Each week, Christine Pallon and Gia Worthy will round up the previous week of Survivor 44 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 latest episode.
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Top 3 Moments
Everyone’s a Suspect (Except Carolyn)
Christine: Our cage idols paid off in a big way this week, especially over at Tika. Carolyn found the key and just couldn’t help herself from snagging the idol for herself, leading to some hilarious shenanigans. After Carolyn replaced the empty bag and re-locked the cage, the rest of Tika arrived at the scene of the crime and started pointing fingers at everyone but Carolyn, letting her somehow get off with the idol scot-free. Carson even employed the techniques he learned by reading books about body language, but his suspicions landed on poor Helen rather than Carolyn.
Danny’s Not Telling Anyone
Christine: Meanwhile, at Soka, Danny decided to do the same as Carolyn and grab his tribe’s cage idol for himself. He did a much better job at covering his tracks, though. Claire and Matt checked up on the cage and didn’t notice anything was amiss, and Danny made it clear in his confessionals that he had NO intention of telling anyone. Now it’s a matter of whether he re-hides the key and lets someone find the fake idol or if anyone on Soka notices that the bag looks a little lighter than before, like Tika did.
Claire, Chief Laziness Czar
Gia: Every few seasons, there is a contestant whose game I connect with on a spiritual level. This year, I have found my comrade in leisure with Claire, the self-proclaimed Chief Laziness Czar. Her carefree, unapologetic attitude is a breath of fresh air around camp, but it’s even better at challenges. Jeff may not enjoy how she volunteers to sit out of any challenge she can, but he does not speak for me.
Tribe Breakdown
Ratu
Gia: If you’re like me, you were probably confused by all the mess that transpired during Ratu’s tribal council. Well, it turns out that much of this was planned ahead of time. Matthew and Jaime both planned to play their Shot in the Dark, Jaime for her safety and Matthew because he didn’t want to pick a side. Lauren wanted to bank her vote early on and was successful in her endeavor. And with Brandon playing his idol, Kane has been left on the outs now that Maddy is gone. Worst of all, it seems like Brandon had no idea that Kane would vote for him, and now all trust between them is gone. I wouldn’t say that all hope is lost for Kane just yet, but it will definitely be an uphill battle.
Soka
Christine: The big news on Soka, other than Danny finding the idol, was Frannie and Matt’s showmance continuing to bloom. They’re super cute, but Frannie’s already (rightfully) worried it’ll hurt her game. Other players are noticing, too: Heidi spoke about it pretty openly, and Claire got some hilarious confessionals and reaction shots showing her displeasure at the development. Soka’s on a winning streak, but if they head to tribal anytime soon, we can expect Frannie and Matt’s relationship to be the main topic of discussion regardless of where the vote lands.
Tika
Gia: Tika was the drama from beginning to end during this episode, and we absolutely love them for it. Between their group idol hunt, rationing out Bruce’s things, and being suspicious of everyone except the person that has the idol, I was laughing every time they came on my screen. Navigating the advantages and twists of the game can be quite daunting for a viewer, but Tika has managed to make the new school version of the game enjoyable, flaws and all. Now this tribe is down to four, and I can’t wait to see their journey from here.
Top 3 Contestants
Carolyn
Christine: What a hell of an episode for Carolyn! She got an idol and seemingly blew her cover but somehow got away with it. She got targeted but ultimately saved without even having to use her idol. And to top it all off, she formed a critical relationship with Yam Yam, which has the potential to be a seriously iconic duo. Yes, she had some emotional moments and some wacky scenes, but after surviving this week, she could be in a great spot moving forward.
She’s got an idol that no one suspects she has, and I think everyone is going to continue underestimating her because of her big personality. She feels her feelings and isn’t afraid to hide them, but she’s also here to play the damn game and play it hard, and her tribemates might not figure that out before it’s too late.
Yam Yam
Gia: Out of everyone from Tika, I think Yam Yam left this tribal council in the best position. Rather than go with the easier choice of voting for Carolyn, Yam Yam recognized the valuable ally in her and decided to take fate into his own hands. He let Carolyn know that she was receiving votes, built trust with her and Carson, and was able to lead the majority into voting out Helen. With Sarah on the outs and Carolyn having more faith in Yam Yam than Carson, I’m hopeful this means that Yam Yam is a shoo-in for the merge.
Carson
Christine: Carson decided to abandon his alliance with Helen and Sarah in favor of not forcing a tie. We didn’t see it, but Helen’s exit press mentioned that Sarah told her and Carson about her lack of a vote, so Carson made the right call to flip, knowing that he was, at best, forcing a 2-2 tie if he stayed loyal to Helen. Carson could be an important player moving forward if he can mend the bridge with Sarah and stay close to Carolyn and Yam Yam, but playing the middle is a dangerous game.
He seemed to revel in it a bit this week, which I get. Playing the middle is fun! I’ve done it a lot in the ORGs I’ve played, but it’s a bit of a tightrope act. It worked out for him this time, but he’ll need to reel in that temptation to play the middle too aggressively if he finds himself in that position again further down the line because that’s an easy way to get the vote turned on yourself if you’re not careful.
Fallen Comrades
Helen
Christine: Poor Helen! She seemed to have a lot of potential and made a lot of right moves early on, managing to get herself into a majority alliance that could seemingly carry her to the merge even if her tribe had to attend a couple pre-merge tribals. Sarah losing her vote really killed any potential of this alliance having legs, unfortunately. I don’t blame Carson for flipping on Helen, given that, at best, they were looking at a 2-2 vote between Carolyn and Helen.
Spending more time and energy building relationships with those on the bottom (Yam Yam and Carolyn) is the only thing that Helen could have done differently to save herself. If she had, maybe they would have targeted Sarah or Carson instead, and she could have been the third vote they brought in.
Gia: Say it with me, everyone: Helen was robbed, and on International Women’s Day too! Her shining moment is definitely her ingenuity with the Savvy puzzle, and I’m disappointed that we didn’t get to see more of her during her short time in the game. From what we saw, it didn’t appear that she did much wrong (other than crossing her arms, of course). Little did she know she was on the wrong side of the numbers, and her closest ally Sarah didn’t have a vote. Unfortunately, I think it’s safe to say that the pre-merge will be filled with players that have untapped potential in the game, Helen being one of them.
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