Survivor Season 51, Episode 7
“The Girl at the Prom"
Host: Jeff Probst
Cast: Brady Booker, Cristian Chavez, Sharonda Cox, Kristin Flickinger, Lewis Kelly, Danny Kilby, Carter Krull, Angelica "Jelly" Loblack, Eric Macksoud, Maggie Nestor, Thien An Nguyen, Mike Pinsky, Devin Way
That was a mess (complimentary).
After a couple of rough weeks of the Survivor 51 season, things got back on track, even if the game didn't. The pleasure of seeing a traditional episode of the game show we love was what made everything work. Give us 13 compelling personalities trying to make sure they are not the one voted out.
Who knew it was that simple?
What was the fallout of voting out Ori?
Devin and Jelly finally seemed to be at rock bottom. Having had to vote out someone they genuinely liked, they feel ready to take the game into their own hands. Everyone they've played with and wanted to work with has been voted out. So where do they go from there?
They're not entirely sure, but their next phase will include a Rick Devens-esque bag of tricks. They have a hidden immunity idol, an extra vote and (apparently) a fake idol.
In the past, we've seen the remnants of disaster tribes do well. Malcom and Denise from Philippines, Spencer and Tasha from the Cagayan, and Emily Flippen all seemed to rise from the ashes, even if they did not win the game. Is this the story for Devin or Jelly? Time will tell.
Did the tribes merge?
The players arrive and receive news that they are about to participate in the one staple of every season of Survivor: a merge.
They'll even get a merge feast, but Jeff's obsession with having to "earn" it has sustained, even if the terrible "mergatory" is gone. The first ten players to down two grubs (a flashback to Season 1 of the show) will get to eat. The remaining three will head back to camp.
Kristen decides to save the grubs and throws them in the bush behind her. Cristian does his best but opts out of winning the challenge, and Sharonda is beaten by Kilby. So, while the rest of the castaways will fill their bellies, three original Savu members will head to camp together and go hungry.
What happened at the merge feast?
The players were seated at a long table with food. Carter noted the unusual nature of a merge feast in that there is a lot of cross-pollination amongst the cast. This is a real plus of the way they've designed the game so far, especially with the One World start and the mutiny twist.
However, two names appear to be annoying the others. If there's anything like OG Survivor, it's being voted out for being annoying rather than for gameplay purposes.
Brady's strong personality seems enhanced when he partakes in some alcoholic beverages and a seemingly endless parade of food he shoves in his mouth. Maggie knows she didn't want to sit next to him and sits as far away as possible.
Meanwhile, Eric's rambling means he's annoying Brady. The pro wrestler even calls him a phony, and while Brady himself is theatric, he views himself as more authentic.
Back at the beach, Kristen, Cristian, and Sharonda agree to work together. But Kristen has a plan to get even closer to Sharonda. Last week, she got a Tether Idol that could only be played for Sharonda (and Ori, but he got voted out). Should both of them be voted out, her idol would turn into a regular idol she could play for herself. Rather than keep that info secret, Kristen tells Sharonda the hidden rule, thinking that while it's a risk, it shows how much she wants to work with her ally. It's certainly a risk, but one that seems to pay off considering how much Sharonda seems thankful and loyal to Kristen.
What are the merge dynamics?
With the feasting done, all thirteen players were finally on the same beach. Sharonda gives a bit of a lay of the land. There are eight people from the original Toka with just five from the original Savu. She says that if the lines in the sand held, Toka could eliminate Savu, but that's not the reality.
Jelly wants to get rid of the Tokas. That means bringing Devin, but they also have Mike. He knows he is on the outside and sees the merge as a saving grace. He sees Brady as having a "true" Toka inner circle, which doesn't include the three of them.
Mike makes his pitch to the Savus, including Eric. He is extremely excited. Eric is looking for a new BFF after Kilby betrayed him, and sees Mike as a new ally. "Let's make some magic, Mike," he says. Well done, Eric.
Kilby and Maggie talk about their numbers. Kilby needs to wrangle the numbers and sees her as his guardian angel. He also has Brady, even though Brady voted for him. They seem to have re-built their connection. Kilby also mentions that they could get Carter, Thien An, Eric and Maggie to make a core alliance. They float out the name Mike as a potential first vote.
Who won the first individual immunity?
The players each had to balance a whale figure on a pedestal with a pole. If we were going to lose the whale tribal immunity idols, at least we got an episode filled with more of them.
Ultimately, the one person who seemed like they needed safety the most won the challenge as Mike had the last whale standing. He was able to beat Lewis in the end to earn the immunity necklace.
Who became the targets?
With an obvious target taken off the board, things got a little complicated.
Eric and Mike discuss who the big threat would be to take out. Eric throws out Brady because of how out there he is. Mike also mentions Kilby as one of the two heads of Toka. This gets taken to Sharonda who pushes Kilby because of what happened at Dina. Eric starts spreading Kilby's name around, but Brady realizes exactly what he's doing.
Brady spills the word to Mike, Thien An, and Lewis, then suggests they vote out Eric instead. Maggie realizes that they need to make sure Eric doesn't pull in a number. She is worried about Kristen, especially since she could have something from Exile Island. The problem for Maggie is that she made a big move recently and can't be seen doing it again. So she has to be a bit more subtle. She's hoping that everyone realizes that Kristen is the biggest threat.
There seems to be a strong group rallying around voting out Kirsten, but then Mike gets word of it. He thinks that would be a disaster. Mike, Jelly, and Devin think they should just work with the Savus and take out Brady. It wouldn't hurt for Jelly that she outlasts Brady, who she calls somewhat toxic. She secures trust with Sharonda as well by sharing that she has the idol.
Kristen learns that Brady is the target and while he's not her closest ally, she is a little disappointed to hear that he's the name being talked about. When she asks Mike about the Brady vote, he replies that if she doesn't do it, "it's the end of her game." It seems that he was trying to alert her that her name was being thrown out, but she takes it as a threat. He tells her to chill, which she also doesn't love. She calls him a mob boss. It's hilarious that she tried to make sure not to burn a bridge with Mike, which ended up saving her, but in that process, she felt like he was using bullying tactics.
Kristen then spills to Brady that she's the target, ruining any chance of blindsiding her, especially if (as they believe) she has an advantage from Exile Island.
Brady confronts Mike. It's tense. Brady knows that Mike is flipping. Mike denies it. Brady says the cards are on the table so he can't listen to him anymore. "You broke my heart like the girl at the prom?" Brady says. What happened to Brady at the prom?
Brady tries to save his reputation, calling out Mike as the #1 target once he loses immunity. Maggie points out the irony that they didn't need Mike in order to have the numbers. With Kristen being in the know, they can't risk her having an idol that would bounce someone randomly from the game. Her name seems to be out of people's mouth. However, Brady having run his mouth makes him a liability.
Heading into Tribal Council, people seem to be ready to either get rid of Eric or Brady.
Who was voted out?
At Tribal Council, things start to get heated. As Mike says that people are being honest, Maggie calls him out. Immediately, people start whispering and we get a Live Tribal.
As Devin is talking about tribe lines actually being webs, it seems clear that some players genuinely don't know if they should vote out Eric or Brady. They are trying to gauge if the votes are there for them or if they'll be left in a minority.
Kilby seems to give a last ditch effort to save Brady by swinging the vote on Eric. He calls it out as a lack of commitment. Things seem to settle briefly, but when Kristen gets up to move, it kicks things off. Devin is the only one who stays where they are and Jeff asks him to narrate.
In the end, Brady ends up voting with some of the Tokas who he was against when they voted out Patt in Episode 3. Brady, Lewis, Carter, and Thien An all vote for Eric while everyone else votes for the pro wrestler.
For a vote that actually seems pretty simple on paper, it was a thrilling episode. Let's see if Survivor 51 can keep it up.
Grace Notes
- Clearly the strategy for eating a grub is to do it with as little chewing as possible - the more you crunch them, the harder it seems
- I know lots of people find Mike a little boring, but there is something hilarious about having this one not larger-than-life character on a show like Survivor
- Brady being the King of Ponderosa is kind of wild
