Logan Saunders recaps the fourteenth episode of Week 7 of Australian Survivor which features another crazy twist.
Australian Survivor: Petey Fleeting Piranha
EPISODE 14
Who knew a vacation and going back to work ninety minutes after I fly back into town during TAR Canada finale week would push back my Australian Survivor coverage?
Let’s get back to the only reality show this summer which has performed exceptionally well.
At Samatau, Henry, Ziggy, and Anneliese all revealed their idols to their alliances. But it wasn’t always the right move– Ziggy putting a target on her own back. While at Asaga, Sarah plotted her own move against Luke. She recruited outsider Pete into the plan. At the immunity challenge, Samatau’s big guns were outmuscled. Michelle knew she was in the fight for her life. She set her sights on Ben. At Tribal, the pair went head-to-head. In the end, Ben was sent home.
Thirteen are left; who will be voted out tonight?
Intro time. We don’t even get a post-Tribal Council scene. Editors didn’t want to serenade Ben’s exit, eh? For shame. I expect Ben to have a future of wearing classy tuxedos as he sips on fancy champagne at formal occasions or something like that.
Ziggy Locky Jarrad Tessa
Michelle Henry
My hair is even better than Henry’s hair. Or Ben’s hair. Or Odette’s hair.
Sarah Luke Peter
Odette Jericho Tara Anneliese
DAY 31
Birds are chirping. Sarah casually sits in the water reflecting on her month spent on the island.
SARAH: Everyone still underestimates the model…People find me useless and won’t see me coming.
Sorry Sarah, but Michelle had an identical confessional last round. It goes on for a minute, but just copy/paste Michelle’s speech and you have the right idea. Models and nannies are sooooo out of their element here.
Sarah wants to take a crack at Luke and Jericho. She wants to use Peter for her #bigmove.
She talks to Peter about forming a new alliance.
SARAH: Obviously not everyone can come into the new alliance.
Unless you’re Paul in Big Brother 19.
Petey says he cannot work with someone like Luke. You know, someone who is like trying to vote him out next in this game.
PETEY: I can’t get out of a 5-1 situation alone.
Just find more idols. Australian Survivor sure has enough of them.
Sarah hangs out with Luke and Jericho in the shelter. They are all picking their teeth with bamboo. I want to start doing that when chilling with my friends here in Canada.
SARAH: So…the thing I want to tell you before…What’s his name? Pete. I think I can work him…I think I can get him to be the information feeder to us.
Luke is silent.
SARAH: I strongly feel that way.
LUKE: That’s a massive sell. If you want to do that, sweet.
This did not go over well. Luke could not be more disinterested.
LUKE: Sarah sits there and maybe wants to work with Peter. She wants to always work with whoever comes in. Santa Claus could come in and she would want to work with Santa.
Santa and Jericho would NOT get along. Could you imagine the reward with the milkshakes, cookies, and ice cream? Santa and Jericho would strangle each other.
“C’mon guys, there’s more than enough for both of you. Fifteen ice cream cones isn’t enough!”
“That bastard is hogging up my double ice cream cones!!!”
“I am ready to take this machete and slice you up into a bowl full of jelly!”
Luke says Sarah is trying to tell the alliance what to do and is never truly on their side.
LUKE: Hopefully she finishes her game on Asaga beach and that’s a wrap.
Well, that’s one way to save Petey. Not how Sarah intended to accomplish this goal, I bet.
DAY 31
Everyone is napping on the beach except Henry who does fake yoga. He reflects on one month into the game.
HENRY: People are still looking at me like the day one yoga instructor.
Even more so than that real yoga instructor who will be on Survivor 35.
Henry wanted to drag Ben to the end to guarantee himself the win, but his target eliminated him. He worries about Michelle. So much for the big moves.
Let’s briefly reflect on Henry’s position since his mutiny.
FIRST TC: Jacqui, his #1 ally, goes home.
SECOND TC: Kent, his #2 ally, goes home.
THIRD TC: AK goes.
FOURTH TC: Ben, his #3 ally, goes home.
His lucky streak of two of his new allies possessing an idol may be the only thing that keeps him alive long term.
His mini-alliance with Locky and Anneliese is not enough for him. Henry is worried Michelle knows he has a foot in each door.
Dude, Michelle was already talking about that at the Tribal Council where she voted Jacqui out. In fact, that is the primary reason why Jacqui went home.
REWARD CHALLENGE #11
Asaga gasps when they see Ben is voted out. Tara clutches her chest.
JERICHO: Benny. . .
(LUKE smiles.)
JLP asks Jericho about his reaction. He says he is just glad it wasn’t an Asaga member.
Michelle talks about swinging to stay alive in the game.
In this challenge, one person is the caller while everybody else is blindfolded. Each person must smash a watermelon with a club to reveal a sandbag. Once they have all of their sandbags, the caller will use a catapult to launch the sandbags into a net. Once the net is full of the sandbags, they win reward.
Winners get an Italian feast. Red wine, garlic bread, and pasta. As an Italian who stayed with his cousins on their Italian farm, this would be amazing.
Jarrad sits out because he is bad at blindfolds. Nobody asks how he discovered this fact about himself.
Locky says he is the caller because he has a distinguished voice. Asaga has a similar strategy by picking Luke.
We start the challenge. Jericho is about to do the Macarena and Tara looks like somebody who is about to fondle someone.
It is an unusual blindfold challenge. They have to run through an open field to a curtain and go through. Sarah somehow goes through the middle of the curtain rather than her tribe’s side of the curtain.
Ziggy is first to the club. She starts swinging despite being twenty feet from the melons. Luke is still guiding Sarah.
Ziggy swings wildly one inch right of the melon.
Sarah finally makes it to the pen. Luke guides Jericho.
Ziggy holds the watermelon still with one hand while swinging with the other. I am surprised she didn’t smash her own hand because I know that would happen to me. Henry is second to the club after it pokes his rib.
Man, I forgot how short Jericho is as he can barely hit the watermelon. He high-steps it in a ridiculous run to the mat. Henry is done as he walks like a middle-aged man who is too sure of himself. Tessa is next done. Then Odette is done.
Michelle is walking VERY slowly as Peter jogs to the watermelon and is third for Asaga to the mat. Michelle is then the fourth person done for Samatau.
Tara sticks out the club like she is Link wielding a sword. Anneliese has the final sandbag. He drops the club on the ground. Luckily nobody has to run blindfolded after her.
Locky starts launching the sandbags. Tara eventually collects hers. Sarah is last to pick up a club.
Sarah hits the side of the pen. She steps on the sandbag while trying to find it. Now she has it.
Locky has two of the sandbags in even before Luke starts. Luke gets one on his first try. He goes two-for-two.
ASAGA: 3 SAMATAU: 2
Anneliese is terrified.
ASAGA: 3 SAMATAU: 3
Locky starts hitting the catapult more gently.
ASAGA: 4 SAMATAU: 4
Both miss. Locky barely misses. So does Luke.
Locky lands it. Challenge over. That’s as close as it gets.
Sarah tells Luke the loss ain’t so bad.
There is a twist. One person from Asaga can be picked to join Samatau. They choose Petey.
JLP: Dinner is not fun without a date.
So Samatau asks Petey which person would help keep him alive. He wants Tara or Sarah. Sarah is chosen.
LUKE: No strategizing, eh?
Nice try, Luke.
Luke has a big mouth and is hungry for Sarah to go home. She’ll be the first person to be eliminated from Survivor by cannibalization.
REWARD – SAMATAU
HENRY: Mama Mia!
How many Italian stereotypes can we fit into this reward?
Michelle says the reward is amazing twice and prepares to smash the wine. I would tear through that wine.
Everyone starts shouting “YEAHHHHHHHHHHH BOIII” for about two minutes.
Sarah ignores Luke’s advice. Let the strategy scenes begin. She gets Henry alone.
HENRY: I am setting up a theme for you to come to our top five. Me, you, Anneliese, Locky.
Who is the fifth?
Henry wants to oust Luke then Jericho.
Sarah and Henry make a Final Two alliance. That sure was different from what Sarah was saying a few rounds ago.
DAY 31
Luke, Jericho, Odette, and Tara are alone at camp while nine other people are on reward.
LUKE: I am already dirty at Sarah for saying yes.
Yes, he is very dirty at her.
Luke wants to switch to eliminating Sarah. It’ll be him, Jericho, and Tara voting out Sarah. Well, that was quick.
Luke approaches Tara to eliminate Sarah.
LUKE: Between me, you, and Odette, she goes next.
TARA: But then who? We’ve only got three.
LUKE: Yeah I know, but I’ll obviously work out the other one.
TARA: Jeri, you’ll work with.
I dunno. Luke barely drew Jericho in to vote against Jacqui when Mark W was eliminated. Their bond has been fragile since then. The cookie jar bond was strictly non-game.
How many people think Luke and Jericho aren’t an alliance on Asaga after 31 days?
Luke tells Odette that they shall blindside Sarah. Odette is happy.
LUKE: Girl power.
It’s two guys and two girls voting her out.
Luke asks Jericho in front of everyone else that they just vote out Petey.
LUKE: Enjoy that last meal, Pete. That’s the last meal you’re gonna have in Survivor.
DAY 31 – REWARD
Sarah is away on her own. The rest of the tribe immediately asks Petey about his position. He is honest about it and says to never trust Luke.
SARAH (to Samatau): I miss Samatau already!
Now you’re just overdoing it.
Sarah brags to us about her position. It has taken thirty-one days, but it looks like Sarah’s double agent strategy is finally leaked.
DAY 31
Luke and Tara call Sarah and Petey “fat motherf-ckers”. It’s the only word this show censors.
Sarah is so full of pasta that she goes to lie down. They all ask Sarah what happened at the Italian feast. Sarah just says the topic was about Ben and Michelle’s Tribal Council showdown.
Apparently, the reward was thirty minutes. Jericho is shocked. Luke isn’t buying it. He walks away.
Tara quietly tells Sarah that everyone else is paranoid.
SARAH: Did they say anything about Pete?
TARA: No.
SARAH: He is scaring me.
PETEY AND SARAH: Luke?
PETEY: What’s he doing?
TARA: I can’t say anything.
And with that, Tara said everything.
Tara tells Petey and Sarah everything anyway.
Sarah likes that she doesn’t have to pretend to be in Luke’s alliance but will pretend anyway. Now she can go after Luke without being perceived as disloyal.
Jericho holds a machete as he swings a piece of wood down on another pole. It looks like a cross. We can’t stop with the religious imagery for Jericho, eh?
NIGHT 31
Michelle knows she is on the bottom and prepares to oust Henry. She knows about Jericho’s fake idol clue.
She tells Locky that she suspects Henry has an idol and tells Locky and Ziggy about that and the fake clue. Locky is scared because he knew about this and wanted it kept secret.
Michelle thinks everyone will be threatened by Locky’s bromance with Henry and thinks she has deflected enough attention off of her as everyone wonders about Henry.
DAY 32 – IMMUNITY CHALLENGE #14
JLP asks Ziggy about the Italian feast. Ziggy said it was one big happy family as they were eating, eating, eating, and eating.
JLP wonders why Petey was picked. He says it was obvious in the form of being ex-Samatau. Sarah doesn’t know but thinks Petey liked her enough to convince Samatau to invite her over.
Chit-chat over. Idol is back up for grabs. No merge.
Two tribemates will untie a tower of planks which reveals a bag of puzzle pieces. They will then use the planks to build a staircase to a puzzle deck. Once on top of the deck, the two tribemates will solve the puzzle (which looks like a guitar). First tribe to do so wins immunity.
The twist: Winning tribe spies on the opposing tribe’s Tribal Council. It’s not just Brooke–it’s the whole tribe.
Michelle sits out.
Henry and Anneliese are swinging the ropes around for Samatau. Jericho and Sarah for Asaga.
Henry and Anneliese collide once. Henry has to call over or under whenever they cross. It’s amazing how left-handed Anneliese’s body is. She is ultra-southpaw.
The planks are released. Tessa loads up Locky with about forty planks. No one else really had to carry any. It’s the other four remaining members who build the puzzle deck. I wish they explained that before the challenge started.
Odette is not moving fast.
Samatau’s puzzle deck is done. Henry and Anneliese climb up the plank tower to retrieve their puzzle pieces before heading to the staircase. I guess the other four have to get up to the puzzle deck too.
Jericho yells at his tribe to go faster.
It looks like Henry and Anneliese have less than a five-minute lead on Jericho and Sarah.
Jericho is putting the hooks on randomly as Henry holds the rod while Anneliese puts everything else in place.
Now Anneliese holds the puzzle pieces as Henry throws in the hooks.
Asaga has made zero progress. For only two people they are really disorganized. Samatau is doing extremely well.
JLP: Henry can smell it.
Can he? He is next to a tribe member who hasn’t showered in thirty-one days.
Henry drops the FINAL hook. It falls through the deck and onto the ground. That grass is thick. Locky has to run off the staircase and underneath the tower. He has to pick it up and run it back to Henry and Anneliese. Luke laughs at him the whole time.
Henry tries to put in the final piece, but he drops the hook AGAIN. He is just one second from finishing the puzzle. This is hilarious.
Third time is the charm as he puts in the final hook and claims immunity. This is Samatau’s second Tribal Council reward.
SARAH: This Tribal Council will be the making of me or the end of me.
The making of you? For most people that takes nine months.
DAY 32
They say the puzzle was tough. It’s too bad Anneliese is the wizard of puzzles. Sarah wants a tribe that is four strong. Sarah, Odette, Tara, and Petey may be the most random group of people to be labeled as “four strong”.
Luke is annoyed with double agents. He still lies to Jericho that the plan is to vote Petey, shockingly. I don’t think it is wise to be on a six-person tribe and don’t have your closest ally for 31 days in on the plan. Why do you want him to throw his vote away?
Sarah talks to Odette on the beach.
SARAH (to ODETTE): You have all of the power at the moment.
ODETTE: Me? But I’m the swing vote!
SARAH: That’s exactly why.
I can hear the strategists cringing at Odette’s response. I know Survivor has a learning curve, but Odette can’t really be this oblivious after a month. Hopefully, she is just playing it up.
Sarah tells Odette she might talk to Jericho to flip against Luke. Tara is on her own saying she couldn’t sleep because of Jericho being the unknown.
Tara approaches Jericho.
TARA: Sarah wants Luke.
JERICHO: No. She’s an idiot.
TARA: What the f-ck you want to do?
JERICHO: No, it’s still the same. It’s you, me, Odette, Luke. That’s four.
TARA: But Luke wants Sarah.
JERICHO: No, he doesn’t.
TARA: He does.
JERICHO: We just talked about it. He still wants Peter.
(TARA has her hands glued to the front of her face.)
TARA: But he told me and Odette it’s Sarah.
JERICHO (hand on TARA’s shoulder while holding a machete in the other hand): No. Luke just said it’s you, me, Luke, and Odette voting Peter. That’s it. You just stick with Peter and we win.
Listen to the Cookie Monster wielding the machete, Tara.
TARA: I’ve never seen a circus before like that.
Luke walks over.
JERICHO: Can you confirm we’re voting for Peter?
LUKE: We’re voting for Peter.
(JERICHO slaps TARA’s face.)
TARA: OK.
JERICHO: See. Chill.
TARA: I’m exhausted.
TARA: I have three kids at home and they behave better than that.
Jericho summons Sarah. Sarah talks to Jericho while Odette talks to Tara.
Jericho wants Sarah to stop whatever she is doing or else she’ll go home tonight.
Jericho and Sarah sit together.
JERICHO: You’re in trouble.
SARAH: I know.
JERICHO: You weren’t in trouble until now.
Jericho tells us he wants Luke and Sarah to stay until merge then kill each other. Just not now.
I presume Jericho needs them as shields.
While Sarah explains why she is paranoid, Jericho keeps tapping her chin. This cracks me up.
LUKE: Can I sit here?
Jericho plays Jerry Springer as Luke and Sarah are his guests.
JERICHO: Why is a certain name being called out now?
SARAH: What’s the certain name?
JERICHO: Luke.
SARAH: Because I am against you, Luke. I’m sorry.
Well now everyone is being honest.
SARAH: You’ve gone away from me first.
Sarah insists she heard Luke targeting her during and after the reward.
JERICHO: All I wanted was Peter…but that might not happen.
Might?
Jericho has one last plea.
JERICHO: It’s great we’re talking because we can actually still make this an easy vote.
SARAH: I’m now too scared to leave Pete.
(JERICHO grins and turns his head the other way.)
JERICHO: The real important bit is that I’m safe.
Yeah, you may just want to hang onto that positive, Jericho.
It looks like this is the final conversation before Tribal Council because they start hiking. Jericho knows this is going to be horrible as Samatau will get to all watch it play out.
TRIBAL COUNCIL #15
(JOAN)-(ADAM)-(KATE)-(MARK H)-(AIMEE)-(SAMANTHA)-(MARK W)-(JACQUI)-(KENT)-(AK)-(BEN)
X
(JERICHO)-(LUKE)-(ODETTE)-(PETEY)-(SARAH)-(TARA)
A softball question is thrown about the reward first. Luke was a hungry brother. JLP keeps grilling everyone about why Peter and Sarah were chosen.
Sarah defends she didn’t pick herself to go over for the reward.
Jericho is uneasy about people who spend time on both tribes (which is about half of the people in this game at this point).
Sarah spills it was absolute chaos at camp. Everyone else confirms it. Locky’s jaw drops in his trademark way.
Sarah thinks she has been targeted for being at Samatau for one afternoon.
Luke wants everyone to stick together and vote out Petey because it is the smart thing to do.
Petey doesn’t think it is smart because they may be padlocked when he is the only one who has connections on Samatau.
LUKE: The key might not fit after three days.
Jericho wants to only work with people who can sway.
JERICHO (to SARAH): Can I say something to you?
SARAH: Yeah.
Jericho and Sarah start whispering.
JERICHO (whisper): If you don’t write down Pete’s name, you’re going to shoot yourself in the foot.
SARAH: Can I say something back to you?
JERICHO: Yeah.
SARAH (whisper): You need to trust that I know what’s going to happen at merge.
LUKE: How’s you feelin’?
SARAH: I’m one of those poeple that’s not budging. I can’t budge. It’s too risky tonight. I’m not budging tonight.
LUKE: You sure? Sigh. So what are we doing?
ODETTE: I don’t know.
Tara raises her hand.
TARA: Can I say something? I’m not the smartest person. That’s why the last couple days I have been confused because somebody did get the schoits that a certain person did get over and chosen. Then that certain person was thrown out. I want everyone to remember we need to go forward, but there are still certain people who are making choices for a game that I don’t wanna play.
ODETTE: I don’t know what that means, Tara.
I lost her at “schoits”.
TARA: Look at me. I’ve got the shakes. It just means that the choice I make tonight is going to be for my future game and that this is. Luke said we’re all going for Peter then it was like you got the s–ts because Sarah got chosen to go over, then you said you’re voting for Sarah then I told Jericho and he said “No, we’re not we’re voting for Peter”. So this is the confusion I am in at the moment just so we’re clear I’m not sabotaging Asaga or I’m trying to–
LUKE: Let’s pull that for one second–
ODETTE: Can we not do everything in front of these guys sitting here–
LUKE: You just aired the whole lot–
TARA: You yelled at me twice today.
ODETTE: Let’s just stick with the easiest option–
PETEY: Sometimes the easiest option is not the best option. ‘Cause I am the easiest option tonight and that’s not a good option.
JLP: Well. . .
Now to our third twist of the episode.
JLP offers somebody to mutiny to Samatau in exchange for not eliminating somebody from the game.
.
.
.
DUN
DUN
DUNNNNNNNNNNN.
It could be another Non-Elimination Leg tonight. This is turning more and more into The Amazing Race. Will the person who mutinies to Samatau have to complete a Speed Bump?
First person to stand up goes to Samatau. Apparently, there won’t be a vote at all.
JLP: Who wants to commit mutiny?
.
.
.
Sarah begs Petey to not mutiny. Her facial expression is an expression I have never seen before.
PETEY: I’ll immunity.
Luckily Petey stands up to clarify what he intended to. The buff is off. He receives a Samtau buff and joins Samatau.
All I can say is this: Poor AK.
Petey quietly asks Tessa if it was the right thing to do. She says it was.
SARAH (mouthing to PETEY): I’m screwed.
JLP: If Asaga was a ship, Peter just stole your lifeboat.
We have a close-up of Petey’s buff burning.
Next Time on Aussie Survivor: Fallout at Asaga comes thick and fast. When trust is broken, who can sell the biggest lie?
***
That’s right. We now have had four Tribal Councils that resulted in nobody being eliminated (Tara, Anneliese, Ziggy’s Super Idol Quest, and Petey’s mutiny).
Immunity is no longer immunity from being eliminated from the game, but rather immunity from having the latest curveball threatening your position in the game. I know the 55-day schedule means we have to have Non-Elimination Rounds every once in a while, but even with there being 13 players remaining with 23 days to go means we are in for a lot of rapid-fire boots from the game. Perhaps production is pushing it too far.
Furthermore, everybody absolutely wanted to see how this Tribal Council was going to play out. It feels like a tease when everybody was curious to see how messed up a six-person Tribal Council could go, or if somebody from Samatau was going to fling their idol at Petey, Luke, or Sarah prior to the votes being read. Am I the only one curious about how those rules were going to work?
***
Sarah WAS doing very well at playing double agent. She pushed it way too hard by repeatedly asking Luke to save Petey, and by being brought over to Samatau to enjoy the reward. I guess we’ll never know if she was truly going to be voted out over Petey and Luke at Tribal Council that night.
***
Asaga has been a mess since day one, but why was it taken to a whole new level this episode? Thirty-two days in and only six people attending Tribal Council should not lead to chaos typically reserved for the first or second Tribal Council after the merge.
I think I know why this was bound to happen.
Luke likes to be in control and always aims to eliminate his biggest threat.
Jericho is a stable player, but nobody wanted to tell him the truth about who they wanted out until the last minute.
Tara’s strategy is to play both sides.
Sarah’s strategy is to play both sides.
Odette’s strategy is to never commit to a side.
Petey always wants to be the bottom rung of an alliance.
Samatau is full of players who have been consistent in terms of their position in the game or desire to be the ringleader. One of the two.
When you have a tribe full of fence-sitters and double agents who do not want to have the spotlight shined on them, you get what we witnessed tonight. And when the “kingpin” behaves as a wildcard, the tribe will never ever have an easy vote.
If Asaga loses again, don’t expect much to change. Jericho is probably the only one in a relatively safe position.
***
I am amazed Henry is still in this thing and is in not as bad of a spot as everyone would expect him to be in after you see how badly things have gone for him since Switchapalooza.
I know Michelle survived a miracle once, but I don’t know if she can do it twice in a row. Most Samatau members don’t trust Henry, but after her performance with convincing everyone to eliminate Ben, Michelle will have to be far more subtle to stay alive.
***
This has been such an unstable group. It looks like the alliance of idols could come out on top, and Luke will probably be our first boot at a merge which must be coming soon, but other than that I have no idea what the hell will happen.
I just know everyone is going to be completely exhausted once the 55 days are up.
