Survivor: Game Changers Episodes 8 and 9 Recap: My Alliance or Your Alliance?

Two hours of Survivor: Game Changers meant two separate eliminations and, considering the merge, a big clash of alliances.

There were two hours of Survivor: Game Changers to get through tonight, with twists practically from the word go and more shakeups in the game. Let’s recap, shall we?

We opened on Day 19, with Nuku dealing with the fallout of the last Tribal Council. Everyone was still a little emotional, but Zeke had a smile on his face eventually. In a confessional, he said he was ready to get back to the game.

And so Survivor obliged him by cutting directly to the two tribes walking in to see food laid out … and Jeff Probst standing next to something covered. He then said that one person needed to volunteer from each tribe to miss out on the food.

Should no one sign up, well, then the only “feast” would be one cracker with cheese for everyone. For Mana, Brad said he would abstain. It took perhaps a little longer, but eventually Tai lifted his hand for Nuku. Cirie, in a confessional, said she still didn’t trust either of them despite the kind gesture. Tai and Brad headed down the beach … and everyone else rushed the food.

But on Brad and Tai’s buddy log, they had a private conversation where Brad filled Tai in on the Mana drama, casually naming Michaela and Hali as people he’d be interested in taking out sooner rather than later.

Meanwhile, Debbie pretended she had gotten into the wine. She said she hadn’t had a drink, though she did an excellent drunk act.

Art Projects and Plotting

Everyone returned to the old Nuku camp. Debbie and Brad exchanged a hug, with her taking Cochran’s advice. Zeke told the story of Jeff Varner’s elimination and did not spare the details. It impressed Aubry in particular.

Then, though, people split off. Ozzy, Troyzan, and Brad had a conversation about possibly taking Michaela out. Then, Ozzy took a walk and spoke to Zeke and Sarah. Troyzan went to Tai, who then went to Hali. Brad himself pulled Sierra in. Sierra then pulled in Aubry and Cirie. Sarah reconfirmed with Sierra that Michaela was the target even as the new tribe worked on the flag for the new tribe: Maku Maku. Sierra, meanwhile, noted that Michaela kept barging in on conversations.

"Sierra: “This has to be a blindside.”"

But Zeke had a side conversation with Andrea and Cirie, noting that letting Brad and Sierra dictate the elimination would not go well for his alliance in the long run.

"Zeke: “It’s the smiles before the bloodbath.”"

Day 21 on Maku Maku opened with Hali feeling shut out and also willing to play with Michaela. So she started a side conversation with her and mentioned that Michaela was a target. Well, Hali said she wanted to “light a fire under Michaela.”

So Michaela went to Cirie, who provided some sage advice about controlling her emotions and how to work through this part of the game. Keep an eye on that strategic pairing.

But First, Individual Immunity

Probst took the old immunity idol, set it down, and unveiled the new necklace, which looks like it has some tentacles and a trident pendant. The immunity challenge was quite simple: place a block on your head and wedge it between your head and a bar, standing on a narrow platform. Pretty simple, but as always, effective. It looked like each apparatus was modified for each player’s height.

Hali, Troyzan, and Zeke dropped in less than 10 seconds. Cirie cursed as the block fell from her head, and Debbie did similar. Michaela, though she tried to murmur to herself to hold it, didn’t last much longer.

“We are only five minutes in,” Probst announced. And then Ozzy went out, quickly followed by Aubry. Brad was next out.

After 25 minutes, the last four became the last three as Sarah and Sierra suddenly wavered. Eventually, Tai lost it, and Andrea took the first individual immunity win of the season.

Back to Our Regularly Scheduled Scrambling

Back at camp, Sierra had the dreaded confessional about how she felt confident in the game. She then floated the idea of splitting votes for Michaela and Hali, suspecting the latter had an idol.

The plan: throw four votes on Hali, and then put the other votes on Michaela, while telling those two that Zeke was the target. Cirie then started to talk to Zeke, expressing some concern about the plan.

And so Zeke went to ask the question about why they were targeting Hali instead, and Sierra reassured him that they could change. That’s when Cirie told Michaela that Zeke wasn’t the target and not to tell anyone.

“Light it Up!”

Cirie finally lit her torch at the first Tribal Council for Maku Maku. Probst’s topic of conversation was the nature of the merge, how chaotic it can be, and how important it is. Debbie expressed confidence about what was about to go down.

Hali and Michaela both effectively said they were targets, and Michaela casually said “I’m just trying to understand people’s votes.” Someone’s learning from Cirie.

Ozzy was the first to drop the word idol. Hali then offered to let people look through her things … as long as they asked her about it.

Hali made a very nice pitch about how ineffective it might be to vote her out now.

But then it came to a vote. No one pulled an idol.

Hali became the first member of the Game Changers jury by a vote of 7-4-2. Michaela had four votes, and Zeke had the last two.

But that’s not all that happened. Click the button below and let’s continue.