Anna Khait (new Gondol, formerly in "Beauty")
Following Episode 5: The tribal reconfiguration was only going to hurt the women's alliance on the now-defunct Beauty tribe. As fate would have it, the twist to send a random castaway to the deserted To Tang beach had a devastating effect, as Julia's misfortune caused all three women to be isolated. In reading the castaway profiles and watching their promotional videos before the season, three of the 18 castaways -- Peter, Nick and Anna -- struck me as arrogant and, for that reason, a likely early exit based upon personality. While Peter's arrogance created a stir among his new tribemates, it was Anna's cutthroat stance toward her former ally Tai in her strategy discussions with Peter and (presumably) others that raised the most suspicion. That, set in contrast to Tai's hardworking nature and ability to provide at camp, landed Anna squarely in the crosshairs. Scot and Tai probably did the math and realized they could execute Tai's proposed surprise idol play against Peter at a later time. So it was wise to hold onto the idol rather than use it to protect Anna, who, if she had stayed in the game, would have gained her ally Julia and could have turned against them. Anna's arrogance in her ability to use her looks and people-reading skills belied the simple fact that these castaways are too smart for those tactics and -- more than anything -- want to work with people who are willing to show their proverbial cards, as Tai plainly did. With Michele and Julia, Anna's cutthroat nature was insulated, but isolated from them, she was exposed. ...How much did the reconfiguration hurt or help Anna's chances (scale of 1 to 10, 1 hurt very much, 10 helped very much)? 1.
