Survivor 42, Episode 4 - Vibe of the Tribe
Fresh off voting Marya out at Tribal Council, TAKU is out idol hunting as a tribe and Maryanne discovers the 2nd Beware Advantage. At VATI, Daniel’s neurotic ways begin to take over as he pressures Mike for more info about the advantage. At the Immunity Challenge Jonathan single handedly puts TAKU on his back to win 1st place while the other tribes aren’t able to complete the challenge without a Survivor first. Lastly, at Tribal Council, VATI found themselves in a re-vote between Lydia and Jenny, but because of Mike’s Beware Advantage and Chanelle’s Risk at the Prisoner’s Dilemma, Daniel and Hai are the only ones left to cast a vote. Hai makes his move and Jenny is sent home 4th! Who will be voted out next?
VATI (Post Tribal)
“Tribal Council was a disaster for me…I feel like I totally, totally screwed up.” - Daniel
“Either I adapt or I’m a dinosaur.” - Mike
The word of the night at VATI post Tribal Council is blindside. Now, that shouldn’t seem so crazy but Chanelle and Mike not being able to vote, plus Daniel’s miscalculations, plus Hai’s move equals Chanelle throwing former #1 Daniel under the bus, Hai connecting with Mike, and Daniel wondering why Chanelle has no blood on her hands.
Going forward, things are looking pretty unfavorable for Daniel. He feels like he totally screwed up and I know he’s right. It’s especially true because as far as we can tell this transgression is carrying the largest target with it. His actions aren’t like say Rocksroy’s actions have been. There is a big difference between being bossy and annoying at camp and completely flipping on someone at Tribal and reversing your vote to send Jenny home.
REWARD CHALLENGE
3 people unbraid a rope, control the rope as they maneuver over and under a steeplechase, unbraid the rope again, ring toss to hook a sled to pull it in, and lastly shooting balls into the long vertical basket.
REWARD - 10 fish
TAKU runs away with it. Not even close. Jonathan aka the Incredible Hulk led them to a blowout reward win.
After winning the reward and the fish filet begins, the word vomit catches up with Jonathan. He acknowledged the “tight 4” at TAKU and the “Davids” of the tribe are taken back by their Goliath’s unnecessary information share in the wake of their blowout victory.
IKA (Post Reward)
Rocksroy bossing Romeo around. At first thought you would think that this type of behavior would be instantly infuriating and a one way ticket to Ponderosa. However, the key to understanding Rocksroy is knowing that his bossy approach to the game isn’t a major threat in the bigger game, the more important game, the million dollar game. So, you keep him around, let him stamp his feet in the sandbox a little, and use his vote to snuff out the larger threats and increase your power.
Speaking of power, Swati feels out of the loop of power and wants to blindside Drea. Swati goes to Tori, who the others want out, and suggests Rocksroy. Tori reveals Drea has the extra vote and that she is her target. Rocksroy tells Drea. Tori is dead again and Swati knows it. Will cut her loose.
This is exactly why Rocksroy has some staying power on the IKA tribe. He’s someone people think they can pull in because he seems to have little social strategy. Then, he blows up your spot while showing an allegiance to Drea by spilling the beans about Tori’s plan. In other words he is a pawn caught between the other IKA members who are jockeying for the real power on the tribe.
IMMUNITY CHALLENGE
Maryanne strikes out again with her secret phrase to activate her idol. Mike keeps his mouth shut. Apparently nobody on IKA has even looked, well except Tori who is still trying to dig herself out from it. Maybe the bunny rabbits will keep eating in the mailbox for no reason for Maryanne. Now, onto the challenge.
2 people dive in water and swim tethered to a boat with other 2 people in it, climb up ramp, jump off and grab a key x2,
Swimmers - Swati/Tori (IKA), Jonathan/Maryanne (TAKU), Mike/Hai (VATI)
Jumpers - Drea/Rocksroy (IKA), Lindsay/Omar (TAKU), Lydia/Chanelle (VATI)
Fish Puzzlers - Omar/Maryanne (TAKU), Drea/Swati (IKA), Chanelle/Lydia (VATI)
Story of this challenge was, you guessed it, Jonathan. The Incredible Hulk turned into Aquaman single-handedly pulling the boat through both stages and giving his puzzle people a large enough lead in the puzzle that they easily win 1st place! Again.
So who’s going to Tribal? IKA had a sizable lead because of Lydia’s 0-2 jumps for keys. But, in the end it always comes down to the puzzle. Drea/Swati with a lead and Lydia/Chanelle breathing down their necks. In the end, Lydia/Chanelle were able to edge them out by two pieces, complete the comeback, and pack IKA’s bags for Tribal Council. Great challenge, awesome puzzle, and a great finish.
Was happy that IKA lost because that tribe just needs to blow up on itself at Tribal Council especially after literally being no showed in the previous episode. Now, things look bleek for Tori because her sharing information in an attempt to build an alliance has backfired on her. Hey, this is the new era of Survivor, and that means all information will be used against you. She
PRE-TRIBAL SCRAMBLE (IKA)
So in Survivor 42 when you think it’s ridiculous that every piece of information you share is then shared with everyone. But, what it seems to come down to most of all is the level of the information that gets shared with everyone. In other words, Tori sharing information with Rocks about working with her and Swati can cause Tori to be on the hot seat when that plan is shared by Rocks with Drea and Romeo…
BUT
When Tori is pressed against the wall by that, she can also play the “share more information card” of revealing that Swati was behind the idea and that Tori was her number one. Ding Ding Ding. Swati telling Tori that she was her number one is top shelf information because Swati told Romeo, Drea, and Tori that they were her number one. When you convey to someone that they are your number one, it carries more weight than Tori trying to scramble and it blowing up, Rocksroy dishing out commands around camp, and Drea having an EXTRA VOTE advantage. Information is power and this power source has different levels.
The lesson is when your information is being shared with everyone and used against you, fight back with the same weapon because yours might be more powerful. Find those cracks Tori!
TRIBAL COUNCIL
Jeff begins Tribal by asking Drea about the vibe of this tribe. My read on the vibe at IKA is information is power and the decision the tribe has to make is “Who is the greatest agent of chaos?” on this tribe. The vote is either Swati or Tori and this vote will determine a direction for this tribe.
VOTES
Swati 3
Tori 1
Swati - No Vote (Shot in Dark - Not Safe)
On the one hand I love anyone bringing up the GOAT and paying their respects to him as their final words. But, for 20 year old, green as freshly cut grass Swati to put herself on the same trajectory and outlook of potential as Boston Rob has me feeling like this.
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