In last week’s recap, Debbie Wanner warned danger was ahead. The reward challenge was going to be brutal, but who would’ve guessed it would end with three competitors flat on the ground and suffering from heat stroke?
“That was what I said before it all got started; someone is going to die here today. Little did I know it was almost going to be me!” she tells BCL. “It was just insane. It was horrific is what it was.”
Horrific is the perfect way to describe episode 4. It was gripping, intense and kept your eyes glued to the screen in morbid fascination. One member from each tribe fell after the completion of the challenge. Their bodies were simply unable to keep up with the heat.
“It was 118 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade,” Debbie says. “We were digging in sand; imagine an enormous sand box and digging in that as fast as you could. Then we played a [carnival] game. All the while there was no water, the sun was beating down, and we’re exercising like we were doing a half-marathon.”
The castaways dug for 45 minutes in the brutal sunlight and in the hot sand before the Brains tribe found the third and final hidden bag in the sand box leading them to complete the game. Leaving the other tribes in the dust, they finished in first place. Minutes after, Debbie was down on the ground. The other tribes were still competing and she couldn’t stand. Joe Del Campo called for medical.
“You don’t want to appear weak, so everybody gave it 100 percent effort in those kinds of conditions. We were obtuse and just blinded by winning,” Debbie says. It wasn’t about winning that reward challenge specifically; it was about the $1 million at the end of the game. Especially as an older member on her tribe, Debbie didn’t want to appear weak. At first she’d even asked that Joe not call medical, embarrassed by it all.
Minutes later, as the Beauty tribe snagged second place, Caleb Reynolds and Cydney Gillon also collapsed. It was a full house. Jeff Probst called everyone onto set, making the entire crew essential. They brought umbrellas, poured cold water on the contestants and fanned them. Luckily, Debbie had recovered by this point so the doctor could focus his time on both Cydney and Caleb.
Caleb, a member of the Beauty tribe was worst off. They brought out ice and gave him a saline drip. Finally, Probst had to call for a helicopter to air lift him out of the game. It was emotional. His tribe members cried as they carried him off, and before that, there was visible panic on the host’s face as he looked at three contestants on the ground.
Caleb has since fully recovered and wants to play Survivor again. After his departure, the game continues. The Brain tribe won first place in the immunity challenge, and Brawn is sent to tribal council where Alecia Holden is voted out.
Tune in March 16 at 8pm on CBS. Things are getting switched up, and there will be a tribe merge. Three tribes will become two, and with the cast mingled, power positions are going to change. Debbie has been in a great spot on her tribe. Will the tribe switch be her down fall?
