Did Natalie Outplay Russell’s Survivor Strategy?

Another season of Survivor has come to an end, and the castaway who won the title of soul survivor is…Natalie? This season, which took place in Samoa, has been one hell of a memorable season, namely due to a manipulative player named Russell. Despite his despicable tactics throughout the course of the game, he easily became the favorite this season because at the end of the day, everyone had to admit that this guy knew how to play the game. He lived up to the show’s tagline: outwit, outplay, outlast. But then, so did Natalie, and to a lesser extent, so did Mick.

There are often some undeserving people sitting in those final two or three seats, hoping that the castaways that they had a hand in voting out, will throw them a vote to win a million dollars. Ultimately, Erik, the first castaway to take a spot on the jury, was the one who put things in perspective at the final tribal council. He pointed out that Mick, while meant to be the leader of his tribe, never did anything to motivate or lead his tribe in 39 days, nor did he really earn a place in the game. Erik, who was a bit conniving in his own way, then pointed out that Russell’s dishonest and dirty game play was not something to be proud of, let alone something to be rewarded. Finally, he pointed out that Natalie may be viewed as weak, but the fact that she is sitting in the final three makes her just as threatening as Russell.

Is what one might call riding someone’s coat tails good game play? Hey, maybe it is. Natalie actually had a strong defense, stating that the first two women in her tribe to go home were the outspoken, aggressive ones, and while they were voted out, she stayed quiet and secured herself in a tighter alliance. But then, it goes without saying that this strategy can only work with someone like Russell, out there, doing the dirty game play.

It’s kind of admirable to watch someone like Russell take an aggressive approach to the game. He called most of the shots in his tribe, and once the merge hit, he had to spend practically the second half of the game with a target on his back. His tribe was ready to be picked off one by one after the merge, but largely thanks to him, he turned the tides and changed the odds. He found three hidden immunity idols! Two of which he found with no clues at all!

Russell played well, and in 19 seasons of this game, he is certainly one of the more conniving and interesting castaways to play. But Natalie played a great game too. While she did not adapt Russell’s aggressive game play, she was not a dumb blonde coasting along for 39 days. She always had a very keen awareness of what was going on, and while it may look like she road coat tails to the top, the fact that she’s at the top makes her game play no worse than Russell’s. And hey, this cute Southern blonde killed a rat against odds and expectations, which doesn’t earn her a million dollar prize, but does prove that she’s not quite the weak player she appeared to be.

[?]