[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for Survivor Season 47 Episode 8.]
Rachel from Survivor 47 just made the Shot in the Dark interesting again. This advantage is largely disliked by fans, as it rarely pays off in exciting ways. And when it does pay off, it’s because of luck and not necessarily skill. But Rachel deployed the advantage in a strategic move in the November 6 episode that Jeff Probst called “brilliant” in the On Fire podcast (listen to the full episode for free below). He also said it has the potential to change the game forever and is a perfect example of why the show’s creators create advantages and put few rules on how they can be played.
The Survivor auction returned in the episode. Rachel bought herself some french fries that unbeknownst to her came with a secret scroll. The scroll revealed that there was a hidden immunity idol sewn into the corner of the tarp at camp. Later on, she carved the advantage out of the tarp in broad daylight and in front of other players who somehow didn’t catch on. Rachel was saved by Sol in last week’s tribal council when secretly giving her an idol. He confessed it to her in this episode to make a new alliance (he wants to assemble a team of “Sol’s Secret Agents”). Rachel knew they were solid heading into tribal, but she didn’t trust everyone else.
When it came time to play advantages, Rachel kept her new idol concealed and revealed she used her Shot in the Dark, meaning she didn’t vote. The Shot in the Dark (which gives players a 50-50 chance at immunity) didn’t protect her, but that didn’t matter; it’s not why she was using it. Her lack of a vote, in addition to Sam’s, led to a tie and then a revote. The tie was between Sam and Sierra.
The only reason tied players don’t participate in a revote is because only their names can be written down, so they would only vote for each other therefore canceling each other’s votes out. But Sam didn’t have a vote in this tribal council and Sierra did, so Sierra would still vote. The only people who couldn’t vote were Sam and Rachel. They could only vote for Sierra or Sam. Sierra voted for Sam, and then everyone else voted for Sierra, making her the first member of the Survivor 47 jury.
Probst said in the On Fire podcast that Rachel’s new way of using Shot in the Dark has caused a shift in Survivor history.
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“She could have played her idol after” the Shot in the Dark didn’t protect her, “and that was exactly her plan,” Probst said. “She used the Shot in the Dark in a really inventive way. She used it as a lure. She played it, and then she didn’t even care if she was safe or not. She was watching the other faces to see if they cared that she played it because that was her indicator. If they react in a big way, then I know I’m the vote and if I’m not safe with the scroll, I’ll be safe with my idol. Instead, she didn’t see any reactions. So very cleverly, much like when she got the idol out of the tarp, she just let her game play quiet and trusted. She wasn’t the vote.”
The host added that this is exactly why the show’s creators throw advantages into the game and don’t get involved after. “We talk about this a lot. We put advantages into the game with one idea, and then we wait for the players to teach us how they should be used. That was a brilliant use of the Shot in the Dark,” Probst raved.
Charlie Davis, who came in second place in Survivor 46 and was fans’ choice to cohost On Fire this season, also praised Rachel’s move, saying that it just made the game harder for her competitors.
“I mean, it was awesome. That was really, really cool. So creative by her. And the question now that’s bugging me as a player is, what’s the now counter move that the players are going to come up with now that Rachel has invented this new way to use the Shot in the Dark?” Davis said. “It’s always that never-ending cycle. But let’s not forget here, you said very good outcome, Jay. Rachel’s left out of this vote and lost an ally, so I’m looking to see what she’s going to do next.”The Shot in the Dark advantage has never been more interesting. Rachel may be Season 47’s greatest strategist — and greatest threat.Get more behind-the-scenes details about the episode in the full installment of On Fire, below. And let us know what you think about Rachel’s potential to win the game in the comments section.
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