Survivor 46 exclusive deleted scene goes from sunrise to game face

Sometimes when playing Survivor, it’s important to take time out to enjoy the majestic beauty all around you. The soothing sounds of waves lapping up on sand, the sight of a sunrise on the horizon, the tranquility of a new day dawning. Ahhhhh, Fiji. What an absolute marvel!

And other times, one must tell Mother Nature to get to steppin’ in order to focus on what’s really important — winning that cash money.

Both of those approaches are on display in an exclusive deleted scene for episode 6 of Survivor 46 that you can only watch here. The scene begins in Survivor limbo — which is kind of like the final season of Lost, but without all that sideways story action. The three tribes have all moved over to the Nami beach, but have not yet officially merged, or even had the “earn the merge” challenge that will determine who will have immunity and who will be at risk of a serious torch snuffing.

The scene begins on day 13 with the sleepy group assembling on the beach to press pause on the game talk and take in the sunrise. “Everybody just take this as the last moment before it gets real,” says ultimate Survibe-or Ben Katzman. And then, things get real. That’s because Kenzie Petty has been on the receiving end of a Tree Mail dropping hints about that day’s upcoming immunity challenge… although she seems to have a bit of difficulty reading it to the tribe.

And with that, it’s back into game mode. “We got Tree Mail this morning,” explains Maria Shrime-Gonzalez. “And what I'm expecting, just from based on previous seasons, is that we have 13 people, so we're probably going to be split into two teams of six, and then you don't know who's going to be on your team of six, and hopefully you get a team that wins, and then hopefully you've earned the merge.”

Very perceptive, Maria! We then see Maria, Kenzie, and Tiffany Nicole Ervin discussing their current mindsets. “Are you excited for today?” asks Kenzie.

It seems Tiffany is enthused not just to take part in the challenge, but also to get into all the warp speed strategy and social gameplay that comes with the merge. “I'm excited to start playing,” says Tiffany. “For real. I like getting to know everybody, but I want to play the game.” (That excitement would be at least partially dashed when Tiffany later pulled the gray rock, meaning she was not allowed to participate in the earn the merge challenge.)

As for Kenzie, she could not properly focus on other aspects of the game until she was safely through the merge. “I'll feel better once I have a buff, then I’ll be like, 'Okay, now I’ll play.'"

Like Kenzie, Maria was also solely focused on the impending physical contest: “I think that this is another big challenge, and I'm ready.” Unfortunately for her, Jeff Probst was also ready with a rock-pull that would render Maria’s readiness pretty much moot. But hey, that’s Survivor!

Check out the exclusive deleted scene for yourself above, and also make sure to read our full episode recap.

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