We don’t get much in the opening few shots. We see Vuku/Orange back at camp after the Natalia blindside. Kara is understandably upset with Alec. As she says in a confessional (echoing the thoughts of viewers everywhere), “If you’re going to make a move, don’t do it now!” Then we get a few blips at each camp, with a torrential downpour coming. That’s when we get the big news: A huge cyclone is headed toward the island and for the secondtime in Survivor history (following Millennials Vs. Gen X) , the castaways are evacuated. We’ll pick up at the tribe beaches after the Reward Challenge. But first, a quick note from EW’s Dalton Ross with some more information regarding the evacuation.
Players spent two days out of the game due to cyclone, but it should not impact timing (39 days) at all due to Bi quitting and last Tribal taking place on day 11 instead of 12. They had some wiggle room to play with. #Survivor
Two members of each tribe uses poles to knock sand bags out of an overhead net. Once the bags are collected, one contestant uses a slingshot to hit two targets. First tribe to finish wins four hens and a rooster. Second tribe goes home with one dozen eggs. Vuku wins and Jabeni takes second. It was the first true reward challenge of the season since the marooning, and it was fine (i.e. good not great) start to the reward challenges.
Vuku/Orange
Kara tries to work her relationships with the three Davids. She tells them she trusts the Davids much more than she trusts Alec. Elizabeth realizes that Alec, having already betrayed his initial alliance, will need her more than Kara would. So while Alec’s move to vote out Natalia may not do much for him long-term, it has certainly put Kara in an immediately precarious position.
Tiva/Green
John, Dan, and Christian form the Brochachos as Christian continues to make easy connections with guys who would, on the surface, appear to be his polar opposite. Stereotypical, yes, but Christian’s social game is so far proving to be much stronger than I would have expected coming into the game. The way he’s connected and formed relationships with pretty much everyone he’s been on a tribe with has been so much fun to watch.
But unfortunately for Christian, Dan singles out Gabby in a confessional; he wants to target her as the first vote if and when Tiva goes to tribal. To help further strengthen his position, Dan goes idol hunting and finds a clue. The idol will be hidden at the upcoming Immunity Challenge. This was a live look at me when I saw this scene unfold. I LOVE IDOLS HIDDEN AT CHALLENGES. It adds a whole extra level of strategy and intensity and gusto. It’s just the best.
Jabeni/Purple
Not a lot is happening, just Natalie bossing everyone around again. This time it’s about the eggs (yes, eggs…) which she wants to cook right away, thinking they will go bad by morning otherwise. Lyrsa, a culinary-school graduate, disagrees. This is just another reason in her eyes to get rid of Natalie. And that’s about it for Jabeni.
Immunity Challenge
Castaways run up and over obstacle, lift a ladder and climb up to retrieve a rope which is then used to raise a bridge. They then cross the bridge to retrieve a ball. One tribe member finishes by navigating the ball through a snake maze. It was a cool, fun challenge. And I don’t care if it was only editing or not, but we were shown it in a way that made it seem like a very close and tight finish. But in the end, Alec is first to finish for Vuku, and Christian is right behind for Tiva.
Dan is able to get the idol, giving him two idols. Of course, many players know about the first one. But from what we saw on screen, nobody saw him grab the second one.
Jabeni/Purple Post-Immunity Challenge
Natalie, Mike, and Angelina initially settle on voting out Lyrsa as she “doesn’t bring a lot to the table.” Angelina, ever the softie, says she wants Lyrsa’s jacket because she’s always so cold. She puts Natalie on the case, who then tries to intimidate Nick into stealing Lyrsa’s jacket, or giving up his own. Honestly it was bizarre to watch. Nick refuses to be bullied into becoming a thief, and he hangs on to his own jacket.
Nick talks to Mike about voting out Natalie, who seems very receptive to the idea. Mike leaves Nick to the task of trying to get Angelina on board, so he can remain in good (or at least better) standing with the rest of the Goliaths. Later, Mike voices the same concerns to Angelina. Angelina is weighing both options. Voting Natalie out might be a good short-term move for tribe morale, but she’s worried about its long-term effects, as that would leave the game at an even 7-7 split between remaining Davids and Goliaths.
Tribal Council
After Natalie talks for the majority of the time – the way each of her tribal council’s has gone so far – she is voted out 3-2. There are a few interesting points to think about here. Mike initially said he would be more hesitant to voting out Natalie if Angelina was not on board. But based on the voting results, she clearly was not. If you’re worried about the numbers game, Natalie was arguably the least likely of anyone to flip on the Goliaths. So this move may not be great for Mike’s long-game hopes. However, everything we saw made it look like Mike was this close to losing his mind living with Natalie. Keeping your mental game strong is paramount in Survivor and having someone like Natalie in your ear at all times can’t make that easy.
The other piece is Mike’s unique situation. If you saw and read any of his pre-game interviews, you know he is mostly in this for the experience. He’s a successful Hollywood writer; he doesn’t need the money. He just wants to have the best experience he can. And Natalie was ruining that experience. Mike’s doing Mike and more power to him for it. That will be very interesting to keep an eye on as the season progresses along. If other players figure out his motivations, how will they use that to their advantage? How long will this mindset last for Mike? I think Mike’s story could be a fascinating one to watch play out, assuming he sticks around long enough.
