The devil was in the details on Survivor: Game Changers tonight, even if everyone preferred using the “line drawn in the sand” metaphor instead.
Survivor: Game Changers had plenty of moves and countermoves to fill up episode 10, “A Line Drawn in Concrete.” Unsurprisingly, everyone talked quite a bit about lines, but they seem rather blurred after tonight’s episode.
What better way to start Survivor off with a little dose of confidence and the confessional to name the episode? Debbie said that there “was a line drawn in concrete” between the two alliances based on the Ozzy elimination. But then there was also a bit of conflict between Zeke and Andrea, with her calling him “shady.” Sarah had to reassure Zeke — and she pointed out in a confessional that things can change quickly.
How quickly? Day 25 dawned with a reward challenge. Two teams of five had to go through an obstacle course separately, then once everyone was done, they had to pull up a grappling hook to snag some rings.
After a pick, here were the teams, with captains first.
Team Blue: Brad, Sierra, Aubry, Debbie, Andrea
Team Orange: Cirie, Tai, Zeke, Troyzan, Sarah
Michaela missed out both on the reward and a secret advantage that was just casually out in the open on the ground by her bench. She did have some additional commentary to complement Jeff Probst’s, though.
Such a physical course had the teams struggling, and Sarah swam out to help Cirie, meaning that Sarah had to re-run two obstacles. Team Blue won, but all of Team Orange waited for Cirie to finish that obstacle course. Everyone who played had hugs for her.
Team Blue got a trip to a resort with a picnic, but they did call in a boat for Team Orange due to Cirie’s exhaustion. That gave Sarah the opportunity to take the secret advantage.
What Do They Say About Power?
Back at camp there were some tears still, but good ones instead of upset ones. Sarah sneaked off to read the advantage: it’s the vote steal back again. It’s good through the final five, and no one can steal it from her.
Meanwhile, at the picnic, Brad took the opportunity to gather some information from Andrea, and in a confessional, Sierra said she was confident.
It’s clear to other players in the game, though. Cirie casually pointed out to Sarah that Brad and Sierra were running the game and that to go to Final Tribal with them would probably mean losing. Sarah seemed interested in the idea … or at least the concept.
But before any plots could come to fruition, there had to be an immunity challenge. One by one, players had to stack up blocks to spell immunity on an unstable table, one braced by a rope. Troyzan and Andrea emerged as the early frontrunners, but with one block left, Andrea lost her stack. Third-place Brad then had a collapse, and so Troyzan won his first individual immunity.
Sides, Sides, Everywhere a Side
Back at camp, although frustrations with Michaela made her a target to Debbie, Brad and Sierra wanted Andrea gone first. Then came the problem: Brad and Sierra just told Sarah what to do, and Sarah, with all of her attention to detail, remembered her conversation with Cirie.
Sarah went to talk to Zeke. Unsurprisingly, he wasn’t happy to play with Andrea, but making a move seemed too tempting to him. Then, though, Sierra proposed final three to Sarah, with Debbie as their third.
Speaking of Debbie, she spread the Michaela misinformation to Aubry, with a soupcon of Sarah suspicion. But Aubry immediately went to Andrea, Michaela, and Sarah, clearly displeased about it.
“I’m gonna decide at Tribal,” Sarah declared in a confessional.
Sarah Decides at Tribal
Probst did not let go of Cirie’s reward challenge at Tribal Council, and it gave Sarah an opportunity to talk about her role in it all as well. Andrea had a moment to talk about her low status as well, and then Zeke named the alliance of six openly: Sierra, Brad, Debbie, Troyzan, Tai, and Sarah. Debbie kept saying “strong six,” and that coaxed some fascinating reaction shots from people like Aubry, Cirie, and even Ozzy on the jury. Michaela then suggested that a move be made against that alliance, in her own way.
With that, the votes were cast. Sarah didn’t use her advantage. Ditto with the idols in the game. Michaela pulled out some snacks as Probst revealed the results. It came down, as you might expect, to the last vote. Debbie went home in a 6-5 vote.
As you may expect, there were some shocked looks, particularly between Sierra and Brad.
Next: Ranking Every Season of Survivor
Next week, though, it seems we’ll see another shift in Survivor: Game Changers.