It’s week six, and it’s Survivor NZ’s cheesiest week yet! Time to microwave a leftover slice of Pizza Hut™ Pizza and look back at all the action from this week. Luke Harries recaps.
Pizza Hut Delivers
This week’s reward challenge prize was the best so far, no question. Pizza is bloody great. Winning pizza is even better than winning a car, because pizzas aren’t cursed. Everyone was excited at the prospect of delicious Pizza Hut pizzas. I think Dave maybe even blacked out for a second there.
Lisa and Tara both said that pizza reminded them of family, because it was something special they ate together for Friday night family dinners, instead of just inhaling a large meat lovers alone on a Tuesday night like I do.
Chani absolutely smashed the challenge, with Dylan putting in another huge effort to get them the win. Adam didn’t have time to discredit Dylan’s challenge performance this week, as he was busy chasing down Matt for his prize.
I had a whole bit to write about the Pizza Hut brand integration but it turns out Joseph Harper beat me to it by a whole year. At least Pizza Hut have upped their game a bit this year – the pizza picnic is not quite so bleak, and they’ve thrown in some garlic bread for good measure.
Instead, I’ve compiled a list of some missed opportunities for other brand partnerships that I think Survivor NZ should seriously consider for next season:
- The “Smoko” reward, brought to you by the giant tins of Milo at warehouse stationary.
- The Peanut Butter reward, sponsored by those new “Fresh Nut Butter” machines at Countdown Ponsonby
- The “Fizz” prize at The Outpost, in partnership with Pepsi (they need this)
- Fire in the form of Flint, a paid promotional consideration by “Little Lucifer” Firelighters
Losing Challenges is Harder Than It Looks
This week’s immunity challenge was an absolute bloody shambles. Dave, Renee and Arun from Chani were gunning for a night at tribal to shake things up and give them a chance to knock out an old Khang Khaw. Unfortunately for them, the new Khang Khaw tribe wasn’t about to let them lose this challenge so quickly.
Chani was good at this challenge! It should have been a walk in the park for them, and they were pretty close to winning a few times! Still, Dave and Renee stayed committed to their plan, and had to pull off some stellar acting to cover their fumbles. Khang Khaw, who seemed to be slightly more keen on actually winning, just couldn’t get the hang of it. In the end, Chani managed to make enough “accidental” mistakes for Khang Khaw to finally win back old mate idol.
Back at camp, Josh wasn’t too happy with some of his tribemates’ performances at the challenge, and he had some choice words for Dave in his confessional interview: “I’m not sure what Dave’s doing back at the gym but… I think a lot of those muscles are just for looks.” Damn, that’s some thick shade!
Feud Update: Adam vs Dylan
I’ve decided that this should probably just be its own recurring section at this point. Now a fixture of Survivor NZ, Adam’s deep, unwavering hatred for Dylan has become such an important part of the show. Things have changed a bit since the switch, but Adam still wholeheartedly believes that he and the rest of the old Khang Khaws can get rid of Dylan any time they like. Adam is so sure he has the edge on Dylan, because, in his words “Dylan couldn’t socialise with a frickin’ stick.”
Adam says he doesn’t want to be “blinded” by his hatred for Dylan, which is ironic given that it is the only thing he has been able to talk about for the last three weeks. I’m not mad though, since it means more great impressions of Dylan.
Strat Chat
Dave, Arun and Renee are pretty confident they can shake up the tribe, even though on paper they’re down on the numbers. But, as Adam pointed out, the dynamics of this tribe get a bit messy when you factor in Dylan, who in terms of strategy is essentially in a tribe of his own. Even though literally no one trusts Dylan, the old Chani members are willing to use him to get themselves ahead.
It’s pretty clear to anyone watching that the old Khang Khaw have well and truly burned their bridges with Dylan, after treating him so poorly for so long. That’s why it’s so crazy to me that Adam, Matt and Josh were naïve enough to think that Dylan wouldn’t join forces with the old Chani to get his own back. They were clearly in danger, but by not taking Dylan seriously, they were completely blind to it, and that ultimately led them to their demise.
For old Chani, who now have the extra vote of Dylan, it was a matter of choosing who to cut. While Arun, Renee and Dylan all thought Matt was the bigger threat, Dave had to work hard to keep his high school buddy out of the firing line. It looks like the next few votes could really put their bromance to the test.
Tribal Council
Chissy dove straight in with the leading questions this week, basically asking the tribe if they thought the challenge was thrown. Still, the tribe members are keeping their cards close to their chests, and poor Matt just can’t get anyone to share any juicy goss with him. We haven’t yet seen a whole lot of strategy play out at tribal council, so I’m still holding out for some chaotic whispering and last minute plan changes in the near future.
Adam, not one for subtlety, makes sure to remind Dylan that there is indeed the letter “L” in the middle of his name. This is an absolutely sick burn, because everyone knows that people with an “L” in their names are weak idiots and not to be trusted.
Blindside Rating: 6/10
Old Chani took a huge risk throwing this week’s challenge and it paid off, voting out one of the biggest threats in the game. Josh was someone who could have really excelled in a post-merge game – physically strong, but not the strongest, and charismatic, but in an understated way.
Chisholm-ism of the week
“Woooo, that was epic!” – Matt lying to viewers after possibly the most boring challenge ever at The Outpost.
Survivor NZ Quick Stats
33% – increase in pizzas since last season
2 – mentions of anyone from the new Khang Khaw in this recap. Sorry team, maybe next week.
I lost count, but heaps – number of times Adam mentioned Dylan in a confessional