‘Survivor’ Review: “We’ve Got a Rat”
Lucy Philips-Roberts ‘16 / Emertainment Monthly Contributor
An old Survivor trope was seen just minutes into this episode when someone says, “everything’s great!” Audiences know that nothing is great, or at least not for long. So when Terry Deitz unabashedly pats himself on the back for having any amount of social grace, it is evident that things are about to shake up. And of course when host Jeff Probst brings in the tribes way too early for the challenge, it’s obvious that something’s up. Tribe swaps are common, but not like this. The tribes are being changed into three tribes! What? This is the first time that this has ever happened. And that alone makes for a happy fandom. Not only was this a great twist, but the third new tribe must start from scratch by making a new shelter and camp-life. Cambodia continues to bring the twists, and it’s safe to say that everyone is jazzed about it. Probably the most jazzed would be Spencer, who since he was willing to change, “the Survivor gods smiled upon him.” Spencer was certainly the best “confessionalist” of the episode. Savage, however, who ended up on the newest tribe, Angkor, was very vocal about his concerns with the tribe switch.
After Angkor lost the immunity challenge, Jeremy just barely snagged the idol, and Angkor completely exposed itself. Jeff Varner foolishly mouthed to Kelly Wiglesworth on Bayon. It is still speculated but some think he said “Kimmi and Monica.” This was stopped immediately when Tasha physically and verbally called him out stating, “We’ve got a rat,” thus causing the chaos back at camp where the vote jumped from Jeff to Tasha to Abi-Maria to Peih-Gee. Although Abi-Maria is one of the most infuriating players, she is extremely entertaining because she constantly contradicts herself. While she claims that she is willing to vote off arguably her closest confidante, Jeff, she also labels herself as “a very committal person,” and forces her “alliance” to make up their minds when she changes her mind every few minutes. At the tribal council, Jeff Probst was absolutely floored to hear that Tasha and Savage were not on the bottom but have actually made their way up to the top. His jaw actually dropped. What most would predict, a classic “pagonging,” when the majority alliance picks off the minority, is no longer the case in the thirty-first season — certainly a welcome change.
Episode Grade: A