‘Survivor 44’ episode 9 recap: Who was voted out in ‘Under the Wing of a Dragon’? [UPDATING LIVE BLOG]

Heading into the ninth episode of “Survivor 44,” just nine players remained in the running to win the $1 million prize. That numbers includes three original Tika members (Carson Garrett, Carolyn Wiger and Yamil “Yam Yam” Arocho) three original Ratu players (Kane Fritzler, Lauren Harpe and Jaime Lynn Ruiz) and three original Soka contestants (Heidi Lagares-Greenblatt, Frannie Marin and Danny Massa). So who ended up having their torch snuffed by host Jeff Probst on Wednesday night?

Below, read our minute-by-minute “Survivor 44” Episode 9 recap/live blog of “Under the Wing of a Dragon” to find out what happened Wednesday, April 26, 2023 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. Then be sure to sound off in the comments section about your favorite castaways on CBS’s reality TV show, who annoys you the most and who you think will ultimately join the “Survivor” winners list and take home the $1 million grand prize.

Keep refreshing/reloading this “Survivor 44” live blog for the most recent updates.

8:00 p.m. – “Previously on ‘Survivor’!” In the eighth episode, Lauren won the individual immunity challenge, which saved her from the wrath of Danny. After the former Ratu players made it known they were gunning for Frannie, Danny decided to play his idol for her, resulting in Brandon Cottom going home instead. Who will be voted out tonight?

8:01 p.m. – Tribal Council went exactly the way many players wanted it to — Danny was proud of his “bucket list” successful use of a hidden idol and Yam Yam liked that another person that had previously voted for him was sent home. Lauren, Jaime and Kane were dismayed that the vote didn’t go the way they wanted, explaining that they tried to get Brandon to split the vote in case of an idol, but they said he insisted it wasn’t necessary.

8:03 p.m. – With Danny’s idol used, the next morning the race was on to find the idol typically replaced into the field. Everyone was involved in the hunt through the forest with Kane focused on preventing Danny from getting the idol back because he’s one of the biggest players left in the game. Danny knew he made a big move and there’d be a target on his back so he was also anxious about being the one to find the idol. Though everyone was searching, it was Heidi that came across the coveted package and claimed the idol in complete secrecy.

8:11 p.m. – After the idol hunt, the players realized they had an “off day” where they could focus on building relationships instead of strategizing about the game. Yam Yam organized a guessing game around camp and then Carolyn opened up to the group about her journey from addiction to sobriety. This is a key editing moment for both Yam Yam and Carolyn who are exhibiting a large part of why recent winners won over their juries: personal connection. In a confessional, Frannie admitted to being really drawn into Carolyn’s story and recognizing how open she’s been to the group and that she looks up to her for being so unapologetically authentic to herself. In her own confessional, Carolyn sees how she’s found her footing in the game, is more confident about her spot, and thinks that everyone is still underestimating her in the game.

8:20 p.m. – In Tree Mail, the castaways learned that the next immunity challenge would involve a decision to play or sacrifice immunity in order to earn rice for the tribe. As hungry as everyone was, no one felt like they were in a position to comfortably sitting out the challenge, but wanted to see the challenge first. Privately, Danny said that it’d be embarrassing for anyone to sit out of a challenge for rice and publicly he urged everyone to play because the game is 3-3-3 and he wanted to “just play.”

8:23 p.m. – At the challenge as rained poured down, Jeff explained that they’d stand on a block while balancing a ball against a piece of wood above them with the last person standing earning immunity. The catch, he wanted at least four people to sit out of the challenge in exchange for rice for the tribe. Lauren and Carson spoke up immediately to sit out, but everyone else wanted to play. Kane told Jeff he might have been more willing to sit out if the last TC had gone the way he wanted it to, but now he feels vulnerable. Danny responded by saying he “won’t vote for the sit-outs” and Carson and Carolyn responded that neither will they. With that, Kane said he’d also sit out and when no one else would step forward, Jaime stopped Jeff, acting like she’d sit out, but then she said it’s “too much of a risk.” Heidi stepped forward and said that she’d sit out instead to make the four Jeff wanted to earn rice. The remaining five competed.

8:27 p.m. – Very shortly into the challenge, both Carolyn and Jaime fell off their block and were eliminated from the competition. Next, Yam Yam pushed too hard and his ball popped out from its spot and he was eliminated, leaving Frannie vs. Danny for the win. It was the second head-to-head between Danny and Frannie in an individual immunity challenge and like the first time Frannie was able to stick it out and earn the necklace!

8:36 p.m. – Back at camp, everyone was grateful for the four that sat out so that they could all enjoy a rice meal. As one of the four that sat out on the word that they wouldn’t be voted for, Kane acknowledged that no one would stick to that and he fully expected everyone to be up for the vote. Seeing the game divided evenly between the three tribes, Heidi and Danny were prepared to work with Tika in order to take another cut at Ratu by going for Kane in the vote. That being said, the Soka and Tika members wanted to do what they could to get Jaime to play her idol in order to flush it out of the game.

8:38 p.m. – When Jaime came to Carson, Yam Yam and Carolyn, Carson let her know that Soka was aiming for her, but assured Jaime that Tika would be working with Ratu to make a move against Danny. Because of what happened last time, Lauren wanted Ratu and Tika to split votes between Danny and Heidi. The idea of the split vote made Jaime feel even more vulnerable and so she spoke to Lauren and Kane about the possibility of their advantages (Jaime’s idol and Lauren’s extra vote) being stolen by a Knowledge Is Power advantage. Jaime gave Kane her idol and Lauren gave Jaime her extra vote for safe keeping to avoid them being stolen.

8:40 p.m. – Meanwhile, Frannie grew concerned that the Tika members were sitting comfortably in the middle of the game and so she went to Heidi and Danny with the idea of them working with Ratu in order to cut Tika down a number. Danny said “play the game smart” and shot Frannie’s idea down because Ratu still has two advantages that they need to deal with.

8:42 p.m. – When Tika huddled on their own about which direction they’d go, Yam Yam pointed out that Kane has voted for him in the past and he wants to vote with Soka to take him out. Carolyn disagreed and said that Danny is the biggest threat and she has wanted him out “ever since the muscle bro thing.” Carson only wanted the three of them to stick together so that they can control the vote, but was less concerned about who they went for.

8:48 p.m. – At Tribal Council, Jeff jumped right in to the topic of people sitting out of the challenge. It was cleared up that everyone is on the same page that the people who sat out are still potentially getting votes because no one trusted that people would keep their word to not vote for them. Danny even admitted that when he gave “scout’s honor” to not vote for them that he’s not even a scout. Danny explained that it was a selfish decision on everyone’s part and they should have played, but Kane countered that he saw the challenge and knew he wouldn’t win it so why not sit out to get rice for the greater good. Jaime added that the decisions “tell you a lot about the individual and how they’re playing the game.” The comment was shade at Danny’s selfish decision.

8:52 p.m. – Jeff asked the castaways if they’d prefer to play a chaotic game, insinuating that this season is chaotic, and they all agreed that they prefer that to a static game. It came as part of a conversation about how much trust everyone had in the direction the vote was going and as Carolyn was speaking, Kane and Frannie started to whisper. Eventually everyone got up and was whispering to each other — Jaime asking Kane if everything is good, Carson trying to insist to Yam Yam and Carolyn to stick to their vote, and then Carson confirming with Lauren that it should be Danny. Kane told Jaime that he doesn’t think she needs to play the idol because “Carolyn is solid.”

8:56 p.m. – After votes were cast and no one played an advantage, Jeff read the votes: Kane, Heidi, Jaime, Kane, Heidi, Danny, Kane, Heidi, Kane, Kane. With nine players and 10 votes, that means Lauren’s extra vote was played, but it ultimately didn’t matter with the three Tika players aligning their votes against Kane. Because of their advantage switch earlier, both Ratu advantages were flushed because Jaime placed two votes on Heidi and Kane was eliminated with Jaime’s (fake) idol in his sock.

NEXT TIME: Jaime declares “the era of alliances is over” as Heidi suggests she’d take out Danny and Carson considers who is going to betray.

SEE exclusive predictions: Who will win ‘Survivor’?

Be sure to make your predictions to influence our reality TV racetrack odds. You can keep changing your predictions until just before the next episode airs on CBS. You’ll compete to win eternal bragging rights and a spot on our “Survivor” leaderboard. See our contest rules and sound off with other fans in our reality TV forum. Read more Gold Derby entertainment news.

SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions