Back at camp after the Liana vote, the tribe decompresses after the intense Tribal Council. I can’t begin to imagine what it must have been like coming back to camp after that. It had to be exhausting, probably a little cathartic as well. We see several snippets of conversations between various players, and it’s clear everyone is taking the issues and conversation to heart.
There are a few interesting points being made, considering what players want to see happen in the game (i.e. a woman winner after 6 men in a row) against what’s actually best for their game. There’s a very compelling push and pull seeing players weigh the “bigger picture” against “their picture,” if you will. It seems like this cast is going to vote based on gameplay, but it’s something to keep in mind as we head into the finale.
Reward Challenge
The tribe is divided into two teams of three. One at a time, they race up a rope ramp and jump off, diving into the water. The first player releases a set of three buoys, bringing one to the end platform. Once all the balls are gathered, they shoot the balls into three baskets. They’re playing for a food reward, a choice between grilled chicken and veggies or cake, cookies, and candy.
The Blue consists of Ricard, Heather, Danny, with Erika, Deshawn, and Xander on Yellow.
Yellow wins and (wisely) chooses the chicken and veggies.
Reward/Viakana
On the Reward, Erika, Xander, and Deshawn discuss voting out Ricard. And while this is standard fare for these situations, this choice makes complete sense. Ricard is leading the race right now, and everybody knows it. He should be the obvious vote, assuming he doesn’t win immunity (spoiler: whoops).
Back at camp, while Ricard and Heather gather wood and whatnot for the camp, Danny goes idol hunting. This was interesting. We haven’t really seen much content about idols once we hit the merge. In fact, zero idols have been played so far. Shan and Naseer were both voted out holding theirs, and everybody has apparently forgotten Xander has one. Traditional Survivor would indicate the Shan and Naseer idols would be rehidden. But with the unconventional way they were found to begin with, should we automatically assume they will be placed back in the game like idols typically are? We don’t get to find out, though, as Danny doesn’t find anything. But the camera did hover over something hidden in the forest. Looked like a scroll, could be an idol, advantage, or something really stupid. Based on what we’ve seen so far, “something really stupid” would be the betting favorite.
Immunity Challenge
This was a really fun challenge (for a change). The players spin around to unspool a coil of rope, before running through a small obstacle course, picking up a puzzle piece along the way. They use the piece to solve a word puzzle at the end. And wouldn’t you know it, but Ricard wins again. So much for that plan.
Pre-Tribal
With Ricard safe, the vote seems to fall to either Danny or Deshawn. They both pretty much resign themselves to this fact, even talking to each other about the fact each will have to vote for the other. That makes sense and all, but what about Xander’s idol!
He’s had it since before the merge, and seemingly hasn’t even come close to playing it yet. With the next Tribal Council the last time he can play it, he has an automatic spot in the final four. Why not at least entertain the idea of voting him out, or at least trying to get him to flush it now? If they still settle on the Danny-Deshawn split, fine. But to not even discuss it seems a bit odd.
Tribal Council
It’s a mostly uneventful Tribal Council this week. We do get Deshawn trying to throw Erika under the bus a little bit, airing out that she said she wouldn’t go to the end with Erika. And okay? I guess? He built it up like it was going to be some big reveal, but ultimately wasn’t much of anything at all.
But anyway, to the vote. It is a 3-3 tie between Danny and Deshawn, with Danny voted out on the revote. Danny was one of the more likable players on the cast, maybe the most likable. We didn’t see much from him from a strategic standpoint, but he still played a very solid game. We even get a shot of Tiffany on the jury, saying “I didn’t want to see him go.” I think that points to how well-liked he was by everyone. Had he made it to the end, that could have gone a long way in earning him the title of Sole Survivor.
But with Danny gone, that leaves us with a final five of Deshawn, Erika, Heather, Ricard, and Xander. I think this is a great final five. Except for Heather, they all have paths to win. Erika’s might be the hardest, if her self-assessments we saw this week were correct. She compared her game to Heather’s more than once. If that’s how the jury sees her too, then she doesn’t stand much chance. But what we’ve seen from her shows a much stronger game. She probably needs to orchestrate the Ricard vote at the next Tribal and win her way into the FTC, either by immunity or fire-making, to have a chance to win. But even without both of those things, strangers things have happened.
We know Xander is guaranteed safety at the next vote. Heather isn’t going anywhere. Neither is Erika, not at that point at least. Which leaves the fifth place spot to either Ricard or Deshawn. If one wins immunity, the other has to go. If neither wins, then it has to be Ricard. Not only has he actually played the best game of the remaining players, they’ve all vocalized it that fact. You can’t leave a player in the game after telling the jury that person is the best player.
Xander has played the underdog for most of the season. He had the great moment in front of the jury navigating against Liana’s Knowledge is Power. And, once again, he’s held his idol for what feels like forever. That’s not nothing. Whatever happens next week, we’re set up for a potentially thrilling finale to a very up-and-down season. Let’s hope we can finish on a peak.
