Static Zombie

How to Win $100,000

I thought Jonathan was crazy for switching tribes a couple of weeks ago on Survivor. Even if the members of his old tribe distrusted him-- and many did-- they didn't outright hate him. Abandoning them for another group guaranteed that whichever of them survived to the merge would be gunning for him. And on his new tribe, he'd be the odd man out. When they had to vote someone off, who was more likely to go-- the people who'd been bonding with each other for days, or the new guy who already demonstrated that he had no tribal loyalty at all?

Except, miraculously, Jonathan's new tribe voted out three of their own in successive tribal councils and kept Jonathan. He survived to the merge. And then stabbed his new tribe in the back by flipping AGAIN and voting with his old tribe!

I'm not sure what game Jonathan's playing, but it sure isn't one that ends with him winning a million bucks. There's nobody left on that island who likes him now. I'm wondering if Jonathan switched game plans and, instead of trying for the million, decided to play for the $100,000 second prize. Because if his opponents play smart and not emotionally, he's a shoo-in. Which of them wouldn't want to stand next to Jonathan in the final two? The genius of Yul's move-- revealing to Jonathan that he had the hidden immunity idol-- is that Jonathan couldn't tell his new tribe about it. Because they would have no reason not to make sure Yul knew Jonathan blabbed, thus guaranteeing that Yul's crew would vote for Jonathan. So Jonathan had to remain silent. He could have still voted against Yul and taken his chances with his new crew, but I wouldn't be surprised if he saw that his chances for the million are slim and decided to maximize his chance at the second prize instead.

It's going to be very interesting to see how this plays out.