The group tries to smooth things over with Rocksroy after he was blindsided at the vote. He seems to jump back on board, though he doesn’t really have much choice at this point. But Tori is all the way out on Rocksroy. Even more, she just might be all the way out on the Ika alliance. She’ll play along for the time being, but says she’ll jump ship at the first chance she gets.
As far as we know, nobody has found the Ika Beware Advantage yet, and Romeo and Drea go idol hunting. Drea finds it, and doesn’t even think twice before taking it. Her phrase is “Potatoes have skin. I have skin. Am I a potato?” In reading the note, they remember Maryanne saying the thing about the bunny. This brings Drea’s “Survivor Amenities” count up to 3, with the amulet, extra vote, and now the Beware Advantage.
Taku
Stuck in the shelter during the rain, Lindsay and Maryanne’s constant talking is wearing on Jonathan. He just wants a few seconds of silence, but they don’t stop. This was the worry with Maryanne, so that’s no surprise. But the Lindsay inclusion is a little surprising. For my winner pick, I’m hoping this is more a Jonathan storyline, and won’t come back to bite her.
From Jonathan’s perspective, Maryanne blows every little thing out of proportion. For one example, he’s chopping wood and she walks through and he almost hits foot with the machete. Sure, he maybe could have been more careful. But as he points out, she saw him chopping the wood. I’m putting that more on her. He and Lindsay discuss a voting plan, and seem to settle on Maryanne as the next target.
Vati
Over on Vati, Mike says he’s a little down, and was hoping they would merge today. Hopefully it’s nothing more than wishful thinking, but come on! Still too early.
Daniel goes fishing, drawing the attention of Hai and Lydia. Daniel hasn’t been competing in the physical challenges, but now he’s out spear fishing? It doesn’t necessarily mean anything, but you never want to draw this kind of attention to yourself.
The group discusses Mike’s Beware Advantage. He is still considering not activating his idol, so that he can make it to the merge with an idol only very few people know about. It’s a risky move, for sure. But if he thinks he’s safe without his vote, it just might be a risk worth taking.
Immunity Challenge
Idols activate! Maryanne says her bunny phrase, followed by Drea. And Mike decides to go for it too, saying his phrase. Now, Drea didn’t say her phrase exactly as it was written. I don’t think it should count. Be strict with it. Really make them work for it. But as it is, where there were zero idols in the game, now there are three. Not ideal. But to the challenge.
They race up and over a tall net ring. One player untangles a braided rope to release a key, which is used to unlock a machete. They use the machete to drop sand bags, which they then fire out of a sling shot to knock down two targets. They’re also playing for reward. Winning tribe gets a big tarp, with the second place tribe winning a smaller tarp.
Ika wins, and Taku is uncharacteristically super far behind. But with Vati struggling on the sling shot, Taku stages a huge comeback, securing the second place finish.
Ika sends Lydia to Ship Wheel Island, and they choose Rocks to accompany her.
Ship Wheel
Just like the last time Vati went to Tribal and Chanelle’s vote was critical, Lydia is in the same position. There’s not really much else that happens. It’s a pretty boring, short segment. Ultimately both players protect their vote.
Pre-Tribal
Daniel and Chanelle know they’re on the chopping block, and both ask Hai and Mike for the chance to speak with everyone individually. Daniel talks to Hai, who tells him Chanelle is gone. Chanelle talks to Mike, and he assures her Daniel is gone. It’s obviously what they have to say, so hopefully Daniel and Chanelle won’t automatically take them at their word. When Daniel and Mike talk, they don’t seem to have a preference between the two, and just want to make sure they’re making the right long-term choice.
Tribal Council
The first vote comes down to a 2-2-1 split between Daniel and Chanelle, with Mike receiving the one rogue vote. Daniel is voted out on the re-vote.
Chanelle took a chance voting for Mike. If Daniel played his shot in the dark successfully, her Mike vote would carry through if everyone else had voted Daniel. She risked alienating Mike, but I think it was a smart play to try to protect against it.
We now head into the merge with even 4-4-4 numbers. Although, it’s exactly the merge, as Jeff says in the preview for next week’s two hour episode. We can only assume that means appearance number two of the dreaded hour glass twist (boooo). We also go into the maybe/maybe not merge with three idols, three extra votes, and the amulet. Definitely not what I’d prefer to be happening. But the even numbers could at least provide some fun intrigue. But it’s been a fun season so far. I’m still going to hope for the best.
