Paranoia has gone into full swing on Survivor: Ghost Island. With only seven castaways left in the game, the prize money feels more within reach than ever. And with only a handful of Tribal Councils left before the finale, these players are looking for any excuse to turn on each other or seek a reason to distrust. Donathan was the latest victim to let the game get to his head. While he didn’t get the boot (in this case, it was Kellyn), the paranoia did affect his gameplay, and the games of the other castaways who didn’t side with him. The twelfth episode of Survivor: Ghost Island suffered from another missed opportunity that these players will soon come to regret when the finale rolls around.
The big question: Why didn’t the group go after Domenick or Wendell? The pair clearly had all the power going into this week, and out of everyone still left in the season, they had the best chance of winning. With Laurel by their side, and with Donathan and Sebastian being looped in periodically, they had the alliances to take control. It would be in the players’ best interest to take the shot against one of them now before they use their hidden immunity idols and powers to get to the end. Seeing that none of the main alliances banded together to target one of them was baffling.
Donathan didn’t help his case at all. Even though he was considering taking out Dom or Wendell, his reputation for dropping truthbombs and making spur of the moment decisions made him out to be the least trustworthy of the options. Who would want to work with him if he only wanted to play his own game? (I know how that sounds, but Survivor is played through alliances and team moves.) Donathan himself called out the lack of trust at Tribal Council with how Wendell and Domenick didn’t tell him about them having a hidden immunity idol. But, that level of trust goes both ways; HE was only truthful about the fact that he couldn’t win against them, not that he had an idol in the past, too. Donathan destroyed any potential he had at winning this game by the way he handled the pressure during this crucial vote.
And it begs the question why he didn’t band together with Sebastian, Kellyn and Angela to turn on Dom/Wendell? The three outsiders threw their votes on him hoping that the others would turn on Donathan. However, those odds are shaky at best. They were placing their hopes that the others would go for a 3/3 split in the next round. If the outsiders had teamed up with Donathan instead, their vote would’ve worked since no one used a hidden immunity idol. Kellyn got eliminated in a head-scratching game of numbers.
Speaking of powers, why didn’t Sebastian use his extra vote then? He won Kellyn’s misused power from Ghost Island, but he decided not to play the power during this round. If he had used it, Donathan would’ve gone home in a 4-3-1 vote. The better option still would’ve been working with Donathan, but if they had refused that option, this would’ve given them some type of shot against the power alliance.
The results of the immunity challenge were definitely a first for Survivor. Technically speaking, Wendell won the challenge; however, he didn’t submit his answers in time, so he lost. A good note for any future Survivor player: Always call Jeff Probst when you’re done with a puzzle! The host has to check your solution before winning the prize. Nothing will be accepted after the fact, so Laurel got lucky that Wendell zoned out at the most important moment of the night. She got to add a challenge win to her resume, and you need plenty of those when the finale comes around.
Laurel is sinking her game. She had all the makings of a good Survivor winner, and the fan status that we’d want to root for in someone who would treasure every second of winning Survivor. Unfortunately, she’s allowing her opportunity at winning the game to be thrown out the window in favor of siding with two guys she’s only known for three weeks. Wendell and Domenick are threats to winning over the jury, plain and simple. Laurel had considered making the move, but at every opportunity, she backed out in favor of friendship. That strategy won’t win her Survivor: Ghost Island.
“Always Be Moving” continued the trend of missed opportunities – this is a theme we’ve seen plenty of times now just in Survivor: Ghost Island alone. These players are going to look back and realize all the moves they failed to make when they’re sitting on the jury, or when they’re sitting at the reunion show. Next week is the finale and it’s looking like a Final 3 again. If these players don’t band together soon, Wendell or Domenick could be strutting their way to an easy victory.
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