A new episode of Survivor: Kaoh Rong airs tonight on CBS. Read a live recap and join the discussion here.
Gondol returns to camp after tribal council. Scot is angry with Joe and Aubry for wavering. Joe said he was confused when Scot said “original plan.” However, Scot does not trust Joe or Aubry due to their indecision. Aubry reminds him that she did write Peter’s name, but Scot points out that she orginally wrote Julia’s name before she crossed it out. Scot snidely comments in his confessional that at his next tribal council, he’ll write both Aubry and Joe’s names multiple times and then cross out names before deciding who to vote out. The next morning, Joe comments on how Julia, Peter, and Scot are a trio that outnumber him and Aubry. He comments on Tai’s pet chicken and how the chicken has a better position in the tribe than him.
Over on Chan Loh, Cydney notices a bulge in Neal’s pocket. She believes Neal has the hidden immunity idol, and she tells Jason. Cydney and Jason now want to target Neal. However, Chan Loh are delivered mail. They learn they must now pack up and board the boat to get to the new camp. Debbie is excited. Michele says it’s a dream to made it to the merge.
The old Chan Loh tribe arrives at the Gondol beach. Everyone is excited they have made it to the merge before sharing a meal. Scot is happy to see Cydney and Jason again, and Aubry is glad to be back with Debbie and Neal. While they’re eating, Nick observes the others. He sees the former Brawn tribe as loud and wanting to be in control; he believes the Brains will be more in the shadows and play a sneaky game. After the picnic meal, Debbie and Aubry reconfirm their allegiance. Meanwhile, Nick, Neal, and Aubry talk game. They don’t like the Brawns, so they want to target them. However, they need former Beauty numbers. Nick is worried about Tai and Julia being too close to Scot now. Nick then talks to Scot and Jason, and he pretends to be on board with working with them. Scot even tells Jason and Nick that Tai has a hidden immunity idol. In his confessional, Nick comments that he does not like Jason and Scot’s overconfidence. Nick says that he can’t wait to blindside them.
The next morning, Debbie approaches Tai to form an alliance. He agrees, but he seems a bit unsure. He comments in his confessional that Debbie was too aggressive and doesn’t seem to trust her very much. Aubry watches Debbie’s methods and believes she’s going about it the wrong way. Meanwhile, Jason, Scot, Cydney, Julia, and Michele discuss the idea of the Beauties and the Brawn coming together. However, Michele does not like how controlling the former Brawn members are. She hasn’t ruled out working with the Brains yet.
Nick and Aubry have a conversation about Debbie. Nick says he’s open with working with the Brains, but is annoyed by Debbie’s game play. Later Neal and Aubry have a conversation about Debbie too. They think they are screwed due to people being bothered by Debbie. However, Neal reveals to Aubry that he has a hidden immunity idol. Aubry is happy to hear this, and she hopes they can use the idol to their advantage at the upcoming tribal council.
It’s time for the immunity challenge. Before they start, Jeff asks them about their medical conditions. Several of them have infections, including Neal, Aubry, and Tai. They say the elements are hard on all of them. Afterwards, it’s time for the challenge. Each player must stand on a perch while balancing balls on a disc. As the challenge progresses, they will have to add balls to their discs. If they drop a ball or step off the perch, they will be eliminated. The last person standing will win immunity. The challenge begins, and Joe and Debbie are the first two to be eliminated after losing their balance and falling off the perch. With just seconds left in the first round, Jason falls off. Round 2 begins with the contestants having to balance two balls. Michele is out quickly, as she’s followed by Neal and Nick. Cydney is out next, and then Aubry is eliminated too. Only three people remain: Julia, Nick, and Tai. They all make it to the third round and must now balance three balls. The round begins, and Nick’s balls are moving around a lot, but Julia is the next to drop out. It’s now a showdown between Nick and Tai. They all have balls moving around their discs, but Tai’s balls drop first. Nick wins immunity!
The tribe returns to camp after the immunity challenge. Nick says he is leaning toward siding with the former Brawn tribe, and their plan is to vote out Aubry. However, Nick is still playing both sides and talks game with Neal. Neal says it would be better if Nick can sway Michele to join the Brains’ side. Debbie and Aubry talk to Michele about voting out Scot or Jason. In her confessional, Michele says she would like to work with Debbie and Aubry, but she is unsure if that is her best option. Nick and Michele talk alone and they decide to side with the Brawn tribe. They don’t believe Jason or Scot will win the million dollars down the line; they say Jason will get on everyone’s nerves and Scot already has a lot of money.
Before they go to tribal council, Jeff and a doctor arrive at camp. They want to take a look at the infections. The doctor checks Tai first, and the doctor says Tai’s infection is healing nicely. Tai does not have to be pulled from the game. Scot is the next person to be inspected. His is pretty bad, but the doctor says that they’ll just have to keep an eye on it from now on. Aubry is the next to be inspected. Hers seems to be the worst so far. However, he just wants to start her on antibiotics and she won’t necessarily need to be pulled from the game. Neal is the last to be inspected, and his infections are especially bad. He has a really bad one on his back, but the doctor does not think it’s life-threatening. However, the infection on Neal’s knee is worse. The doctor says he has to pull Neal from the game. Neal is very emotional as he clearly does not want to be evacuated from the game. Neal has been pulled from the game. He says goodbye to his tribe members before he leaves. Jeff tells them that there will be no tribal council tonight. However, Neal will be the first member of the jury. Aubry is very sad to see Neal leave since he was her closest ally. She’s also disappointed that Neal left without giving her the hidden immunity idol. With Neal gone and no hidden immunity idol, she believes the Beauties and Brawn will team up to take out the former Brains tribe members one by one.
And that wraps up tonight’s episode of Survivor: Kaoh Rong. Thanks for reading, post your thoughts in the comments section below, and come back next week for another live recap.