Survivor featured the "Va Va Tribe" blindsiding and voting out Danny Massa after Carolyn Wiger played a big move during the Season 44 episode that aired Wednesday night on CBS.
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Danny, a 32-year-old NYC firefighter from Bronx, NY, was voted out of Survivor 44 at Tribal Council on Night 21 of the game through a 3-2-2 vote instead of Heidi Lagares-Greenblatt, a 43-year-old engineering manager from Ponce, Puerto Rico, who currently resides in Pittsburgh, PA, and Carson Garrett, a 20-year-old NASA engineering student from Rome, GA, who currently resides in Atlanta, GA.
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Carolyn, a 35-year-old drug counselor from North St. Paul, MN, who currently resides in Hugo, MN, played her hidden Immunity Idol for Carson at the Tribal Council session.
"I got voted out by a great move. That's how I wanted to do it. It was certainly clever," Danny said in his final words.
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"I played my heart out, I left it all out there. I have no regrets. This was the adventure of my life, for sure -- I'll tell you that much. And, you know, Jeff had to snuff my torch, so he's going to get the DeNiro face. He likes to snuff torches, let him snuff my torch."
The Survivor broadcast began following Frannie Marin's vote-off at Tribal Council.
Yamil "Yam Yam" Arocho, a 36-year-old salon owner from Bayamon, Puerto Rico, who currently resides in San Juan, Puerto Rico, said he couldn't resist the "juicy" target, but he knew leaving Carolyn out of the vote was going to present him with a problem.
"It backfired," Yam Yam noted, as Carolyn was shown crying and complaining about the betrayal.
Carolyn -- who was clearly heartbroken to lose someone she really trusted in Frannie -- yelled at her former allies, Yam Yam and Carson, "You lied to me all day! Move on with [other people]. I didn't expect this from you two."
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Carolyn said the men were just telling her what she wanted to hear so that she would vote with them on the next vote. She wasn't convinced the guys really cared about her, and she didn't know what to do or say.
Danny received one vote at the previous Tribal Council, which he never saw coming, and Heidi suggested maybe it was from Frannie. Danny said he only trusted Heidi in the game going forward.
But Heidi was actually the one who had written Danny's name down.
"I never in a million years thought he would still be here, so I'm going to lie my way out of this one because he's my closest ally. And I got two votes at Tribal Council that I did not see coming at all," Heidi told the cameras.
"Luckily, I still have my idol. So I need to somehow come up with a plan of how to get out of here and not be at the bottom of the totem pole for the next one."
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On Day 20, Carolyn was determined to keep Tika together and continue working with Yam Yam and Carson. She also had an idol no one knew about, and so she felt like she was in a good position.
Carson then shared with his allies how they needed to warn Danny that Heidi was the one who had betrayed him and written his name down. Yam Yam followed through and spilled the beans to Danny, who appeared shocked and confused.
Danny wasn't sure who was telling the truth, but he couldn't picture Heidi going rogue like that and making such a random, strange move. Heidi continued to lie to Danny, saying she wasn't the one who had cast the vote.
Danny seemed to believe Heidi, and so he wondered if Yam Yam and Tika were just trying to wedge mistrust between Heidi and himself and split them up.
"I would find it difficult to find first graders who would buy that story," Danny said of Yam Yam's allegation.
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Danny therefore set his sights on targeting Tika.
Later on, Yam Yam, Carolyn and Carson discussed going to the Final 3 together and how they thought Danny and Lauren Harpe, a 31-year-old elementary school teacher from Port Arthur, TX, who currently resides in Mont Belvieu, TX, were the biggest threats left. They mentioned voting Lauren.
Meanwhile, Danny and Lauren talked about how they needed to go after Tika and use the help of Jaime Lynn Ruiz, a 35-year-old Yogi from Mesa, AZ. Lauren agreed Tika had been running the show, and Heidi got onboard with voting out Carson or Yam Yam next.
Jaime admitted she was nervous working with Danny and Lauren but their interests were aligned, and that was to go after Yam Yam because everyone liked him.
"Yam Yam has played a fantastic game. He's amazing socially with everyone... But those three have to be broken up, that's the No. 1 goal," Jaime explained in a confessional.
Danny said it wasn't personal and it was strictly business. He pointed out how Survivor cannot be won without being aggressive.
"I'm playing hard and I'm trying to win. I didn't come here to take part; I came here to take over," Danny said, before he was shown celebrating "the Final 7" with his allies.
On Day 21, the "Va Va Tribe" met Survivor host Jeff Probst for the next Individual Immunity Challenge.
Yam Yam recognized the challenge was a "Survivor classic," designed to test the castaways' ability to overcome fear. Yam Yam immediately got nervous, knowing he'd have to hold his breath under a grate in the water.
Jeff instructed each player to get into the ocean under a grated steel barrier. As the tide rose, their breathing room would decrease, allowing panic to set in.
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The last person left standing would win immunity and be guaranteed a spot in the Final 6. The next person voted out would become the fifth member of Survivor 44's jury.
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Lauren dropped out after an hour, and then she was followed by Jaime, Carson, Carolyn, and Danny.
The challenge became a showdown between Heidi and Yam Yam.
After one hour and 25 minutes -- when Jeff said the castaways were "absolutely miserable" -- Yam Yam pulled out a victory. He stayed underwater and Danny had to jump in the ocean and let Yam Yam know he had won.
Yam Yam cried because he was so proud of himself for winning, and he said he had the numbers to take someone out and ride to the end. He was just relieved his name wasn't going to be written down that night.
Later that day, Carson pointed out to Carolyn how it was a critical vote because they just needed to get down to six for Tika to have the majority.
Meanwhile, the other side was planning to go after Carson, someone they thought would win the game if he got to the end. Danny said he didn't want to go to the Final 3 with Carson, and so he planned to tell Tika that they should split the vote on Jaime and Lauren.
The upcoming Tribal Council was going to be the castaways' last chance to play Shot in the Dark. Yam Yam was excited to get Lauren or Jaime out, because he said he didn't need them. Lauren and Heidi, meanwhile, boasted about how Tika probably wouldn't see the Carson vote coming.
Heidi predicted Carolyn was going to be "a cannonball" once they returned to camp post-Tribal, and they weren't looking forward to that, but Heidi said she thought Carson was a big threat.
Carolyn then suddenly voiced to Yam Yam how she didn't feel something was right. She grew worried that the other side was going to vote for Carson. Carolyn did some investigating and approached Danny about possibly voting out Carson -- just to feel him out and see where he was at -- and Danny voiced how it was "bad timing" for a blindside.
"You're lying to me!" Carolyn vented to the cameras. "I still need Carson around, and so I want to vote out Danny. I don't trust him at all and he has a good chance to win immunities."
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Carolyn then told Carson that she had a feeling his name was being thrown out there. Carson worried he was "screwed," and so he pitched to Jaime and Lauren possibly splitting the vote between Danny and Heidi. Carson pitched the idea that Danny had an idol.
Carson was convinced Jaime and Lauren were going to work with him over Danny, but the women had a big decision to make. Jaime talked to Lauren about how Danny hadn't won immunity and was bad at puzzles, but Lauren mentioned how she trusted Carson more than she trusted Danny.
"I think Tika has the numbers. That would also be a benefit of taking Carson out," Jamie said. "They're going to pick us off one by one."
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Jaime recognized she and Lauren had "all the power" since Heidi was going to vote with Danny.
Yam Yam agreed with Carolyn that it seemed like the other side was targeting Carson, and so the pair agreed to vote for Danny. Carolyn insisted they weren't ready to lose Carson yet, but Yam Yam advised her to be chill and not make waves.
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Carolyn then revealed to Carson that she had an idol, and Carson nearly cried with pride. Carson said he was "in awe" of Carolyn's gameplay, and he hoped she would play the idol to save him.
Carolyn, however, worried Danny would also play an idol for himself and then maybe she'd go home with a couple of votes on her. Carolyn was clearly nervous about making the wrong decision.
Carson then suggested they put two votes on Heidi so that Heidi would go home if Danny played his idol.
On Night 21, the Va Va Tribe attended Tribal Council.
Carolyn told Jeff that she never slept and was constantly thinking about the next plan. Carolyn said she also second-guessed herself and never knew what to expect.
There was some tension between Carolyn, Danny and Lauren at Tribal, and Jeff commended Carolyn for speaking her mind and wearing her emotions on her sleeve.
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Jaime said she felt good about the roles each person was playing that night, and Danny said he was going to trust the people who had the same objectives and wanted the same things.
Carson, a self-declared "quirky person," then shared how he battled insecurities within himself during the game and learned to love and accept himself for who he is.
"I'm putting my trust in people who did not vote with me last time. I'm nervous," Carolyn announced.
It then became time to vote, and when it was Carolyn's turn, she hesitated for quite some time before writing a name down.
Before reading the votes aloud, Jeff asked if anyone wanted to play a hidden Immunity Idol.
Carolyn, once again, hesitated, but then she decided to play her idol for Carson, which made Yam Yam laugh and Danny's mouth drop. Carson gave Carolyn a hug and the pair smiled at each other.
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Jeff proceeded to read the votes in the following order: Carson, Carson, Danny, Danny, Heidi, Heidi, and Danny.
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Carolyn and Carson celebrated their success, and Danny did a Robert DeNiro impression on his way out. Danny complimented Carolyn on a "great move," saying it was "poetic justice."
The episode's closing credits later showed that Danny and Heidi voted for Carson, Lauren and Jaime voted for Heidi, and then Yam Yam, Carson, and Carolyn voted for Danny.