Survivor Philippines Episode 9 Recap: Another Day, Another Blindside

After last week’s crazy Survivor Philippines Tribal Council that Jeff Probst called one of the craziest he’s experienced, nothing could happen this week to rival it. But the show resulted in a blindside that did come close. So that’s two great weeks and two great episodes. This season is far, far superior to last season.

At the start of the episode, the players are still reeling from Jeff’s elimination and the crazy tribal council. Abi asks who the one person was who voted for her. Penner says it was him. Penner then realizes his one vote could have changed the outcome of Jeff’s elimination to Pete’s elimination. Malcom and Lisa are talking through the fact that they threw each other under the bus. They make nice.

Everything seems to be getting back to normal. Well, except for Abi. She’s not ready to understand what Lisa was doing last week was good gameplay. Lisa is kind of over the game at this point, too. She doesn’t like the lying and the backstabbing. She’s trying to play an honest game but she’s learning that isn’t how the game of Survivor usually works.

At the reward challenge, Jeff tells the group they’ll be playing for the chance to serve as ambassadors for a native village. They will be delivering supplies to the village and then stick around for a meal prepared by the natives.

In schoolyard fashion, they split into teams of two and no one wants to be on a team with Abi, so she sits out the challenge. The yellow team is Skupin, Artis, Lisa and Pete. The red team is Penner, Carter, Denise and Malcom.

The red team easily wins the challenge, so they head off for their reward.

After delivering the items and enjoying their meal, the four of them discuss the game and plan their next move. Their goal is to get Skupin and Lisa to join their side and start targeting Artis, Abi and Pete. Penner, of course, is ready to make this happen since he is and has been the biggest target in the game (despite making it week after week).

Meanwhile, the yellow team is back at camp scraping up coconut shavings to eat and Abi is letting Lisa have it. She’s calling her gullible and naive and bashing her for sharing their alliance’s information with the other team. Abi is really pushing Lisa away and Lisa starts contemplating switching alliances, which could play right into the other side’s idea. Way to go, Abi.

The immunity challenge is next and it’s a game of balance, patience and luck, so it’s really anyone’s game. Throughout the whole challenge, Skupin and Pete are the only two actually playing successfully. At one point they’re neck and neck, but Pete messes up and Skupin takes the win and the immunity.

Penner starts scrambling because he thinks he’s doomed. Abi is sizing everyone up and she’s got her eyes on Penner. But Denise, Malcom and Carter decide to target Artis and go to Skupin to bring him on board. Meanwhile, Penner and Lisa are chatting and he’s doing everything he can to get her away from her poisonous alliance and she’s starting to budge, but she’s still worried about how she’d look to people by not staying loyal. Hey Blair, I don’t think any of us would mind if you turned your back on that horrible alliance led by Abi. Really, it will be OK. Just switch teams. I give you permission.

So they head off to Tribal Council and Jeff focuses on Lisa and Abi. Lisa, in a very nice way, says her alliance sucks and that they did not appreciate what she has been doing for them. She basically says the other side respects her gameplay and her own alliance doesn’t. Abi just huffs and rolls her eyes.

That side is convinced that Penner is going out, so Abi ignores her hidden immunity idle after Jeff returns with the voting results.

In the end, Penner gets four votes and Artis ends up with five. Abi is shocked. The jury of RC and Jeff are shocked. Everyone is shocked. It turns out that Lisa remained loyal to her alliance but Skupin decided to join the others and helped send Artis packing in a complete blindside.

What did you think of this week’s Survivor Philippines? Are you happy with the outcome? Who is playing the best game so far? Lisa is playing surprisingly well, I think.