Steven Cheah Made A Girl Cry: Surviving Barstool Episode 4 Recap
The penultimate (great word) episode of Surviving Barstool Season 2 aired last night, getting us down to the Final Four. The finale will air tonight at 7 PM where a winner will be crowned. Let's get into the recap and see how we've gotten here.
Idol Hunt
After the Caroline vote where she didn't play an idol, it became clear the idol still wasn't found. Grace was the odd one out of the alliance, and they wanted to make sure she didn't find it. Steven Cheah finally put the clue together and found the immunity ring under a Vegas sign by Jeff D Lowe's desk (hence the sinner part of the clue). It's astounding how many times people walked by it without seeing it. At one point, we put it just in plain sight and people still just walked past it. Cheah found it and since the last chance to play it was tribal that night, he told everyone he wouldn't try in the challenge as a "show of good faith." I don't like this move from Cheah because if he won the challenge, he could've used the ring as a power move as on someone else. But he is the honest Godfather after all.
We also had just some good old fashion guy fun.
Immunity Challenge
This challenge was a blacklight maze where people found letters and then had to do a word un-scramble. It led to some incredibly dumb guesses.
Eddie ultimately won it with the phrase "Suite Dreams" and was safe, guaranteeing himself a spot in the Final Four. He chose Grace to stay with him in the Mattress Firm Suite. I think maybe Eddie just knew she was going home that night and wanted the place to himself. Also try curry some good favor with a possible council member. Don't hate the move to be honest.
Pre-Tribal Discussion
The foursome alliance of Cheah, Jackie, Eddie, and Rudy had been solid all game and didn't appear like they were ready to crack. Grace going home seemed inevitable and she knew it. She went to Chickenfry for some support.
But it wasn't working. She went with an emotional pitch about wanting to give the money to her family, but she was dealing with a robot in Steven Cheah who can't compute human emotions. He basically told her straight up that she was going home because she'd be too much of a jury threat to win in the end.
I think the play for Grace here would've been to try convincing Cheah to give her the immunity ring and take out Rudy, a likable guy seen as a threat to win the game. It would be a big game move for Steven and he'd also be taking out some competition that could maybe beat him at the end. OR if that wasn't working, Grace could've tried to swing Jackie and Eddie to make a move against Rudy. But the solid four was just too solid. They had their deal from the beginning and it's almost like they thought it was against the rules to break a promise in this game.
Rudy was starting to get a bit paranoid though and almost talked himself into trouble. But then him, Cheah, and Jackie made a deal. Cheah told Rudy and Jackie that he won't vote for them tonight as long as they don't vote for him at Final Four. This would guarantee Cheah a spot at Final Tribal Council if they stick to it. And this group clearly does seem like the type to keep promises. So it's a smart deal to make everyone feel a bit safer. The question is if they'll all stick to it?
Tribal Council
No matter what KFC or Grace said at tribal council, the foursome alliance was too tight. They just would not break. They were strong from the beginning and stayed that way throughout. Cheah used his immunity ring on himself and Grace went home in a 4-1 vote with her vote going to Rudy.
So now we're down to four. Steven Cheah, Jackie, Eddie, and Rudy. The alliance formed on Day 1 has made it all the way to the end together without betraying each other. But four people can't split the $10,000 evenly so it's time for some backstabbing. Will Jackie be targeted as the only girl? Will Cheah be targeted for playing such a good game? Will Rudy be targeted for his likability and charm? Or will Eddie be targeted since he was on the outside of the Cheah, Rudy, Jackie deal?
A lot at play. Tune in tonight at 7 to see how it all plays out. And you can watch the KFC Radio after show breaking down the episode here.