During Survivor 50, we saw Chrissy and Coach head to the jury via a pair in a new game twist. The twist returned for the start of the Open Era, and just like last season, it provided a wild Tribal Council.
But first and foremost, teams had to be assembled for the immunity challenge. With this group being so indecisive about their relationships, everyone essentially decided to team up with somebody who they are not working closely with in the game (except for Devon and Jelly). The teams are:
- Mike and Maggie
- Thien An and Eric
- Kristin and Kilby
- Jelly and Devon
- Carter and Cristian
- Sharondra and Lewis
Mike and Maggie are an interesting pair, considering the way Mike almost threw his entire game last Tribal, and Maggie confronted him about it the next morning. They’re thinking is that Maggie is so well liked that both of them will not be targets. As for Carter and Cristian, not only are they a duo in this challenge, but they are part of a new alliance -- Salt of the Earth -- with Lewis, Kilby, Maggie, and Thien An. Those six have an eye on the big men targets left in the game (Mike, Eric, and Devon).
Before we get to the immunity challenge, Jeff Probst informs the castaways that Brady is actually headed home to get his thumb sewn on after losing it earlier in the season, so the two castaways eliminated in the upcoming Tribal Council will be the first two people of the jury.
As fir the immunity challenge, it’s a staged challenge where teams first have to balance a ball on a beam. The first two teams out are eliminated. The team that lasts the longest gets an advantage in stage 2, where teams have to slide puzzle blocks on a table through a bin. One team will be eliminated in that stage, setting up the final three teams for a showdown, where they will then take those blocks and balance them equally on a platform. Winners also get spaghetti as a reward.
Mike and Maggie and Thien An and Eric are eliminated in Round 1, with Carter and Cristian earning the advantage, where 25% of their blocks already advance to stage three. Kristian and Kilby were eliminated in stage two, with Sharondra and Lewis winning immunity and forming a bond in the process.
The winners then must decide two people (they do not have to be the same pair) to join them for spaghetti and one person to leave and go on a journey. They choose Kristian and Lewis to join them on the reward, as well as Cristian to go on a journey.
On said journey, Cristian has to risk his vote. He has until the hour glass runs out to go through buoys in the ocean and find a clue to where his vote and an extra vote just for this upcoming Tribal Council is. He notices the buoys spell a phrase, “Dig under treemail”, which is exactly what he does when he gets back to camp, securing his vote and the extra vote. Meanwhile, at the reward, Jelly makes it clear her target is Carter and Cristian, and via Lewis, this gets back to Carter, who now rallies his new alliance to take out Jelly and Devon -- the one true duo in the game.
Sharondra finds out from Maggie the plan and lets Jelly know to play her idol. As is the case with this group, as soon as they sit down for Tribal Council, whispers begin and a live Tribal ensues. Cristian ends up getting out of his seat and handing his extra vote to Eric to play for Devon and Jelly. Eric doesn’t end up using the extra vote because he believes they have the numbers regardless to send Jelly and Devon to Ponderosa, and while Eric was right, he was unaware that Jelly had an idol, and that there was no way her and Devon were leaving the game together.
On top of all this drama, Kristian plays her shot in the Dark, so she doesn’t vote. Unfortunately for her and Kilby, they are not safe, but that is because Cristian played his shot in the dark, and it hit, marking only the third time in Survivor history (Kaleb in Season 45 and Mary in Season 48) that the dice roll paid off.
Jelly and Devon split their votes between Kilby and Kristian and Carter and Cristian, sending the former home via a 1-0 vote, as the other nine votes do not count (eight on Jelly and Devon, one on Cristian and Carter. Kristin and Cristian did not vote because of the shots in the dark).
They battled for supplies on day one, and they leave the game together. Two great characters in Kilby and Kristian will set the tone for a jury that I would imagine will be indecisive, the same way they are when it comes to votes this season. That could play a factor into the winner. With Brady leaving the game, there’s going to be nine jury members voting between three people for the title of sole survivor. If there truly is a 3-3-3 tie, what is the tiebreaker? I want to see it happen! I want the chaos!
Speaking of chaos, on next week’s episode, there will be the Rick Devens coin flip. Will the prize remain $1 million or will the prize be upped to $2 million and how will that impact the rest of the game?
My winner picks right now are Jelly, Sharondra, or Lewis.
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