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Perfecting the art of the blindside
Now that’s the way to play the hidden Immunity Idol. This whole Survivor season has been about when to show your cards and when to play your hand, and Amanda worked it just right tonight, without even lying about having the idol. She knew that Parvati was her strongest ally and enlisted her help with the plan. She gave Erik and Cirie a chance to go along with herself and Parvati but made no overtures to Natalie or Alexis. She thoroughly impressed the four sitting jury members and probably didn’t alienate Alexis in the process of voting her out.

Now the only thing left for Amanda to do is get to the final three, in order to cash in on the jury votes everybody is convinced she has. That makes her still the biggest target in camp, with the hidden idol out of play. She has a steadfast ally in Parvati, while no one else left in the game has anyone they can be absolutely certain of.

Erik? He’s on his own as the last ice cream scooper (and last man) on the tribe. The women will try to pull him in at least three different directions, and I’m not sure he’s strong enough or smart enough to know how best to use his leverage.

Natalie? She’s the last woman from the original Fans, and when Alexis left she lost the one person who might have teamed up with her. Well, others might team up with her, but how will she know what’s really going on? Nobody has any reason to confide in her, because she has no power.

Cirie? Cirie will go whichever way the wind blows, as she always has. That’s how she got to final four in Panama, and it’s how she’s stayed this long in Micronesia. In fact, this is one of the few times in her two seasons that the person she voted for wasn’t the person eliminated. She’s a guaranteed vote for whoever she thinks is in charge, but she’s also probably the only person who could beat Amanda in the jury vote.

So I get the feeling immunity is going to be pretty important to everyone next time.

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