If there's a player who knows what it takes to win Survivor after being blindsided multiple times in a season, it's Survivor 47 winner Rachel LaMont. Following a shocking blindside in Survivor 48 episode 2, Mary Zheng is alone and ally-less on the Vula tribe, a feeling Rachel can definitely empathize with.
To quickly recap the episode, Mary lost her vote during a Journey in the episode. It looked like she was an easy vote, but at the last second, Sai Hughley, Cedrek McFadden, and Justin Pioppi flipped on Kevin Leung and voted him out.
Now, Mary returns to the Vula tribe with no friends on a tribe that is terrible at challenges. What does Mary do? Does she accept defeat, or try to make some magic happen?
Mary Zheng needs to find an immunity idol in Survivor 48
Well, on the new episode of the On Fire with Jeff Probst podcast, Rachel shared what she would do if she were in Mary's position.
“Well, I feel for Mary," Rachel told Jeff Probst and Jay Wolff. "I have been in the situation where your tribe blindsides you and takes out your closest ally. I think Mary needs to very quickly find a way to kind of play dead, grovel, hope that somebody else emerges as a bigger threat than her. And while she's doing that, she needs to be simultaneously hunting hard for that idol because she has nothing to lose at this point."
I mean, we saw Rachel do that multiple times on Survivor 47. She had to do that when her ally Anika Dhar was voted out in a stunning move by Andy Rueda, Sierra Wright, and Sam Phalen. She had to do that when she somehow ended up on a tribe heading to Tribal Council with all FIVE TUKU PLAYERS. Luck was on her side then. And, then, she made magic happen over and over after she was left completely out of an eight-player, split-vote to target Sierra and Sam. She overcame all of that to win Survivor 47.
How did she do that? Idols, advantages, winning challenges, and a few really important relationships.
“So, Mary needs a lifeline, and people are much more valuable long term than trinkets," Rachel continued. "But sometimes, your advantages are the only things that can save you. So, if you're up against a wall with no options, you got to try everything.”
I really like that advice from Rachel, and it's perfect coming from a player like her who was so resilient during her season. There have been many times in Survivor history when players have quit or sabotaged their game just to prove a point or because they reached their limit. Rachel didn't stop fighting, and based on the episode 3 preview, Mary isn't going to stop fighting either.
Sai played her immunity idol in episode 2, which was probably a smart play on her part since Kevin was plotting a move. Had Mary not lost her vote, there's a chance that Justin or Cedrek could be pulled into a move to take her out. I can see that line of thinking. It also means that immunity idol is probably going to be back in the game, so it's out there for someone to find. And, like Rachel said, Mary has nothing to lose at this point in the game. It can only go up from here.
What Mary really needs is for Vula to win immunity and get a little bit of a break from all the pressure. If the Vula tribe doesn't get a big win, things could go downhill in a hurry for this tribe. I mean, they're already two players down through two episodes.
We'll find out if Mary is successful in her hunt for the immunity idol in Survivor 48 episode 3! The episode will air on Wednesday, March 12, at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+.