In Survivor 45 Episode 5, one contestant passed out again and team Belo had to choose between the two self-proclaimed “nerds” of the game. While they both tried to highlight their qualities, it came down to who could be more transparent.
Survivor 45 Episode 5 Recap
Jake falls again
The episode started on Day 10. For the individual players, that’s 10 days without modern shelter, beds, or consistent meals, and it all started to take a toll on them.
Austin Li Coon, the 26-year-old grad student from Chicago, called it “the most difficult day yet.” It’s fair to say that Li Coon spoke for everyone when he said: “I am starving and not only that, I have no energy, and all I want to do is lay in camp and all I can think about is food.”
But the person it took a toll on most was Jake O’Kane, the 26-year-old attorney from Boston on Team Lulu. At the start of the show, O’Kane is seen lying on the ground and slapping his belly. “I’m playing my stomach like a bongo,” he said. “It makes a different sound now.”
Then, Bruce asks him to get up so they can gather food together. But after he does, he walks a few steps before pausing, putting his hands on his hips, and then collapsing like he did in a prior episode. This fall seemed worse, though, because he started convulsing.
“Dude, I just passed out,” he said after a couple of seconds and regaining consciousness. While his tribe comforts him, O’Kane expresses frustration, even saying, “I’m pissed.” They believe his concern is that he’ll be medically removed from the game.
Kellie Nalbandian, a fellow Team Lulu member and a critical care nurse from New York City, explained to O’Kane that he probably stood up too fast, which caused his blood pressure to drop. “Give yourself a break,” she said. “We’re running on literally nothing out here.”
O’Kane explained that two years before becoming a Survivor contestant he started his weight loss journey. “It would just kill me for me to do what I’ve done with my body in the past few years and then just to give out,” O’Kane said, adding, “I don’t want to get pulled. I’d rather get voted out.”
Team Brando or Team Drew
Meanwhile, Team Reba spent some time licking their wounds after returning from a dramatic tribal council. What made it so dramatic was that they lost a player in a 3-1-1 vote after he begged them to send him home. To make matters worse, they believe he lied about who he voted for on his way out the door, which caused a rift between the players.
But the action that would matter by the end of the episode was happening at Camp Belo, where Emily Flippen was being transformed from a pariah to a prize because everyone was trying to win her allegiance. The two pulling the hardest were Brandon “Brando” Meyer and Drew Basile.
Meyer, who originated as a Reba castaway, failed to bond with Basile over their love Pokemon. Basile, who already stored an award and a bond with Li Coon and other castaways, reasoned he should prioritize pragmatic relationships over shared interests.
Noting the rejection, Meyer then tried appealing to Flippen, who said she felt “torn” and didn’t know who to trust. But losing the immunity challenge helped put things into perspective.
In the scramble, both Basile and Flippen realized that Meyer had shared the same lie with both of them. After realizing they could trust each other, they thought Meyer was the one who ought to go. And that’s what happened. Meyer was voted out 3-2.
Watch Survivor on air Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. Eastern on CBS.
