‘Survivor SA’: Nicole emerges as a key power player

It’s two handfuls of days to go until the ultimate survivor takes home a million bucks and Survivor South Africa: Immunity Island is seeing castaways turn up the hustling heat.

As alliance shifted in this episode, Nicole emerged as a power player with cat-like prowess, making a big move at the Rewards Challenge to realign herself. This, while Anela, Tyson, Wardah and Anesu were all on the hit list for Tribal Council.

Anela and Anesu the frontrunners for the chopping block on the one side and Tyson marked by the opposite camp. That’s the game for the final eight islanders.

This instalment saw previous alliances half-shatter as the shift to individual self interest as the final stretch of the contest approaches in thinly veiled alliance moves. The previous episode had Amy and Renier’s destinies tied together. Moving forward, it’s every person for themselves.

From the get-go this week Tyson wanted Anesu gone and she, in turn, wanted to send him out to pasture. Tyson considered himself atop the Survivor food chain.

The Rewards Challenge had a big impact on Nicole’s future in the game. After being split into two teams, the combo of Chappies, Nicole, Wardah and Tyson won a test drive in sponsor Mahindra’s new Thar off road vehicle, pausing for a braai. This is where she worked the members of two alliances at the same time, winning hearts and minds at the same time.

She further entrenched her position by being the only participant, other than Chappies, in the Immunity Challenge. The balance opted for spaghetti bolognaise. While Nicole lost to Aquaman, she further entrenched herself as a major player in the game’s final few laps.

Dispatched to Immunity Island by Chappies, Santoni took up the challenge but lost. Instead of winning a prize, she did claim two Immunity Idols. For staying and playing, Santoni gained immunity and dug up a second based on a clue left a few weeks ago.

While she didn’t have a vote at Tribal Council that night, it likely played a strategic role in securing her survival for a few episodes still.

Survivor’s Tribal Council was a debate, a hustle and a showcase of attempted propaganda between the players and, of course, directed at the growing jury. Chappies and Santoni, safe from being voted out further exposed both Tyson and Anesu in terms of alliance busting. In a head-to-head vote count, Anesu won the race to being snuffed out and joining the jury as its fifth member.

Previously, The Citizen predicted Kiran as a likely winner of the Survivor South Africa: Immunity Island season eight. But are the tables turning.

After this episode, as we head to the auction next week, it seems that Nicole and Chappies are emerging as stronger contenders to take the crown. Wardah’s game play is admirable, but her and Kiran’s dependence on an alliance with Tyson may just end up backfiring into an earlier exit than the pair may have wanted.

Survivor South Africa: Immunity Island is broadcast on M-Net on Thursday nights at 7.30pm