No one saw that coming.
Tonight's merge promised to be an epic showdown between J.T. and Russell, the apparent leaders of the former Heroes and Villains tribes.
Instead, the real stars were the game-changing hidden Immunity Idols—and what might be the most incredible Tribal Council in the history of Survivor.
What are you waiting for? Drop your buffs and get in here!
J.T. was the victim of Survivor's most shocking blindside ever. Make that blindsides, because every single person present at Tribal Council—except Parvati herself—was stunned by the queen's moves.
Banana Republic: "Tonight's vote will dictate the rest of this game," declared Russell, who at that moment believed he was the game's despot. Wrong! Queen Parvati has no reason to worry about her king's sense of betrayal, because she just bought the loyalty of the "debaucherous little" Sandra and Jerri—who received all the former Heroes' votes because, according to Candice, she's "the least likely person they would give [the Immunity Idol] to." Oops. Don't forget that Parvati essentially gave up a third Immunity Idol to her "lady in waiting," Danielle, by stepping down in the challenge.
All-Girls Alliance?! Omigod, did the Heroes have it right all along? Nah. Despite her perfidy, Parvati and Russell will make nice and resume their joint reign. She still needs her hero's protection—and he is too enthralled (and powerless) to try to topple her throne.
Preexisting Conditions: This was one of Survivor's most anticipated merges, because we would finally learn whether previous friendships would trump tribal loyalty. And that would be a no. That should change quickly as the outnumbered Heroes scramble to save themselves. Go Rupert for both distrusting Russell the weasel and expressing suspicion about Parvati's surrender in the Immunity Challenge.
WHO WILL GET VOTED OFF NEXT?
A former Hero, duh. I'm ruling out Rupert because he could build a stronger bond with fellow Pearl Islands contestant and suddenly powerful Sandra—and he seems to be the smartest of the bunch. (Who knew?) Colby is the obvious threat because of his physical dominance, but he is also likely to win immunity. So my money's on the girls. The question is, will Amanda's relationship with Parvati help her or hurt her?
SURVIVOR INSIDER
After acknowledging his own stupidity, J.T. signed off by saying, "People are villains for a reason. Don't ever trust 'em. Worse than that: Don't ever trust women." Really? According to Sugar, J.T. betrayed her trust—as you can see from her Twitter post. Ouch. Something tells me she really enjoyed tonight's episode.
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