As the Moordijt Tribe returns to camp after the latest blindside, the vibes are less exciting than you’d expect. Not everyone was really thrilled to see Kirby go. Parvati wanted her around as a shield for a bit longer, Cirie is fine with taking the shot at a power player but knows some feelings are hurt, and Luke and Shonee just ended up with egg on their faces trying to vote Cirie out. So yeah, it’s a messy night.
The next day, Luke goes to Cirie to clean up his mess by spinning his fumble against the International trio, claiming they told him and Shonee to vote for Cirie only to flip at Tribal and leave him out in the cold. Cirie doesn’t really care about the apology. She still can’t trust Luke 100% and won’t forget that vote, but she does trust Janine, who got the ball rolling on the Kirby plan and stuck to her word.
High off the thrill of that blindside and feeling good with the World alliance, Kass whips out the scroll she won in the last challenge and reads it aloud. Turns out she’s won a spa day reward and can invite three people; off she goes with Parvati, Cirie, and Tommi, leaving Lisa to babysit the Aussies at camp, to Shonee and Janine’s chagrin. The former just wanted a spa day, and the latter needed time to cement something with Parvati and Cirie before the likes of Kass and Tommi. So with nothing to lose, the Aussies smash open the mystery box and find it’s been looted already, leading them to a horrifying conclusion: they’re on the bottom against a majority with an idol or something even more powerful. Lovely.
Meanwhile, at the spa, Kass claims Luke was the one throwing out Cirie’s name to counter his side of the story, and now the heat’s going on Luke for this next vote, though Cirie suggests Shonee might be a better target. Parvati opens up to Cirie about her idol and advantage, and the two laugh it up about sitting in the final as a salty Tony has to watch from home. So yeah, seems this game is World’s to lose, even if they’ve taken some big hits early on. Bridges have been built, cracks are filling in, and the numbers are all theirs.
At an early immunity challenge, Tommi stacks his way to victory and takes his second necklace of the season, finally winning one without a rock draw. With safety around his neck, he can afford to play recklessly and stir the pot. But first, the World Tribe comes together and agrees on the safe Shonee vote, even if Parvati is a little unsure about trusting the Internationals. With the Aussies in trouble and unable to get any intel from the majority, Janine’s plan to pitch an endgame with Parv, Cirie, and Luke can’t really fly, so her game is Aussie strong for now. But Tommi sees the chance for a move and pulls together the Internationals for a massive shot at Parvati, knowing they have to break up her and Cirie.
Unfortunately for Tommi, Lisa’s unsure about this last-second plan and takes matters into her own hands. While she’s fine with Parvati going and will let the blindside carry on, she doesn’t want to burn too many bridges. So she goes to Luke and Shonee, tells them about Tommi’s plan and says she won’t be voting Parv with them. What could’ve been a brilliant team up turns into a trainwreck as the Aussies 1) don’t like the idea of a plan being tossed at them last second as though they’re just pawns, and 2) really don’t like that Lisa’s trying to make a move and not even get the blood on her hands. So with the mood shifting around camp, Parvati senses the vibes are off and starts thinking about ways to protect herself as cracks reopen among the majority.
Tribal immediately goes off the rails as the Aussies start whispering about flipping the votes against Lisa, Parvati gets spooked and puts her idol around her neck, and Luke sells Lisa out for all her schemes. Kass desperately tries to do damage control as the Aussies pull Cirie and Parv into the Lisa vote, all while the Internationals play dumb and claim Shonee is still the target. But Cirie’s assessing the situation, and with her unable to catch Luke in any lie, she can only believe his word.
The messiness keeps going as Parvati gets pulled into a huddle with Cirie and Luke, deciding she’s got to make a move on Kass here instead. The frenemies have been in a stealthy tug of war for power, and now’s the time to decide the winner in this cold war. Janine and Shonee join the mix and agree with the Kass switch, all while the Internationals sit on an island of their own as their games crumble. With one last desperate move, Lisa pulls Parvati aside and reveals everything, cementing the line between Kass and Parv heading into this vote.
With the votes cast, Kass shocks everyone by pulling out her idol, but Parvati counters by revealing her Knowledge Is Power and threatening to steal it from Kass’ hands. This cold war turns into an arms race, but once Kass says she’ll play it for Lisa, Parv lets her dig her own grave and saves her advantage for another day. With Lisa immune by Kass’ hand, the votes come out… and it’s a Kass blindside with the Internationals splitting their votes between Shonee and Luke. What could’ve been an easy vote for the World Tribe turned into a nightmare, and those who tried riding the middle ended up crashing to the bottom.
But in this Survivor World War, the final seven might have dodged a bullet, but there’s another one left in the chamber. It’s double elimination night, and it’s all happening at a breakneck pace as another challenge and vote will take place tonight. For Tommi and Lisa, it’s do or die with their games in shambles, but Luke ultimately takes the necklace for himself with a dominant performance. Knowing his game’s on its last legs, Tommi goes for broke, owns up to his plan to blindside Parvati, and pitches an alliance with the Aussies so it won’t be a 3-3 tie at the final six. Take Tommi as a fourth number, snatch control, split up Parv, Cirie, and Lisa, and run the game to the end. And in a worst-case scenario, Parv plays her idol to save herself or Cirie, so they still have some power from that side. Easy, right?
Well, not if Lisa wants to quit! Not a joke. She actually wants to fall on her sword at the final seven, with just five days left in the game, tarnishing her entire legacy on the world stage… just because she wants an International to win and figures Tommi stands a better chance than her. I’m sorry, but can we not? Please? I didn’t expect anyone to leave this season with a ruined legacy, especially Lisa, who I’ve been championing as an underappreciated winner for seven years. But quitting a season like this, especially after Kass just played an idol on you and got booted for it, would be so pathetic even if it’s for some “righteous” reasons.
Thankfully, JLP shuts this nonsense down on the spot. If Lisa quits, as per the rules production probably makes up as they go along, she won’t be on the jury and the tribe still votes again, so Tommi would probably go home regardless of any sacrifices. False alarm then. Lisa’s not quitting. But after all that, she won’t even vote for Cirie alongside Tommi as he’s unceremoniously sent to the jury by the Aussie-American alliance.
So yeah. That was a mess. Now it’s Lisa fighting for her life on the bottom after her failed attempt to quit. Definitely a crazy ending to this round, but not one I can say left a great taste in my mouth. Kass threw her game away for Lisa, and Tommi followed her out the door when Lisa didn’t 100% want to be there. But props to Parv for bluffing her advantage and idol and surviving two rounds without a single vote against her. If she was in her Micronesia era in the pre-merge, she’s in her Heroes vs Villains era now.
Next time, though, it’s a battle between boneheaded moves: Lisa’s attempted sacrificial quit versus Luke deciding to tell Parvati about his idol when she’s capable of stealing it. Yeah, I don’t know what he’s thinking either. This season is wild for sure, even if some of the wild moments leave me scratching my head. But nobody can say it’s boring, so keep the messiness coming.
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My guess is Luke handed his idol to Janine, and is lying to Parvati so she wastes her advantage on him and still gain nothing