Survivor 51 episode 4 first look photos and predictions

Full disclosure, my biggest hope for the next episode of Survivor 51 is for something at least semi-game-changing to happen so the online discourse can focus on that and Rob Antonson's 15 minutes of fame for quitting can be over...

And based on the new photos and last week's "Next Time on Survivor..." preview, it looks like a tribe swap might be the saving grace I'm looking for!

While in the preview from last week's episode (below) we pretty much get everything but an actual "Drop Your Buffs" moment to prove that a tribe swap is on the horizon. And now, in the new first look photos for the episode, it's all but confirmed as we can easily see buffs on the ground as players draw something out of a bag offered up by host Jeff Probst.

While we started the game with Savu (purple) and Toka (yellow), the preview hints that a new third pink tribe named "Dina" will be making an entrance this upcoming Wednesday, October 14. However, if there's one thing that last few episodes have shown us, it's that in the open era, we can't expect anything to go as it once did.

Because why do we only see two players highlighted in each newly arranged tribe? Angelica "Jelly" Loblack and Ori Jean-Charles (both in the Helicoptor Alliance and lovers of lasagna) appear to reunite as Jelly swaps to the Savu tribe. Then we see Maggie Nestor and Mike Pinsky awkwardly sitting together on the Toka beach (neither seeming to have swapped tribes). And finally Eric Macksoud and Danny Kilby appear to be starting a one-way bromance over on the new Dina tribe.

But where's everyone else?

In the official CBS description for the upcoming episode, "That's the Magic of Survivor," we're informed that "old wounds and previous alliances are put to the test at Tribal Council." This makes me believe that Carter Krull (who mutinied to Toka last episode) may have to face off with some of his former Savu tribe mates who might not be too happy with him.

Plus, it's worth noting that there are currently 17 players in the game...that does not divide evenly into three tribes. And we already know that Exile Island is in play this season, so it's highly likely that one of our players is sent to Exile Island, possibly drawing a buff-less wrapper or something. But I don't think that's the only thing that's going to happen.

There's no way the first full-group tribe swap of Survivor 51 is just going to consist of players drawing new buffs and going to their new camps. We need something bigger.

What if, there are only six buffs in the bag to divide six players across the three new tribes, one castaway is sent to Exile Island, and our 10 other castaways have to act as an unaffiliated merged tribe, compete for individual immunity, and survive a Tribal Council before they "earn" a new buff in a . We already saw during the marooning that players had to earn their buffs by not going to Exile Island.

This would show seven players automatically safe and 10 having to become a group of nine through a full-on elimination before being able to join a tribe again. Plus, that would send one person to Exile Island for the equivalent of two episodes—waiting until someone is voted out of one of the newly formed three tribes before they can return to the game.

Now, who knows if that's how creative they're trying to be in the open era, but hey...Jeff told us to think outside the box for what's going to happen this season and a girl can only hope that we get some new gameplay elements on top of the already classic twist.

Episode 4 of Survivor 51 airs this Wednesday, October 14 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+!

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