Survivor Update - Week 7

 

We return to Merge camp following Soda and Tim’s departures.  I still can’t believe they had a shot at Hunter and didn’t take it.  Yeah, he has an idol but they don’t know that.  He has “run the immunity challenge table” vibes written all over him.  Q wants to talk game but everyone else is too wrung out from tribal to do it. Venus calls out Tevin’s “honesty” bullshit, saying she knew he voted for her. Tevin voted Venus so he could honestly tell Soda he never voted for her despite engineering her blindside (1 point for “Reference ‘in this game’” to Jay!). Liz laughs at that because tossing Soda was her idea in the first place. Like your intrepid gamemaster, Kenzie is shocked that Venus is still hanging around, and even more shocked that she’s taking credit for Soda’s ouster. 

 In the morning, Charlie notes that every important conversation happens at sunrise (1 point for “Reference “in this game”’ to Kristyn!).  Q finally decides Charlie is worthy to recruit into the wider alliance, as they see him too weak to turn against them. Maria tells him she wanted him in the whole time.  Charlie sees it as a good path forward but he’s not locking himself to them.  Smart move.

 Being bored, Q decides the castaways should play hide and seek, but he has ulterior motives.  He’s evaluating how hard people try in a game that doesn’t matter to apply that level of thinking to the real game, which Venus does as well. It’s a stretch but they’re working on no food and little sleep so I’ll allow it.  Ben and Hunter win the game.  Ben by covering himself in some deep grass and Hunter of course, by hiding in a tree directly above camp.  Q sees both of these as tremendously revealing. 

Sure, guy.  You’ve been there two and a half weeks and needed a hide and seek game to see Ben being quietly undercover and Hunter using smarts and physical gifts to outplay people. 

 

After the game, Venus wants to make sure Tevin knows she was the first person to pull off a blindside.  Building a resume is difficult, but it’s more difficult when you’re a self-aggrandizing dipshit.  Somehow, Tevin keeps a straight face and allows her to keep her moment of victory but as she walks away, he cackles like a villainous Axel Foley saying she needs to go.

 

Tevin may act like a mastermind but she’s playing too. Tiffany, approached by Tevin about Venus, doesn’t see the rush to get the self-aggrandizer out, as she’s more of a nuisance than a threat.  (1 point for “Reference ‘in this game’” to Brian!) Smart girl! When he presses for who else she’d target, she waffles saying she won’t know until after the immunity challenge. Not immediately conforming to Venus is “not aligning to what the Six wants”, according to Tevin and is a huge red flag for Tevin. Side note: EVERYTHING THAT ISN’T IN COMPLETE LOCKSET WITH TEVIN IS A RED FLAG FOR TEVIN.   When Tevin brings that to Q, the latter says he’s fine with Tiffany going because “she’s playing the old Survivor, and that’s not the Q game and you have to play Q’s game”.  One sees red flags everywhere, the other insists everyone plays his game.  That confrontation will be epic!

 When Q asks who she’d go after, Tiffany makes a mistake naming Maria (who is in the Six alliance).  That tells Q she’s not really with the alliance, which is all the push he needs to sell her out.  He immediately tells Maria about Tiffany’s idol, and she agrees with Charlie to go after Tiff.  It’s tough for Q since she’s been his #1 but that’s how easy it is to get whacked in this organization.

 

 At the immunity challenge, it’s a classic.  Hold onto the pole as long as you can.  Jeff offers  a bag of rice for four (4) sit-outs, or if two (2) give up their vote. Liz and Q would sit out but no one else offers, which really ticks Q off.  And if we have learned anything about Q, he does not control his emotions well.  Half the tribe drops in minutes, including Q.  Tevin and Tiffany drop about 15 minutes in and it’s quickly down to Charlie vs. (surprise, surprise) MacGyver.  Charlie is giving it everything he has, even holding on with his fingertips (10 points for “Jeff says ‘that’s how you do it on Survivor’” about your player to Kristyn!)  but he cannot outlast MacGyver (8 points for “Win individual immunity” to Roberta!)

 Back at camp, MacGyver wants Tiffany out and Q is indeed frustrated that they gave up rice, knowing they’d never beat Hunter.  Liz asks herself if she wants to be in the game, or to play the game (1 point for “Reference ‘in this game’” to Ricky!). She suggests going after Tevin to the former Siga’s (Maria, Charlie, Ben).  Venus is on board too, and Ben sells Tevin to Kenzie, who’s more than happy to take a back seat for a vote as Yanu had been directing the last few. (1 point for “Reference ‘in this game” to Marissa!). Tiffany is also happy to go after Tevin since he has an extra vote (1 point for “Reference ‘in this game’ to Brian!), but she has to tell Q about it and in a moment of complete self-unawareness, he’s aggravated that the vote changed last minute.  I think what’s truly eating at him is the complete dud of an “alliance he “formed”.   

 Let’s take a quick Six Alliance (Q, Tim, Hunter, Tevin, Tiffany, Maria) inventory:

•          Q and Tevin seem to believe in it
•          Maria and Charlie who will turn on them the second they think they can get away with it
•          Hunter, who can’t stand them
•          Tiffany who’s actively tossing alliance member names out
•          Tim, who’s already been voted out.

 

 

Tiffany puts a final knife in Q’s alliance telling him to get on board with Tevin or he could be next.   Liz tells Q to not tell Hunter or Tevin about the vote, but Q can’t keep quiet.  As Carol noted while watching, Q breaks rules #1 and #2  (STFU and Trust But Verify).  His game, the one EVERYONE has to play OR ELSE, is based on control and he’s not in control.  Upon hearing the news, MacGyver goes into damage control mode (1 point for “Reference ‘in this game’” to Roberta!).  While he’s trying to mend fences with Q, Charlie and Maria, Venus decides she wants to listen in but she’s completely rebuffed which leads MacGyver to ask why should the vote be between Tevin and Tiffany?  Why don’t they just don’t vote Venus out.  YES, PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD DO THAT! THAT’S WHY I DRAFTED HER!   

 Anyway

 At tribal, Jeff starts with the rice negotiation which Q acknowledges caused a tempter tantrum.  Then, from out of nowhere, Q dusts off his cross, plants it firmly in the ground and climbs back up saying the only person going home tonight is him.  He wants everyone to vote for him because of the mistake he made. Henceforth, he shall be named The Martyr.   This is news to everyone and no one understands what’s going on.  Tiff says this is coming out of left field but this is at least the 2^nd time he's said it, and maybe the 3^rd.   Tribal devolves into brilliant chaos of side chatter and it’s completely up in the air.  After a few minutes, Charlie tells Tiffany she doesn’t need to play her idol which leads Tiffany to ask how he knew about it at all.  Another Q mistake.  The tribe all agree.... 

 

At the vote, no one votes for Q (and I wouldn’t have either).   My girl Venus gets 2 votes but it’s Tevin who gets the other 8 and is voted out, becoming the 2^nd member of the jury (2 points for “Received vote against” for me!) and (8 points for “Received vote against”, -2 points for “The Tribe Has Spoken”, and 2 points for “Jury Member” to Jay!).   ARE THOSE 8 VOTES A RED FLAG TOO, TEVIN?  Enjoy the rest of your vacation in Fiji.

 

His only alliance member he could count on was just voted out. Tough shit, Martyr.  If you want to quit, you’re gonna have to do it on your own.  I've got $10 that says he tries to play off as a brilliant strategic move. Any takers?

 Tevin’s expulsion rockets Jay into 2^nd place, while Charlie’s immunity challenge efforts push Kristyn nearer to the top as well, they being a mere 5 and 7 points behind Ricky respectively.  Roberta climbs from an 8^th place tie into a 6^th place tie thanks to MacGyver’s immunity win in the current scores:

 

1. Ricky: 73
2. Jay: 68
3. Kristyn: 66
4. Carol: 48
5. Dalphyne: 44
6. Jen/Roberta: 41
7. Brian: 37
8. Scott: 34
9. Marissa: 33