S47 E 13: Bananas

I've said it before and will say it again, this has been an entertaining season! There have been so many blindsides and shifting alliances that every tribal council is filled with questions about who will go home.  On a double elimination night, Andy (Not Austin, retired) just couldn't help himself and set up his own demise. His effort to jury-manage Rachel looked more like ego; he didn't like being underestimated and needed Rachel to know how good of a player he was.  Genevieve was the right move for the remaining players, but I was sad to see her go. She is the only one who can challenge Rachel in the final tribal council.  At this point, I don't see how anyone can beat Rachel.

Don't miss out on my world-premiere video near the bottom of this post!

Takeaways

•  As they reflected on Andy's flip, I loved Teeny's realization:  "Andy's better at this game than we all thought, or we're all worse than we thought."
• Watching Teeny get sucked into Andy's story demonstrates that their social game isn't enough to win the game. Outwit is still a component of the game, and Teeny has been outwitted by almost everyone.
• Sue lost her "other number 1."  You can have more than one number 1?
• After Jeff announced the steak dinner reward, he asked, "Big enough stakes?" Really, Jeff? Emmy winners don't use puns. 
• Teeny + wine = good television
• Some of the most honest moments in Survivor history have been the conversations between Sam and Rachel discussing why they haven't teamed up.
• I loved Rachel's line about attending your own funeral knowing that you will still be there in the morning. Mic drop!
• I've never seen the jury so happy as they were when Andy (Not Austin, retired) was eliminated.
• After Rachel played her idol, why weren't more people looking for the idol?  If you learned anything from Ben (Season 35), ABL (always be looking). 
• Jeff called the second challenge "weird." What's weird about standing on a wobbly board. We all have one, right?
• That was an epic battle between Genevieve and Rachel. Rachel has nerves of steel!
• Sam's turning on Genevieve demonstrates the cut-throat mentality you need to stay in the game. I'm just not sure it's enough at this point.
• Kudos to the production team for all of Teeny's flashbacks of being duped by Genevieve. Production decisions like this add more dimension to these moments.
• At this point of the game, the mental anguish must be brutal, as we saw with the tribe overanalyzing whether Genevieve's idol was fake.
• Sue's biggest move of the game was not telling anyone she had an idol and then playing it when it didn't matter. Way to go, Sue!
• Teeny did not vote with Sue and Rachel. Were they splitting the vote, or was Teeny once again not in the loop?

-Steve has spoken

Quote of the Episode

• Sam:  "If you want information out there, tell Teeny. It will get out there."

Jeff Quotes of the Episode:

• "Teeny with a sloppy fall, but it's okay."
• "Nobody else even close. You might have more fun just watching like I'm doing."

Questions

• What will the jury reward, relationships or gameplay?
• Will Rachel make it to the final three by winning the immunity challenge or the fire-making challenge?

Video Premiere

Last week I wrote I could watch an entire episode of Jeff naming food items. I thought of something better. Enjoy the world premiere of my video, "Worth Playing For?"  You're welcome.

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