Survivor: San Juan del Sur - Episode 6 - Recap and Results - Make Some Magic Happen
Recap and results for Survivor: San Juan del Sur - Episode 6 - Make Some Magic Happen:
Welcome to the recap and results for Episode 6 of Survivor: San Juan del Sur -- Blood vs. Water, "Make Some Magic Happen"!
Last week's episode featured a tribe shakeup that put formerly safe players at risk of elimination. In particular, Kelley went from being pretty far under the radar to suddenly becoming a target after getting caught in the crossfire of the feud between her father, Dale, and the mother-daughter pairing of Missy and Baylor. Kelley was voted off, leaving Dale furious and looking for vengeance. Will Dale be able to turn the tables on Missy and Baylor? Or will the loved ones foursome of Missy, Baylor, Jon and Jaclyn (plus Keith) be able to maintain all the power in Coyopa?
Who will go home? Let's get this show on the road!
Credit: CBS
AFTER TRIBAL COUNCIL
Dale is still reeling from Kelley's elimination, saying it hurt to see "complete strangers slaughter your daughter in front of your eyes." A bit extreme, but hey, hyperbole is fun. He fights back tears in his confessional the next day, saying how proud he is of Kelley, and vowing not to give up. The next morning, however, Dale is still a bit isolated from the others. He decides to do something "drastic" to stay in the game, going to Jon with the pendant he took off the water well weeks ago. It's not exactly the most convincing fake idol in the world, but Jon is totally sold on it anyway, fearing what this will mean for his alliance if they end up at tribal council again.
Credit: CBS
Over at Hunahpu, Jeremy is annoyed that his tribe is willing to potentially sacrifice everything just for rice. "We could win a reward tomorrow. We could have a feast tomorrow! Why are you all so hungry over a little bit of rice?" Jeff Probst arrives on the beach with a huge sack of rice, and inspects their rice to confirm that they only have enough left for a handful each. He recalls that the only time a tribe ever needed its rice replenished was way the hell back in Survivor: The Australian Outback, and asks what they think this says about their tribe. Probst says there has never been a tribe in the history of Survivor that has needed this much help only 14 days in, although I'm not sure he should be grilling some of the new Hunahpuans like Alec, Josh, and Wes, since they were perfectly responsible with their portions on Coyopa, and were essentially dropped into a lousy situation they didn't create. They're suffering for the irresponsibility of their predecessors, which is a bit unfair. But then, this game isn't always fair.
In exchange for the sack of rice, which will be enough to last them the rest of the game, he wants them to give him their blankets, their tarp, everything they won in the comfort reward challenge, as well as their hatchet, hammer, one of the pots, and the extra flint. In essence, they're back to square one. But Reed is all too happy to make the trade, as are the other members of the tribe, further confusing Jeremy. In a confessional, he wonders if his tribe even recognizes that Probst just took all their stuff. "Why are ya'll happy?" I'm with Jeremy. I feel like they could have scraped by until the merge if they were judicious with the rice, and managed to forage for fruit, or catch fish. Of course, this is way easier said than done, so maybe they made the right choice after all.
Credit: CBS
REWARD CHALLENGE
Julie is shocked to find that Kelley has been eliminated, and I'm getting to think people should probably keep their shock to themselves.
The challenge involves running through a course, collecting pieces of a mask, and reassembling the mask from memory with the pieces. And they have to do it blindfolded, recalling the shape of the mask just by touch. Since there are no fresh Blood vs. Water pairings on either side, the tribes can put up their strongest members, if they so choose. So it's Reed for Hunahpu, and Baylor for Coyopa. And the reward? To Jeremy's dismay, it's a full barbecue feast with all the trimmings. So maybe Jeremy was right about the shortsightedness of trading everything they had for more rice. Granted, he'll only be proven right if they end up winning this challenge.
It's a pretty close challenge, with both competitors moving pretty nimbly through the course. Baylor collects all her puzzle pieces first, but has trouble recalling the shape of the mask from memory. Reed has an easier time of it, putting half the mask together in almost no time at all. But Baylor quickly catches up, making this a hell of a race. Baylor gets a bit of momentum, but it's not enough to catch Reed, who finishes his puzzle and breaks down in tears upon winning.
HUNAHPU WINS REWARD!
In choosing whom to send to Exile Island, Reed wants to pick Julie, surmising that it will give her an opportunity to show John Rocker just how strong she really is. However, Natalie volunteers to be the one to go, throwing a wrench into whatever plan Reed was cooking up. So Reed allows Natalie to go, and Baylor is selected from Coyopa to go with her. I could see an alliance potentially forming out of that pairing, as does Missy, who feels this could be "beneficial".
BACK AT CAMP
Missy is thrilled that Natalie is still with her, as evidenced by her volunteering to go to Exile. Jon, however, ups the intrigue by revealing that Dale has an immunity idol. No one questions Jon on whether the idol is legit or not, instead simply accepting that they'll have to consider voting out Keith if they don't win the next immunity challenge. Meanwhile, over at Exile Island, Baylor gets the idol clue. She and Natalie hatch a plan to find the idols at their respective camps, to create a power alliance. Natalie is essentially all-in with Baylor, thinking the team-up could get them both deeper into the game.
Credit: CBS
But the Hunahpuans aren't as in sync, as Jeremy feels Reed and Josh need to be broken up, since their lovey-dovey nature represents a threat. I mean, I don't really get how public displays of affection are a threat, but I do agree that power couples need to be broken up on this show. I just hope he doesn't pull a Drew and try to throw a challenge to make it happen. But it wouldn't surprise me if it got that far, since he's legitimately annoyed by his tribe's decision to trade their comfort items for the rice, given that they ended up winning a feast anyway. To make matters worse, they're pounded by a torrential downpour, which leaves them wet and cold. It gets so bad that Julie considers quitting, which causes Jeremy to seriously worry about the stability of his game, since Julie is an ally. Has anyone in the recent history of the game went from being on top to having every conceivable thing go wrong for them in such a short span? Dude had it made in the old Hunahpu, but now he's pretty much near the bottom in this new tribe.
The next day, Julie is still devastated from the night before, calling it the toughest night of her life. Jeremy convinces her not to quit, but Alec has considerably less sympathy, noting that this is Survivor, and you should know what you're signing up for when you come on the show. If anything, I'd think Alec would be happy to lose Julie, since she isn't exactly an ally, and I doubt they'd actually need her to win a challenge. That isn't to say Julie wouldn't be useful if she could be turned, but she seems pretty close to Jeremy, so I'd be all about breaking that pair up.
Credit: CBS
IMMUNITY CHALLENGE
The challenge involves moving a giant cube frame through an obstacle course, using the frame to climb up to platforms along the way where bags hang from coils overhead. They must release the bags and make it to the end of the course where they must (what else?) build a puzzle. First tribe to finish the puzzle wins immunity.
Coyopa gets a pretty big lead thanks to Jon, who not only gets the puzzle pieces freed in short order (in comparison to Jeremy, who has a hell of a hard time with the bags), he also builds the flag puzzle in short order. However, during the puzzle portion, Jon gets all of the puzzle pieces right except the last one, which gives Hunahpu the opportunity to catch up. In a massive come from behind victory, Josh and Reed are able to solve the puzzle before Jon and Baylor, sending Coyopa to Tribal Council once again.
HUNAHPU WINS IMMUNITY!
Jaclyn tells Jon he did a great job, but he's really dejected about the loss. When asked by Probst, Dale says that this loss really stings, and that, unfortunately, somebody's loved one will have to go home. That alone makes me think one of the loved ones aren't going home, and it'll instead be one of the loners, Keith or Dale. But those are just my predictions. And it's not like I'm exactly going out on a limb with those calls either.
Credit: CBS
DECISIONS, DECISIONS
Keith doesn't want to have to play his idol tonight, but he notes that it's great having it. He really just wants to get to the merge to reunite with Wes though. As for Dale, he essentially says the same thing Keith says, but in the open, telling Jon that he doesn't want to have to play the idol tonight. He makes a bold play by saying that if Jon can keep him from going home tonight, he'll give Jon his idol. He wants Missy out of the game, and Jon seems willing to consider it. However, Jon needs time to "consider all the pieces of this puzzle." Jon goes to Missy, Baylor and Jaclyn to talk the plan over, to which Missy rolls her eyes, saying the four of them need to go farther together. She suggests splitting the votes between Dale and Keith, just in case.
Jon and Jaclyn feel they're stuck in the middle, once again, as they have the option between voting out Keith, Dale, or Missy. Jon feels the best option would be to vote with Dale, since the idol could be a big boon to their alliance. But he feels this vote is crucial, since the merge is coming soon, and he wants to be able to line up his game so that he and Jaclyn are the "power couple".
TRIBAL COUNCIL
Probst asks Dale about the emotional effect of voting out a loved one, and Dale says he's hardly gotten any sleep since Kelley was eliminated. Baylor, meanwhile, relates the experience of being on Exile Island, comparing it to being a lost little kid in a grocery store. Missy tears up a little bit, and this causes Baylor to start crying outright. Probst is confused, and Baylor explains that when her mother cries, she cries. "It's just a family crying thing," she says, and I suddenly wonder if her emotions will make her volatile to her alliance. That said, Missy has been playing smart so far, so I don't think their sensitivity will necessarily make them a dangerous to their allies.
Jon relays Dale's resolve to do what he can to stay in the game, and Dale notes that he now has to put his faith in the same people who just voted out his daughter. He says he's essentially a free agent, since he has no allies in the game. Baylor speaks up and says she's more trustworthy than Dale, prompting Dale to accuse Baylor of not owning up to her own actions. Jon rounds out the discussion by saying tonight's vote is about who he can go to the merge with.
From what we see of the vote, it's looking like Missy and Baylor's vote-splitting plan is in effect, but it could just be misdirection. Probst tallies up the votes, and asks if anyone would like to play an idol, but no one does. Onto the votes...
DALE
KEITH
MISSY
KEITH
DALE
DALE
DALE IS VOTED OUT OF SURVIVOR: SAN JUAN DEL SUR!
Credit: CBS
In his exit interview, Dale said he did everything he could to stay, from the minute he woke up that morning. He says this game was everything he thought it would be, and he can't wait to meet up and talk with Kelley.
I agree with Dale, in that he did everything he reasonably could have done to stay. I would have approached Keith and tried to convince him that he would be next on the chopping block if he didn't consider turning on Missy/Baylor/Kelley/Jon, but even then, siding with Dale would have made no sense for Keith. This is a rare situation where there was pretty much nothing Dale could have done to change his fate other than to somehow have Coyopa win immunity. And that was out of his hands, for the most part.
As for strategy, I can't really fault Jon for staying put, especially since it ultimately proved to be the right call, considering Dale's idol was fake. But how trustworthy will Missy and Baylor be, now that they know Jon was considering Dale's offer to vote them out? Sure, Jon made the choice that would advance his primary alliance, but will that alliance stick together at the merge? With Dale gone, they're going to have to start cannibalizing themselves sooner rather than later, assuming they don't start winning immunity challenges. If Keith plays his idol, all Hell could break loose the next time they head to Tribal Council. For now, I think Jon made the right call, but I'm still not getting the feeling that this Missy/Baylor/Jon/Jaclyn group is that stable.
But what do you think of tonight's result? Did Coyopa make the right choice? Sound off in the comments! Until next week, thanks for reading!