Survivor Season 51, Episode 2
“What I'm Smellin' Is Stinky”
Host: Jeff Probst
Cast: Rob Antonson, Brady Booker, Patt Cannaday, Linnea Capobianco, Cristian Chavez, Sharonda Cox, Jenna Doore, Kristin Flickinger, Ori Jean-Charles, Lewis Kelly, Danny Kilby, Carter Krull, Alexis Levine, Angelica "Jelly" Loblack, Eric Macksoud, Maggie Nestor, Thien An Nguyen, Mike Pinsky, Devin Way
We might have just gotten one of the best episodes of Survivor in years.
What unfolds over the ninety minutes of this week's episode involves a self med-evac (aka a quit), an accidental mutiny and the emergence of our modern day JT and Stephen, all while having one of the worst episode titles of all time.
Did Rob Antonson quit ‘Survivor’?
Yes.
Maybe.
Probably.
After attempting to vote for himself last week, Rob realizes that his plan wasn't even close to actually happening. His logic was that he would vote for himself, Eric would earn safety thanks to his Shot in the Dark or Rob's gifted immunity idol, therefore sending himself home.
But not only was he not allowed to eliminate himself (Christian Hubicki would like to have a few words), Ana still had 6 votes to go. Rob wouldn't have eliminated himself even if he was allowed to try!
So, back at camp, Rob tells the others that he stepped on something in the ocean and needs medical attention. When Dr. Barry and Jeff find nothing blatantly wrong with him, Rob asks about the risk of infection. Being told there's always risk of infection when you have a cut in Survivor, so Rob decides to pull himself from the game.
I don't blame anyone for wanting to quit Survivor. It's a hard game! But there is a sort of social contract (and likely a legal one, too) that when you sign up to play the game, you play the game. Unfortunately, Rob opting to leave means someone else who could have played instead didn't get to, and that's a bummer.
So, while we got an iconic moment last week, it's time to say goodbye to the player I will now dub The Rob That Quit.
How did Carter get a hidden immunity idol?
We could debate all night about the fairness of Rob being able to give his idol away to Carter before he left, but I am choosing to be results-oriented. I love it.
Carter is the standout character of the episode for me. After being on the wrong side of the vote, he realizes he was at the bottom. What initially seems like more stormy weather with Rob leaving turns out to have a silver lining as he inherits a powerful advantage in the game.
Jeff did say that the Open Era means anything that has happened in Survivor was on the table. Who knew that involved a Colton-style med-evac and the return of the legacy advantage?
Who mutinied from their tribe?
Each tribe learns that they are sending one player to visit the other's beach. The Savu tribe pulls a name from a bag and it ends up being Carter. There is immediate regret that they've let the player most on the outs head over to the other camp.
Meanwhile, Devin is the first one to volunteer to go for Toka, so he leaves and heads over to the opposition.
On the way, both players are given two pieces of information: there is a hidden advantage at the other camp and if you want, you can mutiny to the other tribe.
While I like both of these mechanisms, I particularly love the idea of a mutiny after the game started with a One World-esque dynamic, wherein there was a lot of cross mingling of eventual castaways before they knew what tribes they would be on to start the game.
Devin is able to use a pre-tribe alliance to his advantage when Sharonda pulls him aside for the chat and they find the Extra Vote hidden at the water well. Devin has no interest in joining the Savu tribe and returns to his original beach before the end of the day.
Meanwhile, Carter somehow ends up both as the victim of a terrible situation, but somehow it might have put him in a far better position in the game.
While he is having one-on-one chats, Lewis suggests looking in his bag. When they learn about the advantage, Maggie and Brady make a beeline for the boat oars. After they've destroyed both of them, Brady finds the Extra Vote hidden inside one. Maggie then politely asks for it and after a bit of an agreement to work together, he hands it over.
As Carter realizes it's time to get on the boat, he tries to find the hidden advantage. As he's trying to find the oars (not knowing they've already been destroyed), he misses his chance to get back on the boat. He's mutinied. By accident.
It's incredible television.
Which tribe wins the immunity challenge?
Suddenly the tribes seem like they are majorly unbalanced. There are 7 remaining Savus compared to 11 Toka members. But things are even when it comes to the challenge.
In another obstacle course then puzzle challenge, Savu manages to make a come-from-behind victory and secure their safety in the game. The super-sized Toka tribe will be heading back to Tribal Council, but things are a whole lot different than the first time they went.
Who gets targeted for the vote?
There actually is a lot more back-and-forth between players than it would seem based on how the vote turns out.
An alliance of five that includes Mike, Patt, Brady, Devin, and Jelly want to target Kilby. However, Kilby thinks that Brady is his number one ally in the game. But the alliance sees Kilby as a dangerous schemer and thinks he needs to go.
On the other side, you have Kilby, Thien An, Jenna, and Maggie, all of whom are deciding which one of the five they want to target. While initial suggestions seem to be against Mike, there are arguments that he's not as socially capable as Patt, so she's the better person to vote out. This news gets back to Brady, but he believes he has the numbers to vote out Kilby anyway.
The reason both sides think they have the numbers is because the two late comers to the tribe are in the swing position. Lewis and Carter can dictate who they want to vote out and dub themselves The Swingers.
They really might be two of the most charming players in the game (and that's a high bar considering modern day Survivor casts highly likeable people). The argument for voting out Kilby is that it keeps their threat level lower. The argument for voting out Patt is that if they stay with the group of five, they are the bottom rungs on the ladder. Both are good arguments.
Who gets voted out at Tribal Council?
Lewis and Carter end up voting for Patt, sending her out in a 6-5 vote. The alliance of Devin, Jelly, Mike, and Brady seem shocked by this, but the middle men have chosen the island of misfits.
This does feel like the better move for them, though that really all depends on how things shake up in next week's episode. In the "Next Time on Survivor..." segment, we see that the tribes are being swapped, with it being likely a third tribe being added into the mix.
But you can't really play with what might come, so for now, breaking up a group that seemed far more tight than a group of people who came together as their opposition might not only be a better game move, but it's more fun television for us viewers.
So far, Survivor 51 is firing on all cylinders.
It is, by no means, stinky.
