Survivor 41: Scoop – Week 3 Recap: Winners, Losers, Top Moments

Posted By: John Powell

October 6, 2021

Survivor 41: Scoop – Week 3 Recap: Winners, Losers, Top Moments

John Powell – GlobalTV.com

The modern Survivor USA game might have become the perfect example of how just because something is new doesn’t mean its actually better. On My Million Dollar Mistake viewers witnessed more advantages and more powers being rolled out, introduced in an already advantage cluttered game. Brad, Tiffany and Sydney all found advantages which required them to leave camp under the cover of darkness and make a group decision on a nearby island and JD uncovered an extra vote which he handed over to Shan as collateral since he had broken trust with so many members of Ua.

In fact, far more screen time was devoted to the circumstances surrounding those special powers than actual gameplay and strategy. Although this season was supposed to be titled Dawn of a New Era, fans are engaged in the same arguments that have hounded many recent seasons. Some fans believe that more twists makes the game and show more exciting. Some fans believe that with the influx of more idols and powers the game is more about advantages than it is about actual strategy.

Like many things in life what might be the best solution is a much better balance between the special advantages and the no frills, bare bones gameplay. Right now, it does seem that the balance is tilted towards those special powers and because this season is shorter and the tribes are smaller those advantages really stand out and are having more of a direct impact compared to other seasons in the past.

In My Million Dollar Mistake it wasn’t power that compelled Ua to turn on Brad. It was the fear of what he would do with the power and the fear the other players had of losing the power they had. Fear of the unknown is a great motivator and there was no way Ua was going to allow the chaotic and turbulent Brad to command such power over them.

While fellow Canadian Erika was MIA for the entire episode Shan was in the thick of it when it came to Brad’s fate. The snaky Ricard didn’t trust (feared) JD and Brad. Genie was aligned with Brad so that left Shan as the swing vote. Although she admitted that JD being secretive about his power already destroyed the trust she had with him, she still fed Brad to the sharks. It makes you wonder if JD days are numbered as well and tonight’s vote was just a retrieve.

Over at Luvu, Naseer wasn’t winning any friends or influencing people. With his reputation already tanking with the others he spoke with Sydney about targeting Danny…again. Sydney naturally blabbed everything to everyone. Poor Naseer.

“So, initially we thought we couldn’t live without Naseer. He was so essential to the tribe but at this point we can live our life without Naseer,” said Sydney summing up Naseer’s fate.

Will the sales manager from California be the next to go?

Stay tuned, folks.

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Moment # 5: Brad prepares a decoy.

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Moment # 4: JD makes his “crystals plea” at tribal council.

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Moment # 3: Naseer’s late night scheming is exposed.

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Moment # 2: Liana misses the advantage.

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Moment # 1: Brad, Tiffany and Sydney have their secret meeting.

Next time on Survivor…

Week Three: Brad Reese

Much like everyone who was evicted before him Brad’s biggest misstep was he was out of the loop when it came to the tribal politics. If he knew which was the wind was blowing, had spent more time with everyone he might have realize who he could trust and who he couldn’t. Not knowing that is what derailed a promising Survivor run.

Strategic Gameplay

Brad had a lot of ideas and a lot of schemes. It is a shame he was conniving with the wrong people. JD was right about one thing this episode. You have to be careful who you reveal your special powers to, if you do so at all. Being in possession of them can help your game. They can also harm your game.

Rating: 2 / 5

Social Gameplay

Brad said it himself and as we saw ourselves, there was a clear division at Ua. Brad was by far the oldest and wasn’t close to the younger tribemates except for Genie who is just four years younger than him.

Rating: 2 / 5

Entertainment Value

Brad was all about big risks and big moves. Sure, that isn’t the best Survivor strategy, however, it would have been entertaining to see his guns just blazing away. We lost a big character this week.

Rating: 3 / 5

Final Castaway Rating: 7 / 15

Who played it cool and who proved themselves to be a fool? Every week John Powell makes his picks for the worst and best players of the week.

JD not only broke his trust with the others, he shattered it. There may be no coming back from that mistake although Shan will probably give his advantage back.

Naseer

Naseer dug his hole even deeper. Barring a tribal swap it would appear his goose is cooked as soon as Luvu loses another immunity challenge.

With so few people on his tribe Brad should have kept his secrets to himself or limited the reveal to Genie.

Tiffany

She won an advantage and she strengthened her alliance with Evvie and Liana.

He did set fire to his own game. His performance at tribal council though looks like it saved him for being voted out granting him some precious time to set things right.