This season of Australian Survivor has been really fun to watch so far, and even though it lost an infamous returning player last week, more players are emerging to take on the mantle of harbinger of chaos. While this episode wasn’t particularly difficult to predict, it did show how several plotlines are being positioned for viewers to keep an eye on, so read ahead to see how everything unfolded.
It starts with the Bounty tribe reeling from their last Tribal Council, particularly Caleb, who feels betrayed by everyone. Keeley does some damage control while internally feeling giddy that she got away with her first big move.
Mark recognises he got too cocky for his own good and got bitten by a tribe swap once more, and acknowledges he’s got to do some work if he wants to regain control. He speaks to Faith about feeling betrayed by Keeley, and Faith feigns innocence, reassuring him that this move was meant to make Keeley feel in control.
At the hammock, Keeley and Faith celebrate their new power position, but Faith questions whether they should be wary that this move could backfire on them. Keeley shoots this down and even taunts that if any of the others try to rally against her, she will wear their discarded clothes at the next challenge after they get eliminated.
Caleb is next on Keeley’s hit list and names the new alliance between her, Faith, and Mark as the “Head Office.” She also plans to keep Lyndl and Richard as “consultants/contractors” to help her work out her plans. Faith knows she’s the glue that’s holding the Head Office alliance together and plans to keep working with both Keeley and Mark for her convenience.
While not willing to vote out his ally Caleb, Mark knows the best move for him is to keep the power within the HO alliance, as there will be other opportunities for him to regain the upper hand. Then, Mark decides to scheme with Richard to convince the Barren tribe to throw the next immunity challenge, as a ploy to make him (and Lyndl) feel comfortable to continue working with him.
At the new Barren campsite, Brooke is seen looking for an idol while the rest of the OG Bounty members plan to vote her out asap, especially Aisha, who continues to get information from Blanche. Blanche, who no longer feels any allegiance to her former tribemates, reveals that Brooke is working with Mark and his group, which Aisha plans to use to her advantage.
Brooke, who’s unaware of Blanche’s new intentions, manages to find an idol right underneath Blanche’s nose. Brooke then celebrates getting her second idol of the season, as she knows it’s her only lifeline, as she’s at the bottom of the barrel at the new Barren tribe.
At the immunity challenge, as planned, the OG Barren members arrive wearing the clothes of the “deceased” to make a statement to the other tribe. Richard gives his best performance to show he’s at the bottom of the pecking order, as Mark is even wearing Richard’s blazer. Brooke sees through the façade, but Lottie states Richard wouldn’t fake it.
As Richard gives a “farewell” hug to Simon, he whispers in the latter’s ear to throw the challenge, as otherwise Richard is done for. Richard also asks Aisha to throw a challenge before the merge and tells her the OG Bounty members have several options to take out either way. A highly physical challenge then ensues, followed by a challenging puzzle, which is ultimately resolved first by the Barren 2.0 tribe.
Faith and Keeley question Richard’s true allegiance, as he would have to have enough pull with Simon and Aisha to ask them to throw the challenge. Meanwhile, Mark and Richard question Faith in return, noting that she and Ben said they missed each other at the end of the challenge.
Back at camp, Keeley tells Mark she thinks Richard perhaps told the Barren tribe not to throw the challenge. While suspicious of Richard and his newfound agency, they decide to target Lyndl instead, as Richard could still prove useful down the line.
Lyndl commits a Survivor cardinal sin by expressing that she feels comfortable with her new allies and tribe, just as Mark is ecstatic that the target shifted from Caleb to her. Mark also states he’s aware of Lyndl’s idol. The HO alliance then decides to tell Richard and Lyndl the vote will be between Caleb and Tez, while also telling Caleb and Sally the true plan.
Tez keeps getting sidelined by the HO and, tired of this situation, decides to rally Richard and Lyndl. While the duo pressures Tez to give a name, Tez decides to go for it and throws Faith’s name as a potential target. Tez then switches up and tells Faith he mentioned her just out of pressure, which she relays to the other HO members. Mark jumps to Tez’s defence, while Faith is annoyed by the whole situation.
As a last countermeasure, the HO decides to tell Sally to vote for Richard in case Lyndl plays an idol, and to keep Tez in the dark until the last minute, as, according to them, Tez could ruin the whole plan. Tez pretends to agree with the situation, but is aware he’s not a priority for Keeley if he’s getting told what to do at the last possible second. While feeling safe-ish, Richard talks to Tez about possibly enacting the Faith blindside plan and agrees to bring in Caleb to secure at least four votes.
At Tribal Council, Mark signals Tez to vote out Richard. Tez immediately brings the chaos to the HO’s annoyance by announcing that he was told he wouldn’t be let in on “the real plan” until TC. A lot of loyalty talk is spoken throughout, but it’s clear no one is actually feeling it towards Tez, Richard, or Lyndl.
Lyndl, completely unaware of the oncoming slaughter, doesn’t play her idol, which cements her elimination after a 3-2-2-1 vote. (Faith, Keeley, and Caleb voted for Lyndl; Mark and Sally voted for Richard; Richard and Tez voted for Caleb; Lyndl voted for Tez.) As a devastated Lyndl leaves a bamboozled Richard behind, Mark remarks that Tez is useless.
Next up, the preview shows plenty of things will go down at the next episode: we will have two Tribal Councils as both tribes will eliminate a player while also competing for individual immunity. Simon questions Mark about Richard’s well-being, and Mark retorts that the tribe has bigger fish to fry. A potential new alliance is formed between Loz, Ben, Brooke, Simon, and Jackson called “Beauty and the Beasts,” with Loz being the only Beauty according to Brooke, and the HO becomes less reliable than any HR, as Keeley and Faith potentially want to go after Mark.
We won’t want to miss what is coming up next on Australian Survivor: Redemption.
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