Editor’s Note: The following contains spoilers for Survivor 48 Episode 3.David Kinne wants to be a hero. An action hero. So much so, that when he is our entry into the episode, even before Jeff Probst says, “Previously on Survivor,” it’s clear, we’re going to spend some time with our favorite stuntman with four nipples. Not necessarily tonight, but down the line. Don’t count him out just yet. Tonight, it’s all about chaos. Get out your handy-dandy Survivor rule book, you’re going to need it.
It’s truly hard to imagine that 48 seasons into the greatest game on earth, Survivor could possibly have a historic, game-changing moment that has never happened before. What are the odds? Like the skulls and flames on the dice we’ll meet later, never bet against chance. History can repeat itself. But when it does, expect new complications to spice it up. As we journey through episode 3, let’s fondly return to the Final Six Tribal Council on Survivor: Cambodia. Imagine Kimmi Kappenberg‘s tragic elimination, and turn it up a notch. Or until the dial falls right off. An all-time great episode of Survivor is underway.
‘Survivor 48’ Humanizes the Stunt Man
Guess who’s back, back again! It’s Mary Zheng! After truly believing she was a goner, a blindside has kept her in the game. Despite Vula being incredibly weakened physically, Mary is fully aware that she’s at the bottom of the peaking order. Give it up for Mary, who really can brush this off and realize that it’s just a game. A game for a million dollars, but a game nonetheless. Mary has no fake friends on her tribe. But Sai Hughley? Even though Cedrek McFadden and Justin Pioppi saved her butt, she’s weary of the wheeling and dealing to make the blindside a reality. She’s so paranoid that she’s eager to hunt for that Hidden Immunity Idol again. Can lightning strike twice?
Morning comes, and the hunt is on. Mary is up before the cameras shift out of night mode. During her hunt, she becomes a truly relatable character as she shares that she hates looking for stuff. Not even her wallet. She’ll Venmo her friends when they go out. She knows that she has to get this idol. As does Sai. So they’re on similar but differing missions. Sai tells Mary that they should “stick together.” Sai is also the same person who preached about honesty at Tribal Council, so that statement didn’t age well. From a game perspective, it makes sense why Sai wants to tail Mary, so she employs the boys to babysit her instead, so she can retrieve another idol in the game. It becomes one of the wildest adult versions of hide and seek we’ve ever seen. This is nothing compared to what is to come. But we’ll get to it.
It’s only a couple of days into the game, but David is shocked at his island abs. Though they weren’t as pronounced as before, he is enamored with his own physique. Thanks to Kamilla Karthigesu, she advises us that David is a “Chad,” or a manly muscular guy who is tall and gets all the ladies. Y’all, this is the archetype of old school Survivor. But let’s see if he does get all the ladies after this reveal. He shares with Kyle Fraser that he lives in a trailer parked in front of his dad’s house. He doesn’t think it’s sexy. David’s crack in his facade is his struggle with money. He says that his living situation has prevented him from starting a family, but his decisions from his past have caught up to him in the present. Hence, he’s hoping his future is leaving the game with a million dollars. As he says, “I only have a girlfriend if I win a million dollars. She’s going to leave me if I don’t.” I surely hope there’s a bit more love in that relationship!
It’s not the first time we’ve heard a castaway lament about being dateable if they didn’t reach a certain goalpost in the game. Remember Kat Edorsson? She and Hayden Moss broke up, though do we really know if it was because she didn’t make the merge? The fascinating thing about this reveal is that this is meant to humanize David, this action figure-like entity. Never in the past have we broken an “alpha male” archetype quite like this on Survivor. Are we turning around and loving this guy? Civa is clicking as a tribe. Mitch Guerra wants to go deep with everyone on his tribe, but we learn that his number one is Charity Nelms. Thinking many steps ahead, they want to keep Kyle and David around going into the merge. Mitch pitches to Kyle about his plan, as we learn that Kyle is in the middle of his tribe. He has a Civa Four alliance with himself, David, Kamilla, and Chrissy Sarnowsky. Now he has Mitch and Charity on the other side. Oh, by the way, he’s got an idol. Kyle’s newfound power is a great place to be, as long as he doesn’t let it create an ego.
Super Dad in the Middle
Previously on the Lagi Tribe, they be crushing it. But their morale is low. So super dad Joe Hunter is going to build a bonfire. Brilliant idea in concept, but also, maybe let’s not waste all that wood that you need to build a fire later down the line? His hope is to boost the spirits, but as tongue-in-cheek as his wine banter with Thomas Krottinger is, wouldn’t it be a tad depressing to arrive at the bonfire without the wine you’ve been salivating over? Get me talking about wine and cheese, and you might have found a way to get me to leave the game in order to get some! Joe, Thomas, and Shauhin Davari are still proudly the California Girls alliance. Luckily for them, they have two “side chicks” in Bianca Roses and Eva Erickson. Which brings us back to Star Toomey, who is on the bottom and is desperate to solve that cryptogram. Was she invited to the bonfire? Her absence is illuminating. This bonfire bonding is quite telling where the power dynamics lie. Everyone is orbiting around Joe. Even Eva, who makes his daughter a bracelet as a moment. Joe’s power should not be looked at as anything but a massive threat. He checks off all the boxes of a potential winner. How could you ever vote out Super Dad? Hence, Eva has to go. Cut the tail to get to the head of the snake.
After three episodes, we finally have a scene between Star and Eva. Eva wants to gauge Star’s game in hopes of learning how she is at lying or telling the truth. Eva knows that her autism can sometimes prevent her from picking up on small social cues, like lying, but Eva does have an advantage. Star doesn’t know that Eva knows about Star’s advantage. She’s going to leverage the information and see if Star will come clean. To be fair, Eva is not subtle about this at all, but Star’s blatant lie, terrible. Star knows that Eva’s trying to goat her, so she uses the information from Eva of her fake targeting Bianca and Thomas in hopes it will rattle them. Remember how last week Thomas was all in about sabotaging Star unlocking the idol? Well, he’s pulled a Sai and will now offer to help her get the idol so he can knock out Eva. Survivor is a very quick game, especially now that it’s less days, but damn Thomas, pick a path! Oh, by the way, I don’t agree with your hot take. Love you, mean it!
At the End of the Day, ‘Survivor’ Requires a Bit of Luck
It’s challenge time. The jaws are on the floor when Lagi and Civa realize that Kevin was just voted out. They know they are playing fast and hard. For this Immunity Challenge, it’s the classic caller and blindfolded tribe game. Or, as I like to say, let the sound editors go ham! Every time we have a challenge like this, when a player knocks into something, the sound of the smack is like that of an MCU fight scene. The pain is real and the Foley work is top-notch. To the specifics of this challenge. There are keys and a slide puzzle. Finish and win. Oh, and since they’re playing for reward, Jeff is introducing “spa living,” with two hammocks and a tarp. It’s the little things on Survivor. With the numbers dwindling in the Vula Tribe, the other two tribes are forced to sit out two players, but Jeff makes it a point to mention Star’s ineligibility to sit out. I wonder why… Nevertheless, the strategy of sit-outs is getting quite complicated should Vula lose again. Perhaps it’s the only way to be an equalizer when the stronger competitors will be forced to sit down the line. Or maybe they’ll just do a tribe swap. Who knows? I do, but we’ll get to it.
Now listen. Joe is going to do something that Jeff has “never seen anything like it before.” He is going to race into that obstacle course on his own and work his way straight to the water tower. Let’s give the man credit for clearly studying it when production was giving them the rules and such. That’s how you do it on Survivor! Pay attention to EVERYTHING. It’s an impressive hack and likely the reason this challenge will be tossed in the fire forever. Even with some knocks and smacks, all three callers, Kamila, Shauhin, and Cedrek do an admirable job guiding their tribe through the course. Lagi and Civa have a strong lead by the time they reach the slide puzzle. Vula really would love to experience every element of the challenge this week. Lagi remains undefeated as they win again before Vula even starts their puzzle. The puzzle is always the equalizer and, somehow, Kamilla almost botched it for her tribe, but alas, Vula is heading to Tribal Council again. Once again, I beg, please do away with the three-tribe format! Once you pop, the fun don’t stop. The combination of losing flint and weakening your tribe, the least successful tribe pre-merge always has this downfall. While it does help certain individual members post-merge, it’s truly an unfair advantage at the start of the game.
With half an episode still to go, there’s time for a journey! Lagi has the power to send three people, one from each tribe, who have never gone on a journey. They select Bianca from their tribe, Justin from Vula, and Kamilla from Civa. Once again, with three paths, each player goes on their own where they find a game of chance. With seven dice, they will roll them to reveal flames or skulls. Flames are good, skulls are bad. They will roll until they receive either four flames, earning them an extra vote, or four skulls, meaning they will lose their vote. It’s a brilliant game of chance. You can’t plan ahead, just hope you have lucky hands. Bianca sure does not as she rolled three skulls in her first toss. She’ll eventually even it out, but that final roll gets her that skull. She has lost her vote. She will lie to her tribe about losing her vote, saying she didn’t risk her vote by playing a game of tangled ropes that didn’t actually exist. She does tell Thomas, her ride or die, who now finds her scary good at lying. Oh, by the way, Thomas has an advantage she doesn’t know about. Fortunately, Kamilla doesn’t have a similar fate, as she will earn an extra vote. She will share her results with the tribe as Mitch has already appointed a president during the last journey. It comes down to pizza boy. He will lose his vote, making things quite complicated for the Vula Tribe. Let’s get to it!
Mary Is Committed to the Bit in ‘Survivor 48’
With Vula losing again, Mary isn’t surprised. Her gameplan is to be as cool as a cucumber, pretending she has found an idol. It’s an offensive, defensive plan. By not scrambling, she’s playing mind games with Cedrek and Sai into thinking she has an idol. Sai will propose a split vote. Since Justin is off on his journey, Sai will offer Justin’s name out on a silver platter. It’s a bold move to tell Cedrek, who is very much playing based on emotion. Perhaps voting out Kevin out was a bad long-term plan, Mr. McFadden! Now Justin knows he’s in a predicament. Unlike Bianca, he’s going to tie himself in knots trying to create a lie about playing a game for his tribe. He says it’s a dice game, but claims it was to earn the entire tribe, comfort, shelter, food, or nothing, which they won’t find out until the next day. To his credit, that last bit is the thing that does help him save face. Though he claims he didn’t risk his vote, which is a lie to Cedrek. Justin feels bad lying to Cedrek, but he tells us that Cedrek is easily flustered in the strategy department. Something we’ll learn is a drastic understatement.
With the remaining four all at camp, the scramble is on. Well, it’s not really a scramble. It’s mild conversations. Cedrek relays the reality that Sai will cast a vote on Justin, freaking him out as he is powerless. Until he tells Sai that her split vote plan is unnecessary. Just throw three votes on Mary. Does she trust him? Not at all. She still has trust issues from Tribal one. Sai is coming up with a backup plan, which now involves Mary. She thinks it’s crazy Mary isn’t racing around trying to find an idol. Which, to be fair, is crazy when you know your back is up against the wall. Mary tells her that when you know it’s your time, you just commit to the bit. Mary is excellent at playing the mind games with Sai. Sai is spiraling. This entire tribe is spiraling. They are very much four individual players following their own plan.
At Tribal Council, Jeff just seems so upset and disappointed at the Vula Tribe. It’s warranted, but we’ve been down this path before. Mary very blatantly states that there is no “we,” they are not a group and never will be. Sai takes center stage once again and targets Mary in her jabs. Jeff wants to see them in a two-seater on a road trip. You know, Jeff, there is a reality to that wish. It’s called The Amazing Race! Who wouldn’t want an entire reality-centric “odd couple” season? Phil Keoghan, are you listening? Even though they are diametrically opposed in the game, they have a mutual respect for one another. Sai even says the most fun she’s had was chasing Mary around during the idol hunt. Now to where Cedrek and Justin stand. Justin says that they all have their bags packed as they don’t know how the votes are going to go. Sai calls it a cagey answer, and she does not want something else to ruin her plan, ie: the Shot in the Dark. Jeff straight up asks Mary how she thinks things will go, and she says all votes are on her, and then, well, she doesn’t want to ruin the surprise. The lady is quite good at these mind games because Sai is squirming in the seat in front of her. After casting their votes, Mary reveals she played her Shot in the Dark. In perhaps the second best Shot in the Dark moment in the history of the game, Mary is safe. All votes cast against her will not count. Cue the chaos.
Related
A Major Blindside Sets the Tone for ‘Survivor 48’ Ahead of Episode 3
Will Kevin’s blindside come back to haunt his tribe?
As a reminder, Justin cannot vote. That means there are only two votes. Both votes for Mary do not count. It’s time to vote again, and things are incredibly complicated. Cedrek can vote. Sai can vote. Justin cannot vote. Mary cannot vote. There is a vote for Justin and a vote for Sai. There’s another tie, which means another vote and this time, it can only be for Sai or Justin. Jeff reminds them that, historically, tied players don’t vote as they cancel out each other’s votes as they vote for one another. This vote is unique in that one of the tied players does not have a vote, forcing Jeff to officially reveal Justin had no vote. It all comes down to Cedrek, as Sai can only vote for Justin. Remember that emotion that Cedrek’s been playing off of? He simply refuses to vote for Justin, so he casts his vote, again, for Sai. With the vote being officially deadlocked, this is when the tribe would have an open forum conversation to come to a consensus, otherwise they’d go to rocks. Since Mary and Justin cannot have a say, Sai is on the chopping block. And if they didn’t come to a decision, Cedrek would be the only vulnerable person for the rock draw. It all comes down to him, again.
It’s a historic moment to say the least. Sai attempts to plead with Cedrek about Justin lying, telling him about his lack of vote. Justin is poised and tells Cedrek to do what is best for him. But Cedrek is filled with emotion, and suddenly decides that he will make a decision with a stipulation: if Mary and Sai cut it, he will keep her and vote out Justin. She agrees. Justin is the third person voted out of Survivor 48. Who, what, where, when, why, and how! This was almost as whacky as Advantagegeddon when Cirie Fields was voted out without a single vote cast against her on Survivor: Game Changers. We’ve been down this similar trajectory before on Survivor: Cambodia, but this time, new complications, with the journey and Shot in the Dark, created a whole new world of wacky. Sai deserves immense credit for fighting. Justin, however, just let himself go. It’s a bit disappointing. I won’t say he quit, but he certainly didn’t fight. Cedreks thrives on an emotional connection. Justin refused to bring out his emotions. Now, remember that stipulation? Sai’s luck just changed as there will be a tribe swap next week, so Sai Hughley officially is having the best week ever!
Survivor airs Wednesdays at 8:00pm on CBS. All episodes are available to stream on Paramount+.
Survivor
The historic Tribal Council gave us one of the best episodes in ‘Survivor’ history.
- Release Date
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May 31, 2000
- Network
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CBS
- Showrunner
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Jeff Probst
- Directors
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Jeff Probst
- Mary and Sai are becoming breakout stars of ‘Survivor 48.’
- ‘Survivor 48’ got back to focusing on incredible strategy in an intriguing manner.
- History was made. The end.
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