Survivor 51 Recap: The Open Era Takes A Page From The Season 50 Playbook

Permanent uncertainty once again reigns supreme in Wednesday's episode of "Survivor," this time in the form of a returning game mechanic that nobody saw coming in last season's all-eras showdown: The duos twist! And you guessed it. The "Double Duos" twist (or "Tied Destinies" as some of the foreign versions like to call it) does, indeed, take out two of Season 51's Sole Survivor hopefuls. 

Personally, it feels a little too soon to bring back such a heavy-hitting twist in the Open Era, but with a sizable 12 players still in the game as of Episode 8's start, the numbers have to drop somehow! And the Tribal Council that followed is both spicy and jam-packed with advantage plays. But first: Let's dig deep into the mayhem that occurs before the torch snuffs.

Mike is still having a terrible, horrible, no good, very bad season out there. Maybe he's enjoying the game, which includes him fighting and clawing his way up from the bottom, but the look from the couch: OOF. First he was called a "sponge" and a "bottom-feeder," and now he's a spineless robot?! Nice guy Kilby even comments on the guy's lack of backbone. Ouch. Mike is about one episode away from either becoming the main target once again or being a shoe-in for a Final 3 spot. He may not be the GOAT, but he could become a goat, if you know what I mean (and I think you do). Maggie is also "livid" at Mike (as we previously reported). She's tired of him spilling Tribal Council secrets and being so dang untrustworthy. Is it safe to say that Mike has "zero chance of winning the game"? (Cue the Spencer Bledsoe clip!)

The Salt Group?! Salt of the Earth? What, exactly, are we calling this thing?!

A new alliance forms after Carter pitches Lewis and Kilby about a new core group of six. The other three? Thien An, Maggie, and Christian. I love this idea. It's in these six players' best interests to get rid of Kristin, split up Devin and Jelly, and (whether they know it by now or not) kick Sharonda to the curb, as well. But can we workshop that name, Carter? "The salt group." Do we capitalize that? It doesn't really roll off the tongue, and it lacks a certain... je ne sais quoi! 

While they (hopefully) chew on the group name there, tree mail arrives and it's a monster. It's the aforementioned duos twist rearing its head, and the note tells them that who they pick to link up with could wind up sealing their fate. It didn't work out so well for Chrissy and Coach in "50", and another pair is about to suffer that same fate. (Jeff confirms this at the top of the next immunity challenge). Anyhoodle, here's how the duos stack up.

* Devin and Jelly
* Kristin and Kilby
* Thien An and Eric
* Carter and Christian
* Lewis and Sharonda
* Mike and Maggie

Most of these duos aren't alliance members, except for Devin and Jelly. Personally, I would've been waaaay too skeeved to team up with my No. 1, so from the jump, I'm worried for Devin and Jelly. Taking out two birds with one stone? Riiiight from the Season 50 playbook, when that group took an easy swing at the "honor and integrity" alliance.

And let's chat about this immunity challenge for a quick sec, shall we? It was a multi-stage eliminator-type of challenge which saw the duos competing head to head. In the first stage, Eric goes full-on Christian Hubicki, talking a mile a minute about "The Sopranos," Jeff's lunch, the pins and needles in his leg, and everything else under that beautiful Fijian sun. "Eric's feet are numb but his mouth is certainly not!" Jeff says. (I particularly loved Maggie's head-shaking from the bench. She is clearly so tormented by Eric's tomfoolery, and I admit, her irritation is my entertainment. I bask in it!) Carter and Christian nearly cinch immunity, but are bested by Lewis and Sharonda who are not only able to survive the hot sun and starvation, but Eric's incessant babbling, as well.

With necks on the line and shots being fired from all directions, Jelly hops to it, telling whoever will listen that Carter and Christian are a great duo to target. And in the midst of this bubbling strategy scramble, Christian... leaves. No journey to see here! Not even a summit. What are we calling this l'il jaunt? Nothing. Jeff just says Christian (as picked by the challenge winners) is leaving. Goodbye, Christian! Farewell to thee! Of course, he's heading out on a journey, but Jeff doesn't use the "J" word. 

Do I sound like a broken record every time I squeal my frustration with the return of the masked journey? (#SorryNotSorry.) To make matters even worse, Christian must "wager his vote," meaning: He might lost his vote at the season's most pivotal Tribal Council if he doesn't correctly jump through these hoops. Open Era, can we not? When players lose their votes, they lose their agency. And less votes at Tribal means less opportunity for pizzazz! For fun! For tricky situations and strategy that could cause fireworks! Let the people play, I beg of you. 

I'll admit, the challenge Christian is tasked with is intriguing. He has a certain amount of time to unleash a bevy of buoys into the ocean. Then, he has to find a secret clue that will give him his next directive. Various buoys have a single letter on them and when unscrambled, they spell: DIG UNDER TREEMAIL. That he does, finding a parchment that not only reinstates his vote, but gives him an extra vote, as well, that can only be used at this Tribal Council. Nifty. (I'll climb down from my soapbox now. Thanks for listening.)

Back to the scrambling. Carter pitches to Devin and Jelly that they shouldn't fire pistols at each other — they should aim for Kristin! (Sorry, Kilby.) Everyone still suspects that Kristin has an advantage of some sort stemming from her time at Exile Island. Will that ultimately be her downfall? And thanks to this duos twist, someone is bound to become collateral damage. Despite my minor grievances that this twist is back too soon, it does complicate matters for the players, and any wrenches or complications are always entirely welcome. (You know. For those of us who aren't playing.) 

At Tribal Council, Christian makes an interesting move by giving his extra vote to Eric, and telling him to vote Devin and Jelly. But when it comes time to put pen to parchment, Eric pockets the extra vote for later. Does Eric think the votes for Jelly and Devin are already solidified? Does he just want to be selfish and steal the advantage for himself? Well, sorry for you, Eric, but that vote is expiring tonight.

Before the votes are read, Jelly plays her idol, which provides safety for herself and Devin, and cancels about 57 votes with their names on them. Kristin plays her Shot in the Dark, but it fails to hit for her and her partner, Kilby. But when Christian pulls out his teeny, tiny scroll (hence, why he couldn't use the extra vote himself), he hits the jackpot. The paper reads "SAFE," voiding the one and only vote that has "Carter and Christian" written on it. Unfortunately, only one vote remains and boy, does it count. When Jeff reads the final parchment, it reads "Kristin and Kilby," and both of them become jurors No. 1 and 2. (Brady, Probst tells us, chose to exit the game and fly home in order to deal with his thumb situation — fair!) As for next week: It's time to flip that coin!

What did you think of this week's double elimination, "Survivor" fans? Go full tilt boogie in that comments section, and make sure to visit TVLine Thursday for our exit interviews with Kristin and Kilby!