Survivor: Ghost Island 36×04 Review: “A Diamond in the Rough”

The original Malolo tribe needs a major miracle on Survivor: Ghost Island. Ever since the beginning of the season, the tribe’s luck continued to plummet farther and farther down the hole. Even the tribe swap couldn’t save them against Naviti! They’ve now lost four of their original members and if they can’t turn it around, they’re going to be eliminated one-by-one come the merge. This is the worst type of luck to have in a game about numbers. You need the numbers and alliances to propel yourself further when the time comes or else you’ll be an easy person to eliminate. Unfortunately, things seem a tad grim for Malolo at the moment.

Michael tried to even the power during “Trust Your Gut,” but he used his immunity idol on the wrong person. If he had accurately saved Brendon, who knows what could’ve been for his tribe when they returned from Tribal Council. In this case, everyone knew that the Malolo three were now at the bottom of the group and one of them was going to be voted out next. There was no shaking the power structure. Michael, Jenna or Stephanie would be the next one to go. It was smart of them to make connections with their current tribe in the interim. If one of them was next, they could at least show their value to prove why they should stick around.

When it came to the reward challenge, it was a pretty quick game. Malolo continued their losing streak, but the real highlight of the match was Chris. He dominated the challenge with his precise throwing and baseball-like pitches; even I was shocked at how strong he was and his accurate throws. He earned his tribe the prize and some good favor in his books. On the other hand, he made himself into a huge target with that performance. No one can deny after that point that he’s the biggest physical threat in the season. He has the chance to win every individual immunity challenge. Chris may be making new connections with his castaways, like Donathan; however, there’s no way he will make it to the finals.

The Ghost Island twist this week was dull in comparison to the rest. Naviti went right to rocks when picking the castaway, and Stephanie destroyed an urn that gave her no game to complete. Why even have the twist anymore? Besides filling airtime and getting to know Stephanie a little bit, we got nothing substantial from Ghost Island. If the twist really wanted to be effective, there should be a power to compete for, or a clue to a power, included within every urn. The purse of Ghost Island is to reverse the curse, but unfortunately the lackluster and uneventful twists are still winning out in the curse department.

For the immunity challenge, the boogie board stood out as the most interesting addition. Being pulled on the rope in the water forced all the contestants to endure the element if they really wanted to win. Sure, we had another puzzle to complete the game, but the first part would’ve been fun to play. Desiree dominated that challenge; she jumped right in and stayed underwater for the entire ride as her tribe pulled her in. That’s dedication, especially with how strong the impact of the water must’ve been. Desiree is proving that she’s a tough competitor and someone to watch.

Stephanie seemed like the obvious choice to vote out at the Malolo Tribal Council. She had the night away at Ghost Island by herself, she didn’t make many connections at her new tribe, and there was uncertainty if she had any type of advantage because of the island. Her game had a lot of strikes against her. Seeing a super-fan get voted out of Survivor early is sad to witness; you want to root for them because it’s their dream. However, bad luck happens all the time and a lot of good players are cut short in the long-run. Malolo needed Michael for the challenges and Jenna made a bigger connection with Sebastian; Stephanie didn’t have any of those alliances or a strong reason to keep her. Hopefully she’ll get a shot in a future season.

“A Diamond in the Rough” was another by-the-book week where someone from the minority alliance got picked off. Nothing eventful happened – it was pretty standard Survivor fare. However, based on the teaser for the next episode, another tribe swap is going to happen! This could be Malolo’s chance to turn things around and get into power. They need to or else they’re finished. (But no pressure, Malolo.)