Survivor featured the Yanu Tribe unanimously voting out Bhanu Gopal after they lost yet another Immunity Challenge during the Season 46 episode that aired Wednesday night on CBS.
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Survivor’s Yanu Tribe voted out Bhanu, a 41-year-old IT quality analyst from Visakhapatnam, India who currently resides in Acton, MA, at Tribal Council on Night 9 of the game in a unanimous 3-0 vote. Bhanu didn’t even have a vote of his own to cast for someone else.
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“I’m a Super Fan of Survivor, and I came here to just be an honest person, and that’s where the game caught me,” Bhanu said in his final words.
“But I hope my story reaches out to the audience and all the Bhanus out there. Have faith and don’t ever give up on anything in life. I came from poverty, and here I am, sitting on Survivor! Namaste.”
The Survivor broadcast began on Day 7 after Randen Montalvo had been pulled from the game because of a pinched nerve in his arm that could cause long-term damage.
Randen had been on the Nami Tribe with Tevin Davis, a 24-year-old actor from Goochland, VA who currently resides in Richmond, VA; Hunter McKnight, a 28-year-old science teacher from French Camp, MS; Liz Wilcox, a 35-year-old marketing strategist from Luther, MI who currently resides in Orlando, FL; Soda Thompson, a 27-year-old special education teacher from Long Island, NY who currently resides in Lake Hopatcong, NJ; and Venus Vafa, a 24-year-old data analyst from Hill, Ontario who currently resides in Toronto, Ontario.
Meanwhile, the Yanu Tribe was celebrating the fact they didn’t have to go to Tribal Council after their Immunity Challenge loss.
The Yanu Tribe was made up of Bhanu; Kenzie Petty, a 29-year-old salon owner from Gibraltar, MI who currently resides in Charlotte, NC; Q Burdette, a 29-year-old real estate agent from Senatobia, MS who currently resides in Memphis, TN; and Tiffany Nicole Ervin, a 33-year-old artist from Franklin Township, NJ who currently resides in Elizabeth, NJ.
Kenzie had been Q’s target, and so she survived to see another day in the game.
But Kenzie felt her tribe had a good foundation on which they could build, and she said she felt great about her tribe’s dynamic.
Bhanu then admitted to Tiffany that he had told other castaways on his journey that Kenzie was the “mastermind” in his tribe and that Tiffany and Q were very close. Tiffany didn’t want anyone knowing that, because knowledge is power in the game and someone may try to break their alliance up down the road.
Tiffany was clearly annoyed and frustrated, and she told Q that Bhanu was “a liability” who needed to go next. Tiffany assumed Bhanu had delivered a “sob story” during his journey on his own behalf, and Q was also upset Bhanu had painted a target on his back.
Tiffany also warned Kenzie about what Bhanu had said, and Kenzie was very pissed and complained about how Bhanu didn’t know how to play Survivor. Tiffany agreed and called Bhanu a “Looney Tune.”
On Day 8, Bhanu prayed for help because he had “really screwed up” by having taken wrong steps and made some miscalculations.
Each tribe then received Tree Mail, informing them that the next challenge was going to have a food Reward.
The Siga Tribe was comprised of Ben Katzman, a 31-year-old musician from Miami, FL; Charlie Davis, a 26-year-old law student from Manchester-by-the-Sea, MA who currently resides in Boston, MA; Jemila “Jem” Hussain-Adams, a 32-year-old international brand mentor from Berbice, Guyana who currently resides in Chicago, IL; Maria Shrime Gonzalez, a 48-year-old parent coach from Dallas, TX; Moriah Gaynor, a 28-year-old program coordinator from Boca Raton, FL who currently resides in San Diego, CA; and Tim Spicer, a 31-year-old college coach from Arlington, VA who currently resides in Atlanta, GA.
Jem said no one was aware she had found the “Beware Advantage,” and so she decided to plant a fake in the jungle to send her tribemates on “a wild goose chase” and throw them off of her scent.
Maria spotted Jem’s advantage, and she opened it in front of a group of castaways. She read that she must dig in the spot where she had found the Beware Advantage, and Jem struggled to keep a straight face while everyone was digging in the wrong spot.
“In Survivor, your job is to play as hard as you can, but it’s also okay to have some fun while you’re doing it!” Jem told the Survivor cameras.
Since the group came up empty in their search, they began to wonder if someone else had found the advantage and replanted it in a strange place that was filled with ants. Jem hoped to eventually pin the ruse on someone else.
On Day 8, the three tribes met Survivor host Jeff Probst for a Reward Challenge.
The Reward Challenge required each tribe to paddle a boat in from the ocean, collecting a key along the way. Once a tribe reached the shore, they’d use that key to unlock four rings. Each player was then responsible for getting one of those rings up and off the pole.
Once a tribe had all four rings, they had to dig under a log and race to toss those four rings back onto another pole.
The first two tribes to finish would win Reward in the form of fish. The first-place tribe would receive 10 big fresh fish, a bamboo cooker, and a diagram on how to use it. The second-place tribe would receive five smaller fish delivered to their camp.
Nami sat out Venus, and Siga sat out Moriah and Ben for the Survivor challenge.
Yanu won its first challenge and they were ecstatic to have beaten the other two tribes in “a landslide.” Nami had a big time lead for second place, and in the end, Nami placed second. Siga was therefore going to return to camp empty-handed, and Maria felt bad for her role in the loss.
Yanu decided to trade their fish for the toolkit and large tarp, and Nami were about to eat five fish.
“Our core four is finally getting it together!” Kenzie boasted to the Survivor cameras.
Once the tribes returned to camp, Tevin cleaned and cooked the fish, which was a skill his beloved father had taught him before he passed, and so the castaway was thrilled to feed his tribemates.
And at Yanu’s camp, Q attempted to fix Bhanu’s social and strategic game so he wouldn’t be a liability going forward. Q tried to teach Bhanu how to navigate interactions and to shut his mouth whenever necessary.
Q worked on Bhanu’s speech and emotions when playing Survivor, and it seemed to help Bhanu out a little bit. Bhanu practiced his training and asked Kenzie to help him, but Kenzie snapped at him that she wanted some time to relax after the challenge.
“I am over babying Bhanu! It’s so annoying!” Kenzie vented, after telling Q that he had the patience of a saint.
Meanwhile, at Siga, the tribe comforted Maria and said they didn’t blame her for their loss at all. Maria cried about failing in front of a lot of people given her family has very high expectations of her and always pushed her very hard, but this was a good lesson for her to let go of shame.
Charlie was upset Maria had shared the news of her Beware Advantage with others, and he was also frustrated that they couldn’t find the actual advantage buried among a tree’s roots.
Moriah suspected that Ben and Tim were working together on this ploy, and Jem boasted in a Survivor confessional how her plan was working and her game was going just as she had intended it to go.
Over at Yanu’s camp, Bhanu vented about how people in his tribe just wanted to chill and lounge. He left the camp after Kenzie snapped at him because he felt disrespected.
Bhanu didn’t like feeling like he was a puppet, with puppeteers pulling his strings.
Kenzie then apologized to Bhanu so he wouldn’t spiral, and she did make him feel a lot better. But Kenzie said she just wanted Bhanu to stay loyal to her tribe come the merge.
Over at Nami, Soda believed she had a solid three-person alliance with Tevin and Hunter on Survivor. She was feeling pretty safe and confident in the game, with Liz and Venus being her potential targets going forward.
Soda, however, preached the “Fab Five” to everyone in order to not make anyone feel vulnerable or on the outs.
Tevin pointed out how Soda was “a social butterfly” who was playing the game “a little too hard” for his liking. Tevin was worried that Soda was playing him just like she appeared to be playing everybody else.
“I need to be the one to get into everybody’s head and plant seeds,” Tevin told the Survivor cameras.
Tevin spoke to Hunter about targeting Soda while allowing everyone to think that Tevin was actually the vote. Hunter definitely wanted Soda out in order to become Tevin’s No. 1 ally going forward.
Tevin got Liz onboard with the vote because Liz had been thinking Soda would “be the one to beat” in the end.
“Soda has got to go-da,” Tevin joked in a Survivor confessional.
On Day 9, the Siga Tribe received Tree Mail informing them a challenge was fast approaching that would require jumping. Moriah admitted that she can’t jump at all, and so Charlie tried to teach her how to do it.
It then became time for the Immunity Challenge, and Jeff instructed each tribe to, one at a time, climb to the top of a tall tower and leap out into the ocean. A player then had to climb up a crate and jump back into the ocean.
Two players would be responsible for releasing a net full of buoys, and once everybody was at the finish, one player would attempt to land those buoys in a series of three baskets.
The first two tribes to finish would receive immunity and be safe from the vote, while the tribe to finish last would attend Tribal Council and be forced to vote out of the fourth person from Survivor 46.
Jem and Maria sat out for Siga, and Tevin sat out for Nami.
Bhanu had a massive setback during the challenge and belly-flopped into the ocean when he jumped in. He was clearly exhausted.
Hunter, Q and Tim shot the baskets, and in the end Nami claimed first place.
Bhanu took a long time to retrieve the buoys in the water, and so Siga finished in second place.
Yanu had the same result, a loss that would result in Tribal Council, and Jeff also took the tribe’s flint away from them. Kenzie admitted to the Survivor cameras that winning an Immunity Challenge was just a dream for Yanu, and the tribe was in agreeance that Bhanu needed to go home.
Tiffany, Q and Kenzie agreed it was going to be “an easy vote” that night, and Bhanu could immediately see that he was in trouble. Bhanu did not feel included in any of the conversations.
“The vote is already decided. The one you’re voting is the person who doesn’t have a vote today — me,” Bhanu cried in a Survivor confessional.
Bhanu broke down into tears and began desperately searching for a hidden Immunity Idol.
“If I have to climb Mount Everest, I will do it,” Bhanu said.
Tiffany then told her fellow castaways that Bhanu wasn’t going to find an idol because she had it. Bhanu couldn’t even play his Shot in the Dark, and he yelled at God, “What a plan, man! I am mad!”
Bhanu cried to Kenzie about how he had given the game his “all” and he was so deflated and disappointed to have to leave so soon. Bhanu even got down on his knees and begged Tiffany to save him and help him.
Tiffany scolded Bhanu and asked him to stand up. She said, “I’m going to be 100 percent honest. I am writing down your name tonight… I don’t feel like I can trust you.”
Bhanu accepted his fate going into Tribal Council, even though leaving Survivor was going to crush him and break his heart. He decided to be grateful for his nine days on the show.
“I learned a lesson the hard way: that five seconds of my honesty ruined my game. That’s how hard this game is,” Bhanu vented to the Survivor cameras, before venting, “But I’m a loyal and honest person… It’s not about the million dollars. All I want to do is win a million hearts.”
At Tribal Council on Night 9, Bhanu announced how he had lost his vote and accidentally betrayed his tribemates’ trust on his journey.
Bhanu explained to Jeff how it wasn’t clicking in his mind how to play the game until it was too late, and then he announced how he was going home that night. All of his tribemates openly and honestly confirmed that that was true.
“I searched nine days for an idol, but I don’t have anything. I don’t have a vote, I don’t have an idol, I don’t have alliances. I screwed up this game big time,” Bhanu confessed to the Survivor host.
Jeff was surprised and declared how there was “no deception happening,” and then Bhanu decided to share his story.
Bhanu revealed how he was born into poverty by a teenage mother and was abandoned by his father when he was three months old in India. After a few years, his mother got married and moved to a different city, leaving Bhanu with his grandparents.
Bhanu said his tribe’s minimal shelter at camp was like his house in India. It was a thatched roof and he grew up on the streets, where he learned how to be honest and help others.
“I’m the first one in my entire family to graduate high school, and the first one to have a graduate degree. I’m the first one to actually move to the United States, and I also found my partner,” Bhanu shared with the Survivor group.
“There are so many Bhanus still out there living in poverty… [I want to tell them] there is always hope and you can move mountains! Unfortunately this is the way it’s ending, but that’s all on me.”
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Q praised Bhanu for being a strong man whom the tribe had counted on for a lot of things.
“You won my heart, Bhanu, all of our hearts,” Kenzie concluded.
Since it was already determined that Bhanu was going home that night, no formal Survivor voting took place. Jeff just snuffed Bhanu’s torch on the spot and let him go with his head held high.
About The Author:
Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
Elizabeth Kwiatkowski is Associate Editor of Reality TV World and has been covering the reality TV genre for more than a decade.