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Before the losing tribe in the third episode of “Survivor” Season 48 headed to tribal council, it was a fairly normal episode, for in all intents and purposes.
For the third episode, titled “Committing to the Bit,” viewers spent time with each of the three tribes – Vula, Lagi and Civa – learning a bit more about the individual castaways stranded in Fiji and their motivations in playing the game for $1 million.
But after an immunity challenge in which two tribes emerged victorious, a series of events unfolded, including a well-played “shot in the dark,” which had longtime host Jeff Probst taking in a “historic” tribal council that sent one player home.
Season 48 of the long-running reality competition series has already been full of twists and surprises, and Wednesday’s episode was no exception.
Here’s what to know about this week’s episode of “Survivor” Season 48.
Who went home on ‘Survivor’ Season 48, Episode 3?
During the immunity challenge, some players in each tribe were blindfolded and one member was a caller, directing them through an obstacle course and solving a puzzle to win immunity and supplies for the tribe.
Only the Lagi and Civa tribes won the immunity challenge, as they have in the two previous weeks, leaving Vula to face tribal council and vote out a member for the third time. But before they headed to tribal council, the Lagi tribe were forced to send three people, one from each tribe, on a a special “journey” with an unknown fate.
Bianca Roses, Justin Pioppi and Kamilla Karthigesu from the Lagi, Vula and Civa tribes, respectively, were selected. Once on the “journey,” each contestant was forced to play a game of chance with dice. If they rolled a certain number of dice with flames, they could gain an extra vote, but if they rolled a certain number with skulls, they lost a vote at the next tribal council.
Of the three, only Kamilla was victorious, meaning Bianca and Justin both lost their votes. And as Justin is a member of the losing Vula tribe, he was heading into the four-person tribal council with no vote.
Certain that she was the target, Mary Zheng played her “shot in the dark,” or a one-in-six chance for safety in exchange for her vote at tribal council. And for the second time since the feature was added into the show, Mary was lucky, guaranteeing her safety for the night.
And since Justin lost his vote, that meant that only Sai Hughley and Cedrek McFadden could cast votes. After they tied twice with one vote each for Sai and Justin, Probst told them about the historic nature of the evening. Typically in “Survivor,” after two tie votes, the players up for elimination cannot vote and it is up to the rest of the tribe to talk it out and come to a consensus. But because Justin and Mary had lost their votes and Sai was up for elimination, only Cedrek could make that decision.
After making rivals Mary and Sai promise to get along, Cedrek sent home Justin, a 29-year-old pizzeria manager from Winthrop, Massachusetts.
He became the third Vula member in a row to exit the game, leaving only three people remaining on the tribe.
Who went home last week on ‘Survivor’ Season 48?
The immunity challenge saw the three tribes – Vula, Lagi and Civa – competing in a water-based obstacle course where they had to work together to balance a buoy with poles over a balance beam, jump and swim through the ocean and shoot balls into a floating basket.
The Civa and Lagi tribes were guaranteed immunity and the reward of fishing gear to bring back to camp. Already a member down, the Vula tribe lost the immunity challenge for the second episode in a row, did not win their flint back and made another appearance at tribal council.
At first, Cedrek McFadden thought he might be on the chopping block due to his poor performance during the challenge, but the tide swiftly shifted to either Kevin Leung, whom other players identified as a strategic gamer. The majority alliance also schemed to have Sai Hughley play her immunity idol, therefore flushing it from the game.
In the end, Kevin was blindsided by the majority alliance (save Mary Zheng, who had lost her vote) and the 34-year-old finance manager from California became the second person voted out of the game.
How to watch ‘Survivor’ Season 48
Season 48 of “Survivor” will air Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and stream on Paramount+ for subscribers of the Paramount+ with Showtime plan.
Episodes can be streamed the next day for subscribers of any Paramount+ plan.
The previous 47 seasons of the show are all available to stream with a Paramount+ subscription.
Watch every season of Survivor with Paramount+
Who is the host of ‘Survivor’?
Jeff Probst has hosted all 48 seasons of the show, which has been on the air since 2000. He also serves as an executive producer.
Who won ‘Survivor’ Season 47?
Rachel Lamont won Season 47 of “Survivor,” in a 7-1-0 vote against Sam Phalen, who got one vote, and Sue Smey.
Lamont, a 34-year-old graphic designer from Southfield, Michigan, was originally on the Gata tribe and became the fifth woman ever to win four individual Immunity Challenges in a season.
Where is ‘Survivor’ filmed?
While “Survivor” previously took contestants to remote locations around the world, from the Pearl Islands to the Philippines and Guatemala, the show has been filmed in the Mamanuca Islands in Fiji for the past 15 seasons.
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