Survivor Game Changers: Nuku's Goat Ordeal Has Major Implications

A vote on whether or not to kill a goat could be a pivotal factor in the future of the new-Nuku Tribe on Survivor Game Changers

Episode 3 of Survivor Game Changers served up the massive early tribe swap immediately, shuffling the deck while also moving to three tribes instead of the initial two. As a result of the swap, the new-Nuke Tribe left Tocantins winner J.T. Thomas in a bad spot. Joining Sandra Diaz-Twine, Michaela Bradshaw, Malcolm Freberg, Jeff Varner and Aubry Bracco, J.T. was the oly one who wasn’t on any of his new teammates’ previous tribe.

Always an astute player in the game of Survivor, J.T. recognized his disadvantage immediately. As such, he created an opportunity at first chance to isolate the rest of his tribe—in the middle of the ocean, no less—while he went to search for a Hidden Immunity Idol back at camp. Unfortunately for him, his search was to no avail.

Then came the most polarizing moment of the episode, and perhaps a turning point in the game for Nuku. J.T. and Sandra spotted goats roaming next to their camp. The former then recruited Malcolm to go and catch them, which they were able to. As Malcolm astutely pointed out, though, the only reason that they captured them was because one was a baby and the other the mother and they didn’t want to separate.

In a confessional, Malcolm immediately stated that there was no way that they were going to be able to eat the goats because it was a baby and mother. J.T. then echoed that sentiment. However, it was Sandra who not only assumed that they were going to eat it, but also assumed herself the shot-caller of the tribe and seemed a bit shocked when it had to come to a vote about eating the goats—not to mention when she lost said vote 5-1.

The scene itself was polarizing. There were plenty of fans watching that wanted anything to happen but the goats to die. Moreover, some out there were just appalled that the notion of killing the goats was brought about. However, looking at the edit of the scene in addition to where the game is at, there’s a bit more to be mined.

Starting with Michaela and Aubry (just to really get them out of the way), there’s actually not much to say. Aubry was virtually invisible and definitely silent during most of the goat ordeal. Meanwhile, Michaela’s greatest contribution was being shocked when Sandra said they were going to eat them after she’d asked to pet it.

Varner then had the most neutral edit in the scene, most notably because he mentioned being hungry, suggesting consideration of eating the goats. However, he ultimately said he had too much heart for that to happen. That feels just about spot on for what we’ve seen from Varner thus far in Survivor Game Changers.

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Near the forefront were Malcolm and J.T., who ended up coming out of this looking like heroes, which isn’t ground-breaking. Both guys are certainly fan favorites and to have them do something strong and masculine, but then follow it up by showing they have a soft-spot for animals paints them in and exceedingly positive light.

Then there’s Sandra. Oh, Sandra. By my estimation, she was already portrayed as a villain in the premiere. Yes, she and Tony were going head-to-head in the technical episode 2, but she seemed much more threatening in doing so. However, the goat ordeal confirmed it so strongly that they even had Michaela say as much in a three-second confessional. It wasn’t just about wanting to kill the goat either—it was also in how she tried to essentially use her perceived position of power to bully the rest of the tribe into eating the goat. That obviously didn’t work.

What’s interesting from all of this, however, is that it definitely feels like a turning point early on for the new-Nuku Tribe. From what I can tell, we’re heading towards one of the two things.

Behind door No. 1 is the notion that even this doesn’t save J.T. Sometimes even a heroic edit and a villain emerging aren’t enough to save a player who is so vastly outnumbered in a tribe. However, what’s important here is that Sandra then will likely be in a tricky situation after J.T. is bounced. It’s clear from the goat scene that everyone knows that The Queen is “in power,” but none appear particularly fond of it. Therefore, a blindside coming quickly after J.T.’s boot seems imminent in thsi scenario.

Unfortunately the two-time winner also doesn’t make it long when you look at the second potential option. In fact, she goes out quicker in this regard. Because he showed both his conscience and his physical ability with the goats while Sandra showed her ruthlessness and hunger for power (and just actual hunger, too), there’s a chance that new-Nuku could postpone voting out J.T. the first time they go to Tribal Council in favor of keeping Sandra.

Next: Survivor Game Changers Power Rankings after Episode 3

Again, this is all speculation about one scene in Survivor Game Changers episode 3. There is a distinct possibility that the goat scene has little impact on anyone or on the game. However, that possibility seems minimal. And if that’s the case, it’s going to cause a major shift in power sooner rather than later on new-Nuku—and all roads seem to lead to the Queen no longer staying Queen.

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Survivor Game Changers: Nuku’s Goat Ordeal Has Major Implications

By Cody Williams | Mar 19, 2017

A vote on whether or not to kill a goat could be a pivotal factor in the future of the new-Nuku Tribe on Survivor Game Changers

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