A new episode of Survivor: Ghost Island airs tonight on CBS. Read a live recap and join the discussion here.
The episode begins on the morning of Day 20, which happens to be the merge. All three tribes greet each other on the Naviti beach and enjoy a feast. We hear a confessional from Domenick. He’s glad to be reunited with Wendell, but he isn’t too excited to be back with his nemesis Chris. We hear a confessional from Michael, and he says it feels like Christmas morning and he hopes he can win the game. In Kellyn’s confessional, she says they’ll eat a feast together before they eat each other.
After the feast, Chris notices there was a secret note inside his new buff. He goes to tree mail, and he finds a note for the hidden immunity idol. In order to attain the idol, he’ll have to sneak onto a boat in the middle of the night to Ghost Island. He’s aware of the risk of getting caught, but he still plans to go for the idol. Meanwhile, Wendell hopes Domenick and Chris could put aside their differences for one vote to stay Naviti strong, but he’s aware how difficult it will be to bring the two of them together. We later see Chris and Domenick have a conversation with Wendell present. Domenick says they can postpone going after each other, but Chris is noncommittal. Wendell asks if he’d be willing to vote for any of the three sitting together on the beach (Michael, Jenna, or Libby), but Chris says he can’t promise anything. After Chris walks away, Domenick and Wendell agree it’s impossible to work with Chris and plan to vote him out if they can.
In the evening, Chris sneaks away from camp to go to Ghost Island. He manages to board the boat without getting caught. At Ghost Island, he gets a hidden immunity idol. It’s the idol that was in J.T.’s possession in Survivor: Game Changers when he was blindsided. However, there is a twist with this hidden immunity idol. It is only good for this upcoming tribal council, but he can increase its longevity if he’s willing to risk his vote. Chris decides to risk his vote, and he is successful with picking the right bamboo. He decides to risk his vote again, but he’s given a “no vote” parchment inside the next bamboo he opens. Therefore, Chris cannot vote at this upcoming tribal council. However, his hidden immunity idol can be played at this tribal council or it can be played in the following tribal council. The following morning, the Chris versus Domenick battle continues. Other tribe members are wondering which side to take. Libby and Jenna talk, and Libby says Chris is a big target, but he’d be less likely to lie to them. Jenna is just relieved the attention isn’t on her, Libby, or Michael as a potential target at this upcoming vote.
It’s time for the immunity challenge. It’s an endurance challenge that requires each castaway to stand on a narrow beam while holding a pole horizontally above their heads. There is also a statue atop each pole. The last castaway standing wins immunity. The challenge begins, and the first one out is Jenna. She is soon followed by Donathan, Desiree, and Angela. The challenge continues, and they move farther down the beam for the next part. They are all standing on a narrower part of the beam. The next one to drop is Sebastian. After twenty minutes have passed, they now move to a narrower part of the beam. Domenick is the next to be eliminated from the challenge, and he’s followed by Michael, Chris, Laurel, and Wendell. Only three people remain in the challenge: Libby, Chelsea, and Kellyn. After a gust of wind, Chelsea’s statue drop. It’s now down to Libby and Kellyn, and Libby’s statue falls. Kellyn wins immunity!
The tribe returns to camp, and Chris starts trying to rally troops to his side. He approaches a big group of people to split the votes between Domenick and Wendell. In a confessional, Michael says Chris’s plan makes sense, but he’s unsure what will actually happen tonight. He says he’ll play his hidden immunity idol if he thinks he needs to. Meanwhile, Wendell really wants Chris gone. He tells Domenick that he has a hidden immunity and he wants to get Chris out. Later on, Donathan reveals to Domenick that they are splitting the votes. We next see Wendell approach people, and he says it should be a democracy. Libby says in a confessional that it feels good to be safe, but, unbeknownst to her, Desiree wants Libby out. She hopes she can get a plan in motion to get rid of Libby instead. Meanwhile, Domenick and Wendell talk privately and agree they’ll play their idols if they have to. In his confessional, Chris is unsure if he wants to play his idol tonight. He believes if he survives this vote without playing his idol, he’ll be in a good position moving forward in the game.
It’s time for tribal council. This is the first time Chris has attended tribal council, and he says the game really comes alive here. Jeff asks about adapting in the game, and Domenick brings up the feud with Chris. Domenick says they’ve been butting heads since he publicly disagreed with Chris’s choice in the first challenge. Domenick says it’s a showdown between him and Chris. Chris talks next, and he mentions how the Naviti tribe tried to vote out Angela. Wendell interrupts and says that Chris teamed up with the original Malolo tribe members. Chris and Domenick are openly targeting each other, and Wendell is clearly on Domenick’s side. Jeff asks if Chris is the leader of the pack, and Domenick says that he and Wendell could be excluded from a plan. Jeff talks to Libby next, and she says no one knows who they can fully trust and the stakes are high. Kellyn says the first merge vote is crazy, and she’s glad she has immunity tonight. Jeff asks Chris how does he make sure it’s not him going home tonight, and he says it’s because of the trust he has built in this game. Afterwards, it’s time to vote.
We see Chris insert the “No Vote” parchment inside the urn, and Domenick shouts out that he’s voting for Chris. We also see Wendell vote for Chris too. Who will be voted out tonight?
Before Jeff reads the votes, he asks if anyone wants to play a hidden immunity idol. Domenick stands up and plays the Legacy Advantage. Chris does not play his idol.
Jeff reads the votes. The first vote is for…
Chris
Chris
Libby
Libby
Chris
Chris
Chris
Chris
Chris
Chris is voted out and the first member of the jury.
And that wraps up tonight’s episode of Survivor. Thanks for reading, post your thoughts in the comment section below, and come back next week for another live recap.
