Coup de Chaos

This is a story about Romeo and Juliet.

No. Romeo and Genevieve.

No. Rome and Genevieve.

I’ll get there one day.

This is a story about — without over-hyperbolizing — one of the greatest pre-merge moves in Survivor history.

This is up there with David Genat’s move on Daisy in Australian Survivor All Stars.

This is up there with Sandra Diaz Twine getting Russell to turn on Coach in Survivor Heroes vs. Villains.

It’s up there with Mike Holloway throwing a challenge to save his ally Kelly in Worlds Apart.

It’s one of the greatest plays I’ve ever seen in Survivor. Executed to perfection, to the extent that I felt compelled to write about this show for the first time in six years.

This is also the story about one of the most delusional players to ever play the game, and how another player has so masterfully utilized them in the game.

Meet Rome.

Rome is one of the most delusional, conceited, lost puppy dogs to ever play the game. For all intents and purposes, he seems like a nice guy. But he’s absolutely off his rockers.

Within days of the game starting, Rome literally turned to the cameras, while lounging on a rock, and said:

“Might as well rename this season Survivor Rome 😜”.

He then proceeded to compare himself to Boston Rob, widely regarded as one of the best players in the show’s long-standing history.

You can only assume that Rome is playing into his character on the show. That he’s self aware enough to recognize how he’s coming across. That he knows he can’t possibly compare himself to a two-time Survivor finalist just days into his season, before his tribe has even gone to Tribal Council.

But for all intents and purposes, we’ve only been given indications to the contrary. That is — Rome actually believes the show should be renamed after him. In fact, every single thing we’ve seen has confirmed that he thinks he’s the greatest thing since sliced bread, and that nothing else, no one else, can compare to him. That anything he does in the game must be gold.

Now in Survivor, when you’re living with that person every day, from the outside looking in, the natural assumption would be to immediately eliminate that player. To forego having to live with such a personality, by literally giving yourself the option of not living with them.

It never works like that.

Why? Rome has made himself into a target. As wonderfully illustrated by Jeremy Collins in Survivor Cambodia, you want to keep targets around and use them, so that you can lurk in the shadows. In theory, the targets will be voted out before you, thus preserving your own life in the game.

In simple terms: Rome is now a player that every single player should theoretically want to eliminate. By proxy, he’s a player that no one will actually eliminate for quite some time.

But this kind of player still needs to be nurtured.

Every Russell has their Natalie.

Every Tony has their Trish.

Every Rome has their Genevieve.

Meet Genevieve. Someone that recognizes exactly that, and has actually utilized that strategic thinking only after forming a real, genuine connection with Rome.

The relationship came first. In fact, they were the first two people we saw forming a connection on Lavo beach.

The strategic thinking behind how to navigate the relationship has now only come from days of watching Rome operate and seeing just how volatile he can be.

For Genevieve, Rome is exactly the type of player you want to keep around.

• He’s loyal to her.
• He’s garnering advantages left, right, and centre.
• He’s a massive target.

The danger in the final bullet is that because Rome has accumulated so many advantages, it would be very natural for the target to shift to his number one ally, herself.

That’s a dangerous place to be. In fact, it was even a consideration for her tribemates last vote. Kishan and Teeny ultimately decided to vote out their own connection in Aysha, in order to preserve their relatonship with Genevieve (and keep Rome as a shield in the same way).

✅ Credit Genevieve.

For Genevieve to avoid being voted out last time around took some doing on her part, and was clearly a testament to the relationships she built with Kishan and Teeny within that block of four. We even saw glimmers in the latest episode of just how comforting she can be when talking to Sol.

Genevieve is clearly one of the greatest social players we’ve seen in early Survivor, despite her limited air time on screen.

So now when her tribe goes back to Tribal Council for a second time in a row, the latest episode of the show, she has all the options at her disposal.

She can….

• Take out Rome, knowing that he’s volatile.
• Take out Sol, knowing that her connection with him has only (seemingly) just started to grow.

Or, she can carve her own path.

And that’s exactly what Genevieve did, and why this is one of the greatest moves in pre-merge history.

Genevieve carved her own path.

She recognized her position with Teeny and Kishan as the third in a group of three. She recognized her position with Rome as his number one ally. She recognized her position with Sol as someone that Sol wants to work with.

In saving Rome and turning the tables on Kishan, she could then preserve her closest connection in the game (and a massive threat in front of her), eradicate a pair of two that will always choose each other, and simultaneously, magically, wonderfully, give Sol and Teeny nowhere else to go after Kishan leaves the game.

If the tribe goes back to tribal council next episode, there is almost no way in which the tables can turn on Genevieve.

Specifically, Rome now has to be loyal to her above everyone else. He knows Teeny almost backstabbed him. He knows Sol wants him gone. Rome has literally nowhere else to go.

In order for the tables to turn on Genevieve by the hands of Sol and Teeny, they would need Rome to go with them.

Same with Sol and Teeny. Sol doesn’t like Rome. Teeny now doesn’t have her closest ally. Without forcing a rock draw, they can’t turn on Rome. They can’t turn on Genevieve.

But to make matters even more impressive, Genevieve’s move comes from an ability to mend fences. Rome and Sol were on opposite ends of the spectrum coming into the vote — both wanting the other gone.

Genevieve utilized her social standing in the game to get them on the same page. Not only that, she gave them both no other option.

Rome’s other option? Being voted out.

Sol’s other option? Either being voted out, or placing a pointless vote on Rome that wouldn’t count for anything.

Her powers of persuasion were so strong that she helped the delusional Rome recognize his position in the game, to the extent where he apologized to Sol.

Meanwhile, she forced Sol’s hand into not voting for Rome — something he said he couldn’t possibly do.

Sometimes, the most impressive moves are the ones that immediately make you an instant target. But Genevieve pulled this move off with such swagger, such a strong social standing and strategic placement in the game, that she has firmly put herself into the power position of the tribe by making this move — keeping her safe under the ruse that Rome remains the most powerful of all.

Absolutely brilliant.

It’s been six years since I wrote about Survivor, and well Genevieve, you’re the inspiration.

Thanks for reading and see you soon!