Survivor 45 Scoop – Week 11 Recap: Winners, Losers, Top Moments

Posted By: John Powell

December 6, 2023

Survivor 45 Scoop – Week 11 Recap: Winners, Losers, Top Moments

Emily Flippen. Photo: CBS.

John Powell – GlobalTV.com

“Play your damn idol!” Dee implored as she cast her vote at Tribal Council.

“Mama J” did just that ending one of the most fascinating Survivor stories ever, that of Emily Flippen.

Like so many Survivors in the past Emily was collateral damage. Julie played her idol, nullified all the votes against her and cast the sole vote to evict. Correction, Julie played the idol Austin gave her. You got to know he is kicking himself in the shorts for making that mistake. The question is though did Austin ever asked for it back? According to what I know of the Survivor rules though Julie wouldn’t have to return it even if he did.

Austin and Drew are fortunate Julie didn’t decide to seek revenge and vote them out. They can probably thank Dee for that. Speaking of Dee, for the first time we saw her unable to exert her influence and control over the Reba alliance. That has to be scary and unsettling for her.

Dee Valladares, Julie Alley, Emily Flippen, Katurah Topps, Jake O’Kane, Austin Li Coon, Drew Basile, and Jeff Probst. Photo: CBS.

Now that we are left with such a delightfully messy situation how do the castaways pick up the pieces? Dee is in a good position. She has Austin and Julie on her side, committed to her. Austin is in the best position. He is safe with his idol as after what happened to Bruce you can bet he is playing it next tribal council. So, he is entirely off the table. Katurah and Jake are just puppets and pawns. They will vote for whomever they are told to.

So, who will be the last big target before the big finale? Methinks it will be Drew. Julie will want her revenge and Dee cannot keep someone like Drew around since he was able to mobilize people so easily. That is a dangerous person to be with in the Survivor endgame especially when they were just gunning for one of your closest allies. They all should have just listened to Dee and targeted Emily in the first place. Life on Survivor island would have been much easier for everyone.

That Austin and Dee “showmance” came completely out of nowhere didn’t it? Sure, we knew they were working together but we had no clue throughout the entire season they were THAT close. What other surprises do the editors, producers have up their collective sleeves?

Stay tuned, folks.

News

Survivor and Big Brother Canada News:

Kicking off with two weeks of two-hour episodes, Canada’s #1 series Survivor returns for Season 46 on Wednesday, February 28 at 8 p.m. ET/PT, before continuing with supersized 90-minute episodes.
Next, hosted by Arisa Cox and produced by Insight Productions, Canada’s springtime reality TV tradition Big Brother Canada premieres Tuesday, March 5 at 7 p.m. ET/PT exclusively on Global and STACKTV. #BBCAN12 premiere week continues Wednesday, March 6 at 10 p.m. ET/PT (moves to 9:30 p.m.ET/PT the following week) and Sunday, March 10 at 9 p.m. ET/PT. This season, new episodes will air weekly Sundays at 9 p.m. ET/PT (HOH), Tuesdays at 7 p.m. ET/PT (POV), and Wednesdays at 9:30 p.m. ET/PT (EVICTION).

News

Moment # 5: Dee and Austin discuss their showmance.

News

Moment # 4: Emily’s journey.

News

Moment # 3: Austin warns Dee.

News

Moment # 2: Dee warns Julie.

News

Moment # 1: Julie plays her idol.

Emily Flippen

Jeff Probst and Emily Flippen. Photo: CBS.

What an incredible Survivor story. Emily went from calling out Bruce in front of everyone the very first day to a journey of not only self-discovery but on how to navigate the Survivor game especially on a social level. Emily rose to become not just a decent social player but also a formidable strategist even though she was playing from the bottom the entire game.

Strategic Gameplay

While influencing Bruce not to use his Immunity Idol may be her biggest public move Emily has been scratching and clawing for the entire game positioning herself for a better run after Lulu crashed and burned. Early on, she remained loyal to Kaleb. They teamed to take Sabiyah out. She pivoted a lot with her bonds though such as knowing when to cut ties with Brando. She utilized information better than almost any Survivor this season keeping allies loyal and shifting targets.

Rating: 4 / 5

Social Gameplay

Kaleb Gebrewold, Emily Flippen and Sean Edwards. Photo: Robert Voets/CBS.

Emily didn’t just stumble at the start of the game. She stumbled AND fell right off a cliff. Emily was smart enough to realize that she had to evolve as a player and as a person on the island. She developed relationships that would get her further in the game. Kaleb, Brando, Drew, Austin, etc, the list goes on of people she was able to bring into her confidence to build a fantastic support system.

Rating: 4 / 5

Entertainment Value

Emily Flippen. Photo: Robert Voets/CBS.

Emily’s personal Survivor expedition is one of the best Survivor stories we have seen, been treated to in years. It is memorable and it is fascinating. From such a disastrous start she grew into a serious threat to win the entire game.

Rating: 5 / 5

Final Rating: 13 / 15

Who played it cool and who proved themselves to be a fool? Every week John Powell makes his picks for the worst and best players of the week.

Austin caused this entire mess to begin with by giving his idol to Julie and not getting it back.

Dee admitted to Julie that Austin is her ride-or-die.

Drew took his shot and he missed.

Austin picked Dee over Drew securing himself a better position in the finals.

Dee was able to secure two solid allies by working with Austin to save Julie.

Julie read the room well, used the information she and Dee gathered to protect herself. She might have done better though to kick Drew instead of Emily. We will never know though.