This time on Survivor… After Zeke’s elimination from the game, the tribe returns to camp and Will feels great. He feels like he went into Tribal a kid and is leaving it as the man. Everyone needs him and he thinks he can flip back and forth to win the game… Oh no… Will… No… Rule #1, man, rule #1… Bret is not impressed with Will’s big move and can’t believe he voted out Zeke – he thinks Will is playing exactly like a high school kid would play with his checklist of things to do. Bret’s good though. He’s used to things not going his way in the game, everyone is playing hard, and he’s sure he can find a way to stick around. The next day, Bret and Sunday talk to Adam about the fact that they knew Zeke was a threat, but they were using it to their advantage and blah blah blah – they let Adam know that the top three targets now are Will, Jay, and Dave. Adam loves this. If Bret and Sunday want to put themselves into a position to be at the end with himself, Ken, and Hannah – so be it! Come on in, guys! It’s time for Immunity! In this challenge, players will transport discs using poles over a balance beam and through a wire maze to the final stage of the challenge where they will roll the discs into a target – first person to roll all ten discs into the target wins Immunity. Survivors ready? GO! While Sunday, Hannah, and Will struggle to get over the balance beam, Dave, Ken, Bret, Adam, and Jay are doing very well and it’s not long before they are all working to get through the wire maze. The girls catch up, but are still moving very slowly through the maze as Jay becomes the first one to start tossing discs at the target. Will is still working on the balance beam… This is NOT Will’s challenge… Pretty soon, Dave is tossing discs, Bret is too, but Jay is on FIRE! He lands one after another as Dave and Bret frantically toss discs, but their efforts are pointless because bam bam bam – Jay wins Immunity.
Back at camp, everyone congratulates Jay, but as Ken says, Jay would have been the target had he not won Immunity – you just never know what’s going to happen in this game. Later, Will and Jay are talking. Will thinks Dave is crap at challenges, Ken is way more of a threat in that department, but Will still wants to vote out Dave first. Jay is on board with that so Will makes the rounds. Hannah says she’s good with it, Sunday nods, Bret in on board – it’s time to cut the head off the snake. And Will fancies himself quite the mastermind in this game. He says he’s the one calling the shots, everyone wants his vote and his input and blah blah blah… Will has forgotten the number ONE rule of Survivor – Don’t get too comfortable and confident. Around the fire with Ken, Dave notices all the conversations happening and he’s worried about going home. Why wouldn’t Will want to target him? Everyone thinks he’s this huge threat and why wouldn’t Will want to pad his Survivor resume a little more by following up a big game move with another? Elsewhere, Adam is talking to Jay and Will who confirm that all the votes are going towards Dave, but Adam isn’t really on board with this. He doesn’t want Will to control his fate and Will thinks he has all this control so to Adam, Will is the bigger threat. Adam has a chat with Bret about how Will will continue to flip flop back and forth to stay in power and Bret agrees – he and Sunday will both put their votes on Will. When Adam tells Hannah the new plan, she’s hesitant because Will just saved their butts, but she feels like she owes Dave some loyalty too. They both know they can’t win against Dave, but Adam says they should that next. They are in a real power position right now, they are the ones who actually have the power this week, but what should they do? Blindside Will or Dave?
To Tribal Council! After the Jury is seated, Jeff asks Will how his move impacted the tribe back at camp and he says that combined with Adam using an Idol he didn’t have to use, his move caused quite a stir. Jay agrees that as a fan, Will’s move was great, but as a player in the game… It sucked for him. When Dave is asked for his thoughts, he says that he’s definitely worried about going home and Jay says if they trust Will, Will should be sticking with “them” sooo… Hannah says it’s interesting where they are at now because almost everyone left in the game has worked both with and against everyone so it’s a matter of figuring out who actually wants to work WITH you. Adam comments that at this point, you’re thinking of who you want to go with to the end, but you also have to figure out a way to get there because everyone on the Jury made some big moves and those moves are what landed them in seats opposite of the people still in the game. So, making big moves is a double edge sword; you gotta make big moves, but that puts a target on your back. Dave agrees, no one wants to be a goat, but you gotta be careful about what you do to make your big moves and it IS time to vote! Jay has no intention of playing his Idol until he absolutely has to so Jeff gets to the votes: Dave, Dave, Will, Will, Will, Will, aaand Will.
Back at camp, it’s all about Jay and Adam. Jay still has his Idol, there are more Immunities to win, and he and Adam both know that no matter what – Jay is safe at the next Tribal even if the necklace isn’t around his neck. It’s a weird little love/hate ying yang relationship they have, but Jay says he will take Adam to the end with him if he can and both agree that Dave should not be sitting with them. Come on in, guys! It’s time for Immunity, again! And this challenge is really awesome; it’s simple, but complex because players have to put together a block puzzle, with the same logo they’ve been using on puzzles for almost every puzzle game, but they have a timer. Each player must toss a ball up a slanted platform, let it fall down a Plinko-type board while they work on the puzzle, and catch the ball before it hits the bottom of the board. If the ball hits the bottom of the slanted platform, it rolls VERY SLOWLY back and forth and down the front of the station and players CANNOT work on their puzzle until it has reached the bottom and they re-toss the ball. SO… Survivors ready? GO! Jeff cannot stress enough just how slowly that ball rolls down the front of the station and pretty much everyone suffers through the wait more than several times, but some people are making decent progress. Dave and Ken are doing well, but Ken is really onto something and thinks he has, but Jeff checks, but Ken is wrong! He’s got Millennials all messed up so he quickly works on fixing it with Adam’s help. Adam is still working on his own puzzle, but he’s keeping an eye on Ken’s ball too, which works out very well for Ken because when he calls Jeff over for the second time his puzzle is right. Ken wins Immunity!
After the challenge, Dave and Ken take to the trees on a firewood run and they are barely out of earshot when Jay begins campaigning. He calls Adam out on helping Ken, but Adam just didn’t want Dave to win and he was closest to beating Ken. Jay says that he’s voting out Dave, they – Sunday, Hannah, Bret, and Adam – can do what they want, but Jay really wants to stay at least one more week and not go home before “those two”. And that’s Adam’s plan – whether Jay plays his Idol or not, Adam is keen on Dave’s torch being snuffed. On the beach, not getting firewood, Dave and Ken are talking; Dave really wants Jay gone, but that’s not happening so their plan is to put their votes on Bret. Hannah strolls into the scene and they tell her the plan. Their voting block of four with Adam will throw one vote to Jay and put the rest on Bret knowing Sunday, Bret, and Jay will write down Dave’s name so it’ll be a tie, which they will break by all four of them voting for Bret in the re-vote sending Bret to Ponderosa. Hannah likes the plan, but she’d rather give Sunday the boot at this point because she’s worried about Adam flipping on them to take a goat like Sunday to the end. Ken and Dave are cool with this plan. Later, Adam tells Hannah and Ken that he has to put his vote on Jay tonight because he’s two Immunity wins away from taking this whole thing. For Adam’s game, it’s best if they put the majority of votes on Jay so that if he doesn’t play his Idol he goes home and if it isn’t Jay, Adam wants it to be Dave. In the hammock, later, Adam tells Jay that he has to play his Idol, but Jay is starting to get the feeling that maybe he doesn’t have to. Adam says he needs Jay to play it for his game and recognizes that Jay really wants to make it to the end like he does and then… Adam talks to Jay about his mom and how much she wants to watch Adam make it to the end. Jay tells Adam about his mom and the love/hate relationship is over; Jay thinks Adam is a good dude now. Before Tribal, Adam and Hannah talk. Hannah pushes the Sunday vote, but Adam is hesitant. She says she is too, but if they save Dave, he will be loyal to them…
To Tribal Council! Jeff wants to know from Dave if friendships and alliances matter or if it’s every person for themselves. Dave says that now more than ever you need people you can lean on; bonds are incredibly important. Jay agrees, you have to rely on alliances, but he doesn’t have anyone to lean on because all his people are gone. He’s alone in the game, but he’s not the only threat because someone else, with friends backing him up, is wearing the necklace at this Tribal Council. Jeff implies that Jay’s position in the game could be viewed from a different perspective and Dave agrees – Jay could be seen as a free agent to work with to make a big move. Jeff says that Dave has also taken a lot of heat and Dave agrees – he’s had to rely very heavily on his relationships. Adam throws some shade at Dave at this point saying that with his good bonds and transformation from start to finish, Dave has a great shot in the end. Sooo, it comes back to the same old thing – who do I take to the end, what’s the Jury thinking, blah blah blah. Jeff asks Sunday how she thinks she is perceived and she thinks people think she would be easy to beat in the end, but she thinks she’s underestimated. After Adam reiterates that everyone has been playing their own game and that they are all considering how the Jury feels, it’s time to vote! When Jeff asks the question we all know is coming, Jay decides not to risk it and plays his Idol, reluctantly albeit, but he plays it. The votes: Jay, Dave, Dave, Sunday, Sunday, Sunday, aaand Jay is regretting playing his Idol right about now because the last vote is for Sunday.
Next time on Survivor… It’s finale night and it looks like Dave is going to make a fake Idol! That should be fun! And don’t forget about the Legacy Advantage because Ken will be using it. If you love Survivor like me, check out ALL my Survivor blogs for Your Reality Recaps – If you like the Amazing Race and King of the Nerds – check those out too (I did the All Stars 2 season of TAR)… AAAND… Big Brother 18 aaand check out all of Eric’s Big Brother Over the Top interveiws!. Be sure to join the Patreon program and use Eric’s Amazon link when shopping there if you really love what you see here at YRR! Love you all! xoxox
