Three Immunity Idols played in one fell swoop forced a second round of voting during Tribal Council on Survivor South Africa: Philippines and saw Chané become the second castaway ousted from the Araw beach and sent to the Jury.
At a fiery Tribal Council which saw the Mindanao-led Araw pecking order publicly laid bare by PK and had Jeanne vociferously defending Tom, host Nico Panagio’s offer for the any castaway in possession of a Hidden Immunity Idol, to play it, saw three takers – Palesa, PK and Werner.
Palesa famously picked hers up from Nico’s plinth at Tribal Council in Episode 5 and Werner has 2 after picking one up at the Balance Beam challenge in Episode 3 and finding the 1 Ace had been frantically searching for, in Episode 6. PK picked up a clue while sitting out this week’s Reward Challenge and subsequently unearthed the Idol near the Araw well.
He must have been thanking his lucky stars as the 5 votes which went against him – enough to send him to Ponderosa – were nullified. Werner picked up 2 votes, vindicating his decision to play 1 of his Idols, leaving Tom and Chané tied with a single vote, each.
A second round of voting was called – for the second time this season – with only the former allies in danger. Once Araw had voted again, Chané picked up 4 votes to Tom’s 2 – enough to send her to join Vusi at Ponderosa.
Chané had played a pivotal role in the formation of the ‘Big Five’ alliance at the original Luzon, when she floated the idea of blindsiding Seamus, to Annalize. In Episode 3, Chané and Tom grew close after she picked up the Hidden Immunity Idol under the platform for him at the Reward Challenge. When the tribe shuffle happened in Episode 4 and 4 former Luzon members assumed the majority at Visayas, Chané’s alliance with Tom pitted her against Vusi & Palesa, as they vied for the attentions of new tribe member Murishca as the swing vote.
The blowout between Tom and Murishca during the challenge in episode 5 set in motion a chain of events which saw Murishca side with Palesa & Vusi, with Palesa telling Chané she was in danger of being voted out, in an attempt to get Tom to play ‘his’ Immunity Idol for her, so that they could vote Tom out. When Tom unnecessarily played the Idol to save himself at Tribal Council, Chané felt betrayed and started to consider switching allegiances. Having decided to side with Vusi and Palesa by Episode 6, she was distraught to see Tom make it to Merge in Episode 9, having been vociferous about the need to vote him out before that happened.
Seeking a leg up with the Mindanao majority at Araw who had seized the opportunity to recruit Tom after his former tribemates left him isolated at Merge, she even offered herself up to Annalize in his place this week, swearing allegiance and assuring compliance - but Tom’s strengths as a provider played a major role in the Tribe voting to keep him with them, instead.
This week, the castaways played for the Reward of a Gourmet Hot Dog feast and pitchers of cold beer – as well as letters from their loved ones – back at camp. Divided into ‘red’ and ‘blue’ with Palesa and Tom randomly selected to play Captains, a ‘schoolyard pick’ saw odd number PK left to sit the game out. The snub turned into a reward of its own though, as he discovered a clue to the location of a Hidden Immunity Idol nestling under the plate of hot dogs he enjoyed, as the other castaways fought for supremacy in an anagram game. A few false starts saw the ‘blues’ prevail, meaning that Palesa, Chané, Werner and Toni would enjoy the reward.
Tensions ran high on the Araw beach after the challenge, with Tom and PK trading insults. While Tom took a walk to cool off afterwards, PK made the most of half the tribe being preoccupied with celebrating their win to scout around and pick up his Hidden Immunity Idol.
At the Immunity Challenge, the castaways had to outlast each other by clinging onto ropes at the edge of a platform, over the opalescent ocean. Nico offered them two opportunities to tap out – first in exchange for a basket full of chocolate and later on, for a bowl of spaghetti and a glass of wine. While there were no takers for the first offer, Werner, Chané, Annalize & Tom voluntarily leapt at the second to secure sustenance – and indicate that they felt certain enough of their status at Araw to not have to fight for Immunity. Their surrender left PK and Katinka as the last castaways standing, and it wasn’t long before the Mining Technician capitulated to hand the latter the Individual Immunity necklace – and proclaim the win ‘better than spaghetti and wine’.
“If you want to outlast, you need to outwit and outplay to the very end,” Nico told the castaways after Chané had departed the Tribal Council area. Tune in to Survivor South Africa: Philippines next week (Thursday 5 July, 19:00 on M-Net 101) to see which castaways heed his advice.
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.
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 and explore the Survivor SA islands, living area,s as well as each challenge site, as the weeks progress.
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 & Television.