Survivor 48 Recap: A Blindside Brews As Mary Looks To Make Her Move

Everything in Survivor is about timing. Kyle said it himself during Wednesday's Tribal Council. So with eyes focused on potentially breaking up power duo Joe and Eva, is now the right time to flick the former off the chess board?

At the top of the episode, Joe says, "There's really no scenario where we don't get to the four." Actually, I can think of a few and a lot of them has to do with Kyle's big decision on whether to flip on his majority alliance. Mary, eternally playing from the bottom, makes her case and it's a good one! A classic one: Use me! I'll vote with you! You'll lose to Joe in the end! Kyle both hears her plea and recognizes it as factual — after all, seven is the optimal number to flip a vote — but he still spends a majority of the episode trying to figure out what to listen to, his head or his heart.

Kamilla does her part. Let's have a round of applause for her big immunity win! The challenge sees players maneuvering a wheelbarrow throughout an obstacle course, with a difficult arched word puzzle at the end. She beats Joe by a hair, turning this whole Joe blindside ordeal into an actual possibility. We're present and seated for what could potentially be the season's biggest and most effective blindside yet — especially considering that Joe's No. 1 ally Eva has an arsenal of advantages at her disposal.

And yet, when we get to Tribal Council... nothing. No fireworks. No backstab. The Strong Four continue to be loyal. But dang it, I'm with Mary, even if she is on her way to Ponderosa. There's no reward for "outloyaled," and everyone is seemingly handing Survivor 48 to Joe and Eva for the taking. Will there be another chance to try and take down firefighter Joe? Maybe. But someone has to beat the challenge beast in an immunity challenge again before they can even consider it. And that might be easier said than done.

OTHER JUNGLE HAPS:

* Eva gets the chance to win another advantage! I realize that this opportunity came to her by rock draw, but seriously — what in the Ben Driebergen?! This game has been kind to her. A little too kind? Yes, I may still be a little irked by her last bit of "luck," but you know they say: "Don't hate the player..."

* Mary openly tells Joe that she's writing his name down, which gets him seriously spooked. He thinks she might have an idol since she's being so bold, so he wants to throw a vote on someone else to be safe. But the fact that his alliance doesn't seem worried makes him even more paranoid! I'm all for the paranoia, but I'm curious if Mary's actions here may have sealed her fate in Kyle and Kamilla's eyes. Or was there something else that happened that we weren't privy to? Maybe it was just that dang lack of coconut etiquette, after all.

And thus, Mary is the fifth member of the jury (be sure to read our Q&A with the game's last Vula member here). Now it's your turn! Did you think Joe was cooked? Did Mary's boldness cost her? Go full tilt boogie in that comments section!