The Next Move On Survivor Ghost Island: Episode 12
A showdown looms between the secret double couple alliance and Kellyn’s army of goats; it’s time to predict the next move on Survivor Ghost Island!
The beginning of the end has arrived! Due to the recent introduction of the final four fire-making format (and unlike last season, the players being aware of it from Day One), the next move on Survivor Ghost Island looms as one of the most pivotal in the game to date. When the dust settles on Thursday night, an alliance of four may find themselves primed and ready to make a clear run to the penultimate stage of the season. Although, we all know that the end game of Survivor is rarely that simple!
In season’s past, the central question for all players within a four-way majority alliance has been: “Am I on the bottom and therefore in the box seat to become the final member of the jury?” Whereas now, players need to consider what their best entrance route to Final Tribal is (either winning immunity, getting dragged in, or making fire) and adjust their approach accordingly. It’s all about risk versus reward; how does one safely navigate their ideal path to the end without being caught out in the process? The answer… By being self aware, having an impeccable sense of timing, and by building an adaptable web of deceit to respectfully trap their peers into making game losing decisions. Game on punters.
Survivor Ghost Island Final 8 – The Best Next Move(s):
Starting from the top…
Domenick:
Earlier in the season, old mate James tried to warn everyone about Domenick’s potential, but they refused to listen to him and now the likeable villain is within fingertips of claiming the win. Domenick has controlled his own narrative from Day One, has an increasingly powerful idol in his pocket (along with an impressive collection of fake ones), and would feel confident about beating anyone at Final Tribal. To win he just needs to keep doing what he’s doing. However, the way the cards have fallen he will now be forced to show his hand at the next tribal.
To move forward with his secret alliance of four, he will need to orchestrate a plan to either blindside his biggest threat Kellyn, or to cull one of the three purple goats. Personally, I would prefer to duke it out with a strong competitor for a few more votes than to allow an alliance of goats to move within one person of claiming a default majority. In addition, saving Kellyn would also reduce the chances of someone like Donathan swinging to the weaker other side at the next vote. So in my opinion, the ideal target for Domenick is probably Angela due to the potential for her to rekindle her past connections with Donathan and Laurel, and also to keep Chelsea in the game as a challenge ‘threat’ shield.
To achieve this result without losing his idol, Domenick will likely need to let Kellyn believe that the plan is to split the vote 3-3 Naviti strong against Laurel and Donathan before bamboozling her with his secret alliance. Managing the paranoia of the surviving Malolos will be key to his success. These are dangerous times to be alive.
Wendell:
Wendell has been playing the sidekick to Domenick for the entire season – so in order for him to win he has no choice but to blindside his best mate before the final four showdown. Timing is of the essence, as is working out a way to navigate Domenick’s idol. Making the move this episode would almost hand the game to Kellyn, and waiting until the final five isn’t an option due to the default play of Domenick’s idol – which only leaves two opportunities. So if I was Wendell, given an ideal run of events, here’s what I would do…
Vote out a couple of goats over the next two episodes (let’s say Angela and Sea Bass), continue to cultivate a trusting relationship with Laurel and Donathan, and then hatch a scheme at F6 to flush Domenick’s idol and eliminate Kellyn in one foul swoop (there are too many permutations to go into the details of this scheme right now)! At F5 I’d then seal the deal to vote out Dom with the help of Laurel and Donathan, before winning final immunity at F4 and dragging Laurel along to the end in order to undermine her game. This would leave Chelsea in the box seat to claim the final seat by winning a fire making duel against Donathan. If the results ends up going down exactly like that I’ll be asking for a cut of Wendell’s million bucks.
Laurel:
It’s going to be interesting to see whether Dom and Wendell’s reluctance to safeguard Laurel against a potential Michael idol last week will be enough to turn her against their secret alliance. Given that Kellyn will most likely continue to target Laurel as the penultimate cog in her ‘epic’ Malolo wipeout plan, Laurel is somewhat devoid of options this week. Her best bet is to steer the vote in the direction of Sea Bass (Angela and Chelsea are slightly more mobile) and then travel a similar path to Wendell – albeit at the helm of the wheel. To win she needs to claim a major scalp (preferably either Domenick or Kellyn) whilst subtly sentencing Donathan to the jury bench in order to claim an extra vote. Regardless, I suspect that she’ll be a dangerous prospect to face at Final Tribal. Chance.
Donathan:
Donathan is to Laurel as Wendell is to Domenick. Interestingly though, throughout the season he’s been set up on multiple occasions to become the pivotal swing vote, but the viewer is yet to receive a pay-off for this particular storyline. I have a feeling that whichever way the result goes this week, Donathan’s moment to shine will come at the next tribal as a swinging F7. He doesn’t seem to have the resume to beat his three secret alliance members, so his best chance of victory may be staging a coup against Kellyn in order to take the reign as ‘King of the Goats’. Furthermore, as a ‘fish out of water’ character, winning his way to FTC by making fire would be the ultimate way for Donathan to impress the jury before outlining his case for the win. He’s definitely still in with an outside chance, but a lot of elements will need to fall into place if Donathan is to realise his Survivor dream.
Kellyn:
The Purple Empress had a minor freak out last week, but ultimately she made a sound defensive move to safeguard herself from a plausible idol play. Kellyn’s entire narrative this season has been about trusting her gut and staying Naviti strong, so to win she either needs to complete her ‘epic’ plan to wipe out Malolo before taking a pair of goats to the end, or turn completely rogue and play a gutsy individual end game that shreds Domenick and Wendell to pieces. It might be time to either attempt a Domenick blindside or force a 4-4 tie against Laurel and go to rocks. The latter would be a fitting climax (or final turning point) to her story – the Survivor Gods have been foreshadowing a serious rock draw all season!
The Goats:
Realistically, Angela, Sea Bass, and Chelsea can only beat each other at FTC, and the editors have made no effort to suggest that any of them will even come close to stealing a win. Part of me feels sad for them, but on the other hand, at least one of them is going to make it to the season finale – so tough luck I guess. If you want to make the final cut of Survivor, play a more exciting brand of the game.
My Final Prediction:
A whole lot of scrambling with tensions rising between Domenick and Kellyn. Ultimately, Chelsea tries to make a move against Kellyn but fails miserably and ends up going home in a 5-3 vote over Laurel. And with that, the tribe has spoken!
Previously/Next Time on TTHS:
Next up, we’ll be presenting our Week 11 edition of The Boot List!
Check back soon for an updated report card on every player’s game to date, along with our predicted rankings from most deserving winner to next boot.
In the meantime, you can join the discussion below or chat with us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.
Survivor Ghost Island continues in Australia on 9Go @ 8:30pm
Thursday May 10 (available for streaming on 9now from 3pm).
Tristan Kelly is a 29 year old ex-doctor turned writer, based in Perth, Western Australia. During his final year of medical school he famously watched and analysed every available episode of Survivor (all 368 of them at the time), probably making him more qualified as a Survivor commentator than he ever was a doctor. In between writing and editing, he now spends most of his time organising various schemes and fantasising about one day winning the game.