Triumph and Heartbreak - Survivor 47 - Ep. 7

Into the merge we go, where things are becoming more and more real. The hunger intensifies, the paranoia grows, and the one-million-dollar prize seems even closer. There’s an extra layer of precaution now as the players around them could be the ones to decide their fate at the final tribal council. Can you sense the drama!? Let’s jump right into this past episode. :)

So we begin back at the new merge beach (which is now called Beka) where everyone was feeling high on life after the Rome vote! Well, everyone besides one… Our good friend, Andy. 

But you know what… I was proud of Andy in this episode! In the first episode, we saw how he panicked and had an anxiety attack at the thought of him possibly going home. In this past episode, there was a little bit of a reaction to having his name written down. However, this time around, instead of reacting with words/emotions… he responded by being strategic and figuring out what it means for him in the game of Survivor. This time, he’s taking the punches and rolling with them!

I thought it was interesting that Sol revealed to Andy that Sam/Sierra threw him under the bus. It felt like he didn’t want to tell him that at first. However, Andy was able to pry it out of him. I’m wondering if clearing the air for Sol might allow him to see some more opportunities with working with Andy instead?!

Similar to how Genevieve realized she was expendable to Kishan, Andy realized that he was expendable to the rest of the Gata tribe. Now, he’s re-evaluating things and how he needs to swing away from them. He did so by forming a relationship with Sol and then beginning one with Genevieve. I do realize that Genevieve initiated it at first too. 

I love that they are each other’s new go-to person! I love that duo. It’s an unlikely pair that I can see going far. Props to Genevieve for looking at Andy and despite all the “red flags” choosing to work with him. They tend to strategize in the same way and can bounce a lot of ideas off each other too. They are going to be able to bring crucial information back to each other too. I just think they can work really well together and I really like this move.

As we moved on with the episode, we saw that the girls were all really starting to vibe well with each other (Teeny, Rachel, Tiyana, and Sierra that is). Which leads to them saying they should form an alliance and go after the men.

While watching this… I couldn’t help but think about how this wouldn’t work. I don’t have any analytical reasoning for why this is. Historically it just hasn’t worked well haha. Yes, it worked with “The Black Widow Brigade” years ago… but since then it has always fallen apart. While it would be so cool to see, I just think these ladies have their own game plans and strategies they want to follow. 

Before we began the immunity challenge, Andy mentioned how the game is slowly getting more and more dangerous! This immunity challenge proved just that!

I found the twist to be compelling but… interesting. The way the rock draw came to be was fascinating. Especially with how Rachel was left on her own to fend against all of the Tuku tribe! You simply couldn’t predict that. 

As for the actual twist, I didn’t necessarily love that you were going down to only 5 people who had the possibility of going home. Whereas last week it was 10+. It just seems a little unfair to limit the options to that small this early in the merge. Deciding who to vote out between a group of 10+ versus 5 is quite different. 

As for the actual competition, I was again surprised to see who succeeded and who struggled. I thought people like Tiyana or Sam would thrive in this competition. However, they dropped out early. I didn’t expect Teeny and Genevieve to be the longest-lasting people! Genevieve, in particular, was rock solid it didn’t move the entire time it seemed. You just cannot underestimate anyone in this game. 

So Rachel/Tuku group took the loss but since Kyle lasted the longest of all of them… he gets the immunity necklace. He’s had two of those now and it’s something to watch out for. 

When it came to the strategizing portion before the Tribal Council, Gabe was clearly a confident man. He said that the way the teams came together was perfect and that everyone else was just pawns for him to use. Gabe then easily lied to Rachel's face with a kind of convincing argument. He even mentioned that he was okay with going to rock draws too. That's crazy work. Slowly but surely, Gabe is becoming a villain and the others have to notice that soon. Right?!

Then I actually thought Tiyana did a pretty good job strategizing and laying out a plan for this vote. She knew that if they go back to their camp still with 5 Tuku they will be picked off in the next couple days of the game. So she mentions that it was the perfect time to try and get Gabe. Like I said, I thought it was good strategizing. Not everyone else did though. 

For example, Caroline was all for getting Rachel out. She argued that it wasn’t terrible to get Rachel out because they (Caroline and Tiyana) wouldn’t be the targets for the others. They would go after Kyle or Gabe first. While that is true… that’s not great for you because you lose agency or alliance members. 

Caroline also argued that Rachel is the most dangerous person in the game partly because she is the glue of the Gata tribe. Yeah, I don’t really see that.

Meanwhile, the winning group is sent off to the reward feast and they are just stuffing themselves. For anyone who said that this show is fake or scripted… I would show them this scene here. Sol is eating potato salad off the communal spoon, they all gave themselves food comas, and they are eating each rib down to the bone. How could this be fake? 

Every once in a while, they will have a clue or advantage hidden at these feasts! So, when Andy went to look around to see if he could find something, I thought it was a good idea! I am sure most of all of them probably look around and see if anything is there. I would! 

When Sierra called him out, I was kind of annoyed! Like did you have to do that in front of everyone and make a fool out of him again? You easily could have just pulled him to the side and said to watch out for looking around. If I am Andy, I’m looking at that moment and concluding that they clearly still don’t trust me. 

Eventually, Sol found the clue that was conveniently hidden right next to him. I’ll say this… I really like Sol as a player. He’s made himself very low-key while still adding things up on his resume. At the moment, I can see him going far and I can see him winning this game.

The advantage says that he can impact tonight’s tonight’s tribal council by sending this advantage to someone going to tribal council that very night. It either allows them to block a vote, or gain safety without power (they can legit leave tribal). They get to choose. 

Personally, I feel like it would be a no-brainer to choose the safety without power advantage. With the block a vote, there’s still a risk of going home in the end. Where with the other advantage, you can eliminate that risk entirely. 

I also felt like it was a no-brainer to send this advantage to Rachel. She is the easy target at the moment but can shake things up a ton. It’s also someone who is currently looking for a solid ally… which Sol could use to his advantage. Finally, by giving this advantage to Rachel you can steal the power away from the majority (the Tuku Tribe). 

Finally, we arrived at this Tribal Council and we got another wild one! The easy option would be Rachel, right? In all transparency, I believed she actually would go had it not been for the secret advantage given to her. The Tuku 5 would have just ganged up on her and easily picked her off. However, it’s never that easy on Survivor.

Also, first of all, what a horrible rock draw for Rachel. The odds of this shaping out like this are slim to none! Secondly, props to Rachel for answering every question during Tribal Council without even giving the inkling that she had the advantage. 

I love how they allowed the winning 6 to sit in and watch this tribal council too! Rather than having to hear all of it explained to them later. It’s a cool opportunity for them to play murder mystery and see who is going to go home. Though, it’s also a chance to play detective and pick up on clues about social dynamics throughout the others!

For example, here are some things that they might pick up on:

1. Gabe is controlling and manipulating Sue/Caroline. He’s telling people what to do and how they should do it. Then in response, those girls are just agreeing! They should start looking at Gabe and how he might be using them for his gain.

2. Caroline did look on the fence about her decision. Maybe she is a person to team up with in the next few days because she might go with the idea of turning away from the other Tuku members. 

3. They could also be looking at their group to find out who might be the one who planted this advantage with Rachel!? Who is not reacting, who is reacting too much, does anyone say something funny, etc? 

   1. I think Genevieve might have caught on that it was Sol! I don’t know, it just seemed like she was noticing all the little facial expressions.

By the way, Sol’s facial expressions were hilarious. He deserves awards for that performance. Now the aftermath of that is… who does he tell? Should he tell anyone? It would be sick if he could leave it until possibly the final tribal council if he were to get there. However, it seems like people in the new era of Survivor can’t help but reveal their secrets. 

In that case, I think he will tell Rachel in hopes of maybe allying with her. I do think Genevieve will find out too and will, in turn, tell Andy. Maybe those 4 solidify an alliance together? That would be a cool one.

So, now it’s another Tuku tribal council. Do they go back to what their original plans as a tribe were? Should someone flip the switch? Either way, they have to think immediately about what is best for their game. Which, by the way, live tribal councils are electric. The shock, the panic, and the split-second decisions all lead to incredible television. Very fun for us viewers and a lot of nerves for the players.

As for Tiyana, this might have been the most heartbreaking exit of the season. Anika’s exit was the most entertaining, but this one just made me feel so bad for her. While the first boot of a season stinks, the spot right before the jury has to be the worst place to be voted off. The jury means you held a stake in the outcome of the game and cemented a legacy in Survivor. This is the legit closest you can be to that point and leaving then is extremely hard. Especially with how badly Tiyana wanted it too. 

That’s all for this blog! Yes, we think we have seen all the drama and entertainment already. Although, we all know that’s not true. Survivor is just getting into the jury, which means we are just getting started. Survivor Auction coming soon too! Talk to you all later.