It was one of the biggest twists we’ve seen so far on Survivor: Blood v Water.
Instead of sending the person with the most votes home at tribal council, host Jonathan LaPaglia revealed that they’d be all be staying in the game.
For Ben, who would have been sent packing after a brutal blindside from Jesse, it all came as a huge shock.
“I think my jaw is still on the floor at tribal council after the blindside,” Ben, 33, tells TV WEEK. “But credit where credit is due, it was orchestrated with flair.”
Young Jesse has shown his rivals he’s no kid when it comes to playing hard.
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From the very beginning, the castaways underestimated Jesse. As the youngest player in the game, he earnt the nickname of “The Kid” right away.
Little did the rest of tribe know, the 22-year-old was using their own judgement against them, and had become the puppet master lurking in the shadows.
“I was licking my lips out there,” Jesse shares. “The number one thing you don’t want to be in this game is a threat.
“And for people to be latching on to my age and underestimating me, that’s a massive tool in my belt.”
Jesse had his eye on Ben from the beginning. With his eyes set on making it to the final tribal council, he knew he had to make some big moves to gain respect from his peers.
Jesse tells Samantha what’s going down at Tribal Council.
(Image: Network Ten)“I started to plant seeds in people’s minds that Benny needs to go. There was a growing resentment towards him in the tribe and really I saw Benny as the biggest possible notch in my belt that I could have on my resume,” he says.
When the blindside fell through, Jesse was devastated but when he got back to camp, he realised the fallout wasn’t going to be as bad as he first thought.
“It felt like a punch to the stomach because it took days and days of work,” Jesse explains.
“I knew the only way out of this was to have exceptional social game. Thankfully I had managed to make others feel like they had contributed to the blindside and not take all the blame.”
As you’ll see this week, Jesse’s expert manipulation and gameplay truly comes into focus as he attempts to get Ben back on his side.
“Benny didn’t understand the game to that level so he couldn’t see that I pulled all the strings. He was actually fine with me!
“Again, I stroked his ego and because I understood that his desire to be the top dog was what drove him. I was able to get on his good side pretty quickly,” Jesse shares.
But Ben knew if he was going to last, he needed to get Jesse back onside and play big. If that meant biting his tongue and biding his time, he was going to do it.
“I had so many thoughts racing through my head on the way back to camp. I knew I’d have to keep my cool, so I copped it all on the chin, telling everyone it was ok and that they played well.
“After all, I came here to play a game with people who want to play. It’s not like you can ask for an apology from the rugby team who score more tries than you in a match,” Ben says.
“However, The Kid apologised and gave reasons for the blindside but for me this was fire to my belly. I was now more hungry than ever to get back on top of this game.”
Jesse and Ben are locked in a struggle for the upper hand.
(Image: Network Ten)With the Alpha making the bold moves and the Kid pulling the strings behind the scenes, it could be a powerful alliance moving forward.
But with everything that’s transpired between them, is it really water under the bridge or is Ben out for blood?
Merge ahead!
This Sunday, tensions reach boiling point as the tribes merge and the castaways start to battle it out individually against their loved ones in an epic quest for the title of sole Survivor.
Now, we’ll see where the allegiances really lie of each of the remaining blood couples left in the running for the top spot.
Will they turn on each other, sticking with alliances they’ve made in the game, or is blood really thicker than water? We’ll have to wait to find out.
