‘Survivor’ 44 Unveils ‘Dorky’ Showmance in Episode 2 (RECAP)

Kelli Boyle March 8, 2023, 10:01 pm

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Survivor

Two Dorky Magnets

Season 44 • Episode 2

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[Warning: The following contains MAJOR spoilers for Survivor Season 44 Episode 2, “Two Dorky Magnets.”]

Jeff Probst promised a Survivor showmance this season, and unless there’s more than one couple to form, Survivor Season 44 Episode 2 revealed the flirty pair. With a litany of show firsts, there was no topping the stellar March 1 premiere. But Episode 2’s showmance reveal, paired with Carolyn Wiger’s endearingly outlandish quirks, made for a funny episode that further cemented the Survivor 44 cast’s notability.

CBS wasted no time hinting at who would couple up this season. The promo following last week’s two-hour premiere showed Frannie Marin and Matt Blankinship from Tribe Soka growing closer. Fans saw their bond form in the beginning of the March 8 installment, and their entire tribe caught the vibe.

Matt revealed in solo commentary that he was fresh out of a painful breakup before coming onto the show, so his spirits were already low when he lost two consecutive votes in the premiere’s summit challenge. But Frannie lifted his spirits. He soon told the cameras that he would love to ask Frannie out on a date.

At first, the edit made it seem like Frannie only saw Matt’s interest as a strategic advantage; she was the only person to whom he revealed the truth about his vote losses. But she reciprocated his interest, calling them a pair of “two dorky magnets” (the episode’s title). Fans are sure to make memes out of Claire Rafson’s reaction shots to their flirting.

Robert Voets/CBS

After catching viewers’ hearts while sitting out in last week’s immunity challenge, Claire caught Jeff’s attention during this week’s. She volunteered to sit out again, and the host’s response would make any Survivor fan shake in their boots.

Jeff Probst Dishes on 'Survivor' 44's 'Sophisticated' Players

“Is that a volunteer, or is that a Tribe decision?” he pressed, to which Claire responded, “Both?” Jeff replied with a simple but telling, “Huh,” and Claire and her Soka teammates awkwardly smiled. It seems Jeff expects Claire to play next week.

Some of the other gems from the episode came anytime Carolyn talked (her panicked/excited faces in confessional are sure to be meme’d even more than Claire), plus this riveting contribution from Danny Massa: “I’m always doing something, and when I’m doing something, I’m also doing something else.”

While doing his doings, Danny found the key to Soka’s birdcage, snagging himself a hidden immunity idol. Carolyn found Tika’s, but also revealed she has a terrible poker face (she may not get along with anyone but Yam Yam Arocho, but she’s already Miss Congeniality among fans).

Brandon Cottom from Tribe Ratu found and flushed his idol in last week’s premiere. But each of the birdcage bags contained a second item. The items have no power, but their teammates don’t have to know that. Brandon has an orange medallion, Carolyn has a beaded bracelet, and Danny has a silver coin. How they choose to use these pieces in the future will showcase strategic skill. But the extra item came of no use to Carolyn when Tika was sent to its first tribal council (Ratu came in first in the immunity challenge, Soka in second, each winning fishing gear).

Before tribal, Carolyn finally started to make more alliances beyond Yam Yam, pulling Carson Garrett into their fold. Sarah Wade didn’t have a vote, unbeknownst to everyone else. And Yam Yam and Carson’s body language evaluations of Sarah and Helen Li told them they were keeping something secret. Only one of those evaluations were correct, but Carolyn and Yam Yam clocked that Helen was a smart player, making her their tribal target.

Robert Voets/CBS

Carson wanted in on the majority vote in order to downplay his own strategic skills (he studied rocket science with NASA), but with a two-way split, it wasn’t clear going into the vote if the tide would turn against Helen and Sarah’s pick, Carolyn, or Carolyn and Yam Yam’s.

Carolyn took a risk by not playing her idol, and it paid off. She got the first vote, but the subsequent three went to Helen, making her the second player voted out of Survivor 44. Now, Carolyn and Yam Yam aren’t just the big personalities of the season. They’re Tika’s first successful alliance.

Scenes from next week’s Survivor reveal Kane Fritzler trying to prove himself, Frannie and Matt’s relationship being labelled a “liability,” and Danny… eating paper.

Survivor, Wednesdays, 8/7c, CBS