Survivor: David vs. Goliath episode 3: Immunity/Reward Challenge

The rain continued to pour during Day 9’s Immunity/Reward Challenge. That didn’t halt the castaways’ enthusiasm, leading to a close finish on episode 3 of Survivor: David vs. Goliath.

Despite the rain, a majority of the tribe members still supported smiles and were excited to compete for comfort items in addition to immunity. The challenge was simple and most, if not all, parts of it have been featured in previous Survivor seasons. That being said, it still made for a fair and competitive battle. Below is a video of episode 3’s Immunity/Reward Challenge.

It began with one castaway from each tribe having to navigate their rope through an obstacle. It was a rematch between Bi and Alec, only this time it wasn’t a blowout. Alec started out with a good lead, throwing himself through the obstacle, however, his rope got stuck and cost him a few seconds. Bi was able to catch up, banging her knee in the process but still willing to fight through it. They finished their portion at the same time.

Then it was up to three members of each tribe to unbundle a rope. For the David tribe, Nick was effectively leading Lyrsa and Davie, while Kara was directing Jeremy and Mike for Goliath. Both tribes were quick to pick up on a pattern and finished their untying business dead even.

The third part of the challenge involved hooking a ring that was attached to a rope on a sled and then dragging the sled back. It took both tribes a few attempts to work on getting more slack for the rope so that the ring could travel farther. Surprisingly John and Dan were able to hook it on faster and out-lasso the country folks on the David tribe. Elizabeth was able to land the ring soon after though, giving Goliath a very short lead coming into the last leg.

It all came down to a four-piece pyramid puzzle. It’s a type of puzzle that can take you thirty minutes to figure out how to construct but can be solved in five seconds. For the Goliath tribe, Natalie insisted that she wanted in on the puzzle despite Natalia and Angelina’s resistance.

Natalie was working with Alison in trying to decipher the puzzle, but they couldn’t get it together. The David tribe’s power couple: Gabby and Christian, kept on talking through various possibilities. Once they got two pieces together, we saw Angelina sigh disappointingly as she picked up on the final shape of the puzzle before anyone else did. Gabby and Christian were able to put the pyramid together to give the David tribe their first Individual Immunity win of the season!

Top performers: Christian and Gabby showcased their chemistry by reasoning out possibilities and finishing the puzzle fairly quickly. However, since Christian’s dominance in the opening Reward Challenge of the season, no matter who else solves the puzzle with him, most of the praise is going to go Christian’s way. This was a huge win for him, cementing him as a must-have puzzle solver for any tribe.

On the Goliath side of things, Kara stepped up during her portion, showing how her decisive attitude and effective communication skills are a big asset to the tribe. Alec continued to show his willingness to go all out as well.

Weakest links: Natalie couldn’t have hurt her position in the game any more than she did in that challenge. It’s clear that several members of Goliath are willing to put up with her strong attitude to get rid of big threats, but what happens next episode when there’s a tribe swap? How can people trust someone who confidently calls their own number and then doesn’t deliver? Natalie may need a pro-Goliath tribe swap for her survival.

Immunity/Reward Challenge Rankings:

Creativity: 2/5

Difficulty: 2.5/5

Entertainment Value: 3/5

In terms of the David tribe, Bi performed well but she also sprained her MCL in the process. I’m no doctor, but when someone on my fantasy football team sprains their MCL, he’s usually out of action for at least one week. So no, Bi’s injury isn’t life threatening but it will limit her mobility and make her an easy vote out like James was in Survivor: Heroes vs. Villians.