The episode begins with the group that voted out Rocksroy returning to camp after tribal council. Hai is extremely happy he got his main target Rocksroy out. He said it was tough to get Mike’s blessing, but he’s glad Mike listened to him. However, Mike feels like he was pressured by Hai to vote for Rocksroy. He is upset with himself for letting Hai play his game. Mike asks Omar his thoughts about how the vote went down. Omar admits in a confessional that getting Rocksroy out is what he wanted, but he plays along with Mike’s displeasure. He tells Mike that he doesn’t like how Mike felt pressured by Hai. Omar plans to use Mike’s feelings about the vote to sever his relationship with Hai. Later, the rest of the tribe returns from the second tribal council. They let them know Tori was voted out. In a confessional, Drea says she’s glad she still has some other advantages in her possession after playing her hidden immunity idol.
The next morning, Lindsay vents to Omar about her frustrations with Jonathan. She says he’s bad at the strategic aspect of the game, and he’s not her favorite alliance member at this point. Lindsay also goes searching for a hidden immunity idol. She correctly guesses a new idol will be hidden after idols were played last night. While searching, she walks past a scroll stuck between a branch. Lindsay didn’t spot the scroll, but Maryanne finds it later. She reads the scroll and learns she found a hidden immunity idol. This idol has no stipulations. Maryanne doesn’t plan on letting anyone else know she found a hidden immunity idol.
Next is the reward challenge. It’s pouring down rain, but Jeff tells them today’s challenge will be fun. All they have to do is maneuver a sandbag through a series of obstacles and then finally toss it onto a tarp. The reward is pizza and beer. They’ll also spend a night in a sanctuary with blankets and pillows. The challenge begins, and Jonathan takes the early lead. Romeo and Mike are trailing behind in last place. Jonathan is the first to reach the end of the obstacle course and toss his sandbag. He misses, allowing Omar, Lindsay, Drea, and Hai a chance to catch up. They are all tossing their sandbags until Lindsay is the first to land her sandbag on the tarp. Lindsay wins reward! Jeff tells her to pick one person to join her. She chooses Omar since he hasn’t had one reward yet. She asks if she can bring another person, and Jeff says she can pick one more person. She chooses Mike since he only had one reward before.
The castaways are struggling living in the elements. It is still raining, and they are all very cold wearing wet clothes. Hai says he’s reminded of his childhood of living poor in Vietnam. He knows how much worse it can be, so he says the misery they’re experiencing now is temporary. Later, Hai and Lindsay talk strategy. He suggests voting out Jonathan, and he feels like Lindsay will be on board with that plan.
Later in the evening, Lindsay, Omar, and Mike go to the sanctuary and enjoy their pizza. They also get to see photos from home and messages from their loved ones. After the messages play, Omar turns the talk to strategy. He throws Hai under the bus, and he tells Lindsay and Mike that Hai called Mike a puppet that would do anything he says. However, Omar admits in a confessional that this is a lie. Regardless, Mike and Lindsay believe Omar’s words. Mike says it’s now personal, and he no longer wants to work with Hai. Lindsay also shares the information about the amulet advantage. She lets them know Drea and Hai have the other parts of the amulet. If Hai is voted out, then her piece of the amulet will be stronger. Lindsay is receptive to the idea of voting out Hai, but he admits in a confessional that she still wants to target Jonathan.
Next is the Immunity Challenge. For today’s challenge, they must stand on a narrow perch while balancing a ball on a wooden bow. If they fall off the perch or drop their ball, then they are out of the challenge. The last one standing will win immunity. The challenge begins, and Mike is the first one out. He’s followed by Hai, Romeo, and Omar. After five minutes, the remaining castaways must step farther down the perch onto a narrower beam. The second round begins, and Maryanne is out right away. Drea is the next one out. Lindsay and Jonathan are the last two left. They last long enough to advance to the third round on the narrowest beam. Jonathan loses his balance, and he steps off the beam. Lindsay wins immunity!
Hai is grateful Jonathan did not win the immunity challenge. He says this may be the only chance to vote out Jonathan. However, Mike wants to target Hai tonight. Later, Mike tells Jonathan that Hai called him a puppet and he’s going to target them. Mike says they’re cutting the head off the snake by voting out Hai. Jonathan is pleasantly surprised he’s not on the chopping block. Drea is also on board with voting out Hai, especially since it will make her amulet more powerful.
The plan to vote out Hai spreads around camp, and eventually everyone knows Hai is the target except for Hai. Hai, still believing Jonathan is going home tonight, wants to dissuade Jonathan from playing a Shot in the Dark tonight. Hai lies and tells him he has an idol he is willing to play for Jonathan. Hai says he’ll play it if he believes Jonathan is in trouble. Jonathan knows Hai is lying, and he tells this to Omar later. Omar says Hai feels like he’s the king, but he’s going home tonight. Omar says in a confessional that the plan to vote out Hai seems to be going too perfectly. He wonders if it’s worth flipping the vote against Jonathan if Hai is really loyal to Omar. Omar has strong bonds with Romeo, Maryanne, and Lindsay. Omar says he’s in the middle, and he can put the target on Jonathan if he chooses to.
It’s time for Tribal Council. Jeff points out Lindsay’s back-to-back wins. He asks if there was any fallout from her choices on whom to bring on the reward challenge. She doesn’t believe so since she was diplomatic with her choices. Jeff asks about their time away from camp, and Mike lies and says there was no deep strategy talk at the reward.
The talk turns to living in the elements. Lindsay jokes that they’re all sick for wanting to experience the misery of living in the elements, but she says there are lows and highs in the game. Jeff asks if it’s realistic that there was no strategy talk at the reward, and Hai doesn’t believe game talk didn’t come up. He says they are all runners in this game waiting to overtake each other.
Discussions about the game continues, and Omar says every decision they make is a choice. They don’t know the outcome until they’ve made their decision. Jeff asks about the timing of taking a player out. Mike says it’s all about their gut feeling. Maryanne calls it Survivor Jenga. Lindsay says tonight’s vote is about making it an even playing field. Jeff asks Jonathan his thoughts on Lindsay’s remark. Jonathan says she says someone is too powerful in some way, so he needs to figure out what that means. Hai says it depends on their perspective. Is it someone too powerful in the challenges, the strategy, or the social aspect? Afterwards, it’s time to vote.
Jeff reads the votes. The first vote is for…
Hai
Jonathan
Jonathan
Hai
Hai
Hai
Hai
Hai is the eleventh person voted out and the fourth member of the jury. He’s blindsided, but he calls it an amazing play and says it’s how he wanted to go out.
And that wraps up tonight’s episode of Survivor. Thanks for reading, and come back next week for another live recap.
