Survivor Philippines Episode 5 Recap: Matsing Disbands, Two Leave the Game

This week’s Survivor Philippines was not without the drama. We got to see a tribe disbanded, a medical emergency and a blindside.

At the start of the episode, Denise and Malcom are left wondering what’s going to happen to them since Russell’s exit last week means that Matsing is down to only two members. They’re pretty sure they’re going to get tossed into the other tribes, so they do everything they can to find the immunity idol while they still can. Malcom finally finds the idol in the rice container.

At the reward challenge (finally!), Jeff confirms what Denise and Malcom figured. Matsing is over and they’re asked to draw new buffs. Malcom draws a Tandang buff and Denise draws a Kalabaw buff. They went from alliance members to opposing tribes. So far, Survivor 2012 has been the Matsing show. Maybe now I can finally learn who all of these other players are! On to the challenge. Malcom becomes an instant hero for his new tribe as he wins them coffee, muffins and cookies.

Malcom is on cloud nine as he went from a team that has lost everything week after week to the winning team.

Meanwhile, the Kalabaw Tribe is about to get hit with another loss. Dana is suddenly ill and it looks like things are pretty bad. The medical team comes in to treat her and give their prognosis. They clear Dana to continue in the competition, but Jeff leaves it up to her whether or not she thinks she can compete. She decides to bow out. So Kalabaw gains Denise and loses Dana.

At the immunity challenge, there’s only one idol this week, of course so for the first time this season, a new tribe will be going to council. The obstacle/puzzle challenge isn’t without its drama. Malcom and Denise are really pulling their weight as the new tribe members and in the end, it’s Katie that basically leads the Kalabaw Tribe to the loss. Malcom and the Tandang win the immunity idol. So once again Denise will head to Tribal along with the rest of her new tribe.

Denise’s strong showing in the challenge keeps the radar off her back, so she quickly aligns with Jeff, Jonathan and Carter. Talk then turns to Katie messing up the game. So it’s looking like Katie might be leaving the game. But then Dawson starts messing with Jeff, throwing out baseball and pro-sports talk just to make him squirm. And that wasn’t  a smart decision because then Jeff decides maybe Dawson should go home since she knows his secret.

At Tribal Council there’s not a lot of drama. Dawson defends her worthiness and Katie apologies for sucking. In the end, Denise gets one vote from Dawson and all the other votes are for Dawson. She’s voted out. She’s stunned.

What did you think of this week’s episode of Survivor? Denise and Malcom are monsters. How far can they get in this thing?