Recap of Survivor S32E10

SPOILERS

Dara

• Wouldn’t it be great if we knew why they called the tribe Dara – some googling is in order methinks …
• “Get the fuck out of here! That was beautiful!” – Scot, on Debbie being voted out.
• Scot, Jason and Tai talk about how the three of them didn’t have to use any idols, so the others had to get rid of one of their own.
• Tai gives Jason’s idol back to him.
• “All we did was hide a machete and put out a fire. We caused chaos – they couldn’t handle it and it made them get rid of one of their own” – Jason
• ^ Which I actually find quite funny because what they did actually had nothing to do with voting out Debbie. But this, in theory, gives the boys more of an ego trip – which, also in theory, could be their downfall. I mean, if they think it worked once – who’s to say it won’t work again? That will be their thinking. But … that doesn’t make it so.
• “We got Julia on our side” – Jason … hmm, no you don’t. Not 100%.
• I’m curious to if Jason and Scot would be working with Tai if Tai didn’t have an idol. We know Scot and Tai formed some kind of bond over at camp – but just because the two of them bonded, it doesn’t mean the three of them do. Also, Scot could act differently when Jason is around. There are so many interesting factors between this threesome.
• Tai wants to mend relationships because the tribe.
• Scot talks to Aubry, basically telling her if she votes for Cydney everything will go back to normal in the tribe dynamic. Does this mean Aubry is on top? It appears so. Queen Bee.
• Scot says he didn’t want to have to make a point, but now it’s time to act mature and build bridges.
• “She betrayed us for no reason” – Scot, on why Cydney betrayed Scot and Jason. That’s not exactly true. 1. It’s called playing the game. And 2. Maybe you guys did do something, and your egos just won’t let you see it.
• “We’re showing our maturity” – by wanting to vote Cydney out just for spite and emotion? I don’t think so, Scot.
• Scot hopes everyone will see how “brooding, petty, small” Cydney is.
• Aubry decides her talk with Scot as a “soft controlling move” and “not a short in hell I was gonna work with him” And there sits Scot thinking that Aubry is just eating up his words. I love the cluelessness of egos being blind to read into others emotions.

Reward

• The reward challenge requires players to place one foot on the edge of a balance beam. On the other side are pots. If the pots drop, the player is out.
• But there’s a twist – there will be three winners. The players can choose whether they want to play for food, love or an advantage. All players will be playing, but only against those who choose the same reward as them.
• If they play for food, they win a bacon cheeseburger, cookies and beer. Love gets you letters from home. And the advantage, well, we’ll just have to wait and see …
• I would imagine that all of them will go for the advantage. But that’s just my guess …
• “Only competing against those playing for the same reward” – Jeff
• So the conflict is “what do I need vs what do I want vs what do I think everyone else will choose” – Jeff
• Going for food is Scot, Jason and Michele. Joe and Julia choose love. Leaving Tai, Cydney and Aubry to play for the advantage. Definitely a sign of who is playing the game and who feels comfortable. I’m surprised Jason and Scot didn’t go for the advantage, but they probably hope Tai gets it and their over confidence with idols probably comes into play.
• I think Julia has an amazing chance of winning. The others are all up for grabs.
• And the game begins.
• “I’m shaky” – Joe, struggling straight out of the gate.
• Joe is out. Julia wins love.
• “If you don’t think you can beat anybody, go for the one no one will choose” – Jeff, on who made a smart choice in the reward challenge.
• Scot is out.
• Wind picks up. Aubry and Jason make some movement.
• Jason is out. Michele wins food.
• “This may be the reward with the most long term value” – Jeff, on the advantage win.
• “Silly little chance, that would be worth one million dollars” – Jeff, on the advantage.
• Cydney is out. It’s down to Tai and Aubry.
• “Jeff, I just want to prove it to myself that this is a hard ass game and I can do it” – Aubry
• Oh gosh. They’ve only been going for ten minutes. Even watching it feels like it’s been a lifetime! Thighs must be hurting!
• “Whole idea is to dig deep. This is the time to do it” – Jeff
• The wind picks up again. Aubry can’t hold on. Aubry is out. Tai wins advantage.
• Oh. Tai is now an even bigger threat, now having an advantage and an idol. People are going to be gunning for him!
• “Tai wins the advantage – that’s the best thing for our alliance” – Scot, then mentions how he was glad that Cydney didn’t win or eat, and now she’s going home. Mature.

Dara

• Michele is happy with her win over Jason and Scot because she knows how badly they wanted the hamburger.
• Everyone is worried about Tai having the advantage.
• “The more people know, the less power it has” – Tai, on the advantage, as he goes off to find it.
• Ooh it’s an extra vote – which he can play up to five people being left.
• “Scared what to do. It’s a rich man’s problem” – Tai. “Otherwise I might go home with both of them in my pocket”
• Julia talks about how her letter makes her want to make. And she talks about how her game has been all about “getting power to loosing power” and playing an up and down game.
• “The goal is to win, and to do that, I gotta make big moves” – Julia
• Michele, Aubry and Julia go walking in the woods.
• “Coming out and saying they’ve got the idols was so dumb” – Julia
  “Not the smartest move” – Aubry, adds.
• Michele and Julia mention how they’re worried about Tai’s advantage. Julia wants to vote for Tai next vote – as it’ll flush an idol sending Cydney home. She doesn’t seem too concerned for Cydney being sent home either.
• “Flush out the idols” but wants to stay tight to her alliance with Jason and Scot too, Julia’s plan in a nutshell.
• “We gotta flush out the idols or vote out one of the boys” – Michele
• “Julia is duplicitous. But she’s playing a good game and I can respect that” – Aubry, to camera.
• Aubry thinks Julia will wait until she has a chance to vote out all the girls – and when that time comes, she has no problem voting her out.
• Aubry goes off to talk to Tai. She now wants to work with him.
• “Crazy game, huh, Tai” – Aubry, tries to win Tai over.
• “I’ve sat here crying in the game wondering if I’m strong enough to play this game” – Aubry.
  “I think that whenever I go to sleep. I say, this game’s bigger than me, everybody’s playing better than me. What am I doing here?” – Tai.
• “It’s the heart and the brain continuously fighting in the game” – Aubry
• “She has a certain energy I like” – Tai, likes what Aubry is throwing out.
• I can’t help but think this is a strong move from Aubry. She can read Tai and knows how to appeal to him as a person. Especially, as she would see how Jason and Scot are running the game, so Tai isn’t getting heard as much, so asking him questions of who he wants out is a strong game play to appeal to him as a person, while also winning him over. It’s so so clever. She really is playing the game the best overall.
• Aubry tells Tai that with him having an idol/advantage, people are gunning for him.
• “I went out on a limb talking to Tai” – Aubry, giving him an alternative to the way Scot and Julia are playing the game.
• Tai wants to work with Aubry if Scot and Jason are happy to work with her.
• Tai goes to Scot and Jason and tells them what Aubry said to him.
• Scot straight away says they should vote for Aubry instead.
• “Seems like I have no say in my alliance. I participate but I have no say” – Tai.
• “Downside is, we have to keep Cydney around” – Scot. Mature.
• “These two boys are running the show” – Tai, on Jason and Scot.
• “As long as me, Jason and Tai remain faithful, which I’m not sure why we wouldn’t” – Scot is convinced that his plan will work. Which is really funny, because I’m pretty sure that was the same philosophy he had with Cydney at the very beginning – and look how that turned out … You’ve got to stay on your game.
• Read Tai. You can clearly see his mind is turning. He’s conflicted. He’s not so much on your side anymore Scot. WHY CAN’T YOU SEE THAT?! Wake up, ego!!
• Scot mentions how voting out Aubry is the perfect plan as it is not based on emotion. They’ll all suspect they’re voting for Cydney.

Immunity

• And the challenge is to stretch your arms fully out, then using only your fingertips to hold onto two discs with hanging pots. If the pots drop, you’re out.
• “This challenge is on” – Jeff.
• “It is designed to make your fingers numb quite quickly” – Jeff, brings the fun.
• Joe is shaking. Gosh. He’s so hopeless.
• Joe is out.
• “Vulnerable tonight at tribal council” – Jeff, on Joe being out. I don’t think so Jeff. I don’t think anyone sees Joe as a threat at all. Mentally. Strategically. Physically.  I can’t work out if they’re keeping him in the game because they want to sit with him at the end as a donkey vote or what. I suspect they keep him as he is a number who will follow what others have told him. He has a good chance of making it to the end – but he will receive no votes – unless Scot and Jason sit at the end.
• “This could be the challenge that saves you or dooms you” – Jeff.
• 25 minutes has elapsed.
• People start moving, changing sides and positions.
• “Aubry doing some kind of 50s dance craze” – Jeff, on Aubry trying to keep the blood flowing during the challenge.
• Scot drops.
• Julia drops.
• “Sure sign that the pain is there” – Jeff, on players looking around at other players.
• Tai is out.
• Michele is out.
• “One brain, two brawn, one necklace” – Jeff.
• 45 minutes has elapsed.
• “Another hot, muggy day” – Jeff, comments on the weather.
• Cydney is out.
• Jason spits – so Aubry spits back. This makes Jason smile.
• “I’m not backing down” – Jason
  “Neither am I, pal” – Aubry.
• 1 hour and 15 minutes has elapsed.
• “Super impressed, you guys have been digging for a long time” – Jeff.
• “You don’t want to go home because you couldn’t keep your arms up for just one more second” – Jeff.
• Eww. Jason’s nose keeps dripping with moisture. He’s sweating and struggling.
• Aubry drops.
• Jason wins immunity.
• Jason and Aubry hug it out.
• “After 27 – and I know how tough these days have been” – Jeff, mentions that someone will be going home tonight.
• “Scot, Tai and I, no matter what happens tonight, we’re unstoppable” – Jason is confident in tonight’s vote.
• I’ve always said – being complacent and comfortable is the worst way to play the game – no matter how confident you feel …

Dara

• “You were so stable. You were incredible” – Michele, to Aubry, on the reward.
• “She was a hell of an opponent out there!” – Jason, on Aubry.
• “We have a super idol, we’re staying” – Jason, to Scot and Tai.
• “Aubry’s going home and there’s nothing she can do” – Jason.
• Julia tells Scot and Jason that the plan is for the five of the others to vote for Tai. But, as far as we can tell, they don’t tell Julia about their plans to vote for Aubry. Maybe they do. Maybe they don’t. We don’t learn this. If they don’t say anything, it’s a low blow and double standards either way.
• “We know we can’t win against Tai either” – Jason, tells Julia, that at some stage he and Scot want to vote Tai out and take Julia to the final three. Raise your hand if you couldn’t see that coming … anyone? anyone?
• “We need to split up Scot and Jason, who are the power players right now” – Aubry, to Cydney.
• Cydney wants to blindside Scot.
• “Tai and I have been like two people on the missed connections on Craigslist the whole time” – Aubry, thinks she can bring Tai over to their alliance.
• “I feel like I have some kind of connection with Tai” – Aubry, on Tai.
• Tai is just thinking “where will it put me at the end”
• “My instant is to trust her” – Tai, on Aubry, but he thinks he should still vote with Scot and Jason.
• “Tai holds all the keys in the game, but I have no idea what (he’s going to do)” – Aubry.
• Aubry tells Joe to vote for Scot, and says the girls are voting for Tai.
• Jason and Scot talk about voting Aubry. Tai looks unconvinced, worried, conflicted, in his head – they really should be picking up on this.
• “I’m not here to make good friends” – Tai, will do what’s right for him.

Tribal

• Debbie looks good and happy. Just think – three people on the jury at the moment – Neal, Nick and Debbie and all three of them would give their vote to Aubry.
• “It was a pretty big display of idol power” – Jeff, mentions last week’s tribal.
• “Almost a bit of trash talking” – Scot, on showing their idols last week.
• “Either they decide or we decide” – Jason, on how the vote will go.
• Scot mentions how he tried to come to Aubry and work with her.
• “We never hid it” – Jason, on them voting for Cydney. Trick, of course, as they’re voting for Aubry.
• Cydney is worried it’s her day to go.
• Jason does a lot of talking about how the three of them are safe tonight. Blah. Blah. Blah.
• Jeff mentions how Tai is quiet tonight. “Are you uncomfortable with the boasting?”
• Tai mentions that it’s not how he is in his everyday life. But you can tell that he’s conflicted about the vote tonight. It’s all over his face.
• “He has stepped up to our alliance time and time again” – Jason, has Tai’s back.
• “I’m spitting back at him like a deranged llama” – Aubry, mentions the reward challenge.
• “She’s been kicking butt the entire time. There’s as much brawn in her, as there is in me” – Jason, on Aubry.
• Jeff, Michele and Jason speak about being on the right side of the train/moments in the game. IE. you vote with Jason and Scot, otherwise they’re going to make the decision on who gets voted out for you. So basically, vote for Cydney or vote for one of them and they’ll save themselves and send Cydney off anyway.
• And it’s time to vote.
• “Please, please, please, please, please, please, please” – Aubry, holding up her vote for Scot.
• Jeff asks if anyone wants to play their idol. “Play it. Play it” – Julia, says to Tai. “Don’t play it” – Scot, to Tai. I can only see Scot’s move as selfish, as it saves the super idol.
• And the votes are read.
• Two votes each for Aubry and Tai – four votes go Scot’s way.
• Tai looks conflicted. What should he do. Don’t play it. Don’t play it.
• “You’re not doing it?” – Scot. “No” – Tai. “Wow” – Scot.
• Scot really should have realised that it would go this way – with two votes played towards Aubry only, it was clear that Tai didn’t vote with them.
• “Just when you thinking you’re safe, oops, there goes another blindside” – Jeff, on the vote.
• “I have an idol in my pocket which belongs to Jason” – Scot.
• So Jason and Scot voted for Aubry. Michele and Julia voted for Tai. Aubry, Joe, Tai and Cydney voted for Scot.

I find this vote quite interesting because it clearly shows Aubry’s distrust in Michele and Julia, as she held the true vote from them. We know it’s more Julia, but not telling Michele could send her running towards Julia – or could see her trying to distance herself from her and being back in the core alliance.

The vote did flush one idol though, which is good for the game. It’s not good for Jason, as now he can be voted out, but it’s good for the others. I don’t see anyone as huge threat over anybody else. I think they’re all quite equally matched – except Joe – to have the ability to win immunity.

At the moment, I can only see Aubry winning the game if she makes it to the end. The only person I see having no chance of winning is Joe – I think I can confidentially say that I don’t think Jason has a chance of winning either … the others, I’m just not sure. It’s really anybody’s game to win/lose at this stage.