Survivor: David vs. Goliath episode 4 recap: Keys in the bowl

The early lines in the sand have washed away with the tide, as Survivor: David vs. Goliath episode 4 brought us the first tribe swap of the season.

We’ve been writing about Survivor for a few seasons now, but I can’t quite recall a time when two tribes swapped into three with an odd number of players to split them. Three men and three women per tribe is the basic logic, but David vs. Goliath continues to exceed expectations on all facets, including gameplay and the season’s narrative. Episode 4 was a great test to see how the story will change going forward.

It didn’t take too long for us to get yet another shocking departure; Bi quit the game due to concerns over her MCL sprain. Obviously, it sucks for a player to pull themselves from Survivor if they don’t have to, but considering her potential MMA career, it’s a frustratingly understandable decision. It also had immediate ramifications on the game, as the players entered a swap instead.

The players that comprise the new orange tribe, Vuku, are Alec, Davie, Natalia, Elizabeth and Kara. For the purple tribe, Jabeni, we have Natalie, Mike, Angelina, Lyrsa, and Nick. Finally, the next green expansion tribe, Tiva, consists of Gabby, Christian, Dan, John and Alison. Carl didn’t get a buff, meaning he was immediately sent to Exile Island to join the tribe who votes out a player by the end of the episode.

We started after the swap on the Vuku tribe, with Davie a bit cautious with approaching a Caucasian majority. However, he admits that as a black nerd (“blerd” from future recaps out), it gives him an edge in getting together with the white people on his tribe. It contrasted with Elizabeth, who seemed to get along so well with Kara that Natalia openly voiced her flip concerns.

Carl’s trip to Exile Island may not have been the best for his social game, but with every disadvantage lies a potential upside. Upon arriving, he received a clue hinting to an advantage lying in a coconut on the beach. It became a race against time as he fought to find the one marked coconut in a sea of them before it was taken out to the ocean.

Carl enters Survivor history by being the first player to win the Idol Nullifier. As revealed in the preseason press, it allows him to prevent an idol from being used for a player at any available Tribal Council. He tied it into the David vs. Goliath theme by tying it to the epic battle, as he hopes it serves as his trusty slingshot.

If there’s a “David” of the new tribes, it was Jabeni. Even worse, Natalie was the “leader” of the purple tribe, as she immediately established that she plans on not wasting time getting to know the Davids. That gave Nick a window into making another alliance, this time with Mike White. The two are The Rockstars, which is real cute. Real cute. Disgusting, when you think of it.

Tiva showed us the real discrepancy between the Davids and the Goliaths, with Christian pulling off his greatest Stephen Fishbach impression by flailing his machete around like a wimp. It kind of endeared players like Dan and John, the latter of which really seemed to be taken in by his quirkiness.

Gabby was not having a great time integrating, though, as she once again was shown showing her vulnerable side to Christian and relying on his support through a tough cry. It’s clear that Christian has become the most socially dominating force in the game, although he says that he relies on her during his rough times, as well.

The Immunity Challenge arrived on Day 11, presenting safety for two of three tribes. One person per tribe serves as a caller, getting wheelbarrowed through an obstacle course by two blindfolded teammates. Once they make it through, the caller helped two more blindfolded teammates navigate a ball maze. The first tribe also won coffee and treats as a reward, with the second tribe only winning safety.

Gabby for Tiva, Kara for Vuku and Angelina for Jabeni were the callers, and it seemed like the green tribe carried forward its stellar record of winning challenges as third, new tribes. Jabeni was going through all sorts of problems with Nick and Natalie serving as wheelbarrowers, coming to the puzzle portion last.

If there’s any better way for Gabby to show her purpose in the tribe, it’s to serve as the overwhelmingly best spotter. They finished first, and a misstep by Kara’s instructions saw the ball fall off the side of the puzzle, giving Jabeni a chance for a last-second redemption. Both purple and orange got to the final section of the puzzle at the same time, but Jabeni pulled off the last-second maneuver to keep Napalm Natalie safe another week.

Orange tribes continue to lose hard in Survivor this year, as Vuku was forced to vote out the 16th-place player of David vs. Goliath. Elizabeth immediately jumped to search for an idol, but Davie knew that it wasn’t on the island; it was in his pocket. He used that opportunity to paint Elizabeth as the target, trying to side with the Goliaths.

Elizabeth used her time on the beach to make a pitch to Alec, saying that Natalia is the perfect person to vote out. It wouldn’t seem as great a pitch were it not for Nuclear Natalia blowing past Alec’s wishes, double-checking his allegiance, telling people to shut up and generally freak him out.

It even got to the point where Davie, who seemed to play Elizabeth’s Brutus, tried to get him to vote for Natalia, showing just how much he’s ready to play the game. However, Alec rightfully noted that if he gets out Natalia, Carl joins their tribe and the Davids have a numbers advantage, putting himself at risk.

Ahead of Tribal Council, we finally got to see Davie play the game a bit, suggesting that previous episodes of him at the David camp were protecting his edit from being as scheming as Nick and Christian. Meanwhile, Alec finally developed a personality, and Kara found herself leading the Vuku tribe.

More from David vs. Goliath

• Survivor: John Morrison returns to the WWE in multi-year deal
• Survivor: David vs. Goliath DVD now available on Amazon
• Survivor: Bi Nguyen loses ONE: Masters of Destiny fight in split decision
• Survivor submits David vs. Goliath for 2019 Emmys consideration
• Survivor David vs. Goliath: Who would’ve won the Sprint fan favorite vote?

Carl made a fun appearance at Tribal Council, sitting in on the jury bench. It’s interesting to see Davie throw jabs at Elizabeth so openly, as he was clear that his comments about her were due to the fact she blindsided him at the first Tribal Council. Elizabeth, to her credit, suggested that you can’t get to the end without building a resume and making moves, which perked Alec’s interest.

At that point, Alec Merlino pulled off his best JT impression and stood up to whisper in Elizabeth’s ear, completely freaking out Kara and Natalia. He suggested it’s to make them feel comfortable, perhaps to get an idol played and flush it out. However, Davie and Elizabeth had other plans, throwing their three votes out with Alec against Natalia to counteract an idol flush split between Elizabeth and Davie, sending a Goliath player home and giving the Davids a player advantage.

Alec may have pulled off one of the dumbest swap tribe moves in modern Survivor history, and he knew that it would shift the balance of power. At least we know how he and Kara got to know one another without Dan in the picture.