Wednesday’s episode
Get your popcorn popped, my friends
cinema achieved.
I’d like to say that will be the last “Survivor” haiku you read from me on this here website, but in the vein or not wanting to lie to you, I will make no such promises.
Coach is back up to his antics Wednesday, feathers fully ensconced in his mane, like a warrior emerging victorious after slaying a dragon. (A dragon named Dee, that is.) But after the game drops a new twist on the remaining 13, Coach receives a gag order from none other than Chrissy (aka, the Dragon Slayer Whisperer!), who found herself tied to the Tide Walker whether she liked it or not.
Before this week’s challenge, the castaways learn they must buddy-up in pairs for the challenge, leaving one person on the outs. After picking Shots in the Dark from a bag, Cirie was the lucky one chosen. Lucky because she later learns that she’s heading to Exile Island where she would be immune from the night’s vote. (Free immunity? Lucky lady!)
The pairings the group decides on are: Jonathan and Christian, Coach and Chrissy, Joe and Tiffany, Rizo and Emily, Ozzy and Stephenie, and Devens and Aubry. And as Probst tells them at the starting mat, their fates are now tethered to their partner. Because the “Double Duo” twist is bringing double the stakes! Double the decisions! Double the consequences! What’s all that hullabaloo mean, exactly? At Tribal Council, players will vote individually, but they must vote out a pair. Together! And those two people will get their torches snuffed back-to-back.
I don’t hate this twist! It’s never been done before in the history of (U.S.) “Survivor,” and it adds a new wrinkle of gameplay that could (and does) very well screw someone over just for being tied to the wrong person. And none of these players, new era or old, see it coming.
Joe and Tiff pull out the big W, earning their safety in the game, but also a meal of spaghetti and tiramisu. (The challenge is fun to watch. Loads of new elements with what looks like an extremely difficult table maze at the end.) But before they part ways with Jeff, he adds yet another layer to what will surely be a DaNgErOuS Tribal Council: Idols and Shots in the Dark can be played by one individual, and will provide safety for both members of a duo!
