Survivor South Africa: Island of Secrets Episode 17 Recap: “Icarus”

Kemper Boyd

Welcome to week 17 of Survivor South Africa: Infinite Scream. Where we scream into the void about the boring season of ultimate domination.

Thoughts:

  • Durao has finally seen the light, imagine Durao if you’d just done some simple thinking and not allied yourself with the guy with complete power.
  • The editors give us a lovely scene of Rob telling us that Steffi and Nicole are his final three and he will do anything to protect them followed by the women talking about blindsiding him. Steffi tells Nicole about Laetitia’s idol. Nicole shares with them that she has the two halves idol.
  • Laetitia is talking to Steffi at the well about Nicole. If Nicole could lie about the idol for so long what else can she lie about? I dislike this logic so much
  • GIANT BAT REWARD. Rob wins, takes Nicole on reward and sends Laetitia to the Island of Secrets.
  • Rob talks about how it’s Amigos strong. I don’t know if the editors are laying on his demise strong or if he is going to just win the next 3 immunities and win the game.
  • Nicole tells Rob about Laetitia’s idol. Rob starts talking about using the idols at Tribal to Cirie Durao from the game. Nicole, thinking quickly says instead at final 3 they should all hold up and idol and say “we had these and we didn’t need them, because we had trust”.
  • Rob says he didn’t do this for money, that he wants Nicole to win the game. It’s sweet, she’s a divorced mother of two, I’d imagine it would be very helpful for her. But still, it’s Survivor, be in it to win it. This really undermines a lot of my respect for Rob’s remarkable game so far.
  • Laetitia is given a vote nullifier that can be used at final 4. That’s too late in the game for advantages for my liking but it could be a very nice safety net to get rid of Rob at 4 if he wins immunity. Or to get rid of Durao after Rob is gone. I suspect however she’ll spaff it on this vote when it isn’t needed as a man is going home as the plan stands.
  • Durao and Steffi eat a chicken.
  • Giant Maze Puzzle Piece Immunity Challenge. Oof. It looks tiring AF. AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Rob wins immunity! Bye Durao.
  • Nico calls out how amazing Laetitia is for running most of the challenge and getting to the puzzle. They act like she’s 80. To put this into perspective Laetitia is 3 years older than Janine from Australian Survivor who is a challenge powerhouse, she is 4 years younger than Shane Gould was when she played. She is 14 years younger than Rudy was when he played. I know they all think she’s close tot he grave but Jesus Christ.
  • The 4 who are not Durao all go to the beach to talk, they talk about all wearing the immunity idols and not playing them. Just wearing them. Because they have something stronger than idols, trust.
  • Laetitia tells them she has nothing from Island of Secrets.  Even when Nicole and Steffi go to the well with her. She then tells just Steffi later, saying if Rob wins immunity at 4 she will nullify Nicole’s vote to save Steffi.
  • Nicole goes to Rob and spills the beans about the plan to blindside him. She says what use are strong women if you don’t celebrate the men who lift them up. FUCK OFF NICOLE. I know she is just pumping him up because she knows Steffi and Laetitia are closer than she is with either of them and she doesn’t want to go at 4. But the strong men who lift up women don’t need celebrating, they are allies because they know it’s right. When they need celebrating they aren’t real allies. That being said I like this from Nicole. Durao is a follower, he may have been loyal to Rob in the past but I think Nicole can get him on board if Rob loses final 4 immunity. If Rob wins, Rob is so loyal to her she will make final 3 as Durao will vote Laetita with them if they ask.
  • WHAT HAS MIKE DONE TO HIS HAIR? His hair got so nice and curly on the island and he’s shaved it all off except the top and his sides are pale and the rest of him is tanned. So bad.
  • Tribal is all talk about the Amigos. Laetitia says she is Amigo #4. This is a very strong display. Rob calls Durao Icarus, he flew to close to the sun, I don’t understand this analogy.
  • Nico says “any immunity idols now would be the time to play it” and Durao is shocked when Rob says “idols on”. Nicole says something insane about “courageous secure men” and I am the angriest feminist you could imagine. Then she plays the idol for Durao. All the idols are then played and Steffi is Cirie’d from the game, well not really because she got votes.
  • Was this a good move for Nicole? I think so, but honestly she’s betrayed Steffi who will now be going hard at Ponderosa against her. This was the most interesting strategic thing that has happened almost this entire season and I can’t help but feel it was all set up with Nicole blindsiding Nathan. She took Nathan out before the merge, she didn’t have to but it allowed her to come back and be Rob’s number 1, had Nathan stayed I don’t think Steffi, Rob and Nicole all last to final 5. Rob and Nathan would have been too obviously dangerous to have the control Rob had post merge and then it would have been chaos.
  • Two hours next week. Good god.

What do you guys think?