Who holds the Power?! - Survivor 47 - Ep. 3

Episode 3 of Survivor 47 brought it all! A journey, an epic immunity challenge, rivalries brewing, idols being used, and plenty of other great moments. It’s shaping up to be another all-time classic season of Survivor. Before that, we should talk about some of my takeaways from this past episode. Let’s get into it. :)

Let’s start with the Tuku tribe fresh after the TK vote out! It was then that we learned that Gabe used his idol out of fear of what happened in the previous season, Survivor 46. This is when we saw multiple exits in the game with idols in their pocket. I think it’s a very valid fear of not trying to end up like those former players and I also don’t mind getting that monkey off your back. It clears the slate of any suspicion on your tribe too. Especially considering some of them were already speculating about him having the advantage. 

Another aftermath of the TK voteout has to do with Sue’s newfound gripe with Kyle. Yes, I understand Kyle tried to vote you out… but I do think he was just going with what he was told to do based on his supposed alliance. It didn’t seem like there was any ill intent with that. I even thought that once Sue got to know Kyle and how nice of a person he is, she might want to work with him! So far, that is not the case. 

Even after Kyle pulled Sue/Caroline aside to warn them about Gabe, she completely blew him off. In my opinion, I just think it’s a heat-of-the-moment reaction. So, I am unsure if she will continue to hold this grudge against Kyle or change her opinion. 

As for the Gata tribe, it does seem like the game of Survivor is catching up to them haha! The initial feelings of excitement/eagerness have turned into annoyance/hangriness. Specifically regarding Sam and Anika with the camp life duties. Sam finds it important to go fishing, and Anika wants to fix up their hut. Which then leads to their personalities clashing a little bit. 

Don’t forget… Survivor is a social game and people are making big gameplay moves based on what people are acting/ saying around them. This scenario led to Sam beginning to point the finger at Anika as the next target. 

Meanwhile, Andy in the background is loving this. I was legit laughing when I saw him smiling and twirling his hair when the chaos unfolded. This does nothing but help his game. I think he is slowly becoming less of the main target of this tribe. 

Continuing with Andy, other than the anxiety and stress he deals with, I like how he plays this game. He wants to play by gathering data on people’s actions. Then make moves based on the data he already has. So, in this scenario, he saw that his tribe was bickering. He recognized that he already trusted Sam and only needed one more person for the majority numbers. To do so, he offered up his shot in the dark to Sierra and she now can see him as someone she might want to work with. I love this gameplay and I think Andy is rising up the ranks. 

Next, you can’t forget about the Lavo tribe who brought us some iconic moments in this episode. Beginning with the Rome vs his tribe feud regarding fishing. I can honestly see both sides here in this argument. I thought Rome was kind of gatekeeping all the fishing gear to himself. Then when others would ask to help, he would pretty much shut them down. On the other hand, when it came to getting the pot and fire started… the rest of the tribe didn’t do much at all. Maybe they did more than we saw in the episode, but it did seem like Rome did most of it there. 

Who was in the wrong here?

Similarly, like I said with the Gata tribe, the camp life actions and words of some players have led to targets being named. In this case, Rome was now heavily targeting Aysha. 

Well, I was predicting that we would get a journey in this episode, and just that we did! I have mixed emotions about these journeys. I love the idea that it’s an opportunity to mingle with other people from different tribes and gather intel. However, not every time do I like the twists or how the advantages are played out. It’s a conversation for another time. Overall, I would say that I find these journeys to be more positive than negative. It’s a beneficial twist to the modern era of Survivor.  

I found Rome’s reaction to TK being eliminated was hilarious. Not only did he celebrate TK being voted out right in front of Kyle (who was close with TK) but he also dared to say he was cocky/arrogant. It’s just a little ironic considering how boastful Rome has been in just the first three episodes.

Sam and Sierra also must be pretty buddy-buddy when they are at the challenges considering people thought they might be together. Both other tribes had noticed it! We may see them just as allies, but they must be doing something that gives the impression to others that they could be together.

The biggest takeaway from this journey was the fact that they were forced to play in this game. They automatically had a ⅔ chance to lose their vote and they didn’t even get the option to say no to that. All three people sent on this journey were labeled as possible targets by someone in their tribe. It’s pretty harsh that all three of these people had the possibility of damaging their games by coming on this journey. If they had the choice, the responsibility of the decision would lay solely on their own shoulders.

As we know, Anika and Kyle both lost their vote for one tribal council. Then Rome gained another advantage with the steal-a-vote. Even if he’s irritating, you have to give him credit for doing the right things to get power in this game. He’s putting himself in the right position to get further in the game. I am still unsure of how this will play out for the other two. In my opinion, I am more worried for Anika than Kyle. 

We even saw that the result of Rome gaining another advantage was that people felt like they should work with him. Rather than go against him.

Finally, we reached the Tribal immunity challenge! Here are some of my takeaways:

1. Water challenge! I don’t necessarily have a reason but they always tend to be my favorite.

2. The seahorse puzzle looked so sick. Each season they are making new puzzles and they keep getting bigger/better. I’m curious as to how long it took them to put it together. 

3. Props to Kishan who didn’t know how to swim just a few short months ago and was now competing in this challenge!

4. I love how they showed the strategizing prior to the challenge starting!

   1. I was listening to The On Fire Survivor Podcast after the episode and they were talking about how they typically show that strategizing portion when something said pertains to the current storyline/plot. So the bickering between Sol and Rome during this portion made me think that this is only the start of their rivalry now too.

5. I think people underestimate how hard that balance beam truly is. It’s on moving water!!! 

6. Rachel again proved why she might be the best at puzzles in this cast. She was much quicker than everyone else. It was also very similar to the marooning challenge where Gata was in last but made up the ground a lot with the puzzle.

7. Props to Genevieve for looking to see if there were any advantages on the sit-out bench. At least she tried!

Back at the Lavo tribe, I want to give some credit to Teeny. At first, I wasn't sure whether Teeny was legit about her communication skills. However, Teeny has shown that she knows how to speak and influence people. She did it with Rome throughout the episode and with the other people she’s aligned with. She even spoke carefully, but effectively with Aysha and Sol who were the targets. 

This episode also made me like Sol a lot more! I was predicting he would be a sort of jaded, cold-blooded dude. Actually, he just turns out to be really good at reading people and he seems to be doing good socially with the others.

As for Aysha, I was sad to see her go :( Along with the entire fandom of Rob has a Podcast too. She might have shot herself in the foot by not wanting to go after Sol after Teeny was advising her to do so. However, I saw this on Twitter/X, but I think she was just a victim of the circumstance. Rome held the power/numbers, and therefore Aysha was the target. It didn’t seem like there was much she could do. 

It was really interesting how the votes panned out being scattered all over the place. 

We did see Rome use his idol too! This makes me think there will be a mad dash on the Lavo beach to find the next one. Maybe even on the Tuku beach as well. It should be a fun one, I can’t wait to chat more about it soon!