Survivor season 35: Players tweet their thoughts on the merge

"Get to Gettin'" - John "JP" Hilsabeck, Desiree Williams, Chrissy Hofbeck, Ben Driebergen, Ryan Ulrich, Lauren Rimmer, Joe Mena and Devon Pinto on the seventh episode of SURVIVOR 35, themed Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers, airing Wednesday, November 8 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Photo: Robert Voets/CBS ©2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved
"Get to Gettin'" - John "JP" Hilsabeck, Desiree Williams, Chrissy Hofbeck, Ben Driebergen, Ryan Ulrich, Lauren Rimmer, Joe Mena and Devon Pinto on the seventh episode of SURVIVOR 35, themed Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers, airing Wednesday, November 8 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Photo: Robert Voets/CBS ©2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved /
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With the Survivor season 35 jury taking its first castaway, former players tweeted out their thoughts about the players and the momentous occasion itself.

Heartiest salutations, Survivor gang! Season 35, Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers, has finally hit the merge, and everything popped off in unforeseen ways. A shocking blindside, an Idol play and battle lines being drawn in the sand were the major focuses of discussion for former players offering their thoughts on Twitter.

Right before the official merge, we got the perspective of Yawa, Soko and Levu in their various states. Soko felt strong with their three, Yawa talked things over, and Levu was about to pour blood on the sand like they were 50 Cent.

Thankfully, the tribes did merge and the game came alive once more. 12 players, one tribe, new partnerships; even as everyone feasted on Outback Steakhouse items, game talk was fired up. Well, maybe not Cole (who eats eight-thousand calories a day in his normal life).

The way things broke down after the feast, the five Healers had too much of an advantage. That’s why it was suggested the Hustlers and Heroes team up to take down the majority tribe with a coalition voting bloc.

As we got to the Individual Immunity Challenge, a new twist came to the “balance a ball” test. This time, castaways had to spin the ball while standing on a platform, moving to smaller and smaller platforms as the challenge went on.

Many players lost within 10 minutes, but Ryan was out after two seconds! The winner, Desi, eventually lasted something close to 1,200 times longer than he, with Chrissy giving away her mathematical prowess at a crucial time.

Back at camp, two distinct alliances had formed; the Healers vs. everybody. Cole has been getting on everybody’s nerves with his bad eating habits, and Ben could not trust the Healers if they were so contingent on keeping him safe.

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The thought of Joe using an idol to turn the tide meant keeping the Healers target less obvious. Just like when Jeff Probst mentioned “going after the wife” with Joe and Desi on a divided Levu tribe, it finally played out with Jessica’s elimination. Even with Joe whipping out an Idol at Tribal Council like he was Tony Vlachos, he received a Vlachosian result; an incorrect play.

Next: Survivor Winners: Ranking All 33 Sole Survivors By Season

Survivor season 35 episode 8, “Knights of the Round Table,” airs on November 15 at 8 p.m. ET.