‘Survivor’ Recap, S47, Episode 11: ‘Flipping the Win Switch’

Survivor

Flip Win Switch

Season 47

Section 11

Editor’s assessment

2 stars

**

Photo: CBS

It’s the day before Thanksgiving. Most people are free to spend time with their families, hopefully those families give 120 percent. If anyone is working, it’s hardly at all – they’re at their desks, dialing in and waiting until Cyber ​​Monday for something exciting to happen. The same seems to be the case for this episode of Survivor. While it’s a lot better than the episodes put together with unused footage that the franchise used to air around the holidays, it’s not much better. Aside from a slightly tense immunity challenge, most of the episode was spinning its wheels as they waited for the inevitable vote. I really like the 90-minute format, but when as little happens as in this episode, it feels longer than the line at airport security on (well, you’ll look at it) the day before Thanksgiving.

As the episode starts, Sue feels left out now that her no. 1 ally, Gabe, was voted out the night before and she was the only one not in on the plan. She is initially mad at Caroline, saying that she is a loyal player and doesn’t know if she could trust someone who she felt betrayed her. In a smart social move, Caroline immediately goes to Sue and tells her why she voted the way she did. She tells Sue that she saw herself making moves that would keep Gabe around, which would benefit his game, and then at the end, if she made it to the end, he’d tear her down like we’re all tearing down some Thursday afternoon stove stuffing. Sue seems swayed and encouraged by Caroline’s assurance that they are still each other’s No. 1 ally.

At the water well, they find three other players to meet up with. Pardon the extended Thanksgiving metaphor, but it really is a remnant alliance. Sue and Caroline have been cut loose now that Gabe is gone; Teeny is still reeling from the loss of Sol and the betrayal of Genevieve; Andy has been eliminated from the beginning when he had a fit of the fumes at the first immunity challenge; and Rachel has been adrift since losing Sierra and Anika on the yellow tribe. (Buku? Tofu? Luba? I’m so glad I don’t have to remember anymore.) They decide it could be the five of them against the three they see as threats: Kyle, who has won challenges, who whether he’s Super Mario and has an all-you-can-eat buffet with stars; Genevieve, who is so cunning she could make a dream catcher while voting everyone out; and Sam, who I don’t know, is young and healthy, so they’re worried about him for some unfounded reason.

Before the challenge, there’s a trip, and the only people who want to go are Sam and Genevieve because they know they’re at rock bottom and need one of Jeff Probst’s patented magical interventions. Rachel also puts her hat in the ring, even though the producers don’t usually allow anyone to wear a hat. She ends up choosing the right stone and goes to play a game. It is a puzzle game with five rows and a lot of balls. There’s nothing Jeff loves more than having lots of balls around all the time so he can tell balls and all of us at home can laugh. Balls. Anyway, the table puzzle is connected by a bunch of string which is tied to some weights; as the weights sink, it will eventually pull the table straight out into the ocean. Uh, hi. Very dramatic. What is this challenge – a teenager who has been native from YouTube for a week? That’s the level of attitude it gives.

Anyway, Rachel completes the puzzle, doesn’t lose her vote, and gets the benefit of a Steal-a-Vote, the unwanted cousin of Whac-a-Mole. Back at camp, she tells everyone she failed the test, the table went into the ocean, and the Fijian government issued a warrant for the challenge team’s arrest for polluting the ocean right off the coast of their beautiful island. To this season’s credit, it hasn’t been nearly as bogged down in tricks and perks as some previous seasons, and we barely see them take part in the gameplay, which is a revelation.

Next up is the challenge, and we’re really waiting to see if Kyle can pull off his fifth win or not, tying him with several other players for the most individual challenge wins in one season. It’s the classic challenge where there’s a wobbly table and players have to hold a rope and stack a bunch of tiles on it and say “IMMUNITY.” As always, some players go fast, some players go slow, but here’s one thing about these tables: they flip. But they also falter. Kyle, Genevieve and Sam get close. Wobble. They are done. Teeny comes close. Wobble. She is done. Sue gets close. Wobble. Wobble. Wobble. Finally, Rachel gets very close and is heading back to the end of the challenge, and Kyle picks up the pace and waits for a wobble that never comes. Rachel gets to wear the world’s ugliest immunity necklace that probably has rabies, scabies and inconsolable babies.

Before we can talk about the inevitability of Kyle going home, can we take a quick detour to talk about Sue’s face? I’m not talking about her looks. I think Sue is a beautiful woman, not only for her age, but also sharp. But why is her face always so dirty? It is not a rhetorical question. I would like to know. (Editor’s note: Sue claims she was “contours with dirt.“) We have watched 47 seasons of Survivor, and never has anyone looked like they started using dirt as concealer. Yes, everyone looks thin, haggard and a little dirty, but not in the way Sue usually looks dirty. Can we send her to the sanctuary where good things happen, sponsored by Dove, so she can wash her face?

Has Sue washed her face because her nemesis Kyle was definitely voted out? We all knew this was going on, right? There were some good efforts from people in the core five to vote Genevieve out, especially from Rachel and Andy, who see her as a much bigger threat than Kyle, but no one listened.

Andy was the most persuasive, trying to sway Teeny and Caroline with logic and statistics, and like a Black Friday sale on DVD players, no one bought it. I’m with Andy though. I don’t think immunity matters that much. Sure, it can have a big impact towards the end, but at this stage of the game, it might change the order that someone goes home in, but it won’t save their game entirely. To Andy’s point, all players know that the record for winning challenges is five. We know because Jeff said so after Andy’s fourth win. If the record of six challenges has not been broken in 47 seasons, then the best Andy could hope for is one more win, and as Andy calculates, even that is a slim probability. So even if they voted someone else out this week and Andy won the following week, the five would still be able to eliminate him after they got rid of Sam and Genevieve. Again, the win can change the order, but not who goes with it.

Andy and Rachel are also absolutely right that Genevieve and her playing style are more dangerous than playing on the street during rush hour on a rainy day. Even if she doesn’t win, she will find her way into different groups, get them to change their votes and somehow get to the end. Also, if Genevieve, who has big moves on her resume, could show she could survive to the end, she’s a shoo-in for jury votes. Andy is right that Kyle doesn’t have a good game and is just good at challenges. If he somehow managed a record sixth win and made it to the finals, he’d just say, “Well, I was good at challenges,” and I don’t think any jury in the new era would cut him the check. based on that.

But I’m saying this from my warm home and calling in a recap because it’s the day before Thanksgiving and that’s what we do. I’m sure if I was out there I’d be a lot more like Teeny and Caroline thinking, It’s stupid if we don’t get him out now because there might not be another chance. So yeah, I get it. They made the decision that was right for them.

Tribal seems apprehensive at this point, and even though Genevieve is quietly steeping thinking it’s going to be her, since we didn’t see anyone even consider changing their voice, we know what all the voices were going to be, except Kyle’s weird voice for Teeny, which makes some sense. Kyle gets kicked, a fresh Sue has an orgasm so loud even the table at the bottom of the ocean heard it, and Kyle hugs everyone on the way out, a class act until the end. Maybe he can make it home to his family for Thanksgiving, because it’s not like he really missed any excitement in this episode.