HOLLYWOOD—Yes, last week’s boot of JD from the UA tribe on “Survivor 41” was predictable, but what would transpire with only three members on the tribe left was anyone’s guess. This week’s episode, ‘The Strategist or the Loyalist’ saw UA celebrating day-10 in the game, damn it seems things are moving at a record pace. Genie was focused on looking for that ‘Beware Idol,’ but I’m not sure she should be spilling the tea that she found it. I mean Shan was smart about not opening the supposed idol out of fear of someone having more power than her.

Five seconds later Shan decides to open the advantage and now she has lost her vote. What an idiot people, this opened the doors for Ricard to blindside Shan it he chooses to people. OMG, the level of complexity with these two trying to pull something over Genie is beyond stupid to me. Shan and Ricard, you are NOT as powerful as you think you are. Everything seems to be in the hands of boring Luvu who hasn’t done much in the game besides win and win and win people. Deshawn wanted to throw this challenge as they are starting to realize that the guys on the other tribes are starting to dwindle.

Danny sees Naseer as a threat, but Naseer’s point of not losing flint makes a lot of sense people. Evvie was playing double agent once again, trying to ensure Xander was in her corner and not Liana and Tiffany. Yeah, Tiffany started to realize that Evvie could be a threat to her game. Liana and Tiffany discovered that Xander’s idol cannot be used until a member on each tribe says the secret phrase. So Evvie, Evvie, you should have spilled the details a lot sooner to your allies.

Tiffany is quite paranoid to say the least. This is why I don’t like this three-way idol because it places a target on your back and it is quite obvious right off the back people. Xander if you’re going to tell a lie you have to sell it completely and not waver, you lost major loyalty points people. This is interesting because Naseer found the ‘Beware Advantage’ and the three-way idol is FINALLY activated. Naseer, Shan and Xander now all have their idols. I love that we are getting these flashbacks now; it totally leaves the viewer expecting the unexpected at this point in the series a nice little touch.

We officially have a game people and oh, no matter who loses this time around I cannot wait to finally see an idol possibly played in this game. Yase wins immunity, which means it’s between Luvu and UA. I do NOT want to see UA go back to Tribal people, but they did and the level of predictability this season is concerning now. The look on Shan’s face said it all. So it seems so obvious people, Genie is about to bounce.

Yase had to send two people on the journey; Shan was selected as well as Liana. Ok, this is about to get very interesting. Shan explained that she has an idol, and Liana explained that Xander has an extra vote and an idol. So these two women are looking to play with one another throughout the entire game. Shan’s backstory shattered my heart and hearing her turn her life around after struggles proves that anything is possible. Shan was willing to give Liana whatever was up for grabs because she needed to give an ally something to have in her arsenal.

Liana earned the Power Advantage which allows her to ask a player one of two questions. They cannot lie and if she asks that question to the right person she gets their advantage. She could take Xander’s idol or his extra vote. Now that is an advantage that I absolutely would love to have in this game because it totally changes the game as we know it.

Just as we predicted, Ricard was ready to toss Shan to the wolves with Genie, which she expected. Ricard, Ricard, damn you little snake. However, Genie had ulterior motives and plans to send Ricard out the door. Shan is nervous, she is anxious, and her conversation with Genie I think was vital. So Shan has to make another move to get her extra vote back again, this time with Ricard, but he seemed to understand what was taking place and she did not like what was taking place.

Oh, this is a game of chess, so Shan and Ricard are being forced to dance around each other, so it tells me everything I needed to know. These two do NOT trust one another. She realizes that Ricard could be detrimental to her game people. Yeah, I don’t like seeing a Tribal Council with three people it feels like an absolute waste of time. Ricard was tooting his horn a bit too much. I feel like I know where things are going, but witnessing this dynamic is still entertaining.

Damn, Ricard gave a very convincing answer about how coming to Tribal Council and voting people out changes the game because it gives you experience. Once again, I forgot about the Shot in the Dark people. No advantages played and the vote as I expected sent Genie out the game. Honestly, Shan should have taken the shot at Ricard, but I think she was so focused on getting that extra vote back that is why she stayed loyal to him.

We have to have a merge next week people because we’re now at 12 people and if UA goes to Tribal Council again we all know how that vote is going to go people. However, the teaser noted a merge was coming, but not the one that the contestants expected, so this feels like a tribe swap. “Survivor 41” is indeed proving this is an evolution of the game people.