Survivor: Blood vs. Water – Episode 8 – Recap and Results – Skin of My Teeth
Welcome to the recap and results for Episode 8 of Survivor: Blood vs. Water, "Skin of My Teeth”!
Refresh throughout the night, as I'll be updating with results as well as analysis and video as the night goes on!
Credit: CBS
After Tribal
-Back at camp after tribal council, Vytas continues to spin his sugar to the women of the tribe, saying that he's with Tina, Katie, and Monica til the end, and he'll speak for Aras on that as well. Of course, Vytas makes certain to tell the camera that he doesn't actually mean any of the talk of "honesty" that he's spouting, it's simply a means to an end. For her part, Monica is angry that Tina has slotted her at the bottom of the alliance, which is a fairly major slip-up on Tina's part, as you never want to let a person know they're actually on the bottom, lest they go looking for reasons to jump ship.
To be fair, I could imagine Tina probably felt it would be insulting to Monica's intelligence to pretend that she wasn't on the bottom of an alliance comprised of two pairs of family members. So Tina probably thought she was showing respect for Monica by being up front with her about where she stood. But even if it's obvious, you never actually tell an ally on the bottom of your alliance that they're on the bottom of your alliance. Especially when your ally is someone as desperate and delusional as Monica. If Tina had told her that she was her #2, ahead of her own daughter, Monica would have willed herself into believing it, because Monica needs to believe she's running this game.
-Laura B. arrives on Redemption Island, to the surprise of John and Laura M., who expected to see Vytas. Laura B. still has no idea how Vytas is still in the game, saying it was a terrible idea on Tadhana's part to keep him. Yet I think at least part of Tadhana's decision was rooted in the possibility that Vytas would be able to bring Aras over to their alliance, giving them a significant numbers advantage. But again, things get tricky when castaways attempt to play a post-merge game pre-merge.
-After receiving the tree mail announcing the final duel ahead, the Redemption Island castaways reflect on what it will mean to win and re-enter the game. John says this is what he's been training for the whole twelve days, while Laura M. tearfully talks about promising Ciera she'd come back for her. Of course, Laura B. is treated as a bit of an afterthought by the editing team, which makes me wonder if she doesn't actually have a shot at winning this duel. That'd be pretty damn crazy, given the quality of competition she's up against.
Credit: CBS
Redemption Island Duel
-It's the endurance duel from Heroes vs. Villains, in which each castaway must cling to a pole, with their feet resting on incredibly narrow footholds grooved into the wood. John immediately has trouble with the challenge, his hands scrabbling for purchase on the sturdy pole, and kicking off his shoes to get a better foothold. Laura M. and Laura B., meanwhile, are completely zen. It eventually gets to be too much for John, who is the first person out of the challenge. He's devastated, ripping the back of his shirt and plopping down into the sand. It comes down to Laura B. and Laura M., and it doesn't last very long before Laura B. just can't take it anymore.
JOHN CODY and LAURA BONEHAM are eliminated from Survivor: Blood vs. Water!
LAURA MORETT rejoins the game!
-John compares Survivor to his first year at West Point, and talks about this game being the hardest thing he's ever tackled. However, he's thankful for having been blindsided, as he wouldn't have gotten the chance to play with Candice at all. He tosses his buff into the flames and departs from the game, following Laura B.
-Then Probst gets to business: Drop your buffs! WE ARE MERGED!
-Laura (we're dropping the M., since she's the sole surviving "Laura" in this ceaseless war of nominal attrition) has a tearful reunion with Ciera, while Aras and Vytas hug it out. A telling confessional reveals that Aras is thinking of combining with Vytas and making an alliance of seven, which is just so unwieldy that I don't actually think he believes he'd be able to control something like that.
Credit: CBS
Kasama
-The new, merged tribe is called "Kasama," and we get our first look at how this tribe will blend, as Hayden worries about the intertribe dynamics and whether Ciera is someone his alliance can rely on, while Laura feels she needs to talk to her daughter about what they're going to do. She takes Ciera down to the beach, and Gervase immediately reports to Tyson about mother and daughter heading off to strategize on their own. Ciera mentions in a confessional that her mother being back in the game can really hurt her, since she made a whole lot of waves and rubbed people the wrong way. Ciera explains this to Laura, saying that she's kind of a liability to her since her being a part of the alliance with Tyson, Caleb and the others relies on her not having a loved one in the game. So they discuss how they're going to play from here on out, and it basically amounts to playing by ear.
-Tyson goes searching for the hidden immunity idol, his search based on Hayden's recollection of what John's clue said. Tyson is convinced it's at the large, twisting tree on the way to the camp. After a very cursory search, Tyson discovers the hidden immunity idol. He declares that he isn't going to share the information with anyone just yet, since this is the first time he's ever found an idol, and he isn't sure just yet how to proceed. However, Tyson feels this could be his best shot at finally winning Survivor.
-Vytas and Aras discuss the 7-person alliance they have planned, and decide that one of either Laura or Ciera needs to be the first to go. In what could be a startling bit of foreshadowing, Vytas says that he and Aras would have to be pretty stupid not to get to the end, vowing that either one of them could beat anyone that goes with them to the end at Final Tribal Council.
-Tina's slip-up to Monica about her place in the alliance creates trouble, as Monica defects to Tyson's alliance and starts strategizing with him. Tyson doesn't mind having an extra member to his alliance, but he's beyond annoyed at her obnoxious persistence, saying that he wishes he could just tell her to shut up already. In an amusing moment, Tyson says he wishes he could just dig his eyes out with a rusty spoon and jam it into his brain so he wouldn't have to listen to Monica blather on and on. As usual, Monica can never just let a plan sit, second-guessing everyone's promises and questioning whether they really plan to take her to the end or not. She thinks she has a final three deal with Tyson, but she's still unsettled by his unwillingness to promise 100% loyalty.
Immunity Challenge
-The challenge is the old memory game, in which Probst reads off a list of items. He then asks the castaways to repeat the items back to him, one by one, using the cube in front of them, which has pictures of the various items on each side. Get one wrong, you're out of the challenge.
-Within the first round, over half the castaways are eliminated. It ultimately comes down to Aras and Vytas, because of course it does. Vytas never once sweats his competition, even while Aras hectically worries over his answer. In the final image of the round, Aras guesses wrong, and Vytas prevails over his brother. But they both seem to be pretty chill about it, sharing a brotherly embrace.
VYTAS wins individual immunity!
Credit: CBS
Back at Camp
-Vytas talks about not even needing to win that challenge, but claiming that he wanted to win, if only just to beat Aras. He adds that a good player should never need to win a challenge to secure their spot in the game, and I'd argue he's right about that. Look at Sandra Diaz-Twine. One twice and never once won immunity. Of course, Sandra was never as cocky as Vytas, who says that he and Aras are clearly running the game, and that no one has the guts to do anything about it. The alliance starts throwing out names, and it comes down to Laura and Ciera.
-For their part, Laura and Ciera weigh their options. Ciera floats the possibility of blindsiding Aras, but Laura is paranoid that Aras has the hidden immunity idol due to what happened in Survivor: Samoa, when Russell surprised everyone with a hidden immunity idol.
-Gervase talks about how the plan is to split the vote between Laura and Ciera. Yet Gervase and Tyson posit blindsiding "King Aras". It's an incredibly delicate vote coming ahead, as these castaways need to decide whether it's too soon to make a big move, or if now is the time (perhaps the only time) to pull the trigger.
Tribal Council
-At tribal, Probst talks about the three castaway/loved one pairs, and how they could affect the game. It's possible for any one of the pairs to go over to the five individual players and make it a 7-vs-4 game. Laura talks about how great it is that she gets to play with her daughter, while Ciera comically wishes her mother would chill out a bit. Katie, meanwhile, discusses that she and her mother knew before the merge who they would want to work with, carefully keeping those names concealed.
Gervase says that smart players will have no reason to be worried, but warns that the game could change at the drop of a hat, which seems to be hinting at an Aras blindside. We get to the vote, and sure enough, Gervase writes down "Aras," saying that while he loves the guy like a brother, this is his power move in the game. Aras writes down "Laura," rationalizing that he already voted her out once before. Katie, meanwhile, writes down "Ciera," saying that although they're friends, this is simply the move she has to make.
Probst gathers the votes and offers anyone with a hidden immunity idol the opportunity to play it. (Tyson holds onto the idol) With that out of the way, he reads the votes...
Laura
Laura
Ciera
Ciera
Aras
Aras
Aras
Aras
Credit: CBS
ARAS is voted out of Survivor: Blood vs. Water!
-Aras takes the blindside in stride, congratulating the tribe on a job well-done before getting his torch snuffed and heading to Redemption Island. Aras arrives at RI and talks about his shock, as he's never been voted out before, yet he's mostly worried about Vytas. He's certain that his brother will end up joining him at RI in a few days, since he's in a pretty bad spot back at camp. I guess we'll see if Vytas can make up for all his hubris and prove himself to be a great player.
Thoughts
This is easily the most shocking blindside I've seen in at least two seasons. I had Aras pegged as a surefire finalist. Of course, a good blindside was badly needed this season, and this is the most ambitious, well-executed blindside that possibly could have been delivered.
With that said, while Redemption Island came as close to justifying its existence as it ever had during this season's pre-merge game, the continuation of the post-merge cycle remains infuriating and unnecessary. It's clear that it's little more than a tool for producers to keep the narrative they want alive a little longer, in this case the ongoing Vytas/Aras story arc. Redemption Island only ever seems to appear in seasons with returning castaways that producers desperately want to keep in the competition (Boston Rob, Russell, Ozzy, Coach, etc.). Redemption Island provides a safety net in the event that the newbies playing against the returnees aren't complete morons who allow the returning castaway to run the table.
But what really chaps my ass about Redemption Island is that, once again, a castaway could theoretically make it in front of the jury without ever having had to play the social game. No need to burn bridges, or cut any throats to get to final five, just win some challenges. Sure, they'll have earned it by sheer virtue of challenge prowess and/or physical endurance, but that shouldn't be all there is to a Survivor winner. I know Probst loves Redemption Island, but seriously, there's no logical reason for it to exist post-merge than executive meddling. And I don't really need such an overtly manipulative implement in this game I love so much.
On the subject of the game itself, it's going to take a small miracle for Vytas to last any longer than a few more days. He could probably win a few more immunities, but there are clear challenge threats all over that tribe, from physical threats like Tyson, Hayden, and Laura, to mental challenge threats like Tina. So his best option will be to try and turn others from the majority alliance. He should be able to get Laura and Ciera, provided Aras didn't poison the well with Laura by voting her out before. He also could win the wishy-washy Monica to his cause as well because, really, she's just looking for someone to make her a promise. First person that gives her a final three promise will have her full and undying loyalty. And at this rate, it wouldn't even be a promise Vytas would have to go back on, since it makes all the sense in the world to take Monica to the end. If he can accomplish this, he might have a chance. Otherwise, his game is effectively over.
What do you think about tonight's episode? Sound off in the comments!