Survivor 45 Recap: A Much-Needed Tribe Swap Leads To Another Bummer At Tribal Council
A tribe swap giveth, while another quit taketh away.
Anything can and will change on a dime on the islands of Fiji, and Wednesday's episode of Survivor delivered exactly what this season needed. No, not the quitting of yet another castaway (Grr. Argh.), but a chancy li'l game of tribe roulette!
Of course, Jeff sports a devious smile when he announces that it's time to drop buffs, which for the recently bamboozled Sean, could not have come at a better time. After the new colors are divvied out, the new teams are as follows:
Reba is now comprised of Dee, Sifu, Julie, Sean and J (four original members mixed with one former Lulu player). Lulu is now four former Belos — Katurah, Bruce, Kellie and Jake, with Kaleb who stays yellow. Lastly, the new Belo is Brando, Kendra, Austin, Drew and Emily (which is the most mixed of the three new tribes).
Can we take a second to acknowledge that Katurah is still with her BFF Bruce? Might we add one very big: LOL! (Sorry, Katurah.) I wouldn't be mad if we had a brand-new montage of her Bruce grievances each and every week. Bring it on!
Aside No. 2: Not. Another. Quit! We'll get to that frustrating development, but first, let's see how all of these new dynamics are shaking out.
LULU | First off, Bruce is immediately overcome with emotion. The Lulu beach is the same location he was removed from last season after suffering his head injury. After he cries it out (we're here for you, buddy!), Kaleb gets to work hosting his new tribe. Jake and Kaleb, now reunited after previously meeting at the Sweat and Savvy challenge, compare notes, but Jake knows he needs to be careful. He does, however, tell Kaleb that he wants him at the merge. (Why not bring a shield into battle?)
After seeing Kaleb talking to Bruce and Kellie, Katurah knows she needs to get in there. She tells Kaleb that Bruce is "the next out." She arms him with heaps of Belo dirt, but will this play be enough to shift a target on Bruce?
BELO | Now with a second shot at the game, Emily says she's going to play it low-key and work on making connections. She takes what she learned from Kaleb and looks at Belo as a second chapter to her game. She spills all of the Lulu tea to her new tribe, which seems to change some of their negative first impressions of her. Being on a tribe with two former Rebas and two former Belos makes Emily the swing vote, which could very well be in her advantage. Austin and Drew know what's up, so they make quick work of securing her vote, and she's stoked just to be included.
REBA | The former Rebas seem to really take to Sean, but they want to know if he has an idol. They waste zero time in snatching his bag and tearing that sucker open. They rifle through it, but come up empty. (Props for learning the exact knot he tied his drawstrings in though. Attention to detail is a plus!) Meanwhile, J and Sean become fast friends, and she tells him that Sifu is possibly on the outs. Will Sean be able to capitalize on this little crack?
IMMUNITY IS BACK UP FOR GRABS | Players must climb up a cage from the water and jump inside. After carrying the cage to the beach, one person will dig out from under it and play the rebounder, while the other tribe members try to sink balls into three different nets.
Lulu is the first team to dig a member out and start shooting. Kaleb sinks the first shot for Lulu, while the other two tribes continue to dig deep... literally. Lulu wins immunity before either Reba or Belo can take a single shot. Thanks to Austin's solid jump shot, Belo sinks all of their baskets, sending Reba on that dreaded date with Jeff.
THE TRIBE HAS SPOKEN | Julie tells Jeff that there's really nothing Sean could've done to change his position in the game. Reba has the majority, and it's unfortunate, because they do like the guy. Sean tells Jeff the only thing he could do is be himself and bring a positive attitude. He reiterates that he can be a loyal player and that having his vote could be valuable going forward. Even Sifu says he felt a "really positive energy" from Sean, but sadly, "it's not the burger I want." Sean then offers to be pizza instead! A super kind offer, but it really depends on where it's coming from, right? (Chicago can keep its calzone pies; New Haven apizza ALL THE WAY, BABY. But then again, they're in Fiji, so maybe they should stick to seafood and coconut.)
Sean lets everyone in on the difficulties of growing up Mormon. He tried to live a straight, faithful lifestyle, he says, but he lost so many years of his life trying to conform. "It's being here that I realize that my true adventure of a lifetime is back home with my husband Matt," he says through tears. He doesn't want to take anyone's dream away from them because that dream, "it's not mine." Then — you guys aren't going to like this — he throws in the towel and asks the tribe to write his name down. When Jeff reads the votes, three are enough to send him to Ponderosa. (Read our Q&A with Sean here.)
So it's only Episode 4 and we've had two (!) quits. Brutal stuff, Survivor fans. Um... does anybody want to play this game? Are you as annoyed as I am? You know what to do: Go full tilt boogie in the comments section and let us know your thoughts!