Hey guys, it’s time for this week’s Next Time on Survivor. Before I jump into looking at the previews for this week, I wanted to check out the outcome of the predictions I made for the previous episode.
Previously on Survivor…
First off I wanted to point out that we are already on the tenth episode of the season and we only have three more weeks until the finale. It seems like only yesterday I was on Reddit during the offseason seeing dozens of memes with Ciera voting out her mom. In three more weeks, we get to see them all over again!
Last week we finally saw the downfall of Cole. His edit began to fade a bit with Jessica being voted out, so it was only a matter of time before he finally got his torch snuffed. At tribal council, I was kind of confused by what Mike was doing. From my perspective, he was trying to get the target on his back so he would play the idol on himself to nullify the votes. But I don’t understand why he didn’t ask Joe to upset more people so the majority would vote for him and then Mike play the idol for Joe. I think it would’ve been more successful that way considering everyone is already frustrated with Joe to begin with.
It was impressive how well Lauren’s advantage got played. If you watched Cole’s Ponderosa video, he tells Desi that Jeff didn’t read the final vote – not realizing that there were no more votes to be read. I’m excited to see Lauren play her second vote if she gets the chance.
Dead Men Walking
First of all, has anyone else noticed Jeff’s facial expression and tone of voice when he says “You wanna know what you’re playing for?”. I’m living for it, and it’s pretty funny.
Taking a first look at the Next Time preview shown after the previous episode, Lauren and Ashley approach Mike and Joe and say “We want to talk to you guys.” Obviously, the commercial wants us to think that Lauren and Ashley are considering flipping and aligning with Mike and Joe, but I don’t think there’s a chance of that happening. Ashley hates Joe and has wanted him out for weeks so there’s no way she would jump ship and go with him now.
I want to think that Joe is probably the first boot of the double episode this week.
Blindside, blindside, blindside, blindside
By the look of this preview, it seems like this solid alliance of 7 is crumbling. Lauren is seen in the water with Ashley and Devon and basically tells them that this alliance is ‘crap’ and won’t last. Lauren is right, but it’s weird that she would bring Ashley and Devon out for the discussion. Where’s Ben, aka her #1 in the game? Has Lauren become aware of Ben controlling people and how the vote goes at tribal?
No matter what, I expect a huge blindside in this double boot episode, and I don’t see Joe surviving it either. So who is possible victim #2?
From the scenes in the TV preview, we see Ben talking to Chrissy, Ryan, Ashley, Devon, and Lauren about a blindside. Then we see Ryan and Chrissy talking about a blindside, then Ryan and Ben talking a blindside, and then there’s Lauren and Ashley discussing a blindside. Of all of these, JP is (as expected) not playing socially and is left out of these blindside talks. If they decided to go after JP, that might be a blindside for them, but JP has always been nonexistent this season, and I’m hoping CBS isn’t pumping up this double boot episode only to see the downfall of JP.
Last episode, Devon learned about Ryan and how he has been playing multiple sides, and he seemed to cut ties with him without Ryan knowing. Devon and Lauren have had a relationship since Day 1, and if Lauren and Devon really wanted to blindside someone, Ryan could be the perfect target for Devon.
Do I see Ryan leaving this week? No, his edit is huge and I see him making the final episode and losing. Ryan has an idol, and I’m sure if he catches wind of either his name or maybe even Chrissy’s being on the chopping block, he would probably play it.
Only one can dream that Chrissy will give her ‘expired’ idol to someone like Joe. That would be just as great as when Bob gave his fake idol to Randy.
Predictions
Who’s on the chopping block?
The possible targets besides Joe this week I feel will be either Ryan, Chrissy, JP(??), or Mike if someone doesn’t drag him in as an extra vote. I apologize for the long talk here, but I’m going to break down why I think someone is a target and why someone isn’t…
Joe – no explanation needed.
Mike – I believe Mike will be the last Healer standing and someone like Lauren won’t want to waste her vote to try and blindside someone else.
I think Ryan will be mentioned by someone like Devon to be blindsided. Same with Chrissy, but I think Ryan would use his idol for himself or Chrissy and I don’t see either of them going home.
Ben is still my winner prediction, and I expect him to continue his trend controlling the votes this week.
Ashley has been a bit invisible, but she’s included in all of the blindside talks in the previews, and she has a good relationship with Devon and Lauren, so I think she’s safe.
Finally, JP has been irrelevant. He was excluded from the blindside talks, and he has been seen as a physical threat. People like Chrissy don’t know where his head is at and he can be a liability to her or Ben.
Who will win immunity?
Based on the press photos, Mike and Ryan both make it to the final stage of the challenge. Other than those two, I think Devon will be the biggest contender being a surfer and having great balance on water, as well as doing yoga. Woo won this same challenge in Cagayan, and he was a martial arts instructor which also requires a lot of balance.
Will a clue or idol be found?
After Mike played his idol last week, there leaves room for another idol to possibly be hidden again. But Ryan still has his idol, so maybe they won’t bury another one until he plays his.
Will an idol or advantage get played?
I think an idol will only be played if Ryan or Chrissy become targets with Lauren, Devon, and Ashley trying to blindside someone. If Lauren wanted to go full force to guarantee the blindside was successful, she would play the advantage. I think the odds of her playing the extra vote are greater than Ryan playing his idol this week.
Winner Prediction After Episode 9
Moving along in the season, Ben’s game is beginning to be exposed by Joe, but he is aligned with people who aren’t opening their eyes to him yet. There are other big names in this game that Ben is starting to put himself behind – like Ryan. Ben exposed Ryan to Devon. Lauren and Ben are close. Ben and Chrissy are close. I think the only people who may try to target Ben in the seven-person alliance would be Ashley or JP because neither of them have a close relationship with him.
Overall, this double boot episode will be full of blindsides, and people will begin to be exposed for playing the type of game that they are playing. So this should be an exciting double-episode this week!
Have other predictions or ideas? Drop them into the comments below!
OTHER SURVIVOR CONTENT
Redmond’s Episode 9 Recap at Yahoo TV
Episode 10 Press Photos
Episode 9 Edgic
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Usually, I’ve enjoyed these. This predictions piece did nothing for me. Are you saying first Joe, but then because big movez, JP goes home? That would be less interesting than Joe and Mike going home. If Joe goes first, you’ve got 8 left. The only way to pull a blindside is to pull 3 plus Mike to your cause (assuming Lauren isn’t going to waste an extra vote on a 4-4 tie when she could wait until next tribal when that vote has more power). Based on survivor history, someone paranoid like Ryan seems like the likely instigator of a blindside at 9 (or at 7, but a double episode taunting blindsides makes me think this week). So Ryan, Chrissy, Joe, Mike, and… Ashley vote out Ben in the first hour. Hour number two everyone is open season and the advantages and idols all come out to play. Joe finds the rehidden idol. Ashley or JP go home in a rock draw or successful idol play. Then Lauren, Mike, and Devon at 7,6,5. Chrissy wins immunity at 4 and takes Joe to final three. Ryan beats JP (who is at 8 confessions for the whole season at this point) at fire to round out the top 3. Ryan and Joe are tied at final and Chrissy casts tiebreaker for Ryan. Sole survivor.
I said I predict joe to go first and then I think the 2nd hour is when the blindside is really going to be made on someone in the group of 7. When they were discussing blindsides, the only person in the group of 7 not involved was JP. Mike isn’t considered a blindside, it would be an easy obvious vote. So I was only going along with JP as a possibility due to that. I also think it would be worse then Joe and Mike going home and I hope it doesn’t.
Well, you had the boots correct after all! The strategy was more on line with what I envisioned. The key was probably Ashley flipping. I thought she’d stick with Chrissy and Ryan.
Overall, 2 hour double boot episodes are a bit hard to predict when it comes down to the 2nd hour and boot because you’ve seen last week and you can predict what will happen in the next episode, but it’s hard to predict 2 episodes ahead of time.
[…] Hey guys, it’s time for this week’s Next Time on Survivor. Before I jump into looking at the previews for this week, I wanted to check out the outcome of the predictions I made for the previous episode. […]