Survivor 45 Recap: The Beloved Auction Returns With Some Juicy ‘New Era’ Twists
It’s been a long, cold 14 seasons without the Survivor Auction, as we’ve watched castaways starve, struggle, emotionally break down and throw in the towel. But finally, after eight years of fans begging and pleading, the Auction. Is. Back!
Sure, there are plenty of gripes around social media about how the 26-day game isn’t long enough, but I think it’s safe to say that after a solid two weeks of not eating, these people would probably commit murder for a bite of fish eyeballs. Did I say fish eyeballs? I meant, uhh, a chocolate cake! French fries! Maybe a slice of pepperoni pizza! But just because everyone’s excited at the prospect of a full tummy, they should’ve known that Jeff would have some tricks up his sleeve, it being the “new era” and all. He wasn’t going to just bring the auction back willy-nilly. No sir. Not his style. So here’s how this returning fan-favorite event shook out.
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A boat delivers a large table with individual bowls attached for each castaway. Why? Because the tribe members must find their auction cash hidden in the jungle if they want any shot at winning food. Forty bamboo tubes of moolah are hidden within the trees and after a race to find these needles in haystacks, Dee scores the highest payday with $900, while Bruce remains at the bottom of the pack with a paltry 80 bucks. (Bruce, my man, what happened?!)
“I hope there’s not a catch! There’s always a catch,” Kellie says. (At least someone’s been paying attention.) When the tribe meets Jeff at the auction, he tells them outright: There are no advantages for purchase. If you recall, advantages are really what broke the auction in the first place. After they were introduced, players would save all of their money for a shot at the advantage, thus taking the surprise and thrill out of the whole thing. I’m glad he took them off the table up front.
He tells the group that the amount of items offered will be determined by a rock draw. Items 1-5 are guaranteed, but beyond that, there could be anywhere between 6-15 total items. Why does that matter? Because the person to wind up with the most amount of money when the auction abruptly comes to a close will lose his or her vote at Tribal Council. Mic drop, jaws drops.
We get the usual highlights of starving Americans ogling at common household grub. Kendra dines on pretzels and a beer (which Jake looks at like it’s a long-lost lover) and Kellie picks up some French fries, while Emily scores what is, in my opinion, the night’s best eats: a charcuterie board full of meat and cheeses, plus a glass of white wine. (Yes, you heard me right! I’d pick that over the pizza slice. We all know that Fijian “pizza” is probably no New Haven ahbeetz, right? Google it.)
But then there’s Katurah. Poor, sweet, annoyed, entertaining Katurah. She goes all-in on what she’s hoping will be a cheeseburger or something only to “win” a plate of two of the largest fish eyeballs I have ever seen in my life, in person or on TV. She’s a good sport though. She picks it up, licks it a little, considers making it a meal. But after she declines, Austin pays $100 for the largest, slimiest, stretchiest bite ever and that footage will forever live on in my nightmares, my friends. “It’s like sashimi,” he says as this thing oozes all over his hand. NO, SIR. YOU STOP IT RIGHT THERE.
Unfortunately for Bruce, not having enough cabbage to spend leaves him with the $80 he walked in with, and after 10 items are sold, he becomes the unlucky soul to lose his vote. But he does have a little bit of luck on his side in the form of a hidden immunity idol. If that wasn’t enough, he goes on to win the week’s immunity challenge which has players holding one-third of their pre-game body weight with one arm. Sorry, Katurah. Uncle B. isn’t going anywhere just yet!
Before we get to the vote, here are a couple other major highlights from Episode 8.
* Before the challenge takes place, Jeff offers the tribe a bag of rice if four of them will sit out of the immunity challenge. Dee and Emily quickly volunteer, but while Katurah looks to others for reassurance, Jeff decides to “incentivize” them. Hmm, that’s a strange way to explain him taking a large knife and slicing a hole in the bottom of the bag. So as the group starts panicking about the decision they need to make, grains of rice are wasting away like sands in an hourglass! It’s evil, it’s conniving, it’s… genius. Drew jumps in to sit out, followed by the hesitant Katurah, but at least the tribe will have some rice to get them through the end of the game.
* Will we ever see a women’s alliance come out on top again? It’s been a long time since Season 16’s Black Widow Brigade took over the game, but as we saw in Survivor: Vanuatu, it’s far easier said than done. And from the looks of it, it won’t be happening in Season 45 thanks to Ms. Emily. After the six remaining ladies agree to start picking off the last four men, Emily almost immediately takes that information to Drew to once again solidify their connection. And with a common enemy in mind (Bruce, before he went on to win the necklace), Drew and Julie say they’re willing to follow Katurah’s lead. Needless to say, Kendra and Kellie are in for a big surprise at Tribal Council.
THE TRIBE HAS SPOKEN | With Bruce immune, the target shifts to Jake, who spends his afternoon openly searching for an idol. But many — including Drew, Austin and Emily — worry that Bruce might play his idol for Jake or that Jake could use his Shot in the Dark. Thanks to Kaleb, the impossible has been proven possible, which naturally instills a bit of fear in everyone. Drew pitches a plan to pick Kellie off, leaving Bruce and Jake for next week. Once both men are eligible to receive votes, they can split their votes and flush Bruce’s idol. But with Jake being called “a loose cannon,” will he really be able to escape the torch snuffer?
At Tribal, Dee says she feels the vote is “united,” which seems to put Jake even more on edge. Emily says that rarely is everyone on the same page, implying that Jake should not be as fearful as he seems. But when the time comes, he listens to his gut and plays his Shot in the Dark. His luck isn’t as good as Kaleb’s, and he’s “Not Safe.” When the votes are read, the majority (except for Kendra and Katurah) blindsides Kellie, and the former Belo member walks out of Tribal Council completely shell-shocked. (Read our Q&A with Kellie here!)
Did the Survivor Auction go full tilt boogie? Were you just as surprised by the vote as Kellie was? Speak your truth by lighting the comments on fire!
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