A new episode of Survivor: Island of the Idols airs tonight on CBS. Read a live recap and join the discussion here.
Vokai returns to camp after tribal council. Jason is glad to stay, and he says this shows the tribe is willing to play with him. Jack and Jamal, however, are angry. They were the only two to vote with Molly instead of against her. Janet asks them if they want to talk. “Honesty would be chill,” Jack says. He was blindsided, but he says in a confessional that he has more work to do. Tommy explains the issue was with Molly, not with Jack or Jamal. Tommy wants to rebuild his relationships with Jack and Jamal. He says Jack is easier since Jamal is not too quick to forgive. Jamal tells Tommy that it was hurtful that he wasn’t included. He tells Tommy he is now a wildcard. In a confessional, Jamal says he will forgive, but he won’t forget.
Morning of Day 7 on Lairo, there is a women alliance. Karishma wants to make the girls feel like she is strong with the alliance, so she does what she can to be part of this group. Meanwhile, Aaron worries about five women outnumbering the four guys. Aaron, Tom, Dean, and Vince talk among themselves, but Vince has no interest working with them. He tells Aaron he is on board with a men alliance, but in a confessional he says that he still has a grudge against Aaron for voting against him. Vince would rather work with the women.
Back at Vokai, Dan says in a confessional that he wants Noura gone next. The rest of the tribe is on the same page, but Jamal wants to go rogue after the last vote. Jamal remarks how he sees Dan as a used cars salesman. He wants to vote Dan out next. Jamal tells Janet that he’s worried about Dan. He’s planting the seeds for her to want Dan gone next. Janet says she’ll talk to Tommy about it. However, Tommy is hesitant after Janet tells him about Jamal’s plan. Tommy says voting out Dan would be a move for Jamal, not a move for the tribe. Janet wonders if they should just vote out Jamal instead. Tommy is unsure, but he says in a confessional that it may be better to vote out Jamal for his long-term game.
Back at Lairo, Karishma cuts the palm of her hand badly with a knife. She can see her bone. While she is kneeling on the ground in pain, the rest of the tribe pays her no attention as they are standing about fifteen feet away. Karishma is upset that no one cared to check on her while she was bleeding. Her hand is later wrapped up in a bandage, but Karishma says that her tribe is now dead to her due to the lack of concern they had for her injury.
A boat arrives at the Lairo camp. The tribe is informed that Vince is the next to visit the Island of the Idols. After he leaves, the entire tribe stands in a circle and wonders if they should just vote out Vince since he may return with an idol. Dean suggests splitting the votes, but it’s an awkward situation since everyone in the tribe is there. Dean remarks how stupid it was for him to say that with everyone present. In her confessional, Karishma is sure that they would split the votes between her and Vince.
Vince arrives at the Island of the Idols, and he is overcome with emotion to see Sandra and Rob. After he composes himself, Rob tells him his task. Vince must invade the other tribe’s camp and steal fire with a torch. If he succeeds, then he will win an immunity idol for the next two tribal councils. If he fails, then he will lose his vote at his next tribal council. Vince accepts the challenge. Sandra and Rob give Vince some tips on how to be as stealthy as possible. Later that evening, while it is pouring rain, a boat takes Vince to the Vokai camp. The fire is out, but Vince collects some ashes instead. Vince manages to complete the task without any of the Vokai tribe members spotting him. He gets back on the boat and returns to the Island of the Idols. Rob and Sandra say it’s not his fault it rained, and he managed to stay calm under pressure and improvise. They reward him with an immunity idol.
It’s time for the immunity challenge. They must dive into the ocean and collect keys. Afterwards, they must assemble a puzzle. The first tribe to finish will win immunity. In addition, the winning tribe will receive comfort items, including a tarp, blankets, and pillows. The challenge begins, and Elizabeth and Janet are the first two in the water for their respective tribes. Elizabeth manages to dive down and untie a buoy first. She gets the key and gives Lairo a big lead as the rest of the tribe swims out to collect two more keys hanging on the opposite ends of a teeter-totter. Janet, meanwhile, in struggling diving into the water to collect the first key. As Lairo balance themselves on a teeter-totter to collect another bag, Janet finally gets the first key. Vokai can finally get their next key. Missy manages to get the next key, but Vokai is quickly catching up. Kellee manages to get the next key for Vokai, but Lairo is still ahead as Missy gets the other key. Lairo can now make their way back on the platform to unlock their puzzle pieces and begin assembling their puzzle. Vokai gets their last key and gets on the platform to assemble their puzzle. Due to Lairo struggling with the puzzle, the challenge becomes even. Eventually, Vokai takes the lead as Jamal has better success with the puzzle than Dean and Karishma. Dean and Karishma continue struggling with the puzzle, putting Lairo further behind. Dean and Karishma put Lairo out of the running as Jamal and Lauren are nearly done with the puzzle. Lairo has no chance to catch up as Jamal and Lauren finishes completing the puzzle. Vokai wins immunity! Lairo will go to tribal council tonight.
Lairo returns to camp. Dean, Aaron, and Tom want to split the vote between Vince and Karishma with the men voting for Vince and the women voting for Karishma. However, Missy is not on board with letting Karishma get voted out. Missy later talks to Vince about the vote, and Vince suggests voting out Tom. Missy admits in a confessional that voting out Tom could be an easy vote, and the plan is told to the other women. However, Elizabeth says in her confessional that she would rather Tom stay. She wants to vote out Vince instead. Later, we see Vince and Karishma talk game. Vince gets frustrated with Karishma not throwing out any names, so he tells her to just vote for Tom. In his confessional, Vince is still concerned it could be him voted out. He will bring his hidden immunity idol and play it if he feels like he is in danger. Meanwhile, Chelsea and Elizabeth weigh the pros and cons of voting out Vince or Tom. Chelsea is concerned the rest of the guys will be mad if they vote out Tom. However, she says the women are running the tribe anyway.
It’s time for tribal council. Once again, Rob and Sandra are observing the proceedings from their secret shack. Jeff asks Tom if the vibe this time around is the same as last time. Tom says they have lose twice now, and he blames the struggle of the puzzles for their losses. Aaron agrees. He adds that the physical people give the tribe a lead in the first part of the challenge, but the tribe falls apart at the puzzle. He says people who are not good at puzzles shouldn’t step up. Karishma knows they are pointing the finger at her. She asserts that she can still be strong in challenges, but she knows it will be hard for her to fit in with the tribe. Jeff asks why does she feel like she has a hard time fitting it, and she points out how she is older than Chelsea, Missy, and Elizabeth. She says she feels like an audience member to a sorority. Elizabeth apologizes and says it was never their intention to make her feel left out. She says she is one of the girls. Jeff asks about the vote, and Aaron says he already has a plan in mind. Vince adds that they should stick with the plan and don’t let paranoia get to them. However, before the vote, Karishma whispers something into Elizabeth’s ear. She whispers into Missy’s ear too. Jeff asks Tom his thoughts, and Tom believes it’s all an act. He doesn’t buy into anything happening. Tom says it’s just Karishma scrambling before the vote. Afterwards, it’s time for the vote.
Before Jeff reads the votes, he asks if anyone wants to play an idol. No one does.
Jeff reads the votes. The first vote is for…
Tom
Karishma
Karishma
Karishma
Vince
Vince
Vince
Vince
Vince
Vince is the third person voted out of Survivor: Island of the Idols.
Sandra and Rob look disappointed from their shack. Rob whispers that Vince is leaving with an idol in his pocket. Vince is clearly blindsided as he gets his torch snuffed and walks away. Jeff quips that the tribe may not be good at puzzles, but they are good at blindsides.
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.
