Christian, Eric, Kristin, and Sharonda enter the Survivor 51 merge in a horrible position. They are the only four original Savu members still in the game, with Carter (the only other Savu) practically being an original Toka member by this point. It seems like the four of them are in deep danger if the original Savu members just decide to ride it out together. Luckily for the four of them, things change quickly in Survivor, and a wild series of events leads to them being able to take out the Kingpin of the other side.
Missing Out on the Feast
Two Survivor classics are back! The first is the merge feast, which had been changed in the new era to only allow half of the merged players to participate. This time, 10/13 of the merged players will participate. How will this be decided? By the second Survivor Classic: the grub eating challenge. The first ten players to scarf down two grubs will earn their spots at the feast, while the three losers will get to go directly to the merged camp, but with an empty stomach. Kristin bows out of the challenge, while Sharonda and Christian both fail outright. With that, the three of them go back to camp early, while everyone else gets to enjoy the feast. Although, it does seem like Brady is already feasting, given that he’s eating the grubs for fun now.
It sucks to miss out on food, but Christian, Kristin, and Sharonda see an upside to this. As the only three currently at the camp, they have ample reign to freely strategize without any worries. They face the facts. The three of them, alongside Eric, are currently in the minority. However, they can see cracks within the original Toka tribe members. Most obviously, Sharonda has the helicopter alliance with Devin and Jelly, which means the two of them have incentive to keep her specifically around. They could pull them in rather easily, meaning they would theoretically only need one more person. Kristin tells her allies that Mike is on the bottom of original Toka and he could be the seventh vote that they need, especially since no one really wants to work with him.
While Christian’s briefly gone, Kristin makes a risky play to completely ensure Sharonda’s trust. Kristin not only tells Sharonda that the tethered idol can become a fully fledged idol if Sharonda is voted out, but also gives Sharonda the idol to play whenever she feels is necessary. She not only tells, but shows Sharonda that she has no intention of betraying her, and it pays off. Sharonda is incentivized to keep her, since Kristin needs to be there for the idol to be played. She also fully trusts Kristin now and is more likely to confide essential information to her. While these three Savu members are trying to figure out how to salvage their games, what is Eric up to?
Can Eric Shut Up?
The merge feast is an important chance to make good first impressions on the other merged players, some of which you’ve only seen during challenges. It’s also a great chance to make a bad first impression and make yourself an easy merge boot. During the feast, Brady and Eric are having a duel to determine which of the two of them can annoy people the most. Eric is telling everyone every little thing that’s ever happened in his life while Brady is being domineering and pushing away crucial numbers. Maggie especially could not be more annoyed by the both of them. Despite how offputting the two of them are to the rest of their tribemates, it is still looking like Mike is a consensus merge boot. No one is particularly close to him and despite potentially being a crucial swing vote, neither side is trying too hard to reel him in.
Jelly’s Revelation
Unfortunately for everyone, Mike wins immunity, narrowly beating out Lewis. It is refreshing to see the easy target win immunity, forcing everyone to change up their plans. Also, good for Mike, who seems like a genuinely good guy but for some reason has just gotten off on the wrong foot with everyone in the game. He now has some serious power, but will he be able to do anything with it?
We go from one consensus boot to another, as with Mike no longer being an option, people quickly turn their attention towards Eric. He’s already annoyed people during the merge feast and is playing sloppily before tribal. He goes to Brady and others, trying to get the target on Kilby, seeking revenge for his betrayal during the Linnea vote. However, Brady, who already didn’t trust him, immediately tells this to Kilby, who is now determined to get Eric out. Although Eric is on the bottom of the totem pole for original Savu, they’re not going to let him go down that easily. With Devin and especially Jelly already practically on their side, they strategize. Jelly suddenly comes to a realization. They have a 7-6 numbers advantage if they pull Mike in, so there’s no reason why they shouldn’t take a big swing at someone like a Brady. She feels that he adds a layer of toxicity to the game and still partly blames him for Patt going home. Devin still has his bromance with Brady, but he doesn’t seem to care about that at this point, having said earlier in the episode that he’s going to need to betray some people in the merge. With that, it seems like one of the biggest moves of the season could potentially happen.
Mob Boss Mike
All the while, the core original Toka alliance of Brady, Carter, Maggie, and Thien An come up with a new plan. Rather than take the easy road in Eric, why don’t they also take a big swing, but at Kristin instead? Maggie suggests the idea, calling her the ‘white whale’ and the biggest threat to win the game. Everyone else is onboard, and they have Kilby and Lewis as the fifth and sixth votes. That means Mike is the swing vote for them as well. Although Maggie does not want to trust Mike at all, Brady wants to pull him in. Mike is informed about the plan to vote out Kristin, but he is not on board. He’s been trying to pull Kristin toward his side and isn’t just going to let her go home now. In a meeting with the original Savu members where everyone is being brought into the Brady vote, Mike straight up tells Kristin that if she doesn’t vote Brady out, she’s going home. Unfortunately for Mike, Kristin completely misinterprets this. She thinks that Mike is threatening her to vote Brady out and is not a fan of that at all.
Kristin makes a questionable move in telling Brady that Mike is coming after him, completely blowing up the entire plan. Brady is absolutely pissed and lies to Kristin that she was never the target and that Eric is still being voted out. He is fuming in confessional, saying that as soon as Mike does not have that immunity necklace, he’s going home. He reels in his allies and they all back down from the Kristin plan, seeing it as a lost cause. He also confronts Mike, who denies having told anyone anything, but he is not buying it. And Mike, who was the integral swing vote for a split second, is right back to being on the bottom of the tribe.
Flipping Maggie
Tensions are high at the first merged tribal council. Maggie, at one point, asks Mike if he has any secrets to reveal. Everyone wants to break into groups and initiate a live tribal, but no one wants to be the one to do it. They’re whispering back and forth but trying not to commence chaos. Eventually, Kristin straight up says she wants to talk to the people at the other side of the tribal set up, and does. With that, the live tribal has officially commenced.
Both sides find out what the other side’s plan is, and Eric is freaking out while Brady is confident in his allies. Lewis and Kilby hear about the Brady plan, and all Kilby can say is “But Eric-” Christian has to reassure Eric that he’s doing everything he can to keep him. Jelly and Maggie bond about the fact that they’re playing with a bunch of manchildren. Maggie has had issues with Brady in the past, this could be the chance to get the last laugh. Best of all is Devin right in the middle narrating everything for Jeff, a reminiscent moment to Rome sitting in Jeff’s seat during Survivor 47. In the end, it is Brady who tells Jeff that they’re all ready to vote. By the end, Maggie and Kilby flip on Brady, leading to his exit in a 9-4 vote, the exact tribal breakdown at the start of the merge, only, completely flipped upside down.
Brady Booker: Jonathan Young’s Strongest Soldier
Coming in, I was the least excited to watch Brady on this season. Based off the limited preseason press, it seemed like he was going to be reminiscent to Jonathan Young, one of my least favorite players in recent memory. However, he pleasantly surprised me, as he turned out to be a far greater character than Jonathan ever was. Him saying ‘Brody’ every chance he got was unfortunately hilarious and he was very passionate about the game. He gave us one of the best character moments so far this season with his thumb chopping incident. So, as surprising as it is, I come out of this season with a positive opinion about Brady and can’t wait to see him as the mayor of Ponderosa. Still a downgrade from Dee, though.
Conclusion: A Great Start to the Merge
This episode was a really solid merge episode! We got a split vote that was not dragged down by lost votes or unnecessary twists. We got to see people scramble and freely play the game. Unfortunately, I am seeing the same warning signs I did for the Survivor 50 merge. We got a normal merge vote, but what about everything afterwards. After the Dee vote, we did not get a single vote that wasn’t impacted by a major twist until the final 7! With the double duos (to be fair, an inoffensive twist) coming back next episode, I am worried that the exact same thing will happen. If it does, it could drag down what has been a great season up until this point. However, I will choose to remain optimistic and hope that this cast continues to deliver.
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