We survived the pre-swap, everyone! It was brutal, not very fun, and gave this season almost no foundation to work with since two tribes barely had to play, but perhaps it’s time to breathe some new life into a game that feels like it hasn’t even started yet. Kele’s dead, Hina and Uli are ready to go to war, and with idols on both sides, there’s ammo to play with as long as the cast brings the heat.
But first, Alex and Sophi return to camp as the final two Keles. They had to send an ally home, but they survived the chaos and created a bond to the end. And it’s only six days in. A true Matsing speedrun, and it’s only getting worse as their tribe’s boat almost gets washed out to sea, and Sophi loses a shoe even without Jake in the game to steal it. Cursed to the end, I guess.
Thankfully, the next morning brings a full swap to shake things up (and end that cringey Hina chant), and it’s a very welcome swap to two tribes of seven! Bye-bye, three tribe format, if only for a couple of episodes. On the new Hina, we have Jawan, Nate, Rizo, Savannah, Jason, Matt, and Sophi. On the new Kele, we have Kristina, MC, Sophie, Steven, Sage, Shannon, and Alex. One tribe dominated by Hina, one dominated by Uli, and the Kele underdogs split up. One tribe that has everything, one tribe that has nothing. Haves versus Have Nots.
On the new Hina, the scary thing for Rizo is that he doesn’t have a vote until he gets an idol, which requires losing a challenge to obtain even on a new beach. Meanwhile, Sophi’s living the good life, seeing fire for the first time this season, having comfy places to sleep, and drinking all the coconut juice she wants. With Hina and Uli bickering, this lost puppy can put herself in the middle to easily survive this swap, and for now, she’s Team Uli as their fifth number. Branching out to build bonds, she vibes with Savannah more than anyone, as they’re the only women on the tribe and would probably be besties back home. It’s an open, honest, and instant relationship, so a new power duo might be brewing.
Sophi’s campaign to join Uli continues as she comforts Nate when he misses his family, becoming a sort of island daughter. But while Sophi works on the Ulis, Savannah spreads her web and talks to the two Hinas. Jason offers her a deal of survival in exchange for protection at the merge, but Matt reveals he’s a big-time finance guy and probably a more cutthroat player than he lets on. Does calling Matt a sociopath go too far? Definitely. Dude’s just a fun guy having a fun time, but Savannah’s not here for fun. She’s here to play. And for now, playing includes gunning for Matt before he can make any moves against her.
Over on the new Kele, the camp is just a mess between the rotting coconuts and underwear hanging around, and this messy swap is gonna mess up Shannon’s game more than anyone else’s. Down in numbers, there’s no more time to enjoy the Survivor vacation with Hina in charge. Sage immediately opens up about her love of collecting blackheads in a jar, though, so between the two Ulis, Shannon’s either the obvious choice to go or the obvious choice to work with, and Steven’s down to work with both. Then there’s Alex, sitting on the sidelines waiting to be adopted by whichever side wants him.
But Shannon is fast to connect with people with her spiritual meditations, which sets off red flags for Steven, who sees straight through, like Savannah did before. But she’s still playing the game she knows, which is finding those deep, personal connections with the likes of Kristina, who’s always appreciated her spiritual god-centered perspective. Opening up about her mom’s death three years ago, Kristina’s still dealing with the heartbreak, but having kind-hearted, caring people like Shannon around to comfort her means so much.
Meanwhile, Sage also sees through Shannon’s game and calls it more performative than anything. Sage is a slow-burn player, not a faker who puts on a show to win over others. So if Kele keeps losing and wants an Uli gone, it’ll be a test of which tactic actually pays off.
Up for grabs at the challenge is immunity and a fruit reward (which background character Sophie can’t help but complain about as everyone else gives her the side-eye), as well as main character Sophi’s lost shoe which Kele happily returns to her. For the first time, Kele manages to pull off a dominant win. Turns out all they needed was to lose almost the entire tribe and swap a bunch of strong players over there and the beach isn’t cursed after all. Of course, Matt struggling with the balance beam for several minutes didn’t hurt Kele’s chances either, and now Hina might have an easy scapegoat for this Tribal. But it won’t be Sophi for a change, so she’s sitting pretty even if she’s stuck at Tribal again.
With Uli’s numbers advantage, the vote should be clear-cut, but Rizo’s lack of a vote might cause issues. Thankfully, the producers aren’t nasty enough to deny him a shot at finding his idol at a new camp, so the rules are still the same: find the idol before Tribal or lose both it and your vote. Savannah jumps into action to get the other Ulis on board to help him out. Following the map to a locked box in the ocean, Rizo gets his idol, gets his vote back, and prepares for Tribal with his alliance. Jason or Matt? That’s the dilemma. Which barely relevant Hina we know almost nothing about gets slaughtered first?
Matt cost them the challenge, and the Ulis don’t really trust him, but he’ll put in the work to survive, arguing that Sophi should leave because she’s the weak link. It’s the classic case of anyone but me, a strategy Matt doesn’t appreciate when it gets Sandra two wins but has no choice but to adopt in the moment. But it’s not just a game of survival for Matt, who has a bigger plan cooking beyond the Sophi facade: grabbing Jason, Sophi, and his Journey buddy Jawan to blindside Nate and form a new majority called The Section. Too bad Jawan doesn’t give a damn about Matt and his goofy alliance names, immediately selling him out.
Meanwhile, Jason’s trying to play the role of a crab in a hole, out of sight with pincers bared so nobody goes for him tonight, and that involves playing his Shot in the Dark no matter what. But he doesn’t want to write Matt’s name down and prefers to stay Hina strong, which isn’t that encouraging if they’re looking to take him to the merge as a possible ally. Savannah, in particular, would rather see Jason go at this point because, at least, Matt seems flexible despite his messiness, while Jason is cagey and not budging on anything.
But with all the power in Uli’s hands, it’s Matt who becomes the first casualty in this slow-burn war in a 4-2-1 vote. Jason keeps his Shot in the Dark and inevitably joins Uli for the night, while Matt’s blindside against Nate gets no takers. Not the most exciting episode or Tribal, but I can’t complain when we got a two tribe swap again, and without any broken twists to ruin it. The season is really trying to get us hyped for this Hina vs. Uli war, but when the votes seem so clear-cut on both sides, it feels like a proxy war until the merge that Uli is clearly set up to dominate. Not the worst Survivor we’ve seen, but certainly not the Survivor you hope to see either.
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Spot on mate.