Survivor Analyst Russian Roulette: Ciera Eastin

Ms Woozah

Time for the next edition of Survivor Analyst Russian Roulette, where the authors of this site are randomly assigned contestants from the upcoming season of Survivor: Game Changers and must give an honest assessment of what to expect from them. Next up: Ciera Eastin.

Editor’s note: Since six entries didn’t feel like enough for this series, we invited some more regular contributors to the site and put them through the randomizer. Long time friend of the site/commenter Ms Woozah decided to join the party.

Hey, did you guys know Ciera voted out her mom?

Despite this being Jeff Probst’s favorite, nay only, thing he remembers about Ciera Eastin, there are actually a few more elements to the young mom’s gameplay, even from her first go-round on the show.

It took her a while to warm up to the game, but on Blood vs Water, Ciera was actually a fairly decent liar when she wasn’t committing Survivor matricide. You may recall her casual manipulation of pure-hearted Katie Collins, for instance. (Editor’s note: Pure-hearted? Katie knows “it’s a game, bitch.”) Towards the end of BvW, Ciera was also was the key swing vote in the epic tribal council rock draw, proving to the returning players that she was finally a force to be reckoned with. It can be argued that this moment, in fact, was a much Bigger Move than voting out a mother who was going out anyway.

Coming off a season where she was responsible for several iconic moments gave Ciera an unquenchable thirst for making Big Moves. In Cambodia, Ciera was on the winning tribe for most of the pre-merge so we didn’t see too much of her at first, until suddenly she emerged with a simple battle cry: “Play the game, ya losers!”

Ciera’s penchant for lying and taking risks was put to the test early in the merge when she tried to convince Jeremy that Savage was out to get him. It didn’t exactly work, but then her luck seemed to take a turn with Wentworth’s idol play and an “anybody but me” willingness to go along with Fishbach’s plan to take out Wiglesworth. By then, Ciera- along with Wentworth and Abi-Maria- had received a reputation for being slimy gamers, as their alliance was dubbed the perhaps-problematic-but-still-pretty-cool name “Witches Coven.” (Or, as Kimmi called it – “Witches COH-ven.”)

I kind of loved the Witches.

Her fatal flaw, ultimately, was being viewed as too dangerous and disloyal to keep in the game. (Editor’s note: also, getting idoled out by someone other than the vote-getter, which is kind of a hard thing to anticipate when you think about it.)

Best Case Scenario

In my dreams, Ciera of the Witches Coven teams up with the Black Widow Brigade’s Cirie and Queen of Survivor Sandra to form the ultimate women’s alliance, the Royal Widow Coven (Editor’s note: That’s gotta be the title of a YA fantasy book). They can include Michaela as an honorary member, and take down the douchebro club of Troy, Brad, and Ozzy in humiliating fashion. Ciera is dropped by her new Coven at number 4, as Sandra is the real queen of the “anybody but me” game, dammit, and she knows to take Ciera out.

Worst Case Scenario

Between her two seasons, Jeff Probst’s constant hyping, and by literally making it her mantra, Ciera now has a reputation as a “Big Moves” player. This could and should be seen as a threat, even in a season full of so-called “game changers.” I can see the others being wary and wanting to take her out before it gets too far, perhaps even pre-merge.  

Most Likely Scenario

We’ve already seen how Ciera does with a group of all-returning Gamers. She plays too hard and comes across as an unpredictable threat post-merge, going out shortly thereafter. It seems unlikely that she’ll change things around too much. I do think other people in the cast (Sandra, Tony, Malcolm) will be seen as more of a threat than her at first, and if she’s smart she’ll do her best to keep them by her side as shields as long as possible. But I don’t see her lasting much longer than sixth or seventh.

Read the rest!

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