This article contains spoilers for Season 42 of “Survivor.”
Finally, we have made it to the most interesting part in the game of Survivor. It’s now the point in the post-merge where shit gets real. Instead of thinking, “How can I get rid of the annoying guy at camp?” players are thinking “Who could possibly beat me and how can I beat them? And how can I do it in a nice enough way that they’ll still vote for me to win at the end?” Hai’s vote-out in episode 10 officially marked this turning point for me.
Since people are now wanting to target big threats instead of the obvious picks (like Romeo) I thought for sure there was a good chance that my arch-nemesis, challenge beast Jonathan could get voted out. Stupidly, I forgot about the Do-or-Die twist.
The Do-or-Die twist, introduced last season, is when the first player to drop out of the immunity challenge is put at risk of being sent home without players even voting. At the start of tribal council, this player is presented with three closed boxes. One box has a fire symbol inside it representing their continued life in the game, and the two other boxes contain skull symbols, meaning they will be sent home if they choose either of these. Because the stakes are so high, players are able to opt out of the challenge if they feel they don’t need immunity.
This season, all but two players opt out of the episode 11 immunity challenge. The two competitors left are Lindsay and – of fucking course – Jonathan. This didn’t dash my hopes of Jonathan leaving completely, as Lindsay won two challenges in the last episode. But in what is one of the worst moments of the season – in my humble yet correct opinion – Jonathan wins immunity.
Because of this BS, Lindsay has to play Jeff Probst’s nefarious little Do-or-Die game, but it’s not as simple as you might think. After Lindsay picks a box, Jeff opens one of the ones she didn’t pick and reveals a skull symbol. After this, she has the option to switch her choice or stick with her original pick. This is what’s called a Monty Hall problem (à la Let’s Make a Deal) and avid reality TV fans and math nerds alike will know that the option with the highest chance of winning, mathematically, is to switch your choice. But Lindsay sticks with her gut and miraculously makes it through. This is the second time a Survivor contestant beat the odds of the Monty Hall problem, and let me just tell you, the Redditors are not happy.
Given Lindsay’s success, it means there will indeed be a tribal council. Unfortunately, Jonathan cannot be voted out because he has immunity. However, Jonathan’s second-in-command, macho man Mike, can be voted out. Mike has an immunity idol, but that’s no issue for Drea, who has an advantage that allows her to steal his idol – if she correctly guesses that he does have an idol at tribal council in front of everyone.
Sounds like a great move by Drea, until she reveals her advantage to Omar. SMH. By now, all Survivor fans should know that Omar is a sneaky little strategist. Obviously, he’s going to use this information to betray her because she’s a huge strategic threat with multiple advantages. Omar convinces Mike to hand over his idol to him, so when Drea asks Mike for his idol at tribal council, she’s the one left getting played. Everyone but Romeo ends up voting for her.
Drea goes out in a blaze of glory, throwing two votes at Mike with her extra vote and revealing Omar’s tendency to share secrets to the remaining players before her torch is snuffed. Drea may not have won Survivor, but over the past few weeks, she won all our hearts. Here’s hoping the few girlbosses left will vote out Jonathan this week – the last chance to do it before the finale special next week – otherwise we’ll be stuck hearing him wax poetic about how heroic it is that he made it to the final six while being a big, buff man for two hours.