A new episode of Survivor: Island of the Idols airs tonight on CBS. Read a live recap and join the discussion here.
The episode begins the morning after tribal council. Noura says tribal council went according to plan. They voted out Tom, and it should be an easy vote next time, too. Dean is a target, but Noura wants to work with Dean to get out bigger threats. She approaches Dean and tells him she wants Jamal and Jack gone next. In his confessional, Dean says Noura is all over the place, so he’d be crazy to work with her. Dean then runs to Jamal and exposes everything Noura told him. In his confessional, Jamal says Noura has gone “bonkers” by trying to form a coalition against him. He says getting Noura out is now his highest priority.
At the Vokai tribe, Elaine is bothered by how chummy everyone is on the tribe. She talks game with her original tribe members Aaron, Missy, and Elizabeth. They agree to draw rocks if they go to tribal council. She’s relieved everyone plans to stay loyal. However, Elizabeth and Missy admit to each other that they are unwilling to draw rocks if they were to go to tribal council. Aaron also approaches Jason and says he’s willing to vote out a former Lairo to stay in the game. Jason says in his confessional that he’s pleased that everything is going well at this new tribe.
Next is the reward challenge. They must unload a sled and then use sling shots to hit targets. The winning tribe will win live chickens. Jeff tells the Vokai tribe to sit someone out since they have an extra tribe member. They agree to sit out Elaine. Jeff then reveals that Elaine will not be sitting on the bench. Instead, she will go to Island of the Idols. Elaine is surprised by this, even saying it “sucks” leaving. The challenge begins, and the tribes begin unloading sand bags from a sled. Afterwards, they can shoot smaller sand bags at targets. Both tribes are even as Jack and Aaron begin shooting sand bags at targets with a slingshot. Aaron gives Vokai an early lead, and he eventually knocks down all the sand bags first. Vokai wins reward! In his confessional, Dan admits he is nervous about the possibility of Elaine returning to camp with a hidden immunity idol.
Elaine arrives at the Island of the Idols and sees Sandra and Rob greeting her. “Shut your face!” she exclaims. She’s excited to meet them. Once settled in at the camp with Rob and Sandra, Rob tells Elaine she has a lesson. It’s to see if she has the courage to be daring. He tells her she sometimes will have to make split second decisions in the game of Survivor. He tells her that she has until the sand runs out of a bottle to make a decision. The sand starts running, but Elaine accepts the challenge before Rob can finish explaining her task. Rob and Sandra are stunned by Elaine’s impulsiveness. Rob tells her she doesn’t know what she just said yes to, but she asserts she doesn’t care. Rob tells Elaine that she must secretly grab a hidden advantage during the next immunity challenge. The advantage will be tied under a table, and she will have to seize the advantage in front of all her tribe members. If she fails to grab the advantage, then she will lose her vote at the upcoming tribal council. Elaine is now worried since there is a 4-4 split on the Vokai tribe. However, she’s confident that she can get the task done. Before she leaves, she randomly draws a name from a bag to determine the next person to visit Island of the Idols (but she won’t know who it is). After she leaves, we hear a confessional from Sandra. Sandra is impressed by Elaine and believes she is one the others should watch out for.
Back at Vokai, there is an awkward encounter between Jack and Jamal. Jack refers to Jamal’s buff as a “durag,” and Jack realizes he said something inappropriate. He apologizes to Jamal, and Jamal says he will need some time. In his confessional, Jamal explains why it was an insulting comment due to how black men are sometimes perceived. Later in the evening, Jamal and Jack have a heart-to-heart conversation about race. Jack apologizes again, and Jamal accepts his apology. In his confessional. Jamal says he’s moved and he’ll remember Jack’s apology for the rest of his life.
Back at Vokai, Elizabeth and Elaine talk about the Island of the Idols. Elaine tells her everything, including the advantage is to block a vote. Elizabeth tells her that she’ll have her back and help her get the advantage. If they can block a vote, then their alliance could be safe at the upcoming vote.
It’s time for the immunity challenge. They will have to dig through sand under a bamboo cage and then carry that cage through a path. They will then retrieve balls from a table to shoot into baskets. The first tribe to shoot all their balls into baskets will win immunity. Vokai sits out Lauren before the challenge begins. Vokai takes an early lead as they get to the table with the balls first. Here, Elaine manages to snatch the hidden advantage without anyone noticing. Vokai collects all the balls and make their way to the baskets while Lairo is still struggling behind them. Tommy shoots the first basket for Vokai, but Lairo manages to catch up. Jamal and Dean manage to land two baskets for Lairo, but Aaron lands two more baskets for Vokai. Aaron then lands the next basket, meaning Vokai just needs one more. Jamal lands the third and fourth baskets for Lairo, making it a tie. Dean lands the last basket for Lairo. Lairo wins immunity!
At Vokai, the original Vokai members agree to vote Elaine out. The only concern is if she has a hidden immunity idol, but Lauren doesn’t believe Elaine is smart enough to find an idol. Meanwhile, Elaine and Elizabeth agree they should tell Aaron and Missy about the vote block advantage. They run to Aaron, and he’s stunned by this news. Elaine is excited that she can do something like this for her “peeps.” They tell Missy next, and she calls Elaine a “hero.” Missy reveals in a confessional that Elaine was who the former Lairo were willing to sacrifice, but now they don’t need to thanks to the advantage. However, Aaron admits in a confessional that he still wants Elaine gone from the game. However, Elizabeth, Missy, and Elaine are confident that they will determine the outcome of the vote tonight. We hear confessionals from all of them. Elizabeth wants Lauren gone, Missy wants Dan gone, and Elaine sees both Tommy and Jason as threats. However, Aaron says the game is open in his confessional. He’s prepared to make some people unhappy tonight.
It’s Night 16 and time for tribal council. Rob and Sandra are spying from their secret shack once again. Jeff points out how there’s four original Vokai tribe members and four former Lairo tribe members. Jason says it’s wild to have a split tribe this early. Elaine says it’s a standoff, but she’s excited. Jeff points out that it just takes one person to flip for the vote to not be a split. Aaron says that’s right, and everyone will do what’s best for their game. Tommy says that there are more Vokai tribe members, and they have more to offer. Rob remarks to Sandra how Tommy is selling Kool-Aid. Dan agrees with Tommy, and Elaine says that it’s easy for them to say that since they’re on top. Elaine says they will have to move forward regardless what happens tonight. Jason says his group is willing to draw rocks, and everyone else from the original Vokai agrees. Afterwards, Elaine pulls out her vote block advantage to stunned reactions from Jason, Tommy, Lauren, and Dan. Elaine decides to block Jason’s vote. Jason is upset, and Jeff asks him his thoughts. As Jason talks about losing control, there are whispers among the castaways. Tommy tells Aaron to stick with the plan to vote for Elaine, and he whispers “Yeah, yeah.” All the original Vokai members reassure each other they are still willing to vote for Elaine, and Tommy and Lauren tell Missy to stick with the plan too. Lauren gets emotional at the possibility of being voted out, saying she’s been dreaming of playing Survivor since she was 11 years old. Tommy says if it’s him tonight, he will be replaying this night over and over. Afterwards, it’s time for the vote.
Jeff reads the vote. The first vote is for…
Elaine
Elaine
Elaine
Jason
Jason
Jason
Jason
Jason is the sixth person voted out of Survivor: Island of the Idols.
“Don’t trust Aaron,” Jason says as he gets his torch snuffed by Jeff. Tommy looks angry and Lauren is crying. Jason thanks Tommy, Lauren, and Dan for sticking by him and calls them friends for life before walking away.
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.
