Buddy Buddy

**Buddy Buddy** is the seventh episode of *Survivor 1 (US)*.

## Story

 Back at the Fiefia tribe, they were just waking up. Madi and Boston had set out to start a fire for the day and spoke again about what they’d do if they went to tribal. They felt closer to Kit but felt safer with Spenser, so there was a conflict in terms of who’d make more sense to vote out. Before they could get too deep into the conversation, they noticed a boat with four people approaching their beach. Kit and Spenser sprung up and shouted that they recognized them as the Loto tribe. The Loto boat arrived and the four players got out of their boat. They all introduced themselves to one another. Jarrett announced that the tribes would be merging and that they had a few moments to pack any of the stuff they wanted to bring with them to the tau tribe where they’d be staying. The Fiefia tribe frantically packed their belongings and got on the boat with Loto. Kit striked up a conversation with Marissa and Paloma, and got to know the two of them. DJ and Jarrett both introduced themselves to Kit as well, and welcomed the others into the convo. Boston and Madi laughed along and got to know the Loto members. For the entire boat ride, Spenser was essentially just sitting there silently, on the outs. He would give dirty looks to DJ every now and then.

 At the Tau camp, everyone was up and relaxing on the beach. Trina remarked that she heard a noise from the distance. They all looked up to see a boat with eight people coming their way. Gloria and Sage were instantly on their feet shouting as they new this meant they’d merged. The boat arrived and Marissa passed out purple buffs to everyone. Owen and Trina helped everyone unload their belongings onto the camp. Gloria and Spenser hugged each other and she told him that she was so happy he was able to make it to merge with her. Paloma and Marissa sat down and finally took a breath after constantly moving around since tribal. Paloma opened up her buff and read their new tribe name out loud, “Talotia”. She remarked that she liked it, which Marissa agreed with. Boston helped Sage get situated and introduced himself. The two hit it off right away and opted to fill up everyone’s water bottles together. Sage lead Boston to their water well and explained how they’d been on the bottom of their tribe. Boston listened closely and asked how strongly they felt about standing by their tribe, to which Sage said not very strongly at all.

 Kit and Madi got a moment to themselves and discussed all of the new players they’d just met. They both somewhat agreed that Loto seemed to be a better fit for them to align with than Tau, but were happy to be in the swing vote position essentially. Madi noted that Tau would probably expect some loyalty from them due to the immunity they helped them win. Kit brushed it off and said that they didn’t owe them anything. DJ and Paloma sat down and agreed that they needed to try and pull Fiefia in. Jarrett joined them and felt the same way. The three felt the closest to Kit out of the Fiefia players and agreed to focus on her. Trina had gathered some people together to start working on their merge tribe flag. By the end, it was her, Gloria, Owen, Sage, Marissa, and Spenser all working on it. Spenser began venting about Kit and said she was super manipulative and fake. Trina asked if that’s who he’d be looking to target and he said that if the votes were there, he’d go for it. Marissa dipped early and joined Kit and Paloma who were fishing in the water. Marissa spilled the tea and told them what Spenser had been saying. Kit gasped and said she was shocked he’d turn on his own tribe so fast. Paloma told Kit that she’d back her if she decided to target Spenser and Kit said that just might be what she has to do.

 Kit pulled Boston and Madi aside to fill them in on what she’d heard Spenser was saying. Boston was shocked that Spenser had flipped so quickly. He adds that he’d had a great talk with Sage and they might be willing to join them if they target Spenser and the other Tau members. Kit suggested an alliance of the three of them plus Loto and Sage. Boston was completely on board for this, while Madi processed it and went along with the ideas. Madi and Sage introduce themselves to one another and join Boston in looking for some fruit. They discuss the potential alliance Kit had come up with. Sage was on board and said they’d be willing to go along with the plan. Madi expressed some of her concerns about the Loto players plus Kit ganging up on them. Just then, Boston shushed them and told them all to hide behind a bush. Madi and Sage were confused until they looked ahead and saw Gloria, Spenser, and Trina all searching for idols right ahead of them. They were digging through the ground and everything. Madi and Sage gasped to each other and tried not to laugh. Boston, Madi and Sage manage to sneak off. They run into Jarrett, Kit and Paloma as they head back to camp. Sage informs them of what they saw and the three gasp and laugh. Kit again proposes the eight-person pact and suggests that they split the votes that night in case of an idol being used. She informed the group that she had the Steal a Vote advantage and could use it at tribal if they needed it to insure one of the four players on the outs left. Madi headed off on her own to get some quiet. She worked on a fake idol with some of the beads she’d collected from the last reward shower. She talked to herself and questioned how much further she could take Kit. Madi got emotional because on a personal level, she felt really close to Kit and really liked her. On a game level however, Kit was unpredictable and she’d proven from the start of the merge to be very impressive socially when given the right circumstances as she’d already essentially woven her way into the Loto tribe. Madi stuck her fake idol away and looked off to the ocean and noted that she had no idea what she was going to do.

 The twelve players joined Jeff at the beach to compete for Immunity. He introduced them as the Talotia tribe and congratulated them on merging. He explained how the immunity challenge would work. It was a physical challenge that involved moving heavy sandbags back and forth. They began the challenge and the guys immediately demonstrated a clear advantage but Kit and Trina both kept up. After about twenty minutes, Owen, Jarrett, and Trina were in the clear lead with everyone else slowly getting more tired. In a close photo finish with Jarrett, Owen, and Trina, it was Owen who completed first and won immunity for the week. Gloria ran over to hug him and Jeff gave him the immunity necklace. Jeff informed everyone that they’d be meeting him that night at tribal and had the rest of the day to sort out what they’d do.

 Following the challenge, DJ managed to gather the eighth-person alliance together and they discussed how they wanted to handle the vote. Kit again revealed that she had the steal a vote advantage and would be using it on Spenser so that they could split the votes in case of an idol. DJ talked about how much Trina dominated the immunity challenge and suggested they target her to give themselves a better chance at winning challenges. Kit again threw Spenser’s name out there. Nobody felt too strongly about Gloria as she was essentially seen as Owen’s puppy dog. By the end of the discussion, they’d agreed to split the votes between Spenser and Trina and that they’d decide later on who would leave between the two.

 Spenser gathered all of the Tau members together and pitched that they all vote with him to take out Kit. He explained again how snakey she is. Sage and Gloria back this notion up with what they’d heard about her from the summits. They all agree on it and Spenser says that he’ll try and flip Madi and Boston. Spenser pulled Boston and Madi aside to plead for their votes. Madi listened carefully to him but Spenser could tell Boston wasn’t as invested in the conversation. Spenser added how Kit had pretended to be on the outs in order to get her advantage. Once Spenser left, Boston and Madi discussed the pros and cons. They both felt that they’d be on the bottom if they went with Tau but also felt they would have an easier time outsmarting them than the Loto and Kit group. Sage joined them and recounted the conversation they’d had with Spenser. The three agree to keep one another posted throughout he day.

 Trina had felt the distance between her and the other players all day. Nobody wanted to talk to her and she felt very isolated. Trina had a one-on-one with Gloria where she started crying and said she wasn’t ready to leave but that she felt like everyone was after her. Gloria tried to cheer her up and said she had faith that they’d pull off the votes. Before tribal, Kit pulls Madi aside to check in and see if everything was still running smoothly to which Madi assured her it was. Kit offered Madi her mother’s necklace as a token of trust to prove she had no intentions on voting out Madi. She asked Madi if she could hold onto their idol for the night as a symbol of trust. Madi takes a deep breath and pulls the idol out from her backpocket and gives it to Kit. Kit hugs her and says she’s so thankful to have an ally like her by her side. Kit sticks it in her bag and thanks Madi again. She smirks and takes Madi’s hands. Kit notes that they’re in such a good spot and that she can picture them sitting in the Finale together. Madi smiles thinking about the concept as well.

 Boston, Madi, and Sage have a check in before tribal. Madi is noticeably more reluctant to turn on Kit but Boston and Sage are still wishy-washy. Before they can fully agree on something, it’s time to head off to tribal. Madi looks over to Kit as she laughs with Paloma and Jarrett and gathers her stuff for tribal. She then looks over to Spenser as he shares a group hug with Gloria, Owen and Trina before tribal. Madi takes a deep breath and tells Boston and Sage that no matter what happens, they’re her people.

 The Talotia tribe arrives at tribal and sets their torches down. Once seated, Jeff again congratulates Owen on winning the first ever Individual Immunity. He also congratulates Jarrett and Trina on their impressive showings. Jeff asked DJ if there’d been much talk about targets at camp. DJ openly discussed how everyone knew that Spenser had no vote as a result of the summit and that he was really on the outs. Jeff asked Spenser if he could feel that and he nodded but also said that it’s a mistake for anyone to feel too comfortable, especially at a merge vote. Jeff asked Kit if the Fiefia tribe was united or if they shared this perception of Spenser. She expressed that she would’ve been fine to stick by Spenser but that he wasted no time going around spreading her name. Spenser rolled his eyes in response. Jeff noted that Trina had been quiet all tribal and asked if she felt safe. Trina said she’d never felt more vulnerable. She expressed how nobody had talked to her all day after the challenge and she feels that she might be the one going. Jeff was about to commence the voting when Kit interrupted him and said she had an advantage she wanted to play. Kit read out the Steal a vote advantage and announced that she was going to steal Trina’s vote. Trina covered her face in disappointment and tried not to cry. Jeff explained that Trina would not vote and that Kit would now get to vote twice. He then commenced the voting process. By a vote of 5-4-2, Kit was voted off. Her face froze for a few moments out of shock and denial. She turns around to Madi and asks if it was her. Madi looked down and away from her. Kit shakes her head and said that it was a big mistake and she was never winning this game. She got up and noticed Spenser laughing. Kit rolled her eyes and told him to grow up and realize everyone who voted for him to stay tonight, merely did it to spite her. Jeff snuffed out her torch and told her the tribe had spoken. Kit turned to Madi and said that the only thing keeping her from throwing her idol in the fire is the idea of keeping it as a souvenir to hold over Madi’s head whenever she loses. Once Kit turns around, Madi lets out a quiet sigh of relief. Paloma and DJ are both still in shock, faces fully cracked. Kit storms off. Jeff tells the tribe that they’ve officially voted for the first time as a merged group and that it would only get harder from here. He excused them and they all left.

## Tribal Council

 Trina (4 votes)
 Spenser (2 votes)
 VOTED OUT:Kit Bui

## Trivia

* The episode's title was said by Sage Graham.