‘Survivor 46’ episode 3 recap: Who was eliminated in ‘Wackadoodles Win’? [LIVE BLOG]
Heading into the third episode of “Survivor 46,” the Yanu tribe was down two members after David Jelinsky and Jessica “Jess” Chong were voted out back-to-back. That left the Nami tribe and the Siga tribe in the lead numbers-wise as they both still had six people apiece. So how did everything play out on Wednesday night?
Below, read our minute-by-minute “Survivor 46” Episode 3 recap/live blog of “Wackadoodles Win” to find out what happened Wednesday, March 13, 2024 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. As always, Jeff Probst hosts and produces the program.
Here are the current “Survivor 46” tribe breakdowns (click on each name to be brought to their individual profiles):
NAMI: Hunter McKnight, Liz Wilcox, Randen Montalvo, Soda Thompson, Tevin Davis, Venus Vafa
SIGA: Ben Katzman, Charlie Davis, Jemila “Jem” Hussain-Adams, Maria Shrime Gonzalez, Moriah Gaynor, Tim Spicer
YANU: Bhanu Gopal, Kenzie Petty, Q Burdette, Tiffany Nicole Ervin
Keep refreshing/reloading this “Survivor 46” live blog for the most recent updates.
8:00 p.m. – “Previously on ‘Survivor’!” In the second episode, Nami and Siga won the combined reward/immunity challenge, sending Yanu back to tribal council for the second consecutive time. Jess was on the chopping block for her physical performance, while Bhanu was in danger because of his high emotions. In the end, Jess played a fake hidden immunity idol that Q had deviously given to her, and she was ousted by a 4-1 vote over Bhanu. Who will be voted out tonight?
8:01 p.m. – The Yanu tribe had “a little bit of explaining” to do with Bhanu because they kept him in the dark about the fake idol they planted with Jess. They explained that they couldn’t risk him saying something that would encourage her to play her Shot in the Dark, but it still clued him that he was now the outsider of the other three and he’d be the next to go if they lose another immunity challenge.
8:06 p.m. – Bhanu was still feeling some type of way about the dynamics at Yanu the next morning after getting no sleep at night. Because of his anxiousness about his place in the tribe, he spent the day looking for a hidden immunity idol that could offer him some protection, but came up short not knowing that the Beware Advantage had already been discovered by Tiffany. Nearing the end of his rope, Bhanu approached Kenzie with an “ask” to work with her without giving her a name of someone to work against. Kenzie didn’t think Bhanu was willing to “play” with a plan and so she didn’t see a realistic path forward with him. Later, Q told Bhanu that he wants to “keep [him] around” because he’s “loyal,” but he was concerned that Bhanu was going to give up or fall off the “same page” with him. Bhanu called himself a “wackadoodle” and Q urged him to believe that “wackadoodles can win.”
8:16 p.m. – At Siga, everyone was on the same page as the group set out to go for an “idol hunt” together. Moriah pointed out that this was a tricky dynamic because it required you to look for the idol, but keep an eye out on everyone else at the same time to see if anything is found. In one moment, both Charlie and Jem were looking around the same tree and when Jem found the Beware Advantage she was able to slip it into her shorts without anyone noticing. Like with the others, she was tasked with digging up a box and so to keep her secret she took the “golden opportunity” of night time to do her digging. Once discovered, she learned that she lost her vote until her tribe loses immunity, she gets the directions to the key, and gains the idol (and restores her vote).
8:20 p.m. – Hunter was gaining attention at Nami because of his handiness around camp (like making portable bed using bamboo, ropes and twigs!). He understood that everyone was under the impression that everyone thinks he’s out there for the adventure and that worked for him because he didn’t want them to know how intelligent he is or that he has a house full of replicas of puzzles and challenges that he built in preparation for the competition. Venus was the only one on the tribe willing to clock Hunter as someone “running the tribe” alongside Tevin and her new ally Randen shot down that perspective quickly. She tried to point out that he has “the greatest link with many people” and he would be the most important person to get out.
8:27 p.m. – During the course of the day, Randen opened up to Tevin that the previous night was rough and how he woke up without any grip ability in one of his arms. He thought it might be a temporary sleeping thing, but decided that the medical team should take a look. In the medical evaluation he showed that he has no feeling in part of his hand and it was decided that they keep a close eye on how it develops through the day, but Randen was concerned that he was becoming “kind of a liability,” especially in challenges.
8:29 p.m. – The group’s next challenge began in the water and required them to conquer a series of obstacles, making their way back to the shore where they’d end the course by landing sand bags on a series of raised targets. For the first two tribes to finish, immunity from elimination and tool kit reward packages. With two more players than the four-person Yanu tribe, Siga sat out Maria and Jem and Nami sat out Randen and Soda.
8:32 p.m. – Despite dominating at previous challenges, Nami quickly fell behind in the water by almost a full obstacle. Siga was the first tribe to complete the second obstacle, a barrel roll in the water, and then Yanu completed it second. The members of Nami were being pushed through the water by Hunter, but by the time they reached the shore the other two tribes had already dug up their sand bags. Even with their significant lead, Yanu and Siga were not able to land a bag and then Nami caught up to them and Hunter landed four bags straight away to take the lead. Tiffany landed one for Yanu, but then Hunter landed Nami’s fifth and earned first place in the challenge. At that point, Charlie got Siga up to a 4-3 lead over Yanu until Q landed a fourth, setting up a tie. In the end, Charlie was able to land the final bag before Q or Tiffany could and earned the second place finish. For the third straight time, Yanu would go back to Tribal Council.
8:40 p.m. – Before the tribes left the beach, Jeff asked Nami to decide which three players from the tribes would go on the next journey away from camp. They picked Liz from their own tribe, Ben from Siga, and Bhanu from Yanu.
8:45 p.m. – Upon their return to camp as a threesome, Tiffany voiced her concern that Bhanu would be spilling all of the tea about their tribe to the other players. They figured that he’d open up to them about how they played a fake idol against Jess and blow up their game(s) as aggressive strategic players. Q was more concerned with his sense of responsibility for not landing the sand bags and causing them to return to TC. He reflected on moments playing football in high school and how a fumble caused his team to lose an important game. He told Kenzie and Tiffany that his performance was “not acceptable” and told them that he should be voted out, not Bhanu. Tiffany refused to indulge Q’s martyrdom and told him straight up that she won’t be voting him out.
8:49 p.m. – On the journey, Ben and Liz were eager to hear from Bhanu about what was happening at Yanu. Ben told him that he sees the work he’s putting into the challenges and pepped him up to “turn it around right now.” Before any information could be shared, the group approached their instructions for the task and learned that only two of them would have a chance at an advantage with the risk of failing and losing their next vote. They would all draw rocks with only two of them going down different paths to “compete in private.” Before they drew rocks, Bhanu told Liz and Ben that he expects it to be his last night in the game and said “it’s been a rough seven days for me.” He added that Tiffany and Q are “really tight” and Kenzie is “running the show” as a “mastermind” and “influencing Tiffany.” Liz referred to his revelations as “a gold mine of information” and because Bhanu was being so emotional it was easy to believe he was telling the truth. Both Liz and Ben thought it was “just mean” that Bhanu’s tribe mates were calling him too emotional and not strategic. Ben was impressed with Bhanu’s line that he “didn’t come to win a million dollars, but to win a million hearts.”
8:58 p.m. – In the rock draw, Liz drew the white rock signifying that she would return to camp with no risk and no reward, leaving Bhanu and Ben to compete for the Advantage. For their challenge, Bhanu and Ben had to assemble nine different sized blocks into a cube within a specific frame in a timed race. When the sand in their hourglasses ran out, neither of them were able to complete the puzzle and so they both lost their votes. For Bhanu, it was “deep, deep, deep trouble” because “without a vote you can’t play a Shot in the Dark.”
9:07 p.m. – Upon their return to their camps, Liz and Ben both had “gossip” to share with their peers. They both told the story of how sad Bhanu was and emphasized that Kenzie was the one controlling the group at Yanu. Ben told the Siga players that he faced a challenge different than what he faced and that he was never told his result. He said he’ll find out the result when they go to TC. He was honest that Bhanu also competed and that Liz didn’t. At Yanu, Bhanu was sort of honest about what the journey was, but told them that he drew the white rock and didn’t get to compete for the Advantage. He also said he told them that he’s on the chopping block, but everyone was simply relieved that he didn’t earn anything extra.
9:10 p.m. – Later, Bhanu admitted to Q that he lost his vote and didn’t want Kenzie or Tiffany to know. Q’s plan was different from Kenzie and Tiffany, telling Bhanu that he could change from “liability to asset” while Kenzie is a legitimate “threat” that he can “never use to [his] favor.” Q was convinced that he could get Tiffany to change her vote to Kenzie if she trusts that Q will be able to work with Bhanu. Q told Tiffany that Bhanu “will always” vote with them and will follow their lead, but Kenzie will play the game hard and throw them under the bus if she ever connects to the other tribes. Tiffany considered those “really valid arguments.” Tiffany’s hesitation was that Kenzie was at least on her side and that her gut was telling her that Bhanu has to be the next to go.
9:20 p.m. – Before Yanu was able to go to Tribal Council, Jeff made his way to the Nami camp with the medical team to assess Randen’s arm again. With the whole tribe gathered, Jeff said “it’s not good news.” The doctor consulted a colleague and learned that Randen’s injury “could be a bulging disk in the neck which presses on the nerve” because of the increasing pain in that area and surgery might be required. The determination was that Randen needed to exit the game in order to have an MRI to “just be very cautious about [his] health.” Randen understood the decision despite being disappointed that he was pulled from the game when he would have preferred to get voted out.
9:25 p.m. – At Yanu, while Tiffany was telling Bhanu that she hadn’t decided that she’d for sure write his name down, Jeff approached with “news that’s gonna impact tonight.” He informed them that Randen was pulled from the game because of a “nerve situation” and because of that “one person’s loss is another person’s game” and they would no longer be asked to attend Tribal Council for an elimination vote. For Bhanu it was a “miracle” and his “prayers had been answered.” He thanked Jeff personally and referred to him as his “guru” and repeated his line about coming to the show to “win a million hearts.” Q said that their tribe has a “second chance” now and Tiffany understood it as a sign that there’s a good path forward for them as a tribe.
NEXT TIME: Tevin starts to eye Soda as a manipulative player and Bhanu seemingly admits to Yanu that he spilled the beans during his journey with Liz and Ben.
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