Screaming at the Screen - Damnbueno's Survivor 42 recaps
Eps.6-7: "You Can't Hide on Survivor"/"The Devil You Do or the Devil You Don't"
By Damnbueno | Published: April 14, 2022
Survivor 42 Episodes 6-7 Recap/ analysis

You Can't Hide on Survivor

Ok, we know the merge is coming this week (sort of), so this is a good time to review everyone’s position.  Let’s start with everyone holding trinkets.

Drea has an Idol, an Extra Vote, and an Advantage Amulet. Her problem is at least two people know about each one of her trinkets, meaning two people have incentive to go after her. If those two people tell two people etc, Drea becomes a blindside waiting to happen, especially if Romeo is willing to let her go. Maryanne has an Idol and an Extra vote. Her problem — everyone knows she has that Idol, and she’s become increasingly annoying. And ironically, she’s probably perceived as too likable to sit next to in the finals. Drea might know she’s got an Extra Vote too. Mike has an Idol. His problem — everyone in the game knows he’s got it, and he’s fairly easy to deceive. Hai and Lindsay both have Advantage Amulets (just like Drea). Their problem is each Amulet holder has incentive to remove one or both of the others.

Those in weak positions: Jonathan — he has physically dominated the entire game, and Probst has constantly praised him. He’s in big trouble the first time he doesn’t have Immunity. Fighting with Maryanne gave her incentive NOT to help him stick around. Tori — she lost trust from her tribemates early, and has no dependable partners. She’s starting over. And when she flips, her Ika tribemates will be more than happy to sell her out. Rocksroy — He’s bossy and inflexible, and isn’t good at earning trust quickly. People probably won’t like being around him, and if he can’t beat Jonathan for Immunity, others won’t need (or want) him around.

Those in strong positions: Romeo — All of his tribemates trust him, he knows where all the trinkets are (except maybe the Amulets), and he can manipulate the voting without appearing to do so. Hai — all of his tribemates trust him, and he’s got 100% loyalty from at least two of them, meaning he can influence at least 3 votes. Lydia — she’s also in a trusting alliance, and there isn’t a single compelling reason to go after her early. She’s in the Sandra position, but hasn’t shown any manipulation muscles yet.  Unless they say the wrong thing, I don’t see why anybody would target Romeo, Hai or Lydia early after the merge.

Then there’s the intriguing “Who knows?” category. Chanelle — She’s an unpredictable thinker, but knows the game well. She also keeps her game fairly stealth, and can earn trust quickly. She can also shoot herself in the foot. But she keeps her cool under pressure, which is a quality most Survivor winners have. Omar & Lindsey — The biggest negative for them is they could be the backup vote if Jonathan wins Immunity. The positives? They’re both likable, earn trust quickly, are above average challenge performers, and operate with enough subtlety to manipulate things without being noticed.

Here’s what I learned after rewatching last week’s episode. That damned Hourglass twist could screw up everything. HOWEVER, after seeing a preview clip with the giant buried boulder, I think the most interesting scenario would be if Jonathan ends up going to Exile and breaking the hourglass himself. If he pulls the same rock Erika pulled last season, he’s guaranteed to make it through the first merge vote.

And away we go…


*I was wondering if Chanelle was being innovative and devious by voting for Mike. If Lydia & Hai suspected each other of casting the vote, there could be some dissension between the pair. Mike didn’t suspect Chanelle at Tribal Council. I was intrigued by the move. If Chanelle could convince Mike she didn’t vote for him, it might work. So naturally what does Chanelle say to Mike? “I’m sorry I voted for you, it was a game time decision.” I hurt my nose slapping my palm to my face. Mike said it perfectly – “I don’t know what that accomplishes.”

Chanelle

*Remember when Jenn from Worlds Apart used a horse race analogy to decide who was more annoying between Shirin and Max? The horse race analogy applies to Chanelle’s game — is she intriguing, or baffling? Baffling just took the lead. She has lost Mike for the rest of the game. She might have also lost his Jury vote.

*Tori is infuriated that Rocksroy won’t give her information? Does she know how this game works? By grilling Rocksroy, she’s annoying him and saying goodbye to his jury vote too.

*Drea is realizing why they should have kept Swati instead of Tori. Swati can keep her mouth shut.

*Hmm … it’s the “Dig up the heavy boulder” challenge from last season. If Jonathan has to sit out, this challenge will take forever. Maybe that’s why this is a 2-hour episode.

*Probst says they’ve tweaked the twist. Funny, it sounds exactly the same to me. Does winning this challenge mean you have Immunity or not?

*I’m hoping Jonathan draws the gray rock and has to go to Exile.

Jonathan

*Ok, Probst just said the magic words: “Win the challenge and you have Immunity.” Is he lying again? I’d love to be watching this with Danny McCray.

*Non-shocker: There’s an Applebee’s commercial right into the first break.

*Damn, Lindsay or Rocksroy get the hourglass and Immunity. I’m thinking we’re saying goodbye to Jonathan when he can’t work that foot puzzle.

*Maryanne is getting sarcastic now. She’s losing more of her charm every day.

Maryanne

*Probst just told Jonathan’s team they’ve got Immunity a 2nd time.

*Hmmm ... Probst isn’t making Jonathan explain their decision, he’s putting it all on Hai. He loves those Alpha males.

*I wonder if Hai and Lindsay will push to remove Drea and her Amulet? They’re gonna be upset when Rocksroy gives Drea Immunity.

*Jonathan: “I’ve got to lay low.” Sorry dude, you don’t know how to do that.

*Tori’s motormouth was easy to predict, but she’s also telling these Taku and Vati members she can’t be trusted with information either.

*Wow, Drea just figured out the twist. I gotta admit, I didn’t think she had the strategic chops.

*Nope, I take that back. Drea is word vomiting to Mike now. It must have been a lucky guess.

Drea and Mike

*Dammit! There’s that friggin’ hourglass.

*Tori was right about one thing: Rocksroy is right at home all alone with a fire and shelter. Keep him away from people and he’s one hell of a Survivor player.

*Mike keeps saying he doesn’t want people to know he’s got an Idol, but he keeps telling people about his Idol.

*Whenever there is a merge, I look for the person who sits in the middle of the group and quietly observes. In this beach scene, its Omar and Hai. That person is in the best position to see who is whispering to whom.

Beach group

*Hai comes off as sincere to everyone. That goes a long way in Survivor. And there’s Omar observing them.

Hai, I'm Omar

*Hai just screwed up in warning Omar about Chanelle.  Omar knowing he doesn’t have a vote is bad for Hai. Why didn’t he see that? If Hai will sell out Chanelle, he’ll sell out Omar too.

*Hai is working it hard. Perhaps a little too hard. He’s giving away all his information.  He’s sticking his head up.

*Now Omar is telling people he doesn’t have a vote???? What’s with these people? Can anyone keep a secret?

*Drea’s word vomiting continues: “I have an Extra Vote.” What’s wrong with these people?  Can anyone keep a secret?

*These people are terrible at lying to Chanelle.  She’s gonna be ecstatic when Rocksroy gives her Immunity.

*Rocksroy’s shelter is better than the one Boston Rob built in Winners At War.

Probst and Rocksroy

*Probst: “There are pros and cons to doing this.” LIAR!!! LIAR!!! He’s choosing between having Immunity and not having Immunity.  It’s a no-brainer. Its not “pro or con,” its “smart or dumbass.”

*Ahh, its not the Foot Puzzle challenge. Just the same, this isn’t a challenge that favors Jonathan’s strength. We’ve seen this one in Kaoh Rong, Game Changers, HHH, and WAW. Its an 8-letter word. Are they spelling “Immunity” again? Or will it be “Jonathan?”

*Tori to Rocksroy: “I was trying to help you.” She’s a pretty bad liar.

She's burying herself

*Tori wins Immunity, then tells Rocksroy “I love you.” She’s a horrible liar.

*Do they go after Jonathan? Did Hai stick his head out too early? Will they make Maryanne feel safe and blindside her and her Idol out of the game? Will Lindsay be the sidekick who gets booted? This one is hard to predict, which to me, makes it a good episode. Lydia is the only one without a good reason to go after her.

*Lindsay is trying to save Jonathan? Bad move. She’s telling them how close she is to him.

Didn't sway me at all

*I wonder if anyone is gonna use their Extra Vote to throw the vote count off?

*I’m loving this subtle Omar vs Hai battle to influence the vote. But Romeo did a good job of making his voice heard too. It’s a bad sign for Lydia and Maryanne that they’re not being shown saving themselves.

Tribal

*And right on cue, Hai mentions “Drivers” and “Passengers.”

*Does that beetle get a vote too? Its sure interested in Tribal Council.

*Major props to Omar. Dude didn’t have a vote but was in control at this Tribal Council. He created a reason to go after Lydia, and sold it very well.

*Minor props to Lindsay. She’s the first Lindsay to make it to the merge.


Recap: Considering it had the ridiculous hourglass twist and another blatant Probst lie, I loved this merge episode. It doesn’t rank up there with the Cagayan merge episode, but it was pretty damn good. I’ll say it again, props to Omar. The obvious #1 target was Jonathan. The obvious #2 target was anyone else on Taku, as a means of weakening Jonathan. Omar talked people into making moves that were actually bad for their game, and made them think it was smart. That’s Cirie-level manipulation. Just like Tiffany last season, they took out the person with no weapons, and a very low threat level. They went for the safe vote. I think Lydia was a little too dependent on Hai to keep her safe. She had access to enough information, but didn’t appear to know what to do with it. So since Lydia isn’t on the Jury, does this mean we’ve got a 3-person final with an 8-person jury? These people are gonna regret not booting Jonathan while they had the chance. And I think Romeo is gonna be the one to point that out to everyone.  I’m thinking he’s the one who’s gonna convince someone on Taku to turn against Jonathan.

There are all kinds of topics to discuss about this episode. I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. I think Hai, Omar and Romeo are playing the strongest games. Tori, Rocksroy and Maryanne are playing the weakest. And of course, there’s Chanelle.  Her game is a mystery to me. She’s smart enough to figure out strong moves, but loves to shoot off her toes. What do you think?

damnbuenoDamnbueno got his nickname in 8th grade Spanish class when his friend shouted out "You're pretty damn good at Spanish." The teacher insisted he say it in Spanish, so the friend said "Esto es damn bueno en Espanol." The nickname stuck. These days, when he's not forgetting his 8th grade Spanish, Damnbueno is indulging his obsession with all things Survivor. Reach him in the comments section here at True Dork Times.

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