This week Survivor: Winners at War had more drama and more new twists but the one thing that became very clear is that this game is going to be about fire tokens. No matter how many times any previous winner has played the game this is a new dimension they couldn't have prepared for.
It might only be episode 2 but the Survivor paranoia has definitely set in already. Nothing seemed to be going right for Rob, who arrived at the challenge to find out his wife had been voted off. Something he'd already suspected due to the fire token he was bequeathed. Things went downhill from there when Sele lost the challenge which required the team to drag a cart through an obstacle course to finish a puzzle. A challenge lost during the puzzle that Rob was responsible for doing. This resulted in not only immunity but also reward in the form of a Survivor spice kit for Dakal. Back at camp, however, it was Danni's paranoia that took over and saw her jeopardizing her alliance because she mistakenly believed she was being targeted. She wasn't. Until she outed her alliance. Meanwhile Ben decided to teach Denise how to idol hunt and it proved successful with her finding a unique immunity idol that required her to give one half to someone else which she gave to Adam.
At tribal council, despite much scrambling and theatrics, including Rob demanding all tribe members dump their bags out to see who had an idol, Danni was still unable to come back from her mistake. Meanwhile on Edge of Extinction Amber joined Natalie in the hunt for more advantages to sell to earn back fire tokens. While both searched the island together, Natalie found the advantage alone when going for water, in the well. This new advantage like the idol she found last week had no value on Extinction Island, however, it could be sold to someone still in the game. The advantage was safety without power and allowed the holder to leave tribal just before voting. The could not be voted off, but also had no vote. Knowing that she had given Jeremy an extra fire token Natalie decided to offer it to him assuming he would have at least one fire token left. She was correct and he did purchase it. But what do we know about the fire tokens so far? Who has them? How do they get them?
All players started the game with one fire token. Anyone voted to Extinction Island must leave their token behind for any player of their choice from either tribe. So far this is the only way we've seen for players to gain more fire tokens but it's likely we will see new ways for them to win, find or earn them in the upcoming weeks. They were given a menu when the game started that told them what they could spend their fire tokens on. There were three categories, food, comfort, and advantage. Food included coffee and pastries for three tokens, a small bag of beans for four tokens, and a regular bag of rice for five tokens. The comfort was offered in the form of two pillows and two blankets for four tokens or a tarp for five tokens. The only advantage listed, that could be seen, was an advantage in a challenge for four tokens. However, there are unique purchase options available only to specific castaways that are offered by those on extinction island. So far one token bought Sandra and immunity idol and one token bought Jeremy the safety without power advantage.
This leaves those on extinction island who, though forced to leave their fire tokens behind, were told by a sign on arrival, "If you are industrious you can earn fire tokens that can help you get back in the game." They also have a different menu of items broken down into strategic and luxury categories. For strategic it offers one advantage in a return challenge for one token or idol with full power for three tokens. The luxury items include one pizza, a jar of peanut butter, a bottle of wine, a six-pack of cold beer, and a hammock. All of which appeared to be one token each. As fans saw there are clues to find hidden advantages on extinction island that can be sold back to players still in the game.
If you've managed not to get confused, the bottom line is that a barter system now exists between the two islands. The players in the game are only aware of this if they've been offered an item for sale. It is clear the role fire tokens will play will be huge. But it remains to be seen what other ways they will be used. Will teams or alliances pool tokens to help one or all of them. Will players in the game buy items from allies on extinction island purely to help them get back in the game. The creative team for Survivor thought this one out well and it is clear it will give an already strategic bunch a whole new way to strategize and fans are sure to enjoy watching that happen.
Survivor airs Wednesdays at 8pm EST on CBS.