Episode 4 of Surviving Barstool and Looking Ahead to Episode 5

WARNING: THIS IS A FULL RECAP OF SURVIVING BARSTOOL SEASON 5 EPISODE 4. SPOILERS ARE INCLUDED THROUGHOUT, SO DO NOT KEEP READING UNLESS YOU’VE WATCHED EPISODE 4.

If you want to watch a recap show for Episode 4, check out the Breakdown Boys!

Episode 4 was the shortest episode we’ve gotten so far this season at just 56 minutes, but we still got plenty of drama and another person sent packing. We pick up after Hannah Montoya was voted out, and Dani immediately pulls Tate aside because she no longer trusts Nicky Smokes. Hard to blame her considering Smokes has now flipped his vote at back-to-back Tribal Councils and helped send both Nick Turani and Hannah home.

Smokes has to do a little damage control and tells Dani she should still trust him and that the three of them are solid. Dani tells the camera they’re basically just going to string him along until it’s time to get him out.

Meanwhile, Brandon Walker is starting to realize just how badly the Chicago office is getting its ass kicked. Five of the first six people eliminated were Chicago employees in Ella, Katic, Nick Turani, Annika and Hannah. Meek Phill is the only New York casualty so far.

Brandon has already tried warning Tate about New York potentially coming after Chicago, but Tate doesn’t seem too concerned. That's probably because Tate has his own group and believes he's in control of what's happening. Later, Tate tells Brandon about Smokes flipping at Tribal twice, and Brandon gives him some pretty straightforward advice: trusting Nicky Smokes is probably a bad idea.

Duhhhhh.

There’s also still some weirdness between Marty and Dana over the idol from Episode 3. Marty talks to Dana about it and wants an understanding that the idol will be there for either of them if one of them needs it. Marty definitely seems a little salty about Dana being the one who ended up with it, and I still don't think either of them completely agrees on whose idol it really is.

Dana also tells Marty that Dani absolutely despises Brandon, and we get a clip of Dani telling Dana, Tate and Smokes that Brandon sucks and doesn't try. Dana then warns Marty that Dani has noticed how close the two of them are, so Dana and Marty decide it might be smart to take a little break from being attached at the hip.

Brandon is also still pissed about Turani getting voted out and has absolutely zero interest in working with Smokes. When Smokes approaches him in the Mostly Sports studio about potentially helping each other, Brandon essentially tells him to keep dreaming.

Not happening.

Goodbye Roach, Rat And Snake

We had a feeling a tribe shakeup was coming after the Episode 3 preview, and sure enough, the three tribes are officially gone. The remaining 12 players randomly draw into two new tribes of six: Worm Tribe in green and Pigeon Tribe in white.

And somehow Roach hits the absolute jackpot.

Feits, Tommy Smokes, Brandon Walker, Dante and Pat ALL end up together again on Worm, with Rone joining them as the sixth member! Five people who have already won two challenges together stay intact and now they add Rone.

Feits puts it perfectly when he says it's like the Warriors adding KD. They won two straight and now they add another gamer.

The interesting part is Rone. He's the only person on Worm who wasn't part of Roach, so on paper he looks like the obvious odd man out. However, we do get a brief conversation where Brandon tells Rone that his original loyalty was always with Nick Turani and Rone. That could end up being pretty damn important if Worm eventually has to vote someone out.

Pigeon consists of Dana, Tate, Dani, Nicky Smokes, Glenny and Marty. That's a pretty good draw for Tate too because he stays with Dani and Smokes while also keeping Dana around, who he has spent most of the game convincing they're working together.

Attack Defend

The challenge is a Surviving Barstool classic: Attack Defend.

Each tribe has a goalie, a designated shooter and four other players helping move dodgeballs down the line while everyone has to remain on their pads. The goal is to get the ball to your shooter for what is basically a penalty shot against the opposing goalie, and the first tribe to 10 wins immunity.

Feits is Worm's shooter with Dante in goal, while Marty shoots for Pigeon and Nicky Smokes handles goalie duties.

This challenge always seems to create controversy, and man oh man did we get some tonight. Brandon gets matched up with Glenny Balls and basically eats him for lunch. Brandon is a mismatch from hell in this game, and Glenny has a hell of a time trying to get passes around him.

Feits eventually gets Worm to halftime with a 5-3 lead, but the second half is where everything goes off the rails.

With Worm leading 6-4, Mut finally decides to make his presence known after doing basically nothing as an official through three episodes. He calls Tommy Smokes for stepping off his pad, but after discussing it, Mut says there was an inadvertent whistle and wipes away the call. The problem is Marty had scored right around the whistle, so Pigeon loses the goal and doesn't get a penalty shot either.

Dana and Tate are PISSED!

Pigeon eventually cuts it to 6-5, and then we enter a stretch where apparently nobody understands how to stay on a mat. Marty comes off after scoring, Feits gets a penalty shot, Feits then comes off his own pad, Marty gets another penalty shot and scores to tie it 6-6...

AND THEN MARTY COMES OFF THE PAD AGAIN!

Feits gets another free shot and puts Worm back ahead 7-6.

Then comes the call that really sets Pigeon off. Mut says Glenny stepped off his mat, and Glenny, Dana and basically the entire tribe lose their minds. The episode shows us the replay enough times that you can pretty clearly see Glenny's foot touch the ground, but apparently the players weren't getting those replay angles during the actual challenge. Mut has to stick with what he called, and Pigeon is FURIOUS.

From the owner of Mutstack himself...

The penalty puts Worm up 8-6, and Feits eventually buries two more shots to finish it off. Worm wins immunity after getting 20 total shot attempts compared to only nine for Pigeon.

Everyone can be pissed at Mut all they want, but at some point you have to acknowledge that difference. Pigeon just didn't create enough opportunities, despite a pretty damn good effort from Smokes in goal and Marty as the shooter.

Nicky Smokes Does It Again

Pigeon is heading to Tribal, and Dana, Marty and Glenny seem pretty confident that Dani is the person they want out. Dani is working the other side, trying to convince Glenny to turn on Dana and Marty and join her, Tate and Smokes in voting Dana out.

There's a lot of back-and-forth before Tribal, and I thought production did a good job here because it wasn't obvious which way the vote was actually going. Dana and Marty explain to Tate and Smokes why they want to keep Glenny around as a number they can potentially use later, but remember, Tate and Smokes are supposed to have an alliance with Dani.

So what the hell are they going to do?

We don't have to wait long.

Jeff reads the first four votes and Dani Jackel is gone.

They don't show every individual vote, but we find out that Nicky Smokes flipped AGAIN and voted for Dani, meaning Dana, Marty and Glenny likely joined him to send her home.

You have to give Smokes some credit at this point. This is now three straight Tribal Councils where he's played a major role as a swing vote, and this is the same guy everyone loves portraying as a dumbass. Tate has obviously been pulling a lot of strings behind the scenes, but Smokes keeps being the guy who actually has to make these decisions when it's time to write a name down.

He's playing a pretty damn good game through four episodes.

Questions Heading Into Episode 5

Is Rone actually on the hot seat? A couple episodes ago it looked like Rone might be toast, then suddenly he was back in control and sitting on an immunity idol. Now he's the only former Snake member surrounded by five people from Roach. That looks terrible on paper, but his relationship with Brandon could completely change things if Worm ever has to go to Tribal.

What happens with the Pigeon alliances now? We're down another person, and the preview shows Marty getting injured and needing to be iced up during the next challenge. If he's unable to keep competing or Pigeon has to forfeit something because of it, we could be looking at another Worm win and another Pigeon Tribal.

And finally...

Is Nicky Smokes the MVP through four episodes? Listen, I know Tate has been running a lot of their operation, but you have to give it up to Smokes. He's been the swing vote at three straight Tribal Councils, made some pretty tough decisions and there could be even more happening behind the scenes that we aren't seeing.

Winner of Episode 4 

WINNER: Feits —This is two episodes in a row now that Feitelberg has dominated in challenges and helped his tribe win immunity. He seems to be way more locked in this season than the past one he competed on and I think he has shown his strength as a player who can help his team when physical challenges. We will see what happens when the lights get bright and he has to persuade others not to vote for him at tribal, but he deserves some recognition for his performances in challenges on episodes 3 and 4.