In a first look at this week’s episode, the pro wrestler laments giving his advantage to the farmer, saying, ‘She don’t know what the hell’s going on!’
For fans who may not remember, here’s some quick context on where things stand. Previously on Survivor, when Carter Krull first visited the Toka camp, he didn’t come empty-handed. Rather, he was given information about an advantage that was hidden inside an oar next to the tribe’s fishing boat. Unfortunately, when he left his bag unattended, the Toka members went open season on the hunting aficionado. They didn’t have to rifle much to find out the intel Carter had been given, and their advantage appetites were looking to be sated.
What followed was, true to the Toka tribe, absolute pandemonium. About half a dozen people ran down to the boat instantly, but, perhaps still filled with adrenaline at the news, they weren’t able to find anything. Eventually, the search party narrowed to Brady Booker and Maggie Nestor. The pro wrestler found the farmer down by the beach, trying to hack at the oar with the tribe’s handaxe. When he asked for the axe, Maggie paused in hesitation about letting him possibly get the advantage (and perhaps partially to avoid him giving himself another gnarly hand injury with the tool). Eventually, she acquiesced, handing him the blade.
And Brady quickly went to work. He hacked the paddles to pieces before finally uncovering the treasured piece of paper, which turned out to be an Extra Vote. Maggie immediately regretted her abdication and, taking a shot in the dark, asked if she could have it. And, almost immediately, Brady agreed to do so, with the promise that they’ll vote together from now on. Maggie consented, and he basically threw the paper at her before walking away, leaving fans — and Maggie herself — stunned at how she was able to get her hands on an advantage by simply asking.
All that is to say, Maggie did not live up to her end of the bargain. The next day, she ended up joining an amassing group of outsiders to take a shot at Brady’s alliance, leaving him left out of the vote. Things were tense in the aftermath of Tribal Council, as he tried to talk to her, only for her to push off any conversation to the next day. In private, however, she was clearly miffed by his attitude, calling him a bulldozer and saying, “I didn’t wait 40 years to come out here and let a little 25-year-old teach me how to play.”
Things can change on a dime in Survivor, however. And while both Brady and Maggie ended up staying on Toka, it was a very different configuration. Now, it seems like the two are working together — or at least attempting to do so.
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The sneak peek picks up with the two walking through the jungle. They seem to be mulling over their options on the new tribe, as both Kristin Flickinger and Mike Pinsky have people immediately gunning for them. Maggie frets about picking who she wants to target, while Brady simply replies, “Stay Toka strong.”
In confessional, however, he has plenty more to say about her.
“The way I’ve kind of felt about Maggie from the jump is she’s so unpredictable,” he says. “She’s so flippy, floppy, wishy-washy. ‘Oh, I can do this,’ or ‘Oh, maybe I shouldn’t,’ or ‘Oh, I have to pee,’ or ‘Oh, maybe I have to poop too.’ She don’t know what the hell’s going on!”
“Dude, she’s flipping every time she has a thought,” he continues. “And it’s scary, and it’s annoying. And I love her, and she’s a sweetheart. But God dang it! Stop it! You’re driving me crazy. I mean, I’m a psychopath. But I couldn’t live like that!”
Maggie decides to go with Brady’s idea of sticking with tribal lines for the vote. And then, in an improv tactic that Eric Macksoud would praise, she decides to “yes and” him. “If we stay Toka strong and we get to the merge, dude, I’ve got that Extra Vote,” she says. “I could make a big move.”
And, predictably, Brady is feeling a certain way about “loose cannon” Maggie outright telling him she wants to take a big swing with the advantage they found.
“Maggie’s Extra Vote is a problem, because it’s supposed to be used between us,” he says in confessional. “And realistically, brodie, it was supposed to be mine to dictate. The reason she got it from me was because of how frantic she was. I found the Extra Vote, and she’s going, ‘I’m on the bottom. I’m on the bottom!’ It’s just so unpredictable, brodie I can’t take it.”
For what it’s worth, Brady shows a poker face in the moment to Maggie, affirming, “Since we found that Extra Vote, we’ll work together with it.” But in private, he has a much different sentiment, outright saying, “I think that maybe the Extra Vote isn’t good in Maggie’s hands.”
The question at hand (sans a quarter of a thumb) is how much Brady’s growing distrust in Maggie could affect an upcoming vote. Would he try to convince her to give him the Extra Vote, feeling more secure with it back in his possession? If that doesn’t work, could he get her to waste it, disarming her before she can do anything with it later? Or, could her desire to use the advantage for a big move cause him to make a big move himself, and jump her in the target queue to get her out pronto?
Survivor airs new episodes Wednesday nights at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT on CBS.