A new episode of Survivor 44 airs tonight on CBS. Read a live recap here.
The episode begins with the tribes learning they will now be living together. The Soka tribe and Tika tribe will be moving to the Ratu camp. The tribes greet and get to know each other. Since everyone is living on the same beach now, Carson and Jamie’s hidden immunity idols no longer have any power. Carolyn and Danny still have their hidden immunity idols they found in the cage. Lauren also has an extra vote advantage.
Josh is relieved to no longer be on a tribe with Carolyn and Yam Yam. He is excited to be back with his former Soka tribe members. Josh also lies about having the cage Idol (which unbeknownst to him was actually found by Danny) to try to protect himself. However, Josh’s name comes up as a potential target for the next tribal council by his former Soka tribe members. Elsewhere, Yam Yam feels alone in the game. He knows Josh is still holding a grudge against him for trying to vote him out two tribal councils ago. Trust was broken between Yam Yam and Carolyn, and he’s unsure if he can count on Carson since he’s been with the Ratu tribe for five days. Yam Yam talks game with Matt, and Matt lets him know that Josh is still a target. He shares with Yam Yam that Josh would’ve been voted out if he didn’t swap to the Tika tribe.
Carolyn is struggling opening up to the new people. She doesn’t want to force herself on others, but she notices how she’s being too reserved compared to everyone else. She doesn’t feel like she can trust Yam Yam 100% anymore, but she’s more confident in Carson. Later at night, Carson, Carolyn, and Yam Yam talk game. They are the remaining original Tika tribe members. Carson calls themselves the Three Stooges, and he says they should stick together.
Later in the evening, Matt and Frannie talk game. Frannie is the only person who knows Matt cannot vote at the upcoming tribal council. The two of them have been very tight, and their bond is only growing closer. The camera catches a shot of them holding hands. Matt and Frannie agree to not tell the new people they are very close since they could be targeted as a known pair.
It’s time for the immunity challenge. They will race through an obstacle course while pushing a very large ball. They then must retrieve a key, untie knots, and climb a wall. Lastly, they must complete a puzzle. The first tribe to complete the puzzle will win immunity. They will be randomly divided into two teams of six. The winning tribe will be safe at tribal council and enjoy a feast. The losing team will be vulnerable at the upcoming tribal council.
Purple team – Matt, Frannie, Carson, Carolyn, Jaime, and Brandon
Orange team – Heidi, Danny, Lauren, Yam Yam, Josh, and Kane
The challenge begins, and both tribes are fairly even as they push the ball through different obstacles. Eventually, the Purple team gets a lead, but they fall behind after Jaime struggles climbing up the wall. The Orange team is the first to begin the puzzle. Lauren and Heidi work on the puzzle for Orange, but the Purple team takes back the lead at the puzzle. Matt and Carson work on the puzzle, and Carson assembles the puzzle very easily. Matt and Carson complete the puzzle. The Purple team wins immunity!
The losing members of the Orange team return to camp. Yam Yam believes he’ll be voted out tonight. He shares with Kane and Danny that he wants to vote for Josh tonight, but Danny wants to wait for the other tribe members to come back before agreeing on a name. At the same time, Josh tells Heidi and Lauren that he has a grudge against Yam Yam and wants to vote him out.
Meanwhile, the other six enjoy their feast. Eventually, the conversation turns to game. Matt and Frannie say they want to vote out Josh tonight, but there is concern about Josh having a hidden immunity idol. They say they need a Plan B. Kane’s name comes up as a possible alternate target. Carolyn shares with everyone how Josh’s idol is fake. She lets them know how she and Yam Yam figured out how Josh’s idol was assembled with beads from tree mail, but everyone is still unsure. Carolyn is frustrated that no one is believing her.
After the merge feast, everyone is back at camp. Heidi asks what was discussed at the feast, and Jaime lets her know that Josh is the target. However, they are worried about him playing an idol. Frannie approaches Josh, and she tells him the target is Kane. Josh would rather have Yam Yam voted out, but he’s fine with voting out Kane too. He believes Kane is the target, so he wants to do damage control with Yam Yam. Josh tells Yam Yam that he will be voting Kane tonight. Yam Yam is surprised, but he would rather keep Kane than Josh. Meanwhile, the plan to blindside Josh spreads throughout the island. However, Kane’s name keeps getting brought up as a backup option. Brandon admits he wouldn’t mind seeing Kane going home tonight. Kane eventually finds out his name is being brought up. Carson lets him know that Soka tribe members mentioned his name at the feast before agreeing on Josh. Kane is panicking, so he tries to get people on board with voting out Yam Yam tonight. Now there’s discussion on flipping the vote out Yam Yam. There is a lot of uncertainty before tribal council as the plan keeps going back and forth on voting out Josh, Kane, or Yam Yam.
It’s time for tribal council. Jeff asks about the difference with everyone living at camp now. Carson says it’s harder to keep track of everyone. They have to rely on the people they trust more. Kane says the game is about figuring out who to trust with the information provided. Yam Yam says Tika is at a disadvantage with only three original members. He also worries he talks too much. Josh says it was a benefit for him to reconnect with his Soka tribe members. Brandon admits there was talk about idols. Carolyn says there are so many theories about idols, and she’s not used to talking to so many people. Heidi says it was all over the place today. Yam Yam says he’s very scared right now. None of them are sure what’s going to happen. Matt says the game has turned a corner, and it’s become overwhelming. Afterwards, it’s time to vote.
Jeff reads the vote. The first vote is for…
Yam Yam
Josh
Kane
Yam Yam
Josh
Yam Yam
Josh
Josh
Josh
Josh
Josh is the seventh 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.
