The merge is finally here and Foa Foa is going in full force. Will the first person voted out of the Survivor Samoa merged tribe be an easy pickoff from Foa Foa or a blindside from Galu? I have to say, I’m a sucker for the underdog so “Go Foa Foa!”

We start this episode with Russell coaching his team on what to do in case of a merge. The Foa Foa tribe has taken the “Divide and Conquer”  approach. At Galu, the tribe is arguing over petty differences and disagreements. Galu is going to have to pull it together or Foa Foa is going to eat them alive. After so many tribal councils, Foa Foa is an expert at the art of the blindside.

There was no reward challenge this week. The teams met on the beach and found a treasure chest, signifying they were a merged tribe.

Back at the camp, everyone enjoys the merge feast and Foa Foa starts plotting. Russell goes after Galu with a fury and concocts a scheme to get rid of Laura. There are a couple of problems with this approach. First of all, he shows everyone his immunity idol. Second, the immunity challenge hasn’t been played yet. His up front “ballsy” approach to persuade the other team may be his downfall.

The new tribe, Aiga, faced their first immunity challenge, a game of T-ball. The players hit one ball off of the Tee towards various zones on the ground for points. One man and one woman will receive immunity. The scores were as follows:

Men: Dave 3, Russell 4, Mick 2, John 5 (and immunity); Jaison, Brett and Eric came away with no points.

Women: Monica 2, Kelly 3, Laura 4 (and immunity); Natalie and Shambo got the goose egg.

Now, with Laura receiving immunity, the whole camp is in an uproar. Eric is trying to get Monica out and flush out Russell’s immunity idol. Russell is scrambling for position. When Natalie, from Foa Foa, discovers Eric’s plot to get rid of Monica, she rallies the girls of Galu to blindside Eric.

At tribal council, Eric seals his fate by treating Foa Foa like a bunch of ignorant baboons. He pretty much tells them they are worthless and that they might as well roll over and get voted out. He litaraly has no clue how well Foa Foa worked the Galu members. If Foa Foa sticks together, we could have a really interesting season on our hands. When the votes were tallied, everyone but Eric and Shambo voted for Eric.

Eric’s confidence and all out rude behaviour got him voted out. You can see where people were writing the names down from where he was sitting and he still left the game with an immunity idol in his pocket. This is ridiculous. His name has FOUR letters and no one else in the game has a name that starts with an E. His arrogance and trust in a flaky tribe sent him home. Next week, Russell may have his head on the chopping block.