“Survivor 45” recap: Another episode, another quit

Dalton Ross
·15 min read
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What. Is. Happening?!? We are now four episodes deep into Survivor 45, and of the four players to be eliminated so far, two of them have asked at Tribal Council to be voted out. That means we are currently at a 50 percent quit rate on the season. 50 PERCENT! As Pete Campbell once so aptly exclaimed to short-shorts loving Ben Benson on Mad Men: Not great, Bob!

I hate to repeat myself and what I said after Hannah Rose's quit just six days prior in the game, but since this entire incident felt like some sort of déjà vu rerun anyway, I may as well: Didn't see it coming. Like Hannah, Sean came off as so geeked up to go play Survivor when we spoke shortly before the game began. And you could see him almost bursting out of his skin when they all first stepped foot onto that barge.

So what happened? The last thing I want to do is minimize what Sean said about reclaiming lost time after losing so many years as a gay man trying "to live a straight, faithful Mormon lifestyle." Sean's story was heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time. He clearly had a very rough road for a very long time, but eventually found his true self and his true love and just wants to spend every second bathing in that. And that's wonderful. Love it. And I love that for Sean.

Sean Edwards on 'Survivor 45'
Sean Edwards on 'Survivor 45'

Robert Voets/CBS Sean Edwards on 'Survivor 45'

But bailing on the game, and your tribemates that appeared ready to put their games on the line for you, and the producers that put their reputation on the line to cast you, it can't help but be a massive bummer. The fact that Sean would rather spend time with his husband than on Survivor is admirable. The fact that he only figured that out after starting the game? Again… not great, Bob.

Also — and I almost hate to point this out — but quitting did not mean Sean got to immediately head home to go see his husband after having his torch snuffed. It just meant he went to Ponderosa and had to hang out there instead of on the island, so it wasn't exactly like he was even really choosing his husband over the game, which makes his whole reasoning… confusing.

Sean did at least get to go home once the jury started getting voted out. Prior to season 41, folks voted out before the jury would then go on another trip so the entire cast all returned to the U.S. at the same time. Now, in another cost-saving measure, the pre-jury boots/quits are sent home once the jury phase begins. So maybe Sean just wanted to make sure he was part of that group heading home early if not immediately, but at least in the short-term, he was more choosing a bed and food and a shower — not his husband — over the island.

So why do that? One thing that was clear about Sean is that he appears to swing on a pretty big emotional pendulum. Perhaps — as he said — he just no longer felt all-in and did not want to deprive anyone else of the opportunity. Or, maybe he was even lower than we saw after Kaleb and Emily flipped the script and put him on the bottom of his Lulu tribe, and the adversity — along with losses in every single immunity challenge — sent him spiraling.

I definitely look forward to chatting with Sean — who, as his new tribemates all mentioned, exudes positive energy and good vibes — on Thursday to get some more intel on what ultimately led to his decision. Regardless, it is time to now once again ask the question: Is the original Lulu the worst Survivor tribe ever? I posed the query a few weeks back but didn't believe it then to be true. I mean, I never thought any tribe could ever be worse than Ulong from Palau, a tribe which lost every single immunity challenge. Yes, eight straight! How can any tribe compete with that?

However, original Lulu also came in last in every single immunity challenge as well as the marooning contest, and that was against two other tribes as opposed to just one. Not only that, but a third of the tribe quit the game. In just nine days! That is epic futility. I actually think they may have been a bigger trainwreck than Ulong. Or at least a bigger disappointment. And when it comes to Sean, I'm super disappointed he didn't stick it out to play the game he came to play. But in a much, much grander scheme picture, I am overjoyed that he has finally discovered true happiness outside of the game and has found his ultimate alliance partner… in life.

Okay, let's hit on the other big events to come out of episode 4 of Survivor 45.

Survivor 45
Survivor 45

Robert Voets/CBS Jeff Probst and the Reba tribe on 'Survivor 45'

Swap meet

It used to bug me back in the day when Probst would bring contestants into a challenge where nothing at all was set up and then "surprise" them with a tribe swap. "At least set up materials for a fake challenge!" I would yell at my TV screen, because I have nothing better to do in life than complain about literally the most minute details of a television program I proclaim to be my all-time favorite.

Anyway, at some point producers got the hint and starting dragging materials over from the art department challenge graveyard — yes, there actually is such a thing — to create the illusion of a competition that would never be run. Think for a second about all the crew work that entails for absolutely nothing. Like, maybe the contestants are fooled briefly right as they walk in until Probst starts asking questions about the state of the game on day 8 — which is always a giant red flag that a huge twist is about to occur — but that's really it. So all that stuff has to be brought all the way over there and then brought all the way back just so idiots like me aren't popping off at their TV screen about a tribe-swap being too obvious. Whatever. I love it. Not unlike Emily Flippen, it gives me perverse enjoyment.

Let's get into the new tribes after the swap and what we saw there.

Lulu losers no more

Let me say this before I get into the new members and new dynamics of the new Lulu tribe: There are few things in life I love more than time-lapse comedy. Maybe Star Wars. I guess my wife and kids. Definitely a good Louisiana Crawfish boil. But that's really the entire list.

Time lapse comedy is never not gold — whether it's Christian Hubicki going on and on and on about different puzzle approaches, or Katurah explaining all the ways in which Bruce drives her absolutely crazy. The Katurah annoyance at Bruce has become one of the season's most humorous storylines. There have been plenty of previous examples of the majority of a tribe finding someone annoying, but what makes the Katurah thing so side-splitting is that it's just her. Nobody else seems to have a problem with Uncle Bruce at all. Hell, Jake thinks he's God's gift to comedy! And the fact that nobody else is annoyed by Bruce makes Katurah even more annoyed. It's an endless cycle of hilarity!

While Katurah has made her dislike of Bruce very clear to viewers going all the way back to episode 1, she definitely slipped when she openly tried to catch Bruce in a lie by asking Kaleb to reveal Brandon's side of the story at the journey in the hopes of catching Bruce in a lie. Not only did it not work (because Bruce told the truth) but it sent a clear message to the crazy uncle that one of his island nieces was out for blood.

In the meantime, Kaleb — the lone Lulu left in a sea of former Belos — did what Kaleb does, making connections with everyone while looking for those little cracks that could make him the power swing vote. One of those connections was with Jake, who laughed for way too long at his own joke about jumping ship but being a good swimmer. Don't get me wrong, it's a good line. But after that eruption of guffawing, I'm wondering if Jake's estimation of Uncle Bruce as the funniest man alive is suddenly a little suspect. Unless you find jokes about a missing flint to be the highpoint of hilarity. And who knows? Maybe out there, it is!

Survivor 45
Survivor 45

Robert Voets/CBS The cast of 'Survivor 45'

Bluetiful together

All I could think about when I first saw the new blue Belo tribe is… Dear God, why could we not have Emily and Kendra on the same tribe to start this game? I'm talking about the Emily that called out Bruce for no reason and then almost pulled her own hair out at the mention of aliens building the pyramids. Can you imagine Kendra and that Emily getting into a deep discussion on all things… astrology??? That would have been must-see TV at its finest. I imagine it is a conversation that would have gone a little something like this:

Kendra: "Hey, what sign are you?"
Emily: "What sign am I? The sign that says I am not an idiot who believes in idiotic things like astrology."
Kendra: [Awkward pause] "I'm an astrologist."
Emily: "Yeah, and I'm Jeff Probst. Hahahahahahahaha… Oh, you're serious. Okay… well, I'm sorry. And when I say I am sorry, what I mean is that I am sorry that you believe in such dumb things. And I'm sorry I wasn't nicer about that."
Kendra: "You know what? You suck."
Emily: [Hangs head] "I know."

Unfortunately, by the time they met up here on day 8, it was with a kinder, gentler Emily 2.0 who had learned to leash that toxic tongue thanks to her mentor Kaleb. (BOOOOOOOOOO!) Not only that, but as the only original Lulu member on a tribe with two original Belo (Kendra and Brando… who may or may not have appeared in this episode) and two original Reba (Drew and Austin), Emily was now the most important member of the tribe. She was the swing vote in a Belo–Reba war. Much like Kaleb did earlier, Austin saw Emily as an opportunity, and he and Drew solidified a new three-person majority with the former outcast. (Can I say the word outcast when writing about Survivor, or still too soon?)

They even gave Emily some agency in the game, telling her she could call the shots and pick whoever she wanted to go home. Sure, that choice was only between two players, so it's not like she had a ton of options, but it was still a smart call by the fellas to do that, and a pretty amazing recovery for a player that would have been unanimously voted out on day three had someone not quit the game.

Jeff Probst on 'Survivor 45'
Jeff Probst on 'Survivor 45'

Robert Voets/CBS Jeff Probst on 'Survivor 45'

Reba strong?

J is not just a letter. It is also a player on this season of Survivor. I swear it! Totally not making that up. And although we got a really nice deleted scene of J last week sharing her Hindu faith with the rest of her tribe, we haven't exactly seen a lot of her on the show itself up to this point. But that's what happens when your tribe keeps winning, and you're not finding idols or advantages, and aren't part of the big tribal alliance.

But this week was J's big coming out party, because J was ready to make a move. While the rest of the tribe seemed happy to cut their one non-original Reba tribe member loose in Sean (and he would prove to be equally happy to do so!), J had her eye on a different target: Sifu. As someone who is generally a fan of people who refer to themselves in the third person and routinely pretend a machete is a guitar and make lots of guitar solo noises with one's mouth, this was a disturbing development, to be sure.

But also interesting. Why was J so insistent on getting rid of Sifu? Sifu was the only person besides her not in the original Reba McEntire alliance. Had she known that, you would have to assume that J would have tried to form a pact with Sifu and Sean to take out Julie or Dee. But she didn't, unknowingly playing right into the other women's hands in terms of protecting their alliance. It may not have been the best move by J, but it was at least nice to see her playing the game.

Rage in the cage

Okay, this was a cool immunity challenge. Instead of having to transport a heavy object like a waterlogged snake out of a cage and onto land, this time players had to transport the cage itself onto land. And then — with all the players still inside the cage, one person had to dig themselves out of it to get balls that would have to shoot from inside the cage into nets.

What a clever twist on a challenge we have seen many times before. A nice wrinkle from John Kirhoffer, Chris "Milhouse" Marchand, and the challenge department team. And you know what else I say? Take it even further! I really like the concept of players being locked or stuck in a cage and having to rely on tribe mates outside of the cage to do certain tasks to get them out before they can proceed to other stages. There's some more room here to play with and I look forward to seeing what else they come up with.

Anyway, Lulu finally won an immunity competition now that five of the original Lulu members were no longer on the tribe, and Austin eked out second place for the new Belo, sending Reba to Tribal Council.

Survivor 45
Survivor 45

Robert Voets/CBS Sean Edwards of 'Survivor 45'

Hit it and then quit it

The big question hovering over this episode once all was said and done is… what was Reba's plan had Sean not asked them to vote him out? Going into Tribal, it appeared Dee and Julie wanted to take Sean out, but J was really pushing for Sifu. Then, after Sean told them he wanted to go, J granted his request, but Dee still voted for Sifu???? Not only that, but Julie said at the voting booth that she got a last-minute audible to write Sifu's name. ("What is it with this last-minute stuff?")

This begs so many questions: Who was behind the "last-minute stuff"? If it was "last-minute stuff," does that mean that the original plan was to vote out Sean, or was the "last-minute stuff" a confirmation that they still wanted to take Sifu out, no matter how Sean felt? And, finally, why do I keep putting "last-minute stuff" in quotes?

My guess — and this is just a guess — is that the women had decided on Sifu and then were in confused disarray after Sean's announcement and could not coordinate plans on what to do now. (Hence, Dee being the only one to, as the immortal Keith Nale would say, stick to the plan.) On his new podcast, Probst says all indications were that Sifu was the target. Obviously, I'll try to get more intel on this from Sean when we chat on Thursday morning.

It's also interesting that Probst did not verbally poll the tribe once Sean said he wanted out. That's what he did with Emily, and nobody actually went up to vote, but he did not do it here. Or maybe he did and we did not see it because players said they would still like to go up and cast a vote. Again, I'll be sure to ask Sean. Of course, it's a good thing for us that they did vote because it created some serious drama heading into next week with Dee's vote for Sifu.

Of course, the real drama would have occurred had the ladies completely ignored Sean's wishes and kept him in the game. Would he have walked out anyway, like Hannah threatened to do six days prior, or would he have been captive like poor Shawna Mitchell on Survivor: The Amazon? (Although Shawna certainly perked up once dreamy Alex showed up on her tribe.)

We may not have that action next week, but we can at least play another game of Crazy Uncle Bruce hides the flint! Until then, did you watch the video of the entire cast talking about their pet peeves? I cannot recommend it highly enough, especially the master class delivered by Emily. We've also got Probst weighing in on Sean asking out of the game, and have an exclusive deleted scene of the new Belo tribe you'll want to check out. And you deifnitely will want to take in our exit interview with Sean, where he expresses "an intense feeling of regret" over his quit. Make sure to follow me on Twitter/X @daltonross and on Instagram at @thedaltonross, and I'll be back next week with another scoop of the crispy!

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