A new episode of Survivor 44 airs tonight on CBS. Read a live recap here.
The episode begins with Ratu returning to camp after tribal council. Brandon played his hidden immunity idol, negating the two votes cast against him. His sole vote for Maddy eliminated her from the game. Matthew is pleased how tribal council went. He wanted the hidden immunity idol to be flushed, and he wanted Brandon to stay. Matt, Jaime, and Lauren didn’t vote. Matt and Jaime played their Shot in the Dark. Lauren activated her advantage, and she now has an extra vote in her possession. Kane is the only person left at camp who voted for Brandon. Kane hopes he can do damage control, but Brandon says in his confessional that he won’t trust Kane moving forward.
Meanwhile on the Soka tribe, Matt opens up to his castaways about his recent break-up. He also feels down in his position in the game. He can’t vote at his next two tribal councils after his bad luck drawing for advantages in the last episode. However, Matt’s spirits are lifted when he’s around Frannie. He’s attracted to her and trusts her. She’s the only one who knows Matt lost his vote for not only one, but two tribal councils. Frannie likes Matt too, but she’s worried the tribe will view them as a duo.
Next we see various castaways hunting for advantages. The Tika tribe goes hunting as a group for the key to the birdcage, but no one finds it yet. Carolyn climbed a tree and was startled by a snake. Kane believes another idol will be replanted at the Ratu camp, but he cannot find one. His tribe mates are suspicious of him and figure he’s idol hunting. At the Soka tribe, Danny goes searching alone and finds the key to the birdcage. He doesn’t plan to tell anyone. He opens the birdcage alone and gets an idol. He also has a silver coin with no power, but it can be a decoy if he wants.
Back at the Tika tribe, Carolyn keeps hunting for the key and she finally finds it. She doesn’t plan to tell anyone. She manages to unlock the birdcage while everyone else is away. She has an idol, as well as beads with no power. She neglects to put the bag back in the birdcage. She hastily replaces it before everyone else comes back. However, they all realize the bag has been opened. They see the drawstrings are loose and it doesn’t look like anything is weighing down the bag. Carson suspects Helen. Yam Yam suspects Sarah. Sarah suspects Yam Yam. Carson later tells Carolyn that the birdcage has been opened, and she feigns surprise. She hopes no one realizes she opened the birdcage.
It’s time for the immunity challenge. They must go through a series of obstacles, collect sandbags, and then solve a snake maze. The first two tribes to finish the challenge will win immunity. The winning tribes will also receive fishing gear. The challenge begins, and Soka takes the early lead. They are very far ahead of the other two tribes, but Tika is in second place with Ratu trailing behind in third place. The challenge becomes even after the two tribes catch up to Soka at the puzzle. Josh is working on the puzzle for Soka, Sarah is working on the puzzle for Tika, and Matthew is working on the puzzle for Ratu. Matthew finishes the puzzle first. Ratu wins immunity! Josh solves the puzzle next. Soka wins immunity! Tika will go to tribal council tonight.
Tika returns to camp. Helen and Carson discuss options. They are aligned with Sarah, so they want to choose between Yam Yam and Carolyn. Helen thinks Yam Yam’s strength is valuable and Carolyn is too hard to control. She thinks Carolyn should be voted out tonight. Sarah also wants Yam Yam to vote with them since Sarah cannot vote tonight. Sarah, Helen, and Carson tell Yam Yam the plan. He tells them that he is on board. However, Yam Yam doesn’t want Carolyn to go. Yam Yam runs to Carolyn and tells her that they must stick together. They also want to vote out Helen tonight. They think she’s too smart. Yam Yam doesn’t know Carolyn has an idol, so they need numbers. Carson tells Yam Yam and Carolyn that he will vote with them, but Carolyn is unsure if he will. She notices how Carson is on good terms with everybody. Carolyn wonders if she should play her hidden immunity tonight. Carson notes in his confessional how he is playing both sides. He can side with Sarah and Helen to vote out Carolyn, or he can side with Carolyn and Yam Yam to vote out Helen.
It’s time for tribal council. Yam Yam admits to Jeff there was tension back at camp. Helen says they need a strong tribe to win challenges. Sarah adds that there is strength in having people you trust. Carson says they have to figure out what’s best for them. He admits he’s not the best at trying to figure out what’s best for him. Carolyn makes exasperated faces while Carson was talking, which Jeff points out. Carolyn gets emotional and says she’s scared. She wants to figure out who is strategizing with her and who wants to work with her. Yam Yam says they just need to know where they stand. “Let’s see what happens,” he says. Afterwards, it’s time for the vote.
Before Jeff reads the votes, he asks if anyone wants to play an advantage. Carolyn does not play her idol.
The first vote is for…
Carolyn
Helen
Helen
Helen
Helen is the third person voted out of Survivor 44.
And that wraps up tonight’s episode of Survivor 44. Thanks for reading, and come back next week for another live recap.
