Australian Survivor 2017 Episode 8 Review: Jono’s Bombshell
Kent gets a bit tipsy, Ziggy steals the show, and JLP drops a game changing bombshell; it’s time for Tristan Kelly to analyse yet another eventful episode of Australian Survivor!
Game changing twists are a cruel but crucial component of Survivor; the best players will always find a way to turn the chaos they create into a match winning advantage. However, there is a fine line between testing the players’ capabilities/ levelling the field, and introducing too much external manipulation. As I discussed preseason, the players should always have the opportunity to react to a twist before an outcome is altered. In episode 8 of Australian Survivor we get to see the full gamut of twist controversy, in addition to Kent’s newly found physical prowess, and a piece of brilliant improvisation from Ziggy. These are the moments that matter…
Post Tribal Wash Up
At Asaga, the castaways commend the classy way in which Mark W exited Tribal, with Henry and Jacqui throwing around a few jokes about being outed as the new power couple. Meanwhile, Jericho is still upset about the tribe’s decision to eliminate their strongest contributor, and decides to join the game of “vengeance” by sneakily extinguishing the campfire: “No Mark, no fire…” It’s a classic act of sabotage that serves to remind people that every decision has a consequence, and once again highlights Jericho’s gutsy approach to playing this game. Henry and Jacqui need to be extremely careful in how they manage him from here on in, as a post merge defection is starting to look highly likely.
“There is no Asaga in my blood anymore – I am completely disowning them, and there is going to be a blood bath for every single one of these guys…” – Jericho
Over at Samatau, Locky takes some time out underwater to regather his thoughts – he’s struggling to come to terms with being on the bottom for the first time in his life, and is starting to resemble a popular kid who’s been kicked out of the clique:
“Why they would follow AK over me is weird… It’s killing me.” – Locky
He recognises that Ziggy is his best option for survival in the game, and makes another pitch to turn her against his nemesis, lazy old AK. The problem is, his read on Ziggy completely underestimates her intelligence and status in the core alliance… Locky thinks she’s on the bottom and just “coasting along” so would be better off flipping to his side where she could supposedly play from the top… “It’s all you, so that’s your game plan.” Barking condescending orders is not the way to recruit an ally! Locky could learn a thing or two from the approach Jarrad took to securing Peter in Episode 5. Ziggy is a lot more switched on than most give her credit for, and completely understands the importance of timing in the game of Survivor. She knows she holds the most power at the moment, and will make a move against AK whenever she sees fit.
Back at Asaga, Henry’s copping heat for the reduced standard of camp living sans Mark, and Ben comes out with another zinger – making it two from two so far…
“You know, the flint man’s gone – it sucks.” – Ben
Meanwhile, Luke’s creeping around like a gremlin, refusing to fill the void of Mark’s lost skills around camp. He might be the self proclaimed “Mr. Fire God” but he’s determined to make the power couple suffer for their actions by keeping them cold. The Luke versus Henry battle is shaping up to be one of the most entertaining duals of the season!
Champagne Kent
Potentially the biggest reaction of shock so far this season when Samatau discover that challenge beast Mark W. has been eliminated from the game… After some minor probing from JLP, Jericho offers some valuable information to his opponents/future allies, by expressing his dissatisfaction with the “unnecessary” result. It highlights how vital these pre-merge interactions are; enough is often said for astute players to develop an accurate read on the complete socio-strategic dynamic of the opposing tribe. Crucial for finding cracks post merge.
The reward challenge itself involves working together to transport a ball on a small platform through an obstacle course, before throwing it at targets for the win. The prize is a beauty – an afternoon of pampering at the waterfalls, complete with cheese and crackers, and champagne… Twenty days in to the game, that glass of champagne would feel like a magic potion to me – and based on their reactions, preseason bubble heads Michelle and Jacqui seem to feel the same way! During the excruciatingly difficult challenge, JLP once again calls out Ben for looking “awkward”, Sarah shows off some impressive limbo skills, and for some reason, olympic ball thrower Ziggy isn’t selected to take part in the ball throwing component of the challenge. The real story though, lies in the redemption of ‘liability’ Kent, who dominates the targets en route to claiming Asaga’s first reward victory! He seems as shocked as everyone else – what a turn around!
At the retreat, Luke is excited for the opportunity to “wash off all those hard times”, Henry devours a few cupcakes, and then the pair spot a suspected idol clue that later turns out to be nothing more than a parcel of scissors. Great prank from the producers! Jacqui declares that she wants to “get into bed with herself”, Ben hogs the mirror, and Kent finds it strange that Luke feels the need to “shave his testicles.” Kent is becoming a well deserved star of the show, celebrating his big victory in style with plenty of champagne and a fresh new look. He feels a “million bucks” and is now well poised for a major tilt deep into this game.
Catching Fire
Locky amps up his Ziggy poaching efforts, but this time he takes a better approach by playing her strong work ethic against AK’s laziness to facilitate a degree of frustration. Poor old AK gets a bit of a rough time as everyone else in the tribe is also seen lazing around with him, but it seems that Ziggy has had enough. She entertains the notion of flipping to Locky, who swears on his mother’s grave “not that she’s already dead” to have her back for the rest of the game.
“All my eggs are in Ziggy’s basket, so I have to sit back and watch them hatch…” – Locky
Don’t do it Ziggy!
Over at Asaga, Luke’s starting to get a bit fatigued as he watches Ben’s hilarious attempts to make fire. He decides to step up to the plate himself, and in doing so proves his worth as ‘Mr. Fire God’. He’s certainly playing a strong social game but his efforts aren’t going unnoticed by Henry, who marks him down as his next target. I still think that Henry pulled the #bigmove trigger a bit too early this season, but now that he has, he’s playing it the right way by staying on the ultra offensive. He heads off for another secret strategy session with Jacqui, explaining how he wants to keep Ben and Michelle because they’re “useless”, and that the best course of action would be to eliminate the threats pre-merge. Henry is executing the game he wants to play brilliantly at the moment, making the necessary adjustments to counteract the target that he places on his own back by playing so hard. Sometimes you need to ride close to the sun to pull off a victory in Survivor.
“Remember, the reason Mark said we’re the power couple is because we are the power couple – and we’ll show everyone how powerful we are…” – Henry
Ziggy in the middle
The immunity challenge involves unlocking a series of gates/puzzles before pulling one lucky tribe mate along the course in a weird fire sled thing. There’s some good heckling from Luke about Locky’s “fat fingers”, JLP pedantically fixates upon the gates being pushed entirely open before the team can move on, and despite a strong start, Ben displays his ‘uselessness’ once again. Samatau race to an enormous lead, but in the great puzzle equaliser, Ziggy and Peter flounder, allowing Henry and Jericho back into the game… Michelle is gracefully pulled through the course in her sled, before she lights the fire cauldron to claim victory for Asaga. Interesting to note at this point is that JLP tells Samatau that “someone will be voted out” at Tribal, but doesn’t specify like he usually does that they will become the ‘eighth person voted out of the game etc.’ The clues are always there if you look for them.
Back at camp…
It might not be the crab of the season, but is certainly the speediest, and enters the same frame as the tribe returning from the challenge – camera crew gold!
Anyway, as usual Tara and Locky are sulking about being on the bottom, AK is hosting a beach strategy session, and Ziggy seems to be off on her own collecting wood… AK is concerned about an idol being played so wants to recruit Anneliese as a number to split the votes (3-Tara, 3-Locky, presumably 2-AK). This is a terrible idea as it just gives Anneliese the required information for her minority to play an idol if they have one, and send AK home with 3 votes. Or worse, if they were confident that Ziggy was on board with them, they could not play the hypothetical idol and knock AK out with 4 votes instead of producing a deadlock. When the numbers call for it, sometimes you just have to gamble that an idol hasn’t been found.
So as expected, Anneliese has no intention to jump into bed with the majority alliance, and continues to put in the work with Ziggy instead, who now seems convinced to vote out AK. Please don’t do it Ziggy! Tara is not someone who you want to be aligned with… The smugness is quickly returning to the King and Queen of the old Misfits, who run around high-fiving each other, whilst proclaiming it’s time for someone else to have a turn at controlling the game. Outrageous. As we head to Tribal, AK taunts the Survivor Gods – all but cursing himself for the rest of the game.
“Tonight I’m the top dog… If I’ve read the game correctly and the votes lay where I’ve put them, I’m going to be back at camp tonight, still not helping with the fire.” – AK
#Twist
JLP is looking extremely smug at the start of TC – a worrying sign for what lies ahead. Peter accepts responsibility for the challenge capitulation, and Tara supposedly makes Jono’s day by wearing her barrel racing belt. They recap Aimee’s blindside, discussing how it has led to her new position on the bottom of the tribe. Tara claims that it will probably be her last night, but maintains a somewhat gleeful persona – her poker face isn’t the greatest. Locky jumps up on his high horse, claiming not to be a “begger” and once again throws AK under the bus – even accusing of him of dividing the Misfits alliance when they targeted him first! In a polite way Tessa basically says that she played her position on the bottom far better than Tara currently is, and then Locky takes a swipe at her for being saved by Tarzan’s idol. Apparently his noble highness would have gone home over taking someone else’s idol… AK is feeling vulnerable (he understands the delicate balance of tonight’s vote), and Ziggy delivers an impressive closing speech on the importance of timing. One more dig at AK from Locky, and then it’s time to vote.
Jono calls for an idol but none are forthcoming, proceeding to read out 2 votes for Locky, 3 votes for Tara, and 3 votes for AK. Why did they split the votes!? AK narrowly avoids a disaster, but looks to be safe on the verge of a seemingly straight forward revote. The second ballots are cast, with Jono reading out 1 vote for AK, and the remainder for Tara… However, everyone’s spider senses should be tingling as he doesn’t foreshadow the deciding vote with the ‘8th person voted out’ line… The first bombshell of the night is on its way… As Tara presents her torch for snuffing, JLP announces that she will not be leaving alone, and orders the tribe to immediately vote out a second person. Absolute chaos.
In a game changing move akin to Sarah and JT’s crossing the floor/whisper huddle antics in the most recent US season, Ziggy proves her status as a major contender by yelling out Anneliese’s name as she writes it down on her parchment. Sensational improvisation that ensures her alliance members remain on the same page. Just as Jono looks set to snuff the torches of Tara and Anneliese, he drops the bombshell that they have not in fact been voted out of the game, but instead will be sent to exile island before joining Asaga tomorrow. No! One of our preseason wishes is shattered, as Tara receives an unwarranted lifeline, and the better players are punished. I have no problem with tribe swaps, but players should always be able to cast their votes, knowing exactly what they’re voting for – even if they’re only informed a few seconds beforehand. This method just gives too much power (of knowledge) to players who would have otherwise been out of the game. I was not prepared for so much controversy on a Sunday night!
And that concludes another massive episode of Australian Survivor! Let me know what you think about the game changing twist… Tonight we get to see the ripples of Jono’s bombshell spread to Asaga, and Henry claims to make another ‘genius’ move – can’t wait to see how it plays out!
Make sure you check out the progress of our Power Rankings Battle against Season 1 veteran Conner Bethune (we would have nailed the predictions last night if it had been a real vote), and don’t forget to follow Jeremy Gorniak’s live twitter feed during every episode @TTHSau.
If you’ve missed any of my other episode reviews, you can catch up on all the action here. See you later tonight!
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.