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Probably the biggest, most unexpected development on Survivor Redemption Island came at the end of the episode during the preview—or seconds earlier on Twitter , if you were watching the show by reading Jeff Probst type what was about to happen three seconds later. The news was that tribes would merge next week after the final Redemption Island duel, which seems early but is about right on time. At this week’s duel, Matt won again, beating Stephanie in a game of memory because higher powers, who are apparently playing the game for him, wanted him to stick around (“I told God that I’m going to stay out here as long as he wants me to be out here,” Matt told us), so if he wins next week’s final duel, the sixth, he will have swept them. That’s an impressive feat, but he’ll face an even bigger one: Finding his way back into a game that he was voted out of. I’m not sure what I think about the duels ending at the merge. Is it a pretty fair point for Matt—er, the winner of next week’s duel—t...

Survivor Nicaragua has reached its halfway point, and it’s time for the merge—and some insane stuff like theft, confessions, and a lack of consequences for one’s actions, which is clearly this season’s theme. The merge means another new merged tribe name, although one that’s considerably less absurd than in the past (hello, Nobag), and also introductions to new people and re-introductions to old allies. It also means I’m tired of recapping episodes in the normal way, so instead, here’s a recap of introductions the Libertad tribe members would use if they were being completely honest with one another—and themselves. Hi, I’m Alina , and I have no idea why everyone hates me and voted me out except that I joined in stealing food and supplies for no reason at all, and because the only thing that escapes my personality vacuum is my obvious intelligence and active strategy that makes everyone feel threatened. Hi, I’m Brenda , and the editors forgot to make it look like I was running the game...