The penultimate episode gives us a double boot as we head into the finale, and Julian joins me for another weekly recap!
Day 34-35
Post tribal. Will’s big move is revealed to the tribe, and even though he was overshadowed by Adam’s crotch idol, he feels like THE man now.
Flashback to last week’s Will. [Image credit: CBS]
Bret admits that he thinks it was a dumb idea making a big move at this point and is hoping to align with Adam to stay alive in the game. Bret, Adam and Sunday agree that David needs to go next. David’s name keeps being thrown around as he’s seen as the biggest threat out there, but he’s only received 4 votes since the merge! Amazing. I just wonder how much longer he can hang in there. I also love how calm Bret has been after all his main allies have left the game. He somehow weaves his way into new alliances and has dodged bullets along the way. Kudos Bret!
Adam plans his next move on David. [Image credit: CBS]
IMMUNITY CHALLENGE 1
Race out to a stack of discs, transport the top of a pole, over a balance beam and through a complex wire maze. Once all discs transported, roll them into a target. There is no way I’d even finish this one.
David seemed to be doing well at the start, but Jay and Bret are head on his heels. Jay seems to have figured out the best way to roll discs, where David’s throwing discs all over the joint! He clearly has no sporting prowess. Jay is a beast and wins immunity. Another night Jay can save his hidden idol.
It’s all in the wrist. [Image credit: CBS]
Vinaka camp. Jay and Will have a bro-sesh and Will confesses he has a working relationship with everyone else left in the game… UMM. Will is desperate to get his Pendulum Strategy in motion and his next target is David. In his head, he’s the one who is calling the shots. I have a feeling this is not going to go down well for him.
Will and Jay have the same thoughts as Adam… [Image credit: CBS]
David is feeling insecure and has that feeling he will be targeted next. Adam talks to Jay and Will and they want David gone next, but the thing that gets to him is Will’s position of power right now. He doesn’t want to join Will’s Pendulum Plan and as he already has Bret and Sunday on board, tries to recruit Hannah to vote blindside Will. Hannah questions the plan as Will just saved her. Will did it for himself, not you Hannah! I’d let that one slide, girl.
TRIBAL COUNCIL 1
Jeff straightaway brings up Will’s big move, and the others are not too fussed about Zeke going home as they all want the threats out of the game as soon as possible. The only problem is, those who make big moves are now seen as threats themselves. David pipes up saying it does count to make big moves as no one wants to be seen as the goat, but you need to know how to back it up in the following days.
It’s time to vote and it is pissing down with rain at tribal, and of course Taylor always has something funny to add! Thanks Tayls!
As expected, Will’s big move came back to bite him in the butt. But hey, he had that one thing he gets to take home with him. He was brave enough to make the move and I personally think he did so well out there as an 18 year old. Kudos, mate! Will-6, David-2
Post tribal. Jay is feeling all alone in his alliance of one, but he’s not giving up yet. He has a chat with Adam and they seem to be able to move forward even if Adam has screwed him over about three times. Jay says they have a Yin Yang relationship; talk about keeping your enemies close! These two are brilliant to watch, and shows that you can vote against people and still come together and bond the next day. The sad thing is Jay wants to work with Adam, but Adam wants Jay to go home next.
#YinYang [Image credit: CBS]
IMMUNITY CHALLENGE 2
Solve a block puzzle with a twist. Survivor pinball table – roll your ball and it will work its way down the table, roll your ball again before it hits the bottom. If your ball drops you gotta wait until it makes its deathly slow way down to the ground. YAWN. Love the new challenge though.
Get it, Sunday! [Image credit: CBS]
Needless to say, no one survives this challenge without having their ball drop at least once. Excruciating! Ken thinks he has it, but is just a little off with his “Millennials” sign. With Adam’s help keeping an eye on his ball, Ken wins immunity and is safe going through to the Final 6. Ken wants Jay to go and talks about how Jay is doing things he did 10 years ago. Pretty funny considering Jay is only 5 years younger than old man Ken!
Not quite, Ken. And ARGH, those ribs! [Image credit: CBS]
Vinaka camp. Jay is pissed that Adam helped Ken win. Adam covers it well saying he was making sure David didn’t win. Adam’s number one plan is Jay playing his idol and have David go home. David’s plan is to go to a tie voting Bret and Jay, with Jay playing his idol. There will then be a Bret/David vote, with ultimately Bret going home. Hannah chimes in with her theory that Sunday would be the better choice as she’s the most enticing goat to take to the end. I absolutely love this; not necessarily for Hannah’s game, but that the goats of this season will be eliminated. Hannah wants Sunday’s goat spot, and not to say Hannah’s a goat at all! If anything, wouldn’t Hannah want to sit next to Sunday at the end??
Will Hannah’s trust cluster work with David and co? [Image credit: CBS]
Adam tells his plan to Hannah and Ken. Ken wants to go to the end with David, but understands why Adam is scared of David. Hannah tells Adam her plan to vote out Sunday, but to him that still leaves Jay and David in the game, the two biggest threats. Ultimately, they need to flush out Jay’s idol.
Then, in this emotionally charged scene, Adam and Jay are seen lying on the hammock talking about playing the idol. Jay doesn’t want to play it, but Adam is pretty much telling him to. I absolutely adore these two. Two great friends, playing as enemies in the game. The discussion quickly turns deep when Adam reveals his island secret to Jay, that his mum has stage 4 lung cancer. Jay understands where he is coming from as his mum has also been sick for many years. The two bros are on Survivor for the same reason and are both warriors. Check out this un-aired confession from Jay, it is too sweet: Jay – He’s A Good Dude
Stop making me cry, guys! [Image credit: CBS]
Hannah tells Adam she is voting for Sunday. He’s not happy. Ultimately, she wants to save David. Also, this move builds her resume somewhat and she always seems to be part of the correct vote each week.
TRIBAL COUNCIL 2
Is it just me or does Jess look salty walking into tribal each week? [Image credit: CBS]
David talks about relying on bonds and relationships more than ever at this stage in the game. Jay agrees, even though he has no friends left in the game he can work with. Jeff asks Sunday what she thinks other people see her as, if she’s someone they would take to the end. Sunday doesn’t think she is a physical threat and that she is underestimated and one to take to the end. She also thinks she’d be able to win votes in a final 3. Everyone is thinking about how the jury is perceiving them. Time to vote. Jay plays his idol, and is worried! In a usually surprising move, the seemingly ‘weaker’ player gets voted out and we have an overall strong group going into the finale. Hannah wins this round, and again Bret is caught out of the loop. Sunday-4, David-2, Jay-1.
Watch Sunday’s “Ponderosa” here
“NEXT TIME ON… SURVIVOR”: It’s the finale, baby!! It’s anyone’s game right now and I’m hoping for a strong finish with this final 6. Personally would be happy if any of them won, but hoping for an Adam/Jay/Hannah/David win right now.
ALL IMAGES USED IN THIS ARTICLE ARE COPYRIGHT CBS. THIS IS A PERSONAL BLOG AND ALL VIEWS ARE MY OWN.
SURVIVOR JULIAN’S THOUGHTS
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What a fast moving episode as we head into the finale next week. Two immunity challenges, two tribal councils, and very little camp life made the 40-minute episode fly by. The two boots of Sunday and Will worked perfectly as a single episode as it felt obvious from Will’s game-playing last week and attempt to build up his resume, that by flipping he had positioned himself to be the next voted out.
Sunday had been an undeveloped, if not a very likable player the whole season. While her boot was a bit of a blindside, ultimately, the move to flush Jay’s idol was a bigger move than blindsiding Sunday and I can’t help but feel they should have targeted David – especially from Adam’s standpoint who vocalised what a threat both he and Jay were.
Probably the biggest thing for me about this episode was the bonding in the hammock shared between Adam and Jay about their families. It was so heartfelt, and I feel like the relationship between these two has been one of the most complex and unique dynamics we’ve seen in years on the show. They are both guys of a similar age, both smart game players, both rivals, and both with a massive respect for each other. Their story arc from being against each other to having a friendship has been phenomenal. I’ll be over the moon if either one of the two take the season.
It’s looking like David has a challenging road to the final three as he’s firmly on the radar as a target. Jay’s definitely a target and will likely need to depend on immunity wins to stay in the game. This leaves Ken with his legacy advantage and nonthreatening and basic game play throughout the season looking like the most obvious player left to be taken to the final three.
Adam, Jay and David have the biggest chance of winning the game and getting votes from the jury, but whether or not they get to Final Tribal Council is harder to predict. I’d predict only one of the three will make it, and they will most likely win the game. Unfortunately for Hannah and Bret, I don’t see a chance of winning the game. One thing is for sure, with 6 people still in the game, and so many ways it could go, it looks set to be an epic finale.
