Welcome to Give Me Five! Each week, Brent Sullivan will look at the top five moments from the latest episode that could impact the rest of the season.
The merge episode is almost always amazing, and this one didn’t disappoint. I really enjoy seeing three tribes come together into one big tribe. It makes for some great moments and some in-game scrambling. And speaking of moments…
1. The merge. I know that this is such an obvious choice, but since a majority of this week’s events were triggered by the merge, it has to be one of the items. Anytime there is a swap, a tribe expansion, or a merge there is always the possibility of some craziness. This time around, we get to see Devon and Ryan meet back up and start to discuss plans immediately. Chrissy and Ben get back together but choose a different route. They decide to stay away from each other as not to arise any suspicion on their relationship. Desi and Jessica were strategizing on the future of the Healers with or without Joe. On the opposite side of that, we get to see Joe and Cole talking about Ben and Lauren being their sixth and seventh vote and Joe questioning that decision as he clearly had reservations about Ben’s ability to stick with the group. I am sure that there was even more that we didn’t see like Ashley and JP re-uniting or Lauren meeting back up with Devon and/or Ryan. We got the see the immediate impact of this with Jessica going home, but how will this shake out over the next few episodes. I am excited to find out.
2. Joe is getting on Chrissy’s nerves. This is a pretty small moment, but I feel like, at some point, this is going to come back. Both Chrissy and Joe are huge characters this season, and Chrissy has already made two comments about Joe either being annoying or the fact that she could barely make it through one meal with him. I can see some sort of showdown between those personalities in the future. This may be something where we keep getting little comments for a few weeks until something blows up at the end. It may end up being nothing, but that is half the fun of writing this!
3. Hidden clue. After the merge, the tribe gets some new supplies, including a bundle of nails. We see a quick shot of a hidden note inside the bundle. You know that this is going to come into play at some point in the near future, that may even be what the preview for next week was showing. The big question that I have is will this be one of those advantages that must be used immediately or will it be something that can be saved and used at any point in the game. The other question that comes up is, is this an idol clue or an advantage in the game? Either way, there is potential for some significant impact coming up because of this.
4. Joe plays his second idol. This one is short, simple, and to the point. Joe and Mike had the only two idols in the game, and now one of them is gone. Joe actually took his idol out and wore it around his neck. I thought this was going to be a bluff, but he ended up playing it on himself anyway even though the votes went to Jessica. So, unless another idol is hidden at the new Solewa tribe, Mike has the only idol in the game, and Joe is vulnerable now
5. Ben chooses a side. A significant majority of this episode revolved around Ben. We first see him in the water back at Yawa and the tribe agreeing to stay strong after the merge and Ben even saying that they need a plan and they need to stick to it. Later we see Chrissy trying to talk to him at the merge feast and him worrying that they could be overheard. There are then lots of side conversations going on (a lot of them with Ben involved). It becomes apparent that Ben is wavering between the alliance of originals Healers and the alliance of Heroes and Hustlers. It also appears that Lauren is with him still at this point. Ultimately, Ben and Lauren decide to side with Chrissy and the Heroes/Hustlers group. Leaving the five Healers on the outs and Jessica voted out. Now that Ben chose his side, there has to be some backlash from Cole and maybe Mike for going against the old Yawa tribe. Battle lines were definitely drawn in the sand, and I am curious to see what the last four Healers will do now.
There you go. What moments from this week’s episode do you think made an impact?
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so hoping Cole goes next. Moron.