Survivor 44 VIBE CHECK: Fake idols and the real consequences of sitting out challenges

You can only outwit and outlast so long before you’re forced to outplay.

Warning: DO NOT READ IF YOU HAVEN’T WATCHED EPISODE 3 OF SURVIVOR 44.

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Welcome to Survivor Vibe Check! Each Thursday this season, Blake Schuster and Bryan Kalbrosky will chat about last night’s episode to see who is thriving and who is straight up not having a good time on the islands of Fiji. Season 44 got off to an absolutely chaotic start.  Episode 2 sowed strategies and alliances. Episode 3 exposed some tribal priorities. Let’s dig into it.

Blake: Well, Episode 3 was maybe the easiest vote they’ll have all season. We’ve talked a lot about what makes good gameplay on Survivor, especially early on. Claire’s exit reminded us that you have to actually play the game in order to stay. Sitting out twice in the first two challenges is questionable at best. Once that streak reaches three you officially have a target on your back. I believe Danny said it best: there’s a camaraderie you build with your tribe during challenges.

Bryan: Let’s just put it this way: I know that if I were hungry as heck and had just done something physically exhausting and challenging, I would be resentful of the person who didn’t have to go through that awful experience with me. It was like when someone was excused from the mile run in P.E. class. Why do I have to do this but not you?! She said all the right things in tribal, but the fate was sealed.

Blake: Even if the Soka tribe had won immunity again, I still think she’s dealing with the same issue for that exact reason. Other tribemates are hungry and tired and might need a rest, too. You have to be able to carry some of that weight and curry favor there. We don’t have the benefit of seeing what life is like at camp 24/7 but for how strategic Claire tried to play early on, I’d like to imagine she could pick up on who was struggling at the time.

Claire was sent packing having never participated in an immunity challenge and without casting a vote. That’s rough. I know Sandra talked a lot about not being a physical player at all and relying on her social game, but she knew you can’t just sit out every time.

Bryan: I just have to wonder how much of the decision to sit out actually came from the tribe suggesting her each time, as she said, or if it was more of a self-volunteer. It’s a bummer because we’ll never know if she could have helped them during challenges, but this was a valuable lesson for future players.

Blake: Yeah I don’t really care if it was her tribe asking her to do it. At some point you have to fight for yourself and your resume and say “I’m playing”. 

Elsewhere on Soka, Danny did an excellent job getting back into the birdcage, putting the fake idol in and getting Matt to think he found an advantage. THAT is how you build a resume and take control of the game.

Bryan I think Danny had a 10/10 episode. His performance was masterful. It was executed to perfection. Hopefully, for his sake, Matt does not use the fake idol any time soon — that’ll make everyone paranoid about who set that up. But when the showrunners decided to create a fake idol, this is exactly what they had in mind.

Speaking of fake idols…

Blake: Matthew! Welcome to the game!

Bryan: That was nice work, too, but the Plant Daddy nickname has gotta go. Meanwhile, I still wish he would show some consistency about when his shoulder hurts and needs to be in a sling versus when he feels like participating in a challenge. My guy: You have a former NFL player on your tribe. You don’t need to be the one reaching for the key! It feels like he is going to inevitably exacerbate this injury.

Blake: Did he pop his shoulder back in during that challenge!?

Bryan: I don’t know but if I’m a doctor or physical therapist watching this show, I would be infuriated with the way he treats that sling.

Blake: Aside from Danny and Matt figuring out how to use their fake idols, and Claire continuing to do Claire things, this was really just a calm episode. Which means we’re due for some chaos. Tribe swap to start episode four, perhaps?

Bryan: It certainly seems like something big is about to happen next week. I wouldn’t mind seeing Frannie and Matt (for my J.D. Salinger heads, I initially typed Franny and Zooey) on tribes apart from one another before their postgame road trip begins.

Blake: Our dorky magnets will always find their way back to each other, don’t you worry.