Sneaky Little Snake: (S44: Episode 3)

• This first bit of this episode is filled with one of my favorite aspects of Survivor - silly camp life scenes. Kane (who we’ve barely heard a word from so far) is singing the Canadian national anthem at the top of his lungs for his tribemates. Carolyn is making fun of Yam Yam’s snoring and this scene affirms that they’re one of funniest Survivor duos we’ve seen in quite a while. Matt and Frannie begin planning a post-game road trip together. Jaime convinces the Ratu tribe to eat some earthworms. (PSA for all of our future Survivor players in the league, our Vukelulu tribe member, Marietta, has informed us that raw earthworms can actually make you sick because they can contain parasites. So hopefully we don’t see anyone falling ill on the Ratu tribe due to some janky worms.)

• Mixed in amongst these lighthearted, tribe bonding moments though is some fake idol chaos! And we’re here for it.

• Danny goes on a mission to put the fake idol back in the cage. He re-hides the birdcage key, and joins in on the Soka tribe’s group hunt for the key. This is a best case scenario for him because he can easily keep a pulse on who finds it. I have to say, I’m enjoying this element of required sneakiness and risk that comes with the birdcage being so public.

• Matt finds the key and can’t really keep himself together. He seems lovely, but to put it plainly, Matt’s got no chill. Danny calls him out, and in no time, the entire tribe essentially knows that he’s found “the idol” in the birdcage. It’ll be interesting to see how Danny leverages this moving forward since it wasn’t a factor in this episode’s vote.

• Over at Ratu, we’re in for a surprise when Jaime finds a hidden immunity idol with Matthew at the water well. But we’re quickly shown a scene from a couple of days prior when Matthew finds the actual hidden immunity idol, and decides to create a fake. He seamlessly leads Jaime to the planted fake idol at the water well, and she totally falls for it - putting Matthew in an amazing power position at the moment.

• Big props to Matthew and Danny for breaking out their best acting chops this episode, and also for keeping their idols/fake idols a secret (at least for now).

• In the Immunity Challenge, Claire sits out yet again for the Soka tribe. This has to be a record, right? Three challenges in a row?! I can understand the mentality of keeping the tribe strong, but it just seems odd that Claire (a seemingly fit, young, healthy person) is continually going to be the least qualified for every single challenge? For someone who claims to be such a superfan, it seems like an odd choice to repeatedly remove yourself from such a monumental aspect of the game. Ratu finishes first and Tika follows for 2nd place after Carson and Yam Yam successfully copy Ratu’s completed puzzle. Soka has their first immunity loss of the season.

• Though production tries to create some suspense for us viewers back at Soka camp, it’s pretty clear that Claire is on the chopping block. She grovels with Heidi a bit, but Heidi’s got a level head and wants to maintain trust with her #1 ally, Danny. At this point, it does seem like Danny’s calling the strategic shots for Soka, but Heidi’s got a lot of power as the supposed swing vote. Josh remains a bit of an enigma.

• At Tribal Council, the vote is unanimous for Claire, and although she seemed so promising in the beginning of the season, I have to say I’m content with her departure given her lack of help around camp, and repeated decisions to sit out of challenges. She didn’t go down without shedding a tear and taking a whack at the Shot in the Dark though!

THE LEAGUE!

Matthew brought in the highest number of points this episode (24 total) thanks to his finding of the immunity idol and his sneaky creation of a fake idol.

Allie B., Bri, Jeff, and Allison K. say goodbye to their Sole Survivor pick with the departure of Claire. For the most part, we don't have any major shake ups in the rankings, but Allie B. and Joe jump from 8th place to 1st. Matt S., Maria, and Laura also make a splashing entrance into the top 10. Amanda P. Olivia F. Alex, and Allison K. have all lost two of their tribe members in a row - Helen and now Claire. Ouch.

AND if you watched last week’s league video, you learned that an advantage was hidden at the Vukelulu Camp. It was found by Amelia, Jill, and Coach Juju. While we saw in the video that Amelia and Jill elected to not play the advantage, we were left on a cliffhanger about Coach Juju’s decision. Well, we’ve got an update and boy are we in for a treat! Coach Juju has made the spicy decision to be the first-ever member of Vukelulu to play the Buyer’s Remorse advantage. Her Sole Survivor selection has officially been changed from Frannie to Matthew. If Matthew’s game continues to be anything like this past episode was for him, I’d say Coach made a smart decision, but only time will tell!

In Probst We Trust,

Your Tribemasters Liv + Brian