Survivor 41: Takeaways from Survivor season 41 episode 2

Now that we’ve had a week to recover from last week’s long-awaited season premiere of Survivor, it’s time to roll up our sleeves and get on with the discussion this week’s episode.

There is quite a bit to digest and discuss as the action is ramping up. We all can agree that this second episode may determine the fate of this season.  So, here are my takeaways from this week’s episode of Survivor.

Survivor 41 episode 2 reactions and takeaways

After last week’s episode, I was hoping that the show would get back into the basic game of Survivor. The mantra outwit, outlast and outplay is clearly more evident in this episode. As players settled into their new surroundings and got their bearings, it paved the way for better individual gameplay. The traditional old-school Survivor gameplay with a new unique twist this week did not disappoint.

The backstabbing, the alliance-building and the social game are back. Right from the start of the episode, it felt more like Survivor of old as Brad from the UA tribe was shown taking a page out of the book of the GOAT, Tony Vlachos. Making a mad dash into a bush by the old water hole made for a successful recon mission,

Of course, Brad just couldn’t help his ego and had to tell someone what he accomplished. He spilled the beans to Shantell, which was a big mistake, as Shantell in return started repeating what she heard. Now, that is some good ole fashioned traditional Survivor backstabbing.

Over at the LUVU Tribe, things were looking pretty good after winning the previous immunity challenge, but there was still the issue of fire. Deshawn decided to take a stab at starting a fire and of course no luck. Naseer finally decided to show his hand and come to the rescue.

Looks like someone was playing dumb, as starting that fire was no problem for Naseer.  His presence has been noticed by the tribe, so I think he is safe for now, but may have placed a future target on his back.

Now,  let’s talk about the hot mess that is the YASE Tribe. They once again go down in flames in the reward/immunity challenge. Tiffany was no doubt the weakest link and should have been held accountable for her lack of skills and weakness in the challenge.

It seems, that the girls of YASE have some sort of alliance, as Tiffany, Evvie and Liana banded together, which leaves Xander and David as the targets. Evvie talked with the guys and it was decided that Tiffany had to go.  In the meantime, before tribal, Tiffany, was going into a severe meltdown and begged Evvie and Liana to vote off David, leaving them questioning the whole “girl” alliance.

I love the old-school traditional game of Survivor, but I also am excited when there is an interesting twist introduced to the game and one that could have a major impact on the outcome of the game. Xander stumbled upon an advantage and it clearly said beware, if you open this you must do what it states or just put it back where it was found and walk away.

Like the risk-taker that he is, he continued to open the advantage. In short,  t is a three-way immunity, where two other people have to find the advantage in order to make it valid. So, in order to find out if the advantages have been found by any other tribe members, Xander must recite his secret phrase forcing out any other found advantages. There are a total of three secret phrases that must be said and Xander tests the waters…it was quite a funny moment and strange one as well.

The catch is that Xander can not vote at tribal until the advantage can be used in the game, which means that Xander loses his vote and can not use the extra vote he gained from taking a risk on last week’s episode.

Here is my question, If Xander is voted off before the other two advantages are found, does the advantage go back into the game, or is it just a lost advantage? Keep in mind, all three advantages need to be shown in order for the advantage to work, so if Xander is voted out and that advantage is not put back into play, someone on the other two tribes could be making a million-dollar mistake by opening their newly found advantage, because it can’t be used. This is awesome!!!!  More is sure to come about Xander and what could be the biggest moment of the entire season.  I will be keeping my eye on that twist for sure!

Watch your favorite CBS shows on fuboTV: Watch over 67 live sports and entertainment channels with a 7-day FREE trial!

So, now we move on to tribal council and there was a feeling that Tiffany could possibly be getting the ax, but in the end, in Survivor blindside tribal council tradition, it was another perfect blindside as David Voce was this weeks victim.

Blindsides, backstabbing and meltdowns are all classic Survivor moments and now with the new exciting twists, I’m quickly becoming a Super-Fan!  These new twists could mean great moves and stellar game play making for an all-time epic season! I’ll be sitting on the edge of my seat waiting for the next episode.  As always, “the tribe has spoken”!