Survivor Season 50, Episode 8
"Double the Fun, Double the Demise"
Host: Jeff Probst
Cast: Aubry Bracco, Coach Wade, Chrissy Hofbeck, Christian Hubicki, Cirie Fields, Emily Flippen, Joe Hunter, Jonathan Young, Ozzy Lusth, Rick Devens, Rizo Velovic, Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick, Tiffany Ervin
The majority alliance is happy to have eliminated Dee and to have flushed Aubry’s idol. Jonathan, in particular, is pleased. It’s what he wanted. He does think about how it might have affected Tiffany, knowing she got four votes. Tiff feels like the votes on her were wasted. Her instinct is to cause some chaos, but she knows that would give them a reason to write her name down again.
Jonathan and Coach debrief the vote. The Dragon Slayer calls himself the ultimate shield. While Coach is clearly doing too much, it’s clear at this point that he can’t help but play the game in a way that will inevitably get him voted out. His allies start to realize that while he’s a shield, he might also start to become too much of a problem. Coach says he won’t control the next vote. We’ll see about that. Jonathan, Stephenie, and Chrissy think he might be starting to dig his own grave. They count Joe, Rizo, Cirie and Ozzy in their numbers, creating a solid block of 7. They talk about getting rid of the middle people: Emily, Rick, Aubry, and Christian. Kind of feels like Ozzy, Cirie, and Rizo might be in the middle, rather than the people opposed to that majority group, but what do I know?
Ozzy tells Tiffany that he voted for her. He felt under pressure to do it. Tiffany reacts excellently, feeling that if he was honest about his vote, that’s better than lying about it. It means they want to build some rapport. She is flexible enough to know she needs people to work with. Ozzy outlines how he’s actually in the middle and while he’d love to get rid of Coach, he needs him around a little longer so they can get rid of other people first, then slay the dragon slayer.
The contestants learn they need to pick teams. One person will be left out. Cirie is happy to be that person. That’s certainly a risk for the legendary player, but it turns out to be the right call. She thinks it would have been less awkward anyway when no one wanted to choose to be with her. The rest of the players decide to just pick their teams rather than any sort of draw. The pairs end up being:
- Ozzy and Stephenie
- Rick and Aubry
- Joe and Tiffany
- Coach and Chrissy
- Jonathan and Christian
- Rizo and Emily
Before the challenge, Joe and Jonathan throw out some names. While they could vote out Rick or Tiffany, Jonathan throws out Aubry’s name. Joe thinks she is less of a threat now that she played her idol. Meanwhile, Ozzy thinks Rick is worth considering since he’s so good at finding idols, especially since Aubry’s has likely been re-hidden in the game. Seems like Rick is the #1 target.
Coach is worried that Tiffany could mount something. He tries to pull the wool over her eyes to convince her that she’s safe. He tries to convince her that he wanted Emily to be the back-up. When asked who pushed for her name, he hesitates to throw someone else under the bus. It’s a failed attempt to appease her. Good try, Coach.
At the challenge, the players learn that a pair will win immunity and a pair will be voted out. Cirie is going to Exile Island and will be safe from the vote. This twist is a good way to continue to get rid of players, and especially fair since they got to choose their partners. I’d argue there would have been added intrigue if they knew the twist before they picked their pairs, but this isn’t too bad. The challenge has two parts. The first is an obstacle course with the second being a ball maze. The winning pair also wins a reward.
Tiff and Joe are the first to complete stage one, followed by Stephenie and Ozzy, then Aubry and Rick. Each pair struggles with the puzzle maze, but ultimately the challenge is won by Tiffany and Joe. That means Tiff can’t be voted for, so those other options will have to be looked at more closely, though complicated by the fact that they also now have a pair. That means that looking at Rick means also taking out Aubry (who was also in consideration for being voted out) and taking out Coach means taking out Chrissy (who didn’t necessarily seem to be on people’s radar). Jeff tells them that pairs can vote differently, but they are voting for a duo. Idols and Shot in the Darks will be protection for both players in the duo.
Cirie arrives at Exile Island and finds out that she has an opportunity to earn a way to have a say in the vote. If she finishes the task, she can vote at Tribal Council. There are 2,000 coconuts on the beach. If she finds it, she’ll head back to camp. If she loses, she’ll have to stay at Exile. She flips the sand timer and starts working. She starts looking at the coconuts near her. Girl! Go farther! They wouldn’t have hidden it so close to the starting point! C’mon! The search starts to take a toll on her. She sits down and cries. She is overwhelmed. She says the game of Survivor gives her gas in the tank to believe in herself. Just when she looks ready to give up, she finds the phoenix coconut and will return to the beach.
Christian says he feels good about being paired with Jonathan, since they get protection from both sides. Stephenie, Coach and Chrissy won’t want to get rid of Jonathan while Emily, Rick and Aubry won’t want to get rid of Christian. Emily would like to get Coach & Chrissy out. She sees it as one side of the divided beach getting a moment to take control. Rizo and Ozzy think that taking out Rick & Aubry is the right choice. If only Aubry had forgotten to play her idol again. She knows she has a target on her, but she thinks people underestimate her.
Joe reveals to Tiff that he wrote her name down. He takes ownership of it and says he wants to lock in with her. She shakes his hand. Tiffany thinks they should take out Rick & Aubry rather than Coach & Chrissy, since they are likely more dangerous than the latter two. Chrissy tries to make sure she doesn’t get taken down alongside Coach, so she puts him in the hammock to shut up. He, unsurprisingly, has a hard time with this. Meanwhile, she tries to get some momentum behind a Rizo & Emily vote. That would likely be a tough sell for Rick & Aubry, but it might be needed if they are the ones getting votes instead.
Cirie arrives back at camp and shows off her phoenix coconut. Christian recognizes that it’s important she’s back. He sees her as the calvary to help them get rid of Coach & Chrissy. Cirie advises Ozzy that they can get rid of the middle whenever, so it’s better to take out the “mom and dad” of the majority alliance. Ozzy is delighted since he can get revenge for the day one challenge. Tiff decides to join in, too and lets Aubry know. They think taking out Chrissy & Coach will free up the game. Things get solidified when Chrissy tries to pitch Cirie on voting out Rizo, one of her closest allies. Rizo is only worried about how to get Joe on board. He doesn’t like the plan but the train has already left the station. Not to mix metaphors, but I don’t think Joe can put this fire out.
While there certainly seemed to be some votes coming for Aubry & Rick, the vote seemed set on Coach & Chrissy. However, worried he might be going home, Rick decides to make a play for the fake idol he hid earlier in the season. In the end, Coach & Chrissy end up being voted out. Jonathan puts his vote on Rick/Aubry, Chrissy votes for Emily/Rizo and Coach ends up using his Shot in the Dark.
It’s a shot at the big alliance. I think this is a brilliant move from the Cirie contingent. It continues to set up two sides against each other with them in the middle. It might have been a slight too big of a move for Rick, but that remains to be seen. It’s a bold move, and while it might have saved him tonight, it arguably puts a huge target on his back that he won’t be able to get rid of. Though, to be fair, that’s how Rick Devens tends to play the game.
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