A new episode of Survivor: Winners at War aired last night on CBS. Read a recap and join the discussion here.
The episode begins with the Sele tribe returning to camp after tribal council. Rob feels bad for Ethan, but he gives them kudos for the move. He also explains to Parvati how he knew Adam was playing both sides, and she thanks Rob for having her back. In his confessional, Adam says that Boston Rob betrayed him after he revealed his alliance’s plan to vote for Parvati. And not only that, but he was also excluded from his alliance’s plan to vote for Ethan. “I just did everything that you’re not supposed to do in Survivor, and I had the hubris to think that I could get away with it,” Adam says. He says everything has changed, and he needs to go on an apology tour now. In his confessional, Ben calls Adam a weasel that isn’t good for his game. However, he adds that Adam is lucky, because the biggest threats on the tribe are Parvati and Rob.
The next morning on the Dakal tribe, Yul says the happy times are just as important as the war times. They’ve been winning the last few challenges, and Yul thinks everyone is still acting like they’re a big, happy family. However, Yul says the tightest alliance in the game is the one he has with Sophie, Nick, and Wendell. He doesn’t think anyone suspects their alliance either. In addition, Edge of Extinction is visible from their tribe. In her confessional, Sophie says being able to see Edge of Extinction reminds her of how her class back in high school once visited a prison. She says it’s scary, and she’s certain it’s miserable over there.
Meanwhile, on the Edge of Extinction, they get news that they each have a chance to win a fire token today. However, it will take tremendous effort. Amber reads the note, and it instructs them that they must climb the flight of steps to a bundle of firewood. They will have to deliver one piece of firewood back to their camp one at a time, which will take twenty trips. They must complete this task before sundown to earn one fire token. “This is not going to be fun,” Amber says as she, Natalie, Danni, and Ethan begin the task. She notes how carrying the log isn’t the hard part; the hard part is the twenty trips. After the first trip, Ethan thought the rest of the trips would be a piece of cake. He notes how he has run marathons, played professional soccer, and survived cancer. Danni plans to take a slow and steady approach, and she was surprised to see Natalie going very fast right away. Natalie already has three fire tokens, but she says in her confessional that she wants as many fire tokens as possible. Halfway through the task, Ethan begins to really struggle. “Pick it up,” he repeats to himself. Despite the difficulty, he does not plan to stop. However, soon enough, a medic greets him to check his blood pressure and temperature. She tells him that his blood pressure is low and he’s close to fainting. She advises him to stop the task. In his confessional, Ethan says he feels disappointed in himself since he’s already completed sixteen trips and only has four more to go. After a bit of rest, Ethan tells the medic that he feels better. She says if he wants to continue with the task, then he must take these rests when needed. In his confessional, Ethan says he wants to prove to anyone that went through a health challenge that they can do it and get through hard moments. Natalie, Amber, and Danni complete the task, and Natalie and Amber get overcome with emotion after they finally delivered their last log. On Ethan’s final trek, Natalie, Amber, and Danni decide to accompany him as he delivers his last log. Ethan was very touched, and he says it’s a moment he’ll remember for the rest of his life.
Back at the Sele camp, Adam has become the hardest working person on the tribe. Jeremy compares Adam’s behavior to when one of his kids messed up and is trying to right a wrong. Jeremy says that they’ll keep Adam around as long as he doesn’t go back to being sneaky and playing both sides. Meanwhile, Rob and Parvati know that they are on the outs of the tribe. Rob says he doesn’t like being at the mercy of everyone. However, Parvati has a fire token, and she says in her confessional that she might be able to use it to avenge Ethan. Rob and Parvati try to sway Adam to come back to their side, but Adam tells them that he cannot do that. When he walks away, Rob suggests making up a lie and telling Jeremy that Adam is trying to play both sides again. Later, we see Rob approach Jeremy and Michele. He tells them that Adam won’t stop coming up to him to talk game, and Rob says he doesn’t know what to do about it. Michele believes Rob, and she says that she is sick of Adam playing both sides over and over again. She talks to Jeremy, and she asks which name would he feel comfortable with writing down. Jeremy says it would be Adam as he doesn’t trust him at all. “Adam’s gotta go,” Jeremy says. Jeremy doesn’t want to have to keep babysitting Adam and calls him a liability.
Meanwhile at Dakal, Sarah and Tyson have developed a close bond. Sarah knows that the rest of the tribe does not trust Tyson, but she wants to keep him around. In his confessional, Tyson notes how the tribe feels very calm, but he knows game talk constantly happens. He believes the winners who have only played one time are the most likely to fly under the radar, and he names Yul, Nick, Wendell, and Sophie (who all happen to be in an alliance). Tyson later talks to Sandra and Tony. He shares his theory with them, and he says the people with prior connections like they have will be picked off one by one. In her confessional, Sandra says that Tyson is just trying to save himself. However, she tells him that she will do “whatever it takes as long as it’s not me.” Sandra adds in her confessional that Tyson threw the first stone as he was targeting Sandra just days ago. Therefore, Sandra needs Tyson out of the game. “Tyson, you better hope we win this challenge,” Sandra says in her confessional, “’cause you’re in deep doo-doo.”
It’s Day 11 and time for the immunity challenge. Four tribe members will be attached by ropes to a boat. They must dive into the water and swim, pulling the boat behind them with their other three tribe members sitting on board. They must make their way to a tower and jump off to retrieve keys. They will use those keys to unlock puzzle pieces. The first tribe to solve the puzzle will win immunity and four live chickens as a reward. The challenge begins, with Sandra and Tony sitting out for Dakal. Rob, Ben, Michele, and Jeremy are the swimmers for Sele and Sarah, Wendell, Tyson, and Yul are the swimmers for Dakal. Dakal gets in the lead as they are the first to retrieve their three keys. Sele struggles as Parvati fails to get a key three times. Adam gets the first two keys for Sele, but he misses his next two attempts. Dakal are already working on their puzzle, and Adam misses getting the third key again. Jeff calls the challenge a blowout, but Adam finally gets the last key for Sele. They can finally unlock their puzzle pieces and get to work. Michele and Rob begin assembling the puzzle, and they quickly catch up due to Nick and Sarah’s struggle with the puzzle. Nick and Sarah begin disassembling their puzzle to see where they went wrong, but Michele and Rob keep putting pieces correctly into place. All of a sudden, it’s a comeback as now Sele is in the lead. Michele and Rob complete their puzzle first. Sele wins immunity!
Dakal returns to camp after the immunity challenge. Tyson notes how it was Nick and Sarah’s fault why they lost the challenge (and the puzzle was the same one Nick completed in his first season). Tyson wants Nick to be voted out tonight. He tells this to Sarah, and he asks her what does she think. She says “yeah.” Tyson adds that Nick does not help out much around camp, and he’s also unconnected as one of the one-time players. Tyson goes around camp and tells more people to vote out Nick. They tell him they are on board with the plan, but Wendell notes in his confessional that Tyson doesn’t really know what’s going on. He says Tyson is a dead man walking. Wendell adds that Tyson’s possible connections with Rob and Parvati on the other tribe could be dangerous down the road. Wendell, Sophie, and Tony talk by the well and agree to vote out Tyson. Nick knows that Tyson wants him gone, and he says it’s war. Nick says that he feels like he’s good with everyone on the tribe, but he is still nervous. He’s even worried Tyson might have a hidden immunity idol. Later, Tyson talks to Tony again. Tyson says that the two of them and Sandra are big targets that can be picked off. In his confessional, Tony admits that he would rather see Nick voted out tonight. He thinks both Tyson and Nick could be a number for him, but Nick is not a shield. Tyson, on the other hand, is someone that could be a shield for him. Tony adds that he has been hiding behind Tyson as a shield, and he doesn’t want to lose him. Tony goes to talk to Sarah, and she agrees with his point of view. She then goes to talk to Kim and proposes a group of her, Kim, Tony, and Tyson. Kim says she will be on board with that, but Sarah says they will need one more. Sarah adds in her confessional that the plan to save Tyson and vote out Nick will only work if Sandra is on board. Tony talks to Sandra next, and he says he’s trying to figure out what’s better for them. “Tyson’s gotta go. That’s what’s better for us,” Sandra tells him. Tony explains to Sandra how one of them could be the next one gone once Tyson is no longer an obvious target for the tribe. In her confessional, Sandra admits that Tony is right. However, she does not trust Tyson, and she tells Tony that she thinks Tyson is dangerous. Tony tells Sandra to just think about it. Sandra says in her confessional that she would like revenge against Tyson for throwing her name out, but she likes $2 million more. She won’t let emotion dictate her decision tonight. Instead, she’ll make the move she believes is best for her game.
It’s Night 11 and time for tribal council. Jeff asks the state of the tribe, and Tony says it feels like all the personal bonds formed are genuine and surpass anything on a game level. Jeff tells Yul that he played a very analytical game and crunched the numbers in his first season, but Yul says he hasn’t done much math this time. He says there is no concrete group of people and adds that they are trying to prevent revealing groups within a group. Sophie agrees that they are trying to keep pretending there aren’t groups within a group, so they all must be accurate on which one person to vote for tonight. They need to be united in case of an upcoming tribe swap. Nick says if he ends up on a new tribe, he is sticking with his original Dakal tribe members. Everyone else chimes in with “Me too.” Jeff asks Sandra her thoughts, and she says she wants everybody to be happy when they get back to camp. Jeff says it sounds like Sandra is good with any decision as long as it’s not her name being written down. Tyson adds that Sandra is the most solid person to implement the “as long as it’s not me” strategy. Jeff asks if watching how they all play before affects their decisions. Yul says he’s more surprised by how it affects how he thinks of them personally. He says Tony is a more caring person that he expected. Jeff asks Kim if idolatry can happen in a season of only returning winners. Kim admits that she’s been starstruck by certain people after watching them on TV. Sophie relates to that feeling too, but she says it’s important to view each other as they are in the game. Tyson adds that some people may want to prove that they can vote their Survivor idol out of the game. Sarah says people could focus too much on a trophy that it can throw off their game. Jeff asks Sandra if she ever gets starstruck, and she says no. Nick admits he does get starstruck, and she adds that Parvati was his high school crush. He later says he feels nervous about tonight’s vote since he failed at the puzzle. He was told a plan, and he is hoping everyone sticks to that plan. Jeff asks them all who were told of a plan tonight, and they all raise their hands. Tyson says they all seem to be on the same page, but they may actually all be on different pages instead. Afterwards, it’s time for the vote.
Jeff reads the votes. The first vote is for…
Nick
Kim
Tyson
Tyson
Tyson
Tyson
Tyson
Tyson is the fifth person voted out of Survivor: Winners at War. Before he gets on the boat to take him to the Edge of Extinction, we see Tyson bequeath his fire token to Nick.
And that wraps up this episode of Survivor. Thanks for reading, post you thoughts in the comment section below, and come back next week for another live recap.
