Last week, I took issue with “Survivor South Africa: Immunity Island” becoming somewhat of a bore.
Well, M-Net certainly shook things up in tonight’s episode of the reality show. There was no immunity challenge as both Vuna (orange) and Zamba (green) headed to tribal council.
In the first few minutes of the show, Thoriso, who was not keen on being in the minority anymore, decided to outplay her fellow Vuna tribe members.
She asked Anesu for help by getting Tyson to part with the parchment that accompanied his hidden immunity idol.
Thoriso then went to her former Zamba members, Renier and Paul, and spun a tale suggesting that she was in possession of an immunity idol. She bandied the parchment around to seal her lie.
At first, the guys believed her hook, line and sinker.
This was before they went into their first challenge, which was divided into two segments: a blue challenge for a reward and a red one to be sent off to immunity island.
For the latter, Santoni went up against Anesu. But it wasn’t much of a challenge. Within seconds, Santoni was out.
In the blue challenge, the tricky balancing act came down to two Vuna members: Tyson and Nicole. While the tribe had the reward of boerie rolls with the works, in the bag, it was Nicole who proved the sturdiest of them all.
Meanwhile, Wardah was not happy about Zamba being regulars at tribal council. Even more embarrassing, Vuna won the opportunity to watch them at tribal council while enjoying their tasty treats.
Back at Vuna’s camp, Thoriso’s deception unravelled as fast as her. The camp was divided over who to vote off between Thoriso and Tyson.
And Tyson was feeling like an outcast as he was excluded from conversations. He was also pissed off about his good deed coming back to bit him on the a** with Thoriso bringing a lot of heat to him.
With Anesu at immunity island, he turned to Kiran, who filled him in on what’s currently in play.
Of course, he wasn’t worried about there being a target on his back as he could save himself. He wanted payback. And he took Renier into his confidence.
Since Kiran was privy to useful information, he offered a new plan to the tribe, which put his head on the chopping block, too.
It was a huge - and somewhat foolish - gambit. But he felt confident about his play.
Vuna was the first at tribal council. And Marisha was determined to get to the bottom of who had the immunity idol.
She was also annoyed by Thoriso’s comment that she’s like a cat and has nine lives in the game.
When it came down to the votes, Thoriso’s bluff was called as Tyson played his immunity idol and she had no choice but to accept defeat gracefully.
She admitted: “I’m feeling very disappointed that a lot of ‘Survivor’ head knowledge couldn’t translate into actual play knowledge. But I had the time of my life…”
Next up, a major blindside was in play at Zamba. While some members were confident that Chappies was going out, the wool was pulled over some members' eyes.
In the end, Carla’s torch was snuffed out.
The tearful 29 year old said: “Definitely blindsided. If that’s the way I was supposed to go out, then that’s the way I go out.
I, maybe, played too hard too soon, which is what I said I wasn’t going to do…”
One thing was evident tonight: being deceptive is a double-edged sword. Hopefully, the remaining castmates have learned to do better than their outplayed tribe members.
“Survivor South Africa: Immunity Island” airs on M-Net (DStv channel 101) at 7.30pm.