If there’s one thing that’s become abundantly clear in M-Net’s “Survivor South Africa: Immunity Island”, it is that no one should feel too comfortable in the game.
Being blindsided is a regular occurrence in the reality show. And the weakest link isn’t always on the chopping block.
At the end of episode one, Zamba (green) was one member down.
Dino Paulo (30) was protected from being voted off as he was in possession of the immunity necklace.
This worked in his favour as his sneaky strategy to forge allies in Vuna (orange) went haywire - they sent Thoriso M-Afrika (36) to immunity island despite his loud pleas to be chosen instead of her.
In episode two, Shaun Wilson (40) was breathing a huge sigh of relief. Despite the torturous experience of being kept in the dark, he was grateful to be able to fight another day.
As such, he wanted to maintain a strong alliance with the guys at Zamba.
Meanwhile, there was plenty of tension at Vuna’s camp and it was heightened by the miserable weather conditions.
The Walking Time Bomb
There is always one person who ruffles feathers.
And, tonight, Noleen "Pinty" Nkanjeni (30) kept putting her foot in it. She rubbed Carla Gubb (29) up the wrong way. Her behaviour was akin to that of an overbearing mother and condescending nemesis, rolled into one.
She chastised her for putting her shoes too close to the fire. She then got aggressive when Carla dared to point out that the Zamba tribe should not be underestimated.
The upsets continued when, after losing the immunity challenge, she got in Kiran Naidoo’s (29) face about his decision to go against his alliance and vote off Mike Laws (30).
Thrown a Lifeline
Santoni Engelbrecht (39) needed a Hail Mary at Vuna. She’s not great at physical challenges. She keeps a low profile. She is comfortable sitting on the fence.
Bottom line, she’s vulnerable.
When Zamba sent her to immunity island, she was given a new lifeline in the game.
However, her trusting nature might prove to be her greatest downfall. After all, the more cunning, the greater one's survival in the game.
Ace Up His Sleeve
Tyson Zulu (24) is playing the perfect long game.
This Vuna tribe member is perfectly positioned to blindside many castmates - he is thrown useful nuggets of information. And he is bidding his time before using that knowledge to his advantage.
He proudly stated: “In the game of ‘Survivor’, information is currency.”
Tyson pointed out that uncertainty breeds anxiety and one cannot become too complacent in the game after host Nico Panagio asked if there was a black sheep in the family.
The Star Player
Dino won his tribe members over by winning the puzzle challenges in both the reward as well as immunity challenges.
In many ways, he redeemed himself after a rather dubious start.
Basically, he went from a zero to hero.
Going Down In Flames
In the end, Vuna tribe members were unanimous in their decision to vote off Pinty.
She put a lot of trust in Anesu Mbizvo (29) and was confident that Mike would be leaving.
She wanted to end the closeness between Carla and him.
Such a pity she wasn’t smart enough to read the room, so to speak.
After her torch was extinguished, she admitted: “To be honest, I didn’t see that coming. This is the game of ‘Survivor’. They played a better game.”
“Survivor South Africa: Immunity Island” airs on M-Net on Thursdays at 7.30pm.