Let’s examine the episode 12 photos for Survivor: Game Changers
The photos for episode 12 of Survivor: Game Changers appear to show both a high and a low, as alluded to in the episode title.
“It is Not a High Without a Low,” promises Survivor: Game Changers‘ twelfth episode synopsis and episode title. Now that we know a little more about the episode, let’s see if we can’t make some predictions based on the photos CBS released. You can see the full set here.
Pay close attention to who features in these camp shots:
"Photo: Screen Grab/CBS Entertainment ©2017 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.Photo: Screen Grab/CBS Entertainment ©2017 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved.Photo: Screen Grab/CBS Entertainment ©2017 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved."
That’s Sierra and Tai, Sierra and Michaela, and Sierra and Sarah. When we analyzed the preview for episode 12, we noticed that Sarah and Sierra in particular featured prominently and suspected Sarah might flip. But that same preview and those photos seem to show that Sierra might think that Michaela is also vulnerable as well.
If we had to, we’d bet more on Sarah, but that’s just based on the connection between Michaela and Cirie. Those two seem to still be quite close, and Michaela could easily feed Cirie information on whatever Sierra and her alliance is trying. Of course, that presumes that Michaela’s comfortable playing that role. She’s improved her game face, but could it be enough? (With some extra help from Cirie, maybe it could. Underestimating a Survivor player is usually a good way to find yourself surprised on Wednesday night.)
"Photo: Screen Grab/CBS Entertainment ©2017 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved."
In case you missed the end of episode 11 (or the synopsis), the reward this week will be the loved ones’ visit. As of this writing, it’s unclear what form that reward will take, but what is clear is that three players will win jointly.
"Photo: Screen Grab/CBS Entertainment ©2017 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved."
Those belts basically say it all, don’t they? Here’s our first team: Sarah, Tai, and Michaela.
"Photo: Screen Grab/CBS Entertainment ©2017 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved."
Aubry, Andrea, and Brad will be a second team.
"Photo: Screen Grab/CBS Entertainment ©2017 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved."
Finally, Sierra, Cirie, and Troyzan will be the green team. It seems unreasonable to suggest that this could be the immunity challenge — team immunity doesn’t usually appear in the merge phase.
"Photo: Screen Grab/CBS Entertainment ©2017 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved."
Andrea, hauling a team that includes Brad to victory, is pretty great. It seems reasonable to guess that there’s at least something else that they’ll need to do rather than a simple race to the finish. Is it a puzzle? Probably, but there’s no confirmation either way. Additionally, it doesn’t seem as though the loved ones get to participate in any way, at least not from the photo evidence. That’s not uncommon, though.
"Photo: Screen Grab/CBS Entertainment ©2017 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved."
This, though, appears to be the immunity challenge. It’s individual, and it looks to be a “how long can you go” challenge, which is quite common for Survivor in the post-merge phase. (Time lapses make it more palatable for the viewers at home, as we’ve seen in previous episodes during this very season.) Before it looks too simple for you, here’s a better look at what they’ll have to do to win immunity this time:
"Photo: Screen Grab/CBS Entertainment ©2017 CBS Broadcasting, Inc. All Rights Reserved."
Those kind of look like suction cups, but it’s more likely that they’re indentations. Here’s the likely rundown: using the two sticks and providing pressure, it seems like they’ll have to hold the ball up.
The sticks might get longer as the challenge goes on. Check out that black section near Andrea’s hand, suggesting that sections can be connected to up the difficulty. It would also explain why there’s a pole to rest the ball on. With challenges like that, Jeff Probst often gives them a grace period to reset their grip.
It doesn’t look as though there are more sections available at each station, however. The black section, therefore, could be just for extra grip and to make the challenge last longer for additional drama. It just seems too easy, though.
(But hey, nothing probably seems too easy after the “climb a pole with footholds and just hold on as long as you can” challenge returned again.)
Next: Game Changers: Episode 11 power rankings
Episode 12, “It is Not a High Without a Low”, airs this Wednesday.