The Merger

The Merger is the seventh episode of.

Day 19
Sean and Jenna were sent to the opposing tribe’s camp to assess its livability, for this will help the two decide on which of the two camps the ten remaining survivors will reside. The Tagi members insisted to Jenna that they should merge at the Tagi camp since their camp was well organized, having well-stocked supplies and fish thrives there more. Jenna then revealed that her tribe has been gossiping about Tagi having a voting alliance. Rich, Sue, Kelly and Rudy then weighed their voting options, if they would eliminate the Pagongs or get rid of Sean (the only Tagi that wasn’t part of Rich’s alliance). After visiting the camps, Jenna and Sean then paddled to the Sand Spit for a "summit" to compare both camps to decide on which of the two camps will the new tribe live.

Upon arrival at the Sand Spit, the "ambassadors" were welcomed by Jeff Probst where he revealed that they will have an overnight feast while choosing their new tribe name, with two beds also waiting for them. They were also given a new tribe flag, ten new green buffs and some paint to decorate their new flag. Jeff also reminded that the tribe that will transfer camps must only take three items from their own camp before migrating. While enjoying the night at the Sand Spit, Jenna asked Sean to light up a large bonfire to greet her tribemates back at camp. Rain started to fall afterwards, while Sean and Jenna drank all of the remaining wine.

Day 20
At Pagong, Gervase and Gretchen became frustrated on why they were not given further information about the merge yet and Jenna was still missing. At Tagi, everyone became anxious and worried of what was to come.

Back at Pagong, Jenna and Sean arrived at camp, where they told the tribe that they have only five minutes to gather their belongings and luxury items and bring three of their supplies before moving to Tagi beach. They decided to bring their mosquito net, the cooking pot and their blanket. They also revealed that their new tribe name will be Rattana, because of the abundance of rattan trees on the island. Greg became annoyed when the two ambassadors talked too much information about their stay at the Sand Spit. After packing, the remaining members of Pagong and Sean paddled to Tagi’s beach.

After arriving to the old Tagi camp, Pagong was welcomed by Richard. Pagong was amazed about how organized the Tagi camp was. Rudy became annoyed about the merger, saying that the increased tribe population was "a pain in the ass". Despite this, the rest of the tribe got along quite well. The women then refitted the old Tagi shelter while noticing the males’ lack of work ethic. Gervase taught Richard how to play cards, in which Richard surprisingly won. Greg, on the other hand, tried to fish, but to no avail, much to Richard’s delight. During the night, the tribe circled around the bonfire and told very revealing stories while Rudy was uninterested and walked off. Later that night, rain started to fall once more.

Day 21
Following last night’s heavy rain, the rebuilt shelter was destroyed, much to Gretchen’s chagrin. Rudy on the other hand became grumpy when he discovered that most of the women were snuggling at him while sleeping last night, while Gretchen, Jenna and Colleen rebutted that it was Rudy who had awkward sleeping habits (i.e. kicking their heads).

Before the Immunity Challenge, Jeff congratulated them for making it to the merge. He revealed that future challenges will be on an individual basis, with the Immunity Idol being replaced by the Immunity Necklace. After the first round of the challenge, Sean, Greg, and Gervase advanced to the second and final round, where Greg became victorious by a matter of seconds, thus keeping him safe from the vote.

At Tribal Council, the former Pagongs and Sean foolishly split their votes, while the Tagi alliance of Sue, Rich, Kelly and Rudy cast all of their vote to Gretchen, who was deemed the leader of the former Pagong tribe. She was voted out in an erratic 4-1-1-1-1-1-1.

Immunity
Challenge: Snake Island Relay

All ten castaways submerged themselves underwater to see how long they could hold their breath. The top three castaways then had another competition of releasing buoys along a ladder submerged underwater. The first castaway to release all of their ten buoys would win immunity.

Winner: Greg Buis

Voting Confessionals
''Gervase and Greg’s confessionals are currently unavailable. Also, Kelly, Rudy, Richard’s confessionals are only available on DVD''.

"rattana"

- Overconfidence.

"rattana"

- I'm voting for Rudy. He's probably the person I respect most in the tribe, but he's the person I least want to play the game. "rattana"

- Moo.

"rattana"

- Because somebody has to go.

"rattana"

- Hey, sweetheart. It's all about a strategy. We needed one. Difference of opinion, but, I think it's the smart way to go.

"rattana"

- Uh, we formed an alliance.

"rattana"

- I'm not employing any strategy, but I'm voting for Colleen today. I love her, she cute, adorable and nice to look at and want to have around. But she's first in my long list of alphabetical order. And she won't have another vote from me, unless you piss me off or something. But it's her turn today.

"rattana"

- I don't know why yet. She's a little too strong. It's part of the deal.

Final Words
"rattana"

- I consider it the highest compliment. People didn't vote me off because I was weak, they voted me off because I was strong.

Other

 * This week's Immunity Challenge will later be recycled in the first individual Immunity Challenge in.
 * This is the first time that less than half of the votes cast became enough to eliminate a contestant.
 * Greg is the first contestant to win individual immunity.
 * During the reading of the votes, all four votes for Gretchen were revealed, even after she was mathematically eliminated when the third had been revealed.