Advice for the Remaining Five
Survivor: Fiji – Advice for the Remaining Five by Jeffrey Clinard -- 05/11/2007 The latest tribal council made some big changes to the game. Boo is still around. Cassandra and Dreamz just betrayed their alliance. And Earl and Yau-Man have to decide who they can trust. Sounds like these players could use some advice! The best Survivor players always pay attention to others at all times and pick up cues from what they hear and see. That ability allowed Yau-Man to realize he was in danger, and he played the hidden immunity idol at exactly the right time. It saved him, and sent Stacy to jury duty. It also wrecked the plans of several other Survivors, but that is their problem. Yau-Man has an entirely different one in front of him. One thing is certain - Yau-Man has been a deceptively strong player since the start, who has done well in challenges, and an even better job on the strategic front. His trade to Dreamz is of dubious worth if taken at face value, but it allowed Yau-Man to send himself to Exile Island in order to obtain the clue to the hidden immunity idol, and he’s probably bought Dreamz’s vote if he goes to the jury. Dreamz, on the other hand, is stuck with the bargain he made. If he violates the bargain, he has to face the jury with that hanging over his head, and if he keeps it he might be ending his own game. At this point, Survivors have to be looking at the end game and who they can beat in front of the jury. Voting should be based on who they can beat in the finals instead of who is part of their alliance. The vote also has to be controlled so that an evicted tribe member won’t hold it against them in the jury phase. This can be touchy, especially since the attempt to get rid of Yau-Man failed spectacularly. I liked both the reward and immunity challenges, which were different than most things we’ve seen before, except for the axe throwing part. Yau-Man won that part of the reward challenge, showing he’s the resident weapon expert. Boo won immunity, which probably saved him, though oddly enough, if he had been on the chopping block it might have been enough for Yau-Man to have been lulled into a false sense of security. Only five Survivors remain, and only one will win the million. What should each player be doing to progress in the game and possibly win it? It’s advice for the final five. Yau-Man: You have a huge target on your back and no longer have a hidden immunity idol to keep you safe. Fortunately, you still have one ally left, and a group of outsiders who may be rethinking their strategy. For all they know, you sent yourself to Exile Island to get the other hidden idol and played one at six because you had another one to use at five. Do your best to leave that impression. Fear of the idol is almost as powerful as having it. If you win immunity, you are golden until four, where you might need to win immunity again or count on Dreamz both trying to win it and giving it up to you. If that happens, sweeten the deal by promising not to vote him out. If you can get to the finals, you can probably win unless you alienate the jury. Earl: You have a tough choice to make, as Yau-Man is standing in the way of your winning a million dollars. While you’ve been a quiet leader, you haven’t stood out in challenges. Fortunately, you have a margin of safety in the hidden immunity idol - you can make it to four by playing it. However, you’ll probably want Yau-Man’s vote at four, so you should consider making some bargains at five to ensure he progresses to that point. If you don’t, you risk needing final immunity. If you win individual immunity either give the necklace to Yau-Man or give him the hidden idol in order to make it to four. If you don’t, you have to keep and play individual immunity. However, try offering up Yau-Man for the vote at four. It will put you in the finals with a good shot at winning. If you do make it, you need to stress you were the leader, making all the right deals but not being noisy about it. If you can convince everybody you were running the show from behind the scenes, you can win. Cassandra: You are in a sticky situation, as your plan to evict Yau-Man collapsed. This has hurt your position with both him and Earl, and if you want to win you’ll have to put them on the jury and hope they won’t hold it against you. If the Yau-Man / Earl combo can’t be voted out at five (due to hidden and individual immunity), vote out Boo. He’s shown ability to win challenges, and Dreamz has a way of talking himself into trouble, which is useful in a jury opponent. Otherwise, you’ll have to try to take out Yau-Man first and Earl second. You should be able to explain your strategy to the jury - going along with the vote until it was time to get rid of the power players. That makes you the strongest player left, and thus the most deserving. Good luck! Boo: Well done in winning immunity, then attempting to vote out Yau-Man. You need to focus on getting rid of them, as they are the threats to win the money. Indeed, even if it seems possible they control both hidden and individual immunity, urge the others to take a chance otherwise the game is over for all the people outside that pair. It can’t hurt, as you are likely to be a target unless you are wearing immunity. If you do make it to the jury, you have to play like you were the guy they just couldn’t get rid of. State you voted to protect yourself, then tried to vote out the threats to the game. Show them a reason you have earned the right to win by explaining what you did to get to the end. Dreamz: You need to try to get rid of Yau-Man next, as then your promise won’t mean anything. If he wins immunity, then you have several choices. First, you can try to win immunity and not live up to your agreement. You’ll lose Yau-Man’s vote and possibly some others, but if called out on it, just say you were doing anything to win the game. If you try to apologize, it won’t convince anybody, and you’ll just make yourself look bad. You can also throw the immunity challenge. It’s a risk, but there will be three other people trying for it, and all of them probably want you in the final three. Unfortunately, you’re going to have a hard time explaining why you should win. You’ll need to argue you played hard and voted to stay in the game at all costs, and even use the failed vote against Yau-Man to your advantage, claiming you were thinking strategically all along. Just be very careful; your words have gotten you in trouble before, and the jury isn’t likely to be swayed with an emotional argument about your background as a reason you should win. Stacy: What went wrong? Well, you actually took the right chance in voting out Yau-Man, knowing that if he played the idol you were a goner. It was the right choice,as you needed to get rid of the power players in order to even attempt to win the game. Unfortunately, you gave away too many clues. Yau-Man picked up on them, and rendered the plan useless with hidden immunity.
Survivor: Fiji – Advice for the Remaining Five by Jeffrey Clinard -- 05/11/2007 The latest tribal council made some big changes to the game. Boo is still around. Cassandra and Dreamz just betrayed their alliance. And Earl and Yau-Man have to decide who they can trust. Sounds like these players could use some advice! The best Survivor players always pay attention to others at all times and pick up cues from what they hear and see. That ability allowed Yau-Man to realize he was in danger, and he played the hidden immunity idol at exactly the right time. It saved him, and sent Stacy to jury duty. It also wrecked the plans of several other Survivors, but that is their problem. Yau-Man has an entirely different one in front of him. One thing is certain - Yau-Man has been a deceptively strong player since the start, who has done well in challenges, and an even better job on the strategic front. His trade to Dreamz is of dubious worth if taken at face value, but it allowed Yau-Man to send himself to Exile Island in order to obtain the clue to the hidden immunity idol, and he’s probably bought Dreamz’s vote if he goes to the jury. Dreamz, on the other hand, is stuck with the bargain he made. If he violates the bargain, he has to face the jury with that hanging over his head, and if he keeps it he might be ending his own game. At this point, Survivors have to be looking at the end game and who they can beat in front of the jury. Voting should be based on who they can beat in the finals instead of who is part of their alliance. The vote also has to be controlled so that an evicted tribe member won’t hold it against them in the jury phase. This can be touchy, especially since the attempt to get rid of Yau-Man failed spectacularly. I liked both the reward and immunity challenges, which were different than most things we’ve seen before, except for the axe throwing part. Yau-Man won that part of the reward challenge, showing he’s the resident weapon expert. Boo won immunity, which probably saved him, though oddly enough, if he had been on the chopping block it might have been enough for Yau-Man to have been lulled into a false sense of security. Only five Survivors remain, and only one will win the million. What should each player be doing to progress in the game and possibly win it? It’s advice for the final five. Yau-Man: You have a huge target on your back and no longer have a hidden immunity idol to keep you safe. Fortunately, you still have one ally left, and a group of outsiders who may be rethinking their strategy. For all they know, you sent yourself to Exile Island to get the other hidden idol and played one at six because you had another one to use at five. Do your best to leave that impression. Fear of the idol is almost as powerful as having it. If you win immunity, you are golden until four, where you might need to win immunity again or count on Dreamz both trying to win it and giving it up to you. If that happens, sweeten the deal by promising not to vote him out. If you can get to the finals, you can probably win unless you alienate the jury. Earl: You have a tough choice to make, as Yau-Man is standing in the way of your winning a million dollars. While you’ve been a quiet leader, you haven’t stood out in challenges. Fortunately, you have a margin of safety in the hidden immunity idol - you can make it to four by playing it. However, you’ll probably want Yau-Man’s vote at four, so you should consider making some bargains at five to ensure he progresses to that point. If you don’t, you risk needing final immunity. If you win individual immunity either give the necklace to Yau-Man or give him the hidden idol in order to make it to four. If you don’t, you have to keep and play individual immunity. However, try offering up Yau-Man for the vote at four. It will put you in the finals with a good shot at winning. If you do make it, you need to stress you were the leader, making all the right deals but not being noisy about it. If you can convince everybody you were running the show from behind the scenes, you can win. Cassandra: You are in a sticky situation, as your plan to evict Yau-Man collapsed. This has hurt your position with both him and Earl, and if you want to win you’ll have to put them on the jury and hope they won’t hold it against you. If the Yau-Man / Earl combo can’t be voted out at five (due to hidden and individual immunity), vote out Boo. He’s shown ability to win challenges, and Dreamz has a way of talking himself into trouble, which is useful in a jury opponent. Otherwise, you’ll have to try to take out Yau-Man first and Earl second. You should be able to explain your strategy to the jury - going along with the vote until it was time to get rid of the power players. That makes you the strongest player left, and thus the most deserving. Good luck! Boo: Well done in winning immunity, then attempting to vote out Yau-Man. You need to focus on getting rid of them, as they are the threats to win the money. Indeed, even if it seems possible they control both hidden and individual immunity, urge the others to take a chance otherwise the game is over for all the people outside that pair. It can’t hurt, as you are likely to be a target unless you are wearing immunity. If you do make it to the jury, you have to play like you were the guy they just couldn’t get rid of. State you voted to protect yourself, then tried to vote out the threats to the game. Show them a reason you have earned the right to win by explaining what you did to get to the end. Dreamz: You need to try to get rid of Yau-Man next, as then your promise won’t mean anything. If he wins immunity, then you have several choices. First, you can try to win immunity and not live up to your agreement. You’ll lose Yau-Man’s vote and possibly some others, but if called out on it, just say you were doing anything to win the game. If you try to apologize, it won’t convince anybody, and you’ll just make yourself look bad. You can also throw the immunity challenge. It’s a risk, but there will be three other people trying for it, and all of them probably want you in the final three. Unfortunately, you’re going to have a hard time explaining why you should win. You’ll need to argue you played hard and voted to stay in the game at all costs, and even use the failed vote against Yau-Man to your advantage, claiming you were thinking strategically all along. Just be very careful; your words have gotten you in trouble before, and the jury isn’t likely to be swayed with an emotional argument about your background as a reason you should win. Stacy: What went wrong? Well, you actually took the right chance in voting out Yau-Man, knowing that if he played the idol you were a goner. It was the right choice,as you needed to get rid of the power players in order to even attempt to win the game. Unfortunately, you gave away too many clues. Yau-Man picked up on them, and rendered the plan useless with hidden immunity.