RECAP: “Survivor 47” Episode 8
Real talk: “Survivor” was such a comfort this week. Without getting into the details of it, the election results have hit myself and my community pretty hard. I was so grateful to have this 90 minutes of escapism last night, and this episode really hit all the right notes. An engaging activity the “Survivor” Auction — the best version of it we’ve had in a while. An exciting subplot with a hidden advantage. Some great strategizing and interesting tribe dynamics. A short but impactful immunity challenge. And then a tribal with at least one excellent bluff and a dramatic finish. I could not have asked for more, and I’m so grateful to have this show right now.
Read on for my spoiler-filled thoughts on Episode 8 of “Survivor 47”!
The defining part of this episode is the “Survivor” auction. While viewers know that it actually returned last season after many years without one, for this cast — which didn’t see any of “Survivor” 46 — it felt like a very big deal, and they all got super into it.
Like the 46 auction, the Survivors had to work for it. Production had again hidden tubes filled with cast all around the jungle, leading to an Easter Egg hunt of sorts. Sierra was by far the most successful Survivor, finding the most tubes and racking up more than $1,000 for the auction. On the other hand, her Gata tribemate and human Charlie Brown incarnation Andy failed to find any, underlined by a terrific string of scenes where he walked right by tubes that were just sitting out in the open that he absolutely SHOULD have seen. Was this a deliberate strategy on Andy’s part? Hard to say. He is an unreliable narrator in the best of times, and his thought process frequently confuses me.
Like the “Survivor 46” auction, this one had the penalty: the person with the most cash left at the end of the bidding would lose their vote at tribal, and they would not know ahead of time when the auction would end. It also added a few new twists. Some of the rewards had cash back, which SOUNDS like a good idea but in reality could have screwed someone out of their vote in the end. Additionally, this time there were eating challenges, where they had to both bid AND beat the other bidders to get the reward. All in all, I think they’ve fixed the issues that had previously plagued the auction pre-S40. This whole segment was a delight. Also, where do I get the recipe for those blueberry pancakes and that apple pie?!
I won’t get into all the developments, but among the major ones: Kyle, who has been a vegan/vegetarian for years, ended up housing a whole plate of chicken wings after dropping all his money on a covered item containing them; Gabe got screwed into blowing all his cash on a coconut, which I lowkey loved because I don’t like Gabe; Andy frequently glared as everyone around him was laughing and cornholing and having a great time; Sam lost his vote for having the most money at the end; and critically, Rachel found a note in her fries that she quietly opened by herself once she got back to camp.
That note informed her of a hidden idol sewn into the tarp covering their shelter. Brilliant. Rachel was both elated, but also frustrated because there is basically no point when camp is completely vacant for her to get it — and she wanted to keep this advantage all to herself. Smart gal. This led to an audacious play by Rachel later in the episode, when she went around to the back of the shelter and TOOK A MACHETE to the bump on the tarp, cut out the advantage while the rest of the tribe was sitting underneath it! The cajones! And it worked. She got herself a hidden immunity idol that absoltuely nobody knew about. Rachel is fast becoming one of my favorite players this season. (BTW: upon returning to camp after the last tribal, Sol immediately informed Rachel in private that he was the one who gave her the Safety Without Power advantage, immediately bonding them in the game. Love that for them.)
At camp, there were multiple permutations happening for the post-merge Survivors. Sierra and Sam were convinced that Gata was fully linked up with Lavo to take out the Tuku 4. Lavo was not so on board with that, as Genevieve — who continues to be the smartest player in the game, I think — had her eyes set on linking up with Caroline and Sue in the hopes of getting out Sam and Rachel, who she saw as bigger overall threats. I think that’s right. Caroline is savvy, but I don’t thinks she has had much impact in this game. Sue is not a super strategic player, and I think her social game is weak. Gabe is shifty and everyone knows it. Kyle is a challenge beast and will be an easy chop as soon as he’s at risk. But Sam and Rachel are actually playing the game, and Sam and Sierra are a very tight two. It’s smart to break them up as soon as possible.
On the outs at Gata is, again, Andy, who feels forgotten and betrayed by his former tribe mates. In fairness, we know from confessionals that they were never really working WITH Andy, they just saw him as a vote to keep around so long as it was convenient. Andy may be unstable, but he’s not stupid, and he picked up on this lack of respect. That pushed him right into the arms of the opposing alliance. I respected parts of Andy’s gameplay tonight, but I could not get behind 1) the truly cringe-inducing montage in which he was compared to the lead girl from She’s All That — that’s like Coach-level delusion — or 2) his look of utter glee, again, as he got his revenge at tribal.
But I get ahead of myself. The immunity challenge was the now-familiar, “Here’s your pre-game body weight in a sand bucket; hold it up as long as you can.” Immunity necklaces would go out to the longest-lasting man AND woman. Many of the players fell out awfull quickly, leaving a showdown between Rachel and Sue for the women, and Kyle and Andy for the men. Credit goes to Sue, who at “45” (LOLOLOL) pulled out a win here, although Rachel fought hard. Andy seemed like he might actually be successful at a challenge for once this season, but ultimately it was Kyle getting his THIRD individual immunity win in a row. Kyle knows that this is not a good thing for his long-term game. He’s correct. He’s a goner as soon as that necklace is no longer around his neck.
At tribal, the focus was split between Sierra and Sam clearly being unaware of the opposition alliance working against them, and Rachel silently watching what was unfolding and gauging how much bullshit she was being fed going into the vote. She has learned from the last tribal — where Tuku was fully snowing her into thinking she was safe — and the last Gata tribal, where she was betrayed by Sierra and Andy on the Annika vote. I found myself increasingly concerned for Rachel’s safety, which is a sure sign of how invested I am in her arc in this game. And then I gasped when, before the votes were about to be read, Rachel announced that she had an advantage to play — but not the idol that nobody knows about. No, Rachel played her Shot in the Dark because she didn’t feel secure in the vote.
This may go down as a definitive moment in this game. It is actually brilliant. A 10-person tribal is the perfect time to blow your SITD; your vote is unlikely to be the deciding factor in this vote, and it allows you to escape a vote that will determine the post-merge trajectory with zero blood on your hands either way. It ALSO allowed her to gauge just how much danger she was in, based on the reactions of the other players. This was a great feint, and one of the more strategic uses of SITD we have seen.
Rachel was Not Safe per the Shot, but it didn’t matter. She didn’t receive a single vote. Sierra voted for Gabe (Sam didn’t have a vote due to the auction), but everyone else voted for Sam and Sierra, leading to a 4/4 split. This led to a revote, were people could ONLY vote for Sam or Sierra. And that ended up with Sierra gone overwhelmingly.
That’s interesting. Of the two, I think Sam is the more dangerous player. He’s arguably one of the most physically strong players left. He has some level of charm to him. But I guess Sierra had made in-roads with several of the women, including Teeny, which made her a social threat. The important thing was breaking up the twosome, which they did. And at this point, there is basically no Gata alliance left. Rachel and Andy were already on the outs, and now Sam is on his own island.
I never really vibed with Sierra this season, so I’m not sorry to see her gone. She was…fine. She didn’t play poorly but she also wasn’t anywhere close to a threat this season. I did like her sweater!
What do you think of Season 47 so far? What do you think of this cast? Drop your thoughts in the comments.
