It’s common knowledge that the calm comes before a storm, and this was proven correct as Hurricane Kelli had been quietly brewing for a while before she rose to new heights on the latest episode of Titans vs. Rebels. It all begins as Alex, Hurricane Kelli’s number one archnemesis, becomes part of the Titans tribe after the last episode’s twist. It’s safe to say neither Alex nor Kelli are giddy to be reunited, as Kelli herself says she thought she was having a nightmare when she heard Alex’s voice.
Feras is the audience’s voice as he’s elated to see the both of them going at each other in such a passive-aggressive way that a casual viewer might mistake their hatred for… certainly not love, but tolerance, maybe? Anywho, the background music taken right out of The Shinning might provide a more precise context to the true nature of Alex and Kelli’s fun and painful bond.
After the Titans celebrate the birthdays of Kelli’s son (and dog) at the beach, Feras and Raymond work on Alex to recruit him against Kirby’s coalition. Kirby does the same thing with her side to inform them they need to take out one of Feras’ numbers before reaching merge. When Kirby proposes getting rid of Raymond, Kelli starts shifting to a category one storm, as she is adamantly opposed to voting out Raymond, as he is a close friend of hers.
As Kirby, Winna, Valeria, and Scott keep pushing against Raymond, Kelli puts her foot down and tells them they can’t dictate how she votes. Kelli then talks privately with Kirby and tells her how isolated she’s been feeling as Kirby has grown closer to the OG Titans ever since the tribe switch. A very much annoyed Kirby tells Kelli how they need numbers to fight against Feras, who has repeatedly tried to vote Kelli out numerous times. Kirby ultimately asks Kelli whose side she is on, and though Kelli doesn’t respond, we know this conversation is far from over.
For the next reward challenge, JLP surprises both tribes by telling them they all have a choice between having a feast or they can choose to have a scroll that has directions to a hidden immunity idol at their camp, with the last twist being there’s only one idol at each beach. Aileen, Feras, and Alex chose to take a scroll for the Titans. For the Rebels, Eden, Mark, and Rianna also opt for the scroll, leaving everyone else to share a feast.
While they’re eating, Valeria and Kirby inquire about Viola’s elimination. Since Mark isn’t there to share his side of the story, Caroline and Kitty tell them their narrative, which consists of portraying Viola as paranoid and plotting to break up the OG Titans (in reality, all OG Titans were targeting each other, but Caroline, Kitty, and Eden opted to shoot first while Mark and Viola thought they had more time to do so.) Kitty also informs Valeria about Mark trying and failing to target Caroline as retribution. Valeria doesn’t believe either of them and wants Caroline and Kitty gone for blindsiding her best friend.
Valeria hasn’t forgotten… #SurvivorAU pic.twitter.com/YwaybERg6P
— SurvivorAU (@Survivor_AU) February 20, 2024
For her part, Kirby defends her decision to eat instead of going idol-hunting, as she knows she’s got enough control of the game not to need extra security. However, the Kelli storm is brewing into a category two as she tells Kitty about the OG Rebels’ alliance and how they’ve joined forces with Valeria and Winna to get the middle-aged mafia alliance’s votes at the merge.
Kelli adds even more chaos to this bomb drop of information as she exclaims the people in her alliance hate her and that she might need to switch alliances soon, as Kirby and Feras think they’re both the ultimate leader, Valeria is highly bossy, and last but not least, about how Raymond is their next target. Unbeknownst to Kelli, Kirby overhears Kelli warning Kitty about how dangerous Kirby is as a player, leaving Kirby to say Kelli has gone rogue.
At the Rebels beach, Eden, Mark, and Rianna wish each other luck as they hunt for the idol. Rianna knows she greatly needs it as she’s the only OG Rebel against the middle-aged mafia alliance. Rianna snags it first as all three players start looking for the idol amongst a prickly tree’s leaves. Mark is deeply upset, as he knows he’s at the bottom of the totem pole if the Rebels lose the upcoming immunity challenge.
Everyone’s playing checkers while Feras is playing chess ♟ #SurvivorAU pic.twitter.com/UUBS8njlsh
— SurvivorAU (@Survivor_AU) February 20, 2024
On the Titans camp, Feras, Alex, and Aileen look for the idol at their shelter, with Feras finding it almost immediately. BUT! Feras decides not to grab it as he already has a public idol and doesn’t want the danger of having a second one. Feras decides he wants Alex to have it so that he can use this info to build trust with other people Feras would like to work with in the future. Much to Feras’ chagrin, Alex is not the brightest crayon in the box, and even though he has the idol in his proximity, he can’t find it and even inquires if there’s another shelter around.
Feras ultimately has to resort to desperate measures and guides Alex directly under the idol until it drops, making Alex think the Survivor gods are on his side.
For the following immunity challenge, members of both tribes must race in the water to collect three balls and attempt to land them in a goal while members of the other tribe try to stop them from scoring. The first tribe to three points would win immunity. During their round, Feras informs Mark about Alex having the idol (with Mark later informing Eden), while Rianna tells her friend Kirby about hers.
Jaden and Mark making it look way too easy #SurvivorAU pic.twitter.com/dB08XRSyHy
— SurvivorAU (@Survivor_AU) February 20, 2024
After two embarrassing rounds for the Titans, the Rebels easily win immunity, sending a category three Kelli storm and her fellow Titans to tribal council.
Back at the Titans camp, Kirby is completely fed up with Kelli and plans to vote her out for all the chaos she’s caused. She decides to join forces with the self-proclaimed Arabian prince, Feras, to vote her out. All members of both factions agree, but now, in all of her category four glory, Kelli is sensing something is amiss.
Kelli talks to Raymond about a potential blindside coming her way, and he informs her she should probably look for an idol. As Kelli walks away to have some conversations, she asks Raymond to help her look for one, and as soon as Kelli is gone, Raymond looks under a rock and then decides to sit on it, making it clear Kelli’s game is not a priority for him.
Kirby is not done plotting yet, though, as she wants to flush both idols while still getting rid of Kelli. She tells her allies they need Alex and Feras to be paranoid enough to play their idols while still keeping her word about working with them for this vote. After several misinformation conversations about how easy votes rarely pan out, Feras contemplates playing his idol in case of a split vote. Aileen tells him he shouldn’t, but Raymond looking for an idol for Kelli makes Feras uneasy, and he goes into tribal thinking that if he senses something is off, he will indeed play his idol for himself.
In the eye of the Hurricane Kelli #SurvivorAU pic.twitter.com/i9UE6pJssE
— SurvivorAU (@Survivor_AU) February 20, 2024
At tribal, Kirby and her allies keep stirring the pot to make Feras and Alex uneasy. Paranoia and nerves continue to pave their way through the Titans. But the tribal’s temperature reaches its peak as a full-fledged Hurricane Kelli declares she’s not part of an alliance anymore, as she’s thinking as an individual strategic player who protects who she cares about.
Most importantly, Hurricane Kelli has decided she won’t be a meerkat anymore, whatever that last part means. The other tribe members look at Kelli in complete confusion and bewilderment. Valeria calls Kelli out for betraying them at the feast, with Kirby doubling down on how Kelli is not playing strategically. As Alex enjoys how others are “sticking it” to Kelli, JLP announces it’s time to vote.
JLP asks if anyone wants to play an idol. After a few tense seconds, neither guy plays their idol, with Kelli asking Alex if he would play his idol for her. In a playful yet icy tone, Kirby says, “he wouldn’t,” cementing Hurricane Kelli’s last havoc in Samoa. As a unanimous vote corroborates Kelli’s fate, Raymond tells her at least she now gets to see her son. Ouch, Ray.
Finally, a tribe united #SurvivorAU pic.twitter.com/rVjyPUfcgR
— SurvivorAU (@Survivor_AU) February 20, 2024
Hurricane Kelli pronounces she has one more thing to say before she leaves, though. As everyone awaits her dire pronouncement, Kelli exclaims she is… a psychologist. Kelli then does the most Kelli thing as she almost exits tribal before JLP officially snuffs her torch, and after he says the tribe has spoken, he has to direct Kelli which way to leave. Then she gets lost and has to be redirected again. After a few laughs, Hurricane Kelli finally finds her way and departs from the Samoan beach, leaving behind eight surviving Titans in her wake.
Hinting at next week, the merge is finally here! Though having to survive the inclement weather, the unending hunger, and a psychological hurricane, I’m sure the endgame still has a few surprises left for the remaining players. The audience needs to see who comes out victorious in Valeria’s vendetta against Caroline and Kitty, between Mark and Caroline, and Kirby and Feras, plus any new betrayals coming our way in the last weeks of the game.
Also, there’s still room to see if Jaden finally realises he’s on Survivor! Honestly, week five can’t arrive soon enough.
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