Survivor: Game Changers: Why Did J.T. Go Home in Episode 5?
On the whole, Survivor: Game Changers’ fifth boot really wasn’t that unexpected, even if events made it seem as though it could go down differently.
For a good portion of last night’s episode of Survivor: Game Changers, it seemed like J.T. had finally found his safety on Nuku. After all, he found the hidden immunity idol right on Day 12, long before he’d actually need it, right? And yet, at the end of the episode, he became the fifth person out of the season. Why did that happen?
The simple answer is that J.T. became a little too confident in his own game. He admitted as much in his final words, which you can watch below:
Yes, J.T. didn’t even have his immunity idol at Tribal Council. Despite being the only former member of Nuku and with the elimination of Malcolm quite fresh in everyone’s minds, he thought he was secure enough to not need it.
If we had to assign credit for this elimination, there are three players to look at on Nuku. The first is obviously J.T. himself. Even discounting the Malcolm surprise, he and Michaela’s clash over the sugar really didn’t help his case. (It didn’t help that he immediately suspected Michaela had eaten all the sugar, basically falling for Sandra’s plan hook, line, and sinker.) He was always going to be a target on Nuku because of his old tribal affiliations.
He had the chance to save himself, and he didn’t take it because he became overconfident. Had he played it and sent Michaela home, he could have made it to the already-confirmed swap coming in the next episode and found himself on top. Instead, we have his final words from this season of Survivor.
As for Sandra, she’s the second person to look at for this elimination. She vowed her revenge on Night 12. By the next Tribal, she had it. She stirred up the conflict by eating all of the sugar herself to put more heat on Michaela, who surprisingly kept her anger mostly to herself. She talked to Varner to sway him over. It’s hard to deny that the queen is staying queen, at least for now.
But that third person? That’s Jeff Varner. He had a confessional about how he was the swing vote, and that was very true. However, it seemed unlikely that he would actually switch over to J.T. and Aubry, not after working so closely with Sandra for so long. Much as he would have liked to send both Michaela and J.T. home, as he said in a confessional, J.T. made more sense in the longer term for Varner’s game. Basically, it made Sandra happy, and right now, making Sandra happy is not a bad idea. Also, it helped even the original Mana and Nuku numbers. However, keep an eye on him to see if he’ll actually break away from Sandra anytime soon.
Next: What Did J.T. Have to Say the Day After?
Survivor: Game Changers continues next week. Let us know in the comments below if you think someone else deserves some credit for J.T.’s boot.