Survivor 42 is heading toward a possible merge during the next episode of the show.
However, this may not be the typical merge that Survivor fans remember from the first 40 seasons as the producers tried to shake things up with the latest two seasons that were filmed in Fiji.
It appears that this merge on Survivor 42, Episode 6 is going to be much like what took place during Survivor 41, where the final 12 castaways will get split up to compete in a challenge.
It’s also time for Survivor fans to prepare for the possible revelation of that hourglass twist again. And, of course, a huge debate among viewers will take place about whether or not it is something that is ruining the show.
Last season, Erika Casupanan was sent to live by herself on an island after the Merge Challenge took place. Host Jeff Probst showed up with an hourglass and a proposition, giving Erika the chance to break the hourglass and reverse the results of the Merge Challenge.
Survivor 42, Episode 6 TV promo
Below is the TV promo that CBS is currently running for the April 13 episode of Survivor 42. In it, we hear Jeff tell the castaways to drop their buffs, leading to a lot of excitement. They expect a merge, but since they haven’t seen what happened on Survivor 41 yet, they don’t know that Jeff is about to present a huge twist.
How did the hourglass twist work on Survivor 41?
A Merge Challenge took place on Survivor 41, with the remaining castaways split up into two groups to compete. The winning team got to enjoy a really nice merge feast, while the losing team had to head back to the beach.
Two teams of five people each competed, with two people sitting out. Once the challenge was over, the winning team got to choose one of those two people to join them for the feast. The other person (Erika Casupanan) was sent to Exile Island to live by herself for a while.
Erika was then presented with the hourglass twist. She could choose to keep the results from the Merge Competition the same and grant the six people now on the winning team with Individual Immunity. Or she could break the hourglass, and it would give the other five people and herself Immunity.
Erika broke the hourglass, forcing the six winners of the Merge Challenge to then compete in an Individual Immunity Challenge and then head to tribal council with five of them at risk of getting voted out of the game.
It’s not completely clear if the twist will work the same way on Survivor 42 that it did on Survivor 41, but the way that the season has worked out so far, it looks like Jeff is about to present one castaway with the same choice that he gave to Erika.
To catch up on previous episodes from Survivor 42, fans can stream them on Paramount+. This is also a good opportunity to go back and watch the Survivor 41 episode where the new merge and hourglass twist got presented for the first time.
And for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet, Daniel Strunk gave interviews about his elimination and why he kept sitting out challenges.
Host Jeff Probst also answered questions about shutting down that dangerous challenge this season.
Survivor 42 airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on CBS.
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