Survivor Heroes Vs Villains Episode 10 Recap : How to use your Hidden Immunity Idol(s)

Survivor Heroes Vs Villains has become one of my all time favourite seasons – and it’s only the merge! The level of strategy that the players this season have shown is simply phenomenal.

After the loss of Courtney from the Villains tribe we find both tribes even at 5 players each. Such situations have happened before in Survivor and would require a player from one tribe to flip in order to avoid a tie. However, with the exodus of strong physical males such as Tyson, Boston Rob and Coach from the Villains tribe, the Heroes tribe has concluded that the only explanation is the existence of a powerful all-female alliance. In addition, since JT was caught in the act of finding the hidden immunity idol last week, he probably felt compelled to get rid of it. To ostensibly prove his allegiance for the tribe, he came up with a plan to slip the idol to Russell Hantz of all people. The mission? To help Russell “save” himself from the female alliance and get rid of Parvati, whose previous estrogen alliance surged to the top 4 in Micronesia.

After the newly named Yin Yang tribe had their obligatory merge feast, Sandra hinted to Rupert that Russell was the true mastermind over at the Villains tribe. This could have foiled Parvati’s plan if it wasn’t for the fact that nobody listens to Rupert’s strategizing on the Heroes’ tribe – nobody. Like the doomed prophetess Cassandra, Rupert’s attempt to warn his tribe about Russell is in vain.

But it’s Parvati who schooled the old-schoolers this week with her strategic brilliance. Feeling ostracized at the merge feast, she pondered on how to keep her 5 villains intact. When her former rival and alliance partner Amanda approached her, she informed her that she had indeed a hidden immunity idol. Then, Parvati allowed Danielle to win immunity, thus guaranteeing safety for a reliable ally in her villains tribe. That’s one less target for the Heroes. She correctly predicted that Russell would be safe nonetheless as the Heroes practically welcomed him with open arms, believing that his vote would be the key to defeating the villains. But that allowed room for the Heroes to divert their votes to either herself, Sandra or Jerri.

It was during her conversation with doe eyed Amanda that she realized her former teammate was in fact lying to her. Amanda had pushed a bit too hard on getting Parvati to use the hidden immunity idol on herself, making it obvious that the actual plan was to pick out either Sandra or Jerri. By not revealing to Russell that she had a hidden immunity idol, she gained another immunity idol – from Russell, intended to keep herself safe.

Knowing that the Heroes’ likely target was Sandra or Jerri – she covered all bases, thinking one step ahead of the Heroes tribe. She sprung one hidden immunity idol from her purse and passed it to a stunned Sandra. Moments later, she produced a second idol and handed it to an equally shocked Jerri. With that the Heroes tribe knew their goose was cooked as they saw all 5 votes for Jerri declared null and void. Parvati had not only outsmarted them all and used Russell like a tool, but she also gained the loyalty of Sandra and Jerri. Moreover, she removed herself as a threat by flushing both idols from her posession. Meanwhile, JT played the price for putting his trust in Russell and was ultimately booted from the game.

With the Heroes deflated, their only hope lies in wildcard Sandra who is vindictive in her goal of ousting Russell from the game. It is Sandra who has taken over the torch from Boston Rob as Russell’s arch-nemesis. She has gained the trust of Rupert by informing him of Russell’s duplicity and could make a big move this week by siding with the Heroes assuming everyone stays loyal. But I’m sure this season has a few more tricks up its sleeve.

Celebrity Apprentice Week 6

This week’s Celebrity Apprentice task was refreshing : makeover an up and coming country star. The “starlets” were Luke Bryan (who just won an American Country Award for Best New Artist) and Emily West. I was really impressed with Emily West’s song Blue Sky and thought she did a great job performing it on the show.