After last week’s Yahtzee-inflicted mess of a Tribal, the Vula trio returns to camp to decompress after a brutal night of stressful, twisty betrayal. Cedrek’s suffering after that disaster put him in the hot seat, and it’s opened cracks overnight that Mary and Sai can easily use to their advantage. Cedrek only got Sai out of a spot he put her in himself, so she’s not grateful for anything he did. Mary hasn’t trusted Sai, but after a few days, she sees her as less of a big player and more of a genuine person. So, against the odds, sworn rivals become sworn frenemies, with Cedrek now on the outs if they lose again.
Fortunately for the Vulas, production decided to actually change the usual New Era formula and swap tribes again! It’s still three tribes of five, so two tribe lovers will have to keep hoping, but I’ll take a much-needed shakeup when this season was going down a stale path on all three tribes. Once new buffs are drawn, we have the new Civa Tribe (Mitch, Chrissy, Bianca, Sai, and Cedrek), Lagi Tribe (David, Charity, Star, Eva, and Mary), and Vula (Kamilla, Kyle, Joe, Thomas, and Shauhin). Two tribes with lone wolves in the middle, and then one tribe with a strict two versus three divide and a ton of advantages to throw a spanner in the works.
On the new Lagi, Mary is excited to have a fresh start in the middle of two duos who’d need her vote, but Eva’s on shaky ground. Without Joe, she’s lost her emotional rock, she’s on a majority-woman team as someone who prefers working with men, and Star’s still hanging around as someone she’ll never be able to work with. But she bonds with David immediately, and with nothing to lose, she sells out Star’s entire game to the other three. Her position, her beware advantage, her lack of a vote. Everything. If someone’s going home here, Eva’s making sure Star’s that name and showing no mercy.
But Star’s not the only outsider in this group. As David bonds with people and forges new alliances, Charity totally underestimates his game and claims he’s just a charming guy without a strategic bone in his body, so she can boss him around until the merge when he becomes a beautiful shield for her. But David’s no dummy despite the archetype he portrays. He’s wanted Charity out since the beginning, and with her playing too hard at this swap and neglecting the social game, he’s comfortable selling her out to work with fresh faces if they face Tribal.
On the new Civa, Sai’s annoyed to be stuck with Cedrek after she emotionally cut ties with the guy, but Chrissy’s fine with Mitch being her swap ally. They didn’t talk game at all, but she’s ready to play with her people and take the twist in stride. And then we have Bianca, stuck in the middle without a vote to her name. A position of great power and/or great danger. But all she needs is to find some cracks, and when Sai makes it clear she’s not tight with Cedrek, she has something to work with!
Unfortunately, Bianca’s still such easy pickings in this tribe. Cedrek and Mitch bond immediately over speech impediments, and Chrissy’s ready to work with the Vulas to pile on Bianca in the name of staying Civa strong on Civa beach. Even if Bianca has an extra vote from her Journey, it doesn’t matter as long as it’s a unanimous vote against her.
On the new Vula, the camp is a disaster after a week of brutal losses. The shelter is a mess and there’s no food or supplies, but the California Girls have the numbers, and Thomas has an advantage nobody knows about. So he’s sitting pretty… until Kamilla pulls out some killer receipts and throws Thomas under the bus to his own people. When Mitch went on a Journey with Thomas, he didn’t have the choice to opt out of the challenge. Star claimed Thomas did, and with a crack ready to be exploited, Kamilla sells the schemer out to his allies to break some trust among the majority. Thomas is quick to defend himself, claiming Kamilla is lying to save herself and putting a target on her back.
Cursed beach aside, Vula arrives at the immunity challenge as the most confident, hyped-up tribe in ages, full-on battle cries included… This only makes it more embarrassing when they blow a solid lead on the puzzle and end up going to Tribal, still without a flint, even though none of those five were on the original disaster tribe in the first place. But even with the numbers against Kyle and Kamilla, they have an idol and extra vote to work with, their alliance isn’t a known variable yet, and Thomas has baggage they can exploit.
But this evening, it’s all about putting on some award-winning performances. Kamilla and Kyle have to fake being 100% against one another to keep the California Girls naive to the plan they’re cooking up. If they put all three votes on one of the Civas, Kyle’s idol saves the day if he plays it right. Kamilla even gives him her extra vote.
Then, it comes down to who they want to vote for here. Thomas might have an advantage, but Shauhin is another big threat and gets most of the blame for searching Kyle’s bag with Thomas’ help. And for the California Girls, Joe and Shauhin want Kyle out because Kamilla’s puzzle prowess brains are more valuable than more beefy brawn, but Thomas thinks Kamilla should be the target for throwing his name out all day. Plus, he still has that Vote Steal, so if he thinks he’s in danger, he’ll whip it out and save his skin, then deal with the ramifications of lying to his alliance later.
At Tribal, Kyle and Kamilla put on their best sad faces and give some fake eulogies for their games up to that point, setting the trap perfectly for the California Girls. Thomas holds onto his Vote Steal, Kyle plays his idol successfully on himself, and with two votes… Thomas gets knocked out with an advantage that could’ve saved him in his pocket.
After playing super hard and lying his butt off in villainous fashion, it’s not his overplaying that was his undoing, but his hesitancy to be bold and play his Vote Steal at the right time. Poetic, ironic, and tragic, especially when Thomas was such a fun villain in his short stay and had serious potential to dish out vicious confessionals in a mostly nice cast. Another second chance contender for the future, perhaps? Maybe.
But the real second chance story is Kamilla and Kyle’s journey from underdogs to top dogs on the new Vula Tribe. That disaster of a beach might be cursed with four losses in a row and no flint to its name, but the new power couple made the most of a rough situation. [Editor’s note: It was unclear in the episode, but Kyle actually used the extra vote, presumably to safeguard against the three guys voting Kamilla].
On these other swapped tribes, tension is brewing with Sai once again ruffling feathers on Civa while the new Lagis get to work on solving Star’s Beware Advantage, which could stir up a whole nest of issues if Eva was expecting her rival to be easy cannon fodder before the merge. This episode was a fun 90 minutes as the swap breathed more life into a hit or miss season, so hopefully, it’s not already winded after one big blow.
Written by
Genevieve is the queen of Season 47, and Kamilla is the queen of Season 48.