Each week, Christine Pallon and Gia Worthy will round up the previous week of Survivor 41 as they list their top moments in various important categories. This includes the most essential information, the stand-out castaways, and the key moments from the week.
Here, Christine and Gia break down all the action from the twelfth episode.
Top 3 Moments
Sugar or Nourishment
Christine: Jeff threw us another late-game reward challenge where the castaways were divided into two teams to compete for either chicken and vegetables or cake, cookies, and candy. Much like the hourglass twist, this felt like kind of a no-brainer as far as choices go. The winning team of Deshawn, Erika, and Xander unsurprisingly chose the chicken and vegetables as their reward and used their time together to make a tentative Final Three deal.
Ricard is targeted… then wins immunity
Christine: Danny and Deshawn were baffled by the decision to take Liana out over Ricard last round, and they were immediately vindicated when Ricard won a clutch immunity win after being targeted yet again. Ricard now has three individual immunity wins to his name, and his fellow castaways are quickly running out of opportunities to take him out.
Deshawn throws Erika under the bus
Gia: It’s been advertised all week that someone’s game would be put in jeopardy at Tribal Council. Once Ricard won immunity, I assumed that Deshawn was going to throw Danny under the bus to save his own skin. I was right about Deshawn being the one to make the callout, but it was actually Erika that he threw under the bus. Seemingly unprompted, Deshawn told Heather that her closest ally Erika didn’t want to go to the end with her—cue the Marge Simpson meme: “It’s true, but he shouldn’t say it.”
To Erika’s credit, she handled the play very well, and it ended up being inconsequential to the vote. Danny was still voted out, and he and Deshawn were the only two to receive votes. It is much more likely that Deshawn’s play will have some fallout in the finale, but whether it’s against Deshawn or Erika remains a mystery.
Stand-out Castaways
Ricard
Gia: Ricard was everyone’s first choice to vote out this week; it’s pretty much all we heard in the first half of the episode. So, of course, this meant that he won immunity, thereby thwarting everyone’s plans. While Ricard himself was not the driving strategic force in this episode, the consensus is that he wins against anyone if he makes it to the end. That’s great for Ricard, but not so great that players recognize this. For Ricard to win, he has to win out. It’s certainly not impossible, but his road to victory will be more of an uphill battle than anyone else.
Erika
Christine: Erika had some real ups and downs this episode, from being on the winning reward team and making a potential Final 3 deal to having Deshawn throw her under the bus at Tribal for what she said to him about wanting Heather out. Erika ended up making it through the Tribal debacle unscathed and seems to be in a solid position to make it to the end, but Deshawn’s callout certainly complicates things for her moving forward. She’ll have to do some major damage control with Heather and seriously re-evaluate her trust in Deshawn now that he’s proven to be such a wildcard.
Danny
Gia: Danny was an unexpected but much-welcomed fan favorite this season and will largely be remembered as the level-headed leader amongst his alliances. Unfortunately, his time in the game ends here, just shy of the finale. He tried to save himself by looking for an idol and placing the target on other people, but it all came crashing down when Ricard won immunity. With no idol to protect him and Deshawn being less of a jury threat, Danny really didn’t have a chance. However, his placement will be overshadowed by what we remembered, such as his kindness to his tribemates, his unique approach to managing his threat level, and being the last player to receive any votes against him. Like he said in his goodbye message, he left everything out there.
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Advantage Watch
Idols
Gia: Knowing that he was the likely next boot, Danny tried his best to look for an idol, to no avail. However, the cameras made it clear to us that there is at least one idol/advantage still up for grabs, and Danny was so close to finding it. Meanwhile, Xander still has his idol, which now basically guarantees him a free pass into the final four, so long as he plays it. However, this may have less to do with his own strategic prowess and more with the fact that the other players just don’t see him as a big threat to win the game. We’ll have one episode left to see if they’re right.
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