Episode 6 Chat

Welcome to the conversation about episode 6 of season 46 of survivor!

“Cancel Christmas”

Feel free to head down to the comments, that is where the fun is, the play by plays, the astute observations, and of course that’s where the friendships are happening.

I’ll be watching the show with the NY time zone tonight and I’ll be taking quick notes which will display here.

The detailed notes are finished!! So if you are interested in the season but unable to watch, this report is fully updated.

Sometime over the weekend I will watch the show a third time, just for fun, with my late-watching Survivor pals. So, if YOU are also a late watcher, please don’t hesitate to add your comments to the conversation! The more the merrier!!

 

Here’s a reminder of alliances:

Here is a reminder of who has the advantages and disadvantages in the game:

On a rewatch of the episode, it’s clear that Maria HAS used her extra vote and no longer holds that advantage.

 

Here is a list of links to previous posts:

• BACK TO MAIN PAGE
• LINK to Episode 1, Days 1-3
• LINK to Episode 2, Days 4-5
• LINK to Episode 3, Days 6-7
• LINK to Episode 4, Days 8-9
• LINK to Episode 5, Days 10-11

Here is a reminder of the “scenes from the next episode” we were shown at the end of episode 5:

• Hunter reads out loud from the TreeMail, to the gathered Nami(orange) tribe, while Tevin looks over his shoulder at the words with his mouth wide open: “It’s day twelve and the game is about to change…”
• Yanu(purple) tribe screams together as they all read the TreeMail: “Drop your buffs!”
• Siga(green) tribe dances on the beach, while Charlie waves the TreeMail around, all chanting: “Merge! Merge! Merge! Merge! Merge!”
• Two motor boats head towards a sandy shore. Siga(green) is in one boat, and Yanu(purple) is in the other.
• All remaining players gather under the shelter at Nami(orange) tribes camp. Q to camera: “There’s cracks all around this island.”
• On beach, Moriah to Charlie: “Today we see the divide.”
• Hunter tells Q on beach: “Liz hates Soda. It’s a mess.”
• Hunter to camera, rubbing face with both hands: “Oh, my goodness.”
• Q to Tiffany: “Venus is saying all KINDS of ____”
• Tiffany to Q: “Baby, it’s about to get messy.”

Survivor Fans ready! Let’s watch!!!

Recaps shown from past episodes:

• Siga(green) on beach learning the salsa from Maria. All laugh as Charlie does the hips wiggle and the dramatic salsa bite. Ben: “Cha Cha Charlie!”
• Nami(orange): Hunter digs the earth to pull out the box. He reads part of his note to the camera (us): “There is a hidden immunity idol in this box. In the event your tribe is told to drop their buffs, return to this location to receive further instructions.”
• The Journey: Q(Yanu) leads Hunter(Nami) and Tim(Siga) through his plan to create a strong player alliance, his plan to keep the obvious threats safe. In the recap, all three men name their persons: Tim/Maria, Q/Tiff, Hunter/Tevin. Q: “We’re locked in.”
• During the Journey, Hunter(Nami) fails his challenge to put 20 random seasons of Survivor in chronological order, thus losing his vote at his next Tribal Challenge.
• Target shooting at the Immunity Challenge: Q’s winning shot, after he was neck in neck with Tim. The enthusiastic response of his tribe. Then showing Siga(green) who will need to go to Tribal Council for the first time that night.
• Siga(green) prepare for the vote: “Ben goes home.” “I’m with us voting for Jem.” Charlie tells the camera about the crossroads he and Maria are at in the game, outlining it: “We can go with the women, or we can go with the men.”
• Tribal Council: Close up of Maria writing two votes: “Jem” & “Jemila” and whispering, “I’m so sorry.” Jeff saying: “Fifth person voted out of Survivor 46…Jem.” Maria grimaces. Charlie nods. Moriah shakes her head. Jeff: “The tribe has spoken.” Her torch is snuffed. Jem: “This was a total blindside tonight, with an idol in my pocket! Ah!”

New footage:

Siga, night 11:

Darkness video catches a bird perched on a leafy branch looks around, then back at camera. Moriah is first to arrive home, as she leads the tribe to their dark camp. They lean their unlit torches against a tree to put them away.

• Moriah to camera, in the dark: “In a word, that sucked. Unbeknownst to me, everyone was out for Jem. And…I wrote down Ben, someone who’s been, honestly, pretty kind to me this whole game, so, it just sucks to be on the wrong side of not only a vote, but the first vote. And on top of that, a blindside by people you think you can trust.”
• Ben to Moriah in group, in the dark: “Hey Moriah, whether that was you or not…who put my name…just know…we care about you.”
• Moriah, to group in the dark: “I know. I appreciate it.”
• Ben chuckles: “Don’t sweat it dawg”
• Moriah: “I feel like an idiot, but at least I’m a living idiot.”
• Charlie: “You’re definitely not an idiot, Mo.”
• Moriah to camera: “It’s like I would rather be a living fool-which I kind of am right now–than, you know, a dead know-it-all.”
• Tim: “And, Mo, I just want to say, you know, I totally th-think you’re valuable,” he looks over at her, and then pauses while he ducks his head to scratch the back of his neck, “in this tribe. Nobody wrote your name, you know what I’m saying? Like, that’s..that’s valuable.”
• Moriah: “I’m appreciative that I’m here, and, I really am Siga strong.”
• Moriah to camera, still in the dark: “I’m feeling conflicted inside. I mean, they lied to me. I was out of this vote, but at the same time, I did not see my name a single time. So that tells me….maybe there’s still room for me to grow in this game. Otherwise, I got a Shot in the Dark burning a hole in my pocket.” She smile/grimaces.

Kudos to Ben for not taking the vote against him personally. Many players tend to get pretty aggressive about it when that happens.

When Charlie and Maria plotted and planned their position in the team and eventually chose their side, I didn’t notice them talking much about the impact their decision would have on the person left behind in the abandoned alliance.

Tim’s body language while speaking to Moriah smacks to me of insincerity, maybe he is just a fidgety person, but there seems to be a lack of thought or intent behind his words. I wonder if Moriah senses it too? I wonder if Tim is aware that the words he is speaking are empty, or if going through the motions of trying to say the right thing–without really meaning anything he says–is a characteristic of himself that he is so familiar with, that he barely even notices it anymore.

Opening Credits 3:30

Day 12 Yanu(purple)

The music is a humming harmony, there are shoes drying on the walls of their boat. Q stands in his underwear, holding a shovel, behind a small, smoky fire pit. Kenzie approaches, wearing a warm-looking pink sweatsuit type thing, carrying sticks to eventually feed to the hungry fire. Kenzie, on beach in her pink halter top and purple shorts, smiling at the camera: “It took Yanu a really long time to get our stuff together, but once we got it, we got it!” Back in her cozy warm pink pj’s, Kenzie blows at the fire. Suddenly, the fire ignites. Kenzie, to camera: “Just, like, reigniting the fire this morning, and it caught in three seconds–like, that’s how we’re doing. We finally have that spark that’s gonna keep us going.”

A boat approaches. Q lays in the shelter and Tiffany is eating a leftover piece of fruit from their prize, when Kenzie hears a boat. The three walk to the beach, and Kenzie thanks the boat pilot as she receives the letter. The three gather and listen while Kenzie reads: “It’s day twelve and the game is about to change.” They smile, scream, and laugh. “Drop your buffs. You have ten minutes to collect your things. A boat is waiting for you to take you to your new home.”  Q yells: “Told you!” Q to camera: “Merge, baby!” All three take off their buffs, Q to buff: “You were good to us while it lasted.” Kenzie: “Kinda.” Tiffany: “Nooo, he wasn’t.” She throws her buff to the ground, “Peace the ____ out!” Tiffany to camera: “To make it with the people that I actually wanted to make it with — my best two pals– oh, my gawd! It’s like the best feeling ever.” They walk in a line, carrying as much as they can, across the beach to the boat. Back to Tiffany, talking to camera. She pulls her idol out of her bra, where she keeps it, and calls it their biggest ally, and she has named it Adelisha.

Day 12 Siga(green)

Tribe is gathered on the beach, near their boat, as Moriah reads aloud from their note: “You have ten minutes to collect your things.” Tim already holds his buff loosely in his hands as Moriah continues, “A boat is waiting to take you to your new home!” They dance and cheer, “Merge! Merge! Merge! Merge! Merge!” They collect fishing gear, machete, tarp…Tim to camera: “…and right now we are Siga strong. Five. But in my opinion, Mo’s still on the bottom, so, if it comes to a point where we have to eat our own, it would be Mo.”

OK, just a sec here. You know who has no INKLING that he was THIS close to being in Mo’s position right now? It was all out of Tim’s hands, Charlie and Maria chose a side, and they happened to choose the side that makes Tim feel on top. If they had chose the other way, Ben would have been voted out, and Tim would be on the ‘bottom’ right now.

Moriah is enthusiastic and elated. She admits that she might be at the bottom of this five, but she knows that “when the game changes, so do your relationships, and if I don’t got four friends rooting for me here, I might have four enemies, and that’s not gonna get me far in this game.” but then she also says, “Go with the devil you know over the devil you don’t.” So will she abandon her four “friends” recognizing that they are actually her enemies, and make new friends? Or will she toe the tribal line, ‘Siga Strong’ and hope for the best?

Day 12 Nami(orange)

On the beach there are screams. Teven stands behind Hunter as Hunter reads out loud, “Your fellow castaways will be joining you soon.” More screams, so excited. The three gals sit on a log together. Venus, Soda, Liz. Venus gets up to stand excitedly behind them, while Liz reaches over to hug Soda, who exclaims, “Oh, my gawd!” Hunter: “Drop your buffs!” Everyone immediately grabs their buffs and throws them aside. Hunter hands the note to Venus. Soda picks up Liz in a hug and spins her around, screaming. Hunter sees the phrase, “Drop your buffs!” and storms into action to find his idol. He runs away from them, doing an airplane style glide with his arms, down the beach, and they all just seem to assume that this is his way of dealing with the new emotion of company coming. Soda runs behind him for a few steps, doing her own wobbly airplane dance, but soon loses interest in following him. Liz: “Why are we running?” She flops to the sand beside Soda. Hunter just keeps going – to find the clue to finding the key that will open the box to his hidden immunity idol.

Here’s the clue: “Solve the riddle for the location of your key. This game has it’s ups and it’s downs. But you have to keep plugging away. Inside my base will knot disappoint you. This step won’t lead you astray.”

He concludes it is the steps near their camp site, so he runs to the steps only to find his whole tribe gathered in the shelter, nearby where he needs to dig. Still, I think this was a smart time for him to do this, because even though everyone on his tribe is sitting together nearby in the shelter, they are all distracted with how excited they are and a little bickering between Soda and Venus that Hunter seems to be able to hear. But also, the new tribes haven’t yet joined them with their eagle eyes. He tells them that he needs to vibe for a second, sit on a step, and catch his breath.

• Venus: “What’s his mindset right now? ‘Cause I can’t read him.”
• Soda: “Who?”
• Venus: “Hunter.”
• Soda: “You gotta ask him, I don’t know.”
• Venus: “I just asked, you don’t have to shut me down each time I ask you a question.”
• Soda: “That’s your feelings, they’re valid. I DON’T know.”
• Venus: “I know! I didn’t say you did know. I mean, realistically we used to talk all the time in the beginning and now you barely talk to me. And that;s just a real, that’s like, I’m not blind, so, like, that’s just reality.”
• Soda: “I feel like we have not so much to talk about because Nami keeps winning, and -“
• Venus: “But we need ot talk to each other. Like, it doesn’t have to be strategy all the time.”

For the most part he is unobserved by them, they give him his space to deal with what they think are his emotions. Hunter sits on one step at a time, trying not to be obvious about digging at the dry sand that fills each step. In the background, the above argument plays out. In the foreground, boats draw nearer and nearer to their shore.  Finally, at the bottom step, he digs up a large plug, shaped a little like a mushroom.  A moment later, he digs up the key. As soon as he finds it, Liz walks up to him: “Hey, Hunter.” She waves, tdoesn’t want to interrupt his time, but she needs to use the steps because “I think I left a sling out by the boat…cuz I was excited.” She’s at the top of the steps now, behind him. Hunter: “I’ll go get it for you. I think I left my other one out there, too.” He runs away from her to his hidden box, unlocks it, and claims his Hidden Immunity Idol.

• They can hear the boats. Tevin: “The monster is coming.” Teving to camera: “I look out to the water then what do I see but two boats coming at me at full speed. I said hiyeta bul sha ta shumba ba shando ho handa no ne hanone nackanda – Here dey come.”
• OK, hang on a sec, I’m gonna google that … Ok, google says it detects it is Malagasy, a language of Madagascar, but it did not translate it. Any ideas? Enter them in comments.
• Tevin to Soda, as he, Soda, Liz and Venus stand side by side, watching the boats (and Hunter approaches from the treeline): “Maria’s in the front, I don’t see Jem. Jem is gone.”
• All five gather together on the beach to welcome them. Hunter is happy and calm now, with a hidden immunity idol hidden on himself.
• Tevin to camera: “What I wanted to do was make people feel comfortable when they get here. Human to human, I see you. We are all here. You got a dream, I got a dream. Hello, fellow human. Let’s play the game.”

I want to pay close attention to who is initially attracted to whom, so here is what I could see from the camera shots provied:

• Siga(green) disembarks. Tevin greets Charlie, who jumps off first, carrying his shoes. They hug. Soda hugs Kenzie. Kenzie hugs Venus. Tiffany reaches out to hug Liz. Charlie and Liz walk together to the treeline behind Tiffany and Soda, both pairs chatting.
• Kenzie narrates to camera: “There’s five on Siga, five on Nami, but there’s three of us right in the middle. Three of us Yanu.” She sounds like Charlie and Maria, happy to be in the middle. “And ideally, it’s just like, which way are we gonna go?”
• Tevin reaches to pat Kenzie’s shoulder while Kenzie gushes at him, “Oh my gawd! This is like the Taj Mahal!” Her hand on his elbow. “We’ve been sleeping in dirt!”
• Hunter laughs at something Tiffany said to him, Moriah walks alone beyond them, a few feet apart.  Q hugs Ben, they share a joke.
• Kenzie continues: “Yanu really got it handed to ’em in the beginning of this game, so, we’ve got some experience in our belt that the other tribes don’t have. I know what it’s like to see Jeff snuff a torch. Nami doesn’t know that at all, and Siga’s only done it once. So, I’m like a cast iron skillet that’s been, like, oiled up and seasoned. And they’re like store-bought, nonstick right now.”
• Sitting order around the fire pit: Left: Soda, Tiffany, Tevin, Tim, Hunter. End: Q, Ben. Right: Charlie, Venus, Moriah, Kenzie, Maria, Liz. Other end: Camera.

Commercials break 12:45

Day 12

Group shot, various conversations happening, a bit of movement.

Tim makes a big announcement of congratulations to the group. Tevin, not really listening, responds, “Buffless. We should all be buffless.” to another conversation. Tim wonders to camera what happens next. Here’s who is together: Soda stands behind Q while listening to Tim. While sitting beside each other, Soda hugs Moriah. Marie and Venus talk. Liz sits next to Charlie, both part of a conversation with someone off camera, possibly Tiffany. Soda and Tim talk. Keep in mind, these are all images, no words are broadcast.

• Hunter asks, “How’d it go last night? Was it pretty straightforward?”
• Tim: “She was going chaos by the time I got back from the journey.” (He borrows Bens expression, claims it as his own.) “So, we had made a unanimous decision.

Walking on a path through grass, 3 pairs, all chatting with their partner: Soda and Marie in front. Tevin and Tiffany in middle. Liz and Tim in back.

• “How’s everything going at y’all’s camp?”
• Venus: “I mean, you know, same thing as Siga.”
• Q: “Winning.”
• Venus continues: “When you keep winning, like, no one’s scrambling, no one’s drawing lines. And, but I-I just want to work with you guys.” Venus tells the camera that she finds it “a breath of fresh air to have new people in this camp. To have new conversations and to not be met with silence and blank stares.”
• Venus to Tiffany: “Tevin is the type of person where if you were next to him in final three, I’m sorry, you’re not winning.”
• Shots of Venus talking to Kenzie, then to Maria. To camera: “Now I get to be king.”
• Tevin to Q and Tiffany, alone in the shelter: “There’s some people on this Nami tribe that I have to say…be careful.” Q: “Drop me a name so I know.” Tevin: “Venus” Tiffany: “Okay, she approached me earlier.” Q to camera: “My take on the Nami tribe is there’s cracks all around this island. They have a beautiful home, but they ain’t filled the cracks.”
• Q tells camera about what he calls “The Plus One Alliance”. He asks Tevin if Hunter told him about it already, Tevin tells them that he said to Hunter that is a beautiful idea. Tiffany says she loves it too.
• Q tells camera about the alliance, that it’s Hunter, Tim and Q and they each pull in one person. He also calls them “The Journey Six.” Q decides to check with every member of the alliance to make sure that it is intact. Hunter tells him that he feels “one hundred percent solid with you (Q) and Tiffany. I’m just unsure about Tim because he has so many options over there, cause they do seem like they’re all getting along.”
• Q tells camera that both he and Hunter are a little too wary about Tim and Maria, on whether or not they are on board. He decides that his next task is to talk to Maria, to ensure that Tim did his part. (Close up of a bat hanging upside down.)
• Q asks Maria if Tim talked to her after the journey. Maria tells him that “ya, Tim talked to me after the journey. I mean we kinda all do everything together….we sit down and talk about everything, and everyone knows everything, and …” Q sees she has no idea about the alliance, so he tells her that Tim told him that she is Tim’s “guy.” Maria shows the surprise that she feels.
• Maria tells camera what she understands Q is saying: “Evidently, Tim told Q on their journey, that Tim and I were really close.” She feels like Tim is closer to Ben than to her. Reminds us that Charlie is her number one, so she thought Ben was Tim’s number one. That though she and Tim have a connection, she never would have put him at the top of her list. He might have been her number three.
• While she talks, a beach shot L-R, kind of a circle: Soda, Moriah, Tim, Liz, Tiffany, Charlie, Tevin, Ben
• Maria tries to back pedal with Q: “You know everyone has their person in different ways. Q observes to camera that “Out of the gate, Maria didn’t seem too filled in on the six” So he wanted to figure out what Tim actually told her. “If Tim did not fill Maria in on the six, I know now that Tim is not to be trusted.”
• Q approaches Tim, Tevin is there talking with Tim. Q interupts: “Did you get a chance to talk to Maria?” Tim: “I didn’t tell her about the formal, but I saw you having a conversation.” Q: “I just asked if you talked to Tim. I didn’t want to be the first person to bring it up, so..you need to make sure you tell her.” Tim: “No, I just think … she a connection type person, so anything, like…she gonna feel you out even if i tell her or not, you know, so I just like…I like that y’all was already talking.” Q nods vigourously, clearly tense and disappointed.
• Tim to camera: “I want to work with the group of six, I think they’re strong, I think they have a good likelihood to go far in the merge. I’ve also seen people commit too early in past seasons of Survivor, so, I’m exploring, I’m observing. No solid game plans, but I’m not saying nothing too soon.”
• Q to Tim: “Just make sure you secure that, Tim.” Tim: “I’ll secure it before nightfall. I’ll tell her the loop.” Q to camera: “I’m so confused why Tim didn’t tell Maria. Maybe he’s trying to keep this Siga thing intact, but it got me worried now. It got me worried.”
• As Q’s words narrate the scene, the men break up and walk from the beach into the tree line. You see, but don’t hear Ben asking Tim about something, perhaps wondering what he was talking about with Tevin and Q. Tim seems noncommittal to him as well.

Commercials Break 17:57

Day 13

Camera shots in the sleepy darkness of early morning. The water with an island in it, low burning embers in the fire pit, piles of sleeping people scattered around and in the shelter, a few people beginning to wake, stretching, the cloudy dawn sky, with dozens of bats flying across, people beginning to walk around each other in the shelter as they prepare for the day. Venus voice over to camera: “It’s a scary moment where it’s, like, people are expecting us to pit against each other…” Moriah, Tim, and Venus discuss their “takes.” Venus calls Siga a closed book, Tim agrees. To the camera, Venus continues, saying that it’s a new stage in the game, she is excited to start making big moves. It’s been 12 days of just camping, and she didn’t come here to camp, she came here to play the game. She tells Tim and Moriah that “eventually tribe lines have to go, you can’t be Siga Strong forever.” Tim agrees, says “everybody agrees to that before the merge, but, yeah.” Moriah tries to talk, but Venus continues, asking for a name for a name. Tim tells her that he is “always going to listen, and watch the group before I can, like, make a decision on how I feel about anything.” Venus tells them that she is “trying with them because it is important.” Moriah tells Venus that she is “kind of an outgoing introvert, and this is kind of my worst nightmare.” Venus cuts in, “Me too. Okay. We’re like the exact same person.” Venus tells us that she feels a connection with Moriah, that she is sweet and Venus feels she can trust her.

On the beach, Charlie admires the sunrise. Five people sit together on a log, in this order: Tim, Venus, Maria, Charlie, Hunter. Moriah tells us that it is clear to her that the crack in Nami is Venus. Camera changes angle a bit, and I can see Soda sitting kind of in front of and between Charlie and Hunter, and Moriah standing behind Charlie and Hunter. Moriah considers Venus to be a strong social player. Camera gives a different angle, now I see Ben sitting kinda behind between Tim and Venus, and I can see Q beside Ben, on the other side of  behind Venus. Moriah continues telling the camera that “Venus is not necessarily someone that she wants to work with because she is crafty.”

Charlie talks alone wiht Moriah, tells he that he hasn’t “had much strategy talk yet, what about you?” Moriah tells him about Venus approaching Tim and her with strategy. Camera shows Maria and Venus sitting together in shelter, eating. Moriah continues that Venus “wants a name for a name.” Charlie tells the camera that “everyone can see that Venus is playing a really hard game,” he calls her “wicked smart (as we say in Boston), and she has a good mind for the game.” He feels she could be a threat to him. Tim and Charlie walk together on the beach, Charlie tells him about his check-in with Mo. Tim listens and responds without any true intent on his part. Tells Charlie that he’s “not worried about it though, I’m not entertainin’ that, ’cause Venus is giving it too hard. She said name for name, you know what I’m saying.” Charlie askss if they gave one yet, Tim says no. Tim tells us that he is “in a better position than he thought he’d be because of his two alliances: Siga and the Plus One Alliance.” He reveals that he still has to talk to Maria. (He told Q that he would do that before nightfall last night.)

Tim pulls Maria aside to FINALLY tell her about the Plus One Alliance. She clearly asks him, “So, you’re saying Q and Tiff…and Hunter and Tevin…and you and me…are gonna look out for each other’s names?” Tim: “Yeah, yeah, yeah, like, looking out…” Maria: “Is that what they want?” Finally Tim speaks a little clearer and says, “Ya, that’s what Q put out first and…Hunter and I confirmed it. Like, these are the people we trust, and we agreed that we’ll look out for each other’s name. So at the end of the day, us six are potentially voting the same way.” Maria says she is down for it, she just was surprised when Q brought it up before Tim told her about it. To the camera, Maria says, “If there’s a group of six, I’m down for it because it’s nice to have options. But the question is, does it work for me? Because I’m not here to play Tim’s game. I’m here to play my game.”

Group chatter:

Q and Tim talk about what Tim likes to do with his kids. “My boys love the water. I’ll take them anywhere. The pool in the neighbourhood.”

Ben says that he’s “like, the black sheep of my family. And we have, like, mediums in our family, too. My grandma’s, like, a psychic.”

Charlie: “Chili Lime Chips from Trader Joe’s…That’s what I go for. I can eat a whole bag of those things.”

Q listens to Siga talk (cuz this group might all be Siga, plus Q) and concludes that they don’t talk much about strategy, they are keeping their cards to their chest. He wants to piece together the puzzle of Siga.

Q walks with Moriah: “I bet it was crazy when y’all got back on the beach. Everybody skedaddled.”

Moriah agrees: “It really was.” Q asks her if it was unanimous, Moriah lies: “Yeah.” She thinks she is protecting herself by keeping the secret that she is the crack in Siga and staying Siga Strong, but the Siga tribe don’t want her to be used AGAINST THEM! So she is still trusting her four enemies. Under Q’s constant, insightful questioning, Moriah admits that Jem was blindsided, that she didn’t use her shot in the dark, and that Jem voted for Ben.

Q asks how long she’s been watching. (I swear, he feels like an interrogator), she says she started with Aubry. Moriah likes that “Aubry remained authentically herself, Aubry got her hooked, she’s her “OG” (Original Gangster) for watching.” Q tells Hunter (alone) that Mo is dangerous. Q tells camera that “Mo is just a Survivor fanatic that can talk, talk, talk this game. And for you to say Aubry is your favourite player – that is dangerous, because Aubry was setting up people left and right. And if Mo thinks she’s gonna set me up, Mo can cancel Christmas.”

Personally, I think Mo doesn’t talk, talk, talk this game, I think Q was making her uncomfortable, and when Moriah is uncomfortable, she says many words. Also, I think Moriah probably admires Aubry because she recognized a fellow misfit, not because of any cutthroat game play. We all have our unique reasons for admiring or disliking someone, and I think that Q applied his own motivations on Moriah’s opinion. Unfortunately, he doesn’t possess the curiousity to dig deep enough into her version of “Why Aubry?”

Day 13, the Challenge

Camera speeds over the terrain towards the challenge site. I can see that it is set up for two teams: Purple and Orange. Not three, which would suggest old tribal lines. Not thirteen, which would suggest an individual competition.

Players walk into the challenge site in this order: Liz, Maria, Kenzie, Moriah, Tiffany, Soda, Ben, Venus, Tim, Charlie, Tevin, Q, Hunter. After they arrive, they remain in this order as they line up by the mat.

Jeff takes back the idols from Hunter and from Kenzie. “Tribal Immunity – No More!” Announces Jeff.  Soda loudly responds with surprise, and Jeff and Soda go back and forth on that for a while. Then Jeff tells the group that “right now this is Survivor limbo, you don’t have a buff, so technically you are not part of a tribe. But for at least six of you, that’s about to change.”

They will randomly pull rocks to be divided into two groups of six, who will compete against each other.  Six people will pull an Orange rock, six people will pull a purple rock, and one person will pull a grey rock. The grey rock holding person will choose a group to root for, and win or lose, that player will accept the same fate.

• Grey rock: Tiffany, chooses Purple.
• Orange rocks: Charlie 5’9″, Moriah 5’4″, Maria 5’2″, Liz 5’0″, Soda 5’5″, Venus 5’6″ (Everyone calls out their height to jokingly point out that they are short and the other team is loaded.)
• Purple rocks: Kenzie, Tevin, Ben, Hunter, Tim, Q (Kenzie: “Well I really think I’m gonna CARRY this team today…”)

Crawl through the mud, under a muddy net

• Orange: Charlie (is first for team, and through before Hunter), Soda, Venus, Moriah (passes Q), Maria, Liz.
• Purple: Hunter first, Kenzie, Q, Ben, Tevin, Tim.
• Orange finishes this part first.

Once everybody’s at the cart, they push the cart through a field, collecting very heavy sandbags along the way.

• Orange: First batch loaded first, second batch loaded second
• Purple: First batch loaded second, second batch loaded first, first to tower base.

Use those sandbags to get you to the top of a tower.

• Purple: First to the bottom of the tower.

Once everybody’s up top

• Purple: Has half the team on up on the net ceiling before Orange even reaches the base. Purple is first up.

Collect a bag of keys.

• Purple gets the keys loose first, before Orange is even up.

Slide down the other side

• Purple: All team members are down before Orange is all the way up.

Work together to climb a massive (about 5 feet high), round boulder that looks like a giant gum drop.

• Orange: Was sliding down the net with keys in hand while Purple was climbing their sphere.

When everyone’s at the top (Purple first, then Orange), two players at a time will use one crate of puzzle pieces to solve one section of a puzzle

• Purple: Tim and Tevin on first section of the puzzle.
• Orange: Maria and Liz

Two players at a time will use one crate of puzzle pieces to solve the second section of a puzzle

• Purple: Kenzie and Ben start this section before Orange begins puzzle
• Orange: Soda and Moriah catch up, it is neck in neck, but purple finishes first

Two players at a time will use one crate of puzzle pieces to solve the third section of a puzzle

• Orange: Venus and Charlie
• Purple: Hunter and Q finish first, just a few pieces ahead of Orange.

Purple, the first group to finish earns their merge buff, and a merge meal, and immunity at tonight’s Tribal Council. This purple team contains all of Yanu(purple). The buffs are red. They will go to Tribal tonight and cast a vote, but they cannot be voted for.

Orange, the losers, no buff, no meal, and no immunity at tonight’s Tribal Council.

Soda tells us that she has “Agita” then describes symptoms of anxiety and panic. “Feels like a heart attack.”

Commercials Break 41:17

Man those ocean waves take my breath away, I’m glad the artsy filmers and editors put so much of the surrounding nature in the show. I’m someone who does not travel, but I am pretty imaginative and I appreciate the opportunity to see beautiful parts of the world vicariously through the images I see on videos.

All walk back towards camp together, along the beach, but you can sure hear the seven winners cheering! Just a reminder that all the men except Charlie are safe from tonight’s vote, and all the women except Kenzie and Tiffany are not safe tonight.

Everybody walks past a shaded structure that overlooks the ocean and holds the feast. The winners walk to it, digging into their feast, mud and all, and the losers continue on. For food, I see: Brownies, red wine, a pink drink in a wine bottle, Ben is drinking something from a little golden tumbler. I see cold cuts, a variety of cheese, grapes, a variety of breads, more golden tumblers, mayo, fruits and veggies I don’t recognize,

Before we watch the feasters plot, we head back to camp with the muddy losers. Venus: “So close!” Charlie: “Wow, what a rock draw, hey?” Soday: “Deeply impressed by everyone.” Everyone heads back to the water to clean themselves up. Moriah points out that the losing team contains three Siga(green) and three Nami(orange). Then we head to the feast.

• Ben starts the plotting: “I think we’re in a peculiar positioin, ’cause we got all of Yanu here, so y’all have an advantage. Siga and Nami are evenly numbered on the losing tribe.”
• Hunter: “I can’t even vote.”
• Tevin to camera: “Hunter can’t vote, but on day two I took a journey and got an extra vote, and at Tribal Council, there should be an extra vote sitting there, waiting for me.”
• Tim: “So, how do you feel about your tribe, Nami?”
• Tevin: “All I will say is that from day one, and I’ve been very vocal about it, is that I don’t trust Venus.” He’s not wrong, I don’t write every thing she has said, but she is good in challenges and she has a good head on her shoulders as far as what’s going on and how she (doesn’t really) fit into it. She knows that she is powerless without friends, but she is a fighter.
• Tim: “Moriah, Venus and I talked at the water well, and Venus was thinking about opportunities. It completely validates why you may not trust her.”
• Ben: “I could see why that would be something you wouldn’t want to work with, going forward.”
• Tiffany: “Okay, well, we gotta have at least one Siga name…”
• Q: “Y’all got to declare somebody, man.”
• Hunter: “Well, okay, so who’s y’all’s Siga person?”
• Ben: “I feel like it’s hard, I know it sounds like I’m, like, playing a cover, but…really, we just had that Tribal.”
• Hunter: “Who was that?”
• Tim and Ben, in unison: “Jem”
• Hunter: “Jem’s gone.”
• Q: “It has to be somebody else.”
• Tiffany to camera: “Siga’s kinda beating around the bush a little bit, they don’t really want to throw out a name. They’re not really trying to work with us, despite the fact that that’s the impression they’re trying to give off. If you were, then you wouldn’t be so tight lipped about who on your tribe you were willing to put on the chopping block.”
• Q: “Siga got to declare somebody.”
• Kenzie: “Who’s a threat?”
• Tim: “I’ll give you one. Well, the person on our team that knows the game best is Mo.”
• Tevin: “I was about – I’ve heard through the grapevine that she’s savvy.”
• Tiffany: “I’ve heard her, like, spit some crazy Survivor facts.”
• Q: “If she know this game like that, that scare me, dawg.”
• Tevin: “Do you think that Venus or Mo is more manipulative?”
• Tiffany: “In my personal opinion, I would be more intimidated by somebody who’s more knowledgeable than somebody who’s just being shiesty, because shiesty you can sniff out a mile away. Somebodyd who’s smart can outmaneuver you in a lot of different ways.”
• Tevin: “So are we saying Mo?”
• Tim: “If I was to vote right now, I’d vote Venus.”
• Tiffany to camera: “While they’re quickly trying to get Venus out,” (by the way, so is Nami trying to get Mo out, they’re going HARD against Mo.) “they’re basically just showing their hand and saying that they’re trying to stay Siga strong.”
• Tim: “I’m not saying Mo’s off-limits. I want Venus now. You have Mo. Let’s vote.”
• Tiffany to camera: “Because they were so willing to vote Venus and more reluctant to say Mo, it made me want to vote Mo.”

Dozens of bats fly over the expansive ocean and through the air, as we shift to a different scene. The winners, some still muddy, some looking a bit cleaner walk towards camp. Q, Tevin and Hunter in front, Kenzie and Tiffany close behind them, and Tim and Ben bringing up the rear. As they enter the camp area, we see that Liz and Charlie sit on one side of the fire, Soda, Moriah and Maria sit on the opposite side of the fire, and Venus is standing at the fire, in front of Soda. Moriah begins to clap for them, while Venus says, “Okay. Okay. Angry faces. No, don’t clap for these people.” Tim to camera: “Everyone agrees that Venus is a snake and some people agree that Mo is a threat.” He thinks that he is “protecting Mo and protecting Siga’s numbers.”

Charlie and Tim go for a walk. Tim admits to Charlie that he is “a little nervous,” Charlie asks if there was “any talk over there.” Tim says “ya, definitely talks.” Charlie: “What’s the deal?” Tim: “Everybody had to throw a name. Nami, it seems like there’s some distrust with Venus. For Siga’s name I said Mo. And if I was gonna give them a name, I’m not giving them Charlie’s name.”

• Charlie to camera: “What I’m hearing is Venus and Mo, and I don’t want Mo to go, but this is an incredibly important vote.”
• Tim: “Yanu’s gonna vote Mo, but I’m voting Venus. So…I’m not gonna go down in numbers first.”
• Charlie: “Um, Mo’s gonna get a little antsy from that.”
• Tim: “She is, So with that, we have to tell her to vote Venus. If it’s five of us, we keep our five.”
• Charlie to camera: “The question is, how hard do we push to save Mo at this point? This is the individual part of the game. I have to get through this vote. And if Mo going home is what it takes for me to stay, that’s what has to happen tonight.”

Hunter and Tevin, washing up in the ocean. Hunter: “A Siga person has to go.” Tevin: “That’s right.” Hunter: “So, who do you want to go?” Tevin: “Mo.” Hunter: “Mo.” Hunter to camera: “I want to guide this vote even if I can’t vote. I want to take out Moriah because Siga is so strong. If we leave Siga in this, it’s gonna get tough later.” Hunter to Q: “We gotta get a Siga person out.” Q: “Oh yeah. Oh, yeah, for sure.” Hunter: “Nami is not Nami strong, okay? Liz hates Soda, Soda hates Venus. It’s a mess.” Q to camera: “Siga is a stronger tribe, right now, than Nami.”

Soda to Venus: “How many hours do you think we have right now before Tribal?” Venus: “Three.”

Q to camera: “Siga is strong. Nami has cracks. So it might be wiser tonight for us to side with Nami.”

• Venus to Liz and Q: “I want your opinion, though, who do you think is the right call? Should we do Siga or Nami?”
• Q: “I needed just an honest vibe on —“
• Tiffany cuts him off as she approaches the three of them at the well. “Just the person I wanted to talk to.”
• Liz: “We were like, ‘Where’s Tiff?'”
• Tiffany: “I was hoping that you weren’t down on the beach. Uh, you got to vote Mo tonight if you want to stay.”
• Venus tells camera she is pissed off at the way Tiffany said to her: “It’s Mo, and if you don’t vote Mo, it’s you.”
• Tiffany continues to Venus: “This is what happened. The name from your camp was you. We were waiting a while for Siga to throw a name out, and they wouldn’t. We need to..It needs to be a Siga today.”
• Venus: “I agree with Siga, I’m unsure about Mo. Why not Charlie? Mo’s not a threat. Let’s give it a beat and we talk a little more, but for now, we know Siga.”
• Tiffany: “But I’m just telling y’all, do not say anything, because…”
• Venus: “Oh, I’m not gonna breathe a word.”
• Tiffany: “…Y’all might…”
• Venus to camera: “When you hear your name, it’s hard not to panic, but I realized in that moment that this is a stupid vote. Charlie would be a smarter vote. A man needs to go next. Charlie is the only man we can vote out tonight, so I want Charlie gone.”

Later, around the fire to Soda and Kenzie,Venus: “Did they say anything else about Mo? Specifically that that’s…I need to understand why Mo. If it’s cause she’s a superfan alone, then you (Soda) should be scared for the next vote. That’s why we should think Charlie.”

• Soda: “Have you picked that up from Siga’s dynamics?”
• Venus: “Yeah, but the boys are super close, extremely. That’s why I was saying Charlie should be the name, not Mo. It’d be stupid of us to vote out a girl because the three boys say — look, all the … men went on a feast.”
• Soda inhales sharply and Kenzie is listening hard too.
• Soda: “You’re not wrong about that!”
• Kenzie to camera: “Venus is pissed. She’s mad that Mo’s name is out there. Venus doesn’t wan to send a girl home and so Venus throws out Charlie. This is where the plan gets rocky, because if Venus would just vote Mo, Mo just goes. Easy. Venus doesn’t want Mo.”

See what I mean? Venus speaks so fast, I usually don’t type her words, but she is observant, and what she understands about what she sees is correct. Soda kind of believes her, but Kenzie just thinks that Venus wants to keep Mo. Venus is a smart gal, but she doesn’t have the clout that comes with having friends. No one will choose to really hear her.

Q, Kenzie, and Tevin whispering together under the cover of trees.

• Tevin: “I know what Venus has got going on —“
• Q: “And see, and see, what scares me is –“
• Kenzie: “V doesn’t want to vote Mo, did y’all know that?”
• Q: “Wait, hold on, wait. You said V mad about voting Mo?”
• Kenzie, quick nod: “Ya.”
• Q: “V mad about voting Mo?”
• Kenzie: “Ya. Mad. Not just like–“
• Q: “I just told Venus that it’s either her of Mo, so if she mad about it, I’ll vote Venus. I’m going Venus. I can’t –“
• Kenze: “What do I do?”
• Q to camera: “The girls right now in this game have seven to six on the men. Venus don’t want to vote a woman. That’s why she was throwing out Charlie’s name at the water well. But I have to make sure Venus understands. I put my game on the line and told you exactly what is gonna happen. If you gonna be ungrateful…I send your ass back to Canada.”
• Kenzie: “So what are you gonna tell Venus, Mo?”
• Q: “I ain’t talking about Venus no more.”
• Kenzie: “Okay.”
• Q: “Damn Venus.”
• Tevin to camera: “I’m okay to send Venus home because I have not trusted Venus since day one. She’s been running around this island alone, I don’t know if she has a Beware Advantage, she’s been spinning narratives on me, and all of those things line up in a way that make me feel I can’t trust Venus at all, and therefore she must go.”

Moriah and Tim walk along a path together.

• Tim: “Tevin will go…Tevin doesn’t, Tevin will go Venus.”
• Moriah: “And then all of us go…”
• Tim: “All of us go Venus, it’s Venus.”
• Moriah to camera: “I am so worried. I know my name has been out there.”
• Tim: “It is annoying to hear your name go down, but there’s more votes on Venus.”
• Moriah to camera: “Going into the merge, I decided to work with Siga. I fear that I am putting my loyalty and my trust in the wrong spot. So I feel like I have a lot of work to do today to make sure I’m not going home tonight!”

A BLUE CRAB digs in the sand! Nearby, on the beach, Tevin, Hunter, and Tiffany talk.

• Tiffany: “We got to get on the same page. Where is Q at? “
• Q comes running to them from the tree line: “It’s gotta be quick.”
• Hunter: “Why did you change it? Just stick with Mo.”
• Q: “I don’t know what the – Venus is moving around, saying all kinds of –“
• Tiffany: “What’d she say?”
• Hunter: “Venus gonna get herself voted out.”
• Tevin: “He also doesn’t like that Venus is playing a game that we don’t want to vote out none of the women.”
• Q: “She says she don’t want to vote no women out.”
• Hunter: “Who’s she gonna vote out?” ((Silent pause) “Then why are we worried about it?”
• Tiffany to camera: “Things are kinda chaotic right now because whoever goes home tonight, Mo or Venus is gonna be the determining factor of the trajectory of the next couple of votes.”

Walking to Tribal Council, Hunter leads the way, followed by Tiffany, Tevin, Kenzie, Q, Ben, Soda, Moriah, Liz, Charlie, Venus, Maria, and Tim brings up the rear.

Commercials Break 53:01

Tribal Council Night 13

In the darkness the follow the torch lit path up to the gorgeous Tribal Council set. They enter the scene in a different order than they left camp: Soda, Moriah, Venus, Maria, Liz, Charlie, Tiffany, Tevin, Ben, and Hunter are as far down the line as I can see, so I am unsure of the order of the remaining three, Kenzie, Q, and Tim. Nami gets their first look at the elaborate flying eaves atop all the little huts, and jaws drop in appreciation of the breath taking design.

At Jeff’s instruction, Nami lights their torches, then all sit down in this order: Left to Right, F=Front row, B=Back row. FKenzie, BTim, FQ, BHunter, FCharlie, BBen, FTiffany, BTevin, FLiz, BMaria, FVenus, BMoriah, FSoda.

• Jeff: “Seven are safe, six are not…Tevin, the juxtaposition of having more than half the group completely safe is very unusual at Tribal Council.”
• Tevin: “The perfect word that you just used is “Juxtaposition,” because though I am protected, I still have to be very aware of what is happening at this Tribal Council, because this will add up to what will happen when I am inevitably maybe not safe at the next one.”
• Jeff: “Q, what is it like having seven people that are safe?”
• Q: “So, for me, Jeff, I’m just happy that I’m one of the seven that has this” (he touches his red buff) “so far, because going back to camp after that feast was like my little brother kicking over an ant pile and the ants just started running at me.” (group laughs) “You had time to eat, buddy, now it’s time to talk. And we’ll see where things kind of shake up.”
• Jeff: “So Charlie, as one of the six, can you try to move the game in a direction you want?”
• Charlie: “Being part of the six, I feel like I’m a goalkeeper, you know? I have a goal, and I’m not taking any shots. All I’m doing is blocking, you know? I’m just listening. If I hear the name Charlie, I got to get to work.” Venus squints her eyes.
• Jeff: “How about for you, Venus? Can you still play offensively even though you’re trying to make sure it’s not you?”
• Venus, in a calm, low, slow, husky voice: “Oh, 100%, Jeff. You never give up. None of us want our names written down, but, also, like, if the kings of the castle over there, who already” (Hunter pulls a face, whispers “DANG!” and rolls his eyes over at Q and Tim) “have their Buffs, say a name, you have to listen out for whether or not your name’s being said and to move that target off your back.”
• Jeff: “So, Hunter, how is it decided who you’re gonna vote for?”
• Hunter: “Yeah, I don’t have a say in this vote, and so I’ll just break the ice. The Yanu tribe has the choice right now, and they have to choose who’s gonna lose a number: Siga or Nami. And right now Siga is really, really close – like the cloud nine of vibes.”
• Jeff: “And, Moriah, that’s what Hunter should do, throw it on another tribe, not his.”
• Moriah: “Yeah, I mean, I’d be lying if I said we weren’t doing the same, but I’ll let you all in a little secret here. It was NOT unanimous at the last Tribal Council.” (Q moves his head in that expressive way of his.) “I was the odd out. I didn’t get the vote right. I am on the damn bottom, and I do not fit in.” (Liz mouths a slow “Wow”)
• Hunter: “But perception is just reality, though, like, none of us knew that because y’all did such a good job, and so if that was the case, like, you have to help us with our perceptions.”
• Moriah: “Yeah, and I’m – I’m helping you along as I can, I mean–“
• Hunter: “Well, you’re talking to the guy who can’t vote.” (Group laughs)
• Moriah: “I think I’m talking pretty loudly to the guy that can’t vote. But the question really is up to Yanu.” Kenzie looks, I don’t know, angry?
• Jeff: “Q, in a game all about numbers, Moriah just said,  “I’m not part of that group.” Is that appealing?”
• Q: “It’s appealing, Jeff, IF I feel like the information is accurate, because this is the first time I’m personally hearing that she was on the bottom.”
• Moriah: “Q, I’m serving it up to you on a silver platter here.”
• Q: “But I’m a man of truth. And in one conversation that we had, I asked a simple question: ‘What went on at Tribal for Siga?’ That probably would have been a time to say, ‘I am on the bottom, I need help.’ But instead, I was told that the vote was unanimous.”
• Moriah, nodding: “That’s fair.”
• Q: “So, Moriah, are you playing for Siga or are you playing for you?”
• Moriah: “I’m playing for me. I want that merge Buff.”
• Q: “If you were on the bottom, why not express that? You see what I’m saying? Don’t let anyone mute you in this game, if you feel like you’re on the bottom. That’s valuable information.”
• Jeff: “Tim, weigh in on this because a lot of information is coming out and it is a show down between two tribes, with the Yanu three in the middle.”
• Tim: “Yeah, I mean, they were kind of forced to make a decision on choosing someone from Nami or choosing someone from Siga. And so at the feast, we went around the table and everybody that had a vote said a name, and at the feast, we left with a clear understanding of who might be voting for who at tonight’s Tribal Council.”
• Jeff: “Charlie, did you hear your name?”
• Charlie: “I heard whispers, but my way of dealing with the whispers is to go to the people that I trust, that I’ve connected with, that I’ve spoken with, and saying, “Do I need to go scramble like crazy? Or was this just a whisper?”
• Jeff: “Venus, did you hear your name?”
• Venus, again with the deep, calm voice: “Oh, yeah. A lot. Plenty of times. A terrifying amount of times. But you can’t let that get to you. I mean, realistically, I hope the people around me are smart enough to see the value I could bring to them, and if they’re as smart of a player that I think they are, they’ll probably want to keep me around over someone else.” (Kenzie smiles and covers her smile with her hand.)
• Jeff: “So, Moriah, how are you feeling? You pitched a case, people seem to be hearing it. Are you feeling optimistic or pessimistic?”
• Moriah: “I know what I wanted to say today. I’ll tell you right now, I might be the most honest person at this Tribal Council. And, you know, there’s important information out here. I know how whispers fly and how whispers go, and I wanted to say it loud and clear for all of you to hear what happened. And I’m feeling very satisfied with my message.”
• Moriah held eye contact with Q almost the whole time she said this. Will he read between the lines that she is the only way he will get true information about Siga tribe that he can use, going forward?

It is time to vote. During the vote tally, Moriah uses her Shot in the Dark, which means she did not vote. She is NOT safe, all votes cast against her will count.

• Venus
• Moriah
• Moriah
• Moriah
• Moriah
• Moriah
• Moriah

Moriah: sixth person voted out of Survivor 46. As she walks up to Jeff, Q nods and Venus looks smug. Her torch is snuffed, it’s time for her to go. Siga people call out, “Mo-chete!” Moriah turns a half turn back and waves goodbye, then walks away without looking back again. Jeff tosses the red Buffs to Venus who passes them on, they are now officially merged. They take up their torches and head back to camp.

Commercials Break 1:03:53

Scenes from the next episode:

• Q stands the centre of the screen, dubbed over, Tiffany tells Kenzie: “This is not the Q show. That ain’t gonna work for us.” Kenzie to camera: “This could go into chaos mode.”
• Jeff stands on a floating platform in the ocean, facing the group who is gathered at the other end of the same platform: “Two people are going home tonight.” All, groaning: “Oh!”
• Tevin: “It could be a blindside tonight.”
• Ben: “I’m screwed.”
• Venus to camera: “I am stressing.”
• Q to Kenzie and Tiffany: “He’s ___ up.”
• Charlie to camera: “We are ready to go at each other’s throats.”

Who voted for whom:

• Charlie: Venus
• Kenzie: MORIAH
• Tim: MO
• Q: Moriah
• Ben: Mo
• Tiffany: MORIAH
• Tevin: MORIAH
• Liz: M0-RIAH
• Maria: Moriah
• Venus: Mo
• Soda: MO

Moriah’s last words:

“I just got voted out of Survivor! The good news: Everyone spelled my name right, so, small victory there, but in this game, my biggest takeaway is you deserve as much as you believe you do. And that’s up to you to determine. And it’s sad to know that this is where my journey stops.”