In a Survivor first, the dreaded blood moon led to historic tribal council. From left to right: Ozzy Lusth, Jonathan Young, Joe Hunter, Aubry Bracco.Robert Voets/Supplied
For the 50th season of the long-running reality competition show, TV critics Amber Dowling and J. Kelly Nestruck will convene their own two-person tribal council after each episode to discuss gameplay and drama.
Too long didn’t watch (TLDW) summary: The largest Survivor merge ever? Why not. This is Season 50 after all. That was the gist of Wednesday’s night’s episode, when the remaining 17 castaways landed on the Vatu beach as one yellow tribe. It was a bit of an April Fool’s joke though, because one tribe didn’t mean that everyone was fighting fairly.
Upon the merge, Jeff Probst threw the players a twist: a hidden advantage in the jungle ahead of the Individual Immunity Challenge. As Cirie Fields noted, it was utter chaos as the players searched high and low, but Ozzy Lusth was the lucky duck – finding his first advantage on the show after more than a decade of play.
The scroll sent him and another player of his choice, Rizo Velovic, to Exile Island where the pair were safe from tribal council. Back on the main island, Probst had another fan-ordered twist to deliver: a Blood Moon immunity challenge, after which a historic three players would be voted out. A draw split the tribe into fives and Dee Valladares, Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick and Christian Hubicki won Individual Immunity.
A trio of Tribal Councils followed, sending home Canadians Kamilla Karthigesu and Genevieve Mushaluk, as well as veteran player Colby Donaldson, whose foot injury from Day 9 was starting to slow him down.
Survivor 50: How I picked the winner four times in the last six seasons
Power player of the week:
Amber’s pick: Donald Trump, whose surprisingly succinct presidential address took over airtime in the U.S. for 20 minutes, delaying the back half of the two-hour episode.
Kelly’s pick: The fans. They voted for twists – and got them. Be careful what you wish for though, because it resulted in an episode full of exits that felt arbitrary rather than exciting.
Whose torch is in danger of being snuffed next:
Amber’s pick: Benjamin “Coach” Wade. His antics are starting to annoy some of the other players, and given the preview, he will be extra Coach-like next week. I have a feeling there’s only room for him or Ozzy on that beach, and Ozzy seems to have stronger alliances right now.
Kelly’s pick: Jonathan Young. I hope the remaining new-era players follow Kamilla’s parting exhortation: “Drag that man through the mud.”
How many Canadians are left: None. Moon missions giveth (Jeremy Hansen on Artemis II) and taketh away (Genevieve and Kamilla).
The episode breakdown
Amber: The Blood Moon twist twisted a knife through my heart. Having both Canadians and Survivor’s form of a golden retriever ousted in the same episode was awful. There’s a reason for the saying, “Too much of a good thing,” and three exits were overwhelming. All of the strategy talk and pontification at the Tribal Councils had me zoning out, but then again, that could have been the extended episode or the 20-minute delay.
Kelly: I watched on my PVR and waited to watch so I could fast-forward through the ad breaks and the rerun of Border Security: Canada’s Front Line that Global showed while Trump hijacked the American airwaves again. I’m never a fan of the parts of Survivor that involve pure luck – and as soon as I saw the five-member mini-tribe that Genevieve was randomly sorted into, I knew my pool pick was a goner if she didn’t win immunity. Colby’s exit seemed preordained, too, because of his injury. But while I was sorry to see Kamilla go, at least it was because Jonathan stabbed her in the back. What did you like this week?
Amber: Surprisingly, I’m enjoying Rizo’s alliance with Cirie and Ozzy. While the young’un still isn’t my favourite player, I think Cirie has the strongest read on what it takes to combine old-school playing with the new-school mentality. The fact that she’s taken Ozzy under her wing has helped his game immensely, and Rizo seems like the yappy chihuahua who is just pumped to be included in the party. (Nothing against chihuahuas either, I have two of them.)
Kelly: I laughed out loud at Gen Xer Cirie’s confessional quip: “I’m in a poly relationship now.” I’ve warmed to Rizgod, too. The zany Albanian’s line about not being “a guy’s guy” and then his Swift lyric-laden dispatch of Charlie won me over. I enjoyed his interactions on Exile Island with Ozzy, who has seriously relaxed since he started wearing his poncho. It’s ironic that the most interesting relationship of the week was not anywhere near the Blood Moon massacre – which Jeff Probst definitely oversold as “a moment so memorable and rare, it will forever change the game.”
Amber: YES. If that moment changed the game, I don’t know if I’m here for it. What tickled my Survivor Spidey senses last night was the lack of time dedicated to Christian and Rick Devens’s reunion. There was talk that members are gossiping about their alliance, which puts them in the line of fire. The fact that they also teamed with Aubry Bracco to vote out Genevieve instead of voting Aubry out and getting the Boomerang Idol back didn’t feel smart. I hope it doesn’t backfire on them in the coming weeks.
Kelly: Did you see some of the chatter online that Christian cheated during the immunity challenge by leaning his shoulder up against the side?
Amber: Yep, and I said that to my husband in real time as well. Jeff specifically said no shoulder and his position was definitely suss. I often wonder about what the show lets certain players get away with for the sake of editing and keeping them around longer. No accusations, but the random draw didn’t feel so random to me. That’s the art of reality TV I guess!
Kelly: Well, if it’s true – I’m going to go back to my PVR and go frame by frame like the Zapruder video to see if my Genevieve has been unfairly booted – then I’m okay with Mr. Spock and Captain Kirk’s bromance coming to an end. As entertaining as Christian’s mixing a little Walt Whitman into his Star Trek references was this week with his repeated cries of “O Captain! My Captain!” perhaps it was foreshadowing. That poem is about death and, soon, their fearful trip may be done.
Next episode of Survivor: April 8 on CBS and Global.