Survivor 48 Episode 2: Making Moves Early
But also explores why it might be okay to sit back and wait
The latest episode of Survivor 48 showcases sharing information, monster challenge performances, and potentially playing too hard, too early. Survivor 48 episode 2 is a 90-minute episode that starts off by revealing the Civa (orange) tribe and all of their “imperfections.”
David starts by sharing he has four nipples; two of which were removed at the age of twelve. Charity talks about her feet; essentially one is “beauty” while the other is “beast,” while Mitch makes light of his speech impediment. Chrissy reveals she has a belly button deep enough to stick nearly an entire Q-tip in. And Kyle talks about a callus he’s had for about a decade that the others explain is a wart.
Needless to say, the opening Civa sequence was lighthearted and a great way to share how this tribe is bonding. On the flip side, Lagi (purple) and Vula (green) have trouble amongst the ranks. Eva on Lagi is trying to help determine who might sit out in a challenge. When she mentions Star, she sees it as an act of aggression and immediately targets Eva after finding a “beware advantage.”
Kevin (Vula) talks with Cedrek and Justin to address his concerns about Sai. He believes they should vote her out, or at least flush her idol, if they should lose at the immunity challenge. Mary was left out of last week’s vote, and voted for Sai, so Kevin’s vantage point might be to use Sai’s targeting of Mary as perfect timing to strike.
Pre-Immunity Challenge Talk on Survivor 48 Episode 2
As the tribes approach an obstacle out in the waters of Fiji on three separate boats, Jeff takes in the hoots and hollers of the players. He thoroughly enjoys the enthusiasm from Lagi as they approach and waits for everyone to board the floating docks before discussing the upcoming immunity challenge. In doing so, in fairly regular fashion, he asks how things are going a handful of days into Survivor.
He directs his question to Mitch and he answers. The point of the matter is that it takes time for Mitch to answer, because of his speech impediment, but Jeff gives him the time to finish. Once he is done, Jeff goes out of his way to ask Mitch what’s the best way to move forward by asking, “When you’re struggling, do you want help from someone, or is part of it to let you finish when you’re ready to finish?”
“The hope is that everyone would just kind of hang in there for me and just give me the opportunity to finish my sentence. But I’m so thankful you ask that, because honestly like people just naturally want to help others and sometimes, we don’t feel comfortable enough like asking that, so thank you for that.” -Mitch Guerra, Civa
This feels like such an important question, because I don’t know if many people would ask. Mitch does thank Jeff for asking, because he says that most people are helpful in nature, but he just asks for patience so he can finish on his own. In a world where information is so readily available, and video clips or advertisements are coming in such short bursts, it seems extremely relevant and important to recognize the need to let people have the time to express themselves.
This Survivor moment helps to highlight, not only Jeff’s appreciation for the castaways, but his earnestness to present an experience that truly feels like anyone can and should feel comfortable to participate.
Flashback to last week’s incredibly powerful moment between Eva and Joe.
The Immunity Challenge & Vote Off
The immunity challenge in Survivor 48 episode 2 included several stages. One player from each tribe dives off a platform, swims underneath another platform to release two balls, before making it to a final platform. Two more players from each tribe dive off the same platform, and while each are walking across parallel planks, they must balance one of the two balls against two wooden spears. Imagine holding up a small rubber bouncy ball with two Q-tips, but two people are holding one Q-tip and crossing separate planks across from each other.
Then, the last pair from each tribe repeat what the last pair did. Once both balls reach the final platform, one person shoots a ball into a floating basket, while two players stay in the water to recover missed shots. The first two teams to sink five balls into their baskets wins immunity. Let’s just say, Lagi started off well, which wasn’t a surprise. They were at the final station where Eva nailed three baskets in a row.
Vula did seem to be doing well through two-thirds of their group getting to the final platform, but Cedrek and Kevin struggled to make it through the balance beam section. Meanwhile, Civa makes it to the final platform and Mitch takes his turn with shooting baskets. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. Civa wins immunity. If you thought Eva was crushing it with those three in a row, Mitch was on fire!
Once he nailed his fifth basket, Joe swapped back in, because Eva took his place when he initially didn’t land any. Joe went on to make the final two and land Lagi another immunity win. It’s clear that Cedrek was distraught after the loss and spoke to the entire tribe afterwards, explaining he understands if he gets voted out because he feels to blame. Despite this, he seems fairly immune to any chatter when it comes to who might be voted off.
Sai wants Mary gone, since Mary voted for her last week in the Survivor 48 premiere. However, the tides started to shift towards a Sai blindside. Cedrek, however, feels a greater bond with Sai and explains that Kevin has initiated Sai’s downfall – and tells her she needs to play her idol. Once this information is out in the open, Cedrek and Justin get together to discuss what’s the best move: Vote out Mary (who lost her vote on a journey earlier in the episode), or vote out Kevin because he’s going against the initial alliance.
Sai does play her hidden immunity idol, and then the votes are read. Kevin is sent home. It’s easy to “critique from the couch,” but maybe it would’ve been better for Kevin to let the four-person alliance continue through with a Mary vote. Instead, he pushed for Sai and it didn’t work out. Will Vula continue to lose in Survivor 48 or will we see a tribe swap happen to try and alleviate this early losing streak?
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