‘Survivor 44’ Episode 7: Who Is the Castaway of the Week?

The Survivor 44 cast encountered numerous twists in episode 7, “Let’s Not Be Cute About It.” Undoubtedly, the producers did too much during the hour (it’s time to let the players play the game). But despite the abundance of advantages and twists in episode 7, one castaway managed to secure their safety and now finds themselves in a good position.

[Spoiler alert: This article contains spoilers from Survivor 44 Episode 7, “Let’s Not Be Cute About It.”]

Lauren Harpe | Photo: Robert Voets/CBS

Who was voted out in ‘Survivor 44’ Episode 7?

Following Josh Wilder’s exit in Survivor 44 Episode 6, the castaways scrambled to find their next target in episode 7. Yam Yam did a good job of clearing his name. But he didn’t really have to do much work because Danny was focused on getting Lauren out because of her extra vote. And once Matt realized that Danny likely found the real birdcage idol, everyone else plotted to target Danny.

At the Immunity Challenge, host Jeff Probst informed the 11 players they would be split into two teams of five. One person would win individual immunity from each group. And the contestant who outlasted everyone would earn immunity for their entire team.

Frannie won immunity for herself, Caroyln, Danny, Heidi, Carson, and Kane. Meanwhile, Brandon got individual immunity, but his group — Yam Yam, Matt, Lauren, and Jaime — were up for elimination. The two teams traveled to separate camps, and the winning crew enjoyed a food reward before hunting for a key to open the birdcage, which contained a new advantage.

Heidi ultimately got the Control a Vote advantage, which allowed her to control one person’s vote at the next Tribal Council. She decided to use it on Lauren and made her vote for Yam Yam. But in the end, it didn’t matter because while Lauren and Matt wrote Yam Yam’s name down, Yam Yam, Brandon, and Jaime wrote down Matt’s.

Matt was voted out and became the first jury member in Survivor 44 Episode 7.

Lauren Harpe is the castaway of the week

Although Lauren was on the losing team in Survivor 44 Episode 7, she’s still our castaway of the week.

Danny wants Lauren gone, but another majority is determined to vote out Danny the next chance they get. And one of the only possibilities for Danny to get his way is if he convinces Soka to stick together and reel in Tika. Lauren knew this and decided that, for her game, it was in her best interest to vote out Matt. She wanted to weaken Danny’s possible numbers, which meant getting rid of Matt. And Lauren was successful.

From what we saw, Brandon and Jaime were all for writing Yam Yam’s name down. But once Lauren learned about Danny’s master plan from Yam Yam, she must have convinced her former Ratu tribemates to target Matt.

Technically, Lauren didn’t get to vote for Matt, but she trusted her alliance members to get the job done. She didn’t waste her extra vote, so she still has that in her back pocket for future Tribal Councils.

Lauren got her way in Survivor 44 Episode 7 (and fans probably saw the most they had ever seen of her in the hour). And Lauren strengthened her position going forward, making her our castaway of the week.

What does the future hold for Lauren after Matt left in ‘Survivor 44’ Episode 7?

Following Survivor 44 Episode 7, Lauren still has her extra vote and a solid alliance with her former Ratu tribemates — Brandon, Jaime, and Kane. Plus, while Danny will probably still want to get Lauren out, almost everyone else speculates that he has an immunity idol. And an immunity idol trumps an extra vote advantage every time.

Hopefully, Lauren will use her extra vote soon so the castaways stop considering her a threat. And then, she should be in a good position to thrust herself forward in the game.

New episodes of Survivor 44 air Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

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