Sami wasn’t on board with the Jeanine plan, but he didn’t have the numbers to make another move. He makes a point to talk to Owen first thing, as he was – once again – left out of the vote. Talking to Owen and Gabler at the well, Sami shifts the blame to James, saying he was watching him too closely for Sami to feel comfortable doing anything. It gets Owen riled up and it seems like he has a new target.
James tries to reach out to Owen to talk, but Owen gruffly rebuffs the effort. The two have never really been on the same page, so this comes as no surprise. James has tried being cordial, even as Owen has voted for him multiple times. I think the time has safely passed for any required niceties James thinks he owes Owen.
Challenge
Ugh, the dreaded split Tribal at final 10. This has become the norm and I don’t like it. I’ve rehashed it before, and I’m sure we’ll get into in this week’s Talking Llama. So I won’t spend too much here. But it’s such a high risk, low reward “twist.” You get a group in a majority, and it’s easier to navigate through a smaller vote. And likewise, you might get someone who has no allies in their small group, and essentially has no room to maneuver. It also gives players an easier out if they take out an ally. “There were only five of us, I didn’t have a choice.” You can see how the argument goes, and it takes less social and strategic navigation. That’s the basic gist of my hatred.
It’s a classic Survivor challenge, holding onto a handle, which clamps a ball between a set of jaws. Hold on as long as you can.
Whoever is last standing between both groups also wins a PB&J reward, and the privilege of seeing the results of the first Tribal Council.
The two groups are:
Red: Gabler, Ryan, Jesse, Cody, Cassidy
Blue: Owen, Sami, Karla, Noelle, James
Karls wins for her group, but drops before the others are done. Cody and Ryan are the last two standing, and Cody eventually wins.
Pre-Tribal – Red (Gabler, Ryan, Jesse, Cody, Cassidy)
The guys decide on Cassidy, and she would seemingly be the easy choice in this group of five. Cassidy, Cody, and Jesse talk at the beach, and Jesse mentions Ryan as the vote. Cody doesn’t commit, but tells Cassidy he’s enjoyed the time he’s spent with her and he wants to play the game with people he enjoys being around. Cassidy’s no dummy though. She knows she’s a strong possible target. She says “everyone who’s come after her, she’s taken out.” Which, sure, technically I suppose is true. But what have we seen from her that makes her think she’s been driving the vote?
Jesse and Cody debate the merits of keeping Cassidy vs Ryan. Getting rid of Cassidy might alienate James and Karla. They consider waiting to see how the first Tribal goes before making their final decision. The trick is how to loop in Gabler, which isn’t guaranteed to be an easy task.
Pre-Tribal – Blue (Owen, Sami, Karla, Noelle, James)
The group consensus here is Owen. James tries to talk to Owen, but Owen’s not having it. As he says, “What else can I do to prove that I can work with you? I did what you told me to do and it was the wrong thing to do.” Ryan’s response is it was the right thing to do because it was what they told him to do. Oh geeeez, my guy. That was maybe the worst thing to say, or at least the worst way to put that. Unbelievable.
Noelle tells James she’s going to use her Steal-a-Vote on Owen, just as a safeguard. But what she really wants to do is steal Owen’s vote (as a smokescreen), so she, with her two votes, and Sami can vote out James. This might be one of the better plans we’ve seen in some time, at least in how to use an advantage. She’s playing defense to prevent James from using both his Shot in the Dark and the Knowledge is Power advantage. We’ll see if it pays dividends, but at a minimum, she’s owed massive credit for the idea.
Sami is on board with the plan, but wants to keep Karla in the loop because he wants to work with her. So he tries to convince Karla that now is the time to go after James. Sami makes some good points. Owen is still an expendable number after this vote, and it gets rid of Noelle’s advantage. But while the points are valid, it’s still a huge risk to tell Karla all this knowing how tight she and James are.
Tribal Council – Blue (Owen, Sami, Karla, Noelle, James)
They rehash the water well and the Owen/James fight, blah blah blah. However, it is worth mentioning that Owen actually voted for Jeanine. I think he’s using James’ actions against him to prove his point, but it’s something that should be said.
Noelle uses her advantage to steal Owen’s vote. Her plan works and James is gone. Noelle wins this episode, a simply brilliant move. Massive kudos to her.
Tribal Council – Red (Gabler, Ryan, Jesse, Cody, Cassidy)
Maybe the James vote was the final nail, maybe it was settled beforehand, but Ryan has his torch snuffed, as Jesse and Cody side with Cassidy. I’m not so sure I agree with this one. They could have potentially solidified a relationship with Ryan and Gabler, and could have dragged them to the end. Ryan was never winning the game, Gabler isn’t winning. And they’ve shown they can be loyal numbers. But Jesse and Cody have played so well together up to this point, I can’t fully doubt the move. As with every move in this game, only time will tell.
