Survivor Season 48 Episode 3 is here, and with it another player was sent home. Last week’s episode saw an epic blindside against Kevin, who many had pegged as a frontrunner. Did another blindside take place in Survivor 48? Or was this week’s episode more run of the mill? Here’s everything that went down in Survivor Season 48, Episode 3: “Committing to the Bit.”
Who went home in Survivor Season 48, Episode 3?
Justin Pioppi went home in Survivor Season 48, Episode 3, after a deadlock decision was made by Cedrek McFadden.
A tie in the initial vote, followed by a tie in the revote, and another tie in the second revote, meant that Cedrek had to choose who to send home all by himself. In the end, he thought Justin leaving Survivor 48 was best for his game. It was one of the most momentous tribal councils in Survivor history.
Here’s an in-depth look at everything that happened during Survivor Season 48, Episode 3.
Mary recognizes her position on the bottom of her tribe
“I’ve got no fake friends here anymore,” Mary says in confessional, opening the episode. She’s one of the players in Survivor 48 who has quickly found herself at the bottom. But Sai’s not feeling secure, either. She wants to go on an idol hunt in the morning.
On Civa, David’s admiring his abs, but saddened by the strength he might lose on the island. Kamilla who is “chronically online,” describes David as a “Chad.” She’s not wrong; he’s certainly nice to look at.
David hopes he’s not being pre-judged, because his life isn’t what everybody would assume. He’s looking to move away from the trailer he currently lives in, parked outside of his father’s house. “Really, it comes down to money. It’s not easy to talk about sometimes,” he says in confessional. At 38, he finds his living situation “pretty pathetic.” While it’s certainly “humbling,” as he describes, he should be kinder to himself. A lot of people are in similar positions, regardless of age. I hope he and his partner can make things work; life’s hard enough without the support of your significant other.
At Lagi, energy levels are at an all-time low. Joe is putting the tool kit to good use though, and builds a huge bonfire. For a fire captain, he’s certainly not adverse to starting fires, as well as putting them out. I tried to focus, but Thomas’ shiner from last week’s challenge distracted me. It looks painful!
With this tribe, Star is still on the outs. While she shared her Beware Advantage with some tribemates, Shauhin would bet on her “going home first” should they go to tribal council. But Thomas is “nervous” about Joe and Eva; especially after Eva’s gift of a bracelet for Joe’s daughter.
Mary gets started on her idol hunt
“I hate looking for stuff,” Mary admits. But she’s willing to do the work if it saves her Survivor 48 game. She’s not the only one out searching, though. Sai’s doing exactly what she promised, hoping to replace the idol she used at tribal the night before.
“We should stick together,” Sai suggests. Mary’s not convinced, and makes a run for it as Sai tries to tail her. “We’re both here to win. The more she follows me, the more I respect her.” Sai demands her allies get up, stop napping, and “babysit.” But Mary’s off like a whippet from the beach. It’s like a terrible horror movie, but admittedly, it’s a lot of fun. Mary’s enjoying the “mind games,” it’s a version of herself she’s never been able to indulge in.
Sai says she has “respect” for Mary in confessional, and now I’m left wondering, why can’t these two just put their differences aside and work together?
Back at Civa, Mitch is enjoying “everyone clicking as a tribe.” He’s proud of his fellow castmates, and wants to go deep in the game with Charity. “It’s exciting to start playng the game,” she says when their alliance chatter begins. “If we brought Kyle and David into the merge, that would be a huge [advantage,],” due to the pair being “shields,” Charity and Mitch agree. Mitch then goes out on a boat trip with Kyle, telling him that he wants him and Charity to move forward together, along with David.
“I’ve got two different groups I can go with on my own Civa tribe,” Kyle explains. The first includes him, David, Chrissy, and Kamilla. Then he has Mitch’s new alliance idea. In the middle, you can usually find your way through. Oh, and don’t forget Kyle’s idol!
Star lies to Eva about her Beware Advantage before the immunity challenge
Chatting with Star, Eva prompts her to open up about her Beware Advantage. Star instead lies, and says she’s found nothing. Eva then moves into game talk, and says the tribe doesn’t need two puzzlers, throwing Bianca and Thomas under the bus. Star isn’t interested, though, and takes that information right back to her puzzle-loving friends. “We also don’t need two jacked people, so you can go,” Bianca quips. She thinks she has Star’s loyalty, whereas Thomas sees her as more of a “wildcard.”
As day 7 dawns, another challenge arrives. It’s for both immunity and reward, and includes those wonderful blindfolded elements that often end in major bumps to both egos and bodies. Poor David provides the comedy bumps this episode of Survivor 48, with one “right where he’ll remember,” in the words of host Jeff Probst. In the end, Lagi comes in first, and Civa in second for immunity, sending Vula to tribal council for the third time in a row.
Jeff then announces yet another journey. As Lagi finished the challenge first, they get to decide who will go from each tribe, and it has to be a new person from each. Bianca is going from Lagi, with Vula’s Justin, and Civa’s Kamilla joining her. Justin’s not excited about risking his vote with tribal looming, but recognizes danger sometimes pays off.
Back at camp, Mary knows she’s in trouble. Her gameplan is to “seem as cool as a cucumber.” She’s been planning to “pretend” she has an idol, because she doesn’t think she has the time to find one before tribal council. It might be working, because Sai says it’s “terrifying she’s not looking right now.” She suggests a split-vote to Cedrek on Justin, but will it go ahead?
What happened on the journey in Survivor 48, Episode 3?
Bianca, Justin, and Kamilla are told to head to an individual challenge. Here, they are greeted with a table that, in Justin’s words, “looks like a giant Yahtzee game.” Kamilla was hoping for a puzzle, but it’s actually a game of luck. Seven dice are given to the players to roll. Flames are good, skulls are bad. Four flames earns an extra vote; four skulls forces the player to lose their vote. They must roll until an outcome is decided.
Bianca immediately rolls three skulls, and zero flames. Then, she rolls three flames. There’s one die left, but she rolls a skull. Her vote is lost. “I’m so bummed,” she says. “Your vote is your voice in this game, and now I do not have it.”
Similarly, Kamilla rolls three skulls right off the bat, but also one flame. She picks another flame up in her second throw, and in her third, she rolls two flames. That’s an extra vote for the video game lover!
Finally, Justin rolls two skulls and one flame in his first throw. Then, he rolls another skull. His third dice toss drops in that fourth and final skull, and his vote is lost. That means at tonight’s tribal council, there will be a maximum of three votes – and potentially only two if Mary decides to use her Shot in the Dark.
Who’s telling the truth to their tribes, and who decided to lie?
Kamilla comes back to the tribe with honesty, showing them her extra vote. Mitch set the standard in Survivor 48, Episode 2, and she’s following it. “We’ll use this against Lagi!” she promises. “I think everything’s great.”
At Lagi, Bianca lies about the game. She says she had a choice to risk her vote, and decided against it. Then in a one-on-one, Bianca tells Thomas the truth. “You’re scary, you’re really good,” he tells her. “I bought that.” He’s very happy he now has all the information, without having to admit he got an advantage following his own journey. “I really am starting to feel bad about [not telling Bianca] … but not bad enough I guess!” he laughs in confessional.
Justin then tells his tribe he had to roll dice with different colored question marks. He says comfort, shelter, and food were up for grabs. The catch? The tribe wouldn’t find out what he got until tomorrow. “I’m not sure even what the hell I said,” he admits in confessional after lying. Cedrek believes him, and for some reason, Justin is going to continue to lie to his “number one dude.”
Justin tells Sai that Mary has nothing, but she wants to take her fate into her own hands. “What do I do next to prevent myself going home?” she asks. Then, she goes to Mary. “Why did you give up on looking for the idol?” she says. “Sometimes when it’s your time to go, it’s your time to go,” Mary responds. She has Sai frazzled, and it’s exactly what she needs to do. With only two votes needed to take someone out tonight, the tribe head to tribal council.
Survivor 48, Episode 2’s tribal council is a fun watch
At tribal council, Mary admits it’s hard to think about a “group mentality” when everyone’s again her. Sai reminds her that she’s had her name written down at both tribal councils previously. “I had the most fun when I was chasing her around the jungle,” Sai says of their relationship in the game. “It felt diabolical, a little insane, but because we’re so competitive it just would not work out. We have a clear understanding that we cannot work with one another. But we also have a mutual respect for one another’s gameplay.”
“You’re a tribe,” Jeff tells them. “You need to survive together.” He then asks if the women’s behavior puts them in the pipeline to go home. Justin says he’s not sure there is one, and Jeff shadily calls out a bit of BS. “Obviously, I know how the votes are gonna go. I’m just hoping there’s not something that’s gonna spoil my plan.” She then speaks for many Survivor fans who hate the Shot in the Dark, calling Jeff out to his face.
“I think all the votes will be cast for me,” Mary admits. “Then what happens next will be a surprise. I don’t wanna ruin it.”
The back-and-forth between Sai and Mary takes Jeff by surprise. He interrupts tribal, for potentially the first time in history, to push forward with the vote. After the votes were cast, Mary takes to her feet. “I am hoping that this will work,” she says, handing Jeff her Shot in the Dark.
AND IT DOES. Mary’s one-in-six shot at safety is a success. Then, the votes are read. Both Cedrek and Sai’s votes are for Mary – she didn’t flip on Justin.
Survivor 48, Episode 3 heads to a revote at tribal council
With only Cedrek and Sai eligible to vote, they have a big decision to make. And after Justin lied to Cedrek, it would have made sense for Cedrek to turn on his ally. Sai goes ahead with her vote for Justin, but Cedrek? He goes for Sai. Now, there’s another revote looming.
Historically, tied players don’t vote in this second revote, because their votes usually cancel one another out. But tonight, Justin doesn’t have a vote, so that wouldn’t be fair to Sai. Reality dawns, as Justin’s lost vote is exposed. Sai is allowed to revote, but will Cedrek vote with her?
“Cedrek is honestly the worst,” Sai says as she approaches the urn for a third time. The votes are read, with Sai’s vote for Justin read first, before Cedrek’s revote for Sai.
“We are officially deadlocked,” Jeff tells the group. Now what usually happens is that the rest of the tribe discuss openly who should go home. If they can’t come to a decision, they have to go to rocks, making Sai and Justin safe. The only person given a voice at the end of all that is Cedrek – he has to decide who to cut out of Sai and Justin. If he can’t come to a decision, he has to go home.
History is made in Survivor 48, Episode 3 at tribal council
“This is a historic moment,” Jeff says. “One of the craziest tribals ever.” Cedrek feels “horrible,” talking through his friendships with Sai and Justin. Sai reminds Cedrek that Justin lied about losing his vote. But Cedrek’s stuck on his “first connection” with Justin.
Sai gives an emotional plea, and says she’s told Cedrek “every conversation I’ve had.” It’s a compelling case. “I wouldn’t lie to you,” she says.
“I’ll make my decision with a stipulation,” Cedrek says. “That you and you [Sai and Mary] can cut it. I can’t live in a space where you can’t connect as teammates. That’s the only way that I would stay in this space. We cannot move forward if we don’t get rid of some of that.”
Sai commits to working on it; her plea worked out. Cedrek votes Justin out, and promises to hit up Luigi’s. So ends one of the best tribal councils in Survivor history.
Survivor 48 continues Wednesdays at 8/7c on CBS.
TELL US – WHAT DID YOU THINK OF SURVIVOR SEASON 48, EPISODE 3? DO YOU HAVE ANY EARLY FAVORITES? WHO DO YOU WANT TO GO HOME NEXT?
