Following Aysha’s blindside, Lavo returns to camp, and the typical damage control is underway. The plan was four votes on Aysha, but Teeny couldn’t find it in their heart to put her name down and threw a vote on Sol instead. The two hash it out, but Teeny is haunted by the move. They came in wanting to play like a villain, but they just don’t have the villainous edge for it. But Rome has no qualms about being the villain, and the next name on his list is Sol. All he has to do is steal Sol’s vote, and he’s gone without a chance to play his Shot in the Dark.
But that doesn’t mean Sol can’t save himself with an idol. And Sol’s off to search at every opportunity, awkwardly trailed by Rome wherever he goes. Sticking to bottom feeders like glue on their idol hunts is nothing new, but Rome takes it a step too far and threatens Sol as well. If he keeps looking, he’ll go home next by Rome’s Steal-A-Vote decree. Obviously, Sol sees this threat as some shallow BS because, let’s be real here, he’s getting the votes regardless, and even though a public idol would be enough to save him for one night, it doesn’t stop him from feeling dejected by such blatant disrespect.
Meanwhile, the rest of the tribe has mixed feelings about this mess. Kishan’s loving it, being in the position to poke and prod people in the direction he wants. If Sol and Rome are beefing, he gets to skate on through to the merge without his name being brought up. Teeny’s annoyed with Rome’s attitude and fears it could sink their alliance of four if he doesn’t play it cool. Genevieve starts having second thoughts about working with Rome, feeling the initial dynamics on Lavo weren’t ideal, and time spent getting to know people has shifted the playing field. Sol offers an alliance to the one person willing to comfort him, and while she won’t accept it completely, Genevieve’s not ruling it out.
On Gata, the dynamics remain static with Sam and Sierra as totally not dating number ones, Rachel and Anika hoping for a girls’ alliance, and Andy getting close with the fauxmance. But Sierra’s still not loving the looming threat of people targeting her and Sam at the merge, so it might be worth investing in other connections even if they aren’t her main options. And that’s where the Breadwinners come in, a three-person alliance of Sierra, Anika, and Rachel that’s probably not long for this game but could hold water in the future.
Poor Andy continues to bumble around, from losing his Shot in the Dark under the shelter to fumbling on fishing trips to crashing the hammock. He’s clumsy for sure, but Sam still sees potential within him and takes the role of Andy’s Survivor coach. Because if he has Andy in his pocket, he can stay as long as he likes and be his goat. But once again, Sierra is conflicted — Andy’s willing to be loyal to them, but he’s still a messy player.
Even so, Sierra tells Andy about the Breadwinners, making him promise not to tell anyone… only for him to run straight to Sam and expose the alliance, creating a rift in the tribe’s most steady power couple. Sam confronts Sierra with this information, and Sierra defends herself by explaining how she’s not actually working with the women, that it’s just Rachel and Anika getting played, and they came up with the name, not her. Suddenly, the hierarchy’s in question. Sam still wants to work with Andy, but he just broke his trust with Sierra, who also comes across as shady with all her secret alliance work she didn’t tell Sam about. It’s a mess, and some alliance therapy is in order.
Over on Tuku, Sue’s feeling the emotional strain of a week on the island but holds herself together. She also lies about her age and tells the tribe she’s only 45. Why? No idea! But Sue has an idea of her own: looking for an idol. She’s been underestimated, with people thinking she’s in their pockets while she has moves of her own, and an idol could set her up for great things when the time comes to strike.
Unfortunately for Sue, she’s walking right into yet another production troll job as the idol she finds comes with a giant splatter of red paint. It’s an episode of CSI: Fiji as Sue scrambles to cover up the evidence of her crime just in time for Tiyana and Caroline to join her at the well and notice the bits of paint left on her face and hair. Her cover isn’t totally blown, but the story of “Oops, I was playing with the machete and cut myself… just kidding!” doesn’t land whatsoever, and Tiyana’s got her eyes on Sue moving forward.
This week’s challenge is for immunity and chickens, and like many challenges this season, it’s a complete blowout. Despite an even race to the puzzle, Rome’s puzzle performance is so terrible you’d swear he’s throwing it, unable to place even ONE piece before the other tribes finish. Humiliating loss aside, Tribal looms large for Lavo again, and so does another journey to Advantage Island as Gata sends Andy, Caroline, and Teeny to find out what fresh hell awaits.
While I can’t say I love, like, or even respect another guaranteed vote loss twist, at least this one has some level of strategy to it. The ultimatum is simple: if one person agrees to lose their vote, the trio gets Amulet Advantages that can be played together like an idol on one person, but if nobody wants to take one for the team, all three of them lose their votes. Caroline and Andy hold, forcing Teeny to fold. But given they were losing their vote anyway, at least they got something decent out of it.
Back at Lavo, Rome is ready to take out Sol, but he comes up with a new dimension to the plan: convince Sol he’s safe so they can save the Vote Steal for the merge. Kishan casually throws Genevieve’s name out as a decoy while Rome goes to threaten Sol with another brutal ultimatum. Only now it’s a threat to steal Sol’s vote if he doesn’t give Rome his Shot in the Dark before Tribal. But to Sol, it’s another petty threat he almost has to laugh at. Not because it isn’t a solid plan, but because the fact that Rome is so bold about playing so poorly is ridiculous.
It’s this poor social play that flips a switch in Kishan’s head. What if they just vote Rome out instead and work with the more likable and even-keeled Sol? They wouldn’t even need Teeny’s vote to pull it off, assuming Sol and Genevieve agree, and if Rome’s gone, Kishan can work on gaining Genevieve’s loyalty once she’s isolated on the bottom. Sol loves it and swears “Rome will burn” as his game is seemingly saved, but Genevieve isn’t down just yet, especially when Rome spills the beans about Kishan putting her name out as a decoy vote.
Until now, Genevieve has been the biggest enigma on this season, but in the span of seconds, she puts the pieces together and realizes Kishan is the real power broker on this tribe, not Rome. He’s been playing her, and now might be the time to revolt against the man behind the curtain before everyone destroys each other for his benefit. So Genevieve springs into action, spoiling Rome on his own blindside and pitching an anti-Kishan plan in its place. But they still need Sol to make it work, and Rome’s lame apology isn’t going to cut it. These guys want each other gone, but babysitting was Genevieve’s first job, after all, so it’s up to her to get everyone on the same page with Tribal on the way.
Tribal itself is a lot of back and forth about the definition of an ultimatum and what makes it different from a threat. But after 90 minutes of threats, ultimatums, and flip-flopping… Genevieve manages to finally join this season with a bang as her Kishan plan works! Rome steals Kishan’s vote, Sol keeps his Shot in the Dark for another day, and it’s four votes on the secret mastermind as his and Teeny’s faces drop in shock. Just like that, the most irrelevant player on the cast is calling shots, enemies become allies, a frontrunner gets sniped, and the top dogs have become the underdogs as Teeny helplessly loses their number one ally.
As the power shifts again, so does the game, as next week brings a “new twist” alongside the same old drama we’ve come to know and love with this cast. Lost vote madness aside, this season is serving greatness so far. We’re four-for-four with compelling blindsides, the conflict on all three tribes is personal and petty without being miserable to watch, and it’s an even battle with no one feeling totally safe or totally hopeless. Jeff said this is the season of community, and so far this community is burning and rebuilding itself week after week. And if that’s how this season’s going to go until the very end, with shifting power and great downfalls left and right, it’s hard to see it running out of steam any time soon.
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