Each week, Christine Pallon and Gia Worthy will round up the previous week of Survivor 46 as they list their top moments in various important categories. This includes the most essential information, the stand-out castaways, and the key moments from the week.
Here, Christine and Gia break down all the action from the season premiere.
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Top 3 Moments
Anika and Sam Clash
Gia: Good news: Old School Survivor arguments regarding shelter building are back, this time in High Definition! Bad news: it could be the straw that breaks the camel’s back for Anika’s game. She wants to alter Gata’s bamboo bed for a more comfortable sleeping arrangement, but Sam doesn’t think it’s necessary. It feels like a convenient justification for a future betrayal, but for now, we’ll just call it a good old-fashioned segment for our amusement.
Kyle Tries His Best
Christine: After being on the wrong side of the vote last round, Kyle did his best to pick up the pieces. Wanting to protect Tiyana from becoming a target, he turned to Caroline and Sue in hopes of pulling them in. He tried to drive a wedge between them and Gabe by saying that Gabe views them as goats, which, based on confessionals, seems to be true. But Sue had none of it and wanted good vibes only before the challenge, completely ending the game conversation. Poor Kyle lost his vote and his attempt to salvage his game was shut down.
Rome Goes Fishing
Gia: Rome is on a mission to become the fishing guy of Survivor 47, and he’s making sure everyone on Lavo is aware of it. He is hoping to break the show record for most fish caught in a day, but he’s completely uninterested in sharing his horde with his tribe mates. If you think it hasn’t gone unnoticed by his competitors, you’d be wrong, as they are both aware and annoyed by everything transpiring. His advantages helped secure his safety this round, but time will tell if his gameplay will last long-term.
Tribe Breakdown
Tuku
Gia: Tuku is quickly becoming my favorite tribe of the bunch. Even though they took the back seat in this episode, they still left a big enough impression to keep me laughing all the way through. Between Gabe shuffling around his allies, Kyle calling him out on it, and Sue not believing any of it, I hope we get to keep them on our screens for many more episodes to come.
Lavo
Christine: This season blessed us with sending all three tribes to tribal in the first three episodes, giving us some actual insight into what makes all of these tribes tick. While Aysha was presented as being in a decent position in the previous episodes, we learned this week that she was truly on the outs and seen as a duo with Sol. Meanwhile, despite Rome’s antics, Teeny and Kishan seem genuinely interested in working with him, at least in the short term. The elusive Genevieve remains a mystery, but this episode also revealed her to be even tighter with Rome than previously thought.
Lavo’s dynamics, then, are based on the idea that there are three pairs, and Sol and Aysha are the odd pair out. With Rome being close with Genevieve and having a Steal A Vote in his pocket, this pair has all the power Lavo goes back to tribal again.
Gata
Gia: Oh Gata, you continue to provide the entertainment for us viewers, and for that I thank you. The cracks between the core four continue to widen, much to Andy’s delight. However, it’s Andy’s decision to give Sierra his Shot in the Dark that really turned things in his favor. I still believe we will likely see them go to tribal council at least one more time before the merge, and for that, I worry about Anika and Rachel’s fates.
Top 3 Players
Teeny
Christine: Teeny has been playing a fantastic “middle” social game in that they have tight alliances without coming across as obviously being connected to everyone. While they lost an ally in Aysha here, they put in the effort to save her without blowing up their own spot or sketching out their alliance members by seeming overly invested in Aysha’s fate. Despite messing up with Rome last week when they got red-handed spilling his secrets to Kishan, Teeny is still the person Rome shared his Steal A Vote with after his journey, which is a real testament to their social game.
Rome
Christine: Love him or hate him, Rome has built a lot of power on Lavo. Now, I don’t think it’s necessarily a long-term power position; once all his advantages are gone, I’m not sure if Teeny and Kishan will be as keen to keep working with him. But Rome guaranteed his safety this week with his idol and effectively controls the next vote with Genevieve if he plays his Steal A Vote. And, despite annoying his tribemates, he proved himself to be a fairly flexible player when he showed his openness to voting out Sol over Aysha when Teeny pitched it to him. He’s certainly playing a unique game, but it’s working for him right now.
Anika
Gia: Anika is a force to be reckoned with on Gata, which has quickly made her one of my favorites this season. I love that she is an outspoken player looking to make the best of every situation, but it has also come at the expense of her alliance with Sam and Sierra. It is certainly not a done deal should they go to tribal council, and in fact, there are still ways that she and Rachel can navigate this game. But between her losing her vote, clashing with the alliance, and Andy giving Sierra his shot in the dark, I worry that her time in the game is running out.
Fallen Comrades
Aysha
Christine: Aysha was in a tough spot in this episode. She was firmly in trouble going into the post-challenge scramble, but it seems that she might have thought she was in a better position than she actually was. When Teeny and Kishan pitched her on voting Sol, she pushed back, presumably because she viewed the conversation as a strategic back-and-forth with her allies where she could speak her mind and push for her desired outcome because they valued her opinion.
In reality, she lacked all the information, which was that this conversation was less of an equal strategic discussion and more of a “you need to vote this way, or you’re going home” Hail Mary to keep her in the game. Had she known the full stakes of this conversation, it’s hard to imagine someone as game-savvy as her making the same call to push back on the vote.
Gia: To put it simply, losing Aysha at this point in the game hurts. As a fan and friend of hers, I was hoping we would get the opportunity to root for her all season long. Sadly, she was on shaky ground over on Lavo, and Rome having two advantages did her no favors when it came time to vote. If you have ever had the pleasure of meeting Aysha (or listen to one of her many amazing podcasts) you understand why she was selected to take part in the adventure of a lifetime. She is an incredible person whose Survivor legacy will outlast her time on the show. So while her game may be done, it’s been an honor to root for her along the way.
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