Logan Saunders recaps the twenty-third episode of Week 10 of Australian Survivor where breaking up is hard to do.
Australian Survivor: The Scone Idol
EPISODE 23
Previously on Aussie Survivor: With his best mate Luke voted out, Jericho was on yet another warpath. But it was Locky who really needed to fight. The entire tribe wanted him gone. But when Locky won his third consecutive immunity challenge, all bets were off and the tribe was split down the middle. On one side, it was Locky, Tara, and Ziggy. On the other, Michelle, Peter, and Jericho. If the deadlock remained at Tribal, a random rock draw would determine who would go home. Tara didn’t take the chance–flipping on Locky and sending Ziggy home.
Five are left; who will be voted out tonight?
NIGHT 47
Tara said Tribal Council was dramatic. She claims to have made a ballsy move by going against the Tara and Locky alliance.
TARA: I didn’t come this far to leave holding a rock in my hand.
Or a lolly.
Tara initiates a group hug. Locky could not look more uncomfortable.
LOCKY: I know you are all gunning for me so that’s the way I like it.
MICHELLE: Everyone was gunning for me. My name has got written down.
TARA: We’re all gunning for each other.
LOCKY: I’m saying that ’cause you said it.
Tara puts it best.
TARA: Locky has had control for so long. Now it’s gone, he is sulking like my four-year-old does.
So true. Now Locky will go on one of his soliloquys or shakwilas about how they are all weaker players who are floating or that Michelle doesn’t listen to logic or some stupid crap like that. Le Sigh.
ASASOHCOHTOA
Locky
Michelle Peter
Jericho Tara
DAY 48
Tara, Michelle, and Petey are in the shelter. In a Dwight K. Schrute fashion, he has shunned Tara.
TARA: I am 32 years old. I am not going to be intimidated by a guy who is having a little sulk and didn’t have his way.
We hear from Locky proclaiming he is not a beggar and will never give up. It is hard for him to throw away Tara because there is nobody else who will trust him.
Locky’s sulk ends as he is laying in the shelter across from Tara who is tending to the fire. They talk about last night’s events.
LOCKY: You flipped.
TARA: Which everybody has done.
LOCKY: I haven’t.
Adam disagrees. Ben disagrees. Samatau disagrees. Petey definitely disagrees. Anneliese disagrees. Tessa and Ziggy super duper ultra disagree. Henry knows through his conversations post-merge that he can disagree.
In fact, the only person Locky has not flipped on is Tara. That’s it.
How can Locky blame Tara for not reaching into a bag of just three rocks. It’s twice as bad as the odds in a game of Russian Roulette.
LOCKY: I still love you, girl.
He proceeds to hug her.
TARA: I’m not breaking up with you.
LOCKY: I still love you.
TARA (confessional): I feel like I am breaking up with Locky.
That’s such a Michael Scott scene.
Petey, Jericho, and Michelle wonder what Locky would do if he wins immunity again. Petey expects him or Jericho to be his target because they are the biggest challenge threats.
JERICHO: He is like the Alien vs. Predator guy who comes in and dominates all of the challenges.
You just need Robocop or Godzilla to make this the most awesome Survivor film ever.
Locky sits back thinking of a back-up plan.
He goes up to Tara in front of everyone saying he has something to tell her. It’s a clue to an idol.
LOCKY: I’ve got an idol.
TARA: Wait. What?
LOCKY: I’ve had it since merge. You know the merge feast?
YAWAAAAAAAAAAA? Any chicken bones in it?
JERICHO: That’s a clue! He’s showing her the clue!
LOCKY: I’ve got a fake idol. When Anneliese got voted out, she dropped her ‘Congratulations, You have an idol’ piece of paper and the rag. I was like ‘That could come in handy,’ I grabbed it and kept it with me this whole time. So I am planting this whole seed that I have this idol and hope she spreads it to everyone else.
Why didn’t we see this footage?!
Tara bolts over to Jericho and Petey saying Locky has an idol.
JERICHO: He doesn’t. He’s scaring you.
Henry tricked him with a fake idol clue, but he won’t fall for it again.
Jericho keeps asking her if he has shown it to her. She says he buried it. Petey is thinking along the same lines as Jericho that this is the only move Locky could make.
Tara tells Michelle about Locky’s “idol”.
MICHELLE: What the heck? Of course, he has an idol. If he doesn’t have a necklace around his neck, OF COURSE he has something else to protect him in this game.
Petey and Tara have a match of “does not” “does too” like one of Tara’s four-year-olds.
Tara says he found an idol amongst the scones.
So we have a Chicken Idol and a Scone Idol this season. What’s next? We’re going to have an Andre 3000 Idol?
STILL DAY 48
Michelle is walking along the beach. Jericho notes the beautiful water. He shows Tara the wave ‘tat’ on his back. He says he almost died during the first time he surfed when he was twelve or thirteen. He was smashed against the rocks and panicked. He swallowed water and didn’t know how he got out. Supposedly a dog and a man pulled him out. Jericho hasn’t touched a surfboard since, but anybody who has surfed is cool to him.
Jericho wants to snorkel or go fishing but pulls back because he is scared of drowning. Hell, he just saw Samantha drown a few weeks earlier.
Jericho wants to swim deep. Locky says he is a good swimmer. He wants Locky’s flippers (I thought Locky doesn’t want anything to do with flippers?). Locky is an adventure guide in real life. So in they go. He tells Jericho he will be fine.
Note that Locky doesn’t have to win immunity at Final Four if he leads Jericho into the deep end.
Jericho wants to conquer his fear. He puts on the snorkels and mask as he goes swimming into the deep water. This is a cool scene. Jericho keeps going further and further and OH GOD THE MASK CAME OFF! JERICHO IS PANICKING!!! QUICK, LUKE! LUKE! SAVE YOUR BUDDY! DAMMIT!!!!!! THE SUGAR BANDIT IS DONE, SON!
Nah, just kidding. He focused, believed, and achieved. Locky swims after Jericho. It’s time to be a Lapras and go surfing after you’re done, Jericho. Locky admits he had no idea that Jericho was afraid of deep water because Luke loves deep water.
Locky loved seeing Jericho’s smile. He says being an adventure guide and pushing people is what he loves doing. He likes the faces of people. Tara gets emotional. Jericho likes this other side of Locky. Jericho knows this is exactly why Locky has to be eliminated from the game.
Back to strategy. Michelle says Locky talks the talk and wants to see him go. All five are together.
LOCKY: It’s nice to see it’s Us against You. Before it’s all been blindsides.
Yep. This really is the first time since perhaps the Kate vote-out that everyone is upfront about who will go home at Tribal Council.
LOCKY: An idol could be pulled out.
He kept a straight face while telling them all this, eh?
INDIVIDUAL IMMUNITY #8
LOCKY: Oh, it’s a reward. Our family is in there.
TARA: Shut up, Locky.
Exes aren’t getting along, eh?
JLP quizzes Petey about Locky being the only player remaining who has won individual immunity.
All of these questions are about Locky. Meanwhile, it starts raining AGAIN. Why does it only rain during individual immunity challenges? All other scenes over the past three rounds have been dry.
Immunity back up for grabs.
For today’s challenge, they will stack a series of blocks on a beam surrounded by trip obstacles. If they hit an obstacle, the blocks will fall and need to start again. The goal is to stack your blocks so they fall like dominos and hit a gong at the end. First person to hit their gone wins immunity.
A challenge all about balance. A little bit of agility. Sorry, Locky.
In addition to immunity, they are playing for reward. The reward is behind a magical green curtain.
.
.
.
IT’S A NEW CAR! A Trailblazer! Just a step above an Avalanche and a Pontiac Aztec! I wish they were playing for a used ’88 Nissan Micra.
JLP: Is it worth playing for?
LOCKY: YES! IT’S WORTH PLAYING FOR! IT’S A CAR! IT’S A BRAND NEW CAR! HOHOHOHOHO.
TARA: You’re like Oprah.
LOCKY: YOU GET A CAR! YOU GET A CAR!
Jesus, Locky. He is shaking already.
Everybody is doing stretches. Tara wishes Locky luck.
TARA: You need it.
Psychological warfare is on.
Petey does Jumping Jacks.
Challenge is on.
JLP goes on and on about what is required to win the challenge regarding speed and distance of the blocks. Locky is doing an Egyptian dance as he goes through the trip obstacles.
Locky hits an obstacle but only three of them fall. Uncensored swearing. Petey is moving really fast but now re-positions the blocks. Only one block remains. Jericho is right behind him. The blocks seem to be -really- far apart.
Petey taps his block. It stops two-thirds of the way. FAY. UHL.
On the way to fixing it, he stumbles onto the wood and everything falls. Hilarious.
Jericho makes an attempt. The very last block doesn’t fall. In the process, the blocks fell off both sides which really screws him.
Locky messes up his next domino attempt. He cheers on Tara as her domino effect stops after a few blocks.
Michelle positions all of her blocks. So is Locky. Michelle is extremely meticulous.
JERICHO: Yes, yes, Michelle. You got it.
Jericho tells Michelle to make her attempt seconds before Locky. Both go for it.
Michelle pulls it off! She wins immunity as Locky finishes two seconds behind her! Both got it in the gong!
Locky confirms the time difference was two seconds. Jesus Christ.
JERICHO (to MICHELLE): This was your moment.
And definitely not Locky’s.
JLP wins the award for Most Awkward Talisman Bestowment as he has to wriggle the talisman onto Michelle. It is an awkward angle.
Oh, and Michelle wins the car.
JLP: When you get a brand new car, what’s the first thing you want to do?
Well, if you were given a car by Oprah Winfrey, you sell it because the luxury tax is as expensive as s-it.
The answer is drive it. He asks her to take somebody. She picks Jericho since he was the one to tell her to go for the blocks. That two-second difference may have made the difference.
Oh, one more. Michelle picks Tara. There’s a spin and picnic. Furthermore, Tribal Council is tonight. Are we sure this game is 55 days?
Everyone goes crazy in the car. Back at the mat, Locky and Petey complain. Locky is killed by the fact he lost the challenge by two seconds. Petey just wanted the picnic.
LOCKY: I am gutted I didn’t win. It was a whole new car. I lost by two seconds.
Take a drink!
Locky is banking on Tara to work her magic. I think she needs the Elder Wand to save you, buddy.
REWARD – DAY 48
Lots of exterior shots of the car. Michelle doesn’t get to drive it. It is an unknown person in the driver’s seat. There is a picnic table on the beach. Then they find uh pic-uh-nic basket in the trunk of the car. They go crazy to see sandwiches. And PEPPERONIIII.
Michelle, Tara, and Jericho hug it out. Michelle says it is a hat trick in the form of a meal, a car, and immunity.
I didn’t know Aussies watched ice hockey.
JERICHO: You know what I see? A potential Final Three.
Well, at least two of those three have to make it to Final Three.
Michelle contemplates if Locky has the idol. Tara says she stopped believing it once Locky was visibly stressed after losing immunity. Michelle continues to worry, though.
DAY 48
Back at the ranch, Petey and Locky very quietly eat slices of some sort of fruit.
LOCKY: Who wants a new car? This is bloody good.
Petey is not happy being stuck on a beach with Locky. He intends to reassure people that he doesn’t have an idol.
PETEY: Do you actually have an idol?
LOCKY: Me? I do.
PETEY: I don’t believe it. Would you show me? If you don’t show me, I assume you don’t.
LOCKY: To be honest, Pete, the only reason I won’t show you is me and Tara want you to have the doubt. ‘Cause if you have the doubt then you’ll put it on me then I can make a big move and take out whoever we want.
But. . .but. . .this is the last round it can be played.
This is confirmation for Petey it is not real and walks away as he chucks one last fruit slice into the jungle.
Locky is confident he can beat anybody in the end and knows it is suicide to be taken to day 55. His new plan is to go after Petey because he is the biggest goat left in the game and assumes he is being dragged.
The trio is back from their picnic. Locky and Jericho go on a trek to the water well. Their bond from the snorkeling expedition eight hours later has somehow created a new friendship.
Uh, OK.
They openly talk about it and Jericho tells us he sees Locky in a new light. Locky works the “beat the best” angle and that nobody on the jury will respect Petey.
. . .That’s the whole game, Locky.
Jericho says he is a freelancer with endless options. He is confident he can beat anyone in the F2 when day 55 hits. I believe him. I think he could beat Locky.
Petey feels he is on the outs, but knows Locky is a gigantic threat and cannot be kept in the game. Michelle is still paranoid as she sees Locky go towards a specific tree.
Tara sighs when she discusses Locky’s idol. Michelle decides to tail Locky. She doesn’t want to get on Locky’s wrong side if he does indeed have an idol. Michelle continues to spy on Locky.
MICHELLE: You’ve got this idol.
LOCKY: Yeah. I’m safe for this one.
Locky proposes a solution. Once again, Petey’s name is on the board. Michelle outright states she wants Petey at the end with him. Locky works the “beat the best” angle.
MICHELLE: I think it’s better to get rid of Pete.
Michelle’s idea is that if Locky plays the idol then she automatically becomes Locky’s biggest ally for the rest of the game. Yikes.
Locky has an odd sense of optimism heading into Tribal Council.
TRIBAL COUNCIL #24
(JOAN)-(ADAM)-(KATE)-(MARK H)-(AIMEE)-(SAMANTHA)-(MARK W)-(tara)-(anneliese)-(JACQUI)-(KENT)-(AK)-(BEN)-(ODETTE)-(JARRAD)-(ANNELIESE)-(HENRY)-(TESSA)-(SARAH)-(LUKE)-(ZIGGY)
X
(JERICHO)-(LOCKY)-(*MICHELLE*)-(PETEY)-(TARA)
The jury comes marching in one by one. Michelle is asked about her day. It was great. She took care of her daycare kids. Went shopping. Watched Shameless on Netflix.
Nah, just kidding. When JLP mentions the car, everybody’s jaws drop. Somehow their jaws drop when they hear she broke Locky’s winning streak even though she has had the talisman on since they entered Tribal Council.
Locky thanks JLP for the reminder that he lost the challenge by a couple seconds.
Michelle says she is willing to go against the hardest people, and how Locky told her she was a threat. Locky pitches his perspective of “beat the best”.
But don’t you beat the best by voting their ass out?
LOCKY: Not once have I gone personal or anything–
PETEY: Excuse me? You’ve called me a goat and called me Puppet Pete.
LOCKY: I will tell you right now you are a goat.
Well, that’s personal.
Michelle defines a goat as somebody being dragged who doesn’t do anything.
JLP asks if a goat becomes a threat if everyone wants a goat taken to the end. Petey refuses to acknowledge he is a goat because he doesn’t boast and also has had every single one of his closest allies knocked out.
Tara jumps in.
TARA: I don’t know about this goat thing. Back at home, I raise goats. Goats go off on their own. The term should be sheep. I don’t know about this goat thing. You’ve got little sheep and the shepherd guides the sheep. . . For Locky to say you have to take the best is just crazy to think like that.
Tara has been on quite a roll for a few rounds.
Locky’s Scone Idol is brought up openly. Petey talks about Locky’s bush where the idol was hidden. Locky gets outdebated by Petey repeatedly.
PETEY: You said, “I showed Tara the idol” by telling me Tara has seen the idol when she wasn’t in a position to defend herself to say she hasn’t seen the idol.
(TARA has a ‘WTF’ expression.)
LOCKY: That’s just good gameplay.
PETEY: No it’s not, it’s silly gameplay. We can confirm it right here. Tara, have you seen his idol?
TARA: I’ve seen a ‘Congratulations’ like little clue.
If only she had said she saw Locky’s idol during the end of the Slip n’ Slide challenge.
More nonsense idol chatter. Somehow only six days are left. I don’t know when day 49 happened, but okay.
Locky knows how this will play out tonight. He doesn’t think anybody will respect bringing an “easy win”. Man, Locky is really really desperate here.
It’s time to vote.
Luke is wearing a California hat backwards.
Jericho pauses before voting. Tessa and Henry whisper.
PETEY (voting LOCKY): Me or you tonight.
Locky rubs his eyes.
For the last time, if anybody has an immunity idol, now would be the time to play it. Locky fakes them out with a bag grab. Nope.
FIRST VOTE: Peter
Locky grabs his shoulder.
SECOND VOTE: LOCKEY
THIRD VOTE: PETER
Whoa, two votes?
FOURTH VOTE: LOCKY
One vote left.
FINAL VOTE: Locky <3
And that’s that.
PETEY: Our rivalry ends.
LOCKY: This is the most amazing thing I have ever done. And I have done some crazy s-it. Play hard. . .Remember, play hard.
We get an extended shot of Tara wiping sweat off of her forehead.
Next Time on Aussie Survivor: The final week. With Locky gone, the field is wide open. Who will win half a million dollars? And the title of Sole Survivor?
Locky said he lost a car, lost half a mil, lost immunity, and lost his immunity streak. He nearly succeeded with his idol bluff.
Locky praises Tara’s game (despite being voted out). He will be happy to vote for her.
***
So Locky is gone. I know I don’t have any concrete proof that I believed Ziggy and Locky were going to be out in these two rounds before the episodes aired on TV, but you’ll just have to take my word on that.
It just made sense for all four players left in the game. Ziggy and Locky needed to go whenever they lost immunity challenges.
I didn’t expect Locky to give up his streak because of a two-second difference. Jericho’s plea for Michelle to topple her dominos may be the biggest #bigmove of the whole season.
Locky was at the bottom ever since Aimee was knocked out except for his two-round power trip with Henry post-merge. Then he was thrown back to the bottom of the ladder. It just so happened his final loss of position happened right before he won three consecutive immunity challenges.
I hope Locky owns up to not being some sort of noble superhero throughout this game. There was a lot of sneaky moves and deception on Locky’s part, especially once Henry came along. Locky was trying to match wits with AK at certain points right before AK got some of the worst luck with a twist that I have ever seen.
Does Locky still believe he is a bigger superhero than everyone else or is his ego contracting a bit now that he has been able to talk with everyone else and see these episodes on TV? I certainly hope so.
You can tell Locky has a lot of control in his everyday life. He guides people for a living. It is understandable why he had a problem with bending over backwards to accommodate other people’s motives. It’s why he had such a difficult time finding people who wanted to align with him throughout the game.
So goodbye, Locky. The post-merge phase was never meant to go his way.
***
I love this Final Four. Michelle. Jericho. Petey. Tara. Throw in a Ben or an Odette and you likely have the most unexpected combination of people making it to the end of this season.
Nobody in this four has a tight ally whom they have stayed loyal to since the beginning. If you follow Tara’s definition, they have all been goats as they do their own thing like Jack Bauer. Plenty of rogue opportunities that they have taken advantage of since the beginning.
In fact, not a single combination within this Final Four has spent the whole game together.
Michelle was Asaga-Asaga-Asaga-Samatau
Petey was Samatau-Samatau-Asaga-Samatau
Tara was Samatau-Asaga-Asaga-Asaga
Jericho was Asaga-Asaga-Asaga-Asaga
These four have rarely voted together too. Petey was separate from everyone else for a while. Michelle and Jericho then ditched Tara. Then Michelle ditched Jericho and joined Petey. Then Petey joined Tara. Then all four reunited. Then Michelle threw a safety vote against Petey.
***
I am glad they included the scene with Jericho and Locky. That was a nice distraction from the amount of strategy we typically see in an endgame.
***
I don’t know how anyone will decide who to vote for in the Final Two. I would say Tara has the worst odds simply because she has already been voted off, but it seems like everybody has forgotten that fact for weeks.
Petey doesn’t announce his big moves, but much like Michelle, he has really good debate skills at Tribal Council.
And Jericho has the charm. I think he is the favourite to win.
Nobody has any loyalties to any of the remaining players.
Petey has Tessa as his champion on the jury.
Tara has Locky as her champion.
Michelle has Sarah as her champion.
Jericho has Luke as his champion.
So everybody will be covered jury wise. I could be wrong about Sarah, though.
This Final Four is wide open. I really want to see the first ever 2-1-1 vote at the next Tribal Council. This is the only dynamic where I could see two people get duped into falling for this trap.
Oh, and there aren’t any exceptional challenge performers as everyone has been relatively even if you look at every challenge since the start of the game. Unless Jericho has to get on a pair of shoulders, he has as much of a chance as everyone else.
I can’t wait to see this play out. This season’s ending won’t be as special as last year because of the MASSIVE underdog story, but this will come close.
