A new episode of Survivor 44 airs tonight on CBS. Read a live recap here.
The episode begins with the tribe returning to camp after tribal council. Yam Yam said tribal council sucked. He didn’t like receiving votes, and he’s scared he could be an easy target down the road. He plans to keep making friends to stay safe. The next morning, the tribe discusses what to name the merged tribe. Yam Yam suggests Va Va since Va is the Fijian word for the number four, and they’re playing in the 44th season.
Afterwards, we hear some game plans from the castaways. Danny wants to target Lauren since she has the extra vote advantage. Matt, however, has become suspicious of Danny. Matt believed he had an immunity idol, but he learns about the fake idols when Brandon discusses the birdcage idols. Matt reveals his silver medallion, letting them know he found a fake idol. Matt believes Danny has the real idol, and he contemplates blindsiding Danny tonight. Frannie, Kane, and Carson tell him they’re on board with this plan. Carson notes how the former Soka and Ratu tribe members are at war with one another, and he believes the former Tika members (which are Carolyn, Yam Yam, and himself) are in the middle.
It’s time for the immunity challenge. They must stand on a balance beam while holding up a ball with a pole. If they step down or drop their ball, then they are eliminated. In addition, they all will be divided into two teams. Jeff shares there will be a twist tonight. The last person remaining on each team will be safe tonight, but the last person standing overall will win immunity for their entire team. However, everyone on the winning team won’t be able to cast a vote tonight. In addition, they are playing for a food reward, which includes sandwiches and chips.
Orange Team – Heidi, Danny, Kane, Frannie, and Carolyn
Purple Team – Lauren, Yam Yam, Jaime, Matt, and Brandon
Carson drew a gray rock and is the odd man out. Jeff tells him to bet on who wins. Carson predicts the Orange Team will win. If they win, then Carson is also safe tonight. The challenge begins, and Carolyn is the first to drop her ball. Lauren drops her ball next. Jeff tells the remaining competitors to move farther down the beam, and Kane and Heidi are the next two to be eliminated. Danny drops his ball next, which means Frannie has won individual immunity tonight. Jaime is eliminated before the next transition. Matt falls off his balance beam, and he’s followed by Yam Yam. Frannie and Brandon are the only two left in the challenge. Brandon drops his ball. Brandon wins immunity for himself. Frannie wins immunity for the Orange Team.
While the Orange Team is enjoying their reward, they speculate it will either be Yam Yam or Matt going home tonight. Frannie is nervous since winning the challenge could’ve possibly put Matt on the chopping block tonight without getting a chance to cast a vote herself.
Back on the other camp, Matt asks to speak to everyone. He’s nervous since all his allies were on the other team in the challenge. Matt is the only former Soka tribe member vulnerable tonight. Matt pleads for his safety to Brandon and Jaime. Brandon says he’s leaning towards voting out Yam Yam tonight since he already voted for him. Meanwhile, Yam Yam reveals to Lauren that Danny is targeting her. Lauren lets Yam Yam know that she wants to vote out Matt tonight. She wants to decrease the Soka numbers and break up the Matt & Frannie duo.
After the Orange Team finish eating, they open a note. They’re informed that there’s another birdcage with a new advantage inside it. Keys are scattered around the island, and they must race to find the correct key to unlock it. We next see everyone searching for keys to unlock the birdcage idol. Heidi ends up finding the correct key and unlocks the birdcage. She reads the note and learns she has the power to control one vote at tonight’s tribal council. Before the vote, Heidi must stand up and tell one person whom to vote for. This advantage is only good for tonight.
Back at the old Soka tribe, Matt is feeling very down. He already misses Frannie, and feels alone without his allies. Matt and Yam Yam talk game, and they realize they’re voting for each other. Yam Yam brings up the possibility of the others splitting the votes between them. If they do that, then Yam Yam and Matt could vote for someone else to flip the vote.
Meanwhile on the Va Va camp, Heidi reveals to everyone the advantage. Frannie just wants to save Matt, and she suggests the vote to be cast on Yam Yam. Danny would rather see Lauren get voted out. Carolyn is happy that there’s a chance Yam Yam could survive tribal council. Later, Heidi and Kane talk about saving Yam Yam over Matt. She’s concerned about the close relationship between Frannie and Matt. Frannie tries to sway Heidi into saving Matt tonight, but Heidi is unsure what to do with her advantage.
It’s time for tribal council. Lauren, Yam Yam, Jaime, Matt, and Brandon will cast votes tonight while everyone else will be watching silently from the jury benches. Jeff asks their thoughts about the twist. Jaime says this will test their social game. Matt says it was so unpredictable and he didn’t even bring his bag tonight.
Matt candidly tells Jeff that the three former Ratu tribe members will be deciding who goes home tonight between Yam Yam and himself. Lauren says anyone could play an advantage tonight, so no one is necessarily safer than anyone else. Jeff tells Matt and Yam Yam to make their cases. Matt says he is a trustworthy and loyal alliance member. Yam Yam says he came into the merge by himself, and Matt has a lot of connections with his former Soka tribe members.
Jeff asks about Matt’s time in the game. Matt breaks down in tears as he talks about how scared he was at the start of the game. He’s proud of himself for coming this far despite his fears and social anxiety. As for Yam Yam, he’s also proud for competing and playing the game hard. Before the vote, Heidi reveals her advantage. She instructs Lauren to vote for Yam Yam. Lauren asks for clarification since she has an extra vote. Jeff tells her Heidi only controls one vote. Afterwards, it’s time for the vote.
Jeff reads the votes. The first vote is for…
Yam Yam
Matt
Yam Yam
Matt
Matt
Matt is voted out and the first member of the jury.
And that wraps up tonight’s episode of Survivor. Thanks for reading, and come back next week for another live recap.
