Logan Saunders recaps the ninth episode of Week 4 of Australian Survivor in which the split power couple hopes to divide and conquer.
Australian Survivor: Looks Like Jesus But Playing Like a Fool
EPISODE 9
Previously on Survivor AU: Power couple Henry and Jacqui were sitting pretty on Asaga sharing a hidden immunity idol and controlling the numbers. Over at Samatau, AK made the most of his position at the top of the tribe while Locky scrambled for numbers. But at Tribal Council, Ziggy stuck with AK as she voted out Tara. Then in a surprise second vote, Anneliese was also voted out only to discover they weren’t leaving the game.
Seventeen remain (again); who will be voted out tonight?
EXILE BEACH – DAY 21
Tara and Anneliese sleep under a few palm fronds while weird electronic music plays. Neither are particularly happy about it. No shelter, no fire, no food.
TARA: I just crawled up into a ball and cried myself to sleep.
Sounds like me before I quit watching Big Brother 19.
Tara doesn’t know how to feel and starts thinking about her kids. Here come the water works.
TARA: I will leave my tears here on Exile.
I doubt it.
Anneliese is keen to try and play this twist to her advantage.
ANNELIESE: We need to give this a good hot crack.
Ah. The Rory Freeman strategy.
Intro Time. As expected, the opening credits do not correct that Tara and Anneliese are no longer on the tribe. I shall make the correction on production’s behalf.
Ziggy Locky Jarrad
Tessa Peter AK
Tara Anneliese
Michelle Sarah Luke
Kent Odette Jacqui
Jericho Ben
Henry–Henry’s intro shot is of him throwing an object. Why do I notice one of these intro shots per episode? Production loves inside jokes.
DAY 21
They eat coconut stew. Jericho retrieves more water for his canteen–uh oh. Luckily he preserves the fire.
Everyone admires Kent’s weight loss. He starts posing.
JACQUI: It’s bloody well day 21…I am coping a lot better than I thought. I love my champagne, I love my hot baths, and I love my husband.
In that order.
Jacqui talks about how comfortable she is in her alliance and being the king and queen with Henry.
Jacqui says the alliance is herself, Henry, Kent, Sarah, and Odette.
Henry tells Jacqui that he thinks Odette is strong with them. Jacqui informs us Henry is still keeping their idol secret and safe.
JACQUI: Some people in the group bloody grate on my nerves.
KENT: I can’t believe how much [Michelle] talks and how little she does.
JACQUI: Ben’s an absolute klutz and useless but Michelle does less than him.
We cut to Michelle in the shelter.
MICHELLE: The seasoning on the fries! How could they!
I would love context for this story.
KENT: I just think it’s lucky for Michelle and Ben that breathing is automatic.
Welcome to Survivor NZ 2 where old people complain about young people once more.
Michelle returns the favour with her impression of Jacqui away from her in the shelter.
MICHELLE: I’m 51 years old. I know! You tell us every day! It’s all I hear about all day.
Luke says real personalities are coming out as Jacqui moans and groans about everything.
Ben impersonates Jacqui by moaning and groaning as if he were stoned.
LUKE: She just carries on like pork chop.
What?
Ben decides to take the comedy further.
BEN: Hey, Jacqui! Since I worked on the fire last night, could you bring my rice over here?
Everyone laughs.
JACQUI: He can come over and get his own.
ODETTE: And he can get a small bit and that’s it.
Ben, Jericho, Michelle, and Luke keep laughing in the shelter.
Ben’s second confessional commences.
BEN: Jacqui, of course, has some frustration towards me. She’s not my ideal mother figure–even though she shares the same name as my mother. She just seems to be very stern and short-tempered with me as if she doesn’t want me to be around.
Yes, that was Ben’s second confessional.
Ben is worried about being on the bottom of the tribe. Michelle points out the other five are eating second helpings of rice before they have had a first helping.
MICHELLE: We never do stuff like that! It’s clear sides now.
Who knew something as simple as dinner would reveal the exact tribal lines. Who is in the middle? I presume Sarah. Nobody is even talking about her.
RANDOM BEACH – DAY 21
Tara and Anneliese stand next to JLP. Asaga sees it is just Tara and Anneliese. No challenge build.
JLP: Let’s get straight to this.
KENT: OK.
Kent is indifferent to the obvious twist that is coming.
JLP reveals both Tara and Anneliese were voted out and they’ll be joining their tribe. Two people must go to Samatau immediately.
TARA (puts her hands up): We didn’t know that.
Tara is already on the defensive. I would probably do the same thing to ensure my new tribe isn’t pissed off with me over a minor detail.
Asaga went from pure joy to stressed expressions in a matter of seconds.
Luke sets the flag down as JLP informs them they only have a few minutes to decide.
They huddle. Ben immediately volunteers himself. Perhaps because it is 5-4 in numbers and he is always the most ridiculed by the majority.
KENT: Should it be a bloke and a girl?
In other words, Michelle.
Ben points out Samatau sent two girls.
BEN: I am happy to nominate himself.
“I am happy to save myself from the next Tribal Council” is the translation.
HENRY: Let me process this for a bit.
.
.
.
HENRY: I’ll go.
KENT: But–but you are our powerhouse.
TARA: Don’t go, Henry.
Tara’s chances of being immune from the next Tribal Council is fading before her eyes.
We cut to a Jacqui confessional.
JACQUI: Oh my god. What the fricking hell are you doing? You have a choice here and why aren’t you staying with your alliance?
HENRY: I’ll go. I need to step up for Ben.
LUKE: I seen Jacqui start squirmin’. Nah uh, he’s got to leave you high and dry, girl. So I butted in.
We cut to the huddle.
LUKE: I reckon it’s sewn up. If you two want to go, that’s it. YEAAAAAAAHHHHHHH.
Well, that’s one way to not let anyone convince Henry to stay.
Jacqui starts crying as she hugs Henry.
HENRY: Don’t cry. Don’t cry.
Those aren’t tears of sadness for Henry–those are tears for her own funeral. And Aaron & Deb may be coming to bury her sooner rather than later.
Buffs are dropped. Anneliese whips her buff down.
The swap is made.
HENRY: Some people might think this is a massive risky move but I feel safe as because I hold the immunity idol from Asaga.
JLP says the best players learn to change with the changes in the game–whether those changes be self-imposed.
Sarah waves to them that it is Asaga strong as Asaga exits the beach.
HENRY: I’ve got a hundo control at Asaga. I chose to jump ship to gain some control of Samatau. If I can get to the end with control of both tribes, I have a great chance of winning this game. I may look like Jesus, but I am playing like the Devil.
A Devil with a dunce cap by the end of this round you aren’t careful.
DAY 21
Locky is the first to cheer when Henry and Ben walk around the corner.
LOCKY: The whole tribe was just sitting around and then Yoga Pants and Sideshow Bob walked up the beach.
It’s a good thing rakes haven’t been involved in any more challenges to make Ben more clumsy on his feet than he already is.
Henry explains the twist to the tribe. AK is immediately skeptical.
NOTE: AK tried to strategize with Henry during the Slip n’ Slide and Locky Naked challenge. Keep that in mind.
AK knows the best challenge asset wouldn’t just switch unless there was a strategic goal.
Henry and Ben get a tour of the camp.
HENRY: This like a new lease on life…I’m on cloud nine right now.
Henry keeping up the act in front of his new tribe.
Henry attempts to charm the tribe instantly. We cut to a shot of AK sipping water as if he was a cat thrown into the cold.
AK: I need to assess how conniving Henry can be.
Spoiler Alert: Very.
AK and Henry are on the beach. AK asks Henry who is playing a good game over at Asaga. Henry responds that each vote has been simple and it hasn’t opened up yet.
AK opts to lie about Samatau’s dynamics.
AK: There’s a whole bunch of minions that work well out there together, and they aren’t scared of picking off the bigger people. I’m definitely at the bottom ’cause my name keeps coming up but they are really good at making me believe I can trust them.
And AK vows to eliminate Henry before Henry eliminates him.
Now Henry and Locky talk. Henry tells Locky the truth about his conversation with AK. Locky corrects Henry on the facts.
LOCKY: AK is the smartest Survivor player I have ever seen.
Locky warns Henry about his conversations with AK.
LOCKY: It doesn’t take much to fall from the top to the bottom.
Locky thinks he and Henry would be unstoppable in taking out the big dog…with all two of their numbers. I don’t know how he thinks they’ll do it, but I appreciate the optimism.
DAY 21
Anneliese quizzes Asaga on how they feel bad about Henry leaving. Jacqui does not let on how pissed off she is with Henry’s exit and the idol now going to Samatau.
Jacqui now promotes #AsagaStrong with Jericho and the others to ensure Tara or Anneliese go home.
Anneliese gets to work.
TARA: We’re not here to get as much information about you guys and pass it on.
Tara making it clear she only wants to work with Asaga members for the rest of the game. She informs everybody that Samatau is full of strategists–which is true. It just happened to apply to all twelve.
JACQUI: There’s not an obvious alliance here like you guys got.
Weren’t five just eating dinner and mocking the other four while the other four were in the shelter making fun of the other five?
Luke gathers Tara and Anneliese into the jungle on a water run. Luke spills the beans about Jacqui.
TARA: Everyone at Samatau thinks Jacqui is running the show.
LUKE: Henry and Jacqui go hard.
Man, Henry and Jacqui’s power was even transparent to Samatau.
LUKE: I have pockets full of people who are willing to run my way. Jacqui’s going down.
Last episode, we would all say Luke was crazy for thinking Jacqui would be voted out after he was placed firmly on the bottom, but that has clearly changed.
IMMUNITY CHALLENGE #9
JLP asks Tara how it feels to be voted out. She wants to bring it on. Locky says Henry is a beast and feels it is a huge advantage for challenges. Henry loves the caring tribe and stands by his decision.
For this challenge, three members will race through the water to get a ball while three other members will try to stop you. They must pass it to a fourth tribe member who will try to kick it through a bamboo goal that is about fifty feet away. The first tribe to score three goals wins immunity.
A woman must sit out from Asaga. That person is Tara.
FIRST ROUND:
KENT-ANNELIESE-MICHELLE-JERICHO vs. ZIGGY-LOCKY-TESSA-AK.
Yes, Jericho and AK are the kickers.
Locky tramples at Kent. He passes it far to AK. AK punts the ball and hits just shy of the goal.
Kent grabs Locky’s penis while Locky has Kent’s arm. Kent has a heat-seeking missile on Locky’s penis. The slip n’ slide wasn’t enough for Kent.
Ziggy passes the ball for AK as Kent remembers a challenge is going on. AK takes his time before punting it for the first point.
AK does some weird Nadia Comaneci gymnastic dismount celebration.
SECOND ROUND:
LUKE-KENT-JERICHO-JACQUI vs. ZIGGY-HENRY-PETER-BEN
Luke cheers on Ben as he stands on the platform.
Henry and Luke are getting very physical over the ball. Jericho is right there with them.
Kent has Ziggy paralyzed from the back. Luke tosses it to Ben. Dude, Ben is on the other tribe.
Everyone else prepares to rebound the shot.
SARAH: You’ll never get it.
It proves to be true as Ben kicks it to the right.
Luke rebounds it and tosses it to his own tribemate this time. Jacqui kicks it directly at Ziggy. Kent grabs Ziggy from behind. Luke rebounds it again and throws it at Jacqui. It’s nowhere close.
Henry gets the next rebound. Ben waits for Kent to move from the front of his platform. Henry tackles Kent down from the side.
Ben punts it into the goal. Ben scores a point! It’s the first time this season a tribe has cheered “Yay Ben!” or “Good job, Ben!”
ASAGA: 0 SAMATAU: 2
THIRD ROUND
JERICHO-SARAH-ODETTE-LUKE vs. JARRAD-ZIGGY-TESSA-AK
AK mimes punting the ball once more.
JLP tosses the ball near the goal once more. Ziggy takes on Sarah and tosses it to Jarrad. Jarrad and Odette are getting very physical.
Jericho and Tessa also fighting it out. Sarah is biting Ziggy’s bathing suit as if she is Kylie Minogue.
Odette sprints through the water and hands it to Luke. His punt is just short of the goal. Jarrad and Odette wrestle over the ball. Everyone else is tied up.
JLP: We have a Mexican Standoff here.
Jericho breaks from Tessa and launches it to AK. AK grins from ear to ear. His punt is short, but Odette nearly deflects it into the goal.
Ziggy is pulling on Sarah’s shoe while Sarah is very clearly lying down underwater. Drowning cannot be fun.
Jericho has the ball and fends off Tessa. He passes it to Luke but misses by a few feet. He has to run at the ball and hand it to Luke.
Luke punts it. Point scored.
Luke proceeds to do a series of D-Generation X crotch chops, and does an awkward belly flop into the water.
ASAGA: 1 SAMATAU: 2
FOURTH ROUND
KENT-SARAH-LUKE-JERICHO vs. ZIGGY-HENRY-LOCKY-AK
Wow. Samatau’s big guns are all out. Luke is taken down. Henry scoops the ball and throws it. He overshoots it. Locky powers through the water and does a lateral pass to AK. AK catches it and punts it, but falls short. Luke blocked it.
Henry tackles Luke. Sarah and Ziggy are tied up. Locky alone as he grabs the ball and sprints it over to AK.
AK takes his shot and is wide to the right.
Henry and Luke keep pushing each other down. Luke tosses it to Ziggy. Ziggy taps it away. Locky is alone as he grabs it and throws it at AK. Locky proceeds to awkwardly hug Kent from behind. It is as if he is resting on Kent’s back as both stand in the water.
AK’s punt is too high. Luke has the rebound and does a long pass to Jericho. Jericho can’t quite reach it and Locky dives a million feet through the water and hands it to AK. AK’s fourth attempt is successful. Immunity is theirs.
Everyone on both tribes hug their opponents. Another brutal physical challenge. Asaga must secretly be happy they didn’t force match point for both tribes. A valiant effort.
Jacqui says Tara or Anneliese will be going home in order to save herself.
DAY 22
The tribe returns to camp in pure silence.
LUKE: They had a stronger tribe, you know what I mean? They have more boys than girls.
Actually, Asaga had to sit out a woman to make the gender division equal.
Strategy ensues. Jacqui knows the target is on her back, but thinks keeping it #AsagaStrong will work.
Kent proposes Tara would be the easiest choice. He talks to everybody and says Tara will go. Jacqui is happy Kent will be doing the leg work.
KENT: It’s pretty easy; I’ve got two outsiders. Fire them out. Easy as pie. Beautiful two minutes in and it’s all sorted.
Kent and Michelle have a chat.
MICHELLE: As long as everyone is not full of crap and everybody is Asaga Strong.
Michelle brings up a good point to Kent. The pie may be full of feces on the inside.
Luke, Michelle, and Jericho are talking together.
MICHELLE: Asaga Strong, my arse.
LUKE: You have Kent reppin’ Asaga Blood! Asaga Blood! Vote off the easiest girls first? No way! It’s all about my game. Me, Michelle, and Jericho are tight. If we get Tara and Anneliese onside, it’s Jacqui that’s going down. I can’t wait!
Luke needs more confessionals of older men doing gang signs in confessionals.
Michelle, Tara, and Anneliese discuss the vote.
MICHELLE: I feel closer to you two after one day than what I have had with Kent and Jacqui the whole game.
TARA (rubbing MICHELLE’S arm): That’s nice to know…We are freelance so we don’t have a say in who goes tonight. We’re just like a number. Wherever you want us to go.
MICHELLE: I need Jacqui gone.
Tara is playing this situation…surprisingly well. We get a shot of Jacqui looking like she is going to choke Michelle even though we know it is a highly edited shot. It’s like that shot Big Brother 17 loved to use over and over again of Vanessa.
Sarah pulls Jericho aside on the beach. She tells us she has been playing both sides but the power is up in the air. Michelle magically joins the conversation.
JERICHO: Kent and Jacqui will always have an animosity against Luke.
SARAH: So you’re voting out Jacqui?
JERICHO: Yep.
SARAH: That’s fine. She annoys me anyway let alone complain.
Jacqui talks to Kent if Sarah is voting Tara. Kent assumes she is.
JACQUI: Why does she feel the need to have a long chat with Jericho then?
Jacqui, Kent, and Luke talk about Sarah’s long chat. Jacqui’s alarm bells are going off because there shouldn’t be this much chatter if they’re just deciding between Tara and Anneliese.
Kent knows Sarah is a schemer. He tries to go up to Sarah, Jericho, and Michelle on the beach.
SARAH: Kent, is it okay if I have a private chat with them?
KENT: Fine. I’ll wait five minutes.
You don’t need bells now–it’s a big freakin’ firetruck siren now.
And this is a fire Jericho won’t be putting out.
KENT: My spider sense is tingling.
Jacqui assumes herself or Odette is the target.
JACQUI: This is what’s breaking Asaga up–this s–t.
Kent wants to cut off the head of the snake.
Jacqui decides Sarah is going to go. Kent now pulls Anneliese into the jungle and informs her what’s going on.
Kent looks like an old wise man and he walks around with a tall cane.
KENT: Put down Sarah’s name, and Tara puts down Sarah’s name, you’re in. Look each other in the eye and shake on it.
ANNELIESE: I am going to keep fuelling that fire.
Call another firetruck.
Kent tells Tara to vote out Sarah.
KENT: That doesn’t just guarantee you today…that guarantees you quite a few days.
Like…three. Probably six because Jacqui is annoyed by Michelle.
Anneliese and Tara play numbers together in the sand. No matter which way they decide they will be enforcing the majority.
Tara is reminded of the over-strategizing that goes on at Samatau.
Jericho is sharpening a machete on the rocks. He repeats the plan to eliminate Jacqui.
LUKE: I am taking her out bad!
Especially when an idol was in her closest alliance’s pocket.
JACQUI: I am so not ready to go home. Kent, myself, and Odette decided Sarah has got to go and we’ve taken in Anneliese and Tara. She’s gone-sy.
Tara prepares to pick a side.
TRIBAL COUNCIL #10
(JOAN)-(ADAM)-(KATE)-(MARK H)-(AIMEE)-(SAMANTHA)-(MARK W)
X
(ANNELIESE)-(JACQUI)-(JERICHO)-(KENT)-(LUKE)-(MICHELLE)-(ODETTE)-(SARAH)-(TARA)
JLP wants to talk about the swap and how Ben and Henry volunteered.
Yes, Ben and Henry were the two people to switch. If you combine their names, you match somebody who competed in Survivor: Nicaragua.
Jericho thinks whoever they left behind in their alliance on Asaga must feel like they are drowning.
JLP brings up the power couple topic from last Tribal Council.
JACQUI: If we were the power couple, then Henry wouldn’t have left.
Michelle jumps in.
MICHELLE: You could look at it another way. He feels so strong in the Asaga tribe that even he did go across and make alliances with the other tribe that he feels so safe here and that everybody would still stick by him. I think he’ll be quite safe over there, and if he’s safe there and safe here, then he’s in a powerful position.
Man, Henry’s bluff has been called.
Anneliese lies and thinks she is a potential target after being here for 24 hours while the tribe has been together for 21 days.
Anneliese’s case is that they were already voted off Samatau and would not return to AK. Jericho thinks they gained “two awesome girls” and knows they will stick with Asaga.
JERICHO: We felt their pain and their wounds will heal over time, but wounds also leave a scar.
Where does Jericho come up with this? Everyone is impressed with his answer.
Sarah is asked if it’s easy vote or easy number. At first it was easy vote but now it is easy number.
The paranoia now becomes an open topic. Tara repeats feeling like she was being on Samatau as she was approached to strategize while drinking water.
Tara claims she has heard three names and is torn.
Jacqui wonders if her tribe actually said is true, and does not feel she has heard the truth. Kent agrees. Jacqui knows Tara and Anneliese’s heads are scrambled.
JACQUI: You’ve got people who have enough guts to play Survivor and then you’ll have floaters who will ride people’s coattails–I don’t think that’s playing at all. People who are floaters can win this game…You’ve got to decide whether you want to be in a relationship with a floater or give the game the respect it deserves.
In the words of SonReal, shots fired.
MICHELLE: If you get to the end and you won it, you’re sitting back in Hawaii sipping cocktails with half a million dollars. Whether you rode someone’s coattails, whether you sat back and were the mute and didn’t say anything, you somehow made some move to win that game. And if somebody didn’t vote you out, they didn’t make the moves.
Alas, the key to winning Survivor.
Sarah talks about gut feelings being tied to connections.
We vote.
Tara votes AK. Oh, wait. She has to throw her parchment out and write down a new name.
JACQUI (writes down SARAH): I never thought I’d write your name down but there’s a lot of things that don’t add up and I’m going with my gut.
LUKE (writes down JACQUI): When you don’t succeed, you try again. And I can’t wait to see Henry’s face tomorrow. Ha! Ha!
Nelson Muntz and Aaliyah worked into one confessional. Well done.
Tara is the last to vote.
JLP: You’re up, Sparkly.
I never thought a contestant would earn that nickname in Survivor. Dreamz and Sugar is one thing, but Sparkly is ridiculous.
Nobody plays an idol. Probably because the only idol left to be discovered is the one at the Samatau camp.
FIRST VOTE: SARAH
SECOND VOTE: Sarah
THIRD VOTE: JACQUI
FOURTH VOTE: JACQUI
Luke rubs his hands together.
FIFTH VOTE: SARAH
SIXTH VOTE: MAMA JAQ
Jacqui rolls her eyes.
SEVENTH VOTE: Jacqui
EIGHTH VOTE: JACQUI
Jacqui hugs Kent and brings her torch. Smuff.
JLP: The tribe has spoken, but not this island–
Nah, just kidding. Jacqui is actually gone.
Kent has a big look of despair on his face.
Luke trails his tribe out of Tribal Council with the biggest smirk on his face and bounces around.
Next Time on Survivor AU: A challenge that more than meets the eye, and a new tribe but old ways for Henry as he plays both sides of the fence.
Jacqui lets out a deep exhale.
SARAH: Sorry Mama Jaq, majority rules.
JACQUI: The Michelles and the Bens and like-minded people I would’ve preferred they went before I did, because I think I am a stronger player than them but obviously not because I am sitting here.
JERICHO: The only person that could’ve saved you tonight abandoned you and went to another tribe. Sucks on you.
Jacqui knows why Henry made the move that he did, and everyone knows it. She wants Kent to win and thinks he can do it.
Why does everybody pick somebody in the minority as the potential winner of the season? Odd.
And another week comes to a close. Three people voted out, but only one truly leaves the game.
After nearly two decades of watching Survivor, we are used to 95% of all swaps being completely randomized. Those who get ousted immediately after the twist can blame it on an unfair twist, particularly those who were controlling their initial tribe.
For those in the latter, they lose sleep for many nights wondering what would have happened if they didn’t have a tribe swap, or if more members from their majority alliance switched along with them.
Henry willingly chose this nightmare. I know I am a broken record by this point; there were still sixteen other players left in the game when he did this. I know AK has been perceived as the person overplaying this game more than anybody, but I don’t think there is a chance in hell AK would have switched tribes if he was in Henry’s position.
“I am switching to Samatau to risk it and see if I can get in with them and ultimately have control of both tribes going into a merge–I already have control of my own tribe.”
Dude…this is day 22. A merge is not going to happen for at least another ten days. Maybe more. The dynamics on Asaga could change while you are gone.
Henry views this like a single parent going on holidays and leaving a list of chores for his kids while he is gone.
– Feed the dog
– Water the plants
– Take the garbage out
– Clean up after yourself
But this is Survivor. One person wins in the end. It would really be like this:
– Feed the dog with the only tin of edible food we have in the entire house. Yes, you will starve to death but the dog really needs it.
– Water the plants with the only two litres of drinking water that will be available until I get back. Seriously, don’t drink it–the plants are more important.
Henry has been gone for just over 24 hours and loses his most precious asset in the entire game. The only ally who truly trusted him, a person who is rough enough around the edges that there is a minimal chance she wins in a Final Two scenario, and had the closer connection to Kent.
All of that is gone now. The yoga master just initiated a cleanse. Six people on Asaga are now aligned against him, and Henry is at the mercy of AK. In fact, Henry is in an even worse position than Locky at the moment. Even if Henry makes it to the merge, he’ll have such a gigantic target on his back because his deviousness is now transparent to everyone on Asaga, and he is the biggest threat in immunity challenges.
If Henry makes it to the Final Four of this game, I will grant him permission to put up a giant bilboard in the Okanagan with a giant picture of him grinning with the words “I TOLD YOU SO, LOGAN SAUNDERS” in all capital letters.
A popular question I have seen online is “Why hasn’t Asaga looked for a new hidden immunity idol?”
As somebody who is obsessive with Survivor‘s formatting regarding their elimination structure and unwritten rules to the game, people need to remember that idols aren’t re-hidden when somebody who claimed the idol at that specific camp is switched to another tribe.
It has happened many times over the years where all current idols are stuck in the one camp post-swap. Production never hides additional idols at a camp where one has already been claimed unless it is in the post-merge phase like in recent years.
However, to this day I can’t figure out if the post-merge idol found in Worlds Apart was meant to be the unclaimed Escameca idol since they were at the Escameca camp post-merge or if they started anew with a replaced post-merge idol.
I know the preview for next round suggests there is a new Asaga idol, but I’m not buying it. That would be really wonky formatting.
And now to Jacqui. Somebody who was voted out because she was separated from her closest ally after a swap. It’s a shame she had to be taken out by Kenny, Crystal, Kelly, and Matty.
Oh, wait. That’s Survivor: Gabon. You know Survivor has had too many seasons when two women who have their names spelled in the exact same unique way are eliminated instantly after a swap.
Oddly enough, Jacqui pulled a Tara when she didn’t reach out to Tara until it was far too late. Michelle formed a far more sincere connection and likely made it easier for Tara and Anneliese to sift through who they could get a better read on in the tribe, who would be easy to figure out if they were lying, and therefore be easier to trust.
I still can’t get over that highly edited shot of Jacqui looking like she is going to tear Sarah and Michelle in half on the beach–even though I bet that shot was likely filmed an entirely different time of the day.
I know it is tough for somebody like Jacqui to do this, but the whole #AsagaStrong plan was only going to work if Jacqui pretended to respect Michelle for the first 21 days rather than be so distant from Michelle that she needed Kent to do the talking, especially when your target changes to Sarah, and now the only way you get a majority is if you get two players you have only known for 24 hours on your side.
On one hand, yes, Jacqui could not have planned for Henry to desert her after being her number one ally for 21 days. That is unlucky. On the other hand, she did not adapt to the situation as well as she could have. However, going to Tribal Council 24 hours after the most unexpected curveball is thrown at you is a hell of an adjustment to make.
And just like that, tribes are 8 vs. 8. Each tribe has voted out four people from this game. Also, I just realized I haven’t referenced Ben’s decision to switch once. If you are at the bottom of a nine-person tribe, volunteering to switch is the best thing you can do. Ben’s position will only improve from here. I will be surprised if anyone on Samatau wants to eliminate Ben. There is absolutely no reason to do so at this time if you are judging by any specific category of criteria.
I love seeing this Asaga vs. Samatau slugfest to continue. Not only are the two tribes playing really hard against each other, but the dynamics within each tribe prove every single person is actively thinking about what they want to do in this game. People have been mocking Ben and Michelle, but Ben was self-aware enough to switch tribes and Michelle has had two really strong consecutive performances at Tribal Council–even if she loves a bottle of shampoo.
Personally, I hope the showdown between Henry vs. AK gets resolved sooner rather than later. These two guys have enjoyed the most airtime since day one overall, and I really want one or both of them to go to allow everyone else to shine a bit more. And if the Samatau idol is still unclaimed, could Henry really find it and have two idols? I am surprised nobody has mentioned this.
P.S. I told you Sarah was the most devious one on Asaga. Too bad Jacqui and Kent didn’t figure that out until it was too late. Now the question is if everyone else starts figuring this out as well.
P.P.S. How the heck is Sparkly still in this? I don’t think she has a chance at winning, but I am genuinely curious if Sparkly can make bonds on Asaga without shooting herself in the foot or acting the same way she did when she was in the majority on Samatau. Has she learned her lesson? Time will tell.
