Written by Mike Mueller
After a few weeks on the shelf thanks to a disabled computer, we are back at it again with the Survivor 41 recaps. Before we discuss this week, let’s quickly review the three(!) eliminations that happened over the last two weeks.
Two weeks ago was a very somber moment for us here at The Pop Break, as our pick Evvie was eliminated, along with Naseer after an interesting tribal council that saw the castaways split into two different teams for the immunity challenge. The last remaining Survivor from each team was granted immunity, while the rest were vulnerable at tribal council. Each team then went to tribal council and voted only with members of their team. Naseer was blindsided, going home with an idol in his pocket, and Evvie was voted out after Xander chose not to play his idol for Evvie and instead trusted that Deshawn would vote with them to get Liana out. Deshawn did not.
Last week, the biggest upset of the season happened as Shan went home with an idol and extra vote in her possession (perhaps it is the curse of Brad, who went home way back on day 7 with an idol and extra vote). The foursome of Shan, Liana, Deshawn, and Danny seemed like they were going to be able to coast to the final four. However, Shan’s connection with Ricard worried the other members of her alliance, so Ricard became the prime target. However, Ricard pulled out a win at the challenge.
While the attention seemed to shift to Erika, Shan told Ricard that he was the original target and now that he’s safe, perhaps this would be the time to take out Deshawn. Ricard relayed that information to Deshawn, and the majority alliance turned on each other and voted Shan out. As Shan was leaving, she told Ricard he had her vote for the million dollars and said that Deshawn was a snake. Ok, now that we’re all caught up, let’s talk about this week’s episode.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYTLxhF_Vq8
WHEN YOU POINT A FINGER, THREE MORE POINT BACK AT YOU
After the blindside of Shan, the tribe went back to camp and Deshawn tried to bring Shan’s previous comments up to put a target on Ricard, but it backfired and Deshawn ended up looking defensive and accusatory. So while he was trying to position Ricard as the next out, he ended up only cementing Ricard in his new alliance with Xander, Erika, and Heather. Deshawn tries to mend bridges with Liana, who tells him what he wants to hear but does not plan on working with him. Heading into the next tribal council, a showdown between these two seems inevitable.
DOING IT FOR DAD
One of the few people that we haven’t seen a huge spotlight on this year is Danny, the former NFL football player. He reveals that today is the 25th anniversary of his father’s death. It is understandably a very difficult day for Danny, and while he normally keeps himself busy on this day, being isolated on an island has forced Danny to confront his emotions more. He vows to let go of his anger toward the day, deal with his grief in a more healthy way, and most importantly, he vows to make his dad proud.
At the immunity challenge, the contestants are told there is a twist to this challenge. The first person to be eliminated in the challenge will have to play a “do or die” game at tribal council that night, and they might go home without anybody even having to vote. However, Jeff tells the contestants they do not have to play in the challenge if they so choose. Of course, if they don’t compete, they can’t win individual immunity, but at least they won’t have to risk playing the “do or die” game at tribal.
When the decisions are revealed, Heather and Liana choose to sit out of the challenge, while everybody else chooses to play. Heather’s decision is understandable. She’s not good at challenges, she’s in a majority alliance, and she’s not anybody’s target right now. Liana, however, makes a very interesting choice. After her alliance turned on her and her number one ally was voted out, it makes no sense why she would choose to sit out and rely on the majority of the tribe to keep her safe.
The challenge is a simple one: castaways have to balance a marble on a wooden cylinder and hold it in place with handles on each side. As the game goes on, the cylinder expands with more pieces, making it more fragile and difficult to keep together. Within mere seconds of the competition starting, Deshawn drops his marble and is the first one eliminated. He will have to play Do or Die at tribal council.
Erika drops not long after Deshawn and, very quickly, a three-way standoff occurs between Xander, Ricard, and Danny. The three battle it out for quite some time, but then, almost simultaneously, Ricard and Xander both drop, giving Danny the victory on the day he vowed to make his father proud of him. After he wins, Danny drops to his knees in relief and starts crying. This is the first real emotion we have gotten to see out of Danny, and it might go down as the “feel good” moment of the season.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CLH6tRUmK6g
WORKING ON A BACKUP PLAN
Back at camp, everybody is working on a backup plan in case Deshawn wins Do or Die (which would give him immunity if he were to survive it). Danny, Deshawn, and Liana all think this is the time to get rid of Ricard. Danny approaches Xander, who isn’t very warm to the idea. However, later on, Erika also confides in Xander that this might be their best shot to take out Ricard. Xander fills Ricard in on everybody’s plans, and now he and Ricard are also wary of Erika, who would be willing to flip on her alliance after they just got majority numbers. If Deshawn loses Do or Die, this is all for naught, but if he wins, Liana, Ricard, and now Erika all have a real chance of going home, and none of them have an idol or advantage to protect them. There is still the Shot in the Dark option, but only Liana seems to be seriously considering that option.
A VERY EMOTIONAL TRIBAL COUNCIL
At tribal council, the castaways talk about Shan’s elimination. Deshawn makes sure to point out that he turned on Shan because of the direct threat he felt from her, but also talks about how difficult it was because they wanted the four African Americans to stick together until the end. He brings up how difficult it is to balance the morals and the gameplay, especially when you are also trying to be a representative of your culture and community. Liana echoes these sentiments, and Danny agrees. Xander and Heather feel the power of these words and realize how they have a privilege in not having to be burdened with these extra societal pressures.
Many more words and sentiments were shared, but reading a recap of what went down will not truly do it justice, so if you have not seen the episode and have the means to do so, go out of your way to watch it. This was probably the most significant and powerful scene that Survivor has had in all 41 seasons.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y0B1NwMzw6o
WHAT’S IN THE BOX?
After the catharsis of tribal council is over, it is time to get down to business. Jeff reveals that the Do or Die game is simple. Jeff has three boxes in front of him. Two of them have a skull symbol, one has a fire symbol. If Deshawn picks the box containing the fire symbol, he survives and is immune from the vote tonight. If he picks a skull, he is eliminated.
Deshawn picks box #1. Jeff opens box #3 revealing a skull. He now offers Deshawn the opportunity to switch his choice and go with box #2. This is a classic “Monty Hall Problem” and statistically (even though it may sound counterintuitive), Deshawn should switch his pick to box #2 at this point. However, Deshawn says his heart tells him to stick with box #1. His heart was right, and when Jeff opens box #1, a fire symbol is revealed and Deshawn is safe tonight.
The tribe votes, nobody chooses to use their Shot in the Dark, and when the votes come down, the new majority alliance of Xander, Erika, Ricard, and Heather stick together and vote out Liana. It is difficult to have much sympathy for Liana, as she chose to sit out of the immunity challenge and chose to not play her shot in the dark despite knowing she had a high chance of going home, but still, she was a great player.
With only six people remaining, it will be a sprint to the finish, and next week’s episode promises to be even more intense than the last!
Survivor 41 Episode 11 is now streaming on Paramount+
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yRTJlRSS6uY
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