Rachel LaMont’s Survivor 47 game is a masterclass in adaptability. She’s lost allies, narrowly escaped elimination, and secured her safety by winning challenges and discovering advantages.
Fans have had their eye on her since the merge, but Episode 11 solidified her place as a frontrunner. Viewers were impressed with her performance in the Immunity Challenge and her social strategy when it came to volunteering for “the journey.”
The 34-year-old has earned her spot in the final seven and I could see her taking home the million. At this point, she has the most impressive resume.
Here is why Rachel deserves to win Survivor 47.
Rachel LaMont is an adaptable player on Survivor 47
Survivor 47 is full of savvy, social players. Genevieve Mushaluk, Caroline Vidmar, and Sam Phalen have all left their mark on the island, but no one’s played the game quite as well as Rachel. Sam’s blind loyalty to Sierra Wright damaged his position on the island, Genevieve’s boldness made her a target and cost her a few allies, and Caroline played it a bit too safe, hiding behind Gabe Ortis for too long.
Other players have struggled to recover from losing their ally (cough, cough Sam) or have failed to get the target off their back (cough, cough Genevieve), but Rachel has handled these handicaps in stride. When Rachel lost her number-one ally, Anika Dhar, she didn’t throw a pity party. She found a way forward with the remaining Gata members, working alongside them once the merge arrived. She’s also quite good at managing her threat level. Her fellow castaways know she’s smart, so she’s moved with caution. She takes risks but hasn’t overplayed her hand like Genevieve or Kyle Ostwald.
Rachel is playing a great social game on Survivor 47
To me, a great Survivor player is almost impossible to rally a vote against. Caroline Vidmar and Genevieve Mushaluk tried to vote out Rachel twice, but they didn’t have the numbers. There are too many players invested in keeping her on the island. She went from being one of the biggest threats to finding herself in a final five alliance because people like working with her.
One could argue that Rachel’s survival in the game is dependent on Sol Yi, who gifted her an Immunity Idol when she was left alone on a team with five Tuku members. The Idol did save her life, but we would be amiss to disregard why Sol chose to send it to her. It would have been much easier for Sol to essentially flush the Idol by sending it to one of the Tuku members. He risked having four strong players mad at him to save Rachel. He wouldn’t have taken that risk unless he knew he could work with her. His decision to save her is a testament to her social game.
She also excels at jury management. I could see a bitter jury not wanting to vote for a player like Genevieve or Andy, whose deceptiveness has rubbed their fellow castaways the wrong way. And we know there is no way Gabe is voting for Caroline. But Rachel doesn’t have enemies. People perceive her as a threat, sure, but they like her on a personal level.
Rachel’s Survivor 47 resume is hard to beat
I think there is no way Rachel won’t win if she finds herself at the Final Tribal Council. Sure, there are a couple of castaways that could give her a run for her money, most notably Genevieve and Andy, but even then, I think the odds are still in her favor. Her resume is impressive. She survived a Tribal Council where she was the only Gata member amongst five Tuku members, which was crazy. Additionally, she found an Immunity Idol, beat competition beast Kyle in a challenge, and won a Block a Vote. Not to mention her decision to use her Shot In the Dark as a decoy to see if her fellow players were planning to vote her out was genius. If she can explain that to the jury, she’s golden.
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TELL US – WHAT DO YOU THINK OF RACHEL’S GAME? DO YOU THINK SHE DESERVES TO WIN SURVIVOR 47?
