Survivor 47 Recap: A Low-key Player Rises Up From the Sidelines
Was Rome’s decree to Sol a “threat” or an “ultimatum”? (Tomato, tomahto?) In Wednesday’s episode of Survivor, the beef between the tribemates was charred to a crisp after the losing Lavo tribe was faced with yet another contentious vote. But the story of who was in control varies depending on who you ask. Spoiler alert: It was Genevieve. Who even is Genevieve, you ask? Read on to find out!
But before we tackle the Lavo drama, ladies and gentlemen, may I introduce you to… the Breadwinners! (Naming alliances is typically a Big Brother thing, but hey, let’s go with it.) Gata’s Sierra, Rachel and Anika seem to have formed an unshakable bond, which might be a shock to Sam in the near future. Sam thinks he and Sierra are beautifully placed in the middle, with options to pick up Andy as a third or to team up with the women. Yet, where Sierra’s actual allegiance lies remains to be seen. Those fireworks will have to wait until Gata’s next date with Mr. Probst.
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Another thing pushing Sierra closer to her Breadwinners? Andy’s overall sloppiness. The guy loses his Shot in the Dark twice! (You’re gonna need that soon, bud.) Sam refers to him as George Costanza (we love a good Seinfeld ref), adding that whatever Andy tries to do, he should really do the opposite — hey, it worked for George. Speaking of sloppiness, Sierra tells Andy all about the Breadwinners, and Andy goes and spills to Sam, who’s naturally peeved that she didn’t tell him this juicy morsel of info directly. Sierra’s “I didn’t come up with [the name]!” explanation doesn’t really fly. She definitely shouldn’t have told Andy, and she shouldn’t have let it get back to Sam, either. Now he’ll always be questioning whether she’s closer to him or her fellow ladies.
Not much over at Tuku this week besides the horror scene from last week’s previews. Wait, that’s not blood?! (:::Pretends to be shocked:::) It’s… paint. After Sue tries to sell the story that she’s 45 years old (I’m not touching that with a 20-foot pole), she finds her tribe’s Beware Advantage, which gives her a map to the idol. She finds a palm tree, chops a vine and a coconut filled with bright red paint splatters all over the ground. There’s no box-within-a-box sorcery, but there is a crime scene she needs to cover up. She does so, confidently, until Tiyana and Caroline question the “blood” on her face and in her hair. Sue then goes from “I cut myself with the machete” to “I bit the back of my tongue”? Uhh, what?! (Insert a “Don’t be suspicious!” gif here.) The other two Tuku women are sketched out. As they should be.
OK, OK, let’s talk about the episode’s craziest antics, which OF COURSE circle around Rome. While it’s clear that Sol is on the bottom, Rome won’t leave the poor guy alone, following Sol around the jungle like he’s the dang Pied Piper. Part of me applauds Rome’s ability to be that annoying and shameless. Hey, it’s Survivor! You don’t have to give someone the chance to idol hunt. But as a woman we meet for the very first time named Purple Kelly Genevieve states, Rome’s personality is rubbing people the wrong way, and he’s not exactly treating Sol right either. There are other ways to keep an eye on someone without being a jerk about it. Genevieve expresses to Sol that Rome’s gameplay isn’t how she wants to play at all. She astutely tells us: “I can only make the case for Rome so many times before it ends up being a case against me.” Big facts. We love a self-aware queen, even if we don’t know how this mystery woman crept onto set.
STRATEGY | Rome says the vote should still be on Sol, but his main goal is to protect his Steal-a-Vote. Sure, he can steal Sol’s vote and they could easily send him on his way (preventing him from using his Shot in the Dark). Or… they could go with Rome’s completely asinine plan: Tell Sol that Rome could use his advantage on Genevieve, but only if Sol coughs up his Shot in the Dark. Sol takes this as any rational, sane adult should: as a threat. A bold one that’s Dumb with a capital D.
As Kishan notes, Rome is playing “chaotically.” Will he be able to trust him in the future? According to Kishan, the votes are there to force a tie (assuming that Teeny loses her vote on her journey). Then on a revote, everyone can take Rome out with ease. When Teeny returns from camp, she reveals to her alliance that she did, in fact, lose her vote. (Caroline, Andy and Teeny each pick up 1/3 of an amulet idol though!) Regardless, Teeny’s seemingly fine with Kishan’s plan.
But then, everything starts to fall apart.
After Rome tells Genevieve that Kishan floated her name as a decoy, Genevieve flips the script. She tells Rome that he’s actually the main target and that Kishan is “dangerous.” She wants to flip things on Kishan, but needs Sol’s help to do it. Sol tells her there’s no way in hell he’s voting for anyone but Rome. It’s quite the stealthy plan to be concocting at the eleventh hour, but Genevieve’s looking out for her game and not just accepting her role as a pawn in somebody else’s plans. Great job, :::checks notes::: Genevieve!
Before we shuffle off to Tribal, we must discuss the worst puzzle-building ever to be seen in the history of Survivor. Rome and Genevieve take on a fire puzzle in the immunity challenge, with Rome splaying out as if he were spending 26 days at a fine luxury resort. His partner hands him mai tais puzzle pieces one at a time, as he tries and fails to even get a single piece placed correctly. (Talk about a Survivor first.) Rome says it’s “really embarrassing,” and, well, he’s certainly right about that. But his tribe can’t possibly opt to keep him over Sol, a man who beasted his way through that entire challenge. Right? RIGHT?!
THE TRIBE HAS SPOKEN | After a little bit of puzzle chat, Jeff and Sol start talking about the “chaos times ten” that went down at camp. Sol recaps Rome’s “threat” (or “ultimatum”), and Jeff doesn’t seem nearly surprised enough by any of this nonsense. (I still think Rome’s ploy was beyond bats–t, but that’s just me.) As Jeff mentions, if Rome uses his advantage and Teeny can’t vote, there’s only three people writing down a name. That’s a lot of power to wield. Genevieve giggles over the uncertainty, but says that if things don’t go her way tonight, things are more or less over for her.
Seconds before the vote, Rome uses his advantage… on Kishan. (Poor guy never saw it coming! A total “What the hell, guys?” moment. Kelly Nalbandian would be proud.) Sol looks at Teeny and says he doesn’t know what to do. Jeff tallies the votes and Genevieve’s plan wins out: Kishan is sent packing with four votes to his name. (Read our Q&A with Kishan here.)
Were you as surprised as Kishan? Go full tilt boogie in the comments and let us know!
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