Survivor recap: Immunity Idol twist introduced to the game

Survivor 41, Episode 2 aired on Wednesday night, and viewers got to see a new twist added to the game.

We just met the Survivor 41 cast on the season premiere, which was two hours of exciting gameplay to welcome the show back to CBS.

Two castaways were already eliminated from the game by getting voted out at Tribal Councils.

Sara Wilson and Eric Abraham saw their time on Survivor 41 quickly come to an end, leaving just 16 people competing for the $1 million prize.

Survivor 41, Episode 2 recap

The second episode of the season promised some intrigue based on the trailers shown on CBS and we weren’t disappointed. Before getting into that, though, here is a reminder of which castaways were left on each tribe as the season continues.

• Luvu (Blue): Danny, DeShawn, Erika, Heather, Naseer, and Sydney.
• Ua (Green): Brad, Genie, Jairus, Ricard, and Shantel.
• Yase (Yellow): David, Evvie, Liana, Tiffany, and Xander.

At the Ua Tribe, we watched as Brad dug himself deeper as an outsider after he tried to listen in on a conversation that JD and Ricard were having.

Over at the Luvu Tribe, some time was spent on showing how important Naseer is to his tribe. He got the fire going again but used the flint rather than the skills he already has.

And at the Yase Tribe, it was clear that the group was doing poorly without food. Xander went looking for Immunity Idols and came across an advantage that came with a risk. It had a note with it that said if he opened it, he would be forced to use it, no matter what the consequences could become.

Xander took the risk on the advantage and it was a three-person Immunity Idol. It meant he would have to share the new and possible advantage with two other castaways. The huge twist was that one part was at each of the three camps, so it would be a cross-tribal advantage. And to activate it, he would have to use a secret phrase at the upcoming Immunity Challenge. It would be activated if the other two people also said the phrase.

Xander shared the news with Evvie and David in order to keep their alliance strong within the tribe. He also said that he doesn’t have a Tribal Council vote until the power gets activated. Evvie wants a women’s alliance to succeed, though, so she went and told Tiffany and Liana about Xander’s possible power.

A new Survivor 41 Immunity Challenge

At the Immunity Challenge, Xander used the phrase, but nobody else echoed it, leading to an awkward moment before they got down to playing the game.

The challenge itself was a course on and in the water that included balance beams before trying to complete a puzzle. The first two tribes to finish would get immunity and escape having to go to Tribal Council. They would also win finishing gear that would be extremely helpful back at camp. The losing tribe would be going to Tribal Council.

The Luvu Tribe won the Immunity Challenge, with the Ua Tribe coming in second place and also getting safety. Jeff Probst then tasked Luvu with choosing two castaways to go on a secret journey to then make a decision in private. It was another wrinkle to the game, especially when Jeff said they had to pick one person from Yase and then one person from either of the other two tribes.

They chose Evvie from Yase and then DeShawn from their tribe to go on the new journey. On their own, Evvie and DeShawn formed a new alliance, with Evvie also saying that she would protect her vote when they were given the same option as in the premiere. That allowed DeShawn to risk his vote at the next Tribal Council and possibly get a new reward.

Tribal Council for Survivor 41, Episode 2

The Yase Tribe had to go to Tribal Council again, meaning they would soon be down two people.

Xander could not vote, leaving just four people to decide the elimination. The women stuck together and David was voted out 3-1 over Tiffany.

Survivor airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on CBS.

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