I'm a Cockroach

**I'm a Cockroach** is the eighth episode of *Survivor: Samoa.*

## Story

The Foa Foa tribe returns from their Tribal Council with the girls feeling closer than ever, but Jaison feeling like he is on the complete bottom of the tribe. Alone, he feels like if the merge isn't next he will be going home, and doesn't trust any of the girls. Meanwhile, Marisa, Natalie, and Liz make a pact to stick together and make sure that the three of them can succeed in the game no matter what happens in the future.

That evening, the castaways meet up for what they expect to be another Reward Challenge, but in fact the tribes are finally merging. The castaways celebrate this, some more than others. The tribe's color is blue, and they eventually name it Aiga, which means family in Samoan. Immediately, divisions are clear on the tribe. While Galu is on shaky ground internally, they all agree they need to stick together for at least a couple rounds, and they make it clear that they are going to try to use their numbers advantage in their favor. Jaison immediately makes it clear as well that he has no affiliation with the remaining Foa Foa girls, talking about how he has been out of the loop most of the pre-merge and that he has no trust for the women. He paints Marisa as the biggest target, talking about her manipulative skills and fiery personality. The Galus are skeptical about Jaison at first, but soon begin to trust him and incorporate him into their alliance. Yasmin and Erik especially forge a strong connection to Jaison. Meanwhile, the Foa Foa girls do their best to seem nice and non-threatening, hoping to exploit cracks in the Galu tribe's alliance, but they struggle to get information from the tribe.

At the Immunity Challenge, both Erik and Liz win Immunity, protecting them and limiting the number of Foa Foa girls that can be targeted. The Galu tribe agrees that Marisa seems like a far more threatening player than the unassuming Natalie, and they decide to put most of their votes on her. Russell S. wants to split the vote in case of an idol, but the entire group is unsure if everyone is actually going to vote together, so a split vote plan falls flat. Meanwhile, the Foa Foa girls realize that they don't have much of a shot of flipping anyone. Marisa also realizes she is going to get targeted due to her disagreements with Jaison, and reveals her idol to Natalie and Liz. The two girls are calmed, and promise to vote with Marisa despite the rest of the tribe outcasting her. At Tribal Council, Marisa is supposed to leave in an 9-3 vote, but she plays her idol, voiding all nine votes against her. Meanwhile, John leaves in a 3-0 vote, blindsided by the Foa Foa girls for being the most threatening challenge competitor from Galu.

## Challenges

**Individual Immunity Challenge:** *Jail Break*

Each castaway is stuck inside a bamboo cage. Using sticks and twine, they must build a long pole in order to retrieve three keys hanging outside of the cell, all at varying distances from the cage. The castaways must retrieve all three keys to unlock the three locks on their cell. The first man and woman to free themselves from their cell will win Individual Immunity.

**Winners:** Erik Cardona and Liz Kim

## Voting Confessionals

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

## Next Time on Survivor...

The Foa Foa girls celebrate their survival...

...while the majority alliance tries to stay together to take them out.

## Trivia

The episode title was said by Marisa Calihan in reference to how she kept surviving Tribal Council after Tribal Council despite being targeted, just like a cockroach surviving harsh conditions.