By Guest Correspondent ChoHey! It’s Cho, and I am beyond excited to get into this merge episode on Survivor! If you didn’t watch last week’s jam-packed double boot episode on Survivor Edge of Extinction, be sure to check that Survivor recap out here!
The Edge of Extinction Twist
Jeff Probst calls for the Edge of Extinction tribe to come in. Reem stares down her enemies with a look of evil. Chris Underwood is wearing his tight blue shorts that show everything off. Only 1 of the 6 people from Edge of Extinction will win re-entry back into the game, and I’m rooting for Aubry Bracco! This is actually a really close competition. My palms are sweaty as everyone struggles. Chris Underwood is a HUGE distraction during this challenge, but Rick Devens ends up winning his way back into the game! Jeff lets us know that even now, Survivors will get a chance to get back in the game after being voted out.
Jeff takes some time to touch base with the Survivors that didn’t win themselves back into the game. Everyone is crying about their experience and the fact that no one quit. It’s actually really touching. Jeff Probst then reveals to that they will still have yet another chance to get back into the game! WOW! More time to watch Chris Underwood. Okay, I’m done obsessing. Is it just me?
A Revolving Door For Rick?
Everyone is catching up at the merge feast, but there is already some tension in the air with Rick’s Devens return. Julia is excited to team back with Kama 8 to 5 while Kelley Wentworth is afraid of Rick Devens being back. Kelley Wentworth decides to try to cozy up with Joe Anglim to see how she can preserve herself. He lets her know that it has always been him, Aubry Bracco and Aurora on the bottom of Kama. All the girls in the tribe have a conversation about voting Rick Devens off, but Julie gets on some moral high-horse about how brutal it would be to send Rick back to Edge of Extinction. She takes offense to Kelley Wentworth and Lauren O’Connell’s idea and would rather have one of the cutthroat players leave first.
While the merge tribe is trying to send Rick Devens back where he came from, we see both Wendy Diaz and Keith raising the white flag to go home. They are satisfied with their experience and ready to leave. I find this to be really disappointing. Aubry Bracco sums it up that the weak won’t survive, but she’s going to get back into the game… and I believe her!
Rick Devens ends up being gifted a weird advantage that needs a certain stipulation before it becomes a real hidden immunity idol. He needs to give a piece of his idol to someone else. If both Survivors survive through the next vote, it becomes a real hidden immunity idol during the next round. Essentially, it’s a bargaining chip. He chooses to give his other piece to David, his closest ally. I thought it would be wiser to give it to a Kama, because they have more influence to keep him in the game.
The Kama 6’s Decision
Nothing interesting to report on the bland endurance immunity challenge other than Julie winning. She cries happy tears for her family being proud of her. When Julie Rosenberg gets back, and she’s amped up after her big win. She wants to get rid of Kelley Wentworth and vows that she won’t be blindsided now that she has immunity. Usually, this means that she WILL be blindsided tonight, but she’s a part of the Kama 6 (this doesn’t include Joe Anglim or Aurora) that will be making the final decision tonight. Maybe she will actually surprise me! Julie lets Rick Devens know that his old tribe was willing to throw him under the bus. Rick Devens feels more comforted now that Julie is on his side but is also feeling betrayed by his tribe.
But wait! While everyone is hunting chickens, Ron Clark is ready to pull the trigger on Joe Anglim already! Victoria is thinking that the better decision is to go the safer route with Kelley Wentworth. Gavin also puts his 2 cents in with how easy it would be to just take Rick Devens out. The Kama 6 are totally not aligned on this vote, and it shows. It’s the perfect opportunity for Wentworth and Lauren to play their idols and make a power move.
A Game of Charades
The twists immediately keep coming as Jeff announces that the remaining Edge of Extinction Survivors are counting as jury members as they await to get back into the game. Ron Clark makes no qualms about being gleefully happy that Kama is still strong. Kelley Wentworth makes the case that things aren’t really as cut and dry as Ron Clark would like to think. Victoria says that there are threats out in the game which Joe Anglim takes offense to. She clarifies that she wasn’t meaning to point him out as a physical threat, and that there are different types of threats. As Victoria said before, don’t trust her!
Rick Devens calls out Joe Anglim for painting all day instead of working hard to stay in the game. Joe Anglim defends himself for remaining calm, and Ron Clark chirps in that when you’re in the majority, you don’t have to scramble. This is all bullshit, and Ron Clark’s good at serving it. They all definitely scrambled… except for Joe Anglim who seems like he should have! Jeff Probst reads the votes: Rick, Kelley, David, Rick, David, Kelley, David, Joe, Joe, Joe, Joe, and Joe is voted off. The music is DEVASTATING! Naturally, Joe Anglim chooses to fight again and vows that Kama made a mistake.
Obviously, the only one that made a mistake was Joe Anglim in not turning on his tribe sooner. He should have taken Aurora and gone with Lesu right from the jump. That was obvious to me. Why are the returning players NOT forcing themselves to work together and play aggressively? These new players are NOT dumb! Their gameplay is almost as confusing as this current court case. Also, this was Julie Rosenberg’s breakout episode whom I didn’t know existed until tonight! As always, don’t forget to follow me on my social media platforms to stay in touch with me throughout the entire week: Instagram, Twitter, Youtube and Twitch!
Cho- Great recap! Send me to extinction island. Joe and Chris, yes please. I don’t care for Ron. He is a little to cocky for me. However, his facial expressions at tribal council are hilarious.
omg Kerry SAME! I could sit and watch Chris in those blue shorts all day long!
Ron seems to be getting set up for a villain edit with a timely exit. Remember early on his really insightful confessional about how he didn’t want his kids to see him behave like a villain but wanted them to understand that this is a game and this is how it’s played…. He still makes me laugh and I want him to make it to the end.
Cho, I have been watching all day today for your recap. You didn’t let me down. I agree with you, Chris is great eye candy. I had no idea who Ron was until the jury, and I can’t stand the guy. He is a jerk. What is with the guys wearing tie’s on Survivor? I actually like the twist of extinction island. They keep Survivor fresh by tweaking it here and there.
See my above comment to Kerry, but I actually like Ron. I think he’s self-aware and he’s simply playing a really good game. He does seem cocky, but only because he’s on the majority side against the minority who we are supposed to root for.
I have liked Edge of Extinction as well, but I think it has caused this season to be poorly edited. There’s still a lot of underdeveloped characters, and I don’t predict that changing anytime soon…
So now I have lost my eye candy and I am very disappointed. Joe should always be allowed to play just so I can look. Actually great play because Joe is usually a beast! Too bad no more fish!
Oh I am quite sure Joe and Chris will be back. Isle of Extinction isn’t over. He’ll still be on the episodes.
Well the good thing about this season is that your eye candy will be on EVERY episode this season. Joe and Chris are both going to be here for the long haul due to the edge of extinction twist!
I wasn’t a Wendy fan from the start, but I was surprised and disappointed that she bailed out. Keith: no loss, no surprise.
Another really good recap.
Teen seems to be in permanent stink-eye mode.
Reem, not a teen.
I was actually surprised too. She seemed to be all about the experience yet she quit… Very perplexing to me and not explained enough. Keith I was not surprised by whatsoever. Wish he would have initially quit in the first place.
Reem has a permanent attitude for sure. It hasn’t helped her but it has made her interesting to watch.
Reem’s stankface was hilarious! Did she think it would intimidate anyone? Also, how did she think that stank face was going to help her out if she did indeed win the challenge? If she had, they would have gleefully voted her out immediately, giving her another reason to be bent.
Wendy’s facial tics and weird noises she was making during the challenge were weird. What was going on with that?
Enjoying this show immensely! First time I ever watched it.
Wendy has Tourette’s and she has tics that she mostly controls. Props to her for tgat!
I was amazed at how hard she was fighting them and she almost won! It was kinda inspirational!
I was actually inspired as well from her performance but it just wasn’t enough and then for her to quit afterwards was kind of disappointing.
Who the hell is Julie Rosenberg? We have no real clue about the Kama Six really. Ron Clark seems to be calling the shots. That’s great for now, but he has just become Joe Anglim’s number one target.
I am amazed that Devens won,and happy for him.
Have we ever had people just quit before? I know people drop out for illness real or imagined. But this whole, “it’s been fun, I think I’ll go have a cheeseburger now” exit seems unprecedented.
This is a really interesting season.