The Merge

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The Merge
Episode Information
Season	The Australian Outback
Episode Number	7/15 (020)
Original Release	March 8, 2001
Viewership (in Millions)	28.72
Ratings/Share (18-49)	12.1/31
Episode Chronology
Previous	"Trial by Fire"
Next	"Friends?"
Subpages

The Merge is the seventh episode of Survivor: The Australian Outback.

Story

Day 19

As the merge awaits, Kucha discusses strategy. Kucha and Ogakor will each have five members, so Kucha suspects there will be a tie at the first Tribal Council. Their plan is to target Colby. Jeff, meanwhile, thinks he will be Ogakor's first target. At a previous challenge, Kimmi revealed to Ogakor that Jeff had received a prior vote (from Debb), which would make Jeff vulnerable in a tiebreaker situation. Still, Kucha vows not to give up. They recall Mike's final words before he was airlifted out: "Somebody from Kucha needs to take this money." On Ogakor, as the tribemates speculate about which Kucha member had to be evacuated, the tribe receives treemail. It tells them that the men should travel to Kucha while the women remain behind. Meanwhile, Kucha's treemail says the opposite—that the women should travel to Ogakor while the men stay behind. Alicia and Elisabeth set off for Ogakor, while Keith and Colby head to Kucha.

Day 20

Tina, Jerri, and Amber are surprised to see the Kucha women arrived, having expected the men. Alicia and Elisabeth tell the women about Mike's accident. Over on Kucha, Jeff, Nick, and Rodger are a bit disappointed to be wining and dining the guys instead of the women, but they share a meal of chicken with Keith and Colby anyway. They, too, get caught up on Mike's injury.

At Ogakor camp, a rain nearly snuffs out the fire, and the tribe's only matches are away with Keith. Jerri tries not to criticize Keith so she doesn't tip off the Kuchas that Keith has prior votes. Everyone has decided that Kucha is the better of the two camps, but both tribes get tree mail telling them that they must move to an entirely new camp. There, both tribes meet and find a crate of food and wine and a set of all-new orange buffs, signaling the merge. The merged tribe settles on "Barramundi" as its new name. The tribe celebrates, but there is some tension as Rodger and Jerri disagree over where to set up their new camp, with Jerri ultimately getting her way. At the first individual immunity challenge, the contestants drop out one by one as Jeff Probst tempts them with food, and Jeff jumps off his perch at an offer of peanut butter. After more than ten hours, Alicia finally caves for some hot coffee, leaving only Keith and Tina. Keith begs for Tina to let him win. "I need this," he told her. Tina agreed, and stepped down, and Keith won the first individual challenge.

Day 21

At Tribal Council, the votes are split by tribal lines. The five ex-Kuchas vote for Colby, while the five ex-Ogakors vote for Jeff. Jeff and Colby each make a statement pleading their case after the votes are read, and the other eight Barramundis revote. Nothing changes—the vote remains tied.

To break the deadlock, Jeff Probst asks Colby and Jeff how many votes they've received at previous tribal councils. Colby has zero. Jeff has two (from Debb and Kimmi). That dooms Jeff, who brings his torch to be snuffed.

In his final words, Jeff blames Kimmi's big mouth for tipping off Ogakor about his previous votes. He also regrets about given up on the Immunity Challenge for peanut butter.

Challenges

Immunity

Challenge: Perch
Each tribe member will stand on top of a wooden pillar in the water. At random points, Jeff will tempt the survivors to go down by bribing food items. Last person left standing wins Immunity.
Winner: Keith Famie

Immunity Challenge: Perch
Placement	Winner	2nd	3rd	4th	5th	6th	7th	8th	9th	10th
Time Elapsed	10 hr 17 mins			8 hr 58 mins	6 hr 47 mins		4 hr		1 hr 30 mins
Castaway	Template:Tribebox4dark	Template:Tribebox4dark	Template:Tribebox4dark	Template:Tribebox4dark	Template:Tribebox4dark	Template:Tribebox4dark	Template:Tribebox4dark	Template:Tribebox4dark	Template:Tribebox4dark	Template:Tribebox4dark

Tribal Council

Tribal Council 6: Barramundi
First Vote (Tie)		Revote (Colby & Jeff ineligible to vote)		Counting Previous Tribal Council Votes
Voted Against	Voter	Voted Against	Voter	Voted Against	Voter
File:S2 jeff t.jpg Jeff (5 votes)	File:S2 amber t.jpgFile:S2 colby t.jpgFile:S2 jerri t.jpg File:S2 keith t.jpgFile:S2 tina t.jpg Amber, Colby, Jerri, Keith, & Tina	File:S2 jeff t.jpg Jeff (4 votes)	File:S2 amber t.jpgFile:S2 jerri t.jpg File:S2 keith t.jpgFile:S2 tina t.jpg Amber, Jerri Keith, & Tina	File:S2 jeff t.jpg Jeff (2 votes)	File:S2 debb t.jpg Debb (Tribal Council 1)
					File:S2 kimmi t.jpg Kimmi (Tribal Council 5)
File:S2 colby t.jpg Colby (5 votes)	File:S2 alicia t.jpgFile:S2 elisabeth t.jpgFile:S2 jeff t.jpg File:S2 nick t.jpgFile:S2 rodger t.jpg Alicia, Elisabeth, Jeff, Nick, & Rodger	File:S2 colby t.jpg Colby (4 votes)	File:S2 alicia t.jpgFile:S2 elisabeth t.jpg File:S2 nick t.jpgFile:S2 rodger t.jpg Alicia, Elisabeth, Nick, & Rodger	File:S2 colby t.jpg Colby (0 votes)	None
VOTED OFF: File:S2 jeff bw.jpg Jeff Varner

Voting Confessionals (First Vote)

Amber, Jerri and Keith's confessionals are only available on DVD.

“	It was a strategic move that was determined the first week we were here.	”
—Colby

“	Nothing personal. I think you're a great guy. It's just part of the strategic plan.	”
—Keith

“	I really like the guy, but he's from the Ogakor tribe and they have all got to go.	”
—Rodger

“	Jeff, you seem like a really great guy, and I wish I would've gotten to know you a little bit better. And, um, I hope you feel better soon.	”
—Amber

“	Jeff, you seem like a really great guy. This is 100% a strategic vote.	”
—Tina

“	'Cause everything's bigger and better in Texas, this lone star has to got to go.	”
—Jeff

“	Going into this, um, I'm pretty much expecting a five and five tie, and we learned early on in the game that you had one vote against you previously. That is the only reason. It's purely strategic. I'm so happy that I got to know you. I love your sense of humor, and I wish you the best of luck.	”
—Jerri

Voting Confessionals (revote)

Unavailable.

Final Words

“	I knew this was going to happen because of a very large mouth of a former tribe member at Kucha. Ogakor knew I had that vote and I knew there was nothing I could do about it so, I'm going home and I've had an awesome time. This has just been the most amazing experience I have had in my entire life.	”
—Jeff Varner

Still in the Running

Kucha
File:S2 alicia t.jpg Alicia	File:S2 debb bw.jpg Debb	File:S2 elisabeth t.jpg Elisabeth	File:S2 jeff bw.jpg Jeff	File:S2 kimmi bw.jpg Kimmi	File:S2 michael bw.jpg Michael	File:S2 nick t.jpg Nick	File:S2 rodger t.jpg Rodger
Ogakor
File:S2 amber t.jpg Amber	File:S2 colby t.jpg Colby	File:S2 jerri t.jpg Jerri	File:S2 keith t.jpg Keith	File:S2 kel bw.jpg Kel	File:S2 maralyn bw.jpg Maralyn	File:S2 mitchell bw.jpg Mitchell	File:S2 tina t.jpg Tina

Trivia

• When the deadlock tiebreaker began, Jeff claimed that he only had known of only one vote, from Debb Eaton during the first Tribal Council, however, host Jeff Probst had not revealed his other vote from Kimmi Kappenberg.
• With Jeff's elimination, this episode marks the first time in the series' history where the women castaways outnumber the men, 5-4. This would not happen again until "Back to the Beach".
• Keith Famie lasted over 10 hours, 17 minutes to win the Immunity Challenge. ​This set the record for the longest challenge, would be the longest Immunity Challenge until the season finale of Survivor: Palau.

References

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