Alliance Jenga

**Alliance Jenga** is the 8th episode of *Survivor: Ecuador*.

## Story

### Night 20

The Charca tribe walks back into camp after their Tribal Council. Martina looks blindsided as she sits down in the shelter, head in her hands.

Kara can be seen highfiving Erron as they sit down by the fire. He beams into the flames, happy to have survived the night.

Lauwanda and Peter can be seen walking alone by the riverbank. Lauwanda says she hopes they made the right decision, while Peter assures her it'll all be fine.

### Day 21

On the morning of Day 21, both tribes walk into a clearing in the jungle with much anticipation. There are looks of shock from Cuevita to see the tables turn with Kenji leaving. Everett looks upset, while Veldt looks satisfied. Su then tells everyone that today is not a normal challenge. Everyone's eyes open wide as Su tells them to DROP! THEIR! BUFFS!

The tribes celebrate, throwing their old buffs down and hugging those they've missed. Kara and Kinti embrace tightly, while Martina and Enrique hug, and Everett and Zachary high five. Su gives them their new dark brown buffs, telling them a feast is waiting for them at the Cuevita camp, which will be where the new tribe will be located. The tribe celebrates as they rush back to the Cuevita campsite, with Zachary leading the charge back.

The newly created merged tribe arrives at the Cuevita camp to find a large table laid out with all types of food sitting in the center of camp. Everyone eagerly sits down and begins to feast. Mellorie looks like she's in heaven as she bites into a chicken wing slathered in BBQ.

As everyone is eating, they discuss what to name the tribe. Portmanteaus like Cuarca and Chavita are proposed, but none of them seem to stick. Orlia then perks up and mentions that the river they've been living on the whole season is called Curaray. Everyone likes that name, and they decide to name it that. Everett picks up a bottle of beer and toasts to Curaray, which everyone toasts to.

As the merge feast winds down, people begin to reunite. Kara, Kinti, and Veldt all go off for a walk in the jungle, giving each other hugs again. Kara tells all about her rocky road on Charca and how she pulled the Charcas together, impressing Kinti.

Kinti and Veldt then tell her about how Emanuelle overplayed majorly and it made sure they both could make it here. They then talk about the future; they all agree they need to give it some more time for specifics, but that the three of them need to work together for sure.

On another side of camp, Enrique and Martina are seen dipping their toes in the river and discussing things. Martina tells Enrique she's missed him so much, and Enrique tells her the feeling is mutual, and that he's happy they made it alive off of Charca.

As the two continue to talk, they agree their best bet is going to be trying to unite the Cuevitas and see what they can make happen.

Lauwanda, Orlia, and Peter can all be seen catching up in the shelter. Lauwanda gives Orlia another excited hug, telling her she missed her a lot, and Orlia laughs, saying she missed Lauwanda too.

Mitzi can be seen sitting by the fire alone, thinking by herself and playing with her fresh Curaray buff. Mellorie walks past and squeezes her shoulder, and Mitzi smiles up at her before staring back into the fire.

### Day 22

On the morning of Day 22 in the Curaray camp, four people can be seen getting up to go on a walk and talk. Everett, Zachary, Mellorie, and Martina walk down one of the paths in the jungle, discussing the game. They agree they want to try to get the old majority together, plus Mitzi and some of the Charcas who feel like they're on the bottom.

Zachary affirms that they just need to act quickly and make sure they can get a group together.

Everett offers to go talk to Mitzi to try and get her on board, which everyone is alright with. Everett walks back to camp, looking determined.

Everett finds Mitzi alone in the shelter, and he asks her to go talk. She seems interested, and once they are off on their own, he asks her if she would be interested in going with the Cuevitas and trying to make something happen. Mitzi emphatically says she is down, high fiving Everett.

Back at camp, Kinti, Erron, and Kara can be seen sitting in the shelter. They watch as the Cuevitas can be seen going off on frequent walks together. Kinti frowns as she watches this.

Veldt comes over and sits with the other three in the shelter as they discuss what to do. They agree they need to try to talk to Orlia, Peter, and Lauwanda and put together a Charca alliance.

Kara and Erron go to talk with Peter and Lauwanda since they all worked together at post-swap Charca's last Tribal Council. They say that everyone wants to try to do a Charca alliance, and that they hope they'd be interested. Lauwanda seems a bit skeptical but says she thinks it could work out.

As Kara and Erron walk back from their conversation with Peter and Lauwanda, Erron massages his temples, saying he thinks this is going to be harder than any of them anticipate.

### Day 23

The castaways gather in a muddy clearing in the jungle for their first Individual Immunity challenge. Thirteen tall wooden poles stand there. Su welcomes them, and asks them what their merged tribe name is. Orlia proudly says it is Curaray, named after the river that runs through their campsites, and Su says it's a good name. He then reveals the Immunity Necklace. Everyone looks intrigued; the necklace is covered in red, yellow, and blue feathers, with a small wooden tribal carving of a macaw in the center.

Su explains what they must do if they want to win the necklace. The thirteen castaways will all be hanging on the top of a tall wooden pole. They must stay on the pole; if they touch the ground, they will be eliminated. The last castaway on the pole will win the first Individual Immunity of the season. Everyone can be seen looking excited, and then Su says it is time for the challenge to begin.

 Time Elapsed
 Castaways

**Highlights:**

* The challenge begins. Kara, Kinti, Mitzi, Everett, Orlia, and Erron all seem very solid. Meanwhile, Enrique and Veldt both struggle earlier as bigger guys. They drop first, followed by Peter, Lauwanda, and Martina who don't have the endurance. \*Zachary falls soon after Martina due to his muscular frame, and Mellorie falls just short of an hour, exhausted.
* Everyone last to an hour and twenty minutes, when Erron's arms give out and he falls out of nowhere. Orlia gives up soon after, leaving Everett, Kinti, Mitzi, and Kara to battle it out.
* Everett has been struggling for a long time, and loses his grip a little after the hour and a half mark. Mitzi decides the pain isn't worth it and she gives up around an hour and forty five minutes.
* This leaves allies Kinti and Kara to battle it out. Both women refuse to relent, wanting to push their limits. Eventually, they both begin to slip to the bottom of the pole; Kara manages to outlast Kinti however, winning the first Individual Immunity of the season!

Kara slides down the rest of the pole, collapsing on the ground and laying in the mud, beaming. Kinti, sore as well, wobbles over and helps her to her feet. Su walks over and places the necklace around Kara's neck, saying tonight she is immune, making Kara do a little dance. As the tribe walks out, Kara can be seen grinning.

The tribe walks back to camp after the Immunity Challenge. Kara hangs the necklace on a corner of the shelter, and everyone congratulates her again. Zachary does not look enthused as he congratulates her, however.

Kinti high fives Kara again, giving her a tight hug before pulling away with a smile.

Lauwanda, Orlia, and Peter can be seen walking through the jungle a little while later, discussing the night and what they're going to do.

As the three are walking, Everett and Martina approach them, asking if they want to talk. They happily oblige, and Martina can be seen smiling at the three allies.

Everett explains to them that he hopes they side with the Cuevitas tonight because they are just coming together out of desperation. He says the other four Charcas are very closely knit and are going to stay together no matter what, but that if they vote with the Cuevitas they will have a lot more opportunities in the game.

Martina finishes by saying that they'd be willing to vote off any of the other four Charcas, and that all of the Cuevitas are down for that too. Lauwanda thanks them for their pitch, and when they walk away, the three discuss what the Cuevitas had to say.

Later on in the day, all four of Erron, Kara, Veldt, and Kinti approach Lauwanda, Orlia, and Peter, pulling them off to the riverbank to talk.

The seven talk about what they want to do tonight. Kara, Veldt, Kinti, and Erron all pitch to why they should stick together as a group. Veldt's is particularly emotional and urgent, as he says he truly thinks this group could work well together.

Orlia, Peter, and Lauwanda promise they'll consider it. The other four Charcas get up to let them have time to discuss, since Tribal Council is nearing. As the group walks away, Erron looks tired.

As the three discuss, they agree that there is merit to siding with both groups, and that it just comes down to what they think will be best for their games.

As everyone is preparing to leave for Tribal Council, Enrique and Everett squeeze each other's shoulders before grabbing their torches to go.

The thirteen member merged tribe makes its way into Tribal Council, crowding around the fire on their stools. Su remarks that the sight of a massive merged tribe never gets old, and asks Veldt what it's like with so many people. Chuckling, he said it's definitely a tough adjustment. Su then turns to talk about strategy. He asks Mellorie if things have been crazy at camp; she says they are actually less insane than she expected, and that the vote is pretty clear. Su asks if anyone would like to clarify, and Lauwanda speaks up. She says it seems like the Charcas are trying to stick together, while the Cuevitas are trying to stick together, and herself, Peter, and Orlia are stuck in the middle. Su asks if everyone agrees with this, and everyone says that they do. Shocked that the vote is so clear, Su asks how this happened. Everett says he thinks people were just worried to play complicated games, and wanted to play it safe. Su says that this type of gameplay will not be safe for some people; with that, he says it is time to vote, and Kara is up first.

Mitzi is the last to vote, and then Su asks if anyone would like to play an idol. Orlia and Mitzi do not move, and Su begins to read the votes. The Charca group has decided to vote for Zachary for being a vocal threat, while Cuevita has pinned their votes on Erron for being a threat and also being the least trusted of the Charcas by Orlia, Peter, and Lauwanda. It seems that those three have taken a risk to eliminate Erron, who they do not trust, because Erron receives nine votes (the Cuevitas plus Orlia, Peter, and Lauwanda) while Zachary only receives for votes from Erron, Kara, Veldt, and Kinti. Erron shakes his head, saying that no one should trust Orlia, Peter, or Lauwanda, and Lauwanda laughs and tells him he is just upset he got beat. He tells her to shut up before carrying his torch to Su, who snuffs it, and Erron leaves without another word.

## Challenges

**Immunity Challenge:** *Cling On*
The thirteen castaways will all be hanging on the top of a tall wooden pole. They must stay on the pole; if they touch the ground, they will be eliminated. The last castaway on the pole will win the first Individual Immunity of the season.
**Winner:** Kara Leibovitz

## Tribal Council

### Voting Confessionals

*Lauwanda's vote was not shown during her confessional.*

### Next Time On *Survivor*...

Castaways scramble after the first merged Tribal Council...

...and the game proves to be crazier than expected.

## Trivia

* The episode title was said by Erron Latif when saying that it was going to be difficult to gather a majority alliance, and that one wrong move could spell the end to your game just like pulling one wrong block in a game of Jenga.
* Kinti had the most confessionals, with 4.
	+ Peter had the least, with 1.