Battle Royale

Battle Royale is the eleventh episode of .
==Story==
===Night 19===
Kula Kula returns from Tribal Council in high spirits after blindsiding Hai Giang and finding that the campfire is still burning. Drea Wheeler agrees with Mike Turner that Hai had been getting audacious and too controlling over Mike. Romeo Escobar describes it as the "Tribal [he] enjoyed most", happy to have gotten rid of the person that had been constantly targeting him.
Lindsay Dolashewich converses with Drea. She is grateful to have rice to eat, but wants to put out a net in the hopes of catching a shark in the morning. Drea agrees and thinks that that would be a great time to debrief about the Advantage Amulet, which, with Hai's elimination, has upgraded to give the two women a Vote Steal they can use together.
===Day 20===
The next morning, Drea is telling a recount about taking swimsuit photos for her friend's wedding in Saint Martin. The story is interrupted by Maryanne Oketch's discovery that she has lost a toenail, and Mike says that he has been paying attention to her nail hanging off before falling. Maryanne reveals that she loses several nails a year; Lindsay Dolashewich argues that that is abnormal, while Drea stares in confusion. Mike jokes, "There's normal, and then there's Maryanne." As the majority alliance walks away from the shelter, Maryanne and Romeo stay back to discuss tribe dynamics. They believe that the dynamics have flipped on their head, allowing the bottom-feeders to slide into the power position between the bigger threats. However, Romeo is wary that the majority may become privy to this and dispose of him and Maryanne.
Meanwhile, the majority alliance sits on the beach and discusses their next move. Drea is surprised that Maryanne and Romeo have not been taken out yet. Saying that the strategy should not be as complicated as "brain surgery", Mike wants to go the easy route and take out Romeo, whose laziness irritates him. Jonathan Young agrees that he has never seen Romeo work around camp; Mike snarks that Romeo's only exercise is scooping the rice into his mouth. The scene then switches back to camp, showing Romeo sneaking bites from the rice pot. In a confessional, he expresses his defiance against the power structure.
Drea proposes that the majority alliance hold until to the final five and duke it out from there; the other members agree before continuing to complain about Romeo's sloppy behavior.
After the group disperses, Mike goes on a walk with Omar Zaheer, revealing that his agreement to the pact was but a ploy to lull Drea into a false sense of security. He actually intends to blindside her because she has become the biggest threat remaining and she still has an Extra Vote. At the water well, he pulls Lindsay into the plan. Meanwhile, a thirsty Drea is shouting and asking them when they will be back with water, causing Maryanne to jump. Lindsay, Mike, and Omar return to camp with the canteens. On the beach, Omar jokes to Drea that Mike is getting "high on Hai", and shares in a confessional that the power might be getting to Mike's head.
The Kula Kula women are discussing the food situation at camp. Lindsay is digging for scraps in the pot, while Drea and Maryanne agree that "the struggle has been real", especially on this day. They decide to put the net out to catch fish. Drea tries to wake Jonathan up to join them, but he is too depleted to get up. Romeo stays back to help himself to the rice. Later, Jonathan wakes up from his nap and asks Romeo how long he has been laying in the shelter; Romeo replies 'over an hour' and tells him that the rest of the tribe is on the beach. He agrees to join Jonathan in meeting the rest of their tribemates on the beach shortly. Jonathan describes that it is difficult to take on the provider role, but concedes that this is part of his game plan, which he wants to keep obscured from his competitors.
The tribe is trying to figure out how the fishing net works. Jonathan tries to teach them how to untangle the net, but as he gets frustrated with how his tribemates are not understanding how to untangle it, his tribemates also become frustrated with his "hangry" attitude. Drea walks off with Omar to vent, while Jonathan is aggravated by her passive aggression. Drea cannot bring herself to feel sorry for him, because she is also starving herself. Meanwhile, he complains to Lindsay that Drea was being unnecessarily rude, and wants to be appreciated for his hard work. At camp, Drea and Lindsay concur that his character has changed for the worse, so they decide that he should be next to go. Maryanne and Romeo agree to the plan, but Romeo asks what they would do if Jonathan won immunity; Lindsay is resolute that he must not win and is committed to beat him in the upcoming Immunity Challenge.
===Day 21===
Breaking the fourth wall, Jeff Probst reminds the audience of the twist that was previously introduced in . He recaps the events of the previous season, saying that Deshawn Radden participated in the challenge with the intent of competing in the Do or Die to win immunity. This play was successful and Deshawn made it to the Final Three. Jeff summarizes the choice between taking the risk and competing, or sitting out with no choice of immunity, ending the spiel with a reminder that the 42 cast has not seen 41. Then, he brings the Kula Kula tribe in for the challenge.
Jeff takes the Immunity Necklace back from Lindsay before explaining the mechanics of the challenge: Uncomfortably Numb. He then explains the "dangerous" Do or Die twist to the final seven. He surmises that most of the tribe do not actually need immunity, but one person will be going home. He asks what Omar is considering in making his decision; Omar replies that none of the strategies that have been discussed may even matter because of the twist. Then, Jeff passes out grey and purple rocks and gets the castaways to make their decision.
The contestants reveal their decisions: only Jonathan and Lindsay have opted to compete. Jonathan believes that the challenge would have come down to them anyway, but Lindsay is worried about the "Battle Royale" which appears less favorable than she had hoped.
The challenge begins with Jonathan and Lindsay competing beside each other. As the sitouts watch in trepidation from the bench, the competitors try to work through the pain by adjusting between different positions. After 12 minutes, Lindsay is unable to hold on any longer, allowing Jonathan to emerge victorious. The rest of the tribe congratulates them for their valiant battle. Jeff puts the Immunity Necklace on Jonathan, then warns Lindsay again about the upcoming Do or Die twist. In a confessional, Jonathan commends Lindsay for her grit, but hopes that she is eliminated by the game so that his "number-one" competition is taken out.
At camp, Kula Kula is having a meal of rice. Drea jokes that she heard her husband's voice telling her that she "sucks at endurance", which convinced her to opt out of competing. Mike is glad that he went against his gut and opted out as well. Jonathan is proud that Lindsay took the chance and competed anyway.
Lindsay is alone by the shore, reeling from the loss. She talks about how her competitive spirit overtook her better judgment and landed her in this difficult position. Maryanne empathizes with her predicament, while Omar says that she should have just opted out. Lindsay returns to her tribe; she agrees, disappointedly, with Mike's quip that he let his "head take over [his] pride". However, Drea and Maryanne encourage to keep her head high. Secretly, Drea hopes that Lindsay is eliminated so that her amulet becomes a Hidden Immunity Idol.
Drea and Mike go off on a walk. They agree that Romeo is next to go, but Mike tells her that he will play his idol if he feels nervous. However, Mike is still gunning for her. He takes stock with Lindsay, who agrees that Drea poses a huge threat; getting rid of her would also make her the last remaining amulet holder. He also shares his plan with Jonathan, who also does not want to sit next to Drea at Final Tribal Council. Jonathan floats this idea by Maryanne, who then tells Mike that she is onboard. Mike is confident that his plan will work, but is ready to play his idol. Mike consolidates the plan with Jonathan and Omar; they agree that Drea has to be made to feel safe. Although Omar would prefer to get Mike out to flush an idol, he decides to take the safer option with the Drea plan.
Back at camp, Omar tells Drea that he has to pray. However, he appears to end his prayer abruptly to walk off with Mike, which alarms her. She realizes that Mike was probably gunning for her.
Drea and Omar go for a walk to strategize and confirm that Romeo is next to go. They think ahead and decide that Mike will follow. Omar states that they have to bait him into playing his idol, but Drea shares about her Knowledge is Power advantage, saying she will play it to steal the idol. Omar is pleased to hear this piece of information. Drea tells him that, because Mike told her he will play his idol at the next Tribal Council, they might have to get him out if Lindsay survives the Do or Die. They tally the numbers and go off to inform Lindsay and Romeo of the plan.
Drea tells Romeo that Mike was targeting him, so Romeo agrees to what would be an "epic" blindside against Mike. Meanwhile, Omar shares Drea's advantage with Lindsay. She takes in the information and proposes two ideas: blindside Mike and flush the idol, or tell Mike about Drea's plan so that he yields his idol, giving Lindsay and Omar control over it. The pair weigh their options. Before heading for Tribal Council, Drea and Lindsay laugh excitedly about their plan on the beach. In a confessional, Omar runs through the possibilities, even considering taking Mike's idol before then blindsiding him so he can keep it for himself.
At Tribal Council, Jeff recaps the Immunity Challenge; the jury is surprised to hear about the Do or Die development. Jonathan explains that the immunity win was critical for his life in the game, so it was an easy decision. On the other hand, Lindsay blames her "poor choice" on being blinded by her competitive spirit. Awed by Jonathan and Lindsay's tenacity during the challenge, Mike commends her for being a "warrior" during the challenge. Maryanne also shows her support for Lindsay, saying that based on Jonathan and Lindsay's past history of competing against each other, it was not a bad decision for her to take. Omar states that he was satisfied with watching the showdown from the bench, because the endurance challenge did not lie in his wheelhouse.
Jeff asks the tribe about the strategizing during the afternoon with the possibility that there might not even be a vote to be had. Maryanne shares that the scrambling started quickly, with people being pulled aside for many different plans. Mike confirms Jeff's guess that the tribe has adopted several non-verbal cues and signals for each plan. Drea says that she observes each of these interactions and each of her tribemates' body language intently.
Jeff asks if Omar agrees that Drea's explanation of her observations comes off like a scene from a horror movie. He concedes that it is creepy; today was the most paranoid he has ever seen his tribe. Jonathan shares that his immunity allowed him to receive more information from different people, opening up more avenues for collaboration. Jeff asks whether Drea is concerned that, if there is no vote tonight, Jonathan may have received a lot of information for free. She does not share his concerns, saying that she does not intend to rely on other people to ensure her survival in the game. Instead, she eschews alliances to play like every day is her last. Mike describes the sensitivity of word choice; everyone must be aware of how their words may be interpreted by each party. Omar adds onto this, saying that even "the winks and the nods" may be misconstrued. He emphasizes the importance of self-restraint; if someone overplays their hand, they might end up being a casualty of the vote instead.
Jeff then proceeds to set up the Do or Die game for Lindsay, then invites her to the podium to make her decision. He reminds her that one box has a flame and two have skulls; if she picks the flame, she wins immunity and a seat in the final six; if she picks one of the skulls, she is immediately eliminated and sent to the jury. Lindsay says that she has an idea of which box to pick, but also has a "backup of another box". After some stalling, she picks the middle box. 
Jeff then opens one of the other boxes to reveal a skull and gives Lindsay the opportunity to change her choice. From the jury, Hai whispers that she should swap; Rocksroy insists for her to stay. Explaining that the opened box was her "backup plan", Lindsay goes with her original box. Jeff opens the box to reveal the flame, to her tribe and the jury's jubilation. Lindsay walks back to her stool, relieved at surviving the gamble.
Jeff reminds the tribe that there will now be a vote. Drea interjects and pulls out her Knowledge is Power advantage. She explains its mechanics, then asks Mike if he has an idol. A triumphant Mike replies "no", and a dejected Drea congratulates him on the play. In a flashback, Mike explains how the maneuver came to be; before Tribal Council, Omar had alerted him of the advantage, so he gave Omar his idol to hold.
As the tribe and the jury process the developments, without further discussion, Jeff gets the tribe up to vote, starting with a stunned Romeo. Mike is shown voting against Drea.
As Maryanne places her vote in the urn, she flails excitedly, leaving the voting booth nervous about the outcome as she mouths "Oh, my God!" When Drea gets to vote, she pulls out her Extra Vote from her pants before casting her votes. 
Jeff returns to the podium with the votes. When he asks if anyone has any advantages to play, Drea's bag of tricks is finally out of ammunition. When the vote ties 3-3, Drea looks to Omar, wondering which way he swung. Then, a fourth, and then a fifth, Drea vote is shown; Drea becomes the fifth member of the jury by a vote of 5-3. As she stands up to make her departure, she exclaims that she gave it her all and hugs her tribemates. 
Mike asks Drea if she voted against him twice; she confirms that he did, and they both laugh. Mike affirms their friendship and tells her he will see her in Canada. Drea gives her parting words: she is rooting for Lindsay, "[she] knows why"; she tells Jonathan that he was never on her radar; she tells Mike that if he makes it to the end, he will win—he replies that that was the "kiss of death". She then says that Romeo has been on the block at every vote, then tells the tribe that Omar was the only person she told about the advantage. She ends by telling Maryanne to keep being herself, which Maryanne thanks her for saying. Drea pleads jokingly for Jeff to not snuff her torch; Jeff lets her say the tagline. She excitedly says "the tribe has spoken", then leaves Tribal Council. The Kula Kulas commend her for her "great departure". Before sending the tribe back to camp, Jeff rejoices over the "ideal way to play Survivor": with fierce competition but with the great camaraderie that he had just observed. On their way out, Mike tells Lindsay that he is happy for her survival.
==Challenges==
Immunity Challenge: Uncomfortably NumbEach person will balance their feet on a very narrow perch adjusted for their height while holding a handle above their head. If at any point, they let go of the handle or a foot comes off the perch, they are out of the challenge. The last person left standing wins.Additional Stipulation: The castaway who dropped out first would participate in a game of chance at Tribal Council. However, castaways may opt to sit out of the challenge to avoid possibly having to participate in Do or Die.Winner: 
==Tribal Council==
colspan="2" 	
VotedAgainst	Voter(Drea used Extra Vote advantage)
 	
 	
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=== Voting Confessionals ===
Maryanne's vote was not shown during her confessional. Drea was shown playing her Extra Vote.
=== Final Words ===
===Still in the Running===
								
								
==Trivia==
===Secret Scenes===
*(Untitled): On Day 20, Kula Kula is quelling their hunger with the minnows they caught. Romeo likens Survivor to a pageant competition and is excited to take home the Survivor sash and crown.https://ew.com/tv/survivor-42-romeo-escobar-episode-11-deleted-scene-pageant/
*Happy to Play This Game: Maryanne and Lindsay comment on how much they like their tribe mates.https://www.cbs.com/shows/video/cMUhO7usC59Po3jp24GTR9FGUAT2mjCK/
*I Have a Chance to Win: Maryanne has to decide if she will participate in the Immunity Challenge.https://www.cbs.com/shows/video/a8F8_2Rq5AgAZhipARYnhVdunOW4DL_d/
===Behind the Scenes===
*After their tiff with the fishing net, Drea and Jonathan hugged and apologized for getting upset with each other.https://ew.com/tv/survivor-42-drea-wheeler-interview/
*Maryanne, Omar, and Romeo formed a Final Three alliance named the "under birdies",https://robhasawebsite.com/survivor-42-omar-zaheer-interview/ (2:27:10) so named as a play on "underdogs" because Omar did not like dogs.https://parade.com/1387940/mikebloom/romeo-escobar-survivor-42-interview/
===Other===
*This is the first Immunity Challenge since Ballin' A Jack in where only two people competed.
**This is the ninth episode of the season where at least one person sat out of a challenge, extending 's lead for most episodes with people sitting out of challenges.
*This is the first time since where the person who played the Extra Vote was voted out.
**This is the first time that this was achieved without any Hidden Immunity Idols being played.
*After Drea's elimination, Romeo is the last remaining member of Ika.
**This is the second consecutive final six where four members of one starting tribe are joined by one member of each of the other two starting tribes.
*At the end of this episode, Jonathan is the only former Taku member to not be holding on to a Hidden Immunity Idol.
*The episode title is said by Lindsay after realizing that she was competing against only Jonathan in the Immunity Challenge.
==References==
Category:Survivor (U.S.)
Category:Episodes
Category:Survivor (U.S.) Episodes
Category:Survivor 42
Category:Survivor 42 Episodes