on the outs are complacent and the people on the inside feel they have enough sway to flip it when they need to much later in the game.