If there’s one consistency across this season of Australian Survivor, it’s players making bold plays which aren’t necessarily good for their games. This has been a throughline since the first episode when Nash sauntered into camp with the immunity idol around his neck. It hasn’t let up since then, and Myles’ ballsy idol play in this episode is yet another flashy move in a season of flashiness.
Before we get there, though, this episode appears straightforward, at least on the surface. With Jesse gone and Paulie copping five votes at the last tribal council, it’s clear who is on the bottom. The majority knows it, the audience knows it, and Paulie himself knows it. In a tribe of “buddy” partnerships, he’s the loner who has been kicked out of the sandpit and left to play with himself in the corner.
Logan is deadset on Paulie going next. After weeks of having her ideas “parked,” she’s ready to drive the bus in the direction she wants for a change, and that starts with driving said bus right over Paulie. It’s unclear why Logan is so adamant Paulie has to go, and I can only think it’s because of him telling her that AJ threw her name out back on Brawn 2.0. I’m assuming AJ and the others convinced her it was a straight-up lie, which has painted Paulie as a man who is not trusted.
Regardless, Paulie is a dead man walking, and everyone appears to be on board with letting Logan control this one. Yes, there are secret side conversations and info sharing, like Kaelen telling AJ about Logan’s idol, AJ subsequently telling Myles about said idol and Myles informing AJ about his idol steal advantage. But these are all talks for future moves once Paulie is long gone.
The only potential issue is Paulie winning the immunity challenge. And when JLP reveals another endurance set-up, which requires immense shoulder strength, it looks like a challenge right up Paulie’s street. The worry sets in for the likes of Logan and Zara, but they needn’t be concerned, as Paulie ends up being the second person to drop.
Ultimately, Kaelen and his impressive back muscles pull out the immunity win, seemingly setting the stage for an easy Paulie vote-off. The tribe is so gungho on eliminating Paulie they’re barely considering splitting the vote, choosing to just dump on Paulie, with maybe one stray on PD just to counteract whoever Paulie votes for.
Of course, though, nothing is ever that simple in Survivor. Laura pulls Myles aside and broaches the possibility of using a desperate Paulie to their advantage and instead splitting up one of the buddy partnerships. In particular, she wants PD gone to free up Kristin. Myles is down for it and relays the plan to AJ, while Laura runs it by Kate and Morgan. Between the five of them, there is a solid group behind the vote PD plan.
However, when Laura mentions it to Logan and Karin, the plan is swiftly nipped in the bud. Logan, especially, is hearing none of it. She is sick of being dictated to and refuses to put her plans on the backburner again at the last minute. With that, Laura tells the others the PD vote is a no-go because she doesn’t want to shatter her alliance by pushing against Logan.
As tribal arrives, everything seems to be heading the way of a landslide Paulie vote. And that is what happens, except Myles decides to shake things up. Before the voting begins, Myles unveils his advantage and chooses to hijack Kristin’s idol. There’s a lot of shock and awe, but it doesn’t do anything to dissuade people from the plan. Yet, Myles isn’t done. When JLP returns with the votes, Myles declares he wants to make a new buddy and plays his newly stolen idol for the “sexy snake”, aka Paulie.
JLP reads out nine voided votes for Paulie while the Coven gives Myles their best death stares. “There’s a reason he’s a rat,” Logan says as the votes for PD roll in, sending him out in a crazy 3-9 vote. And so, Paulie lives to fight another day, and he might have found a new friend in the process.
It’s an exciting tribal that made for great television. But as a move? I’m not sure this was the best play for Myles. Taking the idol is one thing, but then using said idol to save Paulie, who pretty much the entire tribe wanted out, is only going to piss people off. On top of that, PD as a target didn’t make a lot of sense. If you’re going to make such a bold play that you know will anger your old Brains allies, you might as well go the full measure and take out Logan, which would have also gotten rid of another idol. Of course, there’s always the risk that Logan could have played her idol, but in that case, Myles and AJ could have put their votes on Laura.
However, I’m glad the target ended up on PD, who seemed like a nice enough guy but didn’t bring a great deal to the season. Logan sticking around, with an idol to boot, will make for a much more dynamic battle with Myles (who still has his own idol) and AJ in the coming episodes. May the messiness continue!
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