With his No. 1 threat now out of the game, as Jelly tells us in a confessional, Devon is celebrating Jenna’s blindside like he won the Super Bowl, and with Alexis feeling grateful to still be in the game, the four left on the Savu Tribe grow closer. They talk about each other's why for coming out to Fuji. Whether it’s addiction, supporting family or just being a super fan, the four become family instantly (foreshadowing for later on?).

Over on the Toka beach, Brady is starting to get concerned about Maggie and how panicking she’s being. He wants the extra vote back (again, foreshadowing for later on?). 

About 20 minutes into the episode, we’re already at the immunity challenge, which usually means something is going down at Tribal Council, and this episode did not buck that trend. For this water challenge where players had to retrieve buoys underwater, balance them across a beam, and shoot them into baskets at the end, only one Tribe would win safety and a pastry reward while the other two would conduct separate Tribal Councils. Toka dominated the challenge, but the Tribe did not get to just simply rest up. When they get back to camp, there’s a note. Someone has to get on a boat and doesn’t get to enjoy the pastries. Mike, Kristin, and Maggie volunteer to go, and Maggie’s Shot in the Dark die is pulled. On the boat, she is informed that she gets to give an extra vote to one person on one of the other Tribes.

At Savu, Alexis knows she’s in trouble. Her pitch to Jelly: Devon is not good for your game. Go with me and Ori and take him out. You’ve been on the wrong side of the vote multiple times. 

It’s a good pitch, and she’s right, and Jelly knows it. She does not want to vote women out of the game because all the voteouts so far in the game have happened to women, but she doesn’t know if she can blindside Devon this early in the game. Alexis spends time with Jelly all day, so that she can’t talk to Devon, but ultimately, Maggie does not come to Alexis’ rescue and neither does her friendship with Ori. The helicopter alliance sticks together and send Alexis home.

The Dina Tribe seems hell bent on voting out Lewis, and the Irishman knows it, so he pulls Sharonda aside, gives her a ring, and tells her it’s a blood ring, and it could protect them both for up to two Tribals before it becomes an individual idol. Since there was a blood moon on Season 50, Sharonda is implied to believe this twist, but she asks for the confirmation paper. Lewis obviously does not have it, so after that conversation, Cristian tells Linnea and Eric that Lewis on the Toka beach showed the Tribe that ring and said it’s from Ireland, so everyone knows the whole plan is fake. What they don’t know is Maddie -- after doing her one on one’s with everyone -- pulls Lewis and Kilby aside. She gives Kilby the extra vote and Lewis her extra vote. She tells them to vote 4-4 and make them go to rocks to get Linnea out of the game.

Kilby realizes he doesn’t have to save Lewis, and he could vote Savu strong, but that would risk his relationships with Maggie and everyone on the Toka Tribe. Even though Eric is his guy, he blindsides him and does indeed vote with Lewis to even the votes at 4-4. Sharonda figures it out right away, but there’s nothing she can do, as the votes are the same on the re-vote. Now, Kilby, Eric, Cristian, and Sharonda must agree to a unanimous decision, or they risk going to rocks, which would mean Lewis and Linnea are safe and one of them would go home.

At this point, Kilby is dug in. He’s standing on business. He stuck his neck out for Lewis. His guy Eric would never vote for him, but he’s not backing down. He’ll go to rocks. The others are the one who cave and send Linnea home.

The Open Era has presented us with these wild pre-merge Tribals, and this one was the best episode of the season yet. In this writer’s eyes, Kilby went from a guy annoying his Tribe to a Survivor legend in one episode. We haven’t had a rock draw in nearly a decade. I wish we got one, but nonetheless, advantages were used properly, blindsides occurred, and alliances may or may not be fractured.

The New Era of Survivor was criticized for being repetitive in terms of gameplay and boring pre-merge Tribals. The Open Era has flipped that narrative on its head. Permanent uncertainty being the theme of the season has made these castaways play hard, and it’s made for entertaining television.