SURVIVOR INSIGHTS 355: Season 46 | Episode 12 Lesson of The Story

Episode 12 Review: This pre-finale episode is a mix. The first 60% is good consistently, but the last 40% is “too” predictable.

The climax of this episode began when Charlie won The Sanctuary Reward Challenge, but he did not choose Maria with him.

Charlie, instead, chose Kenzie and Liz – who unexpectedly could eat Chinese food.

Maria began to believe the possibility to shift an alliance and would give a chance to trust Q more.

To seal her safety, Maria dominated the Immunity Challenge for the third time. She surprisingly surprised everyone by finishing the dolphin puzzle by a mile ahead of Charlie and Ben, who solved the foundation first.

Then, Charlie played his social politics as delicate as The Tortured Poets Department.

And, it worked!

Even Maria felt instantly guilty with the way Charlie convinced her to vote out Q. The Number 1 Taylor Swift fan was convincing without a drop of bad blood.

Tribal Council came. There were layers of great insights shared on the table. Maria voted against Charlie, which was a testament that her loyalty shifted totally.

Charlie’s Numbers Game saved him, however. The rest voted against Q; therefore, he was knocked out with an idol inside his Q-Skirt.

Correct me if I was wrong, but this was the third consecutive time that a hidden idol was not played, which was unrealistic anymore.

Kudos for Q for his no-silent promotion of Applebee’s on his exit confessional. This was fun and real good! 4 stars of 5.

Lesson Learned: “I either let this knock me down and take the wind out of my sails or I’m gonna channel this into fierce determination to win the challenge today.” – MARIA

More Lessons: Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3 | Episode 4 | Episode 5 | Episode 6 | Episode 7 | Episode 8 | Episode 9 | Episode 10 | Episode 11

Photo Courtesy of: CBS

SURVIVOR INSIGHTS 353: Season 46 | Episode 10 Lesson of The Story

Episode 10 Review: This is a predictable episode, but it is a fun one for the food sponsorship of Applebee’s is back at The Sanctuary.

The final stretch of the season was on!

The eight remaining survivors were getting thinner, hungrier and angrier. After Q won the Reward Challenge, Liz was having a moment of meltdown for not having been selected for The Sanctuary.

It was understandable that Liz was starving but having a meltdown like she blamed Q for having the entire solar system collapse on her, this moment was uncomfortable and scary to watch.

It was clear that even Venus, Ben and Charlie who were not selected for the reward felt awkward. Venus attempted to console Liz but hesitated for the rage in Liz could be uncontrollable.

On to Applebee’s Sanctuary – Q was with Tiffany, Kenzie and Maria in an aim to bring back the trust that was lost. These four had a good time, but Tiffany and Kenzie were not going to trust Q again.

For this reason, Q was once again the Public Enemy Number 1 coming into the Immunity Challenge.

Q failed to win the Immunity Challenge. Charlie also stopped Tiffany from winning.

This meant that the majority could either go for the expected and easy vote, which was Q, or go to blindside Tiffany, which personally was not a blindside.

Tiffany was not a threat (the way I see it). Her hidden idol was not a threat either.

Most power players of this episode were Charlie and Maria who were controlling the game with finesse since the merge.

Truth was, no Former-Siga yet was eliminated since Tim who is one of my early favorites.

In this case, Tiffany was a sacrifice for Maria and Charlie to protect Ben.

These power players found the right timing to break the alliance of Former-Yanu 3 with the help of Q and Liz.

Tribal Council came. The plan was set then Jeff Probst revealed the votes.

Q was safe again. Kenzie was shocked, however, as Tiffany received more votes than expected and became the fourth member of The Jury. 4 of 5 stars! GOOD

Lesson Learned: “If I keep sitting back and waiting for the light to turn green, it may not turn green. So, I’m gonna have to run the red light.” – MARIA

More Lessons: Episode 1 | Episode 2 | Episode 3 | Episode 4 | Episode 5 | Episode 6 | Episode 7 | Episode 8 | Episode 9

Photo Courtesy of: CBS

SURVIVOR INSIGHTS 345: Season 46 | Episode 2 Lesson of The Story

Episode 2 Review: This episode is a lot better than the pilot. The storytelling elevates to new heights. I get to see moments of raw vulnerability in Kenzie, Ben and Venus.

Tension began when Randen found a clue to a hidden immunity idol. At first, he didn’t know who to trust with. Later on the episode, he observed the Lonewolf of the tribe then decided to deal with Venus – the one he had a little conflict with during the pilot.

Both Randen and Venus were My Early Favorites. It seemed interesting to see how this partnership would bloom.

In Siga (Green Tribe), Charlie and Ben had a fun moment mentioning the songs of Taylor Swift and Metallica, respectively. They were die-hard fans, therefore; the songs they enumerated clocked to 107 each. Charlie won by one point though.

The Immunity-Reward Challenge was a fun one too. It was a simple challenge that requires them to complete an arching puzzle that spelled the word “PERSISTENCE.”

Nami (Orange Tribe) completed the puzzle first and won a set of fishing gear. Siga came second and took home a smaller set of fishing gear.

Yanu lost again. Tiffany lost her cool when they arrived at their camp. Bhanu thought it was either him or Jess were going home.

Jeff Probst waited form them in Tribal Council. Bhanu was outspoken. Without him knowing, his insights made Tiffany and Q uncomfortable.

He felt paranoid too and asked Kenzie who to vote for.

Before the votes were tallied, Jess played an idol but confirmed fake. Q, Tiffany and Kenzie betrayed her.

Jess simply laughed and exited the game with the majority voted against her. 5 stars of 5 | STUPENDOUS!

Lesson Learned: “I have to figure out the best one for my game, and I have to figure out quick.” – Q | More Lessons: Episode 1

Photo Courtesy of: CBS