All About Numbers (Episode 7, Chapter 9)
Well, it finally happened; the remaining Survivor contestants have made it to the merge. The dueling tribes of Coyopa and Hunahpu are no more and, the newly formed mega tribe is known as #Huyopa. Loved ones have been reunited and, singles must fend for themselves. A wrong move now could mean a million dollar decision. The stakes are high and so are emotions.
Needless to say, there are many decisions to be made. At this point in the game, being on the right side of an alliance is everything. When the tribe goes to counsel, a majority vote will make the difference between who stays and who leaves. With so much at risk, this episode provides a prime viewing ground for the varying decision-making styles of the tribe members.
Baylor, for example, seems to have been put in a tough spot by the merge. Her early alliance with Josh had saved her from going home but, now that she’s reunited with Missy, Baylor is feeling obligated to follow her mother’s lead and vote against him. From her conversation with Missy, it seems to me that Baylor would fall into the “feeler” category of the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator. She wants to maintain harmony and, she reminds Missy of how Josh has saved her in the past. However, Baylor is a dependent decision maker and, she’s willing to go against Josh if that will please Missy.
On the other hand, Josh’s ploy to guilt-trip Baylor was the result of his rational decision making style. Josh knew that he was on the wrong side of the numbers and, his attempt to align with Baylor was the most logical solution to the problem. Unfortunately for Josh, Baylor is going to follow in Missy’s footsteps, and she is already aligned with Jeremy.
It follows that, herein lies the tension between Josh and Jeremy. Both of these tribe members have played the game well and, the realities of politics and power have served them well thus far. For the most part, it seems that the competition between these two has only been verbally communicated via private confessionals with the camera but, the nonverbal communication is clear. Each wants the other to go home and, at the Immunity Challenge, Jeremy wasn’t shy about hiding the smirk on his face when Josh fell out of the running for immunity.
With no tribal counsel this week, Josh and Jeremy will continue to battle for numbers and, Jon and Jaclyn seem to be prime for the picking. Once again, they find themselves as the swing vote and, as such, they have been carefully asking themselves questions of value pertaining to which alliance will serve them best. That being said, their loyalties seem to be shifting and, the next person to be voted out remains a question of conjecture. Keith said it best when he commented that the next vote “is critical, we’ll know exactly where everybody stands after” the next vote. He doesn’t have to worry, though. He’s the one with immunity.
