‘Survivor’ Season 42 Episode 4: The Vibe of the Tribe… Is Horrible (RECAP)
Spoiler Alert
The Tribe Has Spoken
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[Warning: The below contains MAJOR spoilers for Survivor Season 42 Episode 4, “The Vibe of the Tribe.”]
Survivor Season 42 Episode 4’s title, “The Vibe of the Tribe,” could not be more apt. The episode aired March 30 on CBS, and it couldn’t have made it more clear that the mood of various the tribes are seriously sour.
The only team that has it truly together so far is Taku, but there are cracks under the surface. Ika and Vati’s cracks, however, are glaringly clear.
Here, we break down everything that happened in Survivor Season 42 Episode 4:
Robert Voets/CBS Entertainment
After Tribal Council: Socialize For Your Life
“Tribal council was a disaster,” Daniel says opening the episode. You could say that again! After a historic Tribal Council in Episode 3 that sent Jenny packing, Daniel knew he had to save face. His way of doing so was… interesting.
He tries to avoid debate altogether once they get back to camp. He still says he put all of his trust in Chanelle but thinks he “totally screwed everything up.” Chanelle opted to address what went down right away, calling out Daniel for his attempt to throw her under the bus. She strategically revealed that Daniel had told her about Mike’s idol, furthering the trust divide between the two men. And then, Hai stepped in saying he felt blindsided by everyone, that Lydia just “went through Hell,” and that he owed Mike a lot of explanations. The split up and get to chatting.
Hai tries to repair things with Mike and remarks in solo commentary that Tribal showed him Daniel “has no backbone. None!” Mike tells Hai Daniel is that the bottom of his trust list, and they agree to make an alliance between the two of them and Lydia.
Daniel clings to the narrative that Chanelle forced his hand in the vote for Lydia in conversation with Mike, saying he trusted the wrong player. Mike bought none of it. Daniel seems to be the only one who thinks the Chanelle narrative holds weight. Even if he doesn’t, it’s his story, and he’s sticking with it (no matter how it makes him look).
Reward Challenge: Taku’s Secret Weapon
After last week’s dangerous Immunity Challenge, there was mercifully no water involved in this week’s.
“It’s not strenuous, but it is complicated,” Jeff Probst tells the players, who no doubt are relieved to be on dry land this time.
For the reward, three members are attached to a braided rope. They have to untangle the rope and lasso it around a sled filled with balls and pull it toward them. Each tribe member is then responsible for landing one of the balls in their team’s basket. The first tribe to finish wins. The prize is 10 decent-size, freshly caught fish delivered to their camps. Ika and Vati have an extra player each. Rocksroy and Chanelle sit out.
Taku seamlessly makes it through the braided rope and obstacles. The trust and cooperation of this tribe is the strongest of the season so far. Just like last week, Taku gets to the third leg of the challenge before Vati and Ika finish the first. Unsurprisingly, Taku won. Jeff comments on how well the tribe works together and asks Tori from tribe Ika for her take.
She says Jonathan is Taku’s “Goliath” — Hai later calls him Thor — that got them through the previous week’s difficult challenge and implies he’s the only reason Taku wins. But she then acknowledges that they have figured something out about teamwork that her tribe has not. Ika and Vati’s performance play like a metaphor for the shaky foundations of their groups.
Robert Voets/CBS Entertainment
Back at the Beaches: Cracks Begin to Show
At Taku, Maryanne tells Omar she’s annoyed with Jonathan for how he described their team in front of the other competitors. He was complimentary, but they wish he had been more vague about how strong their bond really is. Omar agrees that his ally is a bit of a slob when it comes to social game in front of the other tribes. Meanwhile, Jonathan tells Lindsay he didn’t enjoy being called Goliath, but is glad others see him as a shield.
At Ika, the tribe members are getting annoyed with stay-at-home dad Rocksroy’s instructions about camp tasks. Swati tries to create an alliance with Tori, telling her Drea, Romeo, and Rocksroy previously discussed voting her out. Rocksroy frustrates Tori the most, but she tries to bond with him to improve her social game. He theorizes about in-play advantages, and Tori tells him about Drea’s extra vote. He sees this as her trying to make an alliance to save herself and get Drea out, but “in my gut, I just do not trust Tori.”
Rocksroy tells Drea what Tori revealed, weakening Drea’s trust in the all-woman alliance they considered previously. She and Swati agree that “Tori shared more information than she should have” and got busted. It seems, despite her best efforts, Tori doesn’t have any alliances.
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Immunity Challenge: The Equalizer
Maryanne uses her advantage phrase again, but no one replies (even though Mike has one). She doesn’t get a vote until all of the advantage phrases have been played.
Remember that part about no water? Just kidding! The Immunity Challenge was, indeed, aquatic. Two tribe members are tethered to a boat. They swim to a tower, pulling the boat carrying two other tribe members in it. The boat tribe members then climb up the tower and jump off the platform to reach two sets of keys dangling above the water. Those keys unlock puzzle pieces in need of solving on a platform that swimmers must again drag the boats to. First and second place are safe from Tribal.
Romeo and Daniel sit out for Ika and Vati. Swati and Tori swim for Ika. Hai and Mike swim for Vati. Jonathan and Maryanne swim for Taku. “Goliath” effectively pulls the boat by himself with Maryanne trailing behind. Drea gets one set of Ika’s keys, but Lydia can’t jump high enough to get hers. Omar has to swim to reclaim his dropped key, and Taku once again makes it to the third leg first thanks to Jonathan’s swimming.
Omar and Maryanne get started on the puzzle. Drea and Swati begin Ika’s puzzle. Chanelle snags the last keys for Vati, but they’re still in last. Chanelle and Lydia then take on the puzzle. As Daniel accurately says, “the puzzle is the equalizer.” In the end, Taku wins first, Vati wins second, and Ika is heading to Tribal Council.
Robert Voets/CBS Entertainment
Before Tribal Council: Trust No One
At the losing tribe’s camp, Rocksroy declares, “We’re a disaster.”
“The only positive thing is that Tribal should be very simple tonight. We need to eliminate threat. And the biggest threat is Tori,” he says. “She can’t keep a secret, and she can’t be trusted, so she’s going home tonight.”
A conversation between Tori and Romeo makes them realize Swati my be their biggest threat, as she’s seemingly made alliances with everyone that give her all kinds of information. Romeo pitches voting out Swati to Drea, and they realize Swati has been telling multiple people they’re her “number one,” including, as it’s soon revealed, Tori — who went into these talks at the bottom of everyone’s list.
“She’s too good at her social game,” Drea says in solo commentary. And then, she, Romeo, and Tori deliberate by the water. Tori realizes siding with Romeo and Drea against Swati could be her ticket to safety in Tribal, so she has no qualms doing it. Swati spots Tori and Drea having a long talk and worries about Tori revealing the Drea blindside she was trying to plan.
Swati pleads her case to Drea, saying they should vote out Tori. Rocksroy says he’s sticking with voting for Tori, noting that her revealing Drea’s extra vote makes her untrustworthy in the long game. As they head out for the vote, it’s clear that tonight’s Tribal Council will show who can truly be trusted for the first time.
Robert Voets/CBS Entertainment
Tribal Council
The vibe of the Tribe, as Jeff asks, is not good. After some vague enough comments from Tori and Drea about the tribe not clicking, Swati gets nervous and makes a big move by implying Tori is trying to send her home for her “mistake.” Tori goes into therapist mode again, saying Swati is projecting her paranoia. Swati then lies when confronted about trying to blindside Drea.
Romeo quietly asks Drea if she’ll use her extra vote. And Swati keeps campaigning for herself. Everyone but Swati — and the so far silent Rocksroy — agrees this vote will make a more unified, “peaceful” tribe that previously didn’t exist. He implies the majority is in agreement on whose elimination will make that happen. Rocksroy says he’s proud of Swati coming in strong.
After the vote, Swati plays her shot in the dark, but she’s not safe. The votes were split between Swati and Tori, but in the end, Swati’s social game got her voted out.
What do you think? Has Ika really voted out the person preventing them from bonding? Sound off in the comments below.
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