SURVIVOR 41 (Episode 10)

With the biggest blindside of the game so far, this episode may turn out to be the most pivotal of all of Season 41. The tightest alliances in the game were broken, and one of the top threats to win was put on the chopping block. Let's take a look at how this all went down:

• We start with everyone back at camp debriefing the Evvie/Naseer vote outs. Ricard explains that he got Shan to play her extra vote to target Naseer. Given how the rest of this episode shakes out, I can’t help but wonder if Ricard’s real motive for urging Shan to use her extra vote was to flush the advantage.

• Erika and Deshawn go off to chat, and Erika pitches the possibility of a Shan blindside to flush the idol and make a big move. Deshawn seeeeems to be into keeping his core 4 together, but he and Shan have repeatedly been at odds so Erika is right on the money with putting this bug in his ear.

• The next morning, Shan asks Deshawn what he and Erika were talking about. He chooses to lie, but completely fumbles his coverup and stumbles over an awkward response basically just saying “I don’t remember but WE WEREN’T TALKING ABOUT YOU.” To me, this is where Deshawn’s game keeps falling short. He doesn’t seem to be doing the work of planning ahead. If you’re going to have a conversation with Erika about a possible blindside on Shan, you better have a prepared story for when Shan will inevitably ask you about it because Shan is Shan! He should know this by now.

• They ultimately have a heart to heart about being torn between playing for themselves or playing for “the culture.” Moments like this are where we really see the game paralleling real life where people are forced to make difficult decisions around prioritizing themselves versus the larger community.

• Let’s get into the Reward Challenge - Jeff says multiple times that this is the “biggest/best reward of the season.” Sadly, we’ll be seeing no loved ones visits this season because of COVID, but if pizza in a shack is the best reward of the season, does that mean they won’t even be getting the opportunity for videos/letters/phone calls from loved ones?

• Ricard wins the Reward Challenge and picks Shan, Heather, and Xander to join him. Strategically, I understand the choice of choosing your #1 ally and then picking two people who are sort of free agents right now, BUT it’s also leaving Danny, Deshawn, Liana, and Erika alone at camp for a night which feels risky. As expected, Danny and Deshawn begin plotting and the person on the chopping block is Ricard. They know that he makes Shan too powerful, and he’s proven to be highly capable at challenges.

• At the reward, Shan and Ricard talk about how they know they need to take each other out eventually. I couldn’t help but notice that they both had little smirks on their faces throughout this entire conversation. It kind of felt like two high schoolers who have a crush on the same boy and both think that they’re going to be the one he asks to prom, but they’re simultaneously also rooting for their friend’s happiness even though they know both can’t happen. To me, they’re really the duo of the season. In spite of some definite ebbs and flows, they’ve executed a lot of good gameplay and have definitely kept me on the edge of my seat knowing that despite their tight alliance, they’ve never mentioned “final two” to each other.

• They return from the reward and Liana has a little bit of a breakdown as she reveals Danny and Deshawn’s plan to Shan. While I respect Liana’s honesty and commitment to their friendship, this is another point where she has clearly struggled to separate the game from her emotions and that usually doesn’t lead to clear headed decisions. The two of them ultimately decide they need to gun for Deshawn since he can no longer be trusted. (Danny’s name has yet to be even slightly considered for a vote out even though he’s the one who really originated the Ricard plan)

• Shan quickly tells Ricard about the plan. Ricard is “a little shaky” and needs to process it. Do we think Shan spilled the beans to Ricard too early? Should she have waited until after the Immunity Challenge to decide if she should tell Ricard this information? Sure, he’s her ally, but it just feels like she could have held onto that information a little bit longer. I’m not sure if it would have changed anything, but it always seems like the earlier you give a good player some intel, the more time they have to use it to make a power move.

• Enter: Immunity Challenge. Castaways have to stand on a narrow beam while also balancing a ball on a very small platform. Ricard pulls out his third individual challenge win and second Individual Immunity win. That’s pretty huge for someone who didn’t initially come off as a “challenge beast”!

• With Ricard being safe, Shan decides she’d rather hold off on the Deshawn vote and go for Erika instead, but then we flip to a confessional with Ricard where we hear the words we’ve known were coming eventually... “I’ve decided that today’s the day for Shan to go.” From here, Ricard and Erika go on to formulate a pretty flawless blindside on Shan. Ricard pulls Deshawn in for the vote despite his lack of trust with him. (Gotta give a shout out to Ricard here. His ability to keep his emotions separate from his gameplay is really… chef’s kiss. Top notch.

• Also props to Erika - She recognizes that she is the coverup for the Shan vote, and Shan has an idol which in turn, puts Erika at potential risk. She successfully stirs up a 6th vote from Danny so they can split the votes between Shan and Liana, officially bringing an end to the core 4 alliance of Danny, Deshawn, Shan, and Liana.

• During tribal, it seems pretty clear: The blindside split vote is in fact happening. The question for me became… Is Shan going to pick up on it and play her idol? Honestly… I thought she should have. Deshawn and Danny delivered some answers to Jeff’s questions that would sketch me out if I was in their alliance, plus Shan admits she hasn’t talked with Erika all day which could have been a cue that Erika had information Shan didn’t.

• Shan ultimately does not play her idol, pushing tribal to a revote between her and Liana where she unanimously is voted out. She leaves the group with some weighted words: “Ricard you have a vote for a million dollars. Deshawn, you’re a snake.”

• Ricard’s resume is looking VERRRYYY pretty at this point. What I’m still unsure of is how the jury will perceive him because we’re definitely getting some villain energy over here on the viewer's side of things. Plus, Shan’s perception of Ricard could change as more people join the jury and she gets some clarity on how her blindside actually shook out, but I imagine and hope that she's a jury member who respects strategic gameplay.

• Quick shout out to Shan for what she brought to this season. She was not a perfect player. There were some sloppy moments. But ultimately, she breathed air into this game. She kept it interesting. She built strong bonds. She was the new powerful, confident female player so many of us have been craving in the past few seasons! I will definitely not be surprised if we see her return soon.

...Also PLEASE watch these extra pieces of content if you haven’t:

• A “Secret Scene” from this episode where Xander is idol hunting

• Shan’s Ponderosa which includes an epic vocal performance from the jury

THE LEAGUE:

No surprise here, Ricard was the MAJOR points earner this episode, bringing in 43 points for his tribes this week which is by and large the most points any castaway has earned this season during a single episode. Our top 3 from last week continue to hold their top 3 spots: Brendan (505), Christie (503), Matt R. (492). Shan's elimination is a big loss for the 11 of us with her on our tribes and especially for the 7 people (Adam, Allie, Angela, Brian, Maggie S., Matt S., and Petra) who had her as their Sole Survivor.

With Shan’s vote out, Allie becomes the first member of Vukelulu to have no castaways left on her tribe. Allie, the tribe has spoken. Who’s torch will be snuffed next?

1st	BRENDAN (505 points)	Danny, DeShawn, Erika, Xander
2nd	CHRISTIE (503 points)	Heather, Liana, Xander
3rd	MATT R. (492 points)	Heather, Liana, Shantel(x), Xander
4th	AMANDA (489 points)	DeShawn, Ricard, Xander
5th	MAGGIE S. (474 points)	Danny, Erika, Ricard, Shantel(x)
6th	PAUL (462 points)	Erika, Ricard, Xander
7th	BRIAN (453 points)	Erika, Heather, Ricard, Shantel(x)
8th	AMY (448 points)	DeShawn, Liana
9th	ANDREW (446 points)	Liana, Shantel(x), Xander
10th	RACHAEL (440 points)	Erika, Xander

11. ANGELA (429 points)

12. HANNA (415 points)

13. VICKY (408 points)

14. PETER L. (407 points)

15. BRI (404 points)

16. MEL (400 points)

17. MAGGIE L. (386 points)

18. LIV (376 points)

19. KATH (371 points)

20. GRACIE (368 points)

21. PETER B. (364 points)

22T. DAWN (347 points)

22T. JOYCE (347 points)

24. MATT S. (339 points)

25. ROBERT (337 points)

26. ADAM (323 points)

27. JIM (316 points)

28. ALLIE (314 points)

29. CHRISTINA (310 points)

30. LORI (292 points)

31. ROBBIE (286 points)

32. TORI (268 points)

33. PETRA (259 points)

34. JILL (233 points)

35. CASEY (199 points)

Full points sheet:

WEDNESDAAAAAYAYAY!!!!

Liv + Brian