‘Survivor: Winners At War’ Recap: “The Full Circle”

Reward Challenge

We knew this week’s Survivor was the loved ones visit. And we knew more family members were coming out this time, so it had to take up more of the episode’s runtime. And when the episode starts with it, we knew we were in for an even extra extended loved ones segment. So that’s exactly what we got. And, well, I’m conflicted about it.

I’ve never been a fan of the loved ones visit. I can’t explain it, it just doesn’t resonate with me. It’s not lost on me how emotional and life-giving it must be for the contestants. While I don’t particularly enjoy it from a fan standpoint, I know I’d be right there with them, blubbering mess and all, if I were ever a contestant on the show and made it to this point.

But by spending so much time on it this week, all it did was take away from seeing more of the strategy and gameplay in the works. That’s something this season has been lacking already (coughEdgeOfExtinctioncough), and this episode took it to even greater lengths, spending about 25 minutes on the loved ones visit.

(And okay, I’ll concede that one of Survivor’s greatest moments was in a loved ones challenge.)

But even with all that, at least we get a challenge out of it…or do we? We don’t. The additional twist this season is that there was no challenge. Every contestant and their loved ones went back to the beach for a feast and to hang out.

I love it for the players; I can’t even imagine how happy this made them. And for an epic season like this, that’s okay. In looking at the bigger picture, this serves as a celebration of the show and its impressive history as much as anything else. Survivor’s earned this. The players have earned it. These castaways have all played huge parts in shaping Survivor into what it is today. I, and fans everywhere, are forever grateful for that and what they and this show have given us.

That being said, I still wanted a challenge. I wanted to see someone win and have to crush someone’s feelings by not picking them to accompany the winner on the reward. People always take it personally and it often makes for great drama back at camp.

Survivor took it even one step further this season, bringing family members to those stuck on the Edge. Again, great for them, fine for this one time. It’s nice seeing the players get a small reprieve from the game.

While I would have preferred the show kept to the traditional loved ones format, I’m okay with a one time change. This is Survivor’s 40th season, it’s freaking Winners at War. If there was ever a season to do it this way, it was this one. I hope beyond hope that this won’t become a recurring thing (and my gut says it won’t), but for this one time, I’m okay letting it slide.

Immunity Challenge

Ah, that’s the good stuff. After a dud of a first half, Survivor comes back with a great Immunity Challenge. Each contestants has to spell out the word “IMMUNITY” on a table they must balance with a long rope while going back and forth for one letter at a time.

These challenges are great. Getting to see people come *so* close, only to have the fruits of their labor tumble, literally and figuratively. The winner also comes away with two Fire Tokens this time. Tony wins, his first individual immunity win ever.

Pre-Tribal

The tribe of 10 has divided into two distinct groups of five: Sarah, Sophie, Tony, Ben, and Nick vs. Jeremy, Tyson, Kim, Denise, and Michele. And with a dead even split, players start to seriously take stock of what advantages and idols they have at their disposal.

Here is where the inklings of a potential Advantage-geddon begins. Jeremy mentions his Safety Without Power, Kim talks about using her idol to save someone else. Sarah and Sophie discuss Sarah using her Steal A Vote. It’s bringing back horrible memories of our dear Cirie in Game Changers.

Tribal Council

We don’t get a lot of conversation…to start. Right as Jeff announces it’s time to vote, both Sarah and Jeremy stop Jeff. After some hemming and hawing, Jeremy uses his Safety Without Power, leaving Tribal Council, ensuring his safety while sacrificing his vote. Though I’m sure he was conflicted, given the position it left his alliance in, it was absolutely the correct move. And I try not to be a results-based thinker, but with Sarah using her Steal A Vote advantage, Jeremy staying may not have done anything other than get himself voted out. Sarah steals Denise’s vote, giving her group a 6-3 advantage.

This was a great move on Sarah’s part. A lesser player might have seen their 5-4 edge and saved the advantage. But by giving themselves an extra vote, it allowed them to safely split the vote 3-3 between two players. If an idol was played on one of the two, Sarah’s side would be able to vote out the other on the revote.

And there was one idol in play, Kim’s. Though her decision was a questionable one. Instead of playing it on herself, she played it on Denise. I don’t get this move at all. Either save yourself or have the stones to not play it at all. A player of Kim’s caliber should have seen the other side’s plan. Unless she was the target, the idol would be effectively wasted.

But here’s the other thing: Tyson received four votes (at least four votes; we didn’t see the final vote, so it could have been five). That means one of two things. One, Sarah’s group of five isn’t as smart as we thought. That’s doubtful. Someone in that group would have realized how doing that would leave them vulnerable to being idoled out of the game. Or, and this seems more likely, someone on Kim’s side flipped. We’ll have to wait for the Survivor wikia to be updated to know for sure how the votes shook out.

It was all very confusing and I hope we get some resolution next week. And Jeremy has some damage control to do, after leaving his alliance out to dry. I think the best case scenario for him is that the rest of his group views Sarah’s Steal A Vote play as the nail in their coffin anyway, that even with him there, they likely would have been drawing dead anyway. That might too simplistic and a bit too much to hope for, but we’re talking best case. But Jeremy’s a smooth, smart player. I think he’ll find a way out of it (but an immunity win certainly wouldn’t hurt).

And there’s the beauty of Survivor. Even in an episode where nearly half the run time is just the contestants hanging out with their families, with no real gameplay happening, the show still provides a packed back half full of big (if confusing) moments.