After a chaotic tribal council concluded last week’s episode, Survivor 46 episode 9 headed towards the same turbulent energy with a somewhat standard vote-out. Last week included a blindside of Tevin, despite Q asking to be voted out, and the likely candidate of Q to be voted out this week didn’t seem too likely.
Also, on a completely “unrelated” note, please for the love of all things, do not tell people about your hidden immunity idol! Q spilled the beans last week to Charlie and Maria about Tiffany’s idol. Hunter shared his information before going to tribal council in tonight’s episode.
What? Why?
Should You or Shouldn’t You in Survivor 46?
Yes, Tiffany shared her idol information and Q told others to try and target her last week. She viewed playing her idol as a must to remove any potential target on her. From what we’ve seen so far in the season, this makes sense. If Tiffany tells everyone she’s playing her idol before tribal council, since it is known to all, it means other castaways won’t have to worry as much about her moving forward.
However, if Hunter were to play an idol, it still seems like he would need an idol at the next tribal council, if he didn’t win individual immunity. For example: Hunter did not win the immunity challenge in Survivor 46 episode 9. Playing his idol at tribal council protects him, but it seems likely he would need another idol for next tribal council because he’s such a threat at the challenges.
What could possibly go wrong in an episode where Q asked to go home in the previous episode? Well, for starters, Q isn’t asking to be sent packing in this episode. He recognized the damage he caused and understood the very nature of him staying in the game would be a miracle. Ask and you shall receive – maybe.
If You’re Going to Play Your Idol – PLAY YOUR IDOL!!
The individual immunity challenge saw the nine castaways separated into three groups of three. There are three sections of the challenge. The last to finish the first stage of the challenge does not move on. The last of the two remaining groups to finish stage two do not move on. The last group of three then compete individually for immunity.
The final aspect of this challenge looks absolutely grueling. Maria, Hunter, and Charlie are the trio to compete for immunity, with Charlie holding out longer than Hunter to win in the end. Despite the obvious notion of Hunter being vulnerable, there is a real discussion leaning toward Tiffany since she’s in possession of a “hidden” immunity idol. The vote seems solid, until she tells everyone she’s playing her idol because it doesn’t do her any good to keep it. It is essentially labeled as a curse, so she wants to rid herself of said curse.
The vote then switches to Hunter. In this transition, Hunter seems to recognize that he’s being viewed as the next vote. So, instead of using this feeling and then playing his idol at tribal council, he begins to tell others about his idol. He tells his fellow castaways to vote for Ben, because he has an idol and is going to play it.
If you don’t play your idol, and there’s a split vote at tribal council where castaways have to vote again, where do you think the vote will go? In this case, the vote was split between Q and Hunter, but everyone now knows Hunter has an idol. Hunter read the scene correctly by realizing they were coming for him, but instead of playing the idol to protect himself, he tried to redirect the vote. Attempting to redirect the vote doesn’t guarantee safety.
Who Will Earn Votes in the Final?
Perception from viewers (or at least me) seems to indicate how some players haven’t had as much control as they think they’ve had on the Survivor islands. In this season, Venus has perceived vote-outs to be her own moves despite the narrative telling a different story. Liz has also wanted some solid ground to call her own, such as the Tevin vote, but felt frustrated by Q “stealing her thunder” in last week’s messy tribal council.
What we’ve seen so far, it seems somewhat unlikely to view Venus or Liz as a winner – at this point. If we know anything about Survivor, anything can happen. It is possible that the moves made in this season do not have a specific story structured around them. The remaining episodes, along with the final tribal council, could play a monumental role in a castaway earning the title of Survivor 46 winner and the 1-million-dollar prize.
Despite the chaos, and two players not playing an idol after everyone knew they had them, Survivor 46 has turned into a frenzied mess. It is unclear who will win the season, but that doesn’t mean the remaining episodes will be any less chaotic or entertaining. Much like Jeff Probst did in tonight’s episode, let us all break out a seat cushion to get comfortable and get our popcorn ready, Survivor 46 looks to be special all the way down to the finish line.