Survivor Season 42 Week 5 Recap and Live Blog

Pictured (L-R): Mike Turner, Lydia Meredith and Hai Giang. Photo: Robert Voets/CBS Entertainment 

After Tribal Council

Ika returns to camp after tribal council. Rocksroy was left out of the vote, so Romeo explains to him why they voted out Swati instead of Tori. He tells Rocksroy how Swati told everyone they were her #1 ally. He says she was the bigger threat and she had to go. Rocksroy feels duped by his tribe, but he tells his tribe there are no hard feelings. Rocksroy says his social game is not good, but Drea assures him it is. Tori mouths to herself, “No, it’s not.” While the four remaining Ika tribe members reassure each other to stick together when they merge with the other tribes, Tori admits in a confessional that she plans to flip on the tribe when it’s time to merge.

Taku

It’s raining, so the Taku tribe members are huddled underneath the shelter. Lindsay and Maryanne are chatting, and Jonathan is annoyed by the constant chatter between them. He wants a moment of silence, but they are always talking. Jonathan gets annoyed, and he walks away from camp. He goes fishing so he doesn’t have to listen to them talk.

When he returns, he cuts bamboo while Maryanne’s feet are close by. Maryanne shouts out that he hit her, but he tells her he did not. Jonathan tries to keep his cool with Maryanne so he’s not labeled as the big, angry guy. Jonathan vents about Maryanne to Lindsay later. He says she should be the next to go, and Lindsay agrees. Meanwhile, Maryanne tells Omar it’s too bad Jonathan is too good of a shield. In a confessional, Omar says the tribe not getting along is the last thing he wants. He doesn’t want the other tribes to notice any cracks in their four when it’s time to merge.

Vati

The vibe around camp is tense. Hai doesn’t trust anyone other than Lydia. They talk options regarding their next vote. Hai says Daniel is the obvious vote, but he thinks it would be smarter to vote out Chanelle. He says Chanelle is harder to read than Daniel. Meanwhile, Daniel goes fishing with the spear. He comes up empty-handed, but he says it was relaxing swimming out in the ocean. However, his tribe members point out how long Daniel was swimming in the ocean. Daniel has sat out of all the swimming challenges due to his shoulder injury, yet he was swimming out in the ocean for a long time. It’s clear Daniel’s tribe members are irritated by him.

Idol Hunting

At the Ika tribe, Romeo and Drea are at the shelter. They wonder where Tori and Rocksroy are, and Romeo speculates they could be looking for a hidden immunity idol. Drea suggests the two of them go looking for a hidden immunity idol. Romeo says in a confessional that Drea is his closest ally. He says he’s drawn to strong, independent women.

While they are searching, Drea finds the Beware Advantage on a tree branch. She and Romeo read it together and learn about the stipulations. Since Drea no longer has her vote until the idols are activated, she points out that she still has her extra vote advantage. She says she can give it to Romeo if necessary. So if Drea can’t vote, then he can vote for her. They read the secret phrases, and they realize Maryanne has the other idol.

Meanwhile on the Vati tribe, Mike tells his tribe members he doesn’t plan on activating his hidden immunity idol. He says the Vati tribe can keep it a secret from the other tribes that he has an idol in his possession while they know who has the idols on the other tribes. However, Mike says in a confessional he doesn’t know what he’ll do if he hears the other two secret phrases at the next immunity challenge. He’ll have a split second to decide to activate his idol or not.

Immunity Challenge

Before the challenge, Maryanne once again recites her secret phrase. Drea recites hers next. Mike must now decide whether he’ll activate his idol or not. He ultimately decides to, and Maryanne and Drea contain their excitement. All the hidden immunity idols are finally activated. Mike explains in a confessional that having his vote is too important at this stage in the game to go on without it.

Afterwards, the challenge begins. They must go over a net obstacle, untangle ropes to get a key, collect sandbags, and hit three targets with the sandbags. The challenge begins with the tribe members going over the rope obstacle. Tori and Omar are untangling the ropes for their respective tribes while Vati is trailing behind. Ika is in the lead after Tori collects her key and gets their sandbags. Drea takes the first shot with the slingshot, but she misses her target. Omar’s struggle with untangling the ropes put Taku behind Vati. Vati has caught up and is now working on the slingshot.

Ika knocks down all their targets. Ika wins immunity! Omar has spent too much time untangling the ropes, putting Taku very far behind. Jonathan is visibly frustrated, but Omar finally gets the key. Jonathan takes the lead for the rest of the challenge. Vati has been unable to knock down all their targets, giving Taku a chance to catch up.

Jonathan manages to hit each of the Taku targets without any misses. Taku wins immunity! Vati will go to tribal council tonight. The winning tribes also get a tarp reward. Jeff tells the Ika tribe to send two people on a journey. They must be from different tribes and they cannot be people who has already been on a journey. Ika sends Lydia and Rocksroy to the summit journey. In a confessional, Hai admits he’s glad to lose. He says they can trim the fat, and he calls Daniel and Chanelle the fat of the tribe.

Before the Vote

Daniel and Chanelle know they are on the chopping block, and they each ask to talk to their tribe members individually. Daniel and Hai talk game, and Hai tells him he wants Chanelle gone. Meanwhile, Mike is telling Chanelle that Daniel will be voted out tonight. Later, Mike and Hai discuss their options. They are fine with voting either of them out, but they need to figure out who is better to keep long term. Mike tells Hai he will do whatever he wants. Mike also points out how Lydia cannot risk her vote at the summit today. He says they are in trouble if Lydia loses her vote tonight.

The Summit

Rocksroy and Lydia get to know each other on their journey up the summit. In a confessional, Lydia opens up about her body image issues. She feels she has gotten more comfortable with her image after her time on Survivor.

Rocksroy asks Lydia who he thinks is on the chopping block, but she is guarded and doesn’t tell him too much information. Rocksroy also doesn’t offer much information about the Ika tribe dynamics to Lydia. Neither of them reveal any secrets before they are faced with the prisoner’s dilemma. Will they risk their votes or will they protect their votes? They both choose to protect their votes. Neither of them will receive an advantage.

Lydia returns to camp, and she shares with them that she chose to protect her vote. Lydia talks to Chanelle and Daniel later. Chanelle says Mike already told her they will be voting out Daniel. Daniel apologizes to Lydia for writing her name down. Lydia sees Chanelle and Daniel are both nervous. She says she and Hai will be running this vote tonight. Hai hopes the person they keep will help them when it’s time to merge.

Tribal Council

Jeff wants to know where the tribe is. Mike says they will lose a member, but they are not solid. Hai says there are five autonomous players on the tribe. Daniel compliments Mike, calling him straightforward and will be with someone until the very end.

Chanelle questions whether Daniel was being genuine, or was he playing it up to get to Mike’s soft side. Daniel promises he’s being genuine. Lydia points out how after tonight, all three tribes will have the same number of players. She says the criteria tonight is who she can trust the most. Hai agrees that trust is the most valuable currency on the tribe. He says trust was broken at the last tribal council, and he says it’s hard to earn back.

Daniel says they need to be forgiving to move forward. Otherwise, they will play a short game. Mike says he’ll be friends with whoever is voted out tonight, but tonight is all about the game. Afterwards, it’s time for the vote.

Jeff reads the votes. The first vote is for…

Chanelle

Daniel

Chanelle

Daniel

Mike

There is a tie. Mike, Hai, and Lydia must vote again.

Jeff reads the votes again. The first vote is for…

Daniel

Daniel

Daniel is the sixth person voted out of Survivor 42.

And that wraps up tonight’s episode of Survivor. Thanks for reading, 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.