‘Survivor’ Recap Season 44 Episode 5 — [Spoiler] deselected

Wednesdays survivor The episode is titled “The Third Turd,” and we’re just giving you a guess as to which castaway was coined The Phrase.

Yes, Carolyn was very animated when she came back from the tribal council and explained to Yam Yam that the reason Sarah had to leave was because she was tired of feeling like Tika’s last turd. And with the tribe down to just three players, tensions ran high as Carolyn and Yam Yam’s relationship seemed ruined, giving Josh an inside tip to become the swing vote.

The editor is spending a lot of time over on Tika Beach, and this time it wasn’t a red herring. Tika loses this week’s immunity challenge, putting its three members back on the chopping block. Meanwhile, Josh tries to create a fake idol (cue: “attempted”), but Yam Yam realizes almost immediately that the beads come from tree shells. Carolyn also notes that the letter he shows them is the one exactly the same letter he had them read before the last tribal. Things aren’t looking good, and that was before the fake idol fell to pieces in Yam Yam’s hands. You can’t blame a man for trying, but fake idols are an art and not everyone can be Bob Crowley. (I’d like to say “A for exertion,” Josh, but it’s more like a C-. But hey, at least it wasn’t an “Af-Kingstick.”)

After the immunity challenge, the doctor takes a look at Matthew’s shoulder and the guy is in serious pain. The local doctor thinks he has a large tear in his shoulder, and since he’s only eating about 100-200 calories a day, everyone is concerned about his body’s ability to heal itself. Matthew winces and cries during a difficult conversation with Jeff, and you can’t help but feel for the guy. Not only has he spent years training for his time in Fiji, it’s never fun to see someone’s dream shattered, even if it was due to their own stupidity.

But the inevitable eventually happens and Jeff takes a boat to Tika to tell them they’re all off the hook. Matthew decides to leave the game, which means that night’s tribal council is canceled. And with the previews showing next week’s Earn the Merge episode, it’s safe to say that the three members of Tika can all breathe a sigh of relief… well, except maybe Carolyn, who tells Josh to her face that she it wanted to vote him out.

So we’ve been robbed of a tribal council this week, but here are a few other notable highlights from Episode 5:

* Carson’s parlor game deserves some praise. Not only has he been transferred to a brand new tribe, but he’s also made some serious progress with many members of Ratu. If he succeeds in merging, he will have many allies and many options to consider. He seems like a smart kid who can hopefully go far with a few well-timed moves.

* Carolyn goes on a trip with Brandon and Danny, and while they’re all having lunch, the two guys pretend she’s not even there. Her intent is to start a Meathead alliance, and while I think Danny has proven he’s smart, it wasn’t so hot to discredit Carolyn like that. Now she not only stays here, but can also say it everyone about their plans to link post-merge, which could make Danny and Brandon Public Enemies #1 and #2. And if there’s only one thing we know about Carolyn, it’s that she loves to be underestimated.

* Although Yam Yam and Josh probably would have tried to cut each other’s throats if they went to Tribal, the two share their coming-out stories together in a very touching moment. It was sad to hear about Yam Yam’s struggle to love himself, and Josh’s multiple near-death experiences with his health were also very sobering. While Matthew’s fate remains unfortunate, the lack of Tribal Council this week gave the show more runtime to tell the stories of the castaways, and storytelling like this is what survivor does best.

That’s a wrap now! Were you sad that Matthew’s adventure was cut short? Any predictions for next week’s big merge episode? Write your thoughts in the comments below!