Survivor: Game Changers Episode 5 Recap: Spoonfuls of Sugar

Survivor: Game Changers’ fifth episode had a lot of conflict, some resolution, a touch of revenge, and a lot of going to the footage.

The words flew fast on tonight’s episode of Survivor: Game Changers, with things like sugar and gymnastics playing a somewhat more important role than a fan might imagine they would on an episode of a show like this. Not sure what we mean? Read on.

The Nuku fallout began pretty much immediately, to the surprise of actually no one. J.T. started lying immediately about what he’d told Brad, but no one seemed to believe it at all. Sandra, especially, was suspicious, and she named the episode within the first five minutes:

"Sandra: “This is J.T.’s dirty deed.”"

J.T. knew he was in trouble on Day 12, and he went searching yet again for the hidden immunity idol. He found a clue to an idol, similar to Tai’s idol in that it was hidden in a small clearing near the flags. The search went very well indeed, and J.T. had his safety for at least one more cycle before the title card.

Balancing is Really Hard

Day 12 also brought the first challenge, a reward. Naturally, Tavua needed a little time to process what exactly had gone down with Malcolm’s elimination, but then Jeff Probst started walking them through the challenge. Players needed to hook a bow, then dig up a ball to balance on it over some obstacles. Then, they had to hook a bag with a handle in it, and run through the same obstacles balancing another ball on that handle. At the end came a slide puzzle.

Tavua sat Troyzan out. Interestingly, Survivor actually took us into the strategy sessions for each tribe, showing that Debbie wanted to balance for Mana.

The teams were quite even going into the first pass on the course. Of course, Ozzy opened up a lead for Tavua. Hali wasn’t too far behind, though, and Cirie was having trouble digging up the ball. Mana took a brief lead as a result, but Andrea regained it for Tavua over Debbie on Mana… just as J.T. finished Nuku’s first run. Aubry opened a second-place lead for Nuku, but it was too late.

Tavua won the first-place reward: peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, supplies for the same, milk, and cookies. Nuku pulled out second place, which just consisted of the sandwiches. Mana once again went home with nothing.

The segment closed out with Debbie saying Brad had “dictated” the positions people played in, despite the footage pretty clearly showing she wanted to do the balancing portion.

Princess Hali, Long May She Reign (?)

Tavua celebrated its victory by eating many sandwiches, but Sarah didn’t want to rest on her laurels. She opened a conversation with Troyzan, mentioning that she wanted to look for the idol. He did not tell her about the fact that he has the idol.

Anyway, over on Mana, the ominous music tipped us off long before Debbie snapped at the rest of her tribe. Her problem? She felt disrespected by Brad. Everyone tried to talk to her, including Tai, but she dubbed Hali a princess. Her next confessional said that Brad had basically become her target.

Meanwhile, Nuku had a sugar conflict. Michaela started having spoonfuls of sugar with coffee, which J.T. didn’t like. Sensing some opportunity, Sandra ate the rest of the sugar just so that J.T. would blame Michaela over it. He bought it.

Round two of Mana’s camp life focused a bit more on Tai, who suspected that another idol had been put into play. He was right, but he only found a clue that involved a board and water before the immunity challenge.

Sharp Slingshot Shooting

First up in the immunity challenge was getting over an obstacle, pushing a wooden cube under a set of keys to unwind them, then unlocking 100 sandbags that needed to be carried over a balance beam to a slingshot and five targets. Tavua sat Cirie out. Once again, Mana’s strategy session was shown, with Debbie clearly saying she didn’t want to do the balancing because she’d been asked to.

Tavua looked to be the most at home in the challenge, especially on the balance beam while Debbie waited for Tai and Hali on Mana and complained. However, Mana won first place in the slingshot portion. Nuku and Tavua then traded hits, and Ozzy pulled off the second-place win for Tavua.

Nuku made it back to camp, and J.T. started making his case to eliminate Michaela instead of him. Sandra, however, didn’t seem to be buying what he was selling. Varner found himself sitting in the middle between her and Michaela, with J.T. and Aubry on the other side.

Well, You Know What They Say About Familiarity…

The Great Survivor Sugar Fight spilled over into Tribal Council. Jeff Probst made some excellent faces at the commentary going on, especially from Michaela. Everyone except Sandra agreed that J.T. spoke for them when it came to their perspective on the Michaela situation, and J.T. even said some people were just “filling space” on Game Changers.

It all came down to Jeff Varner’s vote, just as he had said. Everyone else’s was shown, falling along the expected lines. J.T. did not play his idol. Michaela poured some water into a mug and started sipping as the votes were read.

She continued sipping after J.T. became the fifth person voted out in a 3-2 vote, with that idol probably burning a hole in his pocket … except his last words revealed that he hadn’t even brought it to Tribal.

Next: Is Exile Island Coming Back on Game Changers?

Sandra admitted she stole the sugar after J.T. walked off.

For now, it really does look like the queen of Survivor is still the queen. She’s the only winner left standing, after all.

Survivor: Game Changers continues next week, with the preview promising Exile Island, buff dropping, and more.