S48, E4: It’s Not Easy Being Green

 

Nothing screams adaptability like a tribe swap. I love this part of the season—it injects chaos, especially for players who’ve been cruising on winning tribes. Bianca, now the lone Lagi, has to fend for herself. Instead of keeping Charity as an ally, David seems ready to cut her loose. Meanwhile, Eva all but serves Star on a silver platter.

The California Girls stayed loyal, but it didn’t matter in the end. As for the struggling Vulu tribe, they finally get a reset—and Sai is out for Cedrek’s blood.

Speaking of Sai, I stand by my claim: she’s the new Boston Rob. You’re either with her or against her, and eventually, everyone is against her. Cedrek should have stuck with Pizza.

Takeaways

• Mary and Sai realized they were better off as allies: “At what point do we stop fighting each other and start working together?” That’s a timely message for the nation (my public service announcement for the season).
• The swap created two tribes without a majority from previous tribes, setting the stage for pure chaos in the next few episodes. The new Vulu was the only tribe with a majority, but it didn’t help them.
• This is a big shift for Eva, who isn’t comfortable working with a lot of women. I don’t know if it's just her personality or a function of her autism (or both), but her tendency to latch onto one player could come back to bite her.
• The Vulu campsite was a disaster. As Thomas said, “This is the best-case scenario in the worst-case beach.” If you are going on Survivor, practice making fire and watch YouTube tutorials on shelter-building (e.g. this one).
• Kamilla is an incredible actress, and she and Kyle did a masterful job keeping the old Lagi members feeling comfortable with their numbers. It’s an interesting strategy—they could have just told Lagi about the idol, forcing the California Girls to split the vote or turn on each other. However, that move carried the risk of triggering the play of an unknown idol or advantage, like Thomas’s steal-a-vote. (Shoutout to Shaun, who texted me that Kamilla should have voted for Kyle, furthering the illusion that they weren’t together. That would have made next week very interesting!)
• Cedrek bonded with Mitch over their shared experience with stuttering: “When I see Mitch, I see me.” Mitch is loving his experience right now, but I’m curious to see if he’ll be willing to make the tough moves when the time comes.
• I rarely crave fruit, but I swear my mouth waters every time I see it as a reward. I can only imagine how it must feel to get real food after eating minimally for nine days. Honestly, I might even like beets in that situation.
• And the Vulu curse continues. All new players, but they blow a lead to lose yet another challenge.
• I always watch the game trying to figure out how I would play, and I still struggle with the idea of searching someone’s bag. I think I would do it, but I wonder if my conscience would stop me in the moment.
• I loved the blindside, but I also appreciated the reflections at Tribal Council:
• Kyle: “I came into this game with that confidence, and this game hit me right back in the mouth.”
• Kamilla: “I think I realized throughout all the challenges the person who underestimates me the most is myself.”
• Joe: “It’s easy from the couch to say, ‘This is what I would do right now.’ It’s more challenging than anyone can imagine unless you’re sitting here right now.”
• And Thomas, who seemed genuinely grateful for the experience: “If it was my torch, I’ve been given a gift.”

Quotes of the Episode

• Joe: “The newer generation believes in this discussion before I stab you in the back and we share a beer type of thing. So awkward.”

Questions

• Will Eva build a relationship with a female tribe member?
• Will someone from Vulu find an idol?
• Will Vulu set the record for most consecutive losses to start a season (currently tied with several other tribes)?

Steve has spoken.