Survivor SA: Island of Secrets episode 17 recap: Illusions of trust

The Final Five castaways of Survivor SA: Island of Secrets battle it out with a looming advantage-geddon on their hands.

Coming into the penultimate episode of Survivor SA: Island of Secrets, the stakes look pretty clear. The Amigos have the majority, while three out of the five remaining castaways possess an idol that will be useless after the next Tribal Council. That leaves Durão and Steffi vulnerable, making the fight for Individual Immunity even more intense.

Episode 17 began when the five made it back to camp, as Durão finally had the realization that he has been duped by Rob. That same night, Steffi keeps up her aggressive gameplay by approaching the other two women and pushing for a Rob blindside. As Nicole and Laetitia share their idol news, they vow not to talk again in order to prevent Rob from picking up on the plan.

The next day, Steffi explains how Durão’s trustworthiness makes him too risky to include on the blindside. Rob being the masterful social player he is, sincerely apologizes to Nicole for the last Tribal Council. Unfortunately for the women, Rob vows to play his idol no matter what.

The Reward Challenge involved holding up a pole while balancing a heavy goblet on top of it. At regular intervals, Nico will tell the players to add another segment to the pole until there’s one person remaining.

After adding several segments successfully, Steffi was the first one to drop her goblet, followed be Durão and Laetitia moments later. While Nicole and Rob had to add their sixth segment, Nicole toppled over her goblet giving Rob yet another challenge win.

Rob gets to enjoy a delicious picnic of hot dogs, french fries and refreshing beverages while observing the giant bats of a nearby island. He picked Laetitia to go the Island of Secrets since she’s never been yet, and then decided to bring Nicole with him.

On the reward, Nicole continued to work on making her blindside happen by presenting a convincing reason to hold onto their idols. She proposed that they keep their idols so they can show them off at the Final Tribal Council stressing how strong their trust was. That brilliant idea seemed to sell Rob, as he mentioned in a confessional that he wants Nicole to win it all!

Meanwhile, at the Island of Secrets, Laetitia was given a Vote Nullifier that allows her to void someone else’s vote at Tribal Council. The last time she can use it is at the Final Four. Back at camp, Durão enjoys his time with Steffi feeling that it’s his last day if he doesn’t win immunity.

The Immunity Challenge is the classic Final Five maze battle. The castaways have to navigate a maze to locate five bags of puzzle pieces. Once they have their bags they will have to complete a three-tiered puzzle.

Rob is the first one to find all five bags, no shocker there! However, Durão, Steffi and Nicole weren’t too far behind. Laetitia made it the puzzle stage as Rob completed his second layer. And then, the plans of the three remaining women crumbled as Rob won his fourth Individual Immunity Challenge! Nico also gave a shout out to Laetitia for her determination.

Rob’s win forced the castaways to stick to their straightforward vote of Durão. As the four-person alliance was talking, they decided on showcasing their idols at Tribal, but not playing them. This time Laetitia wisely did not reveal her Vote Nullifier to the other players.

However, when Steffi did pull her aside, she told her what she got and how she would play it in a way that would benefit Steffi and Laetitia at the Final Four. If Laetitia stays true to her word, she’s essentially guaranteeing herself and Steffi’s place in the Final Three, which is huge!

Nicole may have picked up on their close bond and decided to throw Steffi under the bus. She made a bold move by going to Rob and expressing Steffi’s intention to blindside him. What first seemed like a straightforward vote quickly changed, as now Rob wants Steffi gone.

Durão opened up Tribal Council by being completely open and honest, realizing how he was played by the Amigos, while Laetitia still believes she has an in with the Sa’ula 3. Led by Rob, the Amigos all took their turns expressing how obvious it is that it’s Durão’s time to go.

After Nico got the votes, it was time for the idol parade to begin. Nicole pulled out her idol, explained where she got the two halves from and played it for Durão! It was then Rob’s turn, as he stood up and gave his idol to Nicole. Finally, Laetitia played her own idol to secure her own spot in the Final Four. That left Steffi and the jury utterly shocked.

Durão received two votes that didn’t count, Laetitia blocked one with her idol, and it was Steffi who got her torched snuff with two votes. As she was picking up her stuff, Nicole and Rob whispered to Steffi that she betrayed the Amigos. For the first time in a while, the jury actually looked pleased and surprised by an outcome.

In her exit confessional, Steffi expressed her pride for the individual game she played and how there’s no way Nicole is getting her vote. That leaves just four castaways left and two more days of gameplay as the season finale of Survivor SA: Island of Secrets is next week!