Survivor 46, episode 5: Ousted player underplayed, then overplayed their hand

Survivor 46 episode 5, titled "Tiki Man," saw a big shakeup in the game, but not maybe what fans were expecting. There wasn't anything so dramatic as a tribal shuffle or merge, but still, there was a major departure from what had been the most key factor for season 46.

Yanu didn't lose the immunity challenge. Let that sink in for a moment. For the first time this season, Yanu did not finish last in the immunity challenge.

The untouched Siga gang, the self-proclaimed Vibe Tribe, lost the immunity challenge in a close finish with Yanu, and for the first time in 11 days, had to actually play the game.

Who was voted off on Survivor 46, episode 5, and why?

The game of Survivor changes so very fast at times. The Siga tribe had been a group who truly got along, found activities to kill the boredom together, and all seemed to like each other.

Yet, one player had secretly been playing harder than the others. Days before, Jem had found the beware advantage that led her to a locked box. The twist was that she would not be given clue to where to find the key until her tribe was due to go to tribal council for the first time.

In a fun move, Jem planted the beware advantage in another spot for Maria to find. When she did, the clue said to find the box, they must dig directly below where the clue was found. This led to the whole tribe spending three days practically excavating a tree from the jungle before deciding they had been duped by someone.

At first, this seemed like a cool, if cruel, move by Jem, and she maintained a straight face while helping with the dig. Ultimately, it wasn't that well thought out. Once the box wasn't found, then shenanigans were inevitably going to be suspected. Everyone wondered who the culprit was, though after questioning Jem, Tim suspected her, but he didn't know for sure.

Then Siga lost the immunity challenge. The scramble began. To her credit, Jem did get her clue for the key to her idol box, and did a great job deciphering it out in the open, and she was able to retrieve her idol.

There were two alliances that had been forming, with Charlie and Maria in the middle. "Charlie's Angels," which consisted of Charlie and the ladies was one, but Charlie had no interest in voting out his closest friend, Ben. Tim, Ben, and Charlie also all get along, as does Charlie and Maria, and Tim and Maria.

What pushed the vote to where it went was that Jem got very aggressive with her tribe mates while obviously trying to gain information. She accosted Tim in the jungle, with a machete in her hand as she grilled him about his plans, promising to vote how he directed. It was such an obvious overplay.

Jem felt she was playing a great, deceitful game. In one confessional she said she was a terrible liar, who tended to giggle when lying, but she was proud of herself for lying with a straight face.

But, she went too far. Instead of holding to the quiet, demure game she had outwardly displayed for most of the game, the idol and her trust in "Charlie's Angels" made her overconfident. Her behavior changed and that is never a good sign on Survivor.

At tribal, there were actually some warning signs her alliance wasn't going to hold true. When Jem told Jeff she had no idea who she was voting for, Maria subtly called her out for being disingenuous. Jem didn't catch the hint.

Despite having secured the idol, Jem was blindsided by Charlie and Maria and was voted out 3-2, with Ben not having a vote and Moriah being left out of the plan.

Jem, at times, showed some flair for the game, but in the end, she overplayed her hand, and wasn't able to see she had become the prime target, even among her allies. Overconfidence and a lack of long-term vision sent her packing right before the merge.

Episode 6 will result in the long-awaited merge, as most of the contestants haven't spent much time actually playing the game through 11 days. It should be entertaining!