CBS The Vati tribe at Tribal Council in "Survivor 42" episode 3.
Episode 3 of “Survivor 42” turned out to be one of the most intense and chaotic episodes the show has seen in a long time. Not only was the reward/immunity challenge halted by host Jeff Probst as it was ongoing, but Vati’s first time at Tribal Council that night turned out to be unprecedented.
Naturally, such a Tribal Council has already become controversial, with many fans decrying what they see as an unfair elimination of a worthy player simply because of an overabundance of twists and advantages, while others are excited by the dramatic television. Here’s what you need to know:
Jenny’s Elimination Blindsided Everyone
Last night, only four people voted in a tribe of six. Since two players – Mike Turner and Chanelle Howard – had lost their vote for different reasons, that left essentially two separate blocks – Daniel Strunk and Jenny Kim on one side, and Hai Giang and Lydia Meredith on the other. Despite Daniel and Chanelle’s best efforts to outmaneuver this disadvantage by attempting to split the vote, Hai and Lydia stuck to their original plan and refused to change their vote from Jenny.
After a re-vote, Daniel and Hai were still deadlocked, and both were very unwilling to change their vote. However, after a long and protracted discussion, it became clear that Hai was more determined to go to rocks than turn on his ally Lydia, so Daniel reluctantly acquiesced and agreed to send Jenny packing.
“Survivor encompasses so many experiences,” Jenny wrote in an Instagram post two days before the episode aired. “My 20 year old self would never recognize the person I am today… I loved camp life just as much as every other aspect of this game ❤️.”
Last Night’s Tribal Is Polarizing Fans
Us throughout this whole tribal council!💆🏽♀️ #Survivor
The overabundance of twists and advantages have been evoking the ire of fans for years now, but even more so since last year, considering the intense uptick we have seen since the beginning of season 41. It was the sheer number of twists which led to Mike and Chanelle not being able to cast a vote – two cast members on a tribe of only six – meaning that the consensus on who to eliminate after a tie came down to only two people.
One fan on Twitter wrote that “Jenny got Cirie’d !!” referring back to season 34, “Game Changers,” in which fan favorite Cirie Fields essentially fell victim to the overabundance of advantages which led to her elimination at the final 6 by default, simply because she was the only player vulnerable (even though she received no votes). “Another unprecedented elimination where the best-positioned player gets sniped by forces out of their control,” they wrote.
Most of the show’s fanbase seems to have immediately agreed that Jenny should be one of the first people asked back for a future returnee season, expressing their disappointment that there was very little Jenny actually did wrong in the game. “The only ‘mistake’ Jenny made,” one fan wrote, “was her complacency in being the decoy vote. With how twist heavy the game is getting, I guess this is a lesson that you shouldn’t let your name get written down at all, just in case.”
Others are enjoying the new state of “Survivor,” with one user expressing their joy at having been blindsided themselves while watching the episode. “I had [Jenny] so high on my rankings this week,” they said. “The ‘new era’ really revealed itself in tonight’s episode.” Another replied that they are “happy” with how the twists impacted this Tribal. “Way better execution than what happened to Cirie in ‘Game Changers’!”
Fans Are Not Impressed By Chanelle’s Performance Last Night
Other fans are taking to the show’s subreddit to lambast Chanelle for unwisely choosing to risk her vote. “WHY did she emphasize that she can’t risk to lose her vote and then RISK IT?!” one fan said. “Obviously Omar was going to risk his because you said you were not going to risk yours? CHANELLE GIRL I WAS ROOTING FOR YOU.”
“WE WERE ALL ROOTING FOR YOU,” another disappointed fan replied.
Perhaps one of the most important lessons taken from last night’s Tribal is that not only is no one safe, but plenty of otherwise excellent players may indeed be sabotaged by factors outside of their control, much more so than previous iterations of the show. Although it some fans may think that makes for better and more entertaining television, it will certainly hit a lot harder to those whose torches are snuffed.
However the game proceeds from here on out is anyone’s guess.
“Survivor 42” airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. Eastern on CBS.
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‘Survivor’ Fans React to Shocking Tribal Council