Us Survivor fans, last night, received an early Christmas present last night in the form of a 2-hour long presentation of the long awaited merge, scramble of power, everything Marshall’s and scents, fall of a legend, and a hilarious streaking that only happens in Arkansas! So, let’s get to it!
The episode started out with the Nuku camp returning from that heart wrenching Tribal Council that outed Zeke but had the tribe more unified. Zeke knew that part of him would be revealed, and it’s made him stronger and is ready for that to move past him. He’s back in the game now.
When both tribes gathered in front of Jeff Probst and a long picnic table filled with food, everyone’s eyes strayed to the small, covered table and wondered what the next twist is in the season of Game Changers. It turns out that before the merge could officially happen, 1 member from each tribe must volunteer to not partake in the merge feast. If they didn’t have volunteers to sit out, the feast goes away and the merged tribe would feast on cheese and crackers and 1 bottle of iced tea, which was revealed underneath the small, covered table. Thankfully, Brad from the Mana tribe had his “What would Monica do” mantra and volunteered to sit out and Tai from Nuku decided to sit out too, while the merged tribe feasted. Strategically, this was the best move for Brad and Tai. Brad controlled the numbers on his tribe and after this move, he’s earned more brownie points to keep him around. As for Tai, he is selfless and provided for his united family. Besides, he has 2 idols. That’s more valuable than food in a game of Survivor.
After the feast, the merged tribe returned to camp and the game was on. It’s always fun seeing the merge episode on Survivor because everyone is trying to get a sense of where are the alliances, who will flip to the other side, etc. It’s fun seeing everyone to get the top position of power. There were definitely 2 sides on the Maku Maku tribe. On one side, you have Andrea, Cirie, Ozzy, Aubry, and Zeke. On the other, you have Brad, Sierra, Troyzan, Tai and Debbie. On the bottom, no one is talking to Hali and Michaela. In this situation, both sides came together and said Michaela would be the target because no one would feel guilty about it and she is a tough competitor and a legitimate threat in the game. This doesn’t sit well with Cirie. She likes the girl and sees a bit of herself in Michaela and possibility to have her as an extra vote. I have so much to talk about Cirie and how she socialized with Michaela, but it was a great strategic move on Cirie’s part to get Michalea on her side. She also managed to flip everyone’s vote to target Hali due to the fact that she might have an idol.
At the immunity challenge, it was a test of stamina and endurance to balance a block on your head while standing on your toes. The challenge didn’t last long and Andrea won the first individual challenge in the game. At Tribal Council, Hali knew that she was on the outs because no one hasn’t strategized with her. In a last dip attempt to save herself, she blatantly told everyone that she would strip down and show everyone that she doesn’t have an idol. Not a good move, it just gives everyone more of a reason to vote you out. In the end, Hali was voted out and the 1st member of the jury thus, Michaela gets to live another day.
The morning after Tribal, more conversations on strategy took place. The 1 merged tribe is obviously 2 groups divided. The group of Zeke, Andrea, Cirie, and Michaela were targeting Sierra, labeling her as a threat and controlling the shots for her group. However, Zeke didn’t see Sierra as a long term threat but saw Andrea and Cirie as threats and thought about turning against his alliance. Very bold move, but those moves are expected to be made in a season called Game Changers.
At the reward challenge, the 12 castaways were divided into two teams of 6 to compete for a reward in the form of luxury, a shower, so many scents, and burgers and apple pie. The team of Zeke, Aubry, Tai, Debbie, Troyzan, and Ozzy won the reward. After getting cleaned, washing down the food, and witnessing Tai’s streak (LOL), Zeke took a moment to talk to Debbie and Tai and explained his move to turn on his alliance to vote out Andrea. Very bad move on his part.
I can see why this move was smart but yet dumb by Zeke. He’s targeting Andrea and Cirie because he’s getting most of the majority of the information from them. They’re in control, but Zeke wants that control. His mistake was that he gunned to early and flirted with the enemy. In a tribe of 12, it was too early to make a move. In this game, you need numbers and people you can count on. He should’ve waited, stuck with his alliance, vote out Brad and Sierra and then made his move. When he talked to Tai and Debbie, he pretty much dug his own grave. This isn’t Redemption Island season where Boston Rob prevented people from talking to each other, there will be no other season like that. I was impressed how Debbie handled the conversation with Zeke and managed her tribe. She definitely took Cochran’s advice to heart and is in control. We will get to her later.
At the immunity challenge, it was a classic. Just hold onto a pole for as long as you can. Ozzy, funnily enough, is undefeated in this particular challenge when he played on Cook Islands and South Pacific. And of course, it came down between Tai and Ozzy becoming the last 2 people battling for immunity. After almost 2 hours, Ozzy’s legs gave out and Tai dethroned Ozzy and winning immunity.
Back at camp, Zeke is ready to get rid of Andrea. Zeke discusses with Sierra to vote out Andrea but she doesn’t buy it and goes to Cirie and Andrea about his plan. Angered, Andrea, Cirie, and Ozzy planned to get rid of Zeke. Cirie goes to Sarah and Aubry to vote out Zeke. While Debbie and Sierra were laying in the hammock and strategizing, they figure the best play would be to blindside Ozzy instead of the obvious Andrea vote. Debbie rallied Sierra, Tai, Brad, Troyzan and Sarah to vote out Ozzy. At tribal council, they discussed that lines would definitely be drawn at the end of the vote. And, Debbie used her extra Vote advantage to vote out Ozzy. After 2 unsuccessful seasons using the extra vote, Debbie used the advantage well, I think. She wasn’t sure if she had the numbers and Sarah on her side. So, it was her best interest to use it. In the end, the man, the myth, the legend himself, Ozzy, was voted out.
Andrea’s group did not see that one coming. I’m sure next week, we will see an angry, bottom of the totem pole Zeke. Andrea’s group is now down in numbers. But, we will see if Sarah is ready to make a move against her newfound alliance. But, I’m definitely sad to see Ozzy go. He was my definite favorite when he played in Cook Islands, lost by one vote. He was SO blindsided when he played on Fans vs. Favorites. He labeled himself as a game changer when he played on South Pacific, sending himself to Redemption Island to fight back into the game. He lost the entire game by 1 individual immunity challenge but still lacked the social element. In Game Changers, he definitely improved his social game but it wasn’t enough. He was cocky at the individual immunity challenge when he said he was going to beat everyone and not fish for everyone if he didn’t win. After 4 times playing, he still doesn’t have the title of sole Survivor but he will live on as a legend. Not sure if he would come back for another time because he is definite threat and everyone knows who he is. But, needless to say, hopefully his jury speech won’t be as emotional when he professed his love for Amanda on Micronesia.
Tomorrow, I’ll probably post the power rankings for each castaway and where they stand within the tribe. It won’t be easy to get to the top 3 in this season. Whoever gets there will definitely earn it!
