Baka is the worst-positioned tribe after the merge on Survivor 43. After voting out Morriah Young in the first elimination, the tribe has remained strong in challenges. However, their social game is a much different situation. While the tribe tried to appear open with each other, many competitors were keeping secrets and playing multiple sides. Once the merge came into play, the underlying tension in the tribe came to the surface for the Coco and Vesi tribes to see right before the tribal council.
Before the merge, many viewers would assume that Baka would be in the best position out of Survivor 43’s three featured tribes considering they had a numerical advantage. However, Baka was arguably the most divided tribe before the merger. Jeanine Zheng and Elie Scott did not want to work with Mike Gabler, and the feelings were mutual. While Sami Layadi and Owen Knight appeared to be leaning toward working with Gabler, they kept their options open, knowing that anything could change in the game. If the merge did not happen when it did, Sami and Owen would have needed to choose sides.
How Baka Hurt Their Survivor Game During The Merger
While in Mergatory, Baka revealed much of their tribe’s issues for other contestants to take advantage of before the Tribal Council. During the winner's lunch, Gabler told everyone that Elie searched through his bag, thus making others suspicious of her. By doing this, Gabler also revealed to Jeanine that Owen and Sami disclosed information to him about the bag search and her immunity idol. Ultimately, Elie’s messy gameplay on Survivor resulted in her elimination, but the rest of Baka remains fractured.
When going into a merge on Survivor, pre-existing tribe relationships are imperative because those develop before competitors meet anyone else. It is easier to continue pre-existing alliances rather than create new ones with competitors who may already have other stronger relationships. However, their tribe’s relationships may still be repairable since Jeanine did not use her immunity idol on Elie, whether because she believed Elie was safe or she needed to look out for her own game. Furthermore, the other of Baka are still aligned, although Sami and Owen’s trust in Gabler has decreased since he spilled what they told him in confidence.
After the merge, it will be imperative for the former Baka to work on repairing their image moving forward in Survivor. Owen, who former players are rooting for, could break off with Sami and form new alliances to save their game. The feud between Elie and Gabler may not give other contestants confidence in working with Baka in the future, but their situation is not hopeless. Even though Jeanine aligned with Elie, she can work to fix relationships since she has an immunity idol to provide safety. If Baka can repair their tribe’s relationship, they will be less likely to be picked off by Coco and Vesi.
Survivor airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.