Survivor Season 45 Week 5 Recap and Live Blog
A new episode of Survivor 45 airs tonight on CBS. Read a live recap here.
The Reba tribe returns to camp after tribal council. Sifu is bothered that someone voted for him. He asks who wrote his name down, but Dee doesn’t come clean. Dee, Julie, and J. Maya try to blame Sean, but Sifu knows that’s a lie. Sean told Sifu he didn’t vote for Sifu. Sifu is determined to find out who voted for him.
Next we see a segment featuring Kendra on the Belo tribe. She tried to eat a worm, but she wasn’t able to. She spit it out. Drew is amused by Kendra’s quirky personality, and he points out how Survivor brings very different people together. Over at the Lulu tribe, Jake briefly passes out after getting up too fast. His tribe members reassure him it’s just because his blood pressure is low and he’s not eating enough. In a confessional, Jake opens up about how he struggled with binge eating and how he’s worked to overcome that. He got himself in better shape before appearing on Survivor.
Later, we see Katurah searching for a hidden immunity idol. The rest of the tribe catches her searching for an idol, and they all become suspicious of her. Meanwhile, Kaleb is trying to build individual relationships with everyone on his tribe. He realizes that Kellie is on good terms with everyone, so he wants to get closer to her. He reveals to Kellie that Sabiyah already found the Lulu tribe’s hidden immunity idol.
Back on the Reba tribe, they discuss Sean quitting the game. Dee says she would never quit, and she reminds herself why she’s on Survivor. She talks about her family and how they immigrated from Cuba. Later, Sifu makes a fake idol and he tells his tribe he has an idol. In addition, he still wants to find out who voted for him. He’s suspicious it was J. Maya, but it was Dee who voted for him.
On the Belo tribe, Brando doesn’t feel too connected to his original Belo tribe member Kendra. Brando has more in common with Drew. Brando and Drew bond over Pokémon, and Brando wants to form a “nerd alliance” with Drew. However, Drew is not on board. Brando realizes that Drew wants to stay Reba strong, so Brando goes back to reestablish his allegiance with Kendra. Brando notes how the sole original Lulu tribe member Emily is the swing vote. Brando and Kendra try to get Emily on their side, but Austin and Drew already approached her days ago. Emily says in her confessional that she’s not committed to either side and still wants to figure out which option is better for her.
Katurah is still annoyed by Bruce. Most of Katurah’s confessionals this season are about how much Bruce annoys her. She says he’s very rude and disrespectful. Kaleb is also starting to get irritated by Bruce. He says he’s very bossy. Meanwhile on the Reba tribe, J. Maya wants to dissuade Sifu from playing an idol. She wants to pretend she’s on the outs of the tribe and that she was the one who voted for Sifu. Julie and Dee agree with this plan, but Dee later wonders if they should just vote for J. Maya instead of Sifu. She says J. Maya wasn’t part of the original Reba alliance anyway.
It’s time for the immunity challenge. They must race through a three level obstacle course to collect keys. Afterwards, they must unlock sand bags and hit three targets. The first two tribes to knock down three targets win immunity. In addition, the winning tribes will also earn fresh fish to cook. The challenge begins fairly even, but Belo eventually falls behind. They are unable to catch up when it’s time for the tribes to hit their targets. The Reba tribe hit their three targets first. Reba wins immunity! Lulu hit their three targets before Belo hits one. Lulu wins immunity! Belo will go to tribal council tonight. Jeff reveals that there will be a journey today. The Reba tribe must choose one person from each tribe. The Reba tribe chose J. Maya, Kellie, and Austin.
The Belo tribe scramble before the vote. Kendra pitches to Emily about voting out Drew tonight. Meanwhile, Brando offers Drew his Shot in the Dark advantage if they keep him tonight and vote out Kendra. Drew says he doesn’t have to do that. Drew is suspicious that Brando is willing to let Kendra be voted out tonight and not even fight for an alternative. Drew shares this with Emily. Emily is surprised Brando is willing to target Kendra, so she goes back to Brando. Brando tells her it was Drew who pitched voting out Kendra. Emily knows someone is lying, but she believes Brando. Kendra learns her name is being thrown out as an option tonight. Kendra is trusting Brando and Emily will keep her safe tonight.
Meanwhile, Austin, J. Maya, and Kellie go on a hike up a mountain. They are presented with a choice. They can each eat a sandwich or they can take an amulet advantage. The amulets gain power when there are less of them left in the game. Three amulets in the game give each holder an extra vote. Two amulets make it a steal-a-vote advantage. The amulet becomes a hidden immunity idol when there is only one amulet left in the game. The majority determines if they will get food or the advantage. Austin wants food, but J. Maya wants the amulet. Kellie is in the middle, but they eventually agree to each take an amulet.
Back on the Belo tribe, Emily doesn’t know who to trust. She expresses her concerns with Drew. Drew tells her he’s telling the truth, but he’s worried that Emily may not vote with him and Austin tonight. Austin returns to camp after the journey. He lies about the details and says they lost a challenge to earn an advantage. He later reveals the truth to his closest ally Drew. Drew tells him that he should share the details of the amulet advantage with Emily to gain her trust. Austin lets Emily know the truth, but she admits in a confessional that she’s still torn how to vote tonight. Regardless how she votes tonight, she will be burning a bridge with either the original Belo tribe or the original Reba tribe.
It’s time for tribal council. After talking about the ambiance of tribal council and how this is a first experience for some of them, Emily says she’s mentally prepared since she’s been to tribal council a few times now. Jeff asks about the tribe swap. Brando says they all have connections with different people, and that knowledge could be useful. Kendra says she’s independent and doesn’t trust people in her everyday life, but she must trust people in this game. Drew says they can’t treat each other like chess pieces since they’re humans. Emily says the game is about survival at the end of the day, and they can only do the best they can to survive the vote. Austin says they have to figure out which group to move forward with. Drew says his vote is based on setting himself up in a good spot for an upcoming merge. Emily says she’s looking forward to proving her loyalty. Afterwards, it’s time to vote.
At the voting booth, Austin sacrifices his vote to extend the longevity of his hidden immunity idol. However, he also uses his goodwill advantage to restore his vote tonight.
Jeff reads the votes. The first vote is for…
Drew
Brando
Drew
Brando
Brando
Brando is the fifth person voted out of Survivor 45.
And that wraps up tonight’s episode of Survivor. Thanks for reading, and come back next week for another live recap.
