The episode begins with the tribe returning to camp after tribal council. Gavin feels guilty about voting out Ron, but he said he had to separate his emotion from the game. Rick also lies to the others about how he got the idol. He claims someone from Extinction Island sent it to him. Rick knows he’s on the bottom, and he’s desperate to find another idol.
Aurora finally feels like there are people she can work with: Gavin, Lauren, and Victoria. She really wants Rick to be voted out next, and she trusts in her alliance to vote him out. The next morning, Rick goes searching for another hidden immunity idol. While he is away, the rest of the tribe is aware Rick is looking for an idol. Lauren knows Rick is lying about how he got the idol he played at the previous tribal council. Lauren later confronts Rick about his lie, but he keeps claiming the idol was a gift. Rick continues searching for an idol, and he comes across a wrapped package. Rick has found another hidden immunity idol.
Next, it’s time for the reward challenge. They must go through a series of obstacles to land balls on top of a perch. The first to land balls on the perch will win an afternoon with comfort and food. The challenge begins, and Aurora takes the lead. Lauren and Julie are struggling with landing their balls in the first obstacle, but everyone else becomes fairly even. Eventually, Gavin takes the lead and wins reward! He can choose two people to bring with him, and he chooses Victoria and Lauren. Rick and Julie are shocked Gavin didn’t pick Aurora since she has gone a long time without a reward. Before the commercial break, we hear a confessional from Aurora. She says she hasn’t been part of a big group throughout the entire game, and she realizes she’s once again at the bottom of an alliance.
Gavin, Lauren, and Victoria enjoy their reward. Gavin wants himself, Lauren, and Victoria to be the Final 3. They also agree that Rick should be the next one out. After the reward, Victoria talks to Aurora. She wants to assure her that everything is fine, and Aurora says she is still on board with working with them to vote out Rick.
Back at Extinction Island, Eric finds a box with letters. These are letters the castaways wrote to themselves before the game began. They each grab the letter from themselves and read it privately away from everyone else. Julia breaks down in tears as she reads her letter. Chris said he wanted to play a perfect game, but he admits he did not. However, he thinks the experience of being on Survivor is priceless. Reem says she has learned a lot; she says everything has come full circle after reading her letter. She refuses to give up.
Back at camp, Rick tries to fool his fellow tribe members about having a hidden immunity idol. He runs into the forest and calls out people watching him. He even tries to startle Aurora when he sees her as he’s hiding behind a tree. He already has the hidden immunity idol, so he’s amused by what he’s doing. He says he feels like a kid or a fugitive; he is laughing in his confessional.
It’s time for the immunity challenge. They each must slide letter tiles down a target on a shuffleboard-like table. They must then carry their letter tiles as they walk across balance beams. Lastly, they must go to a station and use their tiles to solve a word puzzle. The first to unscramble the letters and solve the word puzzle will win immunity. Before the challenge starts, Jeff notices Aurora shaking her head. She tells him that she hates word puzzles, and she doesn’t like doubting herself before a challenge even begins. The challenge starts, and all the castaways get to work getting their letter tiles to their station. Some of them drop their letter tiles along the way. They all get to work unscrambling the letters. They are trying to form the sentence “Not living on the edge tonight.” Rick is the first to solve the puzzle. Rick wins immunity.
The alliance of Aurora, Gavin, Lauren, and Victoria is disappointed Rick won immunity tonight. Aurora calls Rick a thorn on her side. Rick asks Julie to talk game, and he tells her that they should target Aurora. Julie is on board with that, and she hopes the others will target Aurora too. Julie talks to Lauren next about the plan to vote out Aurora. Lauren admits in a confessional that she would rather sit in the Final 3 with Julie instead of with Aurora. Lauren shares her thoughts with Gavin next, and Gavin agrees that Aurora is a bigger threat than Julie. Gavin doesn’t want to go through with this plan without Victoria. Gavin talks to Victoria next, and she is not on board with voting out Aurora. She realizes that Lauren is trying to work with Julie, so she would rather just vote out Julie tonight to eliminate that option for Lauren.
It’s time for tribal council. Rick says he noticed the unhappy faces at camp after the challenge, and he says he and Julie are on the outs. Julie agrees. Aurora also admits that she really wants Rick gone and has been open about that. Jeff asks if focusing too much on one person is a problem, and Victoria and Gavin say that they’ve been wanting to vote Rick out. However, they haven’t been able to get rid of him. Jeff points out how they have talked a lot about Rick, but he’s safe tonight. Rick says tonight should be a great time to take back control of the game. He takes out his hidden immunity idol, and he claims he will play his idol on Julie tonight. He boastfully claims that he and Julie will be safe tonight as they both will vote for either Aurora, Gavin, Lauren, or Victoria tonight. Gavin wonders if Rick would even play this idol on Julie tonight since he might need it at the next tribal council. Rick says he will be playing this idol, and he says it’s a million-dollar gamble if they choose to believe he won’t play it. Rick tells Jeff he’s doing whatever it takes to gain allies and succeed in the game. Afterwards, it’s time for the vote.
Before Jeff reads the votes, Rick does not play his hidden immunity idol.
The first vote is for…
Aurora
Julie
Aurora
Aurora
Aurora
Aurora is voted out and the eleventh member of the jury.
“How do you fall for reverse psychology?” Aurora asks before making her way down the path. She grabs the torch and heads to Extinction Island.
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.
