During Wednesday’s merge episode of “Survivor: Edge of Extinction,” the remaining 12 castaways plus Extinction Island champ Rick Devens merged together into a new red tribe. Eagle-eyed viewers saw on-screen that the tribe was called “Vata,” but where did this name come from? Well, CBS’s latest deleted scene reveals that Lauren O’Connell came up with the name, which the rest of her tribe universally approved. “Vata is just like ever-moving, ever-changing,” Lauren explained before adding, “it’s a sign that means adaptability.” Watch the “Survivor” deleted scene video above.
The 13 members of the newly named Vata tribe celebrated by applauding and dancing around their new digs. “It’s great to finally be together with everyone,” noted Eric Hafemann. Eric has reason to be happy since he came into the merge with a dominate six-person alliance that also includes Victoria Baamonde, Julia Carter, Ron Clark, Julie Rosenberg and Gavin Whitson.
Later in a confessional David Wright chimed in, “Our merged tribe name is Vata, which means ever-changing, which is perfect for ‘Survivor’ because that’s exactly what happens in ‘Survivor.’ We saw that with this Edge of Extinction twist.” David’s buddy Rick returned from Extinction Island in dramatic fashion after a hard-fought battle against the other deserted castaways.
The Vata tribe members discovered that there was a sewing kit waiting for them at camp, in addition to paint so that they could decorate their new flag. “We get back and we’re a merged beach and we see that Jeff Probst has added paint for the flag and a sewing kit to the mix,” noted David. “That’s fantastic. We can repair holes in our clothes and it turns out we’ve actually got some people who can sew at camp. It’s a way to bond even more.”
“I’d love to do the flag,” volunteered Joe Anglim, which actually might have been his ultimate downfall. In the episode fans saw Joe spending all of his time painting the Vata flag instead of scrambling for votes. Joe ended up being eliminated by his former Kama alliance of six, led by ringleader Ron. “The theme of the merge flag was a phoenix, but you gotta die to be born again, and that’s exactly what I’m gonna do this season,” Joe later promised during his exit interview.
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