Survivor Season 39 Island of the Idols Week 9 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.

The tribe returns to camp after tribal council. Janet says tribal council was hard and she felt alone. She contemplated whether or not she wanted to stay in the game, but she asserts that she is not a quitter. Instead, she is a free agent in the game. She also wishes she still had her hidden immunity idol. Later, we see a night of heavy rainfall. The next morning, Elizabeth is struggling with the cold. She says it was the worst night of her life. Noura, however, was bothered by how much Karishma was complaining. She says Karishma is lucky to still be in the game. She doesn’t help out around camp, and Noura has no interest working with her. Noura asks Karishma to gather some coconuts for the tribe. Karishma agrees, and goes off into the forest. In her confessional, Karishma says it’s obvious she is on the chopping block. She is in tears as she discusses how much she is struggling in the game and not living up to the expectations she set for herself. She knows she is being viewed as a goat in the game. However, she manages to find a hidden immunity idol. She’s excited to have this advantage, especially since she is a target. Meanwhile, Tommy, Noura, and Lauren discuss voting out Karishma next. Karishma returns to camp, and Noura asks her where she’s been. Karishma is aware she was absent for a long time, so she plays up being sick to avoid suspicion. Noura and Lauren suggest she see a doctor, but Karishma says she’s fine after a drink of water.

It’s time for the immunity challenge. They will stand on a narrow beam while spinning a ball inside a hoop with centrifugal force. In addition, the tribe will be separated into two groups. In one group are Missy, Tommy, Elaine, Elizabeth, and Karishma. In the other group are Dean, Dan, Lauren, Aaron, Noura, and Janet. Jeff also lets them know the last person standing in the challenge will win their group peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. They will also be the group to go to tribal council second. The challenge begins, and Karishma is the first one out. She is followed by Elizabeth and Tommy. Aaron is the next to drop his ball, and he is followed by Dan. Castaways continue to drop quickly as Lauren drops next. Janet is the next one to drop her ball. Only four people remain: Dean versus Noura on the purple group and Missy versus Elaine on the orange group. Dean is the next to drop his ball, meaning Noura wins immunity! Noura also steps off her beam, but her group is displeased since she could’ve won them sandwiches. Noura regrets her decision to step off the beam right away. It’s down between Missy and Elaine, and Missy drops. Elaine wins immunity! Before the tribe departs, Jeff lets the purple group know that they will not go back to camp before tribal council. Instead, they will go to the old Lairo camp. The orange group will go back to their merged tribe camp and attend tribal council second.

The purple group arrive at the old Lairo camp and talk game right away. Noura wants Aaron to be the target, which is a relief to Janet. She says it would be unbelievable for her to still be in the game after what she went through last time. Janet talks to Dan, and the two of them agree to have each other’s back on this vote. Elsewhere, Dean is not on board with Aaron being the target. He believes if a physical threat like Aaron is voted out, then he will be the next target. He talks game with Dan and suggests voting out Janet since she’s a threat to win the game. In his confessional, Dan says he is torn on the decision. He is aware that Janet is a threat due to her social game, but he and Janet have already made amends. He doesn’t know what to do.

Meanwhile, the other group agree to vote out Karishma tonight. However, Missy wants to get rid of Tommy instead. She says it will separate Tommy and Lauren. Plus, Tommy is a big threat to win the game. Karishma, on the other hand, is not a threat to win. Missy pulls Karishma aside and tells her to vote out Tommy tonight. Missy also tells Karishma to not tell anyone the plan or share names. This irritates Karishma as she would rather talk to people. In her confessional, Karishma says Missy was “talking at” her instead of “talking to” her. Karishma is annoyed with Missy’s demeanor, and she later vents her frustration to Elaine. Karishma also tells Elaine that Missy wants to vote Tommy out tonight. In her confessional, Elaine says voting out Tommy is not good for her game. Elaine tells Karishma that she will vote out Missy tonight. She tells Karishma there is a strong trio of Missy, Elizabeth, and Aaron. Later, Elaine later lets Tommy know that Missy wants to vote her out. Elaine promises Tommy she will not vote him out, but Karishma is the swing vote tonight. Tommy now wants Missy gone tonight. He also points out how Karishma went from the most unpopular person on the tribe to the most popular person on the tribe. Everyone wants her vote. Later, Karishma finally agrees to talk to Missy again. Missy explains why Tommy is a big threat and how they would have a majority if he goes tonight. In her confessional, Karishma is aware she is the swing vote. She says the decision she makes tonight will be whatever is the most logical for her game. She says Tommy is a sitting duck without his allies, but she is still unsure if she can trust Missy.

It’s Night 27 and time for tribal council. The group with Lauren, Dean, Dan, Aaron, Noura, and Janet are first. Once again, Sandra and Rob are watching from their secret shack. Rob mocks Dean rolling up his sleeves to show off his muscles. Jeff asks their thoughts on the twist, and Dan says the plan is still the same due to how the groups were split. Jeff asks Janet about Dan’s confidence in this vote, and Janet says she knows she is on the bottom of the totem pole. Aaron points out how this is his first tribal council without having an immunity necklace. He says tonight will prove whether his allies are true to him or not. Ron whispers to Sandra that he thinks Aaron is leaving tonight; Sandra predicts Janet will be leaving instead. Jeff asks their thoughts on two people leaving tonight. Dan says it’s scary, but he hopes loyalty and alliances will stay true. Afterwards, it’s time for the vote.

Jeff reads the votes. The first vote is for…

Janet

Aaron

Aaron

Aaron

Aaron

Aaron is voted out and the fourth member of the jury.

Before the next group comes in, Aaron walks over to the jury and sits with the other jurors. The next group walks in, and Missy and Elizabeth are stunned. Elizabeth says Aaron was one of her #1 allies and Missy says that’s not how the jury should be looking. Jeff asks their thoughts, and Elizabeth hopes the plan she is part of will be what happens tonight. Jeff asks about the talks before tribal council, and Missy says she and Karishma went through a lot today. Karishma agrees that they butted heads. Karishma says she sometimes feel like Missy acts like a bully, but Missy disagrees completely. She says she is not a bully. They continue to argue, and Rob whispers that there isn’t room for the both of them. Tommy says that he thinks Karishma and Missy are incredible people, but he doesn’t think they can work together in this game. Before the vote, Missy asks Jeff why he didn’t point out how two African Americans won immunity last time. She says it’s something that doesn’t happen often and deserves a shout-out. Jeff thanks Missy for pointing it out. He wasn’t aware of it, but he admits he probably would’ve been too afraid to mention it since he didn’t want to act like that would’ve been a surprising feat. Afterwards, it’s time for the vote.

Jeff reads the votes. The first vote is for…

Missy

Tommy

Tommy

Missy

Missy

Missy is voted out and the fifth member of the jury.

Missy is blindsided, asking who did it. Tommy says she was coming after him, but she denies that she was (even though she just voted for him). Elaine admits to being the third vote, and Missy is stunned. She didn’t think Elaine would turn on her. Missy also hugs Elizabeth, whispering in her ear that Elizabeth now needs to eliminate Elaine. Nonetheless, Missy is in good spirits and takes her elimination in stride as she gets her torch snuffed by Jeff and walks 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.

About Steven Curtis 539 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.