If you thought Mark’s exit would turn the chaos factor down a notch this season, you thought wrong. Australian Survivor: Redemption continues to surprise with another wild tribal council and a bold play that cements one newbie’s legendary status.
The episode begins with the majority celebrating Mark’s demise. But Ben’s celebrations are doused when the underdogs heap credit on Caleb for pulling off the move. It’s an accurate read: Caleb was the one who switched the vote from Simon to Mark through some crafty manipulation and put himself in the key swing-vote position. However, Ben believes the move was all his and Jackson’s and isn’t happy with the lack of plaudits.
Meanwhile, Keeley and Brooke commiserate about being “kaput” now that they’ve lost a valuable ally. However, they’re not about to quit. Keeley tells Brooke about her real idol and her counterfeit, and the pair sneak off to the well to pinch a decorative chain to add to the fake. This sneaky duo is down but not out and is ready to blow things up if need be.
At an Ikea meatballs reward, Simon proposes a plan to any two players who are willing to take a risk and jump from the majority. With his 100th day closing in, Simon wants to make sure he achieves that milestone in any way possible. His pitch? For two players to join himself, Brooke, and Keeley and force a five/five rock draw. To sweeten the deal, he says he’ll pick two rocks from the bag, guaranteeing one of the flippers’ safety.
Of course, Simon’s proposal is a bluff. He knows the rules state that each player can only pull out one rock. Yet, he’s relying on these newbies not knowing that fact. But whether they know it or not, the newbies don’t seem too keen on going to rocks. Instead, Caleb makes a toast to Operation 99, i.e., take out Simon before he reaches 100 days.
Fortunately for Simon, he doesn’t need his rock draw plan, as he wins his second individual immunity necklace of the season. After a 40-minute showdown with Loz, Simon breaks down in tears, the relief of guaranteeing his 100th day pouring out of him. But with Simon safe, Brooke and Keeley are in the crosshairs, particularly Brooke, the other remaining returnee and feared challenge beast.
The majority’s plan is simple: a split vote, with four on Brooke and three on Keeley. For the minority, it’s either arts and crafts or smarts and craftiness. Keeley puts together the fake idol with the chain ripped from the water well, and it looks pretty convincing. Still, both she and Brooke would feel a lot safer if they actually had numbers on their side.
Brooke and Keeley set their sights on Caleb and Cameron as potential flippers. The pitch is that Ben and Jackson are a powerful duo who need to be broken up sooner rather than later. Caleb says he’s down to blindside Ben, but Brooke feels like she can’t trust a word he says. Cameron, however, seems more convincing. He’s itching to make a big move that he can claim as his own, and taking down Ben here might be it.
Cameron discusses the options with Loz, and both agree that Ben and Jackson need to be split up. It looks like the move is a go until Caleb tells Cameron his mind hasn’t changed and he’s still on the Brooke/Keeley split. Suddenly, Cameron gets cold feet and falls back into the majority with Brooke as target numero uno.
At tribal, Cameron makes a rookie mistake by turning up wearing Sally’s hoodie. Brooke whispers to Keeley and Simon that Cameron wouldn’t be so bold as to do that if he were voting against Sally. And so, operation arts and crafts it is. As conversations go on, Brooke whips out the fake idol, kisses it, and drapes it over her neck. She then zips it behind her hoodie so her tribemates can’t get a close examination of its authenticity.
Brooke plays it up, laughing and delighting in her latest idol find. Meanwhile, panic sets in among the majority. After a few whispered huddles, they agree to stick to the split, except to put the four votes on Keeley and the three on Brooke. The situation calms somewhat until Keeley pulls out her real idol and shows it off to the tribe.
Now, true paranoia hits, as the group questions what’s real and what’s not. It’s a move right out of the Three Amigos playbook, except even bolder, given one idol is a bluff. Jackson, however, realises something is off with Brooke’s idol, especially as she’s reluctant to keep it on display for more than a few seconds. He tells Ben he thinks the idol is fake and that they should keep most of the votes on Brooke.
Ben agrees but notes how Keeley’s idol seems like the real deal, so they might be better off putting the split on someone else just in case. “The obvious one,” he says as the camera cuts to Blanche, whom Ben earlier described as having “the awareness of a fart.” While all this is going on, Simon asks Ben and Jackson who they want him to vote for, and Jackson tells him to put it on Brooke.
What happens next is impressive on two fronts. Firstly, Keeley and Brooke get up to play their idols, and Keeley correctly calls that the majority of the votes are for Brooke. So, as bold as ever, Keeley decides to play her very real idol for Brooke, while the counterfeit is denied. It shouldn’t be undersold how much guts it takes from Keeley to make this move, especially knowing she was originally the split. It requires top-level game awareness, a keen ability to read the room, and the bravery to go through with it. There is no wonder she’s considered an honorary returnee.
But Ben also deserves credit for successfully countering the attack. His quick thinking in putting the split on Blanche as a backup paid off, and she was sent to the jury with three votes to his two. He might have been duped and lost an ally, but he did what was necessary to save himself.
So where do we go from here? Brooke, Keeley, and Simon are still the minority and currently idol-less. Also, Simon voted for Brooke here, which could sever their working relationship moving forward. And with how quickly Ben and Jackson turned on Blanche, will that make other members of the majority question their position? Whatever happens, I expect more madness as we head towards the endgame.
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