Survivor 51 has, so far, felt like a breath of fresh air and an upgrade from what we’ve repeatedly seen for the last couple of years. From going back to the basics of two tribes to letting the engaging cast play, as opposed to stopping them in their tracks by taking them away for a journey or from voting, it truly feels as if Survivor is turning over a new leaf.
Speaking of going back to basics, in episode two we saw a lot of what players should’ve learned a long time ago: don't throw out names like you're playing Red Rover, and don't vote for yourself. I’m still especially stunned that the second one has to be stated and reiterated. Hence, here’s the strategic breakdown of everything that went down during ‘’Weaponized Honesty.’’
For starters, I want to bring up something that came up in a conversation between Devin Way and Brady Booker. During the premiere, we saw them tell each other they were basically two sides of the same coin, going against each other and trying to drive the vote toward their respective targets. As they return from camp after voting out Aaliyah Puglia, Way and Booker come to the realization that even if they’re not voting together, it doesn't mean they’re working against each other, which could not only signify their working relationship moving forward, but also how the open era could operate in the future.
On Savu, we then see the first conversation that will eventually lead to the domino effect of Ana Sani eventually getting voted out. Sani talks with Alexis Levine, and they both say they feel good about their working relationship. So far, the only common target in the Savu tribe is Eric Macksoud, who has only been aggravating his fellow tribemates, when Sani brings up that Linnea Capobianco is someone who she sees as someone who is strategic. Levine agrees, then mentions Sharonda Cox as someone who could also be a strategic threat, and Sani concurs.
Sani then tells Carter Krull and Cristian Chavez about the conversation. Sani then makes two massive mistakes: first, she says she mentioned Cox as someone who could be dangerous; second, well, it was that whole popcorn mess. As Krull mentions that he doesn’t trust how Levine is playing, Levine herself approaches. To protect Krull, Sani switches the subject to popcorn, but it comes off as shady, and Levine obviously picks up on it.
Levine immediately turns the tables on Sani and uses their previous conversation against her by going to Cox and Capobianco and telling them Sani brought up their names. Just as Sani wanted chaos, chaos ensues as Levine, Cox, and Capobianco now have their sights set on Sani. Survivor 101 lesson: always wait for someone else to bring up a name, and everything could and will be used against you on Survivor.
Lewis Kelly, who has just returned from Exile Island, is trying to do the social work of several couple of days in a few hours and finds a sort of kinship with Maggie Nestor over both of them having farms. While Kelly seems like a likable player, these kinds of game roadblocks differentiate regular players from truly good players.
We then saw Booker getting injured with the machete, and I will never forget the graphic blood scene nor his quarter of a thumb getting a close-up. While there isn’t much strategic to say about Booker’s injury, that commitment to staying in the game is admirable.
After the reward challenge, we see the Savu tribe decompressing after their loss. Rob Antonson questions Levine and Macksoud after Macksoud was the one blindfolded, as opposed to Levine. Antonson, who is as subtle as a brick, does it so confrontationally that he clearly rubs multiple people the wrong way. There are ways, and then there are ways to do things, and it is never a good idea to be argumentative in a public manner after a hard loss unless you want to be next on the chopping block.
At Toka, we see Jelly Loblack finding an idol and solidifying an alliance with Way, Booker, Patt Cannaday, and Mike Pinsky. This is excellent news for Loblack and Way, in particular, as both were on the wrong side of the votes after the first Tribal Council and could’ve been the next two voted out. Now Loblack is protected not only by a group but also by her individual safety due to her idol.
However, the fact that she shared her idol information with Cannaday makes me a little hesitant. While it is important to build trust with an ally by exchanging information, it is also a double-edged sword, as it could come back to haunt Loblack later. Still, Cannaday reveals on a confessional that she does want to work with Loblack long-term, so it seems that Loblack made the right choice to be transparent with her.
After Savu loses the immunity challenge, it's scramble time for the purple tribe. While a few are shockingly discussing whether Eric begins with an "A" or an "E" (mainly Krull), Ori Jean-Charles asks what name they should tell Macksoud as a decoy. Sani continues her chaotic path of self-destruction when she mentions Kristin Flickinger. While Flickinger did get injured during the reward challenge earlier, it is clear Flickinger is well-liked within the tribe, and this doesn’t bode well, as no one spoke up in agreement.
Sani then commits a third Survivor cardinal sin by mentioning her own name as a double decoy to further gain trust. Once no one speaks up again, Sani knows that she is in trouble. It only goes downhill from here, as a coalition against her builds up, led by Levine, Cox, Capobianco, and Macksoud, the latter of whom has also now been informed that he was the previous majority target.
Cox is particularly prominent as someone with agency who can pull strings, as she speaks with Jean-Charles about voting out Sani. Cox and Jean-Charles agreed to work together from the beginning, and while Jean-Charles is hesitant to vote for Sani rather than Macksoud, he agrees in the end.
Antonson also becomes someone who either needed to study the Survivor playbook a bit before playing or someone who should’ve known better than to play erratically. He tells Macksoud to give him his shot in the dark as a sign of trust, then subtly threatens him to do whatever he tells him to do at Tribal, with no real reassurance or guarantee of his safety. Obviously, Macksoud is highly suspicious and doesn’t go through with the shot in the dark idea.
Antonson then starts a live Tribal Council by pulling Macksoud aside and telling him that he has an idol and will use it on him. As he's about to vote, Antonson then pulls the biggest "WTF" moment of the night, the season, and in quite a while when he then votes for himself to keep Macksoud in the game instead of himself.
Per the Survivor gods' instructions, voting for yourself is strictly a no-no (unless you’re Christian Hubicki, per Jimmy Fallon’s dense idea). A producer steps in and tells Antonson he can’t do that, and an almost-distraught Antonson ends up voting for Macksoud in the end.
This whole mess is for nought, as the vote ends 6-4 against Sani, who is completely blindsided as she becomes the second boot of the season. While I do feel bad for Sani, since she was eager to play, she made too many rookie mistakes that ultimately led to her demise on Survivor. Like I said, this season has been fun, exciting, unpredictable, chaotic, and messy so far, and I can’t wait to see more mess unfold.
Stay tuned for more and watch episode 3 of Survivor 51 this Wednesday, October 7 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and streaming on Paramount+
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