This week my first Australian Survivor guest, Kat Dumont, gives us her thoughts on episode 7 and the season so far! But first, the recap…
Day 19-20
Post tribal. Taylor is PISSED his snuggle buddy is gone. Adam takes him aside to chat about his decision and admits he screwed him over, but Figgy was the sacrifice that needed to be made. Adam tells Taylor that he is in a worse position than he was before with Figgy; it is just blatant honesty from the confessional screamer. Time will tell if Taylor can bounce back from this mourning period, and he sends a clear message to Adam…
Vanua tribe. David thinks he and Zeke are closer than his bond with Chris, and decides to share his idol with him. Aww. Zeke promises to not share David’s idol news with anyone and will take care of him, for now. I personally think David needs to stop sharing his idol with everyone!
REWARD CHALLENGE
Michaela seems pretty chuffed that Figgy is gone, far cry from what she said last week to Figgy.
Unwind a bag of balls above the water. Shoot balls into a basket and funnel it through a ball tunnel, then throw balls on a perch. First tribe reward – Fijian feast prepared by a private chef, second reward – kebabs. Bret and Sunday sit out for Ikabula.
Ikabula and Takali take the early lead especially with the unwinding of bags in the water. Vanua seem to always end up behind the pack! Luckily for them Hammons seems to be a pro ball shooter, and Zeke and Michelle have a great strategy with the ball tunnel. And with their third comeback from behind in a row, Vanua win first reward. It’s now Michaela v Ken! Michaela wins second reward for Ikabula.
Vanua tribe. The tribe enjoy a feast and stuff themselves silly. The guys then turn into animals and start gassing up at all ends, all over camp in front of Michelle. Hilarious!
Michelle is less than impressed with the flatulence around camp. [Image credit: CBS]
Takali tribe. Ken starts talking about politics and Taylor is bored as shit… He doesn’t care who the new president of America will be. Oh Taylor… Jess Lewis likes him because he is so honest, even though he is not the brightest kid. Taylor promises Jess and Ken that he won’t write their names down at the next vote. We’ll see about that! It would be great to see Taylor gain some trust in these two moving forward.
Jess: Have you cleaned the rice bowls? Taylor: uhhh. [Image credit: CBS]
Ikabula tribe. Michaela is ‘pretty’ intense.”If you can’t handle my heat, get out the kitchen.” Hannah questions Bret’s career in the funeral home business. It causes Jay to jump on Bret being a supposed funeral director and can definitely see him as a New York cop. These kids are on to you, Bretty!
IMMUNITY CHALLENGE
Race to throw coconuts in a net, once heavy enough a flag will drop with numbers. This combination will open a lock to release a key which unlocks a sling shot. Hit all your targets and you win immunity. Hannah and Will sit out for Ikabula.
Ken and Taylor have a great streak on the slingshot for Takali. Vanua are again making another comeback and it’s a close race between them and Ikabula. Vanua win second immunity (4th comeback in a row).
Ikabula tribe. The green tribe sit in silence and it’s a very odd scene. Sunday and Bret know it’s one of them going home tonight. They both agree that they need to vote for each other tonight… NO, you could try and wrangle something with another millennial! On the flip side, Michaela is showing the other 3 millennials how they should vote tonight and what the game will look like when they move forward as a core four. They all mention that they should vote Bret out tonight because they think he’s a cop. Girls are voting Bret, Boys are voting Sunday. Michaela is already showing the gang how they need to vote post-merge and Jay is real sketchy about her because she’s a huge threat, physically and smarts-wise. Jay takes Will aside and talks about sending Michaela home, BUT brings up the fact that she is very loyal to them. Tough choice for Jay, but he’s on the right track. Get the strong players out before the merge.
Jay and Will hash this big move out. [Image credit: CBS]
TRIBAL COUNCIL
Sunday tells Jeff that they got back from the challenge and sat in silence, even Michaela. Bret knows that he is being genuine to the others and Jay doesn’t believe a thing he says. Will talks about playing a “Vlachos” game, and if you want to play with your gut, go for it. Michaela is already talking about who can make it all the way to the final 5 and feels pretty confident with her Millennials on this tribe.
Votes are read. MICHAELA – WHAT?! She looks at JAY and he admits to voting for her, Hannah says she didn’t do that and she looks like she’s going to have another panic attack. That was the most intense blindside in a very long time. Can’t say I’m happy AT ALL with Queen Michaela gone, and I see why Jay wanted her out pre-merge. She would have dominated the individual challenges for sure. But can he gain trust again from others next week? I can’t wait to find out! As I said last week, Jay is one to watch! Michaela-4, Bret-2.
A huge fan favourite leaves earlier than expected. [Image credit: CBS]
[S34 CAST SPOILER!!] Michaela now joins the very short list of pre-merge returnee players (all females), alongside Kimmi Kappenberg, Shii Ann Huang, Francesca Hogi and Kelley Wentworth. (Do we include Bobby Jon where there wasn’t an official merge in Palau? And Russell Swan was medevaced in Samoa).
NEXT TIME ON… SURVIVOR: It’s THE merge (Australian Survivor, take note)!! And Hannah is NOT happy with Jay after the Michaela boot.
Episode 7 Q&A w/ KAT DUMONT
Kat Dumont was cast in this years revival of Australian Survivor and was one of the more charismatic contestants on the Aganoa tribe. After being ‘merged’ into the Vavau tribe Kat was able to get rid of her arch nemesis Rohan, but was ultimately given the flick on day 23 becoming the 7th person voted out of the game.
Welcome to Reality Ramblings, Kat! Thanks for joining me for this week’s episode recap.
LyndzO: Firstly, how much are you raging right now about the boot?! “WHAAAAT?!”
KatD: I was FILTHY! I mean I love a good blindside, but Michaela was hands down my fave – so I’m devastated!!! But hey, she was a huge threat so I get why the guys wanted her gone.
Kat is feeling as SALTY as Michaela…
LO: Secondly, congratulations on being cast in our extremely overdue season of Australian Survivor! You were fun to watch with your sass, floppy hat and kaftan. What is it like watching the US Survivor now that you’ve experienced the game yourself? Has it changed the way you view the show at all?
KD: You definitely watch it differently! It’s given me a far greater appreciation for what these guys go through. It’s such a tough gig, and the surviving part is hardly shown, so you definitely feel for the contestants when certain things happen. When they were evacuated and came back and found their camp was destroyed, my heart sank! Also missing out on food rewards etc. It is tough!!!!!!
LO: How much preparation did you do going into this 33rd Season of Survivor? Did you research the cast or jump in fresh?
KD: I researched the cast and read their bios, but basically let the first few episodes play out before I made any decisions on who I liked and who I didn’t like!
LO: Do you think you would do well with this bunch of millennials?
KD: I think I would, however I also would have wanted to strangle Figgy and Taylor so who knows!!!
LO: Last week we lost the woman people love to hate, Figgy! What did you think of her relationship with Taylor and do you think the love goggles dude can bounce back from this loss?
KD: Survivor 101 says, ALWAYS BREAK UP THE POWER COUPLE! And low and behold, that’s what happened. Obviously Taylor lost his alliance, but I think he will be a very good player to pull in and persuade, so he could become very valuable to Ken and Jessica now that he has no allegiance.
Can Ken and Jess wrangle Taylor into their alliance?
LO: As a result of last week’s tribal, do you think Adam will move forward with Ken and Gen-X Jess come merge, and potentially align with Zeke and Hannah again?
KD: It’s a hard one. I think Zeke and Hannah will be annoyed Adam turned on his own, but I think Adam will also be annoyed with Zeke for potentially turning on Michelle! It will be very interesting to see how it pans out. If I was Adam, I’d move forward with Ken and Jessica.
LO: We saw it happen on Australian Survivor (because of mateship), and David shared his idol with Zeke this week (because of strategy). What’s your stance on sharing hidden idols with others?
KD: Ahhh, this is a tough one. Unfortunately I never had the pleasure of finding an idol (thanks Phoebs), but If I did have one – I would have never told ANYONE about it. They put a massive target on your back and need to be kept hidden and used at the right time.
LO: Are Vanua the greatest challenge comeback tribe since Aganoa?! They have now come back from behind to win reward/immunity in the last 4 challenges. Do you like the tribe makeup of David, Chris, Michelle and Zeke? And how would you have reacted to the ‘bodily function’ noises created by the guys?
KD: Nobody can ever take the greatest comeback tribe title away from Aganoa. We were seriously useless and were down and out – then suddenly it’s 3 Aganoans in the Final 3. CRAZY! I know even the producers still shake their heads, haha.
Vanua are an odd tribe. Chris does nothing for me. Zeke is awesome. David is useless, but hilarious and Michelle is just blah. I do think Michelle could go far if she plays her cards right though. If the boys at my camp were doing that – I would have walked away. What we experience out there is horrendous, we don’t need that added! If you need to do that, LEAVE THE CAMP! Ugh.
Aganoa would still come out on top against Vanua!
LO: We see Michaela using rocks to show her Ikabula millennials how the rest of their game will work if they move forward as a core four. Do you think this was premature on her part, making her look too strategic early on?
KD: Oh Michaela girl. This was her downfall. You can have all those ideas and moves, but don’t share them with the world. She would have been smart to show Hannah, but should have kept her strategic prowess hidden until she needed it. Unfortunately I think this is what sent her home.
LO: On Jay and Will discussing the pros and cons of keeping Michaela, do you think the boys jumped the gun on wanting Michaela out pre-merge? Voting out Bret was the easy choice after all.
KD: Jay and Will are playing the game. And Michaela was a huge threat! It may have been the only time to get a huge threat out. Although I think they did it a few votes early. She was loyal as hell and had their backs… I think the move was 2-3 moves too early.
LO: Tribal Council time. Michaela has always made it clear to her millennials that she is a trustworthy ally to have and go far in this game with. Being loyal is one thing, but being a huge strategic and physical threat is another. Personally, do you think Jay and Will made the right decision for THEIR games?
KD: No. It was a good move and needed to happen… but they should have waited a few more votes!
LO: And How awesome are Michaela’s intense reactions and facials?! #SOMAD
KD: SHE IS THE BEST. I absolutely love that she stayed true to herself to the end. She is actual TV gold.
FINAL QUESTIONS:
LO: If you were cast on a season of US Survivor and had to choose to be in an alliance with ONE season 33 player, who would it be and why?
KD: Ahh, that’s so hard. I think Ken. He is a legend, super trustworthy and an all around good guy.
LO: Would you rather have a meal with FigTayls or Rohan MacLaren?
KD: FigTayls any day of the week.
LO: What’s been harder to watch so far: Gen-X Jess’ Pinkeye, or Hannah’s panic attacks?
KD: The Pinkeye. Poor Jess. Just surviving out there is hard enough let alone having an infection!!!!! She is a trooper.
LO: Who do you think will go home next week (merge time!)?
KD: That’s a tough one, but I think it could be Adam!
LO: Who are your top 3 favourite contestants so far, and why?
KD: MICHAELA – because she is everything. Zeke – because he is adorable, and nerdy, and just a joy to watch. And Jessica – she is a power player and kind of a bad ass.
Can either Zeke or Jessica L win it for Kat?
LO: I know it’s early days, but who do you think will be in the final 2/3?
KD: I think if they play their cards right it could be Ken and Jessica.
LO: Any final words, Kat?
KD: Oh, so many words but that’s all for now xx
ALL IMAGES USED IN THIS ARTICLE ARE COPYRIGHT CBS & CHANNEL TEN. THIS IS A PERSONAL BLOG AND ALL VIEWS ARE MY OWN.
