'Survivor' 26.11 – "Come Over To The Dark Side" — A Delicious Vote

Last week was full of drama at Tribal Council. Reynold won immunity, Malcolm found a hidden immunity idol and gave his other hidden idol to Eddie. This created one of the most exciting Tribal’s to date and Phillip, the leader of Stealth, was sent home.

Survivor Auction

Ah, the classic Survivor Auction… It’s one of the most popular recurring challenges in Survivor history, and this season’s version didn’t disappoint. It’s one of the only times that we see tree mail, because the wallets with $500 come through that. Malcolm immediately realizes he might need to spend all his money on game advantages rather than food, as disappointing as that might be but he immediately buys the beer and nuts before Jeff Probst has finished introducing it. At least Jeff pulls out an extra two beers and some pretzels to go along with it. The first mystery item shows up which Reynold gets at the last second for $180. Jeff pulls out a second option for Reynold to choose between. Then, he pulls out another item as Cochran advises him that you’re always supposed to switch. Reynold chooses the original item. The good news is he missed out on the rotten coconut and got a slice of pizza. The bad news? He missed out on the rest of the pizza. Sherri immediately bids all her $500 for the pizza Reynold missed out on, and then Dawn goes all out for a roasted chicken moments later. The next item comes up as information for this game which Malcolm uses the rest of his $480 on to win.

Andrea spends $280 for a covered item that turns out to be a beautiful pasta meal, but Jeff gives her the option to trade that in for rice and beans for the tribe. To me it’s no question, you always choose the rice & beans, and thankfully Andrea does that too. Next up is an advantage for the next immunity challenge. Reynold shoots out with $300, but Cochran gets it for $340. Another sealed item which Eddie tries to start at $20 but Brenda immediately ups to $300, and turns out to be pig brains. Arguably the most important item is up next: letters from home. Jeff hands them out for $20 each, an easy bargain but unfortunate for Dawn, Sherri, and Malcolm who have spent all their money already. Eddie buys a giant tub of peanut butter for $200 which is shared with the whole tribe for 60 seconds.

Turn Overs

All of a sudden, Erik has begun talking to the camera. With Phillip gone, he’s immediately started to open up and get televised, and decided to possibly vote with the Three Amigos counter-alliance. Morale in camp is really low with everyone hungry, upset, and generally miserable. Perfect time for a Survivor Food Auction!

After the auction everyone sits on a blanket on the beach and reads their letters. Cochran gets emotional which he’s surprised by and Sherri starts contemplating turning to the counter alliance. Reynold reveals they want to knock out Cochran because he’s strategic. Don’t get rid of my favourite! Early the next morning Malcolm wakes up to go dig for the idol when Andrea follows him creating a standoff which is a little awkward but also so cute because they both know it’s silly.

Immunity Challenge

Everyone will hold onto a rope connected to a heavy log. At regular intervals, people will have to move one knot lower on the rope making the log heavier. Upon dropping the rope people are out of the challenge. At the auction Cochran bought an advantage which allows him to move his hands up two sections at any time in the game.

At the start they’re all holding one third of the body weight they started with at the beginning of the season. I love that it isn’t the same weight for everyone because that would be utterly unfair. After the second knot Cochran uses his advantage so he’s back at the top of the rope, keeping it light to conserve energy. He’s a strategic one, isn’t he! Brenda and Erik drop out of the challenge on the last knot. Sherri leaves the challenge as they run out of knots. Only Cochran has knots left. Malcolm and Andrea leave next as Jeff calls to each person still in it to dig for strength. I love that he really tries to support all of them. It’s down to Reynold, Eddie, and Cochran. I never would have expected Cochran to be one of the final three in a strength challenge. Reynold drops out and Eddie’s hand soon slips. Cochran has won a physical strength immunity challenge!

Tribal Council

Reynold and Malcom continue to try getting Erik and Sherri to switch and vote for them. Andrea, Cochran, and Dawn discuss how to vote. Malcolm is pretending to have the hidden immunity idol so they split the votes, but what if they see through that? Everything is very up in the air with both Sherri and Erik thinking they have all the power.

In Tribal with Jeff Probst, Reynold reveals he doesn’t think it’s a strict 6-3 anymore which worries the favourites. When discussing the idol Andrea says she’s 80% sure Malcolm has it, which works for their cause. Jeff turns to Cochran for a strategy analogy where we hear about the easy way for the Three Amigos counter alliance to start dominating. Compared with the tribal from last week this one was so incredibly dull. 3- Reynold; 3- Malcolm, 3- Andrea which brings them to a tiebreaker vote. A tiebreaker vote means Andrea, Reynold, and Malcolm cannot vote as everyone else is only able to vote for those three. The final vote is 5-1 Malcolm bringing the Three Amigos down to two.

Next Episode, the alliance of six considers whether to vote off Brenda or Dawn first.