Day 12

The sixth episode of “Survivor 50: In the Hands of the Fans” kicked off day 12 of the game, with every player dropping their Buffs. With 17 of the season’s returning players convening on the Vatu beach, it marks the largest merge tribe in “Survivor” history. The pack of hungry returning legends scrambled to share information and revisit old alliances from before the episode three tribe swap. 

Christian Hubicki and Rick Devens, an alliance from the original Cila tribe, exchanged details about Aubry Bracco’s Billie Eilish Boomerang Idol. Knowledge of that idol was subsequently passed around during a conversation between Genevieve Mushaluk and five-time returnee Cirie Fields. 

“Information is flowing on this beach,” Mushaluk said in regards to the chaotic scramble of the merge. 

In order to gain further trust, Mushaluk revealed to Ozzy Lusth that she was indeed the one to send him his Boomerang Idol.

Day 13

The merged players awoke to a note being delivered via boat: “Hidden in the jungle is a twist that could change everything,” the note read. “First to find it, claims it.” 

Sooner than the boat arrived, the players raced into the jungle engulfing the Vatu camp. 

“The sharks were out,” Fields said in a confessional. “And I’m just trying not to get bitten.” 

Lusth found the wrapped twist tucked into a tree. The note read, “Today, you’ll put your social game on hold, because you’re headed to Exile Island.” Lusth was then tasked with choosing one other player to join him. 

Dissecting his reasoning, Lusth asked, “Who’s the one person who’s sort of the odd man out at this point?” He eventually chose the lone “Survivor 49” representative, Rizo Velovic. 

Hiding behind a smile, Velovic reluctantly joined Lusth on the boat to Exile Island, stating, “this could be the scariest night of my life.”

The Blood Moon

The 15 remaining players not bound to Exile Island arrived at the first individual immunity challenge of the season. Being that “Survivor 50” is “in the hands of the fans,” host Jeff Probst alerted the players that 63% of fans voted in favor of twists. In return, Probst introduced a new twist that he dubbed as “The Bloon Moon,” the name of the episode. 

Probst told the group before him, “Tonight, not one, not two, but three players will have their torches snuffed.” This would become the most players ever voted out in a single night, another historic “Survivor” first. 

The immunity challenge, titled “Chimney Sweep,” divided the 15 players into groups of three as they attempted to use their hands and arms to hold themselves between two walls while their feet balanced on narrow footholds. Those three differing groups would each have one player to win individual immunity, and they would each send someone packing right before the jury stage of the game begins. 

Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick earned her group a full-course meal from Applebee’s as a reward for remaining in the challenge the longest. 

Orange Tribe

Following their Applebee’s reward, Kamilla Karthigesu sought to rally her former allies in Jonathan Young and Tiffany Nicole Ervin to vote out Chrissy Hofbeck. Karthigesu sought to solidify their alliance, given that the three of them were together on the original Kalo tribe.

“‘Survivor 50’ has been a lot of redemption for me,” Hofbeck said in a moment of reflection. She went on to tell Ervin and Karthigesu that if this was her final night in the game, she wants to go out peacefully. “But I don’t think that’s gonna happen,” Hofbeck said in another confessional, seeking to turn the tides of her own game. 

“We watched her on Survivor 48 driving the bus, backing up the bus, driving the bus over the person again,” Hofbeck said in her campaign to vote off Karthigesu. After getting LaGrossa Kendrick on board, Young remained in the middle of the two groups vying for his vote. 

In a blindside that landed her jaw on the floor, Karthigesu received three of the five votes. 

“Drag that man through the mud,” Karthigesu said as her parting words, directed towards Young, who was the sole vote to send her home. 

Blue Tribe

“I’m really happy about three of these people,” Bracco said in regards to Joe Hunter, Hubicki and Devens being on her tribe. “I’m not so happy about one,” referring to her rival Mushaluk.

Setting her plan in motion with Hubicki and Devens, Bracco said, “the three of us need to come together to take out Genevieve.”

Aware of Bracco’s immunity idol, Mushaluk retaliated by devising a plan to take out Devens with the use of Hunter and Hubicki as the swing votes. 

Following a last minute push by Devens to consider sending Hunter home, it ended up being Mushaluk who received a unanimous vote to be sent home. She sacrificed her vote to play her Shot in the Dark advantage, which failed, leaving her vulnerable. As a token of respect, she donated her coat to Bracco.

Purple Tribe

Setting the tone for the final vote of the night, Dee Valladares said, “I’m good with Cirie, I’m good with Emily, so that basically leaves Colby and Coach up for grabs.” She said, “Guess what? You’re gonna sit, you’re gonna shake, you’re gonna roll over, because you’re gonna be my little puppies tonight.”

Colby Donaldson came into the vote with a previous leg injury from a challenge on day nine. “It’s either a stress fracture or a torn ligament,” Donaldson said.

Benjamin “Coach” Wade, feeling the heat, attempted to put a target on Emily Flippen’s back by telling Valladares that Flippen planned on voting her out next.

“He’s so messy,” Valladares said during a conversation where she relayed that information back to Flippen. They weighed their options between Donaldson and Wade.

“Colby is just sitting back, he’s not doing much,” Flippen said in a confessional. “Coach is doing the exact opposite, he’s just actively lying to the people.” 

She found herself between the man with the injury and the man who threw her name out. 

Fields made a late push to vote out Donaldson, stating that he was the head of the snake regarding the alliance with the old-school players. 

The emotional tribal council left Donaldson in tears as his torch was snuffed for possibly the last time in his “Survivor” career, a unanimous vote of 4-0. 

“Just find the joy. Just find the joy in the game,” Donaldson said to motivate his tribe as he exited his fourth and final season.