Survivor: David vs. Goliath episode 6 – Big takeaways

The Brochachos stole the show yesterday on Survivor: David vs. Goliath, but there were a few other important storylines in this week’s episode.

It’s merge time! For only the fifth time in Survivor history, we are getting a 13 person merge! This past episode didn’t have the same intensity as we saw in the previous two Tribal Councils, but it still provided us with entertaining content, especially with the social relationships between the castaways.

Here are some key takeaways from episode 6 that help to set the tone for the merge.

1) Original tribal lines are now secondary to social relationships.

The past two Tribal Councils saw the Jabeni tribe vote based on preferences as opposed to keeping their numbers strong. Mike and the rest of the tribe couldn’t handle Natalie anymore, and for the Lyrsa vote, Nick agreed that voting off another Goliath member would put a target on Mike’s back. So in a way, these votes were made to put Mike and Nick in a better position moving forward.

It’s interesting that the two castaways they voted out: Lyrsa and Natalie, are two very loyal people who would have stuck with their original tribes. In fact, Lyrsa even mentioned her determination to stay loyal in her exit interview with Rob Cesternino. The point is that these players with this old school Survivor mentality of sticking with your original tribe are now being depleted.

Also, consider other inter-tribal allegiances including the Brochachos, and Alison with Gabby. It’s further evidence of people wanting to work together because they gel socially. It will be exciting to see how these personal relationships form into larger alliances post-merge.

2) Say bye-bye to that potential women’s alliance.

During pregame interviews, and even in the second episode of Survivor: David vs. Goliath, it felt like this might be the season to witness another powerful all women’s alliance. There still are strong social female castaways, including Angelina, Kara, and Gabby that could make big moves in this season. However, out of 13 players to make the merge, only five are women.

The odds of them dodging tribal after tribal and being able to gain the majority seems very unlikely at this point. This is especially the case since Angelina has already stood out as a dangerous social threat thanks to the now infamous jacket incident. That being said, it will still be interesting to watch how Gabby and Alison; as well as Kara and Angelina interact with each other after the merge.

3) The merge proves to be a savior for several castaways. 

Typically on Survivor, the trend is to take out the weakest links during pre-merge play, to keep the tribe strong, and then take out the big threats once the merge hits. Essentially, the merge offered a new start to several castaways.

Although she started strategizing with Alison, Gabby was in real danger of being voted out if their tribe lost immunity. This gives her the chance to regroup and not be as serious of a target now that her performance in challenges only affects her own outcome.

The same goes for Angelina. She barely scraped by after clearly exposing herself a master manipulator who’s willing to put on a performance to get what she wants. It’s still hard to say if her position will be solid with the remaining Goliaths, but if she can restore the relationships she had pre-tribe swap, I could see Angelina going far.

The merge gives Kara and Alec a chance to rejoin the Goliaths, and it even gives Davie and Carl the opportunity to work without Elizabeth going forward. Either way, it’s difficult to predict who will align with who once the castaways form one tribe, which makes this season even more interesting!