Australian Survivor 2017 Episode 12 Review: Highway Robbery
Reignited rivalries, a tangled web of lies, multiple murder references, and a cruel twist of fate; it’s time for Tristan Kelly to analyse yet another enthralling episode of Australian Survivor…
There is nothing more frustrating as a Survivor viewer than watching good players fall victim to their lesser peers – particularly when controversial twists are involved. Survivor is a brutal and often unfair game, but that’s a large part of what makes it so enthralling – you have to constantly adapt to the cards that you are being dealt. In Episode 12 of Australian Survivor, the AK versus Tara battle reaches its climax, Luke makes a creepy murder reference, and we’re reminded of the extreme levels of passion that go into the games of good players. These are the moments that matter…
Post Tribal Wash Up
Ziggy awakes in paradise with the super idol around her neck, fuelled with the belief that she he has what it takes to become the “Ultimate Survivor.” She heads back to camp to spin an elaborate yarn about winning a secret advantage that she can gift to another player at any point before the final five. What are you doing Zigs!? Her story just seems too convoluted to be something that you would read on an official parchment – AK is particularly wary. If I was Ziggy I’d follow this story up by telling my core alliance about the idol cancelling component of the super-idol, whilst keeping the personal immunity component a secret. Incomplete truths tend to be more effective and manageable than outright lies…
Over at Asaga, Tara is stoked to have made it to the half way point, despite having been sent to “hell and back” and having her feelings “hurt” by being voted out of the game (sorry, tribe).
“You can’t really say I’ve had an easy run through these first 27 days…” – Tara
Words cannot describe the outrageousness of Tara’s confessionals. YOU LOST TARA. You lost the game, yet you still have a chance to win it – I would argue that that is the definition of an easy run. She then continues to amp up her smear campaign against AK to the rest of the tribe, which I guess you could say is a good strategic move, although that would be giving her far more credit than what she deserves. It’s amazing how she has turned the act of trying to blindside AK and getting outplayed by him, into a ‘poor me, I was betrayed’ type scenario.
I would be sending Tara home ASAP out of principle, but unfortunately it’s starting to look like her second life in this game might be a long one… Luke seems extremely keen to use her as a tool in his “funny and unpredictable” game. He might be a wildcard, but Luke continues to display strong levels of self awareness in his unhinged confessionals, and is able to play a much calmer character when he is around his tribe mates in real time. This important distinction between TV entertainer and game player is one of the reasons why Luke probably has a much higher chance of winning than many people would predict.
The Switch
JLP hosts a little gathering to congratulate the players on reaching the half way mark of the game, before informing them that it would also be the perfect time to switch things up once again. Drop your buffs! It’s a traditional (and fairer) random tribe swap. Each tribe remains largely the same except for the double trade of AK and Peter to Asaga, for Anneliese and Michelle to Samatau. AK is clearly the biggest loser of the scenario, sentenced to a position in the minority of a tribe that has been poisoned against him by Tara. Whereas at the new Samatau, Henry, Locky, and Ben are probably the biggest winners. It’s interesting to note that all three of the hidden immunity idols (plus the cancelling component of the super idol) are now shared between the 8 members of Samatau – could make for a crazy upcoming Tribal Council!
Idol Hands
After having a laugh about AK and Tara’s reunion, JLP sets up the first reward challenge for the new tribes. It’s a classic one-on-one battle to knock an idol out of your opponents hands before they do, with the first tribe to seven winning ‘a taste of home’ (i.e. their favourite snacks), along with everything that Samatau relinquished for flint at the previous challenge. Highlights include Ziggy dominating Tara twice, Sarah knocking idol ally Anneliese to the ground, and Jono’s sassy accompanying commentary throughout the entire scene. In the end, Ben loses the match point battle against Peter, provoking him to have an entertaining little tirade “just let me have my moment”, but despite the loss, Locky is salivating at the thought of AK being roasted by Tara “like a pig over the fire.”
Old Feuds Linger
AK lays on the charm for his new tribe mates by sharing his Maltesers and talking about his heart attack jar (which Tara to her credit humorously foreshadows). He’s doing exactly what he needs to do to earn favour (and in a more genuine way than Henry attempted to do at Samatau), but the task ahead of him to recover from this unfortunate swap is monumental. Tara has been gifted a significant head start in the race to gain the numbers – ironically and cruelly, if Tara had managed to vote AK out the night she was ousted, he would be in a much stronger position now… And therein lies the fatal flaw of the post vote twist – in almost every case the weaker player will benefit whilst the stronger player suffers. This might make for some great TV drama, but it is not good for the integrity of the game of Survivor.
“The fact that Tara is still in this game pisses me off more than anything – she got voted at Tribal Council, and she should be home…” – AK
Over at Samatau, Locky is beaming after being set free from AK’s ‘ tyrannous’ rule, and is happy that everyone now has a chance to “play their own game.” Michelle enters gossip mode in attempt to form connections with her new tribe mates, discovering that she knows Ziggy’s BF in the process. Locky is not impressed, and wants her gone at the earliest opportunity. I kind of feel like Locky holds a weird sense of loyalty to the Ziggy crew – his anti-AK focus seems to have blinded him to the fact that they all voted against him as well! Perhaps he thinks they’ll all want to follow him again… Locky cracks me up, but picking off some easy targets to deflect the attention away from him, might actually be an okay strategy for him to scrape through to the merge – at which point he can recruit some new allies and make a deeper run. He’s played his position on the bottom relatively well and definitely still has the potential to make a big impact on this game.
Back at Asaga, AK enters intense scheming mode, which is the perfect opportunity for the editors to throw in some lengthy crab montages – they’ve clearly recognised that it might be their last opportunity to use the AK/crustacean metaphor so are throwing out all the big shots… AK makes a perfect read on the dynamic of the tribe, identifying that Sarah and Odette are the keys to progressing further in the game against Luke/Jericho/Tara. Once again, Sarah is putting herself in the position of being able to make a decision either way based on all the available information in the game. Tara is freaking out and tries to give Luke and Jericho a strategic ‘lesson’ – pretty much centred around how dangerous AK is because he wouldn’t just roll over when she decided it was time for him to go home. Luke is keen for some “drama” so pitches a phoney all boys alliance to AK, before making the second murderous reference of the episode.
“AK’s going to be voted out next – he’s going to be a trophy on my wall… I’m going to stuff him, put him on a plaque, put him up in front of the fire place at home – biggest trophy of the game…” – Luke
Pulling Your Weight
AK is quizzed about the post swap situation, providing an eloquent answer about having the opportunity to rectify people’s perceptions of him (Tara obviously isn’t impressed), before the crucial immunity challenge gets underway. A man and a woman from each tribe are required to hold onto barrels whilst the opposing tribes race to fill them up with water – the last person left standing with a barrel in their hands wins immunity for their tribe. It’s simple and classic – I’m a big fan. We’re treated to a great pre-challenge strategy sesh which results in Ziggy and Locky going up against AK and Tara – JLP is delighted! Samatau prove to have the better strategy by evenly spreading the load between Tara and AK’s buckets, and after some sensational roaring/muscle work from Locky and Ziggy, Asaga are condemned to yet another Tribal Council. The fight is on.
Tara claims that getting AK out now would be the “move of the game” even referring to it as a potential “blindside” – it’s not a blindside when the person knows that they’re the most likely candidate to go home Tara! She is insufferable. AK recognises that Luke is probably playing him with the all boys alliance, so instead decides to intensify his pitch to Sarah and Odette. He makes a flawless case to Sarah about wanting to move forward with rational strategists which seems to win her over, but Sarah is such a talented liar that you can never be sure what decision she’ll actually end up making. She does mention a desire to get rid of Luke, but AK is so focussed on booting Tara, that he seems to miss the opportunity to explore this option. AK then gets to work on Odette with a much softer ‘loyalty’ based approach that makes perfect sense by providing her with an opportunity to control the numbers for once. Odette is not renowned for her strategic gameplay, but unfortunately AK’s life in the game depends on her making a move. This whole time, Peter has largely been hiding in the shadows, ensuring his safety for another three days.
A Cruel Twist of Fate
It’s too distressing to rehash in great detail so I’m just going to rush through tonight’s TC quickly… JLP superbly steps up his smugness to another level, AK makes some impeccable arguments powered by honesty, Tara disrespectfully laughs in his face, Tara makes some irrelevant arguments powered by delusion, Sarah plays both sides, Odette refuses to make a move, and criminally, AK is sent home in a 4-2-1 vote over Tara and Peter. The twist claims yet another great character and player; Tara obnoxiously gloats.
On an interesting side note, Sarah decided to cast her vote for Peter, which I can only assume was to force Odette’s hand (if Odette decided to vote for Tara, Sarah could jump on board in the revote, but if not she could remain on the right side of the numbers). Sarah is a master of keeping her options open.
It is completely unjust that Tara’s life in this game has been spared at the expense of AK, but ultimately, AK blew his game in the first three days. It is so unfortunate, because for the next 24 days, he played an exceptional game, adjusting his social approach to gain loyal allies whilst still building a strong case to win. With the cards he was presented post swap, there was nothing more he could really do to ensure his safety – and if you have to get voted out that’s probably the best way to exit the game. AK, I feel your pain and appreciate your passion. You played an admirable game, and were absolutely stooged. I look forward to seeing you have another crack as an All-Star.
What are your thoughts on Tara outlasting AK? Join the discussion in the comments below, or chat with us on Facebook and Twitter… Next up, it looks like Ziggy’s going to go crazy with her idols, and Tara will be forced to find a new focus of attention. Can’t wait!
Make sure you check out the progress of our Australian Survivor Power Rankings battle against Season 1 veteran Conner Bethune and don’t forget to follow Jeremy Gorniak’s live twitter feed during every episode @TTHSau.
If you missed any of the action from last week, you can catch up by reading my Review of Episode 11: Fire In The Mangroves. See you after the episode for more Survivor analysis and banter!
Tristan Kelly is a 28 year old ex-doctor turned writer, based in Perth, Western Australia. During his final year of medical school he famously watched and analysed every available episode of Survivor (all 368 of them at the time), probably making him more qualified as a Survivor commentator than he ever was a doctor. In between writing and editing short films, he now spends most of his time organising various schemes, and fantasising about one day winning the game.