Survivor Recap: Reinventing How the Game is Played

This week, as predicted, the battle between Zeke and Andrea came to a head.  Despite looking like the solid six were going to stick together for at least this vote, Andrea and Cirie managed to garner enough support to pull a blindside on Zeke, resulting in his ouster from the game.  Here are some of my top moments from this week’s episode.

1. Andrea continuing to show her challenge prowess:  Wow, Andrea is truly a challenge beast!  She was astute enough to listen to every word Jeff said during the reward challenge to pick up on a clue to the word scramble.  After she figured out the eleven letter word that had everyone stumped was “reinventing,” she led her team to victory, which resulted in a night at a hotel.  (On a sidenote, if I were playing Survivor, this is the reward challenge that I think would be one of the best to win.  Can you imagine how recharging it must be to sleep on a real bed, get a shower and meal, and maybe even brush your teeth. Invaluable!)  Then, she won the crucial immunity challenge, potentially saving herself from the vote.  She’s already won two immunity challenges this season and I wouldn’t be surprised if she wins a third.  But, the first chance she doesn’t, the other players need to seriously consider taking her out just for fear that she could win enough immunity challenges to carry herself to the final 3.
2. Cirie’s strategic chops to once again convince Sarah to do what she wanted:  Cirie continues to prove why she is a legend in Survivor.  Although it was Andrea who so clearly wanted Zeke out of the game next, it was Cirie who managed to make the crucial move of convincing Sarah to turn on Zeke, who was her closest ally in the game.  Despite Sarah repeatedly saying she needed to keep Zeke in the game for as long as possible, Cirie managed to convince her to flip.  Although we didn’t see the details of exactly how that happened, I think it’s safe to assume it was Cirie’s doing and no one else’s.  It’s truly impressive that since the merge, Cirie’s name hasn’t come up once as a person to vote for except for by Zeke, who is no longer in the game.  If anyone is stupid enough to let Cirie sit at the end, there is no way she doesn’t win the title of sole survivor which she so richly deserves.
3. Sarah flips on an ally again: Sarah repeatedly mentioned that Zeke was her closest ally in the game and the only person she truly trusted.  Yet, by the end of it, she voted him out.  At first glance, this move might not seem to make sense.  But going forward, as Michaela pointed out, the alliances are now 5-4.  All it takes is one person to flip, and I suspect Sarah relishes being in the position to be that one person.  She seems to have good relationships with everyone and managed to avoid anyone’s wrath despite flipping on her previous alliance to vote Debbie out.  If anyone is in a position to flip again, it’s Sarah.  If she is determined to play like Tony, the winner from her previous season, she’s in the sweet spot to play right down the middle all the way to the final three, and voting Zeke out put her in the position.
4. Tai’s realization that he’s on the bottom of his alliance:  Ok, so this hasn’t exactly happened yet, but by the end of this episode, Tai has to realize that Brad, Troyzan, and Sierra all voted against him.  He will see now that he is on the bottom of his alliance, which might be exactly what this group needs to shake things up.  Will he be willing to work with some new players now?  I can see Brad smoothing things over with Tai since he seems to have a close relationship with him, but I can also see Michaela and Sarah managing to work with him going forward.  Perhaps we’ll be looking at some new alliances next episode.
5. Zeke:  I’m so sad to see Zeke go!  He loved to play hard and make big moves.  His move to turn on Andrea a bit too early might have been a critical mistake, but either way, Zeke was a huge threat in the game and was likely not going to last too long regardless of what he did.  Everyone could see he was not going to sit around comfortably until the final six with his alliance.  He was skilled at making relationships across the board and was already gathering his army to vote out Andrea at the next vote.  It was smart of Andrea to gun for him and successfully pull it off this episode, but I’m still not convinced her life in the game is for long either.  If she doesn’t win immunity next week, I’m willing to bet she’ll be following right behind Zeke to become a member of the jury.

Next week, it’s time for one of my favorite episodes – the family visit! Get ready to get teary eyed!

Photo Credit: CBS