Survivor 48's Historic Tribal Council Left One Player With An Impossible Choice
So much for the Vula guys' alliance.
In Wednesday's Survivor, the green tribe wracked up its third straight immunity loss, putting them in solid contention for the unluckiest (and worst?) tribe in history. (To be fair, those blindfolded challenges do look hairy!) But things only got worse when pizzeria manager Justin went on a journey and lost his vote for what will surely go down as one of the franchise's most pivotal and historic Tribal Councils... ever!
With the tribe's date with Jeff looming, Justin lied about what really happened on the journey when he got back to camp, but he wasn't the only Vula member playing games. Mary, knowing she was on the bottom, played mind tricks with her tribemates by actively not searching for the idol. Her lack of hustle made Sai very concerned, to say the least. Did Mary already have the idol or was she actually just admitting defeat? Heading into the vote, Mary continued committing to the bit, wishing, hoping and praying that Sai would convince the men to split the vote. From Cedrek's perspective, everything would come down to Justin's vote, which was pretty damn funny considering we knew the missing puzzle piece that Cedrek didn't.
At Tribal Council, Mary and Sai acknowledged their adversarial relationship, but explained to Jeff how they still held a mutual respect for one another. Before their devastating challenge loss, Sai was on babysitting duty, chasing after Mary as she desperately sought the protection of the re-hidden immunity idol. But both women enjoyed the thrill of the chase, and you know what? We like to see it! However, the vote remained up in the air, as the mystery behind Mary's plans (and oddly timed post-challenge swim) continued to make Sai's head spin.
When Jeff called for advantages, Mary handed over her Shot in the Dark scroll and when Jeff unraveled that little package, it revealed her fate: SAFE! (This was the third time the Shot in the Dark was used successfully, for those keeping track.) Since both votes (Sai's and Ced's) were for Mary, they voted again, resulting in a tie between Sai and Justin, and forcing Jeff to reveal that Justin didn't actually have a vote to begin with. As per the rules, Sai was allowed to vote in the third round, making her and Cedrek the sole voters. And it resulted in another tie! (Is your head spinning yet?)
Our host-with-the-most broke it all down: Traditionally at this juncture, a tribe would talk things over and if a decision still couldn't be made, the group would go to rocks with the two vote-getters now safe and the rest of the tribe now vulnerable. However, with Mary already out of the equation, and Justin and Sai being the two at risk, that only left Cedrek. And if he couldn't decide, he would be sent home. We've seen plenty of rock-drawing tie-breakers throughout these 48 seasons, but we've never, ever seen a tie go down quite like this!
But decide, he did. Cedrek told Jeff that the decision was a difficult one. He made a connection with both Justin and Sai on Day 1, however, he gave Justin his word first. But could he really be the sole vote to eliminate his island daughter that he bonded so strongly with? At first it seemed like a done deal until Sai raised an intriguing counterpoint: Justin didn't even tell Cedrek about his lost vote, so why would Ced keep someone who's withholding information from him? (And boom goes the dynamite!) Cedrek made his Sophie's choice on one condition: Sai and Mary had to promise to find a way to work together. The women seemingly agreed, thus sealing poor Justin's fate in this game. (Read our Q&A with Justin here.)
Did Cedrek make the right choice? Does this Tribal Council go in the record books? Go full tilt boogie in the comments section and let us know!