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 earned her spot in the final seven and I predict she will take home the million if she makes it to the finale. 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 Caroline played it a bit too safe, hiding behind Gabe Ortis for too long.
Other players struggled to recover after losing their ally (cough, cough Sam) or failed to shake the target off their back (cough, cough Genevieve), but Rachel 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 skilled at managing her threat level. Recognizing that her fellow castaways view her as intelligent, Rachel has proceeded 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. Rachel has cultivated strong relationships, making her a valuable ally, and as a result, multiple players are 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 saved her life, but we would be amiss to ignore 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 voting for a player like Genevieve or Andy, whose deceptiveness rubbed them 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 believe Rachel will win if she finds herself at the final Tribal Council. A couple of remaining castaways could give her a run for her money, most notably Genevieve and Andy. But even in that scenario, I think the odds are in her favor. Her resume stands alone. She survived a Tribal Council as a lone Gata member amongst five Tuku members, she found an immunity idol, beat competition beast Kyle in a challenge, and won a Block a Vote power. Perhaps more impressively, she cleverly used her Shot in the Dark as a decoy to see if her fellow players were planning to vote her out. A genius move. If she can explain that to the jury, she’s golden.
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