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SURVIVOR RECAP!

Aiga (Merged) Tribe: Brett, Jaison, Mick, Natalie, Russell H., Shambo

The Jury: Erik, Kelly, Laura, John, Dave, Monica

Losers: Marisa, Mike, Betsy, Ben, Yasmin, Ashley, Russell S., Liz

DAVE AND MONICA VOTED OUT IN DOUBLE BOOT EPISODE

After returning to camp from Tribal Council, Shambo is shocked at how the vote went down. “I had no idea they were voting John. The plan was to vote Dave and I am positively stunned,” she fumes. Russell immediately assesses the damage caused by going against Shambo by reassuring her that keeping her in the dark was necessary in order to protect her from John. Russell makes Shambo believe that John was gunning for her before the last Tribal Council, so he had to go against Shambo’s wishes of voting out Dave. “Next time, Russ, we need to get rid of Dave,” Shambo firmly states. “This is too easy,” says Russell.

GUNNING FOR RUSSELL

As the sun rises over the Aiga camp the following morning, Jaison exposes Russell’s secret to Brett and Monica as they strategize by the beach. “He told Mick he made two million dollars last year,” Jaison reveals. Brett tries to persuade Jaison to turn on Russell, but Jaison reminds him that it is just a matter of time since Russell only has until Day 36 to play the hidden immunity idol at Tribal Council. Brett sees this as a sign of weakness in the Foa Foa Four. “I’m starting to see some of the cracks in their armor and I think this will be the time that tests their loyalty to each other,” Brett hypothesizes.

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE: FAUXCONUT BOWLING

The Aiga tribe arrives on their mat at an outdoor bowling alley. Host Jeff Probst shocks the castaways when he announces that they will be playing for immunity and not for a reward, as they had expected. He then describes the rules of the challenge, which will be a Survivor Bowling Tournament. Tribe members will be randomly matched up against one another and will have two shots to roll the ball and knock down as many pins as they can. The winner moves on to the next round, while the loser is out of the challenge. The last person left standing wins immunity.

Shambo triumphs over Natalie in the first match up. “This is for all of my friends that play on a bowling league,” says Shambo. Russell defeats Brett in the next match up, and Jaison defeats Monica in the following match up. Dave bowls a strike, defeating Mick in the last match up of the first round. In the first match up of the second round, Shambo beats Russell. Jaison beats Dave in the next match up, moving him on to the final round against Shambo. Jaison wins his second individual immunity in a row after defeating Shambo in the final round.

WHAT TO DO WITH SHAMBO

As the final eight castaways return to camp after the immunity challenge, they begin to discuss whom to vote out next. Dave warns Monica to be mindful of Russell’s actions, which might help them deduce who is on the chopping block. The Foa Foa Four’s most obvious decision is to vote out Dave in order to keep Shambo on their side. “We stirred up enough by getting rid of John. We don’t want to anger her or get her upset,” says Mick. Monica suddenly begins to stir up trouble amongst the Foa Foa Four by planting seeds in Russell’s head to get rid of Shambo. Russell, now on the fence of who to oust next, advises Dave that, in order to keep himself in the game, he must vote for Shambo at the upcoming Tribal Council. “Truthfully, I don’t even need Shambo. I could let Shambo throw away her vote just like she did against John, and I could get rid of Shambo,” Russell ponders. “I believe what Russ says, but if Dave is not voted off tonight, I think Russ and I are going to be having a chat,” says Shambo in the moments before Tribal Council.

TRIBAL COUNCIL

At Tribal Council, Shambo reaffirms her desire to take the strongest people to the end, but admits that voting out John was not her decision. Dave lays out his strategy of taking people with him to the end that think they would do better with him in the finals, while Russell’s strategy is quite the opposite. “If you know that some people are gonna get all the votes, then you wanna get rid of them,” says Russell. With this, Shambo got her wish, and Dave was voted out with seven out of the eight votes cast against him. Dave Ball, the 38 year-old fitness instructor from Los Angeles, California, became the eleventh person voted out and the fifth member of the jury of SURVIVOR: SAMOA.

NEXT ON THE CHOPPING BLOCK

The next morning, Russell worries that Brett may be the last powerful player in the game and must be the next to go. Mick becomes paranoid over Russell’s comments at the previous Tribal Council, and approaches him with concern. “Last night you’re like if somebody feels like the jury is gonna like them more, you got to get rid of them,” Mick worries. Russell reassures Mick that he was simply referring to Brett when he made that comment. “It makes me nervous thinking you’re nervous,” Russell warns Mick. With Mick’s loyalty to Russell uncertain, Russell begins to question whether he should keep his old ally around. “When you freak out that much, you’ll flip. That worries me that he’s gonna send me home, ‘cause that’s what I would do,” Russell reveals.

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE: WALK ON WATER

The Aiga tribe arrives on their mat. Host Jeff Probst explains the rules of the challenge. Each tribe member must race out into the water, retrieve one of three bags and race back. They will then use a plank to launch their bag into their basket. The first person to get all three of their bags into their basket wins immunity.

The castaways race out into the water to retrieve their bags and immediately return to the beach. Brett is the first to get his bag into his basket with Mick, Russell and Shambo right behind. Brett gets his second bag in the basket, followed by Mick and Russell. Brett returns with his final bag, but continues to miss. This gives Mick an opportunity to catch up, but ultimately, Brett is able to get his final bag in his basket and wins immunity.

MONICA STIRS UP TROUBLE

With Brett safe at the upcoming Tribal Council, Monica is aware that she is the last of the original Galu tribe besides Shambo, who has been aligned with Foa Foa since the beginning. Monica’s only hope is to cause chaos amongst the Foa Foa Four by pitting them against one another. She approaches Russell with the knowledge that he is already a multi-millionaire, and reveals that it was Natalie who spilled the beans and turned against him. Feeling betrayed, Russell is furious and storms off to confront Natalie. “I never told her what you just said,” Natalie reassures Russell after he accused her of betraying him. Russell is now completely confused, and confronts Brett to find out who ratted him out. Brett tells Russell the truth, stating that it was Jaison who revealed the secret. Russell reprimands Jaison for carelessly revealing information that was considered to be confidential to Monica and her Galu cohorts. Although Jaison ultimately admits to being the culprit, he brushes it off, stating that Monica is simply trying to stay in the game. After Russell leaves Jaison’s side, Jaison contemplates getting rid of Russell after witnessing his outbursts against his own allies. Russell, however, smells trouble, and stuffs his immunity idol in his pocket to prepare for the worst should he need to use it at Tribal Council.

TRIBAL COUNCIL

At Tribal Council, Russell shocks everyone when he instantly takes out the hidden immunity idol and places it around his neck. “I think Russell is getting a little cocky up in here,” Monica states. “Nobody knows what you’re gonna do with it. That’s what makes it so powerful,” Russell confirms. Shambo describes the scenario at camp when Monica caused chaos amongst the Foa Foa Four. Monica expresses delight in shaking up her opponents, while Russell reveals that her actions only placed a target on her back. After the vote, Russell opts to not play the hidden immunity idol. Ultimately, Russell made the right move, and Monica was voted out with five out of the seven votes cast against her. Monica Padilla, the 25 year-old law student from San Diego, California, became the twelfth person voted out and the sixth member of the jury of SURVIVOR: SAMOA.

I'll be back on Thursday with next week's preview and picks.