Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for Survivor 47 Episode 4.
The 47th season of the groundbreakingreality seriesSurvivor, created byCharlie Parsons, is well underway, with viewers shocked at just how cutthroat this cast has already become in their fight for the $1,000,000 prize. It’s not unusual for thisCBSprogram to feature some of the genre’s most intense gameplay, the kind that got this installment’s third bootAysha Welchsent out of the game in last week’s episode. But even for a series known for its hardcore strategy, it’s been surprising just how ready so many of these players were to dive into the game — and how brazenly so many others were ready to risk it all right from the start.
From huge proclamations to confusing refusals of alliances, these players are offered nonstop questionable choices that are thoroughly enjoyable to watch). It’s a trend that continues this episode, with viewers not only seeingsome of the most blatantly harsh moves in yearsbut also some potential hints at the huge blow-ups expected to come soon.It’s a riveting hour and a half that will have huge repercussions for the season at large,so let’s break it down!
On ‘Survivor,’ Privacy Is a Luxury
The beginning of thisSurvivorepisode is an emotional one, asTeeny Chirichillofrom the red Lavo tribe is forced to reckon with throwing a vote againstSolomon “Sol” Yiat tribal council. She explains to him that she didn’t want to blindside her close friend Welch, with the man assuring her that it’s okay, that this is Survivor and people shouldn’t take others' actions that personally — though it’s hard to keep that mindset whenRome Cooneystarts following Sol around.
Cooney has been overwhelmingly good in the game, with the fact that his enemy was voted out and a Steal a Vote in his pocket granting him the confidence to begin literally following Sol everywhere he goes to verify the man doesn’t find an idol. He harshly responds to Sol’s genuine requests for a moment alone by saying that it’sSurvivor, and he can do whatever he wants, a behavior that makesKishan Patelexcited (he loves the chaos) but his #1 ally,Genevieve Mushaluk, uncomfortable. She’s so unnerved by his actions that she comforts Sol in one of his few moments alone and says that she wants to work with him going forward, realizing that while Cooney might be a good ally now,Mushaluk’s association with him could hurt her going forward.
The other tribes don’t have as much blatant conflict as Lavo, but they’re far from calm; the yellow tribe, Gata, is still completely split asSam Phalenworks withSierra Wrightto eventually blindside one of their allies,Anika DharandRachel LaMont. Phalen wants to oust Dhar in favor of the bumbling Andy Rueda, a plan she’s content with until Rueda tells Phalen something she hadn’t had the chance to tell him — that the girls want to name their shaky alliance “the Breadwinners” — and drives a wedge between the pair. She begins to question whether Ruedais actually important for her path to more power in the game,a goal that she shares with the blue Tuku tribe’sSue Smey.
Sue (who’s been telling others she’s 45, when she’s actually 58) gets a chance for that power when she finds a Beware Advantage, the instructions leading her to smash open a pot that contains not only copious amounts of red paint, but also an Immunity Idol. She tries to clean up the mess but forgets to scrub the “blood” off of her own face, makingTiyana HallumsandCaroline Vidmarquestion if she was bleeding when they stumble upon her.She lies that she was just messing around with the machete and walks away. While Smey is happy with her machete, Hallums is suspicious of just what the older woman may be hiding.
Every Season of ‘Survivor,’ Ranked
The tribe has spoken.
Is This the Biggest ‘Survivor’ Blowout Ever?
This episode’s immunity challenge brings back someSurvivorclassics that fans haven’t seen in years: chickens! Egg-laying hens, to be exact, which the tribe who wins the challenge — an arduous obstacle course that sees the players roll a huge cube, throw bean bags through a frame, and eventually solve a puzzle — will get to bring back to camp. Second place gets some of those eggs themselves, and the players prepare to fight hard for these prizes.
It’s not the hardest fight for some of them, though — because while each of them stays relatively even throughout the challenge, the puzzle sees Cooney act as solver while Mushaluk is only allowed to hand him pieces, the man literally trying out every single piece of the puzzle and finding no matches as the other two teams succeed around him. They grapple with this loss (while Gata delights in the hens they won in first place) while Chirichillo gets sent on a journey with Vidmar and Ruedaand the three are offered a conundrum:either one of them voluntarily loses their vote at the next tribal council and everyone gets an advantage, or nobody does, and they all lose their votes and a chance at an advantage.Feeling secure in their alliances, Teeny volunteers, securing them all three-way amuletsthat will grant them powers at the merge.
Back on Lavo, Rome is taking his gameplay to a new level by threatening Sol: if Sol doesn’t give him his Shot In The Dark, he’ll use his Steal a Vote advantage on him and take his vote anyway. Patel is excited to see even more strife and uses it as a chance to try and blindside their perceived leader, telling Cooney that they should tell Yi they’re voting out Genevieve to make the man feel comfortable while orchestrating Rome’s blindside with Mushaluk herself. It’s a plan that everyone, including a returning Chirichillo, agrees with —at least, until Genevieve hears that Patel threw her name out there and decides to reveal the entire plan to Rome, desperately trying to convince him and Yi to make up and work together so they can vote out the Kishan that night. Even with a halfhearted apology on Cooney’s behalf, Yi isn’t budging on voting the man out,leaving Genevieve anxious as they head to tribal council— and wondering whether her confession would be worth it.
You Can Never Get Comfortable on ‘Survivor’
There are countless ways that someone can get eliminated onSurvivor, though there is one absolute surefire way for any contestant to see their dreams get crushed early: feeling too relaxed. While Yi and Cooney tensely talk at tribal council, Patel is sitting cheerfully in the back, thrilled at watching the trouble he helped stir up play out in front of him — which is what makes him so shocked when Cooney plays his Steal a Vote on him. Kishan and Teeny (who doesn’t have a vote) can only watch in shock as everyone goes to vote. Mushaluk’s work pays off, with her, Rome, and Yivoting to send the man packing. He looks at Genevieve with shock as he gets from his seat and has Jeff snuff out his torch, the man becoming yet another grave warning thatbeing too relaxed onSurvivormeans it’s hard to notice when the target’s been put on you.
Yetanother tumultuous tribal council for the Lavo tribeleaves Teeny betrayed with Genevieve having to try and preserve that alliance, Cooney realizing that his perfect game could actually have some holes in it, and Yi disappointed but happy, excited for a new day with hopefully a hurt Chirichillo working with him to take the others down. It’s a quiet end for Patel that plants so many seeds for chaos down the road, clarifying something that viewers have been thrilled over for the past month: this is one of the messiestSurvivorseasons yet!
Survivoris available to watch on Paramount+ in the U.S.
A reality show where a group of contestants are stranded in a remote location with little more than the clothes on their back. The lone survivor of this contest takes home a million dollars.
