Survivor 44 featured the first “tribe swap” (we’re hesitant to call it that) of the “new era” in episode 4. And now, Josh Wilder, Carson Garrett, and Jaime Lynn Ruiz have to figure out how to survive on new tribes. That, combined with Matthew Grinstead-Mayle’s continuing shoulder issues, led to a tumultuous Survivor 44 Episode 5. Read on for our recap of “The Third Turd.”
[Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers from Survivor 44 Episode 5, “The Third Turd.”]
Matthew Grinstead-Mayle’s shoulder continues to bother him in ‘Survivor 44’ Episode 5
Following Sarah Wade’s elimination in Survivor 44 Episode 4, tensions ran high at Tika’s camp in episode 5. Yamil “Yam Yam” Arocho is upset because Carolyn Wiger didn’t tell him about the plan to vote out Sarah. And Carolyn shares that she felt like the “third turd” of the alliance between her, Yam Yam, and Sarah. Meanwhile, Josh is sitting back, enjoying watching the drama unfold.
In a separate confessional, Carolyn struggles over who to align with now — Yam Yam or Josh. She admits her heart tells her Yam Yam, but Josh would likely be better for her game.
At Ratu’s camp, Matthew is still in so much pain from dislocating his shoulder on Day 2. The castaway gets emotional because (even though he doesn’t say it) he doesn’t want to leave the game because of an injury. Matthew has been working toward his goal of being on Survivor for years, and he hopes to withstand the pain to make it to the end.
Matthew opens up to Carson, and the two appear to have grown close over their short time together. But as it turns out, Carson has been building close relationships with everyone at Ratu. He’s nerding out with Kane Fritzler and actively trying to downplay his threat level. But once he’s talking to the camera, Carson discusses his master plan and lets out an evil laugh that we’re pretty sure he practiced in the mirror before coming to Fiji.
Over at Soka in Survivor 44 Episode 5, Danny Massa leads a meditation class, and Jaime critiques Matt Blankinship’s game while speaking to his showmance Frannie Marin. Meanwhile, Matt confesses to the camera that Frannie is his “blind spot.” And Frannie admits in a confessional that she “doesn’t not have a crush on Matt.” But she’s waiting until the game ends to act on her feelings. These two are the definition of adorkable.
Who loses the Immunity Challenge?
We’re thrust back into Tika’s camp, where Yam Yam tries to clear the air with Josh in Survivor 44 Episode 5. Josh admits that he doesn’t trust Yam Yam. And he tells the cameras he’s worried about his safety after playing his idol. So Josh makes a fake idol (great, another one for viewers to keep track of) out of beads from tree mail and tells Yam Yam he got it from the birdcage at Soka.
However, after bonding over their coming out stories, Josh and Yam Yam make a pack to vote out Carolyn if they go to Tribal Council again. Of course, both are wary of trusting one another, so only time will tell if they remain loyal.
And now, it’s time for the Immunity Challenge.
Host Jeff Probst explains that tribemates will be tied together and race through several obstacles before arriving at a water well. One person will fill a bucket with water and go through more obstacles to transfer the water into another bucket. Once they fill the bucket, it will lower a gate, giving the castaways access to a table maze. Two tribemates will work together to guide three balls through the maze.
The first two tribes to land all balls will win immunity. In addition, the winning tribe will pick three castaways (one from each group) to go on another journey.
Jaime and Frannie sit out of the challenge for Soka, and Matthew and Lauren sit out for Ratu. Ultimately, the table maze is a neck-and-neck race between Ratu and Soka, with Ratu beating Soka by seconds. And Ratu decides to send Brandon Cottom, Danny, and Carolyn on the journey. They leave, and the three tribes return to their respective camps, but Jeff makes Matthew stay behind so that the medical team can check on his shoulder.
Matthew explains to Dr. Will how much pain he’s been in and that he’s worried that his body can’t heal under Survivor‘s conditions. But it seems like the decision of whether or not he stays is up to him in Survivor 44 Episode 5.
Matthew becomes the second medevac of ‘Survivor 44’ in episode 5
Yam Yam and Josh return to Tika’s camp in Survivor 44 Episode 5, and Yam Yam tries to convince Josh to vote out Carolyn. They agree that once Carolyn gets back, they’ll see if she tells them differing stories about her journey.
Meanwhile, Brandon, Danny, and Carolyn learn that their journey has taken them to the Sanctuary. There, they enjoy food and get to know one another. Carolyn reveals that Josh got an idol from his journey in episode 4, so Brandon and Danny now know Carson and Jaime also have idols. And Brandon and Josh bro out, unintentionally (but intentionally) leaving Carolyn out of their post-merge plans. They do include Josh, though, because people like them (aka muscled dudebros) are always targeted.
Long story short, they underestimate her. And Carolyn returns to Tika on a warpath. She’s ready to take out Josh to wound the new alliance that Brandon and Danny recently formed. Carolyn fills Yam Yam and Josh in on what happened, and Josh clarifies that he’s not a part of this “meat brigade.” He even shows them his fake idol, but Yam Yam immediately recognizes the beads from tree mail. And Carolyn identifies its note as coming from Josh’s previous idol. So they know it’s fake.
Then, we get Josh’s triumphant backstory, which includes doctors not thinking he would make it past age five, a kidney transplant, stomach cancer, and b-cell lymphoma. While it is all very inspiring and emotional, it also tells us that Josh is likely leaving tonight.
However, Jeff arrives at Tika with game-changing news — Matthew is prioritizing his health, so producers are medically evacuating him. Therefore, there will be no Tribal Council, and Yam Yam, Carolyn, and Josh will be safe for the night. They are all relieved, except for Carolyn, who was dying to vote out Josh.
In the preview for the next episode, the three Survivor 44 tribes learn that they’ve reached the merge. And Matthew gives his final thoughts (it’s a little strange we didn’t actually see him leave the game). Understandably, Matthew’s only regret is climbing the rock.
Survivor 44 Episode 6, “Survivor With a Capitol S,” airs Wednesday, April 5, at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.
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