Jaws drop as another “Survivor 48” castaway is sent to the jury. A pivotal vote amongst the final nine sets the tone for the rest of the game. Let’s recap it all and see which castaways are starting to position themselves for the end game.
(Warning: Spoilers Ahead)
“Survivor 48” Episode 9 Recap + Castaway Betting Odds
Episode Recap
Only the Strong Survive
Chrissy was very vocal about strong players and alliances bulldozing “Survivor 48.” Then she got voted out. Back at camp, David explains to the others, “Sometimes it’s like when the strong people get together; it’s like, ‘Hey! You can’t do that!’ Well, we did.”
The theme of “Survivor 48” up to this point is the “Strong Six” alliance. That’s Joe, Eva, Kyle, Shauhin, David and Mary. Their loyalty to one another is seemingly stronger than their own physical attributes. That leaves Kamilla, Mitch and Star on the bottom of this final nine group.
After basking in surviving another vote, David approaches Kamilla to smooth things out. He is skeptical of a possible Kyle and Kamilla alliance (which totally exists), with his sights set on taking out Kamilla to disrupt any secret plans. Kamilla knows this. So, when David tells her he only floated her name out in case Chrissy successfully played a shot in the dark, Kamilla isn’t buying it. She tells him not to worry about it because he’s a bad liar. Yikes.
A Split in the Strong Six
The focus of this episode of “Survivor 48” from start to finish is the tension between Kyle and David. After David suggested voting out Kamilla at the last tribal council, Kyle is doing everything in his power to keep Kamilla and eliminate David from the game.
Kyle tells Shauhin that David’s plan was, and still is, to take out Kamilla. He explains that David believes that taking out Kamilla weakens any undercover alliance within their “Strong Six.” Let’s be clear about something: David is spot on with this. However, if you are rooting for the Kyle/Kamilla alliance, it’s easy to view David as a villain.
Eva Goes Undercover
In the previous episode of “Survivor 48”, after winning the immunity challenge, Eva found a note revealing that she earned an advantage in the game. To claim the advantage, the note explains that Eva must sneak out of camp at night. Once she’s out of sight, she is to walk to a torch-lit area down the beach to claim her advantage.
After everyone is asleep, Eva makes her move. However, what she doesn’t know is that Shauhin sees her leave camp. He quietly wakes up Joe to inform him of what’s going on. Joe tells Shauhin he trusts Eva and will see how this plays out in the morning.
Once down the beach, Eva learns she has earned an extra vote. She has a choice to make, though. Eva can risk the extra vote and choose between two bamboo containers in an attempt to earn a “Safety Without Power” advantage. This advantage allows the castaway who possesses it to leave tribal council, guaranteeing safety, but without casting a vote. With a 50/50 chance of doing so, Eva decides to risk it and is successful!
Eva is then given the choice to risk her Safety Without Power advantage for a one-in-three chance at earning an immunity idol. She already has one immunity idol, which everyone knows about. There is some contemplation over risking it to gain an idol nobody knows about. Eva ultimately decides to keep her Safety Without Power and returns to camp.
Trust Built & Trust Broken
The very next morning, Eva reveals that she has the Safety Without Power advantage. However, she doesn’t tell everyone. This information is only revealed to Joe, Shauhin and Kyle. For those keeping track at home, this information is withheld from both David and Mary of the “Strong Six” alliance.
Kyle later meets with Joe. He tells him that David is paranoid regarding a potential Kyle/Kamilla alliance. Again, David isn’t paranoid; he’s correct! Alas, Kyle warns Joe that David is going to try to split the “Strong Six” alliance sooner rather than later.
David then meets with Joe. He reveals his fear that Kyle and Shauhin are not actually with the “Strong Six”, but devising plans with Kamilla to advance themselves in the game. David continues by saying this wouldn’t be an issue if they had just stuck to their plan of voting out Kamilla at the most recent tribal council. He subtly accuses Joe of “going back on his word” by voting for Chrissy. Joe makes it very well known that he stays true to his word and takes offense to David’ perception of the last vote.
Holding On for Dear Life
The final nine arrive for a crucial “Survivor 48” immunity challenge. Each castaway is positioned on a small, shoulder-width platform. Upon the platform, each castaway is to hold a horizontal bar underhand. The bar is connected to a metal track overhead that’s keeping a ball secured in place. If the castaway lowers the bar, the ball falls, and they are out. Additionally, if the castaway steps off the platform while trying to keep the bar/ball up, they are out.
At the start of the challenge, multiple castaways are eliminated rather quickly. Joe, Kyle, David and Shauhin are suddenly the last four standing. They’re also the focal point of tension within their own alliance. Go figure.
Joe and David find themselves in yet another showdown. Throughout their faceoff, Joe adjusts multiple times to keep his ball from falling. Just as it’s nearing the end of the track and about to fall, David loses his focus for a split second. He suddenly has to adjust and ends up taking a step off his platform.
Joe wins the immunity challenge. This challenge comes with a reward feast of wraps, soda, dessert and other nourishment. Joe is told to bring one person to join him. He chooses Mitch, who is the only “Survivor 48” castaway remaining who has yet to enjoy food on a reward. Joe is allowed two more guests. He chooses Shauhin and Eva.
Tribal Council
After the reward and before tribal council, a somewhat quiet war is taking place. David and Mary are still keen on taking out Kamilla, Shauhin or Kyle. However, they are fearful of Shauhin possessing an idol. They plan to vote out Mitch in hopes that Shauhin plays his potential idol on Kamilla, flushing it from the game.
Kyle, on the other hand, is ready to take a big swing and vote out David. He’s obviously a threat to his game, but also to “Survivor 48” as a whole, as someone who wins, or comes close to winning, every challenge. Kyle knows he has Kamilla and Shauhin, so he approaches Eva with the idea to vote out David.
Eva and Joe feel like they are in the middle. She reminds us that she struggles to get a definitive read on people and situations. This is ironic because, as Eva feels in the middle, she is the most powerful player remaining in “Survivor 48.”
At tribal council, the castaways continue discussing the notion that a core alliance can, and potentially will, go far in “Survivor 48” like nothing the game has ever seen. However, there is discussion about striking when the time is right, but the potential mistake of striking someone when they had no real plans to strike you at all. Ultimately, the group strikes. David is voted out with a 6-3 majority. He leaves the game stunned with his biggest ally, Mary, equally as shocked.
“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 ninth episode of “Survivor 48,” these power rankings reflect my thoughts on each player’s chances to win the game.
In five straight episodes, a player from the bottom three of the previous power rankings has been eliminated. This is more significant following the most recent episode because David was probably thought of higher by others. At some point, the top-five players are going to have to turn on one another. No matter how much respect there is between castaways, there’s always a vote looming.
- Eva (+400)
- Kyle (+500)
- Joe (+500)
- Kamilla (+600)
- Shauhin (+650)
- Mitch (+800)
- Mary (+1200)
- Star (+2000)
Power Rankings Analysis
The Favorites
Eva remains at the top of the “Survivor 48” power rankings. In theory, Eva can make it to the final six with her advantages alone. She has an immunity idol as well as Safety Without Power. It’s one thing for Eva to use both of her advantages to advance herself in the game. It’s an entire next level of strategy and credit to save others with her advantages while also advancing herself in the game. If she wins more immunity challenges, she will be hard to beat.
Kyle and Joe are right behind Eva. Throughout the entirety of “Survivor 48”, Joe has been a clearly well-liked player. In this episode alone, multiple castaways approached him to talk about the game. He’s rarely talked about. I would be lying if I said I wasn’t worried about a potential blindside coming Joe’s way, however. While it would take out a huge threat and weaken Eva’s numbers, it does guarantee a vote for Eva at the end of the game if she’s there.
The Mid-Range
Kamilla can win this game. She probably can’t win this game if she’s sitting next to Kyle at the end. Kyle is far more in the loop with big-picture plans, but she certainly provides checks and balances to help them both progress. While she remains loyal and steady in her alliance(s), Kamilla has yet to coordinate a big move of her own. Unfortunately, that big move may be to take out Kyle.
Shauhin is a sneaky player. Everyone knows it, and he’s been voted for a few times because of it. In this episode, we saw a flashback montage of Shauhin laying the groundwork to vote out David. His intentions were clear. Rather than telling others to vote for David, he planted seeds about David as a threat, so they could begin to see it for themselves. Brilliant.
The Longshots
Hopefully, after finally getting to eat, Mitch finds new life in this game. He was a challenge beast before the merge, but has faded since. Mitch hasn’t quite recovered since his biggest ally, Charity, was voted out. If he can find some footing soon, he could make a late-game push.
Mary might be screwed. She rose from the ashes as the only remaining Vula member with 10 players left in the game. However, she teamed up with David to be her No. 1 ally moving forward. With him gone, Mary has to start all over… again. It could be an epic story of perseverance if she makes it to the end, but she will have to stand out at some point to win the game.
Star is an incredible castaway for the show rather than the actual game of “Survivor 48.” We saw a few great moments from Star in this episode. She committed to learning how to swim, couldn’t help but publicly laugh through a tense tribal council, but ultimately voted incorrectly. It’s hard to imagine a final three in which Star has a chance of pitching her case to win the game against any combination of two others.
Thanks for reading my “Survivor 48″ Episode 9 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.
