Survivor: San Juan del Sur - Episode 13 - Recap and Results - Let's Make a Move
Recap and results for Survivor: San Juan del Sur - Episodes 13 - :
Welcome to the recap and results for Survivor: San Juan del Sur -- Blood vs. Water Episode 13, "Let's Make a Move"!
Last week featured a crazy two hours of Survivor gameplay, as Reed was eliminated, followed shortly by Alec, in a move that could end up blowing Natalie's entire game wide open. After all, Jon seemed pretty shocked that the plan to vote out Keith was somehow undermined. But will he learn it was Natalie behind it all? Or will Natalie be able to recover? Will anyone make any big moves to change the game?
But, most importantly, who will be voted out tonight?
Let's get this show on the road!
Credit: CBS
AFTER TRIBAL COUNCIL
So Jaclyn is wondering what the hell went wrong, even going as far as to wonder if Alec voted for himself (which is against the rules, but then, I think she was being sarcastic anyway). Natalie takes the heat for the blindside by lying and saying she got mixed up on whom she was supposed to vote for, writing down Alec's name by mistake. She mostly sells it to the others, although Baylor notes, in a confessional, that if Jon and co. were smart, they'd realize Natalie knew exactly what she was doing. (Of course, "and co." includes Baylor's own mother, Missy, who didn't seem to have any idea what was coming. Baylor keeping something from her mom is kind of huge) For his part, Jon forgives Natalie but privately worries that this screw-up could mean major trouble, since Keith is still a big threat.
The next day, Natalie meets with Keith to solidify their secret alliance, but given that Keith has a known history of blowing up the spot of his allies in the past (just ask Reed!), I'm not feeling great about Natalie's choice of secret ally.
Credit: CBS
REWARD CHALLENGE
The challenge involves racing through a bundle of hay, then over and under a series of hitching posts, and then over a teeter-totter to fill a bucket with water. Once that bucket is filled, a gate will be released, allowing the contestants to begin solving a puzzle. Because of course it's a puzzle.
The reward is a spa getaway with steak, brownies, cookies, the whole nine. And, presumably, an opportunity to strategize, since the challenge will involve split teams.
It's Natalie, Baylor, and Jaclyn (Yellow Team) vs. Jon, Missy and Keith (Blue Team).
You'd probably think Jon, Missy and Keith would tear this challenge apart, but the yellow team takes a huge lead, getting to the puzzle long before the blue team, as Missy takes a header during the obstacle portion of the challenge, injuring her ankle. Of course, the saving grace for the blue team is just how lousy the yellow team is at solving the puzzle, sincde they get into one argument after another about what goes where. It's a hot mess of miscommunication.
The Blue Team catches up, and soon enough, the reward challenge is sealed.
JON, MISSY AND KEITH WIN REWARD!
After the challenge, Missy refuses medical attention for her ankle, while Jon notes to Probst that this will be good for Missy, since this will help rejuvenate her. This angers Jaclyn, since Jon comes across like he's bragging about the win. "Did I say I was going to go?" Jon responds, revealing that he's giving up his reward to Baylor so mother and daughter can have a priceless memory. Natalie is chosen to go to Exile Island, and suddenly, I feel like a pair of boneheaded decisions have just been made.
For one, Jon is crazy to leave Missy and Baylor alone with one of the few singles left in the competition. If Missy and Baylor are smart, they'll make some kind of final three deal that will allow them to carry Keith to the end once they no longer have use for their other allies. Because, realistically, Keith is the only person I can see either one of them beating at Final Tribal Council, since Natalie, Jon and Jaclyn have been playing a decent enough game between the three of them that they'd each have a clear case for the win, whereas Keith has mostly been carried throughout the game (save for the odd immunity win). Secondly, it's crazy to let Natalie go to Exile, where she can potentially find an idol. Not that anybody knows what an idol threat she is, but Baylor knows, at least. So even with Natalie volunteering to go, I'd still have chosen Jaclyn. But I guess they didn't want to rock the boat and anger Jon, so I can't really fault them too much for their decision, now that I think about it.
SPA DAY
So Keith, Missy and Baylor enjoy their reward, with Keith and Missy even pounding fists in victory. Baylor is touched by Jon's decision to let her go on the reward, but she notes privately that getting Jon out is still a top priority for herself and Natalie. But she might not have the numbers if Missy gets medically evacuated, since her ankle is apparently getting worse. Keith can even tell from looking at it. He does some tests on Missy, and yeah, she's in a pretty bad way. But the reward segment gets away from all the seriousness by showing Keith as a funny guy, taking a shower and bragging about looking like George Clooney once he's clean. Baylor has never seen this side of Keith before, and she likes it.
But things aren't so harmonious back at camp. Jon and Jaclyn are furious that Natalie screwed up the vote at tribal council, saying that this is something that can't happen when you're competing for a million dollars. Jaclyn theorizes that perhaps Natalie and Keith have something going on in secret, and her "accidental vote" wasn't so accidental. However, Jon doesn't feel Natalie would flip. His shortsightedness could end up being his downfall, since he doesn't seem like he even wants to consider that his allies could want him out. Does he not realize why he'd be a target?
Meanwhile, over at Exile Island, Natalie gets emotional while talking about her sister, saying this is the longest they've ever been apart. She's trying hard as hell not to show how much she misses her, and wants to use this experience as motivation.
Credit: CBS
IMMUNITY CHALLENGE
Big developments before the challenge even begins. Natalie is brought back from Exile and breaks down when she's given rice, since she hasn't eaten much. She talks about the difficulty of her Exile experience, noting that it was one of the hardest things she's ever done. But things aren't as bad for her as they are for Missy, who can barely walk on her ankle. Missy is in tears before the medic is brought in, resolving not to quit the game no matter how much pain she's in. She is determined to do the challenge, even if she has to hop on one foot. This breaks Baylor's heart to hear, naturally, and now she's crying too. The medic is brought in, and Missy is told that she has a bad sprain at the least, and possibly a fracture at worst. The only way to know for sure is to give her an X-ray. And the only way to do that would be to pull Missy from the game.
Thankfully, the doctor says that because there are only a few days left in the game, and because it's not a life-threatening condition, they can immobilize the ankle to minimize any further damage. Essentially, she can stay in the game if she wants to. Missy is relieved, and so am I, since I always hate seeing anyone get medically evacuated, especially this late in the game. So Missy is still in the game, but she's out of the challenge. Good thing for her, she's in a solid enough alliance that she's not a threat. Hell, if she'd been any kind of challenge threat before, she certainly isn't one now.
The challenge involves gripping onto two ropes to balance a vase on a small pedestal. The catch? The castaways are standing on two small pegs throwing your own balance into question. Jaclyn and Baylor fall out of the challenge in short order, leaving us in a standoff between Natalie, Jon and Keith. The wind is insane, which makes this a challenge of chance, more or less. The wind knocks Keith out of the challenge, which is unfair, but hey, there's nothing they could have done about the elements short of holding this challenge inside. Or, you know, just having a different challenge altogether.
The wind ends up knocking Jon out of the challenge, giving Natalie the win. She's so thrilled that she leaps into Probst's arms and gives him a big hug.
NATALIE WINS IMMUNITY!
Credit: CBS
So Natalie is 100% safe tonight. She should probably take the wind giving her the win as a sign: Jon needs to get blindsided tonight.
TEST OF LOYALTY
Back at camp, Jon is upset about having lost the challenge, but he still feels confident that things will work out for him. Natalie tells Keith to just stick with the plan to vote Jon, noting that if he plays his idol, they'll simply vote out Jaclyn on the revote. Apparently, the plan is for a 2-2-2 split. Missy and Baylor will vote Jon, Natalie and Keith will vote Jaclyn, and Jon and Jaclyn will vote Keith. You know, this plan would work far better if Natalie, Keith and Baylor vote Jon, and Natalie gives Keith her idol to protect him.
As if on cue, Jon and Jaclyn become suddenly, inexplicably paranoid about their game, wondering if their names might be on the chopping block. But they might not be in as much danger as they think: when Baylor approaches her mother about the plan, Missy absolutely refuses to vote for Jon. Even when Baylor notes that Jon is a huge threat and that she herself has no final three deal with Jon, Missy doesn't want to hear it. She insists Baylor does have a deal with Jon through her. Baylor feels her mother is just doing what she always does, which is put the men in her life first, showing loyalty to them, to her own detriment. Missy says she has tried to play an honest game, but she's suddenly conflicted now. This should be a wild tribal council.
Credit: CBS
TRIBAL COUNCIL
Keith talks about how this Top 5 has been impenetrable, and he just can't make his way in. It feels prophetic, doubly so when Probst asks Jon if he's started thinking about his final 3 speech. He says he has, and talks about how important trust is in this game. For her part, Missy talks about her loyalty and how she hasn't wavered from the people she's been loyal to since the beginning. All of this feels like foreshadowing, but it's hard to know. This show has put out a ton of red herrings in recent weeks.
In a cute moment, Keith carries Missy to the voting pedestal. Probst tallies the votes...
KEITH
JACLYN
KEITH
JACLYN
JON
JON
We have a three-way tie! The plan actually WORKED!
Jon has a look on his face like he knows it's finally over. I'm stunned that they were actually able to pull this off. Probst tallies the votes...
JON
JON
JON IS VOTED OUT OF SURVIVOR: SAN JUAN DEL SUR!
Credit: CBS
To his credit, Jon says "No hard feelings" on the way out. However, he's so flustered, he forgets his torch. I don't blame him. I've been beating the drum for them to get rid of Jon for weeks now, but I just can't believe they actually did it. This was an amazing move by Natalie.
In his exit interview, he gives kudos to Missy and Natalie for blindsiding him, saying they really did a great job at gaining his trust. However, the voting tallies reveal that Missy actually voted for Jaclyn. Granted, by going with the plan, it was still a vote to eliminate Jon. So while I suppose she remained true to the letter of her alliance with Jon, she didn't actually honor it by helping to keep him in the game. But he seems to respect the gameplay involved in the move, so I suppose she's lucky she didn't pull this sort of thing on someone predisposed towards bitterness. That said, as great a move as this was, I maintain that she should have simply let Jon get voted out on the week that Wes was booted. That way, there would have been no blood on her hands. Now, Jaclyn is going to know this was all Natalie's doing. At best, Jaclyn guns for her and fails. At worst, she guns for her and successfully gets her out. Or, nearly as bad, she loses Jaclyn's vote, meaning she goes into Final Tribal Council with a two-vote deficit. Of course, eventual winners have overcome worse in the past. Should be an interesting game from here on out.
But what do you think of the result? Was this the right move? Sound off in the comments! Until next week, thanks for reading!