Fourteen castaways, including two contestants with ties to New York, remain in Fiji after a double elimination in Episode 5 of "Survivor 51."
As the three new tribes continued to test their alliances, two tribal councils delivered plenty of drama, including the season's first stalemate vote.
Here's what happened in Episode 5 of "Survivor 51."
Who are the two New York contestants on 'Survivor 51'?
"Survivor 51" features two contestants with ties to New York.
The first is Mike Pinsky, 32, an assistant director of baseball operations for the New York Yankees. Pinsky was assigned to the Toka tribe, where he formed early connections with former WWE NXT wrestler Brady Booker and Maggie Nestor.
Pinsky was initially part of a major alliance led by Devin Way. However, he is now struggling to build new connections
within the revamped Toka tribe and has become a target.
The second New York contestant is Ori Jean-Charles, 27, a personal trainer from Spring Valley. An early fan favorite, Jean-Charles formed a Day 1 alliance with Way, Angelica "Jelly" Loblack and Sharonda Cox that continues to play a major role in the season.
What happened in Episode 5 of 'Survivor 51'?
The episode picks up after the previous tribal council, where Way celebrated successfully rallying his alliance to eliminate Jenna Doore, his first target from the former Toka tribe.
The new Savu tribe initially bonded after the vote, bringing Alexis Levine into its previously established alliance.
Jean-Charles also shared more of his personal story. He spoke about his mother's immigration to the United States and how she supported her children with her wages from working at McDonald's. He said he hopes to use the prize money to retire her.
Way and Levine shared parts of their own backstories, too. Way revealed that two of his brothers died at young ages, while Levine said her past substance abuse struggles inspired her to become a criminal defense attorney.
On the new Toka tribe, relationships appeared to be developing, but tensions remained. Thien An Nguyen continued to view Pinsky as a target because of his lack of meaningful connections. Meanwhile, Nestor identified Kristin Flickinger as a threat, citing Flickinger's extensive knowledge of Fiji's plants as an asset to her game.
Booker also began questioning his alliances after Nestor told him she wanted to target Flickinger. He worried that the extra vote he had allowed Nestor to take from him in Episode 4 might no longer be in safe hands.
On the Dina tribe, Danny Kilby continued to build a strong bond with Erick Maksoud, apparently frustrating some of their fellow tribemates, particularly Lewis Kelly.
Kelly tried to improve his position, recognizing that he could be the tribe's biggest target if it lost immunity. Most of the tribe had come from the former Savu tribe, leaving Kelly in a vulnerable position.
Who was eliminated in Episode 5?
The tribes' early bonding did not last. After a difficult immunity challenge, only Toka secured safety for the night, along with a reward of pastries.
On Savu, Loblack had to reconsider her alliance with Way. She faced a choice between following his plan to vote out Levine or siding with the only other woman in the tribe to target Way.
Ultimately, Levine became the fifth contestant eliminated this season, and the so-called "helicopter alliance" survived another vote.
On Dina, Kelly realized he was in danger after the immunity loss. He scrambled to build an alliance with Cox, even attempting to persuade her to accept a fake idol.
Nestor then intervened, using her two extra votes to help protect her former Toka connections, Kelly and Kilby. One of those votes was the extra vote she had taken from Booker.
But the votes came with conditions. Nestor wanted Linnea Capobianco eliminated and instructed Kelly and Kilby to force a tie vote and draw rocks if the tribe could not agree on Capobianco as the target.
The plan worked, resulting in a 4-4 tie between Capobianco and Kelly. The rest of the tribe was shocked to learn that Kilby and Kelly had two extra votes and refused to risk drawing rocks to determine who would go home.
Capobianco became the sixth contestant eliminated this season, extending the season's streak of female contestants being voted out.
What is new in this season of 'Survivor'?
This season introduces a new theme called the "Open Era." Under the format, advantages and twists from previous seasons can return at any time, making the game less predictable.
Host Jeff Probst also revealed that the theme could bring back a coin toss introduced in Season 50, potentially increasing the show's prize money to $2 million.
Probst explained that if a contestant loses the coin toss, the prize money would still increase but carry over to the next season. For example, Season 52 contestants could compete for $2 million, while another coin toss could raise the prize to $3 million.
When is the next 'Survivor' episode?
New episodes of "Survivor" air Wednesdays at 8 p.m. on CBS and stream live on Paramount+ for Premium subscribers. Episodes are also available to stream the following day.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: ‘Survivor 51’ Episode 5 recap: Who was eliminated?
