What a heavy episode tonight. Geez, I felt all the sad emotions watching this tonight. The first thing we see in this episode tonight is the remaining four of the Kele tribe talking about how bonded they are. Just how much they love one another and are bonded even more with how much struggle they’ve had with not winning and having no advantages to help them at camp. This was definite foreshadowing as the rest of the episode would focus on that tightness of the group but also having to bond through more Survivor tragedy.
We see Jake sitting out on the beach near the water. He suddenly says that he saw a snake right at his leg and wasn’t sure if he got bit. He calls Alex and Jeremiah over telling what happened. They ask if he got bit and he said he didn’t feel anything really if he did. He sees two marks on the sole of his foot. The only thing we saw of the snake on camera was afterward. The waves were kind of rough so you can see where the waves were pushing the snake up on to the beach and then the water would retreat after. So, that could have happened so quick with where he was sitting on the water and this snake got pushed up from the water. The medical producer is there immediately checking on Jake. He takes a picture of the marks and sends it back to the team to show them what it looks like. Jake says it is starting to get a little bit sore. Alex shows us the guide that they have that shows them what to eat and not to eat and what things are dangerous to encounter out there. I actually got a preview of this last week with Survivor 48’s Bianca and Thomas on RHAP where they were talking about another topic of food and them saying they had someone out there that stays at camp who tells them if there is something not safe to eat that could actually kill them. Little did I know that we were going to get more of that type story stuff this week. Alex shows the camera a picture of the snake that we had seen on camera and it is a sea krait and a very poisonous snake to which Jeff says later is ten times more poisonous than a rattlesnake when it puts out venom. They decide to send Jake off to medical to get checked out. We go to commercial with everyone nervous and a stressed camp. We come back from commercial and we’re in full medical emergency with a full team bringing him in on a stretcher putting oxygen on him. OH MY. They take him in and are putting full medical attention on him. Jeff arrives as he has been told what is going on. It’s a whole lot going on. The doctor ends up saying that it does thankfully appear that he took a “dry bite” which meant that it wasn’t a wet venom bite. They said these type snakes will often dry bite where it’s a get out of here type strike bite instead of trying to do full harm. They feel like he is also in a mental trauma reaction too where it’s obviously a shock and fear type situation too where he’s feeling all the things scared of what is going on. The doctor feels like he will be ok but they’ll be monitoring him. The doctor is asked about putting him back in the game which of course isn’t going to happen. They say that with him already being malnourished without food and water before this that there is no way that would ever be safe to put him back out in the intense Survivor environment. Plus, Jake is about to be a dad any day now so there is no way they are going to ever want to risk his health long term putting him back in a game. Jake is told he is out of the game. Just awful. One thing that we did get closure on was when they went to break and showed a picture of him with his newborn baby while putting up text saying Jake was fine and healthy and this allowed him to be sent back home in time to see his baby born. Just awesome news from such a terrible situation.
We come back from break and we’re seeing the teams arriving at the immunity challenge. Kele is down not one but now two. Jeff informs everyone of what had happened with Jake. Jeff then delivers the news to Kele that Jake will not be coming back to the game and it was just full devastates the last three members of Kele as you would expect. Just yet another hit to that tribe and they’re scared for their friend. Jeff talks about the safety issue concerns saying he has so many crew that have lived there at Fiji for a long time and “we talked to everybody this morning when this happened. We don’t have a crew member that knows anybody that’s been bitten by a sea krait. It’s extremely rare. I know it happened in the same way that you can get struck by lightning.” So, the immunity challenge goes on where Kele says they want to win it for Jake. Jeff had asked Jake what Jake would want to tell his tribe mates since he can’t say goodbye. Jake said tell them I love them and I’m sorry I couldn’t help them win and want them in the final three. Kele gets off to a good start here and it’s looking encouraging for them to pull this out. Then, they get to the final puzzle part and the puzzle gets Kele once again. The just pure devastation look on Sophi’s face as she sees they are going to lose was just heart wrenching. It was like watching someone that had just been demolished getting more of it in real time. She just bent over and sat down. Just so much sadness watching as they lose the challenge. The other teams don’t react with cheers as they know the severity of the situation of what Kele is going through. Even as the challenge was wrapping up, Rizo was one of the ones sitting the challenge out and he said just how bad he felt for them watching this play out. Kele just stands there just looking like they’ve taken another knockout blow. I’m a Sophi fan so watching her gutted reaction was just ROUGH in the final moments of the challenge. Kele will go back to tribal council.
Sophi, Alex, and Jeremiah go back to camp and they just react of well, how do we decide this vote. They decide to just have one on one’s and everyone can just decide for whatever is best. One thing to complicate is that Alex has an immunity idol so you have to take that into account with only three votes in play. One vote could backfire and take someone out if an idol is played. Discussions are had on what to do. Just such a likable trio here where I don’t want to see any of them go home. Sophi talked one on one with each of the guys. At one point, she snuck up on the guys having their one on one and she eavesdropped behind them in the woods to overhear them on who was telling her the truth and who was lying. LOL. I loved that. She’s gaming and playing to stay in. Tribal happens. They’re feeling all the emotions obviously. They talk of will the idol get played. Votes are put in. Alex sways back and forth but does end up playing his idol for safety. The votes are 2-1 against Jeremiah and Jeremiah is voted out. Alex is immediately saying ugh, shouldn’t have played my idol. So, we’re down to two Kele left with Sophi and Alex after a very heavy episode of emotions.