Next Time On… Survivor is a blog here on Inside Survivor all about previews and predictions, but with a new twist! Throughout the season I will be chatting with former contestants from other reality shows about Survivor for a feature on the site called Alternative Reality. Any parts of those interviews about predictions or winner picks will end up here! This week, we are joined by Solitary’s Bea Henington.
And as always: this blog is 100% spoiler free speculation. Let’s get into it!
Part 1: Betrayal!
Things did not go as planned for Zeke, Adam, and Mari at the last tribal council. In a 7-3 vote, Mari was sent home over Figgy. And though Hannah’s vote didn’t make a huge difference, she turned her back on Zeke and Adam. From his brief moment in the preview, Adam appears to be taking the shock a little more internally, grinning in a confessional where he discusses his first “hashtag blindside.” Zeke, on the other hand, appears just to be laying it on Hannah at the campfire that night. Amongst what I’m sure is a much longer rant, we hear him say: “I’m upset right now. I’m really upset with you.”
Hannah looks like she tries to respond, but isn’t able to get a word in. During the commercial spot, showing the same scene, we also hear someone yell: “Don’t play the victim!”
From what we’ve seen so far, Hannah is a very vulnerable and somewhat neurotic person. That vote undoubtedly caused her a fair amount of distress. Hell, even Probst had to look over and check on her to make sure she was okay. But here’s the issue: this is only the first vote the Vanua tribe had to do. Being so indecisive on a vote that probably was not life or death is likely going to make Hannah appear to be a liability even when she isn’t.
She proved her loyalty to Michelle, but by following blindly. What happens in the future when more people are making more plans individually or in smaller groups? Will Hannah get pulled into a different loop every week or will she get targeted for being too wishy-washy? On top of that, I doubt a screaming Zeke is going to make her feel like she should work with him again in the future. I would bet Hannah hangs on to Michelle for as long as she can from now on, but that may not be for very long, as it seems a twist is around the corner!
Part 2: Breaking Bread
The second part of the preview features Vanua discussing a twist that involves each of them reaching into a bag, pulling out something randomly and then all simultaneously revealing what they pulled. We get a clip of Will saying: “I want to be a part of this twist! I want to experience what Gen X has to offer.”
In my interview with Bea Henington, I asked her what she thought this twist might be.
BH: Well if that’s what he [Will] says, then isn’t that an opportunity to switch tribes? Or form a third tribe?
Initially, I agreed with her as tribe shuffling and swapping is bound to happen sooner than later, but then the press photos for the next episode came out. One picture, in particular, stood out.
This little note paired with the title of the next episode: “Your Job is Recon,” implies a slightly different twist than the one previously predicted.
My bet: two members of each tribe are sent to meet for peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and conversation. One of the tribemates who doesn’t go will tell those who are: “your job is recon,” or “reconnaissance,” or, “gathering information.” It is an opportunity to learn more about the other tribe and their dynamics as a group. As Will is the one person we hear from during the preview, he will likely be going. As for who utters the title of the episode, I’m going to go with Bret, our police sergeant. He probably won’t be going to the meet-up, but will want whoever does to gather as much information as possible, like any good cop.
Part 3: Who’s In Trouble?
Based on their lack of screen time, negative edits or simply their positioning in the game, I would think CeCe, Lucy, Adam, and Hannah are all in trouble right now.
In the commercial spot for the next episode, CeCe is shown moving slowly on the balance beam as dopey music plays in the background. If her challenge ability is a tad lacking and she is on the outs with the group, as illustrated by the vote split between her and Rachel in episode one, she is at serious risk of getting voted out. Lucy, well, I don’t think we have heard her say a single word thus far. In fact, all we have seen her do is fail to pick up the Legacy Advantage during the first scramble to gather supplies on day one. I would not be surprised if Lucy was sent to meet members of the other tribe, told them everything they wanted to know over sandwiches without thinking, and then got ratted out to her tribe by the tribemate she went with. It would be a quiet edit leading up to a blatant error, which could put her on the chopping block before she has an opportunity to say more than a few sentences.
Adam and Zeke are apparently on the outs of their tribe, but I believe Adam is in more trouble. Episode one belonged to Zeke. He was set on this very personal arc of finding his inner strength and leadership abilities, and everyone seems to like him. Adam has been plenty present but hasn’t been presented with nearly as much gravitas. Without the numbers, he may be targeted by whatever this seven-pronged triforce alliance thing is. Hannah may end up just being an expendable liability to Michelle despite showing her allegiance to her. Michelle had the numbers without Hannah, and Hannah had a total meltdown when she had to make that decision of whether to vote with Michelle. And Zeke and Adam aren’t too happy with Hannah either. She might be lost in the scuffle.
During our interview, Bea told me about her enjoyment of David and Michaela a lot, as well as a fondness for Hannah. I asked her whom else she liked, about those she was less into, and who she thinks has a chance to win the whole game.
BH: I like Ken and Adam. I liked Michelle, I did missions in the past, I’m a church girl, so when I found out this chick was a missionary I was like, aw cool! But then, man, when she sprang that on Hannah and threw Hannah so badly at the tribal, I was like, no dude, how could you do that to her? That’s so wrong. But then, y’know, secretly at this point in time, Michelle’s in charge. She ran that whole thing.
BH: I feel like Bret and Chris are threats. If I was there, I’d probably want to be aligned with them, but at the same time, I’d be scared. They seem – I don’t want to say shady but – they’re so quiet about everything that it makes me nervous.
JD: Yeah, they’ve got that very, ‘we’re here to play’ vibe about them.
BH: Absolutely. They’re both serious all the time and constantly scoping everybody out. I’m like, uh-oh. That’s not good. I also really like Zeke, he cracks me up.
JD: What about the people that you’re not so keen on?
BH: I have to admit I don’t like Figgy. Yeah, and it’s just like, I don’t see her being too nice to people. I’m a little shocked… And I like CeCe, and I don’t like that Paul said she doomed herself by aligning with Rachel. Like, c’mon. Really? You’re gonna throw her away because she made friends with her? She didn’t do anything wrong in my opinion; I really like her. I was watching her closely during the challenge; she seems strong.
JD: Now for the big questions. Who do you think is the next person out?
BH: Probably CeCe. I would say CeCe or David, but if David plays his idol then he won’t be [in trouble]. And I don’t think that they’ll vote for anyone else except for those two.
JD: And what about back over on the Millennials?
BH: I would hope that they would try to get Figgy again, because even if someone can talk some sense into Michelle and say, y’know, they’ll only take you so far and then you’ll be out because it’s clearly gonna be those three. I would hate to see anyone else out on that tribe. And I know they all will eventually but… (Laughs).
JD: And lastly, I know it’s super early but who’s going to win the season?
BH: I’d have to say, Ken or Bret. Bret because he’s a huge threat. He’s law enforcement, he’s a strong guy, he’s a smart guy. I feel like he’s ultimately in charge of the whole Paul crew. I think Paul’s the frontman with the mouth, but I feel like Bret’s pulling the strings.
JD: And Ken because of his unbelievably good looks?
BH: (Laughs) No, because physically he seems so much quicker than everybody else on that entire tribe. Like, if they had to run a footrace, I would say hands down that Ken would beat everybody there. Physically, in challenges and stuff, I’d say he can outlast, and so they’ll keep him around longer, and he’s pretty smart. With the way he’s playing and kind of laying low even though he said he’s socially shy or whatever. I feel like he seems very, very smart. And he’s very useful to keep around, so people will. And he seems very amicable so people will keep him around. I can see him going very, very far.
Part 4: Wrap-Up
Let’s put this all together in one delicious prediction PB & J.
1. The tribes send two members each to meet and chat for the twist. For the hell of it, those players will be: Will, Michaela, CeCe and Jessica. Literally, I have no evidence for any of those four, but why not?
2. Hannah is going to cling to Michelle, but Michelle will be prepared to get rid of her of her at the next tribal if necessary.
3. Millennials win the next immunity challenge and send Gen X to tribal where CeCe is voted out third.
Current winner pick: My gut says David, my heart says Ken, but my brain says Michelle. We’ll see where we go from here, but if Michelle can control the post-merge game like she just controlled her tribe’s first vote, she’s unstoppable.
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Will the edgic article come out today?
Up now. 🙂
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