It's Time to Spill the Tea

This is the seventh episode of Survivor: Book Smart vs. Street Smart. This episode and the following episode, "Put on Your Dancing Shoes", were aired together in a two-hour event.

The merge has arrived.

Previously on... Survivor...
Coming soon! 13 are left, who will be voted out tonight?

Veisau Tribe
On a typical night in the Mamanuca Islands, the stars are twinkling and the moon is shining.

That was not the case tonight. The rain was pouring, drenching everything. The three remaining castaways of the Veisau tribe quickly rush into their shelter after a historic Tribal Council. The palm trees blow a bitter ocean wind, but the campfire remains extinguished. As the castaways set aside their torches, the camera’s focus shifts onto Carlos, who buttons his jacket.

The three final members of Veisau sit together in their shelter.

Carlos: And then there were three.

There’s somewhat of an awkward silence after Carlos’s remark.

Carrie (curiously): So, about the vote…

Dakota: I think it’s very clear who Bernice voted for.

The three laugh at Dakota.

Carrie: None of us voted for ourselves, so there’s no use in trying to lie about who we voted for anyways.

Carlos: To be honest... and I don’t understand why the votes came out this way... I voted for Bernice.

Dakota: (points to Carrie) Well, I guess that means we voted for each other. (nervously laughs)

The rain grows stronger and stronger as bitter winds begin to beat against the shelter.

Dakota: I really thought that this (gestures to Carrie and Carlos) was a very dangerous power duo.

Carrie: Well, I wouldn’t call us a power duo. Anyways, yeah, I voted for you. It doesn’t really matter because Bernice is out anyways...

Dakota (interrupting): Yeah, Bernice may be out, but we just got really lucky that she got the white rock. And just to be clear: I was gonna vote for Bernice with you.

Carrie: But?

Dakota: I wasn’t sure we could trust him.

Carlos: I’m right here, you know.

Carrie: I wanted us three to stay Veisau strong. This adventure as a swapped tribe was far from perfect: we were probably the weakest tribe after the swap, we lost all of our food, we couldn’t even climb (expletive) monkey bars, and we had to deal with the most insane person to ever get cast on Survivor. The three of us earned our right to be here. Bernice, well, bless her soul, but she was stumbling through this game.

Dakota shakes her head. Carlos can only sit back and watch as Carrie and Dakota argue.

Carrie: Did I mention the plan?

Dakota: Don’t even mention the plan because you didn’t follow it.

Carrie: Neither did you!

Lightning streaks across the night sky.

Carlos (calmly): Alright... well, this is my first time to hear about “the plan”, but from what I’m guessing, us three were supposed to get Bernice out...

Carrie and Dakota nod.

Carlos: ...but Dakota didn’t want to work with me...

Dakota: Hey, I love you to death, but I couldn’t see how this (gestures to the group) could work things out.

Carlos: ...and Carrie couldn’t trust Dakota.

Carrie: It’s not that I couldn’t trust her; she just didn’t want to work with me.

Carlos: Well, I wasn’t so sure that I was going to vote Bernice either. I was thinking of voting you (faces Dakota), but that’s Survivor. You need to separate what’s best for you and what’s best for us, and even if this tribe’s gonna merge with the other two tomorrow, this was still a tribe-based decision. (holds up rock) I hope the three of us can stick together: let’s just look at tonight as some weird anomaly or whatever and stick together. Just a few seasons ago, there was another train wreck tribe of three that had to deal with a woman with a uhh, strong personality.

Dakota: Hey, don’t insult Natalie!

Carlos: It was crazy, but those three ended up being the Final Three. There’s still hope for the Vanquished Veisaus. It’s three against five and five, but we can work things out.

Dakota rubs her hands together. A thunderclap is heard. A smile grows on Carrie’s face.

Carrie: It’ll be an uphill climb, but what’s most important is that we may be outmatched, but we’re definitely not outsmarted.

It’s too wet and noisy for the three to sleep, so the final three members of Veisau watch the rain pour as a shortened version of the intro plays.

Veisau Tribe
The scene opens to an overhead shot of the Mamanuca Islands. Last night’s downpour has subsided, but there’s still a light drizzle. Waves creep against the shoreline of Monuriki Island as Carrie and Dakota talk while watching the sunrise.

Carrie (awkwardly): So... about last night…

Dakota: What about it?

Carrie: Do you want to talk about it?

Dakota: I mean, what else do you need to say?

Carrie: I guess I’m sorry about lashing out towards you like that and not explaining myself clearly. I was – and still am – 100% down for the girls’ alliance we made, but I really wasn’t sure I could trust you, even after I laid everything out.

Dakota simply nods.

Dakota: Well, the rocks diagram you made was helpful.

Carrie: Is there anything you want to talk about? I just wanna make sure we’re okay moving forward.

Dakota: Like I said, what else is there that needs to be said? I accept your apology and I definitely have no ill feelings towards you, but let’s be real. You stabbed me in the back, you took the knife out, and you apologized. I’m still a little bit on the fence about going all in with you, but the point is, it will take awhile for me to trust you again.

Carrie looks uneasy as Carlos walks up from behind them.

Carlos (loudly): We got mail, sisters!

Dakota: Oh, God. Please don’t say that again.

The three members of Veisau huddle together as Carlos unties their Treemail.

Carlos (reading): Congratulations... the tribes are merging!

Carrie hugs Carlos as she hears this.

Nanuma Tribe


The scene transitions to the Nanuma tribe, where Tim continues reading the tribe's Treemail.

Tim (reading): Gather your belongings and head to the Kavoro tribe's island, where the game will begin anew.

Joy: Alright! We did it!

A montage is shown of the Nanuma tribe rummaging about their camp, as people take down clothes hanging on branches, while others try sort out the tribe's remaining rations. Nicholas steps back and watches as the tribe works.

Nicholas (to himself): I can't believe it...

Frantic footsteps are heard as someone runs through the jungle. Joy looks for the idol chest and finds it in the tree. She opens the chest, but to her shock, it's completely empty.

Joy (to herself): Oh (expletive)...

Josie finishes folding the tribe's blanket.

Josie: Alright, that's everything!

Ash: Wait! Where's Joy?

Nicholas: She said she was going to refill her canteen.

Joy briskly walks back to camp as she rummages through her bag.

Joy (to herself): Come on, come on, come on...

Just as the foliage begins to fade away, she grips onto one of the teeth on the idol. Quickly, Joy fixes her bag and walks out of the jungle.

Joy (smiling): I'm ready.

Kavoro Tribe


It's a lazy morning at Kavoro, with most of the tribe still asleep. Having won five out of five post-swap challenges, life at Kavoro had been laid-back and easy-going. Jimmy is already awake, as he sits by the fire with one hand clenching the Treemail.

Eager, Jimmy wakes up the rest of the tribe.

Jimmy (loudly): Rise and shine, everybody!

The rest of the tribe slowly wakes up as Jimmy dangles the Treemail above them.

Jimmy (reading): Kavoro tribe: make sure you clean up your camp, because company will be arriving soon. When the three tribes are gathered, head down to the far end of the island and await further instructions. Good luck, and happy merge day.

Molly: Yay! We did it!

Chad: We did it without going to Tribal Council.

Justin smiles as he steps out of the shelter.

Justin then gathers the Kavoro tribe around the fire. He congratulates the five of them for remaining undefeated and virtually united throughout this phase of the game. He claims that their ability to stick together and succeed as a tribe serves as a testament to each of their individual strengths and prowess in the game.

Justin: ...with all that said, I think it's best that we five stick together. I know we may have our own allies and friends on the other tribes. That's great. Keep your friends close, because we'll need them to be able to make it to the Final Five. We are loyal, we are Book Smart, we are Street Smart, we are Kavoro Strong!

The camera zooms in on Mei as she tries to keep a straight face.

Episode Polls
Episode 7: Who is your favorite castaway? Ash Carlos Carrie Chad Dakota Jimmy Josie Joy Justin Mei Molly Nicholas Tim Episode 7: Who is the player of the episode? Ash Carlos Carrie Chad Dakota Jimmy Josie Joy Justin Mei Molly Nicholas Tim

Trivia/Author's Notes

 * Other potential merged tribe names included Nakasu (back when the tribes were still called Makawa and Kamusu), Nanu Nanu, and Venuro.
 * I was going to write the entirety of this episode while I was on vacation, but unfortunately, I wasn't able to.
 * I also decided that the episodes from here on now might be a bit shorter. Now that summer is over, I won't have much time to write, so in order to finish this season before the year ends, I'll be condensing the post-merge episodes.