Keys to Survivor Worlds Apart Ep07

Survivor: Worlds Apart Episode 07 quick recap:
 
Reward Challenge:  We didn't have one of these.  Instead, the teams met, Jeff Probst wasn't there, and there was a note telling them that they have merged.  They enjoy a merge feast, then return to the Escameca camp (notably the only one where a hidden immunity idol has not been found).  They find that their shelter has vanished so the producers must have decided that recreating things would be good for team building.

Immunity Challenge:  The classic "Hang Around On A Pole" challenge.  Everyone starts near the top of a pole that has 4 hand/foot hold ridges carved around it.  Last one hanging wins.  Jeff tells us it has been used 6 times before and been won equally by men and women.  The big guys are the first to drop - Dan & Will.  Slowly people drop out until it is just Joe and Carolyn.  Carolyn drops out next and Joe wins the first individual immunity.

Tribal Council:  Our new merged tribe, Merica (short for America), heads to tribal council.  The former No Collars seem like they are a group.  The former Blue Collars seem like they are a group.  The former White Collars seem like they may be the swing votes.  Lots of conversations happened before tribal, but let's see how things turned out. Will was swayed by a few people on the former Blue Collar tribe to vote with them.  Tyler & Carolyn, knowing they were swing votes, decided to go with the Blue Collar folks.  Shirin was welcomed in by the former No Collars and voted with them.  The result was a 7-4-1 vote.  7 votes for Jenn, 4 votes for Kelly, and 1 vote for Hali.  Will had been told to vote for Hali, and secretly the Blue Collar people would know that if they didn't see a Hali vote then they couldn't trust Will going forward.  But I've left out an important detail.  Jenn didn't feel comfortable about this tribal council and figured this may be the best time to play her hidden immunity idol.  She did play it, and used it on herself, nullifying 7 votes and resulting in Kelly being the 7th person voted out of Survivor: Worlds Apart.  She is NOT noted as being on the jury.


Best Moves:
Best #1:  No question this goes to Jenn using her hidden immunity idol.

Best #2:  Joe realizes he could be an early target and digs deep to pull out an immunity victory.

Best #3:  Mike somehow convinces several people to work with the largest intact group in the game.

Best #4:  Jeff Probst doesn't waste his time to attend the merge festivities.  He certainly had better things to do - maybe he was helping to put the Escameca camp back to day-1 condition.

Worst Moves:
Worst #1:  The new apparent majority alliance doesn't consider the possibility of a hidden immunity idol.  The players this season had been so good up until now at guarding against that even when it didn't seem likely.  I'm not sure why they stopped now.  Sure would have been better to vote 4-4, then the only downside would have been if Will was still with No Collar and they had 5 votes.

Worst #2:  Rodney drops out of the immunity challenge after asking if Carolyn could do it.  Never count on someone else to do what needs to be done.

Worst #3:  Nobody cheers on Joe in the immunity challenge.  If anyone would have given him some encouragement then maybe it wouldn't be as obvious that he is your target.  This also makes it less obvious that Jenn or Hali would be a target in case Joe wins.

Top 4 Prospects: Last week I listed Carolyn, Tyler, Hali, and Jenn.
1) Carolyn - former White Collar and Nagarote.  They merged, and even though things didn't go as she expected, it actually worked to her advantage.  The former Blue Collar crew is smaller now, which makes her that much more powerful.  She's still a swing vote and she still has a hidden immunity idol - the only one currently in someone's posession.

2) Tyler - former White Collar and Escameca.  Same reasoning as Carolyn.  More powerful as a swing vote than he was before.

3) Shirin - former White Collar and Nagarote.  She isn't very good at challenges or at the social game, but at this point that could carry her along since people will not be considering her as a threat.

4) Hali - former No Collar and Nagarote.  Although she may be in the minority now, it appears that Jenn is a bigger target than she is, so I feel safe believing that she will survive the next vote.  Of course, what usually happens in Survivor when someone claims they feel safe?  Discuss amongst yourselves.

Bottom 4 Prospects: Last week I listed Joe, Dan, Rodney, and Sierra.  Kelly was voted out in a move I didn't see coming.  Here's my new bottom.
11) Joe - former No Collar and Escameca.  Just like last week, he's probably still the biggest target.

10) Mike - former Blue Collar and Escameca.  My new guess for who will be the target in the larger alliance.  And just because his alliance is large, doesn't mean it will stay that way with so many possible swing votes around.

9) Jenn - former No Collar and Nagarote.  She was the most recent target and now she doesn't have a hidden immunity idol to save her.

8) Will - former No Collar and Nagarote.  He hasn't appreciated being left out of the loop in the past.  Although the majority alliance had good reasons, don't expect Will to respond well to being the only one left in the dark.  Remember what happened to Vince in episode 2?  Will could go rogue, but this time it could be his undoing.