Survivor Game Changers Episode 4 Boot Blames [Spoilers] For Exit

With nine months to reflect on the early exit, the castaway sent packing in Survivor Game Changers episode 4 knows that someone screwed up.

Obviously, spoilers for Survivor Game Changers episode 4 will be discussed in heavy detail.

When you’re in the minority on a swapped tribe (especially when the numbers are five to one), you need to find an in and fast. The new Nuku tribe had the numbers heading into a history Survivor Game Changers tribal council, where two tribes would vote out one castaway. Had everyone on Nuku stuck to the original plan without feeding the opposition intel, J.T. would have been in a position to take Sandra out at a later date.

Instead, J.T. played too cute by giving away their voting target to Mana, wanted them to vote for Sandra, realized they probably weren’t going to vote Sandra, and instead of telling everyone he said who they’re voting for, told a half-truth by saying he told Brad it wasn’t him. Because of this, Mana played an immunity idol on Sierra and Malcolm got sent home in 17th place.

That’s the understanding of Malcolm Freberg, who spoke to multiple outlets today to break down why he thought he was sent home. Talking to Entertainment Weekly, Malcolm felt that J.T. royally screwed up, but didn’t fess up properly in a way that could have kept himself in the game.

"If he had told us what he had done, that he had told them straight up who we were going to vote for, then everything changes. But he’s like a kid who only half admits what he has done wrong to lessen his punishment. So it all went south from there: J.T. kind of having a sense that this was not going to go the way he original thought and regretting everything he had done, and shaking his head and freaking out was the biggest thing you didn’t see [on TV]."

That analogy is so perfect, summing up a bit of the J.T. mentality that we see in Survivor Game Changers and Survivor Heroes vs. Villains. It’s clear that he so wants to make the great play and do something that appeases all sides, similar to the incredibly stupid decision to hand Russell Hantz the idol.

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He instinctively trusted Brad Culpepper, the leader of what is now the other tribe, by trying to curry favor with his tribe’s vote reveal. J.T. was kind of trying to get it off Malcolm, who was a potential target, but ultimately did too much harm in a way that got Malcolm voted out. Had he been honest with Nuku, he still would have been regarded as foolish, but that’s way better than being regarded as a traitor.

Over at Parade, Malcolm Freberg lightly jokes about being cursed by everyone picking him to win before Survivor Game Changers even premiered (to be fair, none of us cursed him). More importantly, he breaks down what happened that we may not have seen, including him hanging with J.T. for days to keep his vote intact, J.T. instinctively letting Malcolm know he was going to tell Brad he was safe (before doing it on TV), and that J.T. really screwed the pooch in the way he played both sides.

"You didn’t see this in the episode, but J.T. knew something was wrong, two-thirds of the way through this Tribal Council. He’s sitting there saying, “Guys, we need to change the vote. Guys, we need to change the vote.” And that’s why it stretched a lot longer, because he was trying to convince us to do something. But we’re all sitting there and thinking, “Why? Why, JT? We don’t understand.” And he wouldn’t tell us that he told them exactly who we were voting for. He’s telling us to change the vote, but not telling us why."

He later mentions that Hali straight up told him Mana was going to vote for him, meaning as soon as he saw Sierra get saved, he knew he was going home.

I’m trying to be objective about this Survivor Game Changers twist, but it’s hard to see Malcolm Freberg not get a chance to talk to the other tribe openly before decisions like this are made. In a One World situation, you could possibly see people jump back and forth all day to socialize and change the vote. But here, you have one player drop one stupid line and not own up to it and ruin Malcolm’s game on his behalf.

Next: Let’s Rank the Survivor Seasons by Their Locations

Survivor Game Changers returns to normal tribal councils (possibly) next week with episode 5, “Dirty Deed.”

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