A new episode of Survivor: Game Changers airs tonight on CBS. Read a live recap and join the discussion here.
The episode begins with the tribe returning to camp after tribal council. Tai asks what happened, but the people who voted out Zeke don’t want to talk about it. The minority (Tai, Brad, Sierra, and Troyzan) were blindsided. Brad, Sierra, and Troyzan all voted for Tai; they didn’t know Zeke was going to be the one going home. Brad now regrets voting for Tai, and he doesn’t think he has Tai on his side anymore. Meanwhile, the majority discuss the vote, and Andrea says it was right move. In her confessional, Michaela says it was a heart breaker, and the fact they turned on one of their own shows that “nothing is solid in a big group.” They also discuss the upcoming vote. Cirie says they need to break up a pair (Brad and Sierra), and ideally they should target Brad. The next morning, Sierra says it’s a weird feeling to lose control. She calls Sarah her closest friend, yet she felt burned by her. She still sees her as a key person, so Sierra still wants to try to bring her back on her side. Sierra tells Sarah about her Legacy Advantage to build trust with her. She says she’ll will it to Sarah if she is voted out. Since Sierra was willing to share this info, Sarah now wants to keep Sierra.
It’s time for the reward challenge. They’ll be playing for an afternoon with their loved ones. The loved ones that came out to the island were Sarah’s husband, Andrea’s mom, Aubry’s sister, Sierra’s dad, Michaela’s mom, Troyzan’s brother, Tai’s boyfriend, Brad’s wife (former player Monica from One World and Blood vs Water), and Cirie’s son. All the reunions are very emotional. Afterwards, the challenge begins. They will play in teams of three and be tethered together as they go through an obstacle course. They will then have to retrieve a key that will open a chest of sand bags. They will then use the sandbags to knock down blocks. The first team to knock down all the blocks win reward. The three teams are Brad, Andrea, and Aubry vs Cirie, Troyzan, and Sierra vs Tai, Michaela, and Sarah. The challenge begins with the loved ones cheering on the sidelines. Brad, Andrea, and Aubry take a lead, and they complete the challenge first. Brad, Andrea, and Aubry win reward! They get to choose two people and their loved ones to enjoy the reward with them. They choose Cirie and Sarah.
We next see the castaways enjoying a picnic with their loved ones. Brad talks game with his wife Monica, and Brad is hoping he can flip Michaela to his side. She was visibly frustrated to not have been chosen for the reward, and Brad hopes to use this to his advantage. Meanwhile, Michaela and Tai are talking game back at camp. Michaela is bothered by not being chosen for the reward, and she says this showed where loyalties actually lie. Tai agrees with what Michaela is saying, and the two of them agree to work together. Sierra and Troyzan are also in the shelter talking about bringing Michaela to their side. The two of them go to the water where Michaela and Tai are. The four of them discuss the game and come to an agreement to work together. Andrea’s name is also thrown out as a potential target. In her confessional, Michaela says she’s in a good position now. Going forward, she plans to do whatever she believes is best for her game.
It’s time for the immunity challenge. It’s an endurance challenge that requires them to balance on a narrow perch while holding a buoy in between two handles. If they fall off the perch or drop the buoy, they are eliminated from the challenge. The last person standing wins immunity. The challenge begins, and Aubry is the first to drop. She’s followed by Sierra. Andrea is the next person eliminated, and she’s followed by Sarah, Cirie, and Troyzan. 18 minutes have passed with only three people left. Michaela is the next to drop her buoy. It’s now down to Brad and Tai, and Tai is the next one to drop. Brad wins immunity! As they return to camp, we hear a confessional from Michaela. She says Sierra and Andrea are in trouble, and both sides are expecting her to vote with them. She says people will be blindsided tonight.
They return to camp. Andrea wanted Brad gone, so options are limited now that Brad has immunity. Now Andrea says Sierra should go, and her allies are on board. However, unknown to them, Tai and Michaela are the swing votes tonight. Tai says his closest ally is Michaela now, so it’s what they decide. They say it should be Andrea going home tonight. Tai and Michaela tell Sierra her name was thrown out, and that they should vote for Andrea tonight. Sierra hopes they will stick with this plan and that Brad, Troyzan, Tai, and Michaela will all be on her side. Sarah and Aubry confirm Sierra is the plan, and Sarah is fine with this since Sierra told her she’d will the Legacy Advantage to her. Sarah goes talk to Sierra to make sure they’re still on good terms, and Sierra tells Sarah that Michaela and Tai were on board with voting out Andrea tonight. Sarah wants Sierra gone so she can have the advantage, so Sarah goes to talk about the vote with Michaela. Sarah tells Michaela about Sierra’s Legacy Advantage, and she is saying this is why they should vote out Sierra tonight. Michaela is now torn what to do, but will confirm plans with Tai later on.
It’s time for tribal council. After discussing the loved ones visit and how people left out of the reward could make emotional decisions, they talk about the vote. Sierra knows she’s in trouble, but she asserts she’s not a threat. Instead, she says that Andrea is a threat due to her prowess in immunity challenges. Andrea says the people on the bottom are the real threats since they can get together and form something. Aubry says it’s all about who each of them view as a threat to them, so anyone can be viewed as a threat. While discussing alliances, Sarah says there is a solid group, but rhetorically asks if the deck has reshuffled. Michaela says “we” is relative , and the ‘w’ in the world could flip upside down and turn into a “me” instead. Andrea is hoping the people she has talked to will stick with her. Sierra says she hopes people are sticking with her too. Andrea says that she and Sierra have talked to the same people, so some people are lying to either her or Sierra. Sierra agrees with Andrea. Afterwards, it’s time to vote.
We see Andrea vote for Sierra, and Sierra vote for Andrea. But who will be voted out tonight?
Jeff reads the votes. The first vote is for…
Sierra
Andrea
Sierra
Andrea
Andrea
Sierra
Sierra
Sierra
Sierra is voted out and the fifth member of the jury. Sierra wills the Legacy Advantage to Sarah.
And that wraps up tonight’s episode of Survivor. Thanks for reading, post your thoughts in the comment section below, and come back next week for another live recap.
