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
Double Tribal
Gia: Just as we expected, this week was a double tribal council. In this iteration, only the first tribe to finish the immunity challenge was safe, and the other two tribes would vote someone out. The challenge involved players collecting buoys underwater, then using them to throw at targets. The safe tribe, Toka, also won a reward of pastries and the chance to send one of their own to another tribe to gift a player an advantage. Savu and Dina would be the unlucky teams to lose a player. Simply put, Savu’s vote-out was expected, and Dina’s vote-out was the opposite.
Maggie’s Gambit
Christine: As part of their reward for winning the challenge, Toka could send someone on a mysterious journey. Maggie won the draw to determine who went and got the power to visit one of the opposing camps and gift someone an Extra Vote. Seeing an opportunity to make a major play, she went to Dina, where her OG tribemates, Kilby and Lewis, were stuck in a minority. After speaking with the OG Savus and confirming they’re definitely sticking together, Maggie gave not only the Extra Vote she got as part of the Journey to Kilby and Lewis, but also the other Extra Vote she found with Brady. Her plan? Take out Linnea, who she’d been threatened by since day one.
Survivor Standoff
Christine: With Maggie’s big move set in motion, Kilby and Lewis played both of their Extra Votes at Tribal Council, forcing a 4-4 deadlocked tie and triggering the consensus discussion before a potential rock draw. Kilby held most of the negotiating power as the sole decider on his side about whether to go to a rock draw, since Lewis would be safe. This left Sharonda, Eric, and Cristian in the weaker negotiating position, despite being in the majority, since a rock draw was significantly riskier for them. For Kilby, he was in the minority either way; why not risk it? For Sharonda, Eric, and Cristian, they could lose Linnea and still hold onto their majority, so why risk sacrificing themselves over her? The majority still made their best arguments to get Kilby to fold, but he wouldn’t budge, forcing them to capitulate and sacrifice Linnea.
Tribe Breakdown
Dina
Gia: Dina was the one to watch this week for so many reasons. With the tribe being majority Savu and Kilby making inroads with Eric, it seemed all but certain that Lewis would be the one voted out. Only a very specific string of events could’ve saved the Irish farmer, and wouldn’t you know it? That’s exactly what occurred. First, Maggie was chosen to visit another tribe, and she picked Savu. Then she not only correctly deduced that Lewis needed the extra vote, but realized that he and Kilby would need her extra vote as well to make the trip worthwhile. Finally, Lewis and Kilby both needed to toe the line and stand their ground when the inevitable deadlock occurred. They did exactly that; Linnea was sent out, and Dina is in shambles as a result. Any previous illusions that the pink tribe is a united front are gone forever.
Toka
Gia: Just as I predicted last week, Toka was the only tribe not to see tribal council this week. They won a reward of sweet treats, with the caveat that one player had to skip the reward to visit another tribe. This lucky person (or unlucky, depending on how you look at it) ended up being Maggie, a decision that would set the rest of the episode’s unforgettable events in motion. The only other drama from the yellow tribe this episode was that Brady regretted giving Maggie the extra vote. This regret only grew when he learned she gave the vote to Lewis and Kilby, but will he change his mind once he sees his tribemates were saved as a result? If the next episode preview is any indication, the drama is not over for this unlikely duo.
Savu
Christine: There’s not much to say about Savu this week as our tribe of four became a tribe of three. Alexis pretty much had no shot at surviving here due to the Helicopter Alliance that formed during the brief One World twist, despite her best pleas to stay. The edit framed Jelly as the decision-maker, but at best we were always going to get a tie even if she did vote to keep Alexis, since Ori was more locked in with his alliance than he was with Alexis as an individual. Savu needs to pray they pull out a win next week, but if we see them back at tribal again, Jelly will actually be in the power position this time with her idol, duo with Devin, and budding showmance with Ori.
Top 3 Contestants
Maggie
Christine: Regardless of how you feel about Maggie, you can’t deny that she and her shenanigans gave us a much more interesting outcome than a unanimous Lewis vote. I appreciate Maggie swinging for the fences here and giving up her other Extra Vote. One Extra Vote in this scenario wasn’t much, but that second Extra Vote is what made the magic happen. I worry for her in the future now that she’ll have this big move against her name, especially since she already annoyed her begrudging ally, Brady, with her decision. One of Maggie’s biggest assets so far is that she’s not perceived as a threat, so managing the aftermath of this major move will be crucial to staying off people’s radars when the merge comes.
Lewis
Gia: If I am being completely honest, I thought Lewis was as good as gone this episode, especially once his Blood Idol gambit failed spectacularly. Luckily for us Lewis fans, he kept looking for ways to stay after his first attempt failed, and the solution arrived on a boat from the Toka camp. Of course, none of this would’ve been possible without Maggie or Kilby, but it proves how important loyal allies are in the game, especially with such a small tribe. Sometimes taking a gamble and putting faith in your people pays off in a big way.
Kilby
Gia: Finally, this fantastic tribal council could not have been possible without Kilby standing firm in his loyalty to OG Toka. I was wary about his determination at first, especially since he had been making inroads with the original Savu members. But leave it to Kilby not to take the easy way out, even when it means severing ties with three other players in such a public way. That said, I truly believe Kilby made the right decision to stay loyal to Lewis. Even though I’m confident he’ll feel the heat from his other tribemates, his fate as the next to go was all but guaranteed once Lewis was gone. Now, he and Lewis at least have a fighting chance.
Fallen Comrades
Alexis
Christine: Alexis showed a lot of potential this season, but got an incredibly unfavorable hand with this particular swap. She made the right pitches, and without the marooning One World twist, the Helicopter Alliance would’ve never formed, and she would’ve had a lot more room to try to get Jelly on her side to at least force a tie. Unfortunately for Alexis, Jelly’s connections with Ori and Devin made Alexis the most logical boot here.
Gia: Alexis was good as gone the moment that Savu lost immunity. The only way I could have seen her staying was if she had a successful Shot in the Dark, but I’m not sure if she knew just how swap-screwed she really was. Despite the back-and-forth we saw with Jelly, I don’t think she ever really considered voting out Devin here. The Helicopter Alliance has been a major plot point of 51, and I don’t see it fizzling out anytime soon. Alexis was great while she was here, and this episode was truly her time in the spotlight (another hint that her time was coming to an end). She’s been through a lot, and her story was incredibly inspiring to hear, but even a great story will not save you from the inevitable. Though she may be gone from the game, she shined while she was still there.
Linnea
Christine: Linnea’s fatal flaw this season appears to have been making too good of an impression on Maggie on Day One. If Alexis got a bad swap, Linnea got a great one. Instead, Linnea was the victim of an unexpected twist that completely shifted the balance of power on her tribe into a deadlock. There was no shot in hell her alliance members would go to rocks in the pre-merge for her, so as soon as the vote deadlocked for the second time, it was pretty much curtains for her. Linnea could’ve made some better arguments during the pre-rocks discussion or fought a little harder for her life in the game, but I don’t think even the best arguments would’ve spared her from being the sacrificial lamb to avoid rocks.
Gia: If you asked me my boot predictions before this episode aired, Linnea would have been near last on the list. If you told me she’d be the unlucky one ousted this round, I’m not sure I’d have believed you. Linnea seemed destined to go far in the game. With her strong alliance and calm demeanor, she was a favorite for many. Sadly for her, it wasn’t just the fans who saw her as a threat; Maggie had wanted to target her from the very beginning. She even went so far as to tell Lewis and Kilby they needed to vote for her as a condition of getting her extra votes. They listened, and Linnea’s torch was snuffed out in one of the most unexpected turns of events. That being said, if you’re going to be voted out pre-merge, what an exciting tribal council to go out on.
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