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CBS's Survivor was back with an episode on Wednesday that saw the game change as the evening proceeded. Mind games got the best of some castaways, and a group of players took a powerful stand against one of the most extensive patterns in the history of the franchise. In this week's episode, the show saw the newly merged tribe Kula Kula face the risk of a double elimination.
Viewers of Survivor have seen alliances shake-up since the beginning, considering the format of the game. But Episode 9 had twists and turns that no one saw coming.
Elimination results, immunity challenge, and more from CBS' Survivor
Following Chanelle's elimination last week on Survivor, Romeo was annoyed with his votes and decided that he would now play the game by creating his own strategy. Hai was shocked at one of the votes against him and was quick to realize that it was Romeo. The co-star lied by saying that it wasn't his vote, but a cut-back to the previous episode showed Romeo confessing that he wanted to see his fellow castaway "squirm."
Meanwhile, Rocksroy suggested an all-male alliance with Jonathan and Mike, which they agreed to. He then pitched it to Omar, who felt that the alliance was a bad idea. Omar also thought it was random, considering that the one who was pitching it had never tried to form any alliances before. When it was pitched to Hai, he denied stating that he wasn't a part of the "misogyny club."
At the immunity challenge, the tribe was split into two groups of five, and the contestants were asked to stand on a triangular in rough water with their feet perched on narrow footholds. If they fall into the water or touch the foothold, they are out. Both teams will go to the Tribal Council. Two immunity necklaces, one from each team, were up for grabs.
The one who wins the challenge gains beef and kebabs for their team, as well as the advantage of going second into eliminations and knowing who joins Chanelle in the jury. The teams on this episode of Survivor were:
- Team Blue: Lindsay, Tori, Jonathan, Drea, and Maryanne
- Team Orange: Hai, Romeo, Mike, Omar, and Rocksroy
The rocky waters made it easier for the first string of contestants to fall into the water. Hai won immunity for Team Orange and Jonathan for Team Blue. One of them would win the challenge and get their team the required advantage. Jonathan was the winner who was safe from elimination, as well as the initiator of the mind games to follow.
Team Orange spent the day at Taku camp, and Romeo was skeptical of his chances of being safe, considering his previous argument with Hai and his weak relationships with the other members of the team.
While Mike and Rocksroy decided to not vote each other off, things quickly changed when Hai convinced the former to vote for the latter. The immunity winner thought that he wouldn't get his emotions to take charge and play the game strategically on Survivor.
Jonathan, on the other hand, convinced everyone to vote Drea off and told Drea that they were voting Maryanne off. However, the plan didn't sit well with Maryanne and Lindsay. The latter felt that he wasn't very strategic because Drea could choose to play her idol. This would put Maryanne at risk and decrease the Taku tribe's numbers. However, everything changed at the Survivor Tribal Council.
Hai somehow managed to convince everyone to vote off Rocksroy. Surprised at the turn of events, Rocksroy had no choice but to leave the competition and join Chanelle on the jury.
The next team was utterly shocked at Rocksroy's elimination, and this changed the game plan for two contestants with immunity idols. Drea and Maryanne were seemingly upset at the elimination and revealed their concerns about black people being voted out because of a subconscious bias.
Both of them played their immunity idols after a long emotional conversation about race and how they wanted to ensure that there were not three Black castaways voted off in a row at the merge.
As the game evolved, the choice was between Lindsay and Tori. The latter knew she was in danger and wanted to play her shot in the dark, which revealed she was unsafe and hence, was voted out of the competition.
This week's episode proved to viewers that situations always have the potential to take unexpected turns on Survivor. None of the contestants trust one another. However, the conversation about race did strike a chord with fans, as they applauded both Drea and Maryanne for taking a stand.
Many more challenges and twists await the castaways in the next episode, and it remains to be seen if they will eye Jonathan as the next in line for elimination. Readers can tune in to Survivor next week on Wednesday at 8.00 pm ET on CBS to find out.
