While the voting is almost unanimous among the remaining “Survivor 48” castaways, this is a very fractured group. Big moves are inevitably on the horizon.
Let’s recap everything that’s setting up for an all-out war and power rank the remaining castaways before it begins!
(Warning: Spoilers Ahead)
“Survivor 48” Episode 8 Recap + Castaway Betting Odds
Episode Recap
The Challenge Before the Challenge
For this episode’s immunity challenge, the castaways are told ahead of time that they will need to divide into five pairs before arriving. There is an awkward silence upon learning this information. It’s a challenge for everyone to refrain from revealing their preference as to how they should split up. Joe finally explains that there shouldn’t be any feelings involved. Hours later, they’re going to have to vote someone out at tribal council, so they might as well take control now and all play how they want to while they can.
Joe is smart. He softball tossed the idea of the tribe deciding how to split up rather than doing so randomly, so he could see which players preferred to play with one another. Immediately, we see Shauhin team up with Kamilla. David then chooses Mary. These are examples of duos within larger alliances that Joe was hoping to identify.
The Discussions After the Decisions
After finalizing their immunity challenge pairs, the tribe branches off to discuss the decisions that were made. Mitch and Star seemed to be the last two to pair up, not by choice. He starts to compare the merge of “Survivor 48” to the lunchroom at school at the start of a new year.
Mitch acknowledges that there are five original Civa members still in the game. That’s half of the final 10 remaining castaways. He starts to wonder if the original five Civa can pull in Mary, the last remaining original Vula member. If they can, then they may be able to eliminate one of the four remaining original Lagi members: Joe, Eva, Shauhin or Star. The odds are in Civa’s favor as far as one of them winning this immunity challenge to further this potential plan.
Meanwhile, there continues to be a discussion of a “Strong Five” consisting of David, Joe, Eva, Kyle and Shauhin. David claims he can pull in Mary, his partner for the challenge, if need be, for the upcoming vote, so that this group can maintain control of the game. This would mean voting out either Chrissy, Kamilla, Mitch or Star.
Tension, Teamwork & Tacos
At the immunity challenge, the tribe splits up into the predetermined pairs. This challenge is broken up into three stages. The first stage requires each pair to crawl through a sand-filled, narrow cage, collecting a large plank as they go. Once through, the pair is to dig in a designated area for another plank. Once both planks are collected, they are to plant a small flag in the sand in order to move on.
The last two pairs to complete the first stage are eliminated from the challenge. Additionally, the four eliminated castaways will take a journey where one of them will lose their vote at the next tribal council. Unfortunately, Mitch/Star and Kamilla/Shauhin fell short in this stage.
In the second stage, the remaining pairs had to build a staircase using puzzle-related stair pieces to reach the top of a platform. Once at the top, each pair uses a set of the three planks to help one another cross a rope bridge. Chrissy/Kyle were eliminated after this stage, but did not have to go on a journey.
The final stage is an individual immunity challenge. Eva, David, Joe and Mary simply needed to each hold onto a large pole. Whoever holds on the longest wins. Thankfully, these four castaways will all do so, having earned a reward: tacos and cupcakes. David and Joe did not last very long. Eventually, Eva outlasted Mary, earning her first individual immunity.
Talking Over Tacos
Eva, David, Joe and Mary enjoy a massive spread of build-your-own tacos. While they are feasting, Eva finds a small scroll hidden in a bowl of tortilla chips. She keeps this discovery a secret. Later, she reads the scroll, which explains she can sneak out of camp at night to claim an advantage in the game.
During this discovery and the feast, there is obviously a discussion of strategy. David is worried about Shauhin. Kamilla recently told David that Shauhin likely has an idol, but he doesn’t. David is skeptical that Shauhin and Kamilla may be working together. Rather than take a shot at Shauhin, David suggests voting out Kamilla. Mary, who is seemingly aligned with David at this point, agrees.
“The Red Balls Are Bad”
Kamilla, Mitch, Shauhin and Star go on a brief journey. Once there, they learn they will need to compete against one another in a game. Whoever loses the game leaves the journey without their vote for the upcoming tribal council. Each of these castaways has a designated, empty bamboo chut. There is a large bamboo chute full of mostly gray balls, but with a few red balls interspersed.
One by one, each castaway will take turns removing either one or two balls at a time, whichever they decide. If they are forced to remove a red ball, they place it in their designated bamboo chute. Whoever is forced to collect three red balls first loses the game and loses their vote. There is a nonverbal agreement between Kamilla and Mitch to conspire against Star. They do so effectively, strategizing the correct number of gray balls to take and when, forcing Star to collect three red balls before anyone else. Star leaves the journey without a vote.
Tribal Council
Heading into tribal council, it appears the vote is between Chrissy and Kamilla. There is a strong push by David to vote out Kamilla so that the “Strong Five” (plus Mary) can move forward cleanly. This causes Kyle to panic since Kamilla is his secret top ally in the game. He makes a pitch to his alliance to keep Kamilla because she is more willing to work with them than Chrissy is. This pitch is a red flag for David, who becomes aware that Kyle and Kamilla may be closer than anyone realizes.
At tribal council, Chrissy word vomits pretty much the entire time. There is a constant theme throughout this episode, even dating back to the one prior, about Chrissy wanting to make big moves and take out big threats. She doesn’t want to watch strong challengers and those with strong bonds coast to the end of “Survivor 48” so easily.
She had already suggested voting out Joe to others, which Joe became aware of. However, when he shared his concerns about Chrissy with his alliance, they were firm in their desire to vote out Kamilla now and Chrissy next.
As tribal council continues, Chrissy emphasizes the importance of breaking up strong alliances and tearing down top competitors. You can see quite literally everyone shifting in their seats, uneasy about her blatant desires. In the voting booth, Chrissy even admits she shouldn’t have been so forward. Chrissy is ultimately voted out 8-1, with a lone vote from her put on Shauhin.
“Survivor 48” Castaway Betting Odds + Power Rankings
Every week, I’ll have the remaining “Survivor 48” castaways ranked and paired with odds to win the game. Just like any other set of rankings, these are fluid based on new information from each episode.
After the eighth episode of “Survivor 48,” these power rankings reflect my thoughts on each player’s chances to win the game.
In four straight episodes, players from the bottom three of the previous power rankings have been eliminated each time. This season has been extremely chalky. Players expected to get voted out have been voted out. Ironically, Chrissy just went home and was the most outspoken about making big moves to shake things up. Still, it could be chaos from here on out.
- Eva (+500)
- Kyle (+600)
- Joe (+600)
- Kamilla (+600)
- Shauhin (+700)
- Mitch (+800)
- David (+900)
- Mary (+1200)
- Star (+2000)
Power Rankings Analysis
The Favorites
Eva has the only active immunity idol in “Survivor 48” and an unknown advantage she will get to claim in next week’s episode. She’s also fresh off her first individual immunity challenge win. Even when we saw discussions between Chrissy and Kyle about taking her down, the emphasis was on eliminating Joe, her biggest ally, rather than Eva herself. She sits atop the “Survivor 48” power rankings as the safest player to this point.
Kyle, Kamilla and Joe are all similarly valued. However, Kamilla and Joe have been discussed as potential vote-outs, while Kyle has not been. These three and Eva seem the most tight-knit. They could pull in one other player, like Star or Mitch, at the next tribal council and run this game for the foreseeable future.
The Mid-Range
Shauhin, Mitch and David have all fallen a bit in the “Survivor 48” power rankings. As numbers start to dwindle, they have more work to do to avoid going home and taking those out above them. Shauhin continues to come up in conversation as a sneaky threat. There is also a rumor he has an immunity idol, which he does not. He could be the odd man out of the majority alliance sooner rather than later.
Mitch is struggling. The once-dominant challenge threat is the only remaining castaway who hasn’t won a reward. It shows. He has lost his closest ally, and if he continues to lose challenges, he could lose this game.
I keep coming back to our first introduction to David in the first episode of “Survivor 48.” When discussing his role in the game, he stated, “They might see me as the hero. They might see me as the villain. Truth be told, sometimes, I’m both.” David excelled in the early part of “Survivor 48” with clearly defined tribes and alliances. So far, since the merge, he seems to be struggling with the continuous change that comes with navigating so many others on one tribe sharing a path toward the end.
The Longshots
Star is having more of an impact on the show than she is on the game. She lost her vote, but still wasn’t seen involved in any strategic conversations in this episode. However, she kept things light at tribal council and seems very well-liked by the rest of the tribe.
Mary is the last remaining original Vula member, consistently competitive in challenges, but the constant “plus one” in any voting plan. She will need to take more control of the game if she is going to rise up in the “Survivor 48” power rankings.
Thanks for reading my “Survivor 48″ Episode 8 Recap + Castaway Betting Odds.” For more entertainment content, check out our other blogs here at In-Between Media (IBT). And be sure to follow me @Colin_McT for more Survivor content.
