Many Survivor fans have fallen in love with the so-called Tika 3 over the course of Season 44. Carson Garrett, Carolyn Wiger and Yam Yam Arocho have expertly ridden the middle and swung numerous votes, while mostly remaining under the radar thanks in part to their eccentric personalities and strong social games. Last night, however, the beloved trio faced their biggest internal challenge as the remaining players conspired to vote them out and at least one of them seriously weighed the pros and cons of turning on the others. After an extremely emotional Tribal Council vote, Carson reflected on the partnership and where his head is at.
But first, let’s get into some quick spoilers for Episode 12 of Survivor 44. We’re going to talk about who was voted out; so, if you haven’t watched last night’s episode yet, get on that ASAP. It’s really good.
Heading into last night’s episode, there were only six castaways left: the Tika 3, plus Jaime, Lauren and Heidi. Carson and Carolyn seemed to assume the Tika 3 was going to stay together no matter what, but Yam Yam started to seriously consider if eliminating Carolyn might be the better play for him long-term after she publicly admitted a lot of the strategic moves she’s made so far in the game, which had others looking at her like a threat. It set the stage for a nerve-wracking Tribal Council vote in which it seemed lie Carolyn might be betrayed, but ultimately, The Three Stooges, as they call themselves, decided to stick together and vote out Jaime.
This morning, Carson took to social media and reflected on the power of that vote and what it means to him that they’ve stayed together for so long. You can check out his comment below…
From outnumbered at the merge 5 to 4 to 3 and underestimated by every other tribe now to the #Survivor Finale having kept fully intact, I am still in awe to be part of the 3 stooges or Tika 3. “It is not in numbers, but in unity, that our great strength lies” - Paine
At what point do we talk about the Tika 3 being one of the most likeable and skilled trios in the history of the show? All of them have incredibly strong social games and also, vibrant personalities. Yet, for most of the episodes, until it recently became obvious they were running everything, they were able to subtly influence votes without ever seeming to be the ones running the show. It was masterful, and now they’re in a position to potentially be the last three in the game.
Of course, potentially being the last three and being the last three are very different things. Yam Yam made it clear during the last episode that he’s open to voting out Carolyn or Carson because he wants to win the game. Carolyn also acknowledged she’d be dumb to take Carson to the finals, and Carson has proven he’s arguably the most strategic of the Tika 3 and is willing to speak his mind. There’s no way he doesn’t realize he’d have an easier time beating Lauren or Heidi in the finals.
All that is to say I have no idea what’s going to happen next week, given how wild this season has been and how much producers have gotten involved. There are a lot of possible endgames for the Tika 3, but what I do know is it’s been an absolute joy to watch these three unique personalities dominate the game together.
