It doesn’t matter how strong or successful someone is in their real life, surviving the elements of Fiji with only the bare necessities will drain them physically. And that’s no different for returning player Bruce Perreault, who shared his struggle during a Survivor 45 secret scene.
Although season 45’s episodes are supersized in a 90-minute timeslot on CBS, there’s still way too much content for viewers to see everything in-episode. However, the reality competition show will frequently drop little snippets online that didn’t make the final cut.
In this deleted scene, which came out after episode 2 aired on Oct. 4, we see a Survivor staple that’s not typically shown anymore — Tree Mail. The mailbox is where tribes go to receive messages about upcoming challenges and twists.
Day 5 marked the second Immunity Challenge, and Bruce’s Belo tribe descended onto Tree Mail to see what was in store for them.
“Swim, smash, splash, and fly, wise choices save your game,” the mail read. “Falter, sink, or just not try, don’t be next to lose your flame.” And in brackets at the top bottom of the parchment read: “Bring your flint with you.”
Nowadays on Survivor, the losing tribe at an Immunity Challenge must forfeit their flint — and subsequently, their ability to make fire — to host Jeff Probst. The six-person tribe then headed back to camp to dissect the mail and come up with a strategy for the Immunity Challenge going off the riddle, something we rarely see.
Well, while everyone was focused on the competition, Bruce brought up the chance of losing their flint, as well as his worry that he wouldn’t perform up to his abilities.
“If we lose today, Jeff takes the flint,” Bruce said in a confessional. “Mentally, hell yeah, I’m ready. Physically, I want to contribute as much as humanly possible… Like, right now I’m at 40 percent of my game physically.”
Season 45 is the second time Bruce has been on a campaign in Fiji for $1 million. He was a cast member on Survivor 45. However, his time in the archipelago was over right when it started. He was medically evacuated from the game 12 hours in after suffering a concussion during the first challenge. Bruce is the only returning player out of the 18 castaways on Survivor 45.
Tribemate Jake O’Kane noticed Bruce’s energy levels
Bruce was 46 at the time of filming Survivor 45, making him over a decade older than the next oldest Belo member. As history as it, an older contestant is typically at a disadvantage during the tribe portion of Survivor. But, Bruce is perhaps the most physically capable contestant donning a blue buff, and he’s displayed high energy levels to back that up.
Even so, 26-year-old Bostonian Jake O’Kane noticed Bruce’s waning physicality.
“Bruce is the most energetic 46-year-old I’ve ever met in my life,” Jake said in another confessional. “But, I was looking at him and he’s slowing down, and that’s not Bruce.”
We then see Bruce sitting next to his tribemates at camp with his head in his hand. “You hanging in their Bruce?” he was asked. Jake also checked in on Bruce, a man he’s alligned with.
A depleted Bruce slightly perked up, but his low energy was palpable.
“Bruce is an asset physically in the challenges, and we need him,” Jake continued in the confessional. “So, if we lose the Immunity Challenge, our flint’s outta here. If we lose flint, we lose fire, we lose fresh drinking water, you stop eating, you stop drinking water.”
At the end of the scene, Katurah Topps praised Jake for remaining optimistic about their chances of warding off another vote. “We’re all going to see day 6,” Jake said.
“I know we need you on this tribe,” she replied. “Your motivation is so good, like that’s cool to hear.”
Interestingly, episode 2 showed Katurah and the rest of the women building their female-only alliance while also pulling in Brandon “Brando” Meyer, leaving Jake and Bruce at the bottom with targets on their backs.
Regardless, Belo secured safety from Tribal Council by placing second out of the three tribes later in the day. Bruce also performed well in the challenge and was one of the quickest players to traverse a balance beam. So, instead of losing their flint, they avoided eliminating one of their own while taking a small fishing kit home.
On the other end, Lulu still hasn’t received flint through two episodes, and their six-person squad has shrunk to four.