At the start of this episode, JLP tells us, “This is when the heat gets turned up.” Drop your buffs; we are in the biggest merge in Australian Survivor, with 14 castaways getting new sweet-smelling navy buffs for the Tasi tribe. Scott suggests the name, which means ‘one’ in Samoan. Eden, and the rest of the remaining castaways, are now officially “dateable.”
After the excitement of greetings, meetings, and reunions, the first challenge is set. The reward is not only $AU60,000 (about $US39,400), not only a clean, soft bed at camp to sleep in overnight, but also immunity at Tribal Council with no vote and no part in the discussions there. Valeria wins, but if you think that means she will have no say in the vote, you have not met her.
“This game now gets a little bit dirty,” Valeria tells us. “The war is about to start.” There have been skirmishes before this, then. Some, like Feras v Kirby, stretching back to the first Rebel Tribal.
The money and the bed and immunity make up an enormous reward. Why did production sour the deal by taking away the winner’s vote? Perhaps to avoid a 7-7 tie? And, as it has turns out, the split is even, with seven original Titans and seven original Rebels, but without Valeria’s vote, the Rebels now have a slim majority of 7-6.
SNEAK PEEK: Two tribes become one! #SurvivorAU: Titans v Rebels 7.30 Tonight on @channel10au and 10 Play. pic.twitter.com/vYnLJI6lEr
— SurvivorAU (@Survivor_AU) February 25, 2024
With Winna winning individual immunity, Caroline wants to be the first to form a majority, and she sets about securing numbers. Eden thinks they can pull in Alex, Kirby, and Rianna. The proposal is a vote for Raymond, as he is seen as a lieutenant of Feras.
Kirby watches attentively from afar, then has a summit meeting with Feras. Valeria smiles in the faces of Caroline and Kitty, on whom she has vowed vengeance for the Viola ouster, then sashays to the Kirby/Feras conclave to propose a vote on Kitty. The numbers add up (original Rebels with Valeria, Mark, and Winna), and the blindside is set.
But Scott has made a strong bond with Kitty in the short time since meeting her, and his emotions lead him to take the tale of the blindside-to-be to Kitty and Caroline. They ask who has said her name, and Scott’s divided loyalties begin to pull him this way and that. He cannot name names from his original tribe, so he spills Valeria and Mark.
Will Kirby and Feras finally put their differences aside? #SurvivorAU pic.twitter.com/VyVlE3ckcA
— SurvivorAU (@Survivor_AU) February 25, 2024
The wind storm is gathering as twos and threes and groups swirl around, coming together and splitting apart. Winna and Valeria lie directly to Kitty, swearing they are sticking Titan strong and that it was Feras who said Kitty’s name. Caroline thinks she has Alex as a number and instructs him to play his idol for Kitty. His face, as he turns away, tells us just how likely that would be.
At Tribal Council, with the storm raging, Winna says it feels like they are going to war. JLP asks Raymond if he knows what is going on, and Raymond says there are multiple layers to a Tribal Council. Eden says the first Tribal after merge sets the tone, and Caroline says they will know where the lines are drawn by the end of the night.
But beware of making definitive statements on Survivor. Scott gathers his courage on both hands and begins. “Merge is a dream come true,” he says, but he doesn’t want to take away anyone else’s chance when his mental health is deteriorating. As Eden and Alex wipe away tears, Scott says he has decided to leave the game.
Not exactly what you want to hear right before tribal… #SurvivorAU pic.twitter.com/PMb40hN6Il
— SurvivorAU (@Survivor_AU) February 25, 2024
“This has been a dream of mine since I was a kid,” Scott says before JLP confirms that with Scott going, there will be no vote. As he snuffs Scott’s torch, JLP says, “You have spoken.” In his last words, Scott quotes Peter Pan, saying it has been “one awfully big adventure.”
Quits are rare in Survivor. The first quit in Australian Survivor was in 2016 when a contestant suffering from gastrointestinal illness quit for the good of his tribe. Injury played a part in a quit from Blood v Water (2022). The player asked his tribemates to vote him out due to his suffering. When they refused, he quit. While not strictly quits, in Champions v Contenders (2018), tribemates were more amenable. On request, they voted out two injured players back to back who asked them to do it for the sake of their health.
Scott was also suffering; he was also injured, and his health was also at risk. As Aileen tweeted, “Survivor is an extremely tough game. You can prepare and dream to play the game all you want, but the mental battle can be the toughest challenge out there.”
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