What Is the Mergatory in Survivor? Followers Aren’t Impressed

Each season of Survivor hits a turning level on the merge when a sport of tribes turns into particular person. In Survivor 46, that turning level got here in Episode 6 throughout the “mergatory,” a limbo between the official merge and the tribal portion of the sport. Within the New Period, the mergatory has change into a convention, nevertheless it wasn’t all the time like that.

For old-school Survivor followers simply choosing up the present once more after years of watching, this a part of the sport is perhaps a bit complicated. Because the mergatory has now occurred for the sixth time in a row, host Jeff Probst didn’t give it as a lot rationalization as he usually does. However don’t fear! We’re right here to clarify what the mergatory is.

In case you consider Survivor as having two phases — the tribes and the person phases — the “mergatory” falls someplace in between. It truly didn’t get its title from the Survivor producers however from the gamers who felt “caught” in it, typically credited to Season 41 participant Tiffany Seely. It’s a mashup between “the merge” and “purgatory” symbolizing this part that’s primarily a limbo within the sport.

In each season of Survivor earlier than Season 41, when gamers had been informed to “drop their buffs,” it was both due to a tribe swap or a full merge. They’d nearly all the time get a brand new buff (the exception being gamers despatched to Exile Island in a few seasons). However within the New Period, when the castaways drop their buffs, they don’t robotically get a brand new one.

As a substitute, castaways are cut up into two non permanent “groups” through a random rock draw to compete towards each other in an immunity problem. Whichever workforce wins the problem additionally wins immunity within the subsequent Tribal Council, throughout which all remaining gamers of the sport vote. As well as, there’s sometimes one participant left over, who has the choice to aspect with whichever workforce they assume will win and due to this fact keep on with them, win or lose.

So, for instance, in Survivor 46, Tiffany selected appropriately and sided with the profitable workforce. Seven gamers had been immune and 6 had been susceptible at Tribal Council, however all 13 had been in a position to forged a vote (except they beforehand misplaced their vote by a drawback). After the voted-out participant was eradicated, the remaining 5 “susceptible” castaways acquired their buffs and formally joined the merge.

In line with Jeff, gamers now have to “earn the merge.” Many have argued that that is foolish — gamers already earn the merge by attending to that time within the sport. However podcaster Rob Cesternino argues on RHAP that the “mergatory” is a model of a tribe swap. In older seasons, the merge doesn’t sometimes come till there are solely 10 gamers left, though that was elevated to 12 gamers in sure seasons.

Typically earlier than the merge, tribes would swap from three tribes to 2 tribes for one or two episodes. This may typically create new dynamics within the challenges and in Tribal Council. The “mergatory” is basically only a model of this, besides that each one gamers have a say in who goes dwelling.

But it surely does create some unfair dynamics. As an illustration, solely the workforce that wins the problem will get to truly benefit from the Merge Feast, which was a milestone for a lot of Survivor gamers. This additionally units them up with extra energy and vitality for future challenges within the particular person portion of the sport. As well as, the profitable workforce, which is often a majority due to the random seventh one who can typically appropriately predict who will win, has rather more energy within the vote, which might determine the path of the sport.

No less than it’s not as dangerous because the Season 41 and 42 hourglass twist, formally known as the “Change Historical past Benefit.” In these seasons, the mergatory got here with an extra twist during which an additional participant was despatched to Exile Island and had the choice to show again time by smashing an hourglass. In doing so, the workforce that misplaced would then be given immunity. However gamers and followers had been so upset by this unfair accident that it was faraway from subsequent seasons.