To say we witnessed a masterclass on how to play Survivor in the last episode would be an understatement. No one was safe from the tension building up for weeks (and years) between King George and Simon. And the previous tribal council was the culmination of George’s plan of undermining the majority, stealing a pawn, and checkmating his foe and a joker, while simultaneously eliminating an unsuspecting rookie. While viewers are still processing that epic move, the game continues, and even after 20-plus years on the air, Survivor still has us on our toes.
It’s day 17, and the aftershocks of war can still be felt at the Villains camp. Alliances, promises, and trust have been broken, and the remaining six don’t have a second to spare to see who will come on top. On the one hand, Stevie feels extremely emotional and grateful towards the “Spice Girls” alliance for saving him. Could this move be the bridge Stevie and Shonee needed to work together, at least for the foreseeable future? We’ll see.
On the flip side, Jordie and Simon are still reeling after George imploded their games. While Simon seems defeated, Jordie is willing to pick up the pieces and figure a way out of this mess. After a conversation at the water well with Shonee and Liz, the former seem to be considering keeping Jordie and working with him in the future. But, before they all walk away, Shonee notices an odd-looking coconut and finds the idol George infamously played last tribal. She gladly picks it up and even comments on how it matches her bathing suit.
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At the Heroes camp, things start to boil as Gerry feels betrayed. While he still decided to go back to the Heroes, Gerry’s true allegiance seems to have shifted towards the Villains, and though he knows he can’t show he’s changed sides until a tribe swap or the merge, his demeanour towards the rest of the tribe comes off as hostile, especially when they ask for information on the Villains. Gerry then goes completely bonkers by revealing that the Villains know everything about them, including the hierarchy of the tribe with the alpha guys on top (Shaun, Sam, and David), Matty as their apprentice, followed by Flick and Paige, and the rest of the tribe at the bottom.
Ben admits that Gerry’s revelations made everyone uncomfortable because they all secretly agree on how the Heroes tribe is structured, though no one is willing to accept it publicly. Ben also finds the fake idol that Simon found at the Villains camp in the tribe’s food pot. Unlike Simon, Ben doesn’t think it’s a real idol as there are no clear indications of what it is (a clue to the real one), but he still pockets it.
When both tribes meet for their next challenge, JLP throws a grenade at them when he asks the Villains to tell the Heroes about their latest tribal. Simon tells them about George swinging an idol atop his head while proclaiming he’s the king of Survivor and Fraser being collateral damage. George throws Jordie under the bus, exposing him as the traitor who told him about Simon having “an idol” and orchestrating Simon’s blindside. The Heroes are dumbstruck, and George finishes by proclaiming that Simon still has an idol. Talk about adding salt to a wound, especially when it’s not even a real idol.
Gerry back where he belongs #SurvivorAU pic.twitter.com/VF9rHFKqzZ
— SurvivorAU (@Survivor_AU) February 13, 2023
Gerry and Ben are the first to fall at the endurance-style immunity challenge, followed by Simon and Jordie for the Villains. Both tribes lose their second pair as George/Stevie and Sam/David drop, leaving Shonee/Liz and Sharni/Paige to battle it out. After an excruciating hour, Paige/Sharni drop their block, finally leaving the Villains to win immunity. Props to Shonee, in particular, as she looked dead set in the zone and could’ve probably gone on for hours without a problem.
Just as the Heroes tribe leaves to head back to camp, Paige mutters that Sharni is the one who dropped the block, not her. Paige continues with this narrative at camp, but Flick says it doesn’t matter who dropped as they still have to vote someone out. The target seems to be the same, just as it was the last time the Heroes went to tribal: split the votes between Ben and Gerry just in case someone plays an idol.
Ben continues searching for an idol and finally finds one, though Matty sees him through the bushes and doesn’t waste any time telling the rest of the tribe. When the plan remains the same, Nina talks to Sharni about the split vote, and Sharni feels left out as she thinks all the votes will go to Ben. Ben, for his part, wants Sharni to be the scapegoat to draw the attention away from him, so he uses Paige’s misinformation to target her instead.
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At tribal, the “who dropped the box?” saga continues, with Paige reaffirming it wasn’t her and Sharni saying that she could’ve kept going. Ben interjects by telling everyone that a core member of the group (aka Paige) noted that the challenge was thrown (aka by Sharni) and goes to tell the women to vote for Sharni as he’s going to use his idol for himself. Sharni is unaware and starts to tank her game without realising by continuously defending Gerry at her own expense. Sharni’s endgame is cemented when Ben plays the idol, and with only five votes, her torch is snuffed.
Heading into the next episode, we’re shown a tribe twist is finally coming. The Heroes tribe will enter the swap with a 10-6 numbers advantage, which could lead to a Villains decimation. However, several players, including Gerry, Ben, Simon, and Jordie, are at the bottom of their tribes and could switch to the opposing side, leaving the “top dogs” at the bottom. Heads will definitely roll in the upcoming tribals, so it is only a matter of time to find out if it will be a Hero or a Villain.
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