Survivor 51 Episode 6 Recap.
The Helicopter Alliance has come crashing down. Episode 6 of Survivor 51 featured many character moments that ended with another member of a Day 1 alliance being voted out. A lot of what happened this episode feels like it is setting up the very early merge. Like a filler episode of an anime, unimportant on its own, but helps set up the next arc.
The episode opens with the Dina tribe, specifically the original Savu 3, reacting to the insane tribal council. The edit focuses heavily on Eric’s feelings. Eric feels betrayed by Kilby, someone he considered to be a close friend. Eric now realizes that Kilby is the biggest threat in the game. Kilby wants to play hard and make moves, and what he did at the previous Tribal Council was just that.
Ultimately, this move solidified the relationship between Kilby and Lewis, which should lead to a big alliance with them, Carter, Maggie, and Thien An come the merge. Throughout most of the episode, Eric whines about the ‘rats’ on the tribe that he needs to get rid of. Sharonda, as usual, sees the situation clearly; Eric is being overly emotional once again. Despite what happened, Cristian realizes that the original Savu is a sinking ship, and forging a connection with Kilby and Lewis can help him in the merge.
The three remaining Savu members commiserate after the previous tribal. However, they realize the gravity of their situation. If they want to keep the Helicopter Alliance together, they have to win the next immunity challenge, no ifs or buts. Meanwhile, the group tries to keep morale high with a mini-fashion show. Devin also teaches Ori how to walk like a model, and he kills it.
At the Toka Tribe, Kristin and Mike both realize they are on the bottom and decide to idol hunt together. Despite being in the same five-person alliance on the original Toka, Brady and Mike’s relationship has completely deteriorated. Led by Brady, most of the original Toka members view Mike as a selfish player who brings no information. Despite not going to tribal, Mike’s view of the game and his relationships set a major precedent throughout the episode. This could set him up for a deep run, or explain why he gets voted out next episode. Mike views Brady as a domineering force around camp and wants to control everyone’s game. Mike then offers Kristin a deal to vote however she wants in exchange for safety. Kristin scoffs at the deal in confessionals but is savvy enough to say yes in the moment.
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Next, each tribe has to pick one member to go to the ‘summit.’ On the Dina Tribe, they put their Shots in the Dark into a bag. Cristian rigs the picking, forcing Sharonda to be picked and allowing him more time with Kilby and Lewis. This is a storyline to monitor. If Cristian does flip, it gives the underdogs on the original Toka even more power. On the Toka tribe, both Kristin and Mike volunteer to go. However, Kristin is picked as Thien An leads the charge to ice Mike out. Once again, we get more insight from Mike. He notes how obvious the rest of the tribe is being in their efforts against him. He says if he survives this tribe, he will win this season. With the Savu tribe, Ori is picked to go. Three original Savu members go to the summit.
When the three reconvene, Sharonda tells Kristin and Ori about Maggie's move. This wouldn’t be Survivor without a twist. The three are given another choice. Two players will leave with a plate of ribs and corn, and the third player will be sent to Exile Island. The catch is the person sent to Exile gains a tethered idol that can only be played on the other two. Sharonda knows Kristin well enough to stay quiet until she volunteers. Kristin eventually volunteers and is sent to Exile, and the other two are sent back to their camps.
Once Kristin arrives at Exile Island, she then gets further instructions on the power of the tethered idol. She can only play it on Ori or Sharonda; if they both get voted out, then the idol becomes a normal hidden immunity idol. Ori and Sharonda would want to keep Kristin around for the idol, but Kristin could want them out as soon as possible to gain a full idol for herself. This is what Austin did in Survivor 45. Once he got the three-way idol with J Maya and Kellie, he wanted them both out as soon as possible. Kristin is ecstatic on Exile. After applying to the show for 25 years, she is living the true Survivor experience. During this scene, we see clips of her past audition tapes that culminated in her on Exile Island. If Kristin eventually wins the season, this moment will be the breakthrough in her story.
Ori going to the summit might have put the final nail in his coffin. While he was gone, Devin and Jelly bond even more. They spent the day as two friends hanging out on the beach instead of two competitors fighting for one million dollars. Despite the bonding, Devin realizes he will have to cut Jelly at some point because their tight duo will make them a big target in the merge. When Ori returns, he tells them everything except the information about the idol. When Sharonda returns to the Dina Tribe, she tells the same story and also doesn’t mention the idol. Kilby and Lewis are immediately suspicious because it is not like Survivor to give something away without any catch.
Back on Toka, Carter decides to build a sack swing as a way to give the tribe something to do. Brady, Carter, Mike, and Thien An take turns swinging, and the group bonds a little bit. However, Maggie is not amused. She is tired of the antics of her tribe and wants to focus on more important tasks and play Survivor. The tribe has no food and no fire. She decides to use the tribes hammock to catch some fish. This not only annoys the rest of her tribe, but she also catches no fish. Another scene of Brady explaining his frustrations with Maggie follows. This might spare Mike if they were forced to go to Tribal Council. In the end, this doesn’t matter as Savu blows a lead on the puzzle and loses yet another immunity challenge.
The vote comes down to whether Devin and Jelly turn on each other or take the simple vote against Ori. Jelly makes it clear it won’t be her tonight and tells Devin and Ori about her idol. When Jelly tells Ori she can’t vote against Devin, he goes into overdrive. He tells her that keeping Devin will only make her threat level in the merge much larger. Ori makes a similar pitch to Devin to play for himself and separate himself from Jelly. Ultimately, Ori is unsuccessful and is voted out after a failed Shot in the Dark play. Devin and Jelly will enter the merge as a known tight duo, with many enemies from their original Toka Tribe.
Next week, the merge will show us who the most important characters are for the remainder of the season. Will Mike’s spike in visibility propel his story to the next level, or will it explain his downfall? Will Devin and Jelly find numbers? Who will Brady target first: Kilby, Maggie, or Mike? The main question is: will Kristin take this opportunity to strike at Sharonda, or will she remain close to her original tribemate?
