Survivor Season 40 Winners at War Week 2 Recap and Live Blog

A new episode of Survivor: Winners at War airs tonight on CBS. Read a live recap and join the discussion here.

The episode begins on the Edge of Extinction. Amber is sad to have been voted out, but she’s happy to be able to help Rob from the Edge of Extinction. Back at the Sele camp, Rob learns he has been bequeathed a fire token. However, he’s unhappy about this as he realizes this means Amber was likely voted out. He shares this news with Parvati, but she tells him maybe it was Sandra who bequeathed him the fire token. In his confessional, Rob does say Sandra is a friend and they spent 36 days together on the Island of the Idols. However, if she voted his wife out of the game, then it’s war.

Meanwhile on Sele, Ben wants to work on his relationships instead of relying on hidden immunity idols. He forms a bond with Denise, and the two of them go searching for a hidden immunity idol. Denise finds a hidden immunity idol! However, she must give half of the idol to another player before sundown. Ben is with her, so they read the note together.  Once the two halves are reconnected, then the idol will have power. Ben doesn’t try to sway Denise to give him the idol, which she is grateful for. Denise is close to Adam, so she shares the news with him. Adam thanks Denise for trusting him, but he’s disappointed that Ben knows about it too. He says Ben is a wildcard. Denise wonders if she should give the idol to Parvati, but Adam says that’s a terrible idea since Parvati is one of the best to have ever played the game. He convinces Denise to give it to him instead. Nonetheless, he’s still nervous about trusting Ben.

At Dakal, Yul is trying to knock down fruit with a bamboo stick, which he manages to achieve. Kim thanks Yul for the fruit, and we hear a confessional from her. Kim says it’s a different experience for her since she’s on the outs and has never played from the bottom before. She wants to get her footing, but an idol would be helpful. Kim wanders alone, and Kim finds a hidden immunity idol! It’s also one that requires her to give half of it to someone else. Immediately after she reads the note, Tony and Nick walk up to her. She manages to hide the idol from them as she tells them she was collecting firewood. Kim goes back to camp, and she decides to share the news about the idol with Sophie. Kim says she got a good vibe from Sophie, but Sophie is shocked Kim shared the news with her. In her confessional, Sophie says Kim should’ve shared the idol with Tyson instead. She adds that Kim is the most socially adept person, but everyone knows that after seeing how Kim won her first season. Therefore, that makes Kim a threat in the game. Sophie says Kim never should’ve told her about the idol.

Back on the Edge of Extinction, Natalie and Amber read a clue that hints there is a way for them to earn more tokens. The two of them go exploring throughout the island together, but they don’t find anything. Amber wonders if the note is hinting about something that won’t happen until tomorrow and stops looking. Natalie, however, keeps looking alone and she finds a bundle inside the water well. She fishes it out and retrieves an advantage she can sell to any player still in the game. The advantage is safety without power. This means this advantage will allow a player to leave tribal council and return to camp before the votes are cast. This player won’t be able to vote, but this player will be immune from getting voted out. Natalie can sell it to any player for one fire token. The scene cuts to Jeremy getting the advantage. He agrees to buy it for one fire token. He surmises the advantage came from Natalie, and he’s glad she still has his back.

Back at Dakal, Tony builds a ladder out of bamboo to retrieve papaya from trees. The whole tribe helps carry the ladder from camp to the spot where the papayas are. Tony is determined to use the ladder, but everyone else is unsure since the ladder is so flimsy. Everyone watches in fear and amusement as Tony climbs up the ladder and retrieves papayas. Afterwards, Tony and Sarah talk game later. They both played for the first time on Survivor: Cagayan and they are aware people are worried about them being a duo. Tony says they shouldn’t have to bother hiding their alliance if everyone suspects it anyway. They had a “Cops R Us” alliance back in Cagayan before Tony voted Sarah out at the merge. Tony wants to give their alliance another try this time around, and Sarah is on board.

It’s time for the immunity challenge. The Sele tribe sees that Amber was, in fact, voted out. Jeff asks Rob if it feels personal. Rob is clearly unhappy, but he says it’s a game and he gets it. The challenge begins, which requires tribes to go through an obstacle course that requires them to collect keys for chests while transporting their chests on a cart. Once they get all their chests to the puzzle making station, they then can begin assembling the puzzle. The first tribe to complete the puzzle will win immunity and a spice kit. The challenge is even as both tribes get their three keys and chests at the same time. Next, they must disassemble their cart and push it through a barrier. The tribe members must go over the barrier too and then reassemble their cart. Sandra and Sophie are waiting for Dakal at the puzzle making station while Rob and Denise are waiting for Sele. The challenge remains even until Dakal pulls ahead getting their three chests back on the cart. They get the puzzle pieces out of the chests, and Sandra and Sophie begin working on the puzzle. Sele is struggling moving their heavy chests, but they eventually start catching up as Rob and Denise get started on the puzzle. Sandra and Sophie complete the first section of the puzzle, but Rob and Denise are making up time. It’s a much closer competition now as it soon becomes even. However, Rob and Denise decide to sort out their pieces instead of trying to put pieces into place. This risky strategy allows Sandra and Sophie to pull ahead while Rob and Denise don’t put any pieces into place. Sandra and Sophie complete the puzzle. Dakal wins immunity! Sele will go to tribal council tonight. We hear a confessional from Parvati. She is aware that new school players outnumber the old school players. She doesn’t want the new players to gain a majority, so she says a new school player must be voted out tonight.

Sele returns to camp, and Rob apologizes for blowing the puzzle. He takes full responsibility. However, in his confessional, Rob admits that he feels secure in the relationships he has built so far, so he’s not concerned with getting voted out tonight. He believes either Jeremy or Ben could be the one voted out tonight. He talks strategy with Parvati and Ethan by the ocean. Danni watches them from afar, and she’s feeling excluded from the old school alliance. She thinks she is on the outs. Danni talks to Ben and Ethan later, and she’s expressing her concerns. She feels like Parvati hasn’t been talking to her as much as she did on the first day, and Danni mentions how Rob wanted to remain old school strong. However, she says this in front of Ben, and this old school alliance was supposed to be a secret. Ethan expresses disappointment in Danni in his confessional. Ben, however, is glad as this gives him leverage to vote out Danni. Later, Danni talks game with Rob, and she throws out the idea of voting out Parvati tonight. Rob goes back to Ethan, and he reveals to him and Adam that Danni wants to target Parvati. Rob now wants Danni to be voted out tonight, and Ethan agrees that Danni is being too sketchy. In his confessional, Adam says he is glad the old school players are turning against each other. However, he admits that he would rather see Parvati go than Danni. Later, Parvati, Rob, and Ethan talk again. They agree that Danni isn’t trustworthy, but they wonder if they should just vote out Ben anyway. The rest of the tribe talk game, and Jeremy, Michele, and Adam wonder if they should secretly go along with Danni’s plan and vote out Parvati tonight. Jeremy says in his confessional that he sees that Rob is running the tribe, but he wants to be the one calling the shots on the blindsides instead. In his confessional, Adam says it would be a risk that could backfire, but he says he won’t win unless he makes big moves.

It’s Night 6 and time for tribal council. Jeff asks Rob about the state of the game, and he says it’s all about relationships. He says it’s more complex this season than ever before. Ethan adds that he wonders if his relationships are real or if it’s a part of the new style of the game he doesn’t understand. Michele says old school and new school is out the window. Michele says she was hoodwinked last time despite trusting everyone, both old school and new school players. Jeff asks if it’s tough to adapt for an old school player, and Parvati says old school players like Ethan and Danni have no experience with idols and advantages. Danni admits that is could be a struggle to catch up. She says she played a very loyal game last time that didn’t rely on advantages. She thought she had that again this time, but now she believes she doesn’t. She wasn’t part of those conversations. Parvati adds that Danni wanted to vote out Rob and then be old school strong after one conversation with Rob. Before she can continue, Ben interrupts her and asks about this old school alliance. Ben says he realizes there was an old school alliance after all after talking to Ethan and Danni. Ben calls out Parvati, Rob, and Ethan for running around the island in paranoia. “Wait a minute, Ben.” Parvati says. Parvati, Rob, and Ethan say everyone was talking game today, so he can’t just call them out for playing the game. As Ben continues accusing everyone of being paranoid, whispering among tribe members begin. Rob whispers to Jeremy and Ben, and Parvati whispers to Danni and Rob. Ben continues his rambling and claims he won’t go looking for idols. Rob asks if anyone has an idol. Rob empties out his bag, and he suggests everyone do the same. Everyone empties their bags to prove they don’t have the idol, but Denise manages to hide the idol in her sleeve. Adam says it’s unnecessary to have people empty out their bags, and Rob asks if he has it. Adam says he doesn’t have it, but the game shouldn’t be about this. Before the vote, Jeff asks what will tonight’s vote be about. Parvati says tonight’s vote will be about relationships and who you can trust. Afterwards, it’s time for the vote.

Jeff reads the votes. The first vote is for…

Parvati

Danni

Danni

Danni

Danni

Danni

Danni is the third person voted out of Survivor: Winners at War. After she walks away, we see her bequeath her fire token to Denise.

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.

About Steven Curtis 538 Articles
Steven is a graduate of the University of West Florida with a bachelor's degree in communication arts. He enjoys watching reality competition shows, such as American Idol, Survivor, Big Brother, and The Amazing Race.