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After tribal council, Aubry is stunned that JT went home. She asks them why they chose to get rid of him instead of her, and Sandra says it was because of JT’s betrayal that led to Malcolm going home. He had to suffer the consequences. In her confessional, Aubry admits that Sandra is the best player and the queen of the game. Over at the Mana tribe, Tai goes looking for the idol while everyone is asleep. He searches around the water well and digs it up from the sand. Tai has found the hidden immunity idol.
The next day, Mana is disappointed to see that JT was voted out. After Jeff gets back the immunity idols from Tavua and Mana, he tells the castaways to drop their buffs. They’re switching tribes again. They must grab a concealed package containing their new buffs. Once they all grab a package, they can open them up and find out their new tribes.
Mana – Tryozan, Hali, Brad, Aubry, Michaela, Sierra, and Cirie
Nuku – Tai, Zeke, Varner, Sandra, Sarah, Andrea, and Ozzy
Debbie’s package had no buff in it, meaning she is going to Exile Island. In addition, Jeff asks Sandra her thoughts about being in the minority on Nuku. She says she’s optimistic and hopes the tribe will take the time to get to know her before making any decisions.
Over at the Mana tribe, Troyzan is thrilled the tribes have switched since he knew he was in the minority at Tavua. Brad is concerned due to being around people he hasn’t played with, but he hopes he can work with Troyzan since Troyzan was on his wife’s Monica’s first season. They’re also the only guys on the tribe, and Troyzan is on board with working with him too. Troyzan doesn’t want to be outplayed by a group of women again like he was on his first season.
Meanwhile at Nuku, Varner discusses how he and Sandra are on the bottom of the tribe. In her confessional, Sandra says she isn’t worried. She plans to just get her feet wet and stay calm, cool, and collected. She says the “queen stays the queen.” However, Zeke and Ozzy are talking game and agree that Sandra has to go. They want to make them feel comfortable to blindside Sandra. They come up with a plan to tell Sandra and Varner they’re going to vote out Tai instead. As for Tai, he goes searching for the other idol since he’s on a different tribe. He goes digging under the water well and finds another hidden immunity idol. Tai is thrilled that he now has two hidden immunity idols in his possession.
As for Debbie, she’s on a boat on her way to Exile Island. She says today was a low point, but she soon realizes Exile Island is actually a yacht with food. She’s really excited to be there as she starts eating food and relaxing on a hammock on the yacht. Later on, another boat makes its way to Debbie. And aboard that ship is Cochran, the winner of Survivor: Caramoan. He’s there to be a sounding board and someone she can talk strategy with. He asks her her thoughts, and Debbie says she’s not concerned about anyone. Cochran admits in a confessional that Debbie seems too overconfident. Debbie later tells Cochran about her feud with Brad, and Cochran tells her to try to make amends. Cochran also presents Debbie with an advantage option. She has three choices for her advantage: fake immunity idol kit, extra vote, or tribe challenge advantage. She chooses the extra vote. Cochran wishes Debbie the best before he leaves, and he says she has the potential to do well too.
Over at Nuku, Varner and Zeke bond while at the beach. Varner really wants to make it to the jury since he has yet to make it that far, and this is his third season. Zeke also tells Varner he really wants to vote out Tai, and Varner is excited to learn this. Varner later tells Sandra, but she has doubts. She doesn’t see the tribe not voting out either her or Varner. Nonetheless, she’s certain the queen will stay the queen.
It’s time for the immunity challenge. They must start at a platform out at the ocean and swim toward monkey bars. Once they make their way across it, they can then transport puzzle pieces made out of barrels onto a sled and push it toward the beach. They must then push the sled onto the beach by placing logs underneath it until the sled is on a mat. Afterwards, they can start working on the puzzle. The first tribe to complete the barrel puzzle will win immunity. The challenge begins, and it’s fairly even. However, Nuku falls a bit behind. Both tribes start working on the puzzle, but Mana solves the puzzle very quickly. Mana wins immunity! Nuku will go to tribal council, and they also will get Debbie as their new tribe member after they vote someone out.
Over at Nuku, Zeke talks about voting Sandra out in his confessional. He’s really eager to finally vote her out since she’s won twice and has never been voted out before. However, Varner is certain Tai is going home. He reminds him of this, but Sandra is feeling uneasy. Sandra still wants to try to save herself, so she goes to campaign. She tells people that Tai, Debbie, and Aubry being together is dangerous since they played together in their original season Kaoh Rong. She also says she’ll look out for them to and that they can rely on her. Sarah admits in her confessional that she understands why Sandra won twice. She has a way to really make people feel comfortable, and she was even willing to agree with Sandra’s plan to vote out Tai. When she talks to Ozzy and Andrea, they also admit they were agreeing with what Sandra was saying about the Kaoh Rong three. Nonetheless, they still plan to vote out Sandra. However, Tai starts getting nervous when he sees people walking away to talk game. He later tells Varner that Sandra is getting voted out, and this makes the other tribe mates annoyed. Sandra is aware she’s the target, but she’s determined to paint Tai as the target when they get to tribal council.
It’s time for tribal council. Debbie arrives and she sits in the jury area, and she’ll join the tribe after tribal council. The discussion starts, and Andrea and Ozzy talk about big targets in the game. Jeff asks Sandra her thoughts, and Sandra candidly says she thinks this is it for her. She says no one has been talking to her and that she’ll be going home. Jeff asks Tai his thoughts, and he says that he is worried. He says he is paranoid and nervous, and he loses his train of thought as he talks. He says he just hope he is safe. Jeff talks to Sarah, and Sarah says that she’s heard a few names and some people are still open-minded about whom to vote out. Tai says that is what is making him nervous. Sandra says that she’ll vote with Tai if he wants, and Tai agrees. In a move that surprises the tribe, he whispers in Sandra’s ear to vote out Ozzy. He tells the same to Varner, and Sandra says they need another vote if they want Ozzy out. Tribal council becomes a bit chaotic as there is suddenly more whispering, and Sandra is telling others she’ll vote Tai out with them. There seems to be a change in plans as people are switching their votes from Sandra to Tai, but is that really want they will do? Soon enough, it’s time for the vote.
It’s time for the vote. Jeff asks about hidden immunity idols, but Tai chose not to play one.
The first vote is for…
Tai
Tai
Sandra
Sandra
Sandra
Sandra
Sandra is the sixth person voted out of Survivor: Game Changers. Jeff tells Sandra that for the first time in 94 days of playing this game, the tribe has spoken. The tribe applauds her as she wishes them luck and walks out. Long live Queen Sandra.
And that wraps up tonight’s episode of Survivor. Thanks for reading, post your thoughts in the comment section below, and come back next week for another live recap.
