Australian Survivor: Redemption is anything but predictable, and this episode showed that no one’s future is set in stone until a torch is snuffed. With one twist after another, it was near impossible to know what would come next, especially when a Russian Roulette-style blackmail plan was enacted, with a surprising result. Read on to know how everything went down.
The episode begins with Harry reeling from Paula’s blindside and promises revenge by setting Dirty Harry loose. Harry starts by building a bridge between himself and Jackson, as he says he’s now a free agent, while also appealing to Lottie, whom Harry recognises as the one who’s the driving force behind the Bounty tribe.
Harry tells Lottie that if a tribe swap were to happen, she needs him as a shield, as opposed to more passive players such as Lyndl and Loz. Lottie agrees that the duo haven’t been as active as her and privately agrees that playing alongside Harry might be good for her gameplay, as she’s a fellow gamer.
Lottie also talks with Aisha about getting rid of Lyndl, since Lyndl has no allegiance to either of them. Aisha tells Lottie about the advantage she found: she can save someone from the Bounty tribe from Tribal Council and make someone from the Barren tribe vote instead.
Meanwhile, at the Barren camp, Don excitedly announces to the whole tribe that he’s related to Mat Rodgers, aka the Australian Survivor Godfather, rather than the Roberts family, as he had previously said, and he hopes this revelation brings them closer as a tribe. It’s quite obvious to the audience that this big revelation isn’t breaking any barriers for Don, but Caleb does go along with it by calling him the “Donfather.”
Caleb is waiting to make a big move and is currently playing for both sides of the Barren tribe. He lets Mark know Johnson is after him, and Mark then openly confronts Johnson about it. A hilarious scene ensues with Johnson denying this while he’s shaking like a leaf, then as he tells Ben to deny it as well (Ben just looks like a deer in headlights), and Johnson finishes it off by throwing his ally, Blanche, under the bus by saying she’s the one throwing Mark’s name around. Mark doesn’t buy this for a second.
Next, the tribes compete for immunity via an obstacle course and a puzzle. Even though the Bounty tribe held a lead for most of the time, they made a few costly mistakes, allowing the Barren tribe to catch up and snatch immunity. Before the tribes head for camp, though, Aisha hands her advantage to David and selects Loz as the player from Bounty to save her from Tribal Council. Then, Aisha picks Caleb to be the player who will vote instead of Loz.
David surprises the Bounty tribe by announcing they all have another shot at immunity by playing in an individual immunity challenge. At the endurance challenge, all contestants drop off rather quickly, leaving Harry and Lyndl as the final two. At the end, Harry is unable to outlast Lyndl, which leaves him without immunity and targets, as both Lyndl and Loz are safe for the night.
Back at the Barren camp, Caleb and Mark question Loz on who she would pick to go home, and Loz mentions Harry. Caleb is ecstatic about this move, as it would look great on his resume. As he departs, he promises not to reveal the Donfather’s real identity (while admitting he doesn’t even know who Mat Rogers is).
Things aren’t going well for Harry as he knows he’s in trouble. He tells Lyndl she was next; Lyndl then relays this to the others (who, of course, deny it) and says she wants to vote out Harry, to Lottie’s dismay. Lottie wants to target Jackson instead, while Cameron and Aisha say this opportunity to target Harry might never happen again.
Lottie warns Harry that it’s between him and Jackson, which Harry then uses to pitch his case publicly to the rest of the tribe (minus Jackson). Harry says he would be more useful than Jackson if a swap came, which Lottie also uses to pitch Jackson’s elimination to Aisha. Aisha ultimately agrees to eliminate Jackson instead, as they wouldn’t be able to trust him in the future.
Jackson also tries to pitch his case publicly, which ends up sounding a lot shakier than Harry’s, and it ends with Jackson announcing he’s going to try to find a hidden immunity idol. While everyone is set on voting out Jackson now, Dirty Harry tells Jackson he has one more trick up his sleeve in trying to save them both: Harry will steal the flint and announce that if the others don’t want the flint to be voted out via him or Jackson, then they should place their votes on Richard. Jackson excitedly agrees to backmail their tribe with starvation if they don’t follow along, and keeps the flint hidden, knowing this could be their salvation or their ultimate doom.
At Tribal Council, Harry welcomes Caleb by explaining the latest events. Caleb exclaims this is the chance for the tribe to get rid of a powerhouse, aka either Simon or Harry, as they know the game better than the rest of the new players. By this loud proclamation of drawing a line in the sand, Cameron jokingly tells Caleb he should be happy he can’t be voted out tonight.
Jackson and Dirty Harry then share their extortion with the others. To everyone’s shock (even David’s, who’s unable to hide his delight at the chaos), the Dirty duo announces they will place their votes on Richard, and the rest can either follow through or perhaps flush out their flint in the process. As a player, I would be incensed at this scenario. As a viewer, however, I love the chaos and panic this plan causes.
Like a literal little devil on his shoulder, Harry tells Caleb that this is his shot to do something cool and in favour of the Bounty tribe, as Richard is “one of the top dogs.” Harry also says this is his way of showing his loyalty to his people, and he will be a weapon for the Bounty tribe upon a swap or the merge.
In a shocking twist of events, the double-crosser becomes the double-crossed. Learning from the master, Dirty Jackson emerges and throws Harry under the bus by giving the flint to Simon, leaving a stunned Harry next to him. As a good sport, Harry shakes Jackson’s hand in defeat and admits this redemption story might not be his in the end.
Just before voting, Lottie asks Caleb to vote for Jackson in case the latter has an idol. The votes come in, and Dirty Harry’s fate is sealed as he’s voted out in a 7-1-1 vote. Simon is brought to tears as he hugs his former ally goodbye, and with that, Dirty Harry’s torch is snuffed for the third and final time.
As a riveting episode comes to an end, the preview shows Caleb throwing caution to the wind once more as he proudly announces to his tribe that Harry went home and questions which returning player should be next. I’m guessing that, at least, Mark and Brooke will have something to say and do about this.
With this, Dirty Harry’s saga of chaos comes to an end, but this only seems the beginning of another one brewing. We will have to wait and see who rises from this tribal’s ashes, and who will be the next to follow Dirty Harry down the path out of the jungle, so stay tuned!
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