They say that to make an omelette you have to break some eggs. This week, in somehow the most scintillating stretch of this superb Survivor season yet, that blood and yolk was spilled from the formerly reigning Breakfast Club. So strong was their apparent grip on the dynamics, that fans worried the season would become a slow, tepid march to the end. However, an opposing group of underdogs drove their fractures into chasms, seizing control in a series of devastating blindsides that already cement this season as top-tier.
Protection
The methodical dismantling of the Breakfast Club by the ragtag No BS alliance of former Yontaus, Phil, Dino and Felix, was delivered in three clear phases – first protection. After Steffi spent all of last week assuring the numbers with her covert operation, Salan came back to camp as a newly merged tribe with her day one Breakfast Club alliance – now Steffi, Danté, Meryl, Marian, Shane and Killarney - in control and the balance of power intentionally obscured. While most of the outsiders could see the writing on the wall even within the communal vote for Palesa, Toni was convinced Steffi and Killarney were still on their side.
As Steffi continued her subterfuge in convincing night-time chats, Toni was waging a war against Meryl and Danté with absolutely no army behind her. Felix, Dino and Phil leapt off this sinking ship, drawing closer to Danté, Steffi and Marian, respectively, to bide their time until an inevitable crack. Piling votes on Tejan to show workability while the majority sent Toni out the door, the trio particularly used Felix’s influence and their combined social capital and intel to achieve their only current goal – protection for each other.
Infiltration
The next phase of the plan was to infiltrate. Danté’s two-week-long campaign against Dino was again building, but almost everyone at camp was firing back. Having initially been neither in the loop nor the firing line, Phil and Dino were now included in the inevitable coup against Danté by his own allies, as Felix was left trying to strike a middle ground while two of his closest friends in the game went to war. Undoubtedly on a mission, Danté was very much of the mind that neither he nor Dino could live while the other survived but, fed up with his demeanour, their proximity to him as a target and his threat potential, his allies told him what he needed to hear then cut the cord.
Fascinatingly, within this vote Meryl’s name was mentioned by ride or die, Marian, as she ascended the hierarchy on the back of an immunity win, Outpost visit and reward advantage won at the merge. Once the Danté blindside was complete, the Meryl plan was in motion and the trio gladly jumped on this major splinter in the game’s powerful Full Package alliance of Meryl, Marian and Steffi.
However, a splinter is not a break, and Felix saw the opportunity for true disruption. As Steffi told us that Felix is honourable, trustworthy and not a threat to her game, she also revealed to him future plans to take out his close ally Dino. Felix had spent many of the recent Tribal Councils powerless and playing up his vocal confusion, but he took that ammo and ran with it, turning a simple Meryl blindside at the majority’s convenience, to a delicate Steffi blindside to their absolute detriment. To paraphrase Dino, why empower the majority to crumble on their own terms when you can topple their hierarchy entirely?
Informing Meryl of her allies’ treachery, and pulling in Tejan as a swing vote with a little added sweetener in the gift of Meryl’s reward advantage, Steffi was sent home in a 5-4 blindside of the season as the Full Package ruptured from the inside. The lessons? Targeting threats may be imperative, but betraying loyalties too early can be even more costly. Also, never underestimate anyone in this game, no one is here to squander their second shot at a once-in-a-lifetime dream.
Domination
Through two elevating votes, the No BS alliance were in actual power, and they used that momentum to swing like a pendulum to target Meryl themselves. They went on the post-blindside apology tour, where Dino particularly bonded with Marian over their shared respect for the game. With limited options, everyone but Tejan was brought into a captivating Meryl blindside. The alliance still had obstacles – Meryl held both a Tribal Council Pass and a 50/50 coin that could offer her safety but so strong was their manipulation that she sent Marian out of tribal council rather than saving herself and took her coin home as a souvenir.
This is a strong move with inherent risks for the trio of Yontau men. They’ve lost the shield of Marian and Meryl’s palpable and uncomfortable divide, and now more clearly come back as only three of seven. Logic should dictate that this makes them the next target, but Survivor isn’t always logical. It’s up to them to consolidate their cross-group relationships or go the way of every player who has run things so far – straight out the door.
Farewells
Toni’s death warrant was signed on the reads of last week where she protected and empowered Steffi over probable allies, only to be immediately turned on at the first available opportunity. Outspoken and uniquely attached to signifiers like integrity and honour that seem to bypass much of the rest of this ruthless cast, her bold, emotional approach dictated plenty of the action this season. She leaves as the last of the season six returnees, the representatives of the iconic reboot season, gone far too soon.
From the very first vote, Danté’s game style this time personified big moves. Once more strategically adrift other than trying to cobble together the loose outsiders near the end of his first tenure and far too late, Danté was ahead of the strategic game this season from the moment he carved into his own alliance instantly. That approach, his communication style, his status as a physical threat and a laser-sharp focus on Dino made him stand out. His blindside was so inevitable that even he seemed more surprised by the timing of it than the action itself. The perfect leader and heel for this season, his character contribution as an increasingly dramatic villain and legitimate strategic leader contributed immensely to the narrative.
Steffi came into her pre-season interview much softer than her harsh warrior reputation and she built on that evolution through the game as a social butterfly and strategic force. Glimpses of her former self were apparent. She sometimes battled in reining in her strong emotions, and walked on water literally and figuratively, even as she attempted to neutralise the moniker of challenge beast. However, even in fewer days than last time, her game revealed many more layers. With some of the season’s best moves, an idol that left in her pocket, long-term mental manipulation and central positioning throughout her time on the island, Steffi’s game warranted the biggest blindside of the season, a painstaking show of absolute respect.
Meryl came into the season with high expectations. Viewed as a triple threat in Survivor skills whose first game was stopped too quickly in its tracks, Meryl made good on these predictions for all the reasons then used to take her out. As the social mother figure with an array of trinkets to her name, her competitors saw in her what the viewers had, and swiftly put a stop to her continued game potential. Again, the small solace of a compliment for a game well played.
Twist Check
The week was filled with reward dilemmas, Outpost decisions and a dynamic challenge and auction hybrid-style merge taken from Australian Survivor: Brains V Brawn. Meryl gave up her vote for a 50/50 coin, then got sent home with it, Marian turned down an Idol for rice, then regretted it, Tejan found an Idol but wasted it, Meryl’s Tribal Council Pass was used against her and Steffi’s Idol left with her too. That means the only strategic trinket currently in the game is Dino’s legacy style Save the Date advantage that will send the holder to the Outpost on Day 32. No actual advantage has been wielded correctly yet, making items something of a curse as they travel through this season’s revolving door.
Biggest Winner: Dino won the numbers, the war against Danté, immunity and a car! If you aren’t cheering for his success, you may be watching the show wrong.
Biggest Loser: Poor Tejan spent the whole week as a shifting decoy, number and outsider of only limited use to the power players. Losing challenges in inches, literally begging on his knees to go to rewards – to no avail – and both starting and ending the week on the outs of the vote, it was hard to watch this one-time Godfather get slightly swallowed up by the game.
Shocking Moment: Phil peed his pants in a challenge and then won that same challenge.
Best Quote: “We’ll one up Toni. She won’t give Danté a [jury] vote, we’ll give her Danté to spend two weeks with her at Ponderosa.” Marian meets Toni’s parting kiss of death by uniting a new odd couple.
Prediction: Everything I’ve learned about this season has told me what goes up must come down, so the No BS alliance may be in trouble.
