We’re at that stage in the game that the merge is peeking around the corner and players are getting nervous. Do we choose to vote someone off that can prove to be a threat long-term or do we choose to keep our tribe as strong as possible to have numbers once we get to the merge. These are the tribals where people can make decisions that end up being their downfall. Decisions, where players look back on in the end and know, that’s the moment they lost the game. This week was one of those episodes so let’s see how they did.
But first the tribe that escaped tribal’s dance this week: Solana. After last tribal the tables were completely turned, as Cliff was voted out and Lindsey and Woo found themselves at the bottom. Apparently Trish found it necessary to make that clear to Lindsey after they returned from tribal. By doing that Trish didn't show her best side this week. Previous episodes made clear that Lindsey and Trish didn’t like each other and Trish clearly wanted to rub the fact that Cliff was blindsided in her face. She did try to disguise it by stating that she honorably wanted to explain her actions but she just wanted a reaction out of Lindsey and she got it. An argument between the two followed but it didn’t seem to be as ‘antagonizing’ to warrant what followed. What did follow was Lindsey, who wandered outside of camp, only to be found by Jeff. At first I thought it was LJ who found Lindsey and would try to comfort her to gain a new ally, which would have been a great move in my book. But it wasn’t LJ but Jeff who took a stroll along the beach and bumped into a weepy mess called Lindsey. Their conversation resulted in what must be one of the worst quits in survival history (Btw, doesn’t Jeff love to say: ‘This is a survivor first…’ ^^). Even though Trish did act like somewhat of a !@#&, Lindsey came of as a sore loser that couldn’t deal with that fact that she went from the top of the totem pole to the bottom. What also struck me as odd was that Jeff didn’t really try as hard to convince her to stay as he did in the past (remember Naonka and Kelly from Nicaragua? Equally as bad quitters as Lindsey is as far as I’m concerned). This makes me think that something happened that we weren’t privileged to see (also no 'day after' vid for lindsey?). Will we ever know what truly happened there? I don’t know but what I do know is that Solana had a rough night not only losing Cliff but also Lindsey. This has two consequences. Number one is for poor little Woo, who is now completely alone. Number two is the evaporation of the Brawn alliance. What started as a seemingly unstoppable force of brawn barreling through the game, ended in an implosion that destroyed the core alliance and scattered the remnants across two tribes.
The ordeal didn’t seem to bother them much as they won the reward challenge the next day. As their reward they were granted a camp raid, where they can steal any equipment or food they want from the other tribe. Solana elected Tony and Woo to execute the raid on their behalf. When both Tony and Woo arrive at the Aparri camp, Tony shows once again that he’s a really good player that can think outside of the box. He decides to not only take their stuff but also play a trick on them. Realizing that Jeremiah is their powerhouse, Tony gives the immunity idol clue, that was included with the camp raid, to Jeremiah to make his tribemates target him and vote him off. I thought this was a very good move, even though it kinda missed it mark because the clue was for the Beauty HII which Jeremiah recognized. The second reason this move could backfire was when he came back from the camp raid and immediately told his entire tribe what he did. And not only that, he also shared with them the fact that he is a cop. Now it didn’t seem to turn that many heads. Trish brushed it off the table like a fait divers and Jefra was gratefull Tony is on her side. But it turned one head, the most dangerous head of all: LJ. Tony’s move at the camp raid and his confession made LJ wonder what else this cop is capable off. I’m pretty sure Tony is not in LJ’s final three plans and he will get rid of him at some point in the future. So in the end all that Tony’s move did was make him even more untrustworthy. Thus Tony will have to get rid of LJ before LJ gets rid of him if Tony wants to make it the end. Luckily for Tony his tribe wins the immunity challenge and escapes tribal even though he probably lost a potential ally in Sarah after yelling final 5 in the challenge.
So what started as a promising episode for Tony with a clever move at the camp raid ended in some errors on his part that could cost him dearly towards the future. We all know less is more on survivor, the less you tell, the less you can do wrong. Tony made a mistake in telling what he did at the camp raid and the fact he is a cop, which made him the centre of LJ’s radar. Also yelling final 5 at the challenge might have lost him an ally in Sarah. Is it the narrative towards Tony’s demise? Time will tell.
Let’s continue with the Aparri tribe. Last week I discussed the different scenario’s this interesting new tribe could wind up in and suggested a best course of action. I’m glad to see that prediction practically completely ensued this week. For the Aparrri tribe the episode started at the reward challenge where everyone but especially Alexis was overjoyed that not only Cliff but also Lindsey was out of the game. This was Alexis second mistake after telling the brains last week that Jefra was her main alliance. Anyways the challenge continues and the Aparri tribe lose and have to indulge a camp raid. In that camp raid as vigorously talked about above, Tony tries to target Jeremiah by giving him a clue to the HII. Now of course Jeremiah recognized the clue as the one from the Beauty tribe and realizes he’s being targeted because of it. Subsequently he tries to convince the others of this but pretty much fails at it, making his position in the game precarious. Alexis grabs this opportunity to further incriminate Jeremiah but in this she makes her second mistake of the episode. She plays to hard, so hard it makes her more suspicious and more of a threat then Jeremiah.
In a following immunity challenge they lose and are sent to tribal to sent the first member of the new Aparri tribe home. Back at camp, Alexis yet again overplays her hand and plays to hard to the point that the choice is between her and Jeremiah. So it seems like the brains are in full control and have Morgan at their side because she has no connection to the brawn and detests her former Beauty tribe. Also Sarah will be very happy with these dynamics. At first she seemed a possible target but after the flip at Solana and the apparent final 5 that has formed there, she escapes being targeted. Essentially, like Morgan , she’s a free agent now and should go with the brains and Morgan if she’s smart. The preview for next week does show that Sarah might not be done severing the cord with her former allies as you might think. This leaves only two options, with option A being Jeremiah. Because of Tony’s action at the camp raid, as far as the other know, Jeremiah has a clue to a HII. Add tot hat his connection to LJ and Jefra and you have two well reasoned arguments to vote him. On the flipside he showed eagerness to turn on his former tribe, he’s strong in challenges and he isn’t the biggest strategy player, which doesn’t make him an immediate threat. In comparison, there's option B, in which Alexis clearly has a stronger tie with her former alliance then Jereimah has. She’s also a bigger strategy player with a smart mind under that pretty package. To top it off, in comparison with Jeremiah she’s not an asset in challenges. At tribal the brains realize all of this and unanimously send Alexis home in tears.
Even the most coldest of hearts will have felt for Alexis when she literally went home in tears. She’s obviously a superfan of the show and is heartbroken she didn’t make the merge. To her credit she wasn’t passive in the game. She didn’t make big moves but at times she showed she has a knack for the game. In the end she did go down but not without a fight, so she deserves a pat on the back for that.
Next week it seems an early merge is coming which will pitch both tribes against each other. Smack in the middle appears to be Sarah who’s not sure where her future lies in this game. Sounds like a great episode in a season which, except for episode 2 and 3, is very entertaining. No 'day after' vid for Alexis, even though I know there is one... Anyways if I find i'll add it next time, see you then!
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