PREVIOUSLY ON SURVIVOR: With Ken gone, Jeff felt alone on his tribe. “I have to pray for a miracle right now,” Jeff said. Willard continued to be stubborn around camp, and Jeff talked to Kenny and Tyler about getting rid of him. “The truth is, Willard is the reason we lose challenges, and I just can’t have him here much longer,” Jeff said. Tyler felt like it was a no brainer that Willard was next to go, but Kenny went right to the girls. “Jeff is trying to play way too hard and get Willard out,” he told Michelle, Jill, T-Bird, and Angela, “and I think he’s trying to sway Tyler too.” Michelle wanted Jeff out, but Jill still felt like maybe Willard was the smart move after all. At the Ostrich tribe, John Rocker and Tijuana got into a fight about Tijuana’s work ethic around camp. Brendan, as the tribe leader, hated to see Tijuana being treated like this, and finally went to Gavin and Devon saying “I am just done with Rocker trying to boss everybody around. I’d like to get him out next.” Gavin could see how hard Brendan was playing, and kept his eye on him in case he needed to get him out sooner rather than later. “I’m pretty sure I have Ronnie and Tijuana, I could get Chris…maybe Jamie. I just think Brendan is going to run away with this whole thing if I don’t make a move soon,” Gavin said. At the immunity challenge, it was announced that both tribes would go to tribal and vote someone out, but one person would be safe on each side. The battle was endurance, with the contestants holding a large pole over their head. If they dropped their pole or stepped down from a small perch, they’d be out. Tigers were first, and immediately, Jill, Angela, Willard, and Michelle struggled and fell. Kenny was out next, followed by T-Bird. It was Tyler and Jeff left. “Tyler, I’m worried tonight, drop and we can get out Willard,” Jeff said. Tyler listened, and dropped, giving Jeff the win. The women were upset, seeing that Jeff was the next target. Next, for the Ostriches, Chris, John, Tijuana, Ronnie, and Gavin were all quickly out, leaving it a three way race between Jamie, Devon, and Brendan. Devon didn’t want the target, and stepped down. Jamie couldn’t take it longer and fell, giving Brendan the win. Gavin was upset, for he wanted to blindside Brendan. At camp, the Tigers seemed set to vote Willard. “We wanted to get Jeff out,” Michelle said, “but he won immunity, and we just have to take out our weakest.” Kenny wanted to potentially blindside Tyler, but figured he’d just go along with the plan and not stir the pot. Willard told T-Bird he was going to vote for her because she was the oldest one aside from him. T-Bird wasn’t too worried. At tribal council, conversation seemed minimal. Jeff was glad he was safe, and Tyler said that the plan was as secure as ever so far this season. When the votes came in, Willard voted for T-Bird, but the entire tribe voted out Willard. Willard wasn’t too phased. At the Ostrich camp, everyone but Ronnie and Tijuana gathered. “It’s Tijuana tonight, no questions asked,” John said. Brendan didn’t like how Rocker was undermining his authority, and talked to Gavin and Devon about getting rid of Rocker. Gavin didn’t want Brendan to have the big move, and thought it might be better to keep Rocker around to challenge Brendan’s leadership. “If John is around, then Brendan will feel like somebody is stepping over his authority, and cause more tension that keeps me in the dark,” Gavin said. Gavin knew he couldn’t tell Devon, and went to Chris. “We need to keep John around,” Gavin said, “it only makes him a bigger target, and will keep some conflict around, where we can slip under the radar.” Chris agreed, and told him that if he could get the numbers, he’d agree. Gavin had Chris, Jamie, and Rocker set to vote Tijuana, but needed one more. “I don’t want to tell Brendan or Devon, which means I have to go to Ronnie,” Gavin said. Gavin told Ronnie that pairing with Tijuana only made Ronnie look bad. “As long as they associate you two together, you’re going to be targeted,” Gavin told Ronnie. Ronnie knew this, and saw this as his option to flip and find a more secure alliance. “I would hate to betray Tijuana, but I’ve been on the bottom for a long time, and I want to feel tight with more than just one person,” Ronnie said. Gavin had hoped his plan worked. Tijuana approached Ronnie and told him that she trusted him, and thanked him for having her back. This made Ronnie feel pretty bad, and he was starting to second guess it all. At tribal council, Rocker said that it was an easy vote tonight, and Tijuana would be going home. Brendan said that John was a bit overconfident, and that his attitude could potentially sink the tribe. John said he had no doubts that Tijuana would be going, and didn’t even want to entertain Brendan’s doubts on him. Devon stuck up for Brendan, saying that he didn’t like how John was talking to Brendan, when Brendan was the leader of the tribe. After the vote, Gavin hoped that his plan had worked and he had gotten Chris and Ronnie to flip and vote out Tijuana. When the votes came in, John got three (Tijuana, Devon, Brendan) and Tijuana got three (Chris, Jamie, Rocker). Tijuana got the fourth vote, from Gavin, to Brendan and Devon’s surprise. Ronnie’s vote was last to be revealed, and not wanting to burn bridges, Ronnie voted for Rocker. This forced a tie, and caused Devon to ask “who flipped?” Gavin knew his cover had been blown, and apologized to the group. Brendan said “cmon Gavin, please, we don’t want to go to rocks.” At the revote, Ronnie debated flipping on Rocker, but ultimately decided not to. Seeing the turmoil, both Chris and Gavin flipped and voted out John Rocker. Tijuana was hurt that Chris and Gavin would flip, and Gavin was especially nervous now that his cover had been blown. “You have some explaining to do buddy,” Devon said. John Rocker left tribal council, shocked that his tribe had voted him out. “If only Gavin and Chris had just stuck in the tie, and we could’ve seen someone like Devon or Ronnie go home with that purple rock…oh well,” John said in his last words.
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