Rachel LaMont Employs Brilliant New Strategic Wrinkle in this Week's 'Survivor'

We’re 47 seasons into Survivor now, so anytime a player pulls off something new, it’s worth noting—especially when it’s a sharp move that’s likely to be replicated in future seasons and cataloged by die-hard Survivor fans.

Spoilers Ahead

The spotlight here is on Rachel LaMont, a graphic designer and one of the season’s most likable players, who executed a memorable strategy with her ally, Sol. Last week, Sol gifted Rachel an advantage that saved her from near-certain elimination when she faced five players from a rival tribe. Essentially cornered with no realistic way out, Rachel might have otherwise gambled away on her shot-in-the-dark move then had Sol not handed her what was, for all purposes, immunity.

This week, the game entered a true merge phase, where every player would cast a vote. Kyle, viewed as the season’s biggest challenge threat, was the initial target, but he managed to prove why he’s such a big threat by clinching immunity after winning the challenge (where both a male and female could win). Sue narrowly outlasted Rachel among the women, also earning her spot of safety.

With Kyle immune, post-challenge maneuvering narrowed the potential targets to three: Sierra, Sam (both part of an early, solid alliance), and Rachel, who had been tagged as a formidable social and strategic player. But Rachel’s fortunes turned at the auction reward challenge, where she discovered a clue to a hidden immunity idol in her fries, which she secured just before Tribal Council.

Despite being told that the votes would be split between Sierra and Sam, Rachel suspected she might be blindsided but she also wanted to hold onto her idol unless absolutely necessary. In an intelligent play, she chose to use her Shot in the Dark, sacrificing her vote in exchange for a slim one-in-six chance at immunity.

Rachel, however, wasn’t just hoping for immunity; she was testing her tribe with a trial balloon. When Jeff revealed that her Shot in the Dark hadn’t made her safe, Rachel scanned her fellow players’ faces, reading their reactions. A flash of relief would indicate her name was on the chopping block, prompting her to use her idol. The lack of reaction from the others, however, signaled that the vote likely wasn’t aimed at her.

Rachel decided to keep her idol, and after the vote (and a revote), Sierra was eliminated. Another subtle but effective aspect of Rachel’s play was that by using her Shot in the Dark and losing her vote, she didn’t have to cast a vote against anyone, thus avoiding creating a new enemy.

Rachel confirmed her strategy on Twitter this morning.

Notably, she didn’t coordinate this with Sol, her ally, who flashed her a supportive wink after she played her Shot in the Dark. Sol, it turns out, just likes to wink!

My hope is to see Sol, Rachel, and either Kyle or Genevieve make it to the final three, but as we all know after 47 seasons of Survivor, it’s rarely the best players who make it to the end.