Australian Survivor – Sun, Sept 18


The way Channel 10 are promoting it the poor ole yellow tribe will be back at tribal council tomorrow night (Sunday). I would say the whole “Phoebe makes a move” thing is a misdirect, but up until now there promos have not tried to trick us at all.
In other Survivor news, I’ve heard a disturbing rumour that Channel 9 is going to air the upcoming season of US Survivor (Millennials V Gen X) – yeah, it IS a silly name) not on GO, as per usual. It will reportedly air on the flagship Nine channel but A WHOLE WEEK AFTER it screens in the US and at about 10.30pm at night. Yesterday I tweeted and posted a query about this on Facebook but Channel 9 has not responded.
I am hoping it’s all a terrible mistake.

It’s day 26 and everyone is looking gaunt, scruffy and exhausted.
At blue everyone is knackered because Firey Kylie did not want to make room in the shelter or something-or-other. It apparently escalated and it looks like no-one got any sleep. She tries to apologise the next morning but it turns into one of those “I’m sorry but it’s actually everyone else’s fault” moments. Oh, Kylie. You’ve upset Magic Matt, which is not good. Strangely we don’t get a to-camera piece from Nick about this. He’s not the narrator this episode.
At yellow Conner is worried about being out of the loop on the Andrew blindside, and whether Kate is still loyal to the core yellow alliance as she flipped to join Phoebe and Kristie (as well as Craig) in the voteout.
They go for a swim and Kate has a little breakdown. With anyone else you’d be worried she was bunging it on but Coma Kate just has that innate honesty about her.


Conner awkwardly pats her arm. They discuss targeting Phoebe next and the everyone – well, everyone who is not Phoebe and Kristie – at least seems cool with it.
Poor Craig is still looking for the hidden immunity idol, which is actually in Phoebe’s bag. Phoebs knows she is still in trouble, so tries buddying up to Conner. Conner, supposedly a huge Survivor fan, outright tells her that he has sworn loyalty to the others but, if she lasts, they could work together in the future. CONNER! You just smile and say yes, then rush back and tell your alliance so they know who aren’t doing deals. And when she asks to be told if she’s being voted out, just say yes. You can lie!

At blue Lee and Spidey Sam continue their bromance, bonding over their ineptitude with a fishing spear. The girls are sunbaking, admiring the view of Lee fishing.
(And here’s a shot for you, Windong


Magic Matt tells Brooke in not so many words she’s a flibbertyjibbet whose head is easily turned. Brooke is not happy and reckons he’s just jealous now he’s not the “man” of the tribe. It could be, or it could be the fact you guys are lying on the beach while there is no firewood and there are jobs to do around camp. Plus Matt is so pasty he could burst into flames if the sunlight touches his skin, so he can’t just loll on the beach.
Brooke starts thinking she needs a new alliance with non-ghost white people, and likes the look of Lee and Army Corporal El.
Things we still need an update on: Kate’s armpit puss and what wild animal has killed those released chickens.

Challenge time
Come on through, says JLap, mixing it up from Jeff’s come on in, guys. Blue team is surprised to see Andrew was voted out.
Kate says yellow, which has been on such as losing streak, is bringing the fire – a whole bonfire. She needs to be on a Brawn tribe with Lee, Kylie and Spidey Sam – she’d fit right in.
The challenge is a variation on the use a catapult to toss a bag challenge, but it’s more of a heptathlon using coloured coconuts. There’s a bit of volleyball action in there, dodgeball and balance beam work. The end section is a giant Connect Four type board – but with five.
Yet again blues are guns at the challenge while scrappy lil Conner tries hardest up against them but falls in the mud a coupla times. But then he doesn’t listen to Sue calling where to place the coconut, so that will cause angst. Yellow should have had Craig throwing rather than defending so they could get more coconuts over the “net”.

Back at yellow camp Conner is devo, blaming himself for the loss. The core alliance decides Phoebe should go home. They don’t even discuss a split. And then Conner goes and tells Phoebe it’s her. Nooooo! He tells the others what he’s done and they all agree it’s unlikely Phoebe has an idol. Why are they so sure? Then they tell Kristie they are all voting for Phoebe and she herself is safe. Kristie tears up a bit – awesome acting job, Kristie! And then she pretends to go and console Phoebe on the beach when actually they are both grinning like maniacs. So, who will the target? Craig’s the obvious threat but they need him for challenges.
They even have a chat about how to spell Phoebe’s name – a conversation which must happen a lot but we don’t really see it. I know they still won’t get it right, though.
Will Phoebe triumph is is this all just a misdirect by the editors and they are splitting the vote after all?
Australian Survivor isn’t sticking to the US rulebook but, let’s say the core – thinking that Phoebe didn’t have an idol – put two votes on Phoebe and two on Kristie, and the girls put two on Sue in turn. If the tie is deadlocked, those voted for can no longer vote. This would leave Craig, Conner and Kate in charge of the vote and they could vote out who they want. If they used the same 2-2-2 strategy and Phoebe played the idol, they could use their greater numbers to vote out Kristie on the revote. Just thinking on the fly here as I watch and type, so I may be wrong. I hope we at least get to see a fire-starter tiebreaker at some stage this season, because they are such fun.


At tribal council
They chat with JLap about how losing sucks and how they all are fairly sure who’s going home, which sucks because they are all friends yadda yadda … No one mentions how Kristie is rocking a side braid and looks like one of the lost children from Mad Max 3 in her brown shapeless outfit.
Craig writes “Pheobe” and so now I kinda hope it’s him the girls target because he cannot spell. We don’t see who the girls vote for – maybe it’s Conner, because he’s had a lot of airtime.
JLap is about to read the votes but Phoebe does the “umm, Jonathon …” and hands over the idol. Craig is a shattered man and Phoebe is grinning with delight – as she should be.
Only one of the four of them spells Phoebe correctly – they all deserve to go. And it’s Craig going home!
Well played, Phoebe and Kristie. Sad to see Craig go, though – he’s been great TV. He gives everyone a hug – even those who voted them out. He tell yellow one of them has to win the whole shebang. Bye, Craig!


Next time: Sue wants Phoebe gone but then we see footage of Phoebe (or Pheb’s, as Sue writes her name – urgh – kill me now over that apostrophe) telling Sue that Kristie knew all along she had an idol. Not cool, Pheb’s. We don’t see footage of yellow losing yet another challenge.

And Craig is calm and philosophical in his final to camera piece: “Bitch stole my idol, but, hey …”



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73 Comments

  1. I don’t think it’s a mistake Juz TV Tonight has reported the same thing. Why would they go backwards like that? It doesn’t make sense. I’M NOT HAPPY!!!

  2. Hi gice, long time lurker and first time poster here. I’ve followed everyone over from Reality Ravings. It’s good to see the regulars BDD, Daisy, Littlepetal… I found you haha! Really enjoying Survivor as I’ve never seen the US series before. It’s been great reading your takes on the series so far as well as the Bach.
    ๐Ÿ˜€

  3. I can never figure out Kylie’s position within the hierarchy of the blue tribe. They use her vote, but she seems to sit constantly outside the group, and while the rest of them don’t seem to really gel with her, she doesn’t really seem to care much for them, either. Being a firefighter, you’d think her physical prowess would be something that would make her fit in a bit, but it seems like she’s always the next person to be eliminated, but never gets there.

    • Yes I think they just like to use Kylie when it suits them but she’s been on the outer since Day 1.
      I don’t think Conner is savvy enough to to last – Phoebe would eat him for breakfast.

      • At the start of the episode when Conner went to have a chat with Kate, I’m silently pleading, “Don’t try and strategise, Conner, it always just makes things worse.”

        I’m of two minds about Conner’s game. He’s not in the original yellow alliance, which means once they’ve kicked out the ex-red girls, he’ll go next … but on the other hand, he’s not savvy at all, which means he’s super easy to manipulate. If Phoebe knew what she was doing, she’d already be trying to tell him that he’s in the same position she’s in, and it might be a good idea for him to switch alliances at some point.

        But there’s discord in the blue tribe, so maybe yellow actually wins immunity today?

        • Windsong I am in two minds about Conner (let alone his game) on the one hand he seems like a nice fellow. On the other he seems way too fragile and sensitive for this game. I know his team is on a losing streak, but over the last few episodes, it’s like watching someone on the verge of a major depressive episode.

  4. A beautiful moment in the post-challenge-loss scene … Conner admits to Phoebe that she’s going home (because he just wanted to be honest), and he tells Craig that there’s no chance that there’s any idols still in play, otherwise he wouldn’t have bothered telling her.

    Craig damn well knows that there’s still an idol in the wild … but he can’t say that to Conner because then he’s revealing that there’s another idol that only he has the clue to. So he has to shut up about it.

    Oh gosh, I was laughing. But I’d like to bet Craig was grinding his teeth so loudly that they heard it over on the blue tribe.

  5. Thanks Jay, and Juz! An amazing site. There’s no clear person who’ll go tonight. Phoebe and conner have had a tonne of air time, but that doesn’t necessarily carry the same weight as it does in other shows :/

    • Hi young Stacey. Good to ‘see’ you. I was just thinking of you a couple of days ago. I hope all is good. ๐Ÿ’–๐Ÿ’–๐Ÿ’–๐Ÿ’–

  6. What a misdirection the whole Phoebe’s big move promos are – yeah big move playing your ideal after the tribe tells you they are voting for you .

    What a beat up –

      • Yeah, I thought for sure they would’ve gone with Sue. Conner as an outside chance. But I suspect Phoebe sees Kate as someone she can use, and I wouldn’t have thought they’d want to get rid of Craig (because he’s a physical powerhouse).

        But I’d assume the thinking was that Craig was the head of the snake. And let’s be honest, Craig’s the smartest guy out here, by a country mile. I understand the thinking behind Phoebe’s decision.

    • Oh? I thought it was pretty big taking out the alpha male on the tribe. If I was kristie I’d want to play hard now to get rid of phoebe as that alliance can’t last long and try to get in with the rest of the tribe. I see phoebe is already throwing her under a bus by saying kristie knew about the idol, so she has to move fast.

    • Agreed. Phoebe’s big move just fell into her lap. No need for persuasion, lying, or manipulation, just a pleasant discussion on which person to choose. However, she is perfectly capable of all that at a later time. I didn’t like the snippet in the trailer implying she was turning on Kristie – seems the old villian is back.

  7. Wow! I’m not sure that was the best move, especially after Sue’s comment immediately after the announcement. I’m not sure I’d completely trust Sue.

    • I agree it didn’t buy her *much* time, because she put a giant target on her back.

      But … she’s still in the game. She’s still a chance of advancing, which is more than poor Craig has.

  8. I’ve said it before, and it bears repeating.

    Phoebe, you little minx.

    She played that entire tribe. That was beautiful. That was pure ‘Survivor’. I just laughed the whole way through. The look on the yellow alliances’ faces when Phoebe played the idol? Man, you could pinpoint the exact second when everybody went, “oh crap.” And the grin on Phoebe’s face the whole way through. That was amazing.

    Having said that, I’m gonna miss Craig. He was a sneaky little bastard and I liked that about him. And that tribe is gonna miss the physical strength of him, but he went out with dignity and sass, and for that, I salute you. “Bitch stole my idol!”

    • Craig was entertaining to watch. I find Sue and the “pretty young things” (as they seem to have dubbed themselves) on Sunaapu are just cruising which is pretty dull viewing. At least Craig played the game and I think he genuinely respected Phoebe for outplaying him.

      • I loved the moment where the girls were on the beach, just enjoying the view as Lee fished in the shallows. That was hilarious.

    • Well they weren’t winning even with strength from Craig! A change is coming – so now she gets seen as a player!

      • We need another tribe shuffle, it gets tired seeing the same tribe keep winning all the time. Think it’s too soon for a merge.

  9. Thanks for the great recap Juz.
    And let that be a lesson to them. Never ever assume no one has the idol. Well played Phoebe & Kristie. The looks on their faces was priceless. Hilarious. But watch your back Phoebe because if you lose the next challenge they will be gunning for you.
    So Craig, that’s why you couldn’t find the idol. But he was a good sport about it. Was funny when Peoebe was gloating when he was looking for it.
    What the hell was that with the bed at the beginning. I have no clue what that was all about.

  10. Excellent recap Juz.
    Sue clearly has to go for repeated crimes against punctuation. Inappropriate apostrophe use is a hanging offence, in my opinion.

          • Me too. I’m scrappy in a fight, and am quite good at puzzles, but I’d be no good at all around camp.

            (and you know I’d spend the whole time flirting with the other guy castaways)

          • I would help around the camp, but be looking annoyed at anyone who was shirking. ๐Ÿ˜’I am the Little Red Hen.

        • I’m sorry JayBlossom. You do the crime, you do the time.:)
          I’d be voted out instantly because there’s no wine and I can’t depend on my husband to pick up the slack like he does when we go camping and I spend hours reading a book while he diligently tidies the camp, sweeps the floor, dusts the tent, polishes the firewood and generally performs totally unnecessary tasks that somehow make camping very comfy!

          • I’d be totally useless at anything physical and prior to my gaffe I would have claimed some skill at word puzzles, but I think you need to vote me off.
            (I’m only saying that because I have a hidden immunity idol).

    • …and leaving out the ‘o’ in ‘Pheb’s’. Every time I see it I think she is referring to veins – phlebectomy, phlebotomy etc.

  11. Thanks for the screencap, Juz. That man’s chest is just … ridiculous.

    “Plus Matt is so pasty he could burst into flames if the sunlight touches his skin, so he canโ€™t just loll on the beach.”

    I’ve noticed this as well! On the rare challenges when Matt has to take his shirt off, he’s so pale. It’s like, they’re all living outdoors on a tropical island in the south Pacific … and Matt’s actually getting *paler*. How is that happening?

    I think the yellow tribe has reduced itself to a non-entity. I do think that “Blue can pick your new tribe-mates!” was a mistake, from the production crew, because yellow were already crippling themselves, and now they’re in a downward spiral they’ve got no hope of getting out of. I feel like we could’ve just watched them fall apart by themselves, and the tribe-shuffling was piling misery upon misery. And I’m gonna miss Craig’s snarkiness, or his mild flirting with JLap and the other castaways, heh.

    • The genius leadership of the Vavau 5ad wrecked the tribe by idiotic tribal council decisions well before the drive swap. The classic is this week when the Vavau 4 ‘mew’ no-one had an idol and found themselves the Vavau 3. I have every confidence, edging by the spoilers, that the Vavau 3 will find a sure and certain way to make themselves the Vavau 1 by the end of the next episode.

      Most likely Phoebe will turn Kate. Sue and Connor will spend the episode complaining that Phoebe didn’t tell them all she had an idol so they could get their strategy right.

      That’s not a bad tribe swap, that’s bad play.

  12. Nooooooo! I was so hoping Craig would get to the merge….just so i could hear the conversation with Nick!
    WTF is going on in the Blue tribe and sleeping arrangements…appears Kylie has been on the outer from Day 1 and then basically decides she wants to be in the middle and warm, and not have to spoon Nick and then she gets berated…seems they getting way too comfortable at Saanapu….and very clicky by the looks of it!
    They generally take 12 to a merge, wondering if this may happen Weds?
    Great recap again Juz…thanks so much for this forum x

    • I liked Craig, but in the end, they were so stupid that they deserved what they got. I only hope Phoebe gets out next week, but I am thinking producers will save her with a merge.

    • It’s Flick – she seems to have been the one doing the major griping. Note that she had plonked herself in the middle and expected people to move so her besties can fit next to her.

      • That was a cow of a move, but she had helpers. I was all ggggrrr, when they squished in and asked, “What’s different?” , as though poor Kylie didn’t exist.

      • If there was a poll of people that under NO circumstances we would want to win Survivor, Flick would be hard to beat for my vote. I find her the very essence of nasty-pretty-girl-who-doesn’t-have-to-be-a-civilised-human-being. Not a fan.

        • I’m with you, she also strikes me as very immature (which sort of goes with the qualities you mentioned). I wonder if she has any realisation that she is only still there through the luck of being on Sunaapu.
          One day she’ll realise that youth is fleeting.

        • So much has gone on this season that I’m not tempted to make a call for the end-game players.

          Heck, I thought Craig was clever enough to make it to the end, and we saw how that ended.

          I want to see Lee and Sam get there on the nice-guys-vote, but I don’t think either of them is game-savvy enough (or underhanded enough) to play the game the way it needs to be played. I think Matt’s clever enough if he tried, but he trusts Flick and Brooke too much.

          I don’t much care for Flick and Brooke, but things are going well for them so far.

          And I can also easily imagine someone dragging Nick along to the finale, just because nobody likes him so you’re guaranteed that they’ll vote for you to win.

          I don’t really see anyone on the yellow tribe making it too far past the merge. Maybe Conner will rejoin his ex-blue tribe-mates, or Phoebe will manipulate her way into the end game? It’d be nice to see, but I wouldn’t bet on it happening, no.

  13. OMG they were stupid. Have these players ever watched Survivor? You never assume no one has an idol. Lazy and complacent play to tell the girls who they were planning to vote out. Phoebe would be right to think she is shooting fish in a barrel. She has sailed through hm tribals when she should have gone?
    Sadly, they will probably merge or mix tribes up again next week, giving her another chance at Survival.
    And why is everyone just dismissing Kylie. It was weird how she lay down then they all bunched in on her left, pushing her on the outer.

  14. Way too much honesty in the Yellow 4. Conner is a babe in the wood in this game, and I think noone should trust him. Not because he isn’t loyal, but because he can’t resist blabbing.

  15. Yes, this morning on $unrise I was delighted to see an example “thoughs” employed instead of “those” on a street sign. Let’s make Australia grate again.

    • I have almost given up on pronouns. I hear “her” incorrectly used in place of she ALL of the time. I think it’s time to despair over correct grammar, punctuation and spelling. ๐Ÿ˜ฃ
      I hone in on them when I am teaching.

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