Survivor Season 45 Week 12 Recap: Final Five Revealed
A new episode of Survivor 45 airs tonight on CBS. Read a live recap here.
The castaways return to camp after tribal council. There’s awkward silence among them. Everybody voted for Julie, but she played a hidden immunity idol and saved herself. Dee and Julie pretend they’re on bad terms. Dee warned Julie she was the target before tribal council, but she doesn’t want anyone else to know that. Austin calls tribal council a disaster, but he’s glad he still has his hidden immunity idol. Later, Dee and Austin talk about what happened. Dee lies to Austin and tells him she didn’t warn Julie ahead of time. Austin wants the Final 3 to be him, Dee, and Drew. Drew eventually joins their conversation, and they say Julie needs to go next. Julie eventually joins them and jokingly pretends they’re still a happy family. In her confessional, Julie says she doesn’t think she can trust the Reba 4 anymore.
The next morning, Katurah goes searching for a hidden immunity idol. She figures a new idol has been planted after Julie played one last night. Austin and Dee notice Katurah is absent, so they go searching for an idol too. Katurah is surprised when she runs into Austin, so she admits to him she’s searching for an idol. Meanwhile, Julie and Drew try to clear the air. They tell each other it’s still possible for the Reba 4 to go to the end together. However, they both admit in their confessionals that that won’t be possible anymore. Julie says she can only trust Dee from now on. The two of them talk game later, and Dee throws Drew under the bus. She says Drew was the mastermind plotting Julie’s demise. Julie and Dee agree Drew has to go.
Reward challenge
It’s time for the reward challenge. They will begin out in the ocean and then race to shore. They next must stand on a barrel and use ropes to guide them through a course to collect keys. Lastly, they will use the keys to unlock pieces to a slide puzzle. The first person to solve the puzzle will win a picnic reward on a sandspit.
The challenge begins, and it’s fairly even. Eventually, Austin and Drew are the first to begin working on the puzzle. Right behind them are Jake and Julie. Dee is the next to begin working on her puzzle, and Katurah finally gets started on her puzzle. Austin ends up solving the puzzle first. Austin wins reward! Jeff tells him to choose one person to join him. He picks Dee. Jeff tells him he can pick one more person. Austin chooses Katurah. After they leave, Drew is disappointed he didn’t get picked. He points out he never gets picked for rewards. The only time he goes on a reward is when he wins the challenges. Julie brings up how everyone voted for her at the last tribal council. She feels like she is going to be babysat back at camp.
Looking for a hidden immunity idol
Drew, Jake, and Julie return to camp. Drew realizes Austin wants him to babysit Julie and Jake. He understands the strategic reasoning, but he’s still unhappy about it. Nonetheless, Julie and Jake walk away and talk game together. They also look for a hidden immunity idol, but eventually Drew notices they’re gone and finds them. Meanwhile, Austin, Dee, and Katurah fly by on a helicopter on their way to the reward. Katurah notices Dee and Austin holding hands, so she feels like the third wheel on the reward. We hear confessionals from Dee and Austin, and they both admit they have feelings for each other. Back at camp, Jake finds the clue to the hidden immunity idol. He successfully retrieves the idol hiding inside a bamboo on a raft.
Who wins immunity?
It’s time for the immunity challenge. It’s an endurance challenge that requires them to balance a ball at the end of a beam. They will be using their foot to keep the beam steady to balance the ball. If their ball drops, then they are eliminated. The last person standing will win immunity. The challenge begins, and Julie and Jake end up dropping their balls less than two minutes into the challenge. Katurah drops her ball next. Drew’s ball is in a precarious spot, but he manages to keep it steady after many close calls. However, his ball ends up dropping next. It’s now a showdown between Austin and Dee. After a while, Austin’s ball drops. Dee wins immunity!
The tribe returns to camp after the immunity challenge. The initial plan is to vote out Julie tonight. However, Jake says it doesn’t help his resume to join the plan to vote out Julie. He says he would just be following someone else’s orders if he did that. Jake approaches Julie with a plan to blindside Drew. Jake thinks he, Julie, and Katurah can vote out Drew tonight. Julie is on board. She knows Dee would be on board, but she doesn’t want Jake to know that she and Dee are still working together.
Later, Jake discusses the plan with Katurah. Katurah is on board, and she thinks she can pull in Dee. However, Jake doesn’t want Dee to know about this. He’s concerned she would give Drews a heads up. He would rather go to a 3-3 tie and then sway Austin or Dee to flip.
A blindside
Meanwhile, Dee and Katurah excitedly agree about blindsiding Drew tonight. Dee wants Drew to go tonight, but she doesn’t feel good about lying to Austin. Dee and Drew talk game, and Dee reassures him the plan is to vote out Julie tonight. Drew says it seems like it will be an easy vote tonight. However, if he feels like he’s in danger, then he’s confident Austin will save him with his hidden immunity idol. Drew doesn’t want to count his chickens before they hatch, but he’s confident there’s a path to go to the Final 3 with Austin. Meanwhile, Dee is torn. She doesn’t know whether she should tell Austin the plan to blindside Drew or not. She promised herself she wouldn’t let her emotions get involved in game decisions, but it’s tough not being honest with Austin.
Tribal Council
It’s time for tribal council. Jeff begins the discussion with Austin’s picks for the reward challenge. Austin believes the tribe was respectful of his choices. Julie candidly tells Jeff that Austin wanted her to be babysat. Jeff asks how they separate personal relationships from the game. Drew says he has a clearer vision to make game decisions as they get closer to the end of the game. They all have family depending on them back home, so they can’t let personal relationships get in the way.
Jeff asks if alliances are locked in at this point. Dee says they are not locked in at this point. They’re thinking about the game instead of personal relationships. Drew disagrees and says he has alliances that feel locked in. He says if he survives tonight, then he sees the path to get to the end.
Julie says she’s jealous. She says she hopes she survives tonight, but she’s not even sure if she can survive the Final 5. Drew compares the game to a game of limbo. The figurative bar is lower for some players than others. Austin says he’s spot on. The game is easier for others at certain points. Jake says he sympathizes with Julie since he’s been in her spot before. They all need to be thinking about their ideal Final 3. Dee agrees, and she doubts everyone has the same ideal Final 3. Afterwards, it’s time for the vote.
Before Jeff reads the votes, Austin stands up and shows his amulet hidden immunity idol to everyone. He plays it for himself.
The final five are revealed
Jeff reads the votes. The first vote is for…
Julie
Julie
Drew
Drew
Drew
Drew
Drew is the thirteenth person voted out and the sixth member of the jury. Drew and Austin are blindsided. The jury notices how mad Drew looks. Austin is disappointed. He glances at Dee, but she avoids his gaze.
And that wraps up tonight’s episode of Survivor. Thanks for reading, and come back next week for another live recap.
