Written by Mike Mueller
Going into this season of Survivor, fans were told that this would be a season like no other. An abbreviated competition (26 days, down from the typical 39) meant the pace of the game would be faster than ever before, and any reasonable fan knew to expect the twists and advantages to be plentiful. However, this week Survivor may have taken the twists one step too far. Erika was given power at the end of this episode that is, simply put, unfair. We’ll get there in time, but let’s see what led up to this monumental power.
POWER OVER TRUST
This episode starts out like so many recent Survivor episodes, looking at the dejected Ua tribe as they come back from another tribal council. The tribe is now down to Shan and Ricard, as Genie was voted out in the last episode.
There is a good amount of tension in the air surrounding the extra vote that Shan swindled from JD that now resides in Ricard’s hands. Since Shan already has an immunity idol in her pocket, Ricard feels like she would have too much power in the game with the extra vote. He’s right, but the fact of the matter was that Shan gave it to Ricard with both in agreement that he would give it back to her if he didn’t have to use it at tribal.
Eventually, Ricard does give Shan back the extra vote as he had promised. They have relied on each other this entire time, but the bond now seems to be broken over a classic survivor struggle, power versus trust. Do not expect to see Ricard and Shan sitting at the end together.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBpi_vE0c58
A CHALLENGE, A TWIST, AND A FEAST…FOR SOME
The next morning, all three tribes receive tree mail that implies they are heading to a merge. Spirits are high as everybody is dreaming about the famous Merge Feast that re-nourishes body, mind, and soul on this island. Well, not so fast, my friend. It’s Survivor 41; nothing is that simple.
As the tribes meet up with each other, Jeff informs them that they’re not QUITE at a merge. The old tribes are no more, but for one challenge, there’s going to be two new tribes, and only the winners of this challenge are safe and will make the merge. On top of that, two players are not going to participate at all. Erika and Naseer draw gray rocks which means they will not compete in the challenge, and their fate will be decided by the winning team.
The challenge is fairly physical in nature, and the random rock draw gives two very uneven teams. The Blue team consists of Danny, Sydney, Deshawn, Evvie, and Ricard. The Yellow tribe consists of Heather, Tiffany, Liana, Shan, and Xander.
In the challenge, the teams must dig out a boulder, push it over obstacles to various key stations, retrieve keys, and move up a platform to a word puzzle. Unsurprisingly, the Blue team makes quick work of the boulder and the keys, works together to get up the platform, and gets to the word puzzle with a sizable lead. To their credit, the Yellow team outperforms expectations and keeps things close. Unfortunately for them, the word puzzle is quite simple: “Merge Feast!” The Blue team figures it out first, and they get the feast and are safe at the next tribal… or so they think.
The Blue team now must choose between Naseer and Erika. The chosen person will join in on the feast and also be immune from the vote tonight. The other person will be sent to Exile Island for two days, completely on their own. The Blue team pretends to play Rock, Paper, Scissors and chooses Naseer.
MERGE-ATORY
As the tribes finally come together as one, a bond starts to form between Shan, Liana, Deshawn, and Danny. The four African-American contestants bond over their common link and point out that rarely are there this many minorities and people of color on a season of Survivor. The diversity of the cast has allowed for more alliances than ever before. Interestingly, a similar thing happened in this year’s season of Big Brother. Six African-Americans were in the house together (a far greater number than ever before), and they stuck together to get to the end and ensure the first African American winner of Big Brother. While Survivor has had a few minority winners over the years, the overwhelming majority of winners are still Caucasian. If this foursome truly decides to stick together till the end, they will be a very difficult alliance to overcome.
With everybody voting at the next tribal council, but only half of the people being eligible for elimination, Xander cleverly points out that they are currently in “Merge-atory” and he’s desperate to make it through tribal and be a part of the real merge. Only six people are eligible to go home, and each of them has a lot of power:
Shan has an immunity idol and an extra vote, Xander has an immunity idol, and Liana has the Knowledge is Power advantage, which allows her to take another tribe mate’s advantage on the spot. Tiffany is aware of every single advantage in the game, thanks to Shan revealing Liana’s power. Heather is the only person without much knowledge or a direct advantage, which ironically is an advantage in and of itself because nobody considers her to be even the tiniest of threats.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tve5iNf2XjY
IF I COULD TURN BACK TIME
And then there’s Erika. Off on her own on Exile Island, almost everybody from both teams agrees that she’s the safest and smartest way to go with the vote. Looks like this is going to be a clean and simple first tribal. Well, nothing could be further from the truth.
While on Exile, Jeff Probst shows up to talk with Erika. She talks about how this has been a real struggle for her and very different from how she imagined her first 12 days on the show would go. Jeff then informs her that, by sending her to Exile, the tribe actually gave her the power to “turn back time.” Jeff presents an hourglass and informs Erika that if she smashes the hourglass, all of the events from the challenge will be reversed. The Blue team will be the ones up for elimination, while the Yellow team, including Erika, will be safe and get to enjoy a feast of their own. The episode ends with Erika contemplating her decision.
Overall thoughts:
-This is the world’s easiest decision for Erika. As a fan, yours truly is a little offended that the producers thought this would be an intriguing cliffhanger. Her options are either to keep things the same, where she’s starving and eligible for elimination. Or, she can completely reverse her fortune and be safe and have a full belly. Hmm..wonder which one she’ll choose?
-Aside from the Super Immunity Idol, which a contestant could play AFTER the votes were read, this is the most “Overpowered” advantage in the history of the game. Twists and turns are fine, but a line needs to be drawn somewhere. It was pure luck that Erika was put in this position in the first place, and five people who did what they were supposed to do (win a challenge), are going to be punished for it. If this power allowed the other tribe to eat, and maybe make Erika automatically safe from the vote for that night, that would be acceptable. This is breaking the spirit of the game.
-Evvie is going to be in the worst position because of this twist. Now, the people eligible for elimination will be Danny, Deshawn, Sydney, Naseer, Evvie, and Ricard. The first four are all original Luvu members. On top of that, Danny and Deshawn have a newfound alliance with Liana and Shan, and Naseer has an immunity idol. Danny and others have pointed out the fear that men are being eliminated, so that could very well help keep Ricard safe.
Unfortunately, that leaves Evvie. With no advantage, her only hope is Tiffany, Xander, and Liana pulling enough strings to keep her around. Otherwise, she’s going to have to win an immunity challenge against very strong competitors to stay alive. As The Pop Break’s official pick to win this season, next week’s episode will be make or break.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IFmiEbBdSPk
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