‘Survivor 44’ episode 6 recap: Who made the merge in ‘Survivor with a Capital S’? [UPDATING LIVE BLOG]

John Benutty and Marcus James Dixon
·10 min read
7
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.
  • Oops!
    Something went wrong.
    Please try again later.

Heading into the sixth episode of “Survivor 44,” the Tika tribe had just been told by host Jeff Probst that they wouldn’t have to attend tribal council because Matthew Grinstead-Mayle had left the show due to his bum shoulder. That left 12 people still in the game, and they were all about to compete to “earn their way” into the all-important merge. So how did it all play out on Wednesday night?

Below, read our minute-by-minute “Survivor 44” Episode 6 recap/live blog of “Survivor with a Capital S” to find out what happened Wednesday, April 5, 2023 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. Then be sure to sound off in the comments section about your favorite castaways on CBS’s reality TV show, who annoys you the most and who you think will ultimately join the “Survivor” winners list and take home the $1 million grand prize.

More from GoldDerby

SEEEverything to know about ‘Survivor 44’

Here are the current “Survivor 44” tribe breakdowns (click on each name to be brought to their individual profiles):

RATU TRIBE: Brandon Cottom, Kane Fritzler, Lauren Harpe, Carson Garrett

SOKA TRIBE: Matt Blankinship, Heidi Lagares-Greenblatt, Frannie Marin, Danny Massa, Jaime Lynn Ruiz

TIKA TRIBE: Yamil “Yam Yam” Arocho, Carolyn Wiger, Josh Wilder

SEE‘Survivor’ deaths: Full list of castaways we’ve lost

Keep refreshing/reloading this “Survivor 44” live blog for the most recent updates.

8:00 p.m. – “Previously on ‘Survivor’!” In the fifth episode, Ratu and Soka won the immunity challenge, but Jeff told Ratu’s Matthew to stay behind at the challenge so medical could look at his shoulder, which he hurt way back in the season premiere. Matthew ultimately decided to leave the game, and so Jeff later boated to the losing Tika camp to give them a reprieve from having to vote somebody out. So who will make tonight’s merge and who won’t? Let’s go!

8:01 p.m. – Saved from Tribal Council, Josh Wilder is feeling good about having a “new opportunity to move forward” in a game that seemed like it would be over for him. The timing couldn’t have been more perfect because on the morning of Day 12, the castaways at each of the three camps learned that they were joining together at one beach for the next stage of the game. The Tika and Soka tribes packed up their things and joined Ratu at their beach for what was clear to everyone as a “not merge” where they’d be together, but not yet part of the merged tribe with new buffs.

8:03 p.m. – Prior to the other tribes coming over, Carson Garrett disclosed to Ratu that he had an immunity idol that was good up until this point of the game but is no longer good. They understood the same would be true of Josh and Jaime Lynn Ruiz. At their camp, they also knew that Lauren Harpe has an extra vote banked to use at the Tribal Council of her choice. Before Matthew left he told Carson that Jaime has another idol, but only Matthew knew that it was the fake one he planted (Carson and Jaime believe it to be real). Carson is not yet aware that Carolyn Wiger has the Tika birdcage idol and Danny Massa has the one from Soka. Danny managed to get the Soka fake idol in the hands of Matt Blankinship, who still has a vote he can’t cast at the next TC, and Tika’s fake idol went home with Sarah Wade, as did the Inheritance Advantage.

8:05 p.m. – Before there was even time to walk off the beach at Ratu, Josh was already telling people different stories. He told Brandon Cottom the same lie he told Carolyn and Yamil “Yam Yam” Arocho which is that he has the Soka birdcage idol, but then told Jaime truthfully that he has a fake idol and used the journey idol. Jaime right away told Heidi Lagares-Greenblatt and Frannie Marin what Josh said. Josh is someone that’s been on Frannie’s radar from the very beginning so now not knowing what is true and what is not true from Josh, Frannie was poised to target him once again. Meanwhile, Yam Yam was concerned that Josh’s influence on other players in the game was going to put him in a vulnerable position considering he has much fewer connections to anyone in the game. Matt told Yam Yam openly that the plan is to get Josh out though.

8:09 p.m. – Later that night, Carolyn and Carson had a meeting of the minds where they solidified with each other that they want to work together and trust each other. Carson urged Carolyn to reconnect with Yam Yam so that they could bring their “Three Stooges” alliance back together. Carson’s plan would be for them to lay low as long as possible so that the stronger forces can go at each other and then he can swoop in to form a stronger alliance of people at the bottom later on.

8:16 p.m. – With everyone at the same camp it was getting harder for Matt and Frannie to hide their close friendship from the increased amount of eyes on them. They were still very concerned with not appearing as a tight pair out of fear of being targeted, but Matt was staying clear that their trust in one another would be a “delicate line to walk” in the coming days.

8:18 p.m. – At the site of the next challenge, Jeff made it clear that they’d have to earn their way into the merge by competing in teams of six. The winning team of the obstacle course involving an oversized and heavy ball and a large tree puzzle would earn immunity, their merge buff, and respite at a small reward feast. The six players on the losing team would be the only six that all 12 would be able to vote out at the next Tribal Council. Competing as the purple team was Carson, Matt, Jaime, Frannie, Carolyn and Brandon. Competing as the orange team was Heidi, Danny, Josh, Yam Yam, Lauren and Kane Fritzler.

8:22 p.m. – Through the rolling of the ball stage of the challenge both teams were evenly matched with the purple team reaching the rope wall first. Because of Jaime’s struggle to catch the rope on the wall, purple fell behind and the orange team was able to start on the puzzle with a decent head start. Heidi and Lauren worked on the puzzle for orange, but when Matt and Carson got to work on the puzzle for purple, Carson made up all the time they lost on the wall and quickly surpassed where Heidi and Lauren were. Carson finished the puzzle very quickly, earning immunity and reward for the entire purple group. In a confessional he once again clued us in to the fact that he had created a 3D print of that puzzle at home prior to coming to the show and so he knew exactly how to assemble it.

8:30 p.m. – Back at camp, Yam Yam knew that he was in trouble as one of the six up for the vote. In a conversation with Danny and Kane he opened up about wanting to vote for Josh. Yam Yam didn’t think Danny reacted well to that and decided he made a mistake in saying anyone’s name at all. Meanwhile, Josh was talking to Lauren and Heidi about wanting to target Yam Yam, which they were willing to do, setting the stage for another Yam Yam vs. Josh head-to-head. When Josh left, Heidi and Lauren discussed that it’s best for everyone’s game that Josh goes home because they don’t know the truth about his idol and overall just don’t trust him. They knew though that they’d need a plan B in case his idol is real and he plays it.

8:33 p.m. – At the merge feast, Matt and Frannie were not shy about throwing Josh under the bus and wanting to target him. Brandon said that’s fine, but warned everyone about the idol and asked for a plan B. Their group decided that Kane would be the perfect plan B because no one has strong ties to him, but Carolyn insisted that Josh’s idol was clearly fake. Everyone heard what Carolyn was saying, but they didn’t seem trusting of her impression and so they still wanted to plan for a backup vote.

8:40 p.m. – When the winning team returned, most everyone got on the same page of targeting Josh and then using Kane as the backup plan. Frannie told Josh to vote for Kane which prompted Josh to attempt to squash things between them with Yam Yam. They briefly discussed working together because no one would suspect it and they could both survive if they got Kane voted out instead. Still, Josh remained at the top of Yam Yam’s wish list for who should go home. He was stuck on earning the gratification of voting Josh out.

8:42 p.m. – Brandon was particularly interested in Kane being sidelined by everyone because Kane is the player that burned bridges with Brandon at the very first Tribal Council of the season. Unfortunately for Brandon, Carson had grown close to Kane and decided to warn him that he was being used as the backup plan. Feeling freshly unsafe, Kane used the rest of the afternoon to convince people to vote for Yam Yam so that there would be enough votes on him so that if Josh plays an idol then Yam Yam will go home instead of him. When Brandon found out that Carson told Kane he was not pleased, but Carson played it off as a stupid mistake and it seemed to blow over. Once word got back around to everyone that Kane found out about the vote switch, everyone went back to voting Yam Yam as the backup.

8:51 p.m. – At the first all-player Tribal Council the conversation turned toward how chaotic it was for everyone to experience so many different conversations and plans circling around camp. It was the clearest sign for everyone that they’d need to learn to put trust in people they really haven’t known that long and solidify the bonds they’ve already made in the game. Yam Yam said that he and Carolyn are coming in to the large group at the biggest disadvantage because they’re the smallest tribe and they were not switched with the opportunity to meet anyone else prior to arriving. Josh felt secure in the bonds he established in his time at Soka and now he’s been able to reconnect.

8:55 p.m. – After the votes were cast, Jeff asked if anyone wanted to play an idol or advantage, but no one did. Jeff read the votes: Yam Yam, Josh, Kane, Yam Yam, Josh, Yam Yam, Josh, Josh, Josh, Josh. And so despite feeling like he had a new path in the game, Josh’s path ended without making merge and without a spot on the jury. Everyone else officially made the merge and received their new black and red buffs.

NEXT TIME: Lauren has her sights set on breaking up Frannie and Matt, but Jeff hints at a new twist that could remove everyone’s ability to have their say in who goes home next.

SEE exclusive predictions: Who will win ‘Survivor’?

Be sure to make your predictions to influence our reality TV racetrack odds. You can keep changing your predictions until just before the next episode airs on CBS. You’ll compete to win eternal bragging rights and a spot on our “Survivor” leaderboard. See our contest rules and sound off with other fans in our reality TV forum. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.

SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions

Best of GoldDerby

Sign up for Gold Derby's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Click here to read the full article.