Only one note on my rewatch of last week’s episode. I went to see my Dodgers in the playoffs earlier tonight and I’m starting on this very late. But at least I can fast forward through the commercials.

In the past, Survivor has always aligned the tribes exactly the same for every pre-merge challenge. One tribe always ends up in the middle, which gives them an advantage if they need to look at someone else’s puzzle. But this season has switched it up ... slightly. Uli has been in the middle for every challenge, but in the Marooning Challenge and the first Immunity Challenge, Hina was on the left, and Kele on the right. But in last week’s Immunity Challenge, Kele was on the left and Hina on the right. It didn’t turn out to be a factor because despite starting on the puzzle first, Kele still couldn’t solve it. Being in the middle probably wouldn’t have made a difference. I just think it would be nice to give every tribe a chance to be in the middle when there’s a puzzle at the end.

And away we go ...

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Alex in confessional: “We can’t seem to catch a break.” I’m with Jeff Pitman on this. One tribe is likely doomed to repeated failure if they don’t get food, flint and a machete on day 1. If Kele loses again, it’s fairly easy to see that Jeremiah is a goner. It’s Alex and Jake vs Sophi B. and Jeremiah, and Alex has an Idol they all know about. Sophi B. knows she can’t vote for Alex and doesn’t want to lose Jake either. She’ll most likely cut Jeremiah loose.

Jason suggests a group hunt for the Hina Beware Advantage. It’s smart to know who has it, so if he’s there when someone finds it good for him. But nobody ever really wants a group search party. Why set it up this way?

And sure enough, Steven and MC immediately plot on a way to find it without anyone else knowing.

I bet we’ll see someone walking right past it. And boom, there’s Jason walking right past it. This reminds me of Russell Swan in S25: Philippines correctly predicting he’d be shown doing the same thing. His Idol was on the handle to their rice pot.

MC finds it ... and immediately tells Steven about it. Why, MC? Why? In pre-game interviews, she said she’d be reluctant to tell anyone if she found something. So much for that vow. These players will never learn. MC thinks it will secure Steven’s trust. I think it gives Steven a golden opportunity to earn trust from everyone else by secretly telling them about it, even if he doesn’t do it right away.

Hmm ... MC trusts Steven, but she has given a lip service “yes” to an alliance that also includes Matt and Kristina. She also warned Sophie S. about that alliance. Who is she really loyal to? Sophie S. or Steven? She has set herself up for a betrayal and a pissed off partner.

Ok, Sage and Jawan, it’s day 6. If you’re still wondering where the alliances are, you should already know you’re not in one. This is pretty basic Survivor. If they’re not talking strategy with you, they’re talking ABOUT you!

Sage has abandonment issues? She’s playing the wrong game.

Flower Child (aka Shannon): “Right now, Savannah is my #1.” That tells me Savannah is playing a strong social game because I think Nate will say the same thing about her. I’m not sure about Rizo.

Savannah in confessional: “If I wanted Sage out because she’s stabbing me in the back, I could do it.” She sounds a little power hungry. Last week she said the same thing about Jawan and his solo Idol hunting.

Why the closeup shot of this poisonous snake? I’m sure you’re thinking what I’m thinking. Someone is gonna get bit and medevaced from the game. Predictable Survivor is boring Survivor. I remember Fireman Tom and Ian killed a couple of these snakes in S10: Palau. But of course, they had a machete.

And there’s Jake sitting by the water, talking about missing the birth of his son, and he gets bitten. Bye Jake, hello tribe swap.

If I’m Jake and I hear the medical staff shouting, “Is he breathing?” that’s when I start freaking out. Don’t these people have walkie talkies or radios? Surely there’s a more discreet way to get that info.

And seeing Probst repeating what the Doctor just told me would make it worse. But I know they’ve got to get this on camera.

I will say it’s interesting to see the Survivor Base Camp for the first time in the broadcast. Jake seems to be reacting well.

This is starting to remind me of Dana’s experience (also from S25: Philippines). She got violently ill. Medical cleared her to stay in the game, but she was feeling so bad, she couldn’t continue. To this day, I don’t call Dana’s departure a quit, especially since she spent 3 days in the hospital after she left the game.

And Jake is Medevaced. It’s the right call. Welcome to Survivor 51, Jake?

OK, so what do they do now? Is Kele instantly dissolved and placed on the other two tribes?

It has only happened a few times (and I haven’t kept track in my extensive notes), but it sucks when they run an Immunity Challenge right after someone leaves the game unexpectedly. And since the tribes are so lopsided, SIX people have to sit out now. This is not fun. Why Probst? Why?

But with Jawan, Rizo, Flower Child, Matt, MC and Sophie S. all sitting out, it makes things a little more evenly matched. The emotional hit to Kele still puts them at a disadvantage.

Kele is on the left, Hina is on the right, and there’s Uli in the middle again. Why is it so hard to switch it up?

Probst: “Jason once again puts himself on the puzzle, and once again, it’s working .... He’s been right every time ... Jason is undefeated!” And once again, Probst is killing someone’s game with challenge praise. Jason should have learned this by now. After the second round of Probst praise, let someone else do the puzzle. Why Jason, why?

Hina and Uli win, and nobody is celebrating. That’s because they shouldn’t have run a challenge at all. This wasn’t fun to watch either. Why?

I suppose Jeremiah might not be an automatic boot. It comes down to Alex’s decision. He should know whoever he picks to stay will probably end up on a different tribe. I’d keep whoever is less likely to tell the world I have an Idol. Then again, I wouldn’t go for an Idol if I couldn’t keep it a secret either.

This was the best part of the episode:

Losing two people from one tribe in the same episode just sucks. But I guess it means there won’t be a double boot episode later on.

Did Alex watch Survivor 46? Did he see the parade of people getting booted while holding an Idol? Sure, it would be great to have that Idol later on, but when forced with choosing between 100% safety and a chance you could leave, I’ll take the safety every time.

And now Uli wants to do a group Idol hunt? Wussupwitdat? Uhh, I mean why?

Rizo finds the Beware Advantage and immediately tells everyone. These players will never learn. But in his pre-game press, he said he’d be aggressive about looking for trinkets and would rather have the information than be in the dark. He tells his tribe his Idol will be for everyone. Yeah, right.

Again, I haven’t kept the stats on this, but I think everyone who has claimed “This Idol is for everyone” was full of shit about it.

And Rizo telling everyone where to dig if they lose a challenge was probably worse. Now he’s competing with five other players to find that Idol, and those five still have their votes. Why Rizo, why?

I liked Sophi B. before this episode, but I’m loving her now after seeing her pull a Queen Sandra and eavesdropping on Alex and Jeremiah’s conversation.

I LOVE Sophi B.’s play here. Even if it doesn’t work, it’s the smartest possible way to play this. She has no control but can influence Alex’s vote better than Jeremiah can. If she’s convincing, she stays in the game. This vote might come down to how strong a manipulator Sophi B. is.

Probst’s dancing metaphors were exhausted last season.

There’s almost zero reason to be interested in the Tribal Council conversation. All that matters is whether or not Alex plays his Idol.

The strategy nerd in me really wants Sophi B.’s ploy to work, and Alex gets blindsided with his Idol. It doesn’t sound like Alex is suspicious.

Alex plays his Idol. That’s the smartest move he could make because he controls the vote now.

Jeremiah gets booted. Sophi B. made the call and got lucky.

Normally, I ignore the “next week on Survivor” promos because they’re so often intentionally misleading. But in this one, we know there’s a swap and Matt, Sophi B., Savannah, Jawan and Rizo are all wearing yellow buffs. We also see Steven talking about Flower Child. Is there any question about who will end up on which tribe now?

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Recap

Yeah, Sophi B. got lucky. If she had voted for Alex, she’d be in an immediate 1 on 1 battle to find the rehidden Idol – which probably wouldn’t have a ball and chain attached to it.

Just the same, Sophi B. simultaneously kept herself safe, outwitted Jeremiah, and removed an Idol she knew would never be used on her. Where’s the downside here? I think she set herself up about as well as she possibly could.

Like I said last week, the first Idol isn’t worth the effort required to find it. It’s better to know who has it without losing your vote. Of course, the Jake medevac complicated things a lot, but imagine how bad Sophi B’s position would be if she never knew about Alex’s Idol? She wouldn’t have know how to manipulate Alex or Jeremiah.

What do you think? Was Sophi B.’s play as good as I think it was? Is there a downside (besides of course being voted out) to how she played it? What if anything should Jeremiah have done to put himself in a stronger position? Does the swap mean it doesn’t matter that Sage, Jawan, Sophie S. and Jason were on the outs anymore? Should they have run an Immunity Challenge at all? Let me know in the comments.