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The penultimate episode of “Survivor: Edge of Extinction” was an hour-long master class on how small decisions can have huge consequences — and a realization for some that time is too short to get careless.
Let’s look at some of those seemingly tiny decisions that just might turn the game.
Rick’s big deception
Rick, our TV newscaster who was voted off early but won his way back in, has been playing a near perfect game using a little luck, a lot of determination and even more cleverness.
In this episode, he tells the other players that the hidden immunity idol he played to save himself in last week’s show had been gifted to him anonymously.
“It came for the Edge,” he said, which was an awesome thing to say.
Rick wanted the other players, all of whom would vote him off at the drop of a hat, to think that the hidden immunity idols and advantages were all coming from the Edge of Extinction, the island where the torch-snuffed players have been hanging out.
It was smart. If they didn’t think any idols were being hidden around camp, they wouldn’t go looking for them and Rick would be the only one.
Lauren, however, didn’t believe him and told the others that. She confronted Rick, telling him she didn’t care if he’d lied and that he could be honest with her. Rick stuck to his story and, first bad decision of the night, Lauren continued to doubt him but did nothing — that we know of — to go idol hunting herself.
No one did until the next day, long after Rick had found another hidden idol.
Reward envy
Deciding which person to take with you when you win a food and getaway reward is always a political minefield, but when the number of players is small, you can upset an alliance by picking the wrong people.
Obviously, the whole “choose another player to take with you” is designed to leave someone behind, but Gavin made the second mistake of the night by choosing Victoria and Lauren for a helicopter ride and resort romp when he won the reward.
He picked Victoria first, saying she hadn’t been on many rewards and was struggling a bit at camp, but he just seemed to pick Lauren for the heck of it, leaving a tearful (and starving) Aurora out in the cold.
Aurora hasn’t been on many rewards either, and her loyalty to the alliance has seemed a bit shaky to the others. Picking her would have cemented that loyalty. Not doing so put a spotlight on Gavin, Lauren and Victoria’s closeness, and Aurora certainly didn’t miss the obvious.
Luckily for them, Aurora is loyal; she decided it would be best to stick with her alliance. So it was a mistake that could have been fatal, but only delivered a sharp, glancing blow.
Getting inside their heads
We can blame the entire power alliance for putting all their focus on Rick and being blinded by it. Rick kept them blinded to other realities by pretending to look for the idol, and when they trailed after him, running away, popping out at them and then hiding.
The others spent the day in a frustrating game of hide-and-seek that invigorated Rick while it weakened the other players.
Rick’s gambit
Rick was targeted for extinction at tonight’s Tribal Council, but like most plans on “Survivor,” this one collapsed when Rick won immunity. The target switched to Julie, who was now ready to work with Rick in an attempt to save her torch light.
Julie pulled Lauren, who wanted to keep Julie around because she thought she could beat her, into the plot but Victoria wasn’t having any of it. She, Gavin and Aurora decided to stick to voting for Julie.
As they headed to Tribal Council, a tie vote appeared likely, but the other players didn’t count on Rick’s guile. After Gavin, Victoria, Lauren and especially Aurora moaned about not being able to snuff Rick’s torch, Rick lit things up by telling them he was going to play his hidden idol on behalf of Julie, and he produced it to prove it.
Aurora questioned whether the idol was real, and whether he’d really play it, knowing that he’d be a target again next vote. Earlier, Gavin had said with great confidence that Rick would never play the idol for Julie.
But instead of listening to themselves — and Aurora — Gavin and Victoria fell into Rick’s trap. They all voted off Aurora, who had been right, and Rick did not play his idol.
Happenings on Extinction Island
We’ve seen very little from the island the last two episodes. Some promised movement on that front turned out to be the arrival of letters the players had written to themselves before the game began.
The missives served as reminders for why they signed up in the first place, but the whole segment was reminiscent of a time when the final three players used to walk through the jungle, collecting the torches of the fallen and trying to think of nice things to say about them. (“He had a nice smile.” “She was a hard worker.”)
Although we’re sure the letters were meaningful to the players, it felt like contrived sentimentality.
Next time: In the season finale, the hoards of players on Extinction Island finally compete to return to the game, and the sole Survivor is chosen.