Each week, Christine Pallon and Gia Worthy will round up the previous week of Survivor 47 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 latest episode.
Become a Patron
Get exclusive content and features by supporting Inside Survivor on Patreon.
Top 3 Moments
Operation: Italy
Gia: Rewards are fun. Being picked for a reward is even more fun. But planning the biggest blindside of the season? Well, that’s the most fun one could possibly have in Survivor, which is exactly what happened over an Italian meal at the Survivor Sanctuary. Named after the aforementioned reward, the plan was rather simple in hindsight: convince the majority to split the vote, then Andy would vote with Sam and Genevieve to take out one of the majority.
Everyone had a role to play: Sam was remorseful, Genevieve played up the possibility of having an idol, and Andy pushed for the split to move forward. There were so many ways that this could have gone wrong, namely the advantages that Rachel and Sue have between them. But none of those advantages were played. Operation: Italy was a success, and Caroline became the latest member of the jury.
Teeny Breaks Down
Christine: After Sam won the reward and picked Genevieve and Andy, Beka camp was abuzz with drama over his choice, all thanks to Teeny. They were shocked that Sam didn’t try to ingratiate himself more with the majority and instead picked Genevieve over someone with more perceived power in the game like, for example, Teeny. Teeny launched into a Sam impression and said with confidence that his game was over, setting them up for a satisfying downfall at the end of this episode.
It was an unreasonable expectation on Teeny’s part, and they’re also clearly projecting some personal feelings onto Sam, but that just makes their outburst all the more compelling. Survivor is at its best when the players’ own personal baggage mixes in with the gameplay.
Rachel Wins Immunity
Gia: Operation: Italy was originally crafted in an attempt to oust Rachel, who the trio agreed is the biggest threat to win the game. Her gameplay and advantages (only one of which they actually know about) easily set her apart from the rest of the competition. And now she has another notch on her belt, now that she has won her second immunity challenge in a row. It’s always good to have guaranteed safety, but I don’t think Rachel was fully aware until the vote just how badly she needed to win that challenge.
Advantage Watch
Idols
Christine: There wasn’t a lot of real idol talk this week, but Genevieve’s fake idol was the star of the show. The Operation: Italy trio took Sam’s expired idol, added some additional purple beads to make Genevieve a merge idol, and cooked up a story about an idol clue at the Sanctuary. The players bought its existence enough to split the votes, and Genevieve and Sam kept up the ruse at tribal council to hopefully keep the paranoia going into next week.
I hope Teeny retroactively realizes that it made no sense for Genevieve to tell them about the idol in front of Sam, who was the secondary target, which they could use as proof to the other players that it was fake all along. Meanwhile, Rachel and Sue still have real idols. Rachel’s is a total secret and as far as we know, Caroline was the only person who knew about Sue’s idol.
Vote Block
Gia: Rachel briefly considered using her block-a-vote advantage this round to ensure the vote swayed The Underdogs’ way. Andy persuaded her not to, which ended up being the final nail in the coffin for Caroline.
Top 3 Players
Andy
Gia: If Andy makes it to the end, Operation: Italy will undoubtedly be his crowning glory. From the player most likely to be voted out pre-merge to the one in the driver’s seat, his transformation has been a sight to behold. While he’s been doing everything he can to change the jury’s perception of him, I worry that his constant flipping between alliances hasn’t garnered the jury’s respect. That being said, there are still a few votes left for him to turn things around, and I am confident he will make the most of it.
Teeny
Christine: This was kind of a disaster of a week for Teeny the player, but it was a big episode for Teeny the character. Between their confrontation with Genevieve and outburst about Sam, they proved themselves to be one of the more emotional players we’ve seen in the New Era. After being duped in this episode, I can’t wait to see where their story goes, especially their relationship with Genevieve, who just lied to them for the umpteenth time. I do still see a path to the end for Teeny, especially with Sue freed up after losing her allies and Rachel’s vote blocker still in play. Still, they’d have to do something to fight the perception of them as an overly emotional player to have a shot at winning.
Genevieve
Christine: Genevieve is firmly my favorite player this season. She’s a delight to watch strategize and scheme, and the ongoing storyline of her somehow surviving with a massive target on her back every week has been a hilarious throughline this season. Her intense relationship with Teeny keeps paying off in big ways, especially as Genevieve grapples with her attempt at detached, non-emotional gameplay in an inherently person-focused game. I keep saying, “I don’t know how Genevieve is going to survive the next vote,” and it keeps being true, but I’m sure she’ll find a way to wiggle out of trouble again at the Final Six.
Fallen Comrades
Caroline
Christine: The Queen of Community has fallen. Caroline was one of the stronger, low-key players this season, which made her the perfect backup plan once the more threatening Rachel won immunity. I would have loved to see her argue her case at FTC as a less flashy player who relied on personal connections and positivity rather than pushing plans and playing aggressively. After Gabe and Kyle were voted out, Caroline was simply the most threatening Tuku left in the game and Rachel’s close ally, so she was, unfortunately, the second-best target for Operation Italy.
Gia: Oh Caroline, what a treasure of a human being you were this season. Your cunning gameplay and never-ending optimism were infectious, which is likely why you were the backup vote after Rachel won immunity. She was the undisputed glue of the Tuku alliance, and it was this stability that made her an asset within The Underdogs. I was fairly confident about her winning chances in the end, so to see her just barely miss the finale is shocking. Still, I appreciate her edit and overall gameplay, and can’t wait to see what kind of juror she becomes.
Written by