Survivor 47 Recap: Advantages Complicate an Already Chaotic Vote

It’s only been a week in Survivor time and already, everyone’s getting on each other’s nerves. I’ve never played a cutthroat social game on the beaches of Fiji, but I can only assume that it doesn’t take long for the hunger and sleep deprivation to kick in (especially without rice). Wednesday’s episode only confirms my assumptions.

“We’ve been sawing it. That’s been more successful, Sam.” When Anika uttered these words — referring to the method of cutting Gata’s newly constructed clothesline — that’s the moment I thought Sam was going to lose it. And the man was already chopping away erratically with a large machete! Yes, Sam has had it with Anika and unfortunately for him, they’re only a little under a week into the game. While she is stepping up to be a leader for her tribe, Anika does seem to always get her way, a point of contention that’s really grating on poor Sam. Anika claims to know “scientifically and mathematically” that the clothesline won’t hold. (I don’t understand how one crunches those numbers. Or what those numbers even are. But OK.) She also apparently wants to make their bamboo shelter the Ritz Carlton, says Sam. He bites his tongue like a good little soldier, but let’s face it: He’s probably wondering how one correctly spells “Anika” for the next time Gata finds itself at Tribal Council.

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Things aren’t looking much better over at Lavo either. Rome’s nonstop blabbing about the dos and don’ts of fishing have gotten most of the tribe wound up, though ignoring him and talking smack behind his back seem to be a salve. Rome is peeved that his tribe won’t fill the pot or start the fire for him while he fishes, so what does he do? He eats half of the fish he catches right in front of their faces! Yes, the fish were teeny, but it’s still pretty bold, to say the least. Did the idol give this guy a false sense of security? Maybe so, maybe no, but either way, he’s lucky he found that sucker.

Survivor 47 Recap Episode 3
Survivor 47 Recap Episode 3

JOURNEY | When a boat comes to collect one castaway from each beach, the tribes make some peculiar choices on who to send. Lone wolf Kyle goes for Tuku, while Rome and Anika head out for Lavo and Gata, respectively. The second they hit the beach, information starts flying! Rome tells the other two that Sol and Aysha are running the show at his tribe. Are they? Doesn’t matter because that’s the story he’s selling in order to place targets on their backs! Perception is reality, right?

Though it’s nice to see the journeys changed up a bit, am I the only one who feels they’re running out of steam? Despite all of the variations, they still feel pretty samey to me. Alas, there’s a bag for each player with three packages inside. Each player has a 1-in-3 chance of pulling out an advantage. If they pull a Lose Your Vote, they have the option of risking a second vote and picking again. Kyle and Anika both lose a vote and opt to end the game. Rome, however, is luckier. He snags the advantage on his first pluck. It’s a Steal-a-Vote, which could be exactly what Rome needs. Along with his idol, the guy’s got a lot of goodies!

Sam doesn’t trust Anika’s story about her journey because he didn’t really trust her to begin with. While she lies to her tribe, she tells Rachel and Sierra the truth. Rome lies to his entire tribe, but tells Teeny the truth. WHY!?!? He already knows she did him dirty with the whole idol box fiasco! Why would he tell her another one of his secrets? It’s a big flex, but is this a move made strictly by his ego? Regardless, Teeny tells us that it does push her closer to aligning with him, so what do I know? She thinks he’s loyal and is happy to enter the merge alongside him, Kishan and Genevieve.

Survivor 47 Recap Episode 3
Survivor 47 Recap Episode 3

LAVO LOSERS | After coming in last at the immunity challenge, Sol tells us he doesn’t believe Rome’s journey story. Aysha wants to target Rome, but knows he’s got something up his sleeve. Teeny and Kishan play the middle, with Teeny planting seeds with Aysha to try and salvage the relationship in case Aysha stays. Teeny makes a good case to Rome for voting out Sol. He doesn’t like the guy, so it’s an easy sell. When Rome lies to Sol about the vote being on Aysha, Sol sees right through it. Meanwhile, Kishan and Teeny tell Aysha that Rome might use his idol on Genevieve, so the only vote remaining is Sol, to which Aysha digs her heels in. She doesn’t want to vote Sol. At. All. This Tribal’s about to be a hot mess.

THE TRIBE HAS SPOKEN | Based on their answers to Jeff’s first questions, Sol and Aysha don’t seem to trust anything that anyone says. Kishan says he’s true to the “core four,” and that is way too much information to reveal, especially if you don’t want the other two (or your target) to whip out their Shots in the Dark. As the tribe continues to answer the host’s questions, there’s paranoia all over their faces. Sol and Aysha sneak glances at each other, which puts Teeny on high alert, causing her to hesitate in the voting booth.

Rome predictably plays his idol since it was only good for one Tribal. Zero Shots in the Dark are played. One vote for Rome is cancelled out. Beyond that, the votes are all over the place. Aysha, Genevieve and Sol get one vote apiece, but the last two parchments read “Aysha,” so Jeff promptly snuffs the podcaster’s torch. (Read our Q&A with Aysha here.)

What was up with all those votes and did you predict Aysha’s exit? Go full tilt boogie in that comments section!

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