Survivor 41, Episode 10: Wins and Losses
Dissecting the good and bad of a polarizing boot.
Author’s note: This newsletter (obviously) contains spoilers for Survivor 41, Episode 10, which aired Wed. November 24, 2021.
Catch up on previous recaps:
Episode 1
Episode 2
Episode 3
Episode 4
Episode 5
Episode 6
Episode 7
Episode 8
Episode 9
On the night of the 24th, I decided to forgo watching the newest episode of Survivor in favor of playing a board game with an old college buddy. With a long weekend lying ahead with little planned outside of a quiet Thanksgiving dinner with my partner, I thought to myself that I could put off this write-up for a few days without the world screeching to a halt.
Unfortunately, Survivor is a beast that haunts my every waking moment and the outcome of the episode was spoiled within 20 minutes of closing credits. Even during holidays, I cannot escape the firm grasp it has on my brain.
I can’t blame anyone for wanting to talk about Shan’s demise at the end of the tenth episode. From fans, the move evoked a gamut of emotion. A therapist friend of mine, who had qualms with some of Shan’s manipulative tendencies, eagerly texted me at the conclusion of tribal council. On the other end of the spectrum, many of my Twitter mutuals were almost morose, disappointed to see such an unprecedented character be sent away.
Love her or hate her, the vote came as a shock – not because the signs of her losing weren’t there, but because she WAS the main character of the show. Aside from serving largely as the show’s narrator up until Jeff snuffed her torch, almost all of the major players left were primarily defined by their relationship to Shan. Who exactly is Ricard, if not the frenemy and constant companion of Shan? What agency has Liana shown outside of enforcing whatever Shan has to say?
These questions have not yet been answered, and frankly, there’s not a ton of time left for the folks running the show to cough them up. But before I get too ahead of myself, let’s review how we got to this point in the first place.