Each week, Christine Pallon and Gia Worthy will round up the previous week of Survivor 51 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.
Top 3 Moments
Rob Officially Quits
Gia: In hindsight, there was really no other way this could’ve ended. After Rob’s less-than-stellar plan to save Eric by voting himself out failed spectacularly, he pivots to complaining about a foot injury that apparently happened off-screen. No one buys the story, not his tribemates, not Jeff, and certainly not the medical team he asks to check his foot. With no other options, Rob officially pulls himself from the game, but not without giving Carter his idol as a parting gift.
Carter Mutinies (Unintentionally)
Gia: The Open Era brought another twist back this episode, this time allowing one member of each tribe to visit the opposing team. Devin is chosen to go to Savu, and Carter to Toka. If that isn’t enough, they’re given instructions for their time at their respective camps; they can look for an opportunity to gain an advantage in a specific location. They also have the option to mutiny to the other tribe, but they have to decide before their boat leaves.
The two have very different experiences on this excursion. Devin decides not to mutiny, but finds the advantage with Sharonda. Carter loses his advantage after leaving his bag unattended, and it ends up with Maggie. He also mutinies to Savu, but only because he missed the boat while looking for the advantage. It’s an all-around hilarious segment from beginning to end, meaning I need Carter to stay in the game as long as possible.
Patt is blindsided
Christine: Jenna is on the chopping block again this week, with Mike as the outsiders’ target. Kilby’s attempts to undermine Brady catch up with him, and he soon becomes the clear target of the existing power group led by Brady and Devin. On the sidelines, Lewis and the accidental mutineer Carter have all the power. They correctly read that there’s little incentive to preserve a majority they aren’t at the center of, and they decide to join a blindside against Patt instead. The votes come down 6-5, sending Patt out of the game and leaving power players Brady, Devin, Jelly, and Mike on the outs heading into next week’s swap.
Tribe Breakdown
Toka
Gia: Toka is back to being a hot mess, and I welcome this return with open arms. Between Kilby’s overplaying, a 5-person alliance that is no longer in a majority, Carter’s accidental mutiny, and Thien An’s edit finally getting its debut, we had so much to work with this episode. I’m actually disappointed we are getting a tribe swap next episode, especially one where they split into 3 tribes, because the two-tribe format has been amazing to see again. Hopefully the drama we have gotten from this wonderful tribe will trickle over into the tribe swap, but I will still be mourning what we are losing with this change. RIP to Toka 1.0; it has been an honor.
Savu
Christine: Despite not going to tribal, Savu lost two people this week via a quit and a mutiny, which isn’t great for them since both were potential boots on their tribe. Fortunately for them, a swap is on the horizon, and Toka will enter that scenario hot on the heels of a divisive 6-5 vote. Small tribes of three are risky for anyone’s game, so the original Savu members will need to leverage the divisiveness of Toka’s recent vote to make sure they can get in with the numbers in whatever swap tribe they end up in.
Top 3 Contestants
Thien An
Christine: This was certainly Thien An’s breakout episode, where she spearheaded the vote away from Mike, whom she saw as a weaker, “go with the flow” player, and onto Patt, whom she saw as having a much stronger strategic presence. She pulled this off despite Brady’s overconfidence, landing her in the new majority on her tribe heading into next week’s swap. Thien An will need to make sure she doesn’t get credited with a major role in this blindside, since her biggest asset so far is being underestimated. This upcoming swap is a great time to keep up that perception, as long as she doesn’t catch heat for being a force behind that vote.
Kilby
Christine: This week was a real mixed bag for Kilby, who narrowly survived the vote after playing a bit sloppily with his trash-talking. He felt comfortable at the start of the episode, comfortable enough to try to turn Patt against Brady, who instead immediately threw Kilby under the bus. He then failed to read that Brady was against him and almost walked blindly into his own demise, but thankfully, the new majority pulled him in to blindside Patt instead. A lot went wrong for Kilby this episode, but ultimately what matters is that he survived and was included in the vote.
Lewis
Gia: Lewis got a pretty heavy edit in the season premiere due to being the first attendant of Exile Island, but things quieted down in episode 2. Now he’s back in the spotlight, this time caught between two warring factions. Frustrated that he got a late start bonding with his tribe, he is initially content to form a bond with the 5-person alliance of Jelly, Devin, Patt, Mike, and Brady. That said, it’s clear how tight these 5 are, so it’s not necessarily a position he would want long term. Carter’s accidental mutiny may have been the best thing for him, and they formed a bond almost immediately. This made them the swing votes when Toka went to tribal council again, and they decided to join the opposing alliance to take out Patt.
Fallen Comrades
Rob
Christine: I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Rob was fantastic casting. His bizarre quit, and insistence it wasn’t a quit at all, proves how great a casting choice he was. It says a lot about who Rob is as a person that he would quit the game so early and pretend it wasn’t a quit, and I always love when Survivor allows us to see the varied, diverse, and often strange ways different human beings react to the circumstances of the game. I’m so bummed for Ana that she went out only for him to quit the very next day, but Rob’s quit, and Jeff’s obvious frustration with him, is one of the funniest moments we’ve gotten in years. Thank you for your brief but very funny service on this season, Rob!
Gia: I can’t say I’m surprised Rob bowed out; I’m more happy we got it out of the way in the first 15 minutes rather than dragging it out for 90. Despite how he is trying to frame it in exit press and on social media, this was undeniably a quit he hoped would get better PR than it did. He certainly made a big impression during his short tenure, but couldn’t outlast the isolation that comes with the game. While I don’t fault any player for realizing the game isn’t for them, I wish they’d pulled him from the game at the previous tribal council when he tried to vote for himself, if only so Ana would have another chance to play. I’ll give production some grace here, since there really is no precedent for this kind of situation. So now we say goodbye to Rob, but let me end this section on this note: justice for Ana!
Patt
Christine: Patt played pretty well this week and the previous couple of weeks. She built a majority and used her conversation with Kilby this week to target him and strengthen her relationship with power player Brady. But she and the rest of her alliance underestimated the ability of the people on the outskirts of power to flip the game on its head. Patt was a solid player who got too comfortable in an overall sloppy majority alliance early on, and she ultimately took the fall for their actions because she was perceived as one of the more competent players in the group. She’s our first “could be brought back for a Second Chances season” of the Open Era, and I hope she wears that title with pride!
Gia: Oh Patt, I so wish you would’ve been given more time to shine, and I certainly wish you didn’t have to share your exit press with Rob. It seems like everyone can only talk about the quit, and we haven’t had time to honor our other fallen comrade this week properly. I was hoping to see Patt go far. Her pregame press was funny and charming, and she appeared to be in a good spot within her 5-person alliance. The only problem? They made their friendship way too obvious, to the point where everyone outside of the alliance was more than willing to narrow down their numbers. It was an unlucky run for the pantless icon, but she seems to have enjoyed the time she had.
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