Survivor 47 is in full swing and with only eight players remaining, it’s time to start thinking about potential winners. There are a few contenders for the title but one stands out above the rest. After his meltdown during the premiere, some viewers expected Andy Rueda to be the first one voted out. Andy overheated during a challenge, which later led to him having an outburst in front of everyone. Andy proclaimed that his tribe didn’t like him and worried that he was on the bottom.
Luckily for Andy, the Gata tribe saved him from elimination and instead sent home Jon Lovett. Since then, Andy has shown an incredible amount of growth. Andy has now reached the final eight, where he has risen to the top of the pack. In comparison to his fellow seven castaways, Andy currently has the best shot of winning. Multiple signs currently point to Andy being crowned the winner of Survivor 47. This is what we call a comeback!
Andy Rueda is front and center during every episode of Survivor 47
The biggest hint so far of Andy’s potential victory is the amount of screen time he has. Producers check in with Andy a lot during every episode. Before the merge, Andy was at the center of almost every Gata edit. The fellow Gata members were constantly thinking about Andy, and he always had several confessionals providing his input.
Andy has maintained his prominent position since making the merge. As of Episode 10, Andy has had 49 total confessionals, which is the third highest this season. Apart from confessionals, Andy also has more of a storyline than most of the other castaways. When he decided to turn against Sierra Wright and Sam Phalen, producers gave Andy his own makeover montage. Similarly, in Episode 10, Andy had his own segment explaining his position in the game by comparing himself to a spider.
We know more about Andy than we do about most of the other contestants, so there must be a good reason. It’s clear producers are giving Andy a significant edit, which could mean he may win. After all, the titles of Episodes 8, 9, and 10 were all one-liners from Andy. This just can’t be a coincidence!
Andy is playing a strong game on Survivor 47
While Andy has gotten a lot of criticism for being sloppy this season, his game has actually been genius. Andy has made a few critical errors, such as losing his shot in the dark and leaving a beware advantage behind. However, these were in the early days of the game. Since joining the merge, Andy has become a different player completely.
Unlike most of the other remaining players, Andy has actually made big strategic moves. A lot of Survivor players simply use their social game to get on the right side of votes. Andy has done the opposite and has actually taken the lead on the majority of recent votes. It was Andy who made the first big move of the merge by convincing the former Lavo and Tuku tribes to vote Sierra out. He was also one of the players who orchestrated the recent blindside against Gabe Ortis.
Andy is also playing a great social game and currently has a working relationship with all seven of his remaining castaways. Everyone has expressed a desire to work with Andy recently, which puts him in a great spot. Another interesting aspect of Andy’s game has been his mixed performances in challenges. While Andy is weaker at balancing challenges, he does perform well in strength-based ones. He was even close to beating Kyle Ostwald for immunity during the bucket challenge! Overall, Andy’s game has been well-rounded, which gives him a great chance at winning.
Andy isn’t seen as a big threat on Survivor 47
A big theme this season has been taking out the big threats while you can. Viewers saw this with Sierra’s elimination, which was followed by Sol Yi and Gabe. There are multiple contestants who already have a target on their back, including Sam, Kyle, Rachel LaMont, and Genevieve Mushaluk. Despite receiving a few votes in earlier tribals, Andy has managed to fly back under the radar.
Given that the majority of players already have their eye on these bigger threats, Andy is all but guaranteed a spot in the final three. It’s not uncommon to see players in Andy’s position make it far, as no one wants to take someone they view as a big threat far at this point in the game. While Andy is actually quite a threat, he has secured his position by not letting anyone else see his strengths. No one really sees how strategic Andy has been this season, which works in his favor. If he keeps playing like this, Andy has a decent shot at winning Survivor 47!
Survivor continues Wednesdays at 8/7c on CBS.
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