Survivors

Flip the Win switch

Season 47

Episode 11

Editor’s Rating

2 stars

**

Photo: CBS

It’s the day before Thanksgiving. Most people spend their time with their families and hopefully give those families 120 percent. When someone is working, this is hardly the case – they sit at their desk, call, and wait until Cyber ​​Monday for something exciting to happen. The same seems to be true for this episode of Survivors. While it’s a lot better than the spliced-together episodes of unused footage that the franchise aired over the holidays, it’s not much better. Aside from a somewhat tense immunity challenge, most of the episode revolved around the bet and waiting for the inevitable vote. I really like the 90-minute format, but when there’s as little going on as there is in this episode, it feels longer than the line at airport security on (well, just look at that) the day before Thanksgiving.

At the beginning of the episode, Sue feels left out because her best ally Gabe was voted out the night before and she was the only one not involved in the plan. She is initially upset with Caroline, saying that she is a loyal player and doesn’t know if she can trust someone who she feels has betrayed her. In a smart social move, Caroline immediately goes to Sue and tells her why she chose that way. She tells Sue that she took steps herself that would keep Gift close and that would benefit him be game, and if she ended up making it to the end, he would demolish her, just like we would all demolish some Stove Top stuffing on Thursday afternoon. Sue seems convinced and encouraged that Caroline has assured her that they are still each other’s most important ally.

At the fountain they find three other players with whom they can meet. Pardon the extended Thanksgiving metaphor, but it’s really a leftover alliance. With Gabe gone, Sue and Caroline have been released; Teeny is still suffering from the loss of Sol and the betrayal of Genevieve. Andy was ignored from the start when he had a fuming attack during the first immune test; and Rachel has been on the run since losing Sierra and Anika in the Yellow Tribe. (Buku? Tofu? Luba? I’m so glad I don’t have to remember.) They decide that the five of them can face off against the three they see as threats: Kyle, who has been winning challenges as if he were a superhero Mario and has an all-you-can-eat buffet with stars; Genevieve, who is so smart she could make a dream catcher and vote everyone out in the process; and Sam, who is, I don’t know, young and fit, so they’re worried about him for some baseless reason.

The challenge is a journey, and the only people who want to go are Sam and Genevieve because they know they’re at the bottom and need one of Jeff Probst’s patented magical interventions. Rachel also throws her hat into the ring, even though producers don’t usually allow anyone to wear a hat. At the end she chooses the right stone and plays a game. It’s a puzzle with five rows and a lot of balls. There’s nothing Jeff loves more than constantly having a lot of guts to say balls and all of us at home can laugh. balls. Anyway, the table puzzle is connected to a string with some weights attached to it; As the weights sink, the table will eventually be pulled directly into the sea. Um, hello. Dramatic a lot. What is this challenge – a teenager who has been banned from YouTube for a week? That’s the level of attitude it conveys.

Anyway, Rachel solves the puzzle, doesn’t lose her vote, and gets the advantage, which is a steal-a-vote, the unwanted cousin of Whac-a-Mole. Back at camp, she tells everyone that she failed the test, the table fell into the sea, and the Fijian government has issued an arrest warrant for the challenge team for polluting the sea just off the coast of her beautiful island. It’s worth acknowledging that this season isn’t nearly as heavy on tricks and advantages as some past seasons, and we barely see them incorporated into gameplay, which is a revelation.

Next up is the challenge, and we’re really waiting to see if Kyle can get his fifth win, which puts him on a tie with several other players for winning the most individual challenges in a season. It’s the classic challenge where there’s a shaky table and players have to hold a rope and stack a bunch of tokens on it, saying “IMMUNITY.” As always, some players play fast, others play slowly, but one thing these tables have is that they turn over. But they also wobble. Kyle, Genevieve and Sam become closer. Flutter. You’re done. Teeny comes closer. Flutter. She’s finished. Sue comes closer. Flutter. Flutter. Flutter. Finally, Rachel gets close and makes her way back to the end of the challenge, and Kyle picks up the pace, waiting for a wobble that never comes. Rachel gets to wear the world’s ugliest immunity necklace, which probably has rabies, scabies and inconsolable babies.

Before we can talk about the inevitability of Kyle’s homecoming, can we take a quick detour and talk about Sue’s face? I’m not talking about her looks. I think Sue is a beautiful woman, not only for her age but also simply. But why is her face always so dirty? This is not a rhetorical question. I want to know. (Editor’s Note: Sue claims she is “Contouring with dirt.”) We’ve watched 47 seasons of survivors, And no one has ever looked like they’re about to start using dirt as concealer. Yes, everyone looks thin, emaciated and a little dirty, but not in the way Sue normally looks dirty. Can we send her to the Dove-sponsored sanctuary where good things happen so she can wash her face?

Did Sue wash her face because her eternal nemesis Kyle was definitely voted out? We all knew this was happening, right? There were some good-faith efforts by people within the core five to vote Genevieve out, particularly Rachel and Andy, who see her as a much bigger threat than Kyle, but no one listened.

Andy was the most persuasive, trying to convince Teeny and Caroline with logic and statistics, and like a Black Friday sale on DVD players, no one bought them. However, I agree with Andy. I don’t think immunity is really that important. Sure, it can have a big impact towards the end, but at this stage of the game the order in which someone goes home may change, but it won’t completely save their game. Andy says that all players know that the record for winning challenges is five. We know this because Jeff said it after Andy’s fourth win. If the record of six challenges in 47 seasons hasn’t been broken, then the best Andy can hope for is another win, and as Andy calculates, even that is a slim probability. Even if they voted out someone else this week and Andy won the following week, the five could still eliminate him after getting rid of Sam and Genevieve. Here too, victory could change the order, but not who will take part.

Also, Andy and Rachel are absolutely right that Genevieve and her style of play are more dangerous than playing on the street at rush hour on a rainy day. Even if she doesn’t win, she’ll find her way into different groups, get them to change their votes, and somehow make it to the end. And if Genevieve, who has great success on her resume, could prove that she can survive to the end, she would be a candidate for the jury’s votes. Andy is right that Kyle doesn’t have a good game and is only good at challenges. If he somehow managed to get a record-breaking sixth win and make it to the finals, he would just say, “Well, I was good in tackles,” and I don’t think a jury would give him the check in the new era would just issue based on that.

However, I’m saying this from the comfort of my own home, calling to give a recap because it’s the day before Thanksgiving and that’s what we do. I’m sure if I were out there I’d be a lot more like Teeny and Caroline and think: It’s stupid if we don’t get him out now because there might not be a second chance. So yes, I understand. You have made the right decision for you.

“Tribal” seems moot at this point, and although Genevieve is quietly stewing and thinks she will be, since we haven’t seen anyone even consider changing their vote, we know, like all voices would be out, with the exception of Kyle’s weird Teeny voice, which doesn’t make much sense. Kyle is thrown away, a fresh-faced Sue orgasms so loudly that even the table at the bottom of the ocean hears it, and Kyle hugs everyone on the way out, a class to finish. Maybe he’ll be able to make it home to his family for Thanksgiving, because it’s not like he really missed any excitement in this episode.