Firebrand Toni’s turbulent stay on Survivor South Africa: Philippines ended with a pointed finger and a muttered warning at Tribal Council this week (19 July) as her ‘Mindanao Strong’ alliance mates ditched her in the home stretch of the game.
Treemail news that Reward and Immunity Challenges would be combined this week was bad for Toni, who desperately needed time to try and scramble up off the bottom of the tribal pecking order. When, unable to win the challenge, she was sent to Exile Island with Annalize by winner Tom – finding news there that they’d be heading straight to Tribal Council, without any time to confer with the other Castaways – she could only hope that her alliance would hold strong.
As the seven remaining Castaways convened at Tribal Council after a day of being scattered, they only had enough time for quick eye contact and subtle gesturing to confirm their plan before Nico Panagio quizzed them. Once the votes were in, “Wow guys, really?” was all that Toni could ask, glancing around at her supposed allies as Nico read out her name a third time. When he raised the fourth voting parchment with her name on it – enough votes to send her off the Araw beach and onto the Jury – she gathered her things with a warning to the rest of the Castaways not to trust Werner and pointed at him, spitting “snake”, before collecting her torch.
An original member of the ‘Mindanao Strong’ bloc, Toni was one of the blues’ most fervent supporters. A constantly reassuring presence whenever one of her alliance members looked like faltering, her faith only wavered for the first time in episode 8 when she felt like her alliance members across the other tribes weren’t supporting her and PK enough in rooting out the ‘reds’, after they sent Tevin home in an epic blindside.
Her dissatisfaction only grew after Merge as she saw former reds Tom and Annalize climb above her in the majority alliance, and repeated heated exchanges with Werner and Katinka over their apparent lack of a credible plan alienated her from the majority.
The Challenge saw the Castaways competing for safety at Tribal Council, as well a Survivor-style feast, including steak, salad and cocktails. To win, they’d have to complete an obstacle course and arrange a set of picture blocks in a specific order, from memory. Werner initially charged ahead, but when Nico told him his solution was incorrect, Tom took the gap and claimed the win.
Presented with the Individual Immunity Necklace, he was also offered the chance to take two people with him to enjoy the feast. Having gone down on one knee to ask Jeanne if she would join him as a ‘thank you’ for vociferously defending him at Tribal Council after Merge, he chose Werner as their third, at her prompting. In true Survivor South Africa style, there was another twist – he had to select two Castaways to send to Exile Island, leaving two to return to Araw. He named Annalize and Toni (who volunteered) as the Exiles, leaving Katinka and PK to head back to the beach.
At Exile Island, Annalize and Toni received Treemail which indicated that there was a ‘buried treasure’ which would give them an advantage, along with a stamina boost from Biostrath tonic and a meal of fresh fruit. After scouting around, they unearthed a box which contained a message explaining that they had secured an extra vote to use at Tribal Council, any time before the Final 5. Toni set about outlining a plan to use it, but Annalize, safe in the knowledge that she was on the right side of the majority alliance, simply nodded and smiled – her mind fixed on making sure that she had a plan to keep the vote in play, with Toni likely to leave.
At the Reward feast, Werner abstained from the gin that Tom and Jeanne rushed to drink, with an eye on gleaning information and lining up the rest of his game. It worked, too, as the loose-lipped duo gave him a number of insights, and when they received a message that they were to go straight to Tribal Council, he just had to hope that the rest of the scattered alliance would stick to the plan hatched on the beach that morning.
Meanwhile, Katinka was happy to share the lie of the alliance land with a gleeful PK as they enjoyed their time on what they christened ‘KaPeekay Island’. He couldn’t believe his luck as she laid bare her strategy – in what she said in an interview was a bid to secure his Jury vote – while they tidied up the shelter area and cooked dinner.
Once the votes and been read and Toni had delivered her stinging rebuke, she kept to her word one final time and left the extra vote rolled up inside her hat, for Annalize to collect and use to advance her game. “In case you were wondering, it’s game on – and your window of opportunity is getting tighter and tighter,” was Nico’s parting shot to the Castaways as they collected their torches and headed back to the Araw beach.
Tune in to Survivor South Africa: Philippines next week (Thursday 26 July, 19:00 on M-Net 101) to see if PK can use his newfound information, how Annalize choses to use her extra vote and whether anyone will heed Toni’s parting warning.
Also make a note to catch the fun-filled YouTube episode of Live After: Survivor South Africa on the DStv Online YouTube page, where the voted-off castaway will be in conversation with host Phil Mphela at 20:05 each week, directly after Survivor SA airs on M-Net 101. Want to ask a castaway a burning question? Tweet using #LiveAfter and @survivorsa and Phil could get it answered in the ‘Ask Me Anything’ segment of the show.
While fans of the show enjoy all the action in the episode, there are also some magnificent prizes up for grabs on the Survivor SA: Philippines website:
- A Huawei P20 Pro phone valued at R15 499.
- A 1-year supply of Bio-Strath products valued at R10 000.
- A delicious Steers Wacky Wednesdays voucher for one year, valued at R2800.
- A brand new DStv Explora 2.
All you have to do is to go to www.mnet.tv/survivorsa and answer the weekly quiz question. Every entry then also goes into the draw for the grand prize of a tropical island holiday experience for four, brought to you by Cathay Pacific and Club Med. And, if you’d like to earn additional points, explore the island and find the Huawei P20 Pro phone in our 360 VR experience.
Survivor South Africa: Philippines is also streamed live on DStv Now and available on DStv Catch Up within 24 hours of the live show. You can also catch the repeat on Sunday afternoons at 17:00 on M-Net Channel 101.
Survivor SA is powered by the Huawei P20 Pro and is produced by Afrokaans Film and TV.