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What an episode. As stupid as the “two partSurvivorfinale” spin is, this penultimate episode ofSurvivor 47was great. From a perfectly played final 6, to some of the most fun fake idol shenanigansSurvivorhas ever seen, this episode was awesome. So let’s not waste anymore time and get to it!
Even though it’s not the true finale,Jeff Probststill welcomes us by recapping what has happened so far inSurvivor 47. He goes through each player, highlighting what they’ve done to make it this far. It’s the usual filler, but it’s aSurvivorfinale classic, so let’s roll with it.
Back at camp, there is a lot for the remaining players to hash out after the big Operation: Italy planlast week. Sue is (understandably) pissed at Andy for flipping on their group. But of course Andy is riding high, realizing they just pulled off the biggest move of the season.
She and Teeny confront Andy, wanting a full explanation. Andy claims he thought up the plan on the way to Tribal Council, which is laughable. Teeny points out – correctly – that it seemed like Sam and Genevieve sure felt like they had a plan with Andy all along.
Sam tries to go along with Andy’s explanation, trying to play it off as a Bob Ross happy little accident. He handled it about as well as you could expect, but Teeny should have trusted her gut instinct. What’s more likely: Andy flipped or Andy, Sam, and Genevieve just somehow happened to fall into this move?
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When Rachel notices those four go off alone, and she knows she needs to know what they’re discussing. She follows their voices, and is able to hide behind some bushes, right next to them, as they talk through their entire plan to get Rachel out next. She also hears Teeny reveal the vote block to the others, but also that Teeny “confirms” that Rachel does not have an idol (which she absolutely does).
Sue wakes up in the middle of the night, unable to sleep after losing her top ally in Caroline. She decides to go looking for an idol or advantage. Rachel happens upon her digging, and tells Sue about her idol. But Sue is still keeping her idol a secret.
Final 6 Immunity Challenge
For our first of two immunity challenges this week, the castaways jump into ocean and swim to a platform, where they find a buoy attached to a rope. They move the buoy through a series of obstacles to get to the finish, where they have a Survivor logo puzzle to finish. They’re also playing for a reward of a trip to the Survivor Sanctuary.
Everyone is working on the puzzle at the same time, but it quickly comes down to Rachel vs Genevieve. Genevieve is able to pull out the win a few pieces ahead of Rachel. Genevieve picks Sue to accompany her, and chooses Teeny as the third.
Reward/Beka
Genevieve made the smart move bringing Sue and Teeny on the reward. She needs to convince them that Rachel is the biggest threat remaining. Sue is playing it cool, knowing Rachel will all but certainly play her idol, giving them the opportunity to choose who goes to the jury.
But then Teeny gets a little too tipsy and accidentally reveals Genevieve’s idol to Sue. And of course Genevieve does not care, because, you know, it’s fake. So this is great for her. The more people who believe it’s real, the better it is for her.
Back at camp, Sam tries to get back in with Rachel, or at least mend fences a little bit. He says he wanted to play with her, but she had other ideas, so he had no choice but to go in another direction. He also all but confirms to Rachel that she is the next target. Whether it was acting or not, Rachel starts to tear up a little bit during this conversation with Sam and Andy. She’s mad, but mad at herself, because she got so close. But with the idol in her pocket, she has guaranteed safety if she wants it.
But she also wants to explore some other options, and see if there is a possibility she could sneak through one more vote without playing her idol. She talks to Andy about Sam being a bigger threat than Andy. She also plays into Andy’s ego a bit, saying he would have a better story against her than against Sam.
Pre-Tribal
Returning to camp, Genevieve’s number one priority is making sure the obvious, easy vote of Rachel remains the obvious, easy vote. But she knows howSurvivorworks. She nows if a vote seems too easy, that’s when players let their minds wander, and consider other plans, sometimes to their detriment.
Rachel gives Andy the hard sell to come back over to working with her again. But Sue tries to convince her that Andy can’t be trusted. And that proves out when Andy comes to Rachel, and straight up tells her that it’s in his best interest to vote her out.
Andy makes a, let’s call it bold, move and starts pitching Rachel on stumping for him while she’s on the jury. All that does, however, is make Rachel reconsider her plan to vote out Sam. She starts to realize that maybe Andy is playing a better game than she, and everyone else, has given him credit for.
Final 6 Tribal Council
Rachel continues to play up the fact that everyone told her to her face that she was going to be the vote. She lets everyone talk, reaffirming their viewpoint that Rachel is the only option.
Rachel plays her idol, and she and Sue send Andy out of the game. Rachel has some savage words to Andy, “You were very convincing today. Just not in the way you thought.” She’s right though! Andy just couldn’t help himself, and had to start preparing his jury management. That last conversation is what convinced Rachel to switch the vote from Sam to Andy.
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Rachel comes back to camp absolutely elated. She and Genevieve trade stories about how they each found their idols. Genevieve claims she found a clue at a reward, underneath a slice of pizza.
I love that Rachel and Genevieve are so open about being each other’s target. They both knew from the moment they merged there was going to be a problem. It was Genevieve vs Rachel then, and it’s Genevieve vs Rachel now. I love it.
When Rachel is away the next morning, Sam, Genevieve, and Teeny decide to look through her bag, worried she might have another idol. Sue is still giddy about her secret idol, thinking how impressive it will be when she plays it at the final five, with nobody but Rachel having knowledge of it. “Who would expect it?” she says. It doesn’t matter, nobody cares. She is the furthest thing from a threat in this game. Unless she plays her idol to save Rachel or makes some other big move with it, her idol will not make a single bit of difference.
While Genevieve is out babysitting Rachel and making sure she doesn’t find another idol, Sam, Sue, and Teeny bemoan the fact that Genevieve and Rachel see themselves as the two obvious threats left. As Sue says, “There are three other people. What about us?” I don’t know Sue, what about you? You haven’t done anything. Neither has Teeny, who says she doesn’t believe Rachel or Genevieve would be a guaranteed win against them.
This is music to Sam’s ears. He’s the clear three seed left in the game. If he can get to the end with Sue and Teeny, it should be a cakewalk to Sole Survivor. And if both Sue and Teeny are open to going to the end with him? Oh buddy, he is sitting pretty.
Final 5 Immunity Challenge
For this second immunity challenge, the players race in from the ocean to the beach. Once on the beach they dig through sand to climb underneath a log. They have to stack balls on stands, while balancing on a wobbly beam.
It’s another back and forth battle between – who else – Genevieve and Rachel. The both get so close time after time, only to see the stack fall over and over and over. Genevieve’s stack falls one more time, giving Rachel just the edge she needs to secure her third immunity win of the season.
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With everyone (besides Sam) believing Genevieve’s idol is real, Sam knows he has to blow up her spot. He’s the obvious second choice, so he has to do it to save his game. He tells Teeny, her of course believes him. It would be fair for her to not trust Sam here, seeing it as a desparate ploy to save himself. But she buys in without a doubt, tracing every trap of Genevieve’s she fell into, going all the way back to the Kishan vote.
Teeny takes the info to Sue and Rachel. Rachel and Sue aren’t convinced, which, again, is fair. Teeny feels backed into a corner, with her only move to confront Genevieve about it. Genevieve tells her it is fake. Teeny goes back to Sue and Genevieve with this new info, but Rachel and Sue still aren’t entirely sure. Sue leans towards the idol being fake, while Rachel leans real.
This has been one of the most consequential fake idols inSurvivorhistory. So often, they end up completely meaningless. But here, it’s taken on a life of its own, that Genevieve surely never could have imagined.
Final 5 Tribal Council
After all the back and forth, the group takes the chance on Genevieve’s idol being fake, putting three votes on her, sending her to the jury.
And with that, we have our final four. Rachel is in the driver’s seat, and should easily win if she makes it to Final Tribal. Sam has a great shot, because all he has to do is take Rachel out. Hopefully Rachel and Sam both make it to the end, just for a little suspense. If either makes it against Teeny and Sue, they should win in an absolute landslide.
Things I Liked
You can catch new episodes ofSurvivor47 every Wednesday at 8pm ET/7pm CT on CBS, and it is also available to stream on Paramount+.
Matt Hambidge
Film Critic
Articles Published :119
Matt Hambidge is a film critic based in Minneapolis, and is a member of the Minnesota Film Critics Alliance.You can also find him covering SURVIVOR on the Talking Llama podcast.
