Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for Survivor 47 Episode 9.

We’re nine episodes in, and it’s clear that Survivor’s 47th season has one major goal: never giving its viewers time to breathe! This Charlie Parsonsreality series has astounded viewers for decades, yet even in a CBS show known for its wild gameplay, this installment hasn’t stopped surprising viewers with just how brutal these players are willing to be. It has led to a season full of shocking blindsides and, after a thrilling tie left her and her partner in danger last week, sent Sierra Wright packing as the first member of the jury. This cast is willing to do whatever it takes for that $1,000,000 prize — even turn against the ones they love the most in this game.

Your Teammate Can End Your Game on ‘Survivor’
Image via CBS

After the thrilling tie that ended the last Survivor episode, things were even more awkward than usual back at the Beka tribe beach as Sam Phalen halfheartedly thanked everyone for choosing to keep him over Wright. It’s an evening of apologies as Andy Rueda goes to his former tribe mate and explains why he betrayed him, telling both Phalen and their other “ally,” Rachel LaMont, that he was just trying to join the rest of the group in getting out a potential threat.

It’s a particularly strange time for LaMont; after strategically playing her Shot in the Dark last episode to gauge whether she was the target, she decided not to use her secret immunity idol, correctly clocking that she wasn’t on the chopping block… and instead had to watch as her two closest allies were put into peril instead. She and Rueda speak about how they’d always wanted to work with one another (remember when he woke her up randomly at night to talk?) and decide to look out for one another going forward — but who knows? Because, as the rest of this episode is about to reveal, it’s often the ones who promise to watch your back that are the most ready to stab it.

The immunity challenge calls for the remaining ten players to split up into teams of two, with host Jeff Probst explaining the complicated challenge ahead of them: first, they’ll have to crawl under a cage to grab puzzle pieces before going to a huge pit in the ground and digging out another set. The first three duos to do this move onto the next stage, which will see them have to build a staircase and cross a balance beam, with the first two teams to accomplish this then moving onto an endurance competition where the last person to hold themselves up between two walls will win immunity.

It’s a tough challenge with even more than immunity at stake, as Jeff explains that not only will the final four get a picnic as reward, but the first two teams to get eliminated will lose their vote for the night and have to go on a journey to try and win them back. It’s a thrilling challenge that sees wild moments like Rueda tearing apart the bag with him and Sam’s puzzle pieces in it (losing them the round) and Sue Smey ducking and rolling off a balance beam, but in the end, Gabe Ortis beats out competition beast Kyle Ostwald to win immunity for that night’s tribal.

‘Survivor’s #1 Rule? Don’t Trust Anyone.
Image via CBS

The latter half of this Survivor episode is a scattered one, as all the different groups are sent across the island. The losing teams of LaMont, Rueda, Phalen, and Caroline Vidmar play an intense version of Jenga that sees them stack up different metal cards in a large tower, with the person who topples it losing their vote while everyone else gets theirs back — with Vidmar being the one to bring it down and lose her vote. Back with the winning group, as the group luxuriates (and has a burping contest) over their BLTs, Solomon “Sol” Yi and Teeny Chirichillo speak with Ostwald and Ortis about finishing what they started and getting out Sam. The two men agree, sure that their faithful ally Smey would vote with them… but they didn’t account for the easygoing prowess of Genevieve Mushaluk. Still annoyed over Yi targeting her allies in the early game and convinced that his endless charisma is dangerous, she persuades the other woman to vote for him that night, a convincing pitch she sells to Ortis when he returns by telling him that Sol and Teeny had actually been discussing him as a target.

Mushaluk loops LaMont into the blindside plans who, trying to preserve some sense of an alliance, informs Phalen and urges him to not “blow up her game” by telling others they spoke — which he immediately does by telling Yi about the entire plan. Shocked and confused by this news, the man goes to his diehard allies Teeny and Genevieve (who does a hilarious performance of being shocked over the plan she orchestrated) as they try to eliminate Sam’s main target: Smey. There’s a lot of back and forth as this new development leaves people feeling scattered, Genevieve unsure if the plan she’d so carefully crafted would be obliterated due to Phalen’s mouth and people debating whether Smey is a good backup or if now would be the best time to get out the physical powerhouse Ostwald. It’s a constant back-and-forth that takes place literal minutes before they have to vote, with the entire group walking to tribal unsure of whose plan would prevail and who’d be sitting safe after the votes were counted.

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Tribal Councils Are Never Safe on ‘Survivor’

Rarely is there ever a calm Survivor tribal council, yet few are as anxiety-inducing as the one this cast finds themselves in. Mere moments into Probst’s questioning, the castaways start whispering; Sol and Genevieve begin going back and forth about whether they want Sue or Kyle out, with Sam and Teeny quickly following as they debate over who they’d all agreed on before leaving for tribal. Eventually, these groups apparently come to a decision, and Probst sends them each to cast a vote for one of the many people who were discussed as a blindside option in this episode. Mushaluk succinctly calls out the entire situation as a “s**tshow” as the player looks visibly exhausted, forlorn over her exceptional plan being ruined by other players — she should have had more faith in herself, though. Because, to the shock of the man who’d been promised safety by so many around him, Sol watches as it’s announced that everyone (including his #1 ally Teeny) had voted for him to get eliminated.

Seeing someone who had become one of this Survivor season’s most beloved players was startling for all, but especially Genevieve, as the competitor herself was giddily surprised that the plan she’d worked so hard to push actually worked. It’s a testament to not only the intensity of this show but this particular cast; this is a group of self-proclaimed gamers who came into this installment with a wealth of knowledge and tricks, with the past nine episodes showing them utilizing them all to get out threats in this game. Yet the huge scrambling of this episode showed a huge development for what has been a strong cast: they’re fracturing. Alliances that have lasted for weeks are being traded out for temporary immunity, some people are lying about every aspect of their game to keep everyone (even themselves) unaware of their goals, and, in the case of poor Sol Yi, folks are watching as the people they trusted with everything decide to vote them out. It’s a messy, endlessly entertaining installment of what is already a cutthroat show, and if this episode is any indication, it will only get even more chaotic from here!

A reality show where a group of contestants are stranded in a remote location with little more than the clothes on their back. The lone survivor of this contest takes home a million dollars.Cast Jeff Probst Rating Seasons 45 Studio Release Date May 31, 2000 Story By Jeff Probst Writers Jeff Probst Network CBS Streaming Service(s) Hulu , Netflix Directors Jeff Probst Showrunner Jeff Probst Expand

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