“Vote Early, Vote Often”
The twists kept coming this week on Survivor: Game Changers. As the tribes were making their way to what many thought was a reward challenge, a challenge was not held. Instead, Jeff Probst uttered the three words that will always be a game changer: “Drop Your Buffs”.
Gone was the Tavua tribe, as the group went from three tribes back down to two (Mana and Nuku). Also gone was Debbie, who drew the lone cloth that did not have a buff in it. That meant that Debbie had a trip to Exile Island waiting for her, where she would spend the entire day alone. Or so she, and the other castaways thought.
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As it turned out, Exile was actually the name of a Yacht that they took Debbie to. This yacht featured a feast of all kinds of food and drinks that Survivors dream of during the game. Perhaps more important than that was the visit from former castaway, and a winner, John Cochran. Cochran was there to offer advice and a choice of three advantages: A kit to build a fake idol, an extra vote, and an advantage for her tribe in the next immunity challenge. Debbie ultimately chose the extra vote.
Back at camp, Brad and Troyzan bonded as the lone men in the Mana tribe. At Nuku, Zeke wasted no time going after Sandra, who he believed was the biggest threat. Having found an immunity idol while in the Mana tribe, Tai used the same clue to find another immunity idol at Nuku’s camp.
Mana won a grueling immunity challenge to send Nuku to Tribal Council. Zeke successfully orchestrated a plan to vote out Sandra. All the while, making Sandra and Varner believe that he (Zeke) was targeting Tai.
However, Tai exposed the plan to Varner, who then relayed that to Sandra. Despite all her attempts to sway the vote to Tai due to his paranoia and unpredictability, the majority stuck to Zeke’s plan. As a result, Sandra had her torch snuffed out for the first time in 94 days of playing Survivor. (She won the only two other seasons she played).
Let’s break things down.
Strongest Survivor
Mana: Brad
This one is almost by default, as there was not really anyone member of Mana that distinctly stuck out as the Strongest Survivor. Brad has been a strong player all season long up to this point. It was a wise move for him to form an alliance with Troyzan. However, it will be interesting to see where that goes from here.
Nuku: Zeke
This probably could have gone to Ozzy as well, but Zeke was ultimately the Strongest Survivor this week. While Ozzy did his usual thing of dominating physical challenges, Zeke immediately wanted to go after Sandra. He wasted no time taking it upon himself to make that happen.
It was no easy task, but Zeke was able to bring the majority of the tribe together – with the help of the fact that everybody agreed that it was best to vote out Sandra. We’ll see if he decides to go after Tai next week.
Soon To Be Snuffed:
Mana: Troyzan
Despite forming an alliance with Brad, and having an immunity idol, Troyzan still finds himself on the bottom. Troyzan and Brad have Sierra in their alliance, but they are still having trouble finding one more person to give them the majority.
This could lead Troyzan to use his idol sooner than he planned. However, it may not be a bad move given that he could be on his way home if he doesn’t.
Nuku: Tai
Although Tai has not one, but two, immunity idols, he is still very much at the bottom of the Nuku tribe. It was a great move on his part to look for the idol at Nuku’s water well after finding one at Manu’s water well, but it all went downhill from there for Tai.
His paranoia got the best of him. He revealed to Varner that Sandra was the intended target, which angered the rest of the tribe. Although the tribe is unaware of his idols, they are aware of his paranoia and unpredictability, which could very well lead to a blindside.
Next week, things reach a new level at the Mana tribe. Meanwhile, at Nuku, alliances appear to be crumbling while new alliances are formed.
Survivor: Game Changers airs Wednesday nights at 8 et on CBS