There are two ways to make it to the merge onSurvivor. The smoothest road is to be on a tribe that wins immunity challenges onthe reality competitionseries and thereforedoesn’t go to Tribal Council to vote out a player.Then there is the harder option, which is to fight to stay with a tribe that keeps losing. The latter also means you have lower numbers to stay after the merge.
You can’t underestimate how much morale also affects a tribe. Last season we sawtwo people quit in the first two episodes.Survivor 46starts with a similar theme. Here is why Yanu might continue to have a tough go of it after they votedDavid “Jelinsky” Jelinskyoff.
A reality show where a group of contestants are stranded in a remote location with little more than the clothes on their back. The lone survivor of this contest takes home a million dollars.
Yanu’s Morale Might Be Hurt by Jelinsky on ‘Survivor 46’
Jelinsky talked a big game which is sometimes needed to believe you can win the $1 million prize. But asJeff Probstalways says the game is harder than what it looks like on TV. Jelinsky felt likethe sweat challengeof carrying water in a bucket full of holes in the time allotted wasn’t possible and quit. He went on an adventure where he had to bluff and lie, only to quickly fold whenMaria Shrime Gonzalezthreatened to tell his lie to her tribe. Lastly, he andJess Chongdidn’t perform well in the puzzle. Yanu had the tough call of sending home what looked like their physically weaker player with Jess or the one who mentally was weaker than Jelinsky. They voted out Jelinsky, butthe damage might already be done.
Once a tribe’s momentum goes in the wrong direction, it’s hard to change course.Jelinsky already reminded the remaining players that quitting is an option. That makes it harder for them to stay in the game when things are harder. Also, having to look harder at the so-called “weaker” points in your tribe to make this decision can weigh on them mentally. Sure, they get rid of the person who didn’t believe in them, but they’re also left with a castaway who they don’t have much confidence in.
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Jess said she was mentally struggling on the beach. She kept losing things because of her ADHD. The software engineer struggled mentally because of her lack of sleep. This weakened her ability to put up a fight against Jelinsky at Tribal Council.The lack of fight in both players and that energy spreading could make this a rough premerge for Yanu until their first win.
The good news is there are motivated players left.Kenzie Pettyis a social butterflymaking connections with everyone except Jess in the first episode.Tiffany Nicole Ervinfound the beware advantage and already found the idol and got her vote back.Q Burdetteseems so motivated that he looks annoyed by Jess and Jelinsky at the first Tribal Council. This bodes well for the Purple tribe. Maybe Jess gets acclimated to the environment, finds her spot on Yanu, and can ride things out with them to premerge. Or she continues to struggle, Yanu votes her out, andthey become a more cohesive team that can survive.However, every time you lose a castaway there is a chance it decreases morale instead of increases it.
The teaser for the next episode shows the stress continues to be high for Yanu. Tiffany and Q hold up one half of a puzzle that is an arch. Jess holds up the other but drops it.Bhanu Gopalscreams her name in frustration. Probst says any tribe could win. It looked like Yanu was close to finishing, so it’s not like they’re a slouch in the challenge. But even if Yanu wins this, it might be uncomfortable for them back at camp.
Episodes of Survivor Season 46 airs live on CBS and Paramount+ on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. EST/PST.
