That’s another episode of Survivor 46! Applebee's got the castaways… in their feelings, to put it lightly. Let’s dive into the episode.
No Bourbon Burger for You
This episode is dominated by one wildly intriguing conflict based around a classic Survivor storyline: the reward snub. There have been plenty of storylines in Survivor seasons past that revolve around the dynamics of picking people for rewards: who are your real allies and who do you leave to starve at the beach? For the most part the drama of rewards has faded away, partially because there are less rewards in the New Era but mostly because people take things less personally and castaways are better at managing these choices to keep as much goodwill for possible jury voters. Thus, we should thank this cast for caring so little about optics and throwing “kumbaya” Survivor in the trash can.
Time to set the scene. We have Liz, who has a chip on her shoulder after the last few votes. She feels she hasn’t been respected in this game and the biggest culprit is Q, whose antics a few votes ago overshadow what she believed was her big blindside plan against Tevin. She also has numerous allergies which forbid her from eating anything on the island except rice, and because the tribe doesn’t seem to have rice, Liz basically hasn’t eaten anything since the merge.
The merged tribe goes to a reward challenge and learns that this is the APPLEBEE’S reward! You get a 5-course meal of mediocre quality bar food, some alcohol, a trip to Sanctuary (Jeff, quit trying to make this a thing), and a night away from camp presumably in a bed or something. On the surface this is a huge reward for Liz because she will finally be able to eat food that won’t kill her. But here’s the thing: Applebee's is basically the greatest restaurant in the history of restaurants to Liz. After a long Wednesday of running multiple multi-million-dollar companies, Liz turns off the phone and takes her daughter to Applebee's for some much-cherished family time. It’s her weekly ritual and her most favorite time she gets to spend with her daughter (before heading home to watch Survivor together, of course). Applebee's just means more to Liz than it ever could for any of these castaways.
The challenge starts and finishes. Liz had no chance to win. Q pulls out the victory, and Jeff tasks him with choosing some tribemates to join him for some Applebee's. Liz has already started sobbing at this point. She needs this more than life itself. But Q has a different agenda, and he chooses to take his former Yanu tribemates and Maria, the only person who will actually talk to him. Liz doesn’t get to eat and she doesn’t get to commune in the ritual that reminds her of her daughter. And she can’t hold it in anymore. Liz’s unfiltered and boiling rage overflows as she screams at Q for his decision. No one knows what to do with it, so everyone stands awkwardly and lets Liz vent days of frustration. There hasn’t been raw emotion like this in Survivor in a very long time, and it will be a defining moment in the New Era.
Just to lead off, Liz’s anger is totally valid, even if the ferocity of it was off-putting. There really is no excuse that Q couldn’t have used one of his three slots to bring Liz along for goodwill's sake.
The deeper reasoning for why it wasn’t just a given to bring Liz to the reward can be analyzed in context of her season-long game. Liz hasn’t stood out in Survivor 46 as she has bemoaned, probably because of her poor early impression. In the early days Liz vocalized that she was a successful businesswoman and that winning a million dollars wouldn’t really mean much to her, which rubbed her Nami tribemates the wrong way. She followed her first impression with passive gameplay that solidified the opinion that Liz isn’t here to play the game hard. Once Liz starts trying to, in her mind, make big moves, it is met with indifference. No one has had a reason to work with Liz or look out for Liz hence the reason she was left out of the plan to vote Hunter out of the game. And for a person like Q, who I wouldn’t be surprised if he and Liz have even had one conversation in the entirety of Survivor 46, why does he owe Liz anything?
Qhaos Qontinues
Maybe Q doesn’t owe Liz anything in Survivor 46… he still should have taken her anyway. He has only made his awful social standing in the game even worse by denying the extra starving castaway a chance to eat. Q thought he had a chance to rekindle some sort of alliance with Tiffany and Kenzie, but the second he goes to walk off his Applebee's his former Yanu tribemates confirm that Q has to go next. So, his reasoning for who he chose turned out to be pointless. Q’s chances to win are already dead, but giving people more reasons to hate you is not the way to go. The repeated punches thrown at Q in confessionals from people like Ben and Kenzie and Tiffany continue to illustrate how people see Q in the game: as a heartless quitter.
The heartless part might be right… by far the coldest line of the episode was Q’s reflection to the drama and emotion from Liz. Q didn’t feel particularly swayed by the tears of Liz because he’s used to firing people in his line of work: a raw explanation and a harsh truth. That’s legit villain behavior. Of course, the more empathetic castaways still on the tribe would never be able to see the reasoning or the justification behind this. It has left Q on an island of his own and of his own. He must wait out the rest of Survivor 46 sleeping alone on the raft at the beach and keeping his distance from all the tribemates that wish he would just get up and leave the game.
The quitter characterization Q has received is where the strong emotions of the tribe may have blinded their perceptions a bit. Q did try to fall on his sword a few episodes ago, but the reasoning behind it was his odd moral high ground more than an actual desire to leave the game (at least that’s how I see it). Q, for all intensive purposes, is still trying to make it to day 26 whether it’s by winning immunities or by grasping onto any lifeline thrown to him. He has Maria to thank for a lifeline this week.
Blindside Them when They Least Expect It
Q could not win immunity this episode in a bucket holding challenge, which is extra difficult for big dudes to compete in. The whole tribe cheers when Q’s grip falters, and it’s off to the races with the obvious plan to send Q to the jury. Emotions have reached a breaking point and Tiffany runs a metaphorical victory lap after returning to camp, feeling comfortable enough to save her idol for another day because the unity behind a Q elimination is so strong. Things weren’t as they seemed.
Maria capitalized on the comfort level within the tribe and recruited her original Siga tribemates and Q to join her in a blindside days in the making against Tiffany. But four people isn’t a majority so the Siga trio turns to Liz of all people. Liz is faced with a difficult decision, play with her head and vote Tiffany out, or play with heart and enact sweet revenge against Q.
Liz has stated since the merge that she wants to start really playing Survivor, and the decision to make a head move validates her reasoning. Q isn’t a threat; he needs a Rick Devens like streak to even make it to the end and that doesn’t even take into account all the hate he has accrued from future jury members. Tiffany has garnered respect as a threat, and it is smarter to remove the variable of her idol as it becomes more powerful down the road. There was no better time than this when everyone was so hyper focused on Q to think rationally.
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The Godmother Award: Maria
Hoodie Maria was on another level this episode in her strongest showing to date. She’s the only one wise enough to consider the benefits of keeping Q around, as she “ran the red light” and got one step ahead of her competition for the million dollars. The fact that Tiffany and Kenzie were watching her talk to Q and just assumed she was being nice, when she was actually recruiting him to blindside the Yanu duo is true Survivor strategic beauty.
The Carson Garrett Award (Over-the-Top Superfan Training Regimen): Charlie
Did Charlie really say he was training his grip for two years just in case he was on Survivor? Honestly, salute to you Charlie the Swiftie. I ran a Spartan Race a few days ago and it taught me the importance of grip strength. I’m actually squeezing hand grips right now as I type this out.
The At First You Don’t Succeed Award: Negotiating for Rice Again
Survivor was nice enough to reopen rice negotiation to give Liz another chance to get some food she can actually eat. Of course, none of her tribemates actually want to help her out, so Survivor allowed for an individual to opt out so Liz can nourish herself.
The question should be raised at this point…. Should Survivor cast people who literally won’t be able to eat anything while trying to survive on the island? Did they make Liz sign extra waivers or something?
MVP of the Episode: Applebee's
I imagine sales will be through the roof in the next few days as people show their solidarity for Liz with a trip to the neighborhood Applebee's. You can’t ask for better publicity than Liz turning into the Hulk for being denied a Bourbon Burger.
Goat of the Episode: Tiffany and Kenzie
Not another player going home with an idol in their pocket. And not Survivor 46’s queen backtracking all of her plans to blindside her number one ally hours before other people blindsided her number one ally.
Also, they didn’t even take a bite of the Bourbon Burger, the greatest sandwich ever concocted, and they were the ones drooling over their meal back at camp right in front of a mentally broken Liz.
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PLAYER TIER LIST:
OUT OF THE GAME
18. Jelinsky
17. Jess
16. Randen
15. Bhanu
14. Jem
13. Moriah
12. Tim
11. Soda
10. Tevin
9. Hunter
8. Tiffany
BOTTOM OF THE TOTEM POLE
7. Q
6. Venus
I was quietly thinking that Venus’s position was looking a bit better now that she has been at some level in step with the plan the last few votes…. Until the Siga three decided it would be safer to convince Liz to not vote Q, despite her wanting to attack Q with the camp machete not even 24 hours ago, instead of letting Venus even get a whiff of their plan.
IN AN UNCOMFORTABLE POSITION
5. Kenzie
Survivor logic dictates that the next move would be to finish off the Yanu duo and get out a social butterfly like Kenzie next. Regardless of what happens, the damage losing Tiffany does to Kenzie’s resume is big. She can’t even play the “I didn’t vote for you” card, since too many people know she was scheming behind Tiffany’s back previously to send her home. Kenzie can hold out hope that a good standing with the jury (and some chaotic final votes) can guarantee her a win against any combination of Venus, Q and Liz in the final three.
IN A GOOD SPOT
4. Liz
Her endgame prospects are still weird because she doesn’t have the strategic or social juice that other non-goats in the game have right now (not to mention the jury is Nami heavy, and they don’t respect her game very much). She can find solace that working with the Siga trio this vote can build trust going into the next few tribal councils.
IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT
3. Ben
2. Charlie the Swiftie
1. Maria
And wouldn’t you know, the Siga three find themselves in a great position at the endgame. All three have paths to the end by dragging along Q or Liz, and each have a case to win. Maria stands out as the strategic mastermind, Ben stands out as a classic jury threat with his social game, and Charlie brings a balanced mix of strategy and likability to the table that could sway votes his way.
Will they stick together, or will they try to pull off a major blindside against each other before the end?
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Seven are left as the game remains a wonderfully chaotic mess. Who will go home or go insane next week?