Survivor 47 | Ep. 2
LAVO - Day 4
The action begins on episode 2 with what else? The Beware Advantage. Rome found it in episode 1 and he is picking up where he left off with desperately scrambling to seize the advantage. I love that he’s willing to dig it up in the middle of the night and try to maximize his incognito acquisition of the advantage.
No surprise in the new era when he uses the knowledge of the advantage to build trust. He chooses Teeny. Of course he does. Everyone at LAVO is choosing Teeny. This comes as no surprise. He drags her out of camp and to the box despite not being able to read what it says in the dark of night. Like a kid who knows where the presents are hidden, he cannot help himself.
My sense on the 3 tribe stage Beware Advantage is don’t be afraid to take the short term gains. In other words, when there is only 6 people in the tribe and it’s the beginning of the game, the best use of whatever the Beware Advantage holds, is better for instant trust building and safety in the first Tribal Council. Although any player would want to save it for a “big move”, in this case, I feel strongly that the best move for this stage of the game is to tell someone to build trust, guarantee a second Tribal Council, and move on. There will be more advantages later.
Rome must be reading my blog because he uses his Beware Advantage to gain trust with Teeny, however, Teeny then takes that trust and spits at it. In the new era, we know that Knowledge is Power and so Teeny uses this power to try and build trust of her own with Kishan. She brings Kishan to the hidden box and they even read the stipulations.
Then…
Rome shows up and the trust he thought he was building with Teeny is smushed. She gets caught in being distrustful to Rome by spilling the beans on his advantage. Tough look for Teeny. Good look for Rome. This has to actually lower his threat level or at least kick Teeny’s threat level up a couple crucial notches. Plus, Rome follows the second piece of advice previously blogged about, he decides to cash in the advantage to be good for one Tribal only, ensure safety, and point his target at Teeny.
TUKU - Day 4
The alliances are brewing at TUKU. TK trusts Kyle and doesn’t trust Gabe. Tiyana (flight attendant) is approached by TK and Gabe’s sketchy behavior was clearly on everyone’s radar and Tiyana/TK confirm it.
The lesson to learn from Gabe is if you find the Beware Advantage you better not be sloppy in your search. TK caught Gabe in the act, and like at LAVO, that knowledge is power, and in this case, it will be used against you. Not looking great for Gabe, especially because he strikes me as a “won’t use the idol at first Tribal” kind of guy, but it. seems like if TUKU goes, that would be a smart move for Gabe.
TK, Kyle, and Tiyana are bonding at the water well, so we will put a bookmark in that.
GATA - Day 4
The vibe at GATA is an interesting one. Anika is spot on saying that Andy is giving “toxic, clingy boyfriend” vibes because he’s the kind of man who needs positive “words of affirmation”. And, he needs it so much so that it isn’t clear if Andy realizes how FAKE the cheering for his coconut opening from Rachel, Anika, Sierra, and Sam is. There’s a certain look in his eye that tells me he’s oblivious to the entire situation.
Then, Sam (my winner pick) brings us in on his babysitting duty. In other words, Andy is a loose cannon a la Bhanu (s46) and the other four know this and all agree that he’s the next one out so long as he doesn’t find any advantages. At this point I believe that Andy’s flaws will actually make him the next one voted out at GATA. He can’t be trusted, he can’t be relied upon, and he’s capable of melting down again which could ruin anyone else’s game. Sam is doing his darndest to build a relationship with Andy as a fail safe. Smart right?
The minute that Sam leaves Andy alone, the loose cannon proves why he’s loose. Sam is not a very good babysitter because Andy quickly finds the Beware Advantage, but leaves it to BRAINSTORM??? Like we said in the last paragraphs folks, this guy cannot be trusted, is a total loose cannon, and will be the next person voted out of GATA. If the advantage is still there after Andy’s brainstorm session, my sense is he will be as sloppy as they get. My guess is he tells Sam about it and we will find out about Sam’s strategy from it.
LAVO - Day 4
I like Kishan’s assessment of Rome. I think he’s got him pinned. Kishan tells us that Rome is the guy “with a Survivor bucket list” involving the advantages, fire, and even says aloud that he wants to be the one from 47 to be featured on “On Fire with Jeff Probst” podcast.
WHAAATTT?!?!?!?!
It seems crazy to me that this guy would actually say this to the tribe. Well at least we have confirmed that Rome is NOT self aware and feels either really young and delusional. There is no chance he goes far in the game. No chance.
GATA - Day 4
Sam and Anika go looking for the idol to beat Andy to the punch, so of course, they find it, quickly open it, dig up the next clue, and sprint to the next clue which includes hundreds of knots! They abandon ship for now and Sam goes to tell Sierra and Anika tells Rachel.
We learn that Sam’s #1 is Sierra and that he doesn’t want the secret of the clue to be with only Anika, nor does he want Anika to tell Rachel without he himself telling Rachel. Sam is covering his tracks. He found the advantage and he’s controlling the pressure valve of it by telling everyone, this way he gains the power of it, builds trust, and lowers his threat level by not keeping a secret, except with Andy.
Andy’s brainstorm ends and he goes to find the Beware Advantage he left behind, but to his surprise it’s gone and like we predicted he told Sam about it. His next brainstorm was to blame it on one of the girls finding it. AKA Andy needs someone to trust and Sam is all ears. Given all of this, I don’t think there is any harm for Sam in having Andy as an ally, but he has to let Andy lead that partnership. In other words, if Andy says the girls took it, go along with it. If Andy wants to vote out _____, agree with him. Sam can always throw him under the bus that way because it will be Andy’s ideas, not Sam. Should someone else like his #1 Sierra be interested in taking out say, Anika, then Sam can be like Leo DiCaprio and inception the idea of it into Andy’s brain and the 3 of them can do it.
Lot of meat on the GATA bone.
TUKU - Day 4
TK, Tiyana, and Kyle are “bringing Gabe in” on Sue being the first to go. Gabe goes along with it and takes this information to Caroline, but she isn’t buying it, and tells him. In an attempt to build trust, he shows Caroline the idol and has told Sue about it. Now, we are learning Sue is good with this 3. Gabe is thinking about the end with Caroline and Sue.
My early assessment is this tribe is trying to go through the Survivor checklist of things to do and say because they’ve all watched the show and know that things like “I really want to work with you” or “this 3 to the end” etc. are the things you’re supposed to say in this stage, but like Caroline felt with Gabe, there’s still a disconnect. Maybe they just need to lose the challenge to really help them take shape as a tribe.
Sue grows on me when she is trying to sleep on the beach and is frustrated by TK’s “male dominant” way of talking. Tiyana isn’t vibing with him either.
We will put a bookmark in this.
GATA - Day 4
Sam and Sierra dig up the box and he has decided to “share” this experience with her. They find the box has the 1 Tribal idol or the option to take on another task for the 3 Tribal, but Sam wisely takes the 1 Tribal idol.
Now, in the very next breath, Sam proposes the idea to Sierra to use the idol on Andy and save him. Sam is looking to swing for the fences with his new found power and I think it’s foolish. It’s foolish because you don’t win Survivor in this phase of the game. Using the idol on Andy and taking out Anika won’t help you win the game. The big move isn’t that obvious and doesn’t need to happen on day 4.
If I was Sam I would have taken the small wins and been happy. Finding the advantage, building trust with everyone, sharing the experience with Sierra, and saving yourself at the next Tribal Council is totally fine. In basketball terms, take the layups when there is nothing in your way, don’t stop and heave a 50 foot prayer. Take the high percentage moves at this stage. Ensure your safety and move on with your #1 and find the next idol.
IMMUNITY CHALLENGE - Day 5
REWARD - 1st Place Large Fishing Kit, 2nd Place Small Fishing Kit
Phase 1 - Water to Shore
I love when they start 100 feet into the water and dive in. The water is incredibly beautiful. For this challenge I love that they used a bag of rice as the "baton” of this phase that needs to be retreived and maneuvered through the water and wall and up on to the beach. Love the symbolism.
Phase 2 - Blind Table Maze & Ball Retrieval
Clever idea to make the table maze a blind challenge in order to retrieve the key within the bag of rice to get the ball for the 3 person snake maze to win the challenge. GATA was first to get their ball, but not without Andy’s awkward stabbing of the rice bag. It was uncomfortable to watch him stab the bag. His unpredictability is too much.
TUKU and LAVO are right behind them.
Phase 3 - Snake Puzzle
GATA - Sam, Anika, Sierra
LAVO - Rome, Genevieve, Kishan
TUKU - TK, Gabe, Kyle
Sam and Anika lead the charge to win the challenge for GATA and earn the large fishing kit reward, immunity, and their flint. LAVO edges TUKU to win the small fishing kit and avoid Tribal.
Another takeaway was Rachel was pocketing rice in her back pocket during the challenge. Smart move, until Jeff calls her out after the challenge. This actually shocked me. I get that there’s rules that say she can’t do that but as a viewer we don’t know that, so it comes across as only detrimental to Rachel’s game. Everyone at LAVO and TUKU learns she is crafty.
The scene ends with TK reading his tribe the riot act of his zero tolerance with losing. If I try to read the tea leaves of who is in danger at Tribal, it feels like TK better sure up the votes. Sue is coming for him.
PRE-TRIBAL COUNCIL SCRAMBLE - Day 5
TK thinks he needs to be the leader and tell everyone what’s going down at the vote. Tiyana is pissed at TK’s inability to apologize and take accountability. We learn that Kyle is capable of bringing the two of them together and squashing the beef. Wow, very impressive Kyle. Kyle is the olive branch between the two of them and helped TK and Tiyana communicate what happened after the challenge AND be able to convey the plan of voting Sue that he originally wanted.
TK sees Gabe as the 4th vote and can’t see how his desire to control is about to be turned on him. Gabe has his own plans and once again, knowledge is power. Gabe is using the knowledge of TK’s plan to communicate to build trust with Sue and Caroline. So, the swing vote seems to be Tiyana. The choice she’s faced with is to vote Sue out aka choose physical strength (TK, Kyle plan) or vote TK out aka choose social connections (Sue, Caroline, Gabe plan).
Prediction: Tiyana chooses social connections and votes out TK.
TRIBAL COUNCIL - Night 5
Sue is coming out firing immediately by calling out the bromance she saw and that the men want to be in the power position. Nothing politically correct about her answer. Sue opened herself up to damage. TK calls her out about it and the tension at Tribal is elevated.
Gabe’s attempt to channel his inner Tarzan and Indiana Jones showing his enthusiasm for idol hunting triggers Jeff to be the audience watching and call out the entire new era. Gabe fits the mold of wearing your heart on your sleeve and being very open and honest about who you are, your strategy, and your intentions. Dangerous approach, but Jeff is right, it has become common place in the new era.
Makes me wonder how a season 50 with combining players from 1-40 with new era 41-49 would work when it comes to gameplay. Not many from 1-40, who were successful, played like Gabe.
GABE PLAYS THE IMMUNITY IDOL FOR HIMSELF
VOTES
TK - 4
SUE - 2
BOOM!!!!
You have to love when guys like TK come on Survivor and think they are going to approach the game like they did playing sports - I have to be the leader, I’m taking control, and I know best. It rarely works. Survivor is about building relationships with strangers, not getting pissed off about losing and calling people out about it. Survivor is about listening to others and being adaptable to an ever changing landscape, not simplifying the game and seeing only one angle. Clearly, TK didn’t get these memos nor any others.
“Maybe my personality was a little too ripe…if they don’t value winning, they don’t value winning and honestly by this decision they don’t value winning.” - TK
This sums it all up. TK leaves the show exactly how he came into it. He didn’t learn anything from the game, but rather reinforced what he already was. That’s why TK is the first one voted out at TUKU and second overall. Poor Kyle couldn’t believe it and now we will see how good he really can be playing from the bottom.
We said earlier in the blog that TUKU seemed a bit uncertain who they were and that none of them were really vibing. After going to one Tribal, we’ve now learned that they value social connections over physical strength and that there may be more to this budding alliance of Gabe, Sue, Caroline and newly acquired swing voter Tiyana.
Thanks for reading the blog. I appreciate the support. Please be sure to Like, Follow, and Subscribe to the blog and my podcast - The ReRACEables Podcast covering The Amazing Race. Info and links below.
The blog has spoken!!!
Follow my blog Website - www.tribalcouncilblog.com
Instagram - @tribalcouncilblog - Click here and Follow the Instagram
Facebook - @tribalcouncilblog - Click here and Outlike, Outcomment, and Outshare
Twitter - @TribalCouncBlog - Click here and Follow
YouTube channel - Click here and Like and Subscribe
