Survivor Season 39 Island of the Idols Week 7 Recap and Live Blog

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. Lauren is in tears and tells Missy she feels betrayed by her. Missy reassures Lauren she’s not a target, but Lauren is unconvinced. The former Lairo tribe members Aaron, Elaine, Elizabeth, and Missy are pleased to have a numbers advantage against Lauren, Tommy, and Dan.

The next morning, Lairo tries to recover from a rainstorm from the night before. Kellee tries to rebuild the fire, but Jamal takes over before she can even try. Kellee is really bothered by Jamal. She says it’s always “his way or the highway” in her confessional. She says Jamal is a tough person to work with. Later, when the tribe eats, Noura asks Jamal if he served a smaller portion of rice than usual. Jamal tells Noura it’s because she took too much. Noura is bothered by Jamal’s demeanor. “I’m over his oppressive remarks,” Noura says about Jamal. Later, Noura asks Janet and Karishma if they should form a female alliance and target Jamal. Janet tells her that they can get rid of Jamal at the merge. Janet says Dean should be voted out first.

Next, Janet learns she is the next person to go to the Island of the Idols. She is in tears and admits she’s scared before she leaves. In her confessional, she says she’s in a good spot in the game and visiting Island of the Idols puts a target on people’s backs. Janet arrives at Island of the Idols and is stunned to see Sandra and Rob. When she discusses the game with them, Janet says her tribe trusts her. Rob says that’s good, but she has to think beyond. Rob lets Janet know her lesson will be about calculated risks. We see a flashback of Chris Underwood from last season Edge of Extinction. He gave up final immunity to partake in the fire-making challenge before going on to win the game. Rob tells Janet that she will play a game at Island of the Idols. If she wins, she wins a “safety without power advantage.” This advantage allows her to leave tribal council and return to camp without the risk of being voted out. The last time she can use it is when there are seven players remaining. If she loses the game, then she will lose her vote at her next tribal council. Janet weighs the pros and cons of the game and advantage before deciding not to play. Rob asks her why, and Janet says it’s because it would make her a bigger target. Rob and Sandra are impressed by Janet refusing to play. Rob says Janet understood the lesson. Sandra says Janet is logical and has the potential to win the game. Janet returns to camp, flashing her tribe to prove she has no hidden advantage in her possession. She also says she was given the choice to play for an advantage, but she tells them she chose not to play.

Back at Vokai, Lauren hopes the social bonds she and Tommy have with the other tribe members will make Dan the target instead of them. Lauren says Tommy is like a brother to her, and the two of them talk game alone. They know they are on the bottom of the tribe, and Tommy is on the verge of tears about the possibility of being voted out before the merge. The two of them come up with a plan to paint Dan as a sneaky and untrustworthy player. They throw Dan under the bus to the other tribe members in separate conversations, but the other tribe members are not buying it. Missy and Elizabeth discuss voting out Tommy next. Missy says Tommy is Lauren’s security blanket, and she won’t have anywhere else to go without him.

It’s time for the immunity challenge. They must throw coconuts into baskets to release puzzle pieces. Once they have all their puzzle pieces, they must solve the puzzle. The puzzle is large with big and heavy pieces. The first tribe to solve the puzzle will win immunity. The challenge begins, and Vokai takes the lead as they land more coconuts than Lairo. Vokai also gets all their puzzle pieces first, but Lairo is close behind. Both tribes get to work on assembling their puzzle. Lauren directs Vokai where to put their pieces, but Lairo is getting closer to catching up. Vokai puts all their pieces together, but two pieces are wrong. Jeff tells them they do not have it. Vokai scrambles to correct their mistake while Lairo is near completing their puzzle. Lairo only has one more piece to put into place, but Jamal cannot push it in before Vokai completes their puzzle. By mere seconds, Vokai wins immunity!

Back at the Lairo camp, Jamal and Jack agree that the plan is to vote out Dean tonight. Jamal says in a confessional that he brings his hidden immunity idol to tribal council every time, but he says tonight is the safest he’s ever felt. Karishma asks Jamal what the plan is, and he tells her it’s to vote out Dean. Later, Dean asks Jamal and Jack if he’s in danger tonight. They lie to him and say that the target is Noura. Meanwhile, Kellee is in possession of a hidden immunity idol and she’s wondering if she should use it since its expiration date is coming up. During her confessional, she has a moment of inspiration. She wonders if she should give her idol to Dean and vote out Jamal or Jack tonight instead. However, Kellee is worried whether or not Dean would actually vote for whom she wants him to vote out. She also doesn’t want anyone to know she was the one who gave Dean an idol. She plans to still vote for Dean, but she wants to tell Noura to vote for Jamal or Jack tonight. Later at sunset, before the tribe departs for tribal council, Kellee tells Dean that he is the target tonight. He asks who is targeting him, and Kellee says everyone. Dean is stunned that even Janet, Jamal, and Jack are planning to vote for him. Kellee reveals to Dean that she has a hidden immunity idol, and the two agree to make a move tonight. In her confessional, Kellee is still concerned that planning to make a big move like this could backfire.

It’s Night 19 and time for tribal council. “Let the show begin!” Rob says to Sandra from their secret shack. Jeff begins the discussion by asking if Survivor is a numbers game, and Kellee agrees tribal bonds play a big role. Noura says there are individual partnerships, but she calls out Dean as someone that she doesn’t even know. Dean says he’ll be loyal to them by asking why would he go back to a tribe that blindsided him. He then calls out Noura for coming up to him and saying she wants Jamal out. Jamal candidly asks Noura if Dean is telling the truth. After beating around the bush, Noura admits that voting out Jamal crossed her mind. Jamal then tells Jeff he is worried about an all-female alliance. He says he, Jack, and Dean are outnumbered by the four women. Kellee says that it’s sexist to be afraid of an all-female alliance. She says it shouldn’t be something to be fearful of, and she also points out how there’s never fear of an all-male alliance on Survivor. Jamal gives kudos to Kellee’s point, but he wants Jeff to ask Noura if she ever considered an all-female alliance. Noura admits that it would be cool. Karishma brings up the #MeToo Movement, and what’s happened in the real world will cross their minds in the Survivor world. Janet adds that Jamal shouldn’t assume that women will automatically stick together. She points out how they could look at Jamal and realize he has something to offer instead of dismissing him because he is a man. Janet says that both men and women should support each other in this world. Jamal says he’s proud of the women on his tribe for offering their perspective. Jeff says there has never been a tribal council like this, and he asks how can they vote someone out after a discussion like this. Jack and Kellee say that this is a game at the end of the day, but personal relationships can still be genuine. Afterwards, it’s time for the vote.

Jeff asks if anyone wants to play a hidden immunity idol, and Dean stands up and plays the hidden immunity idol on himself. He doesn’t reveal it came from Kellee. Before Jeff reads the votes, Jamal plays his hidden immunity idol on Noura.

Jeff reads the votes. The first vote is for…

Dean

Dean

Dean

Dean

Dean

Jack

Jack

Jack is voted out and the first member of the jury.

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.

About Steven Curtis 541 Articles
Steven is a graduate of the University of West Florida with a bachelor's degree in communication arts. He enjoys watching reality competition shows, such as American Idol, Survivor, Big Brother, and The Amazing Race.