Immediately after voting out Brandon, the Favorites tribe processes what just happened. They all agree that it might give the Fans some hope -- which is false hope -- and that Brandon is crazy. Phillip and Corinne are both a little upset that no one on their tribe stood up for them against Brandon, but ultimately they agree that they're better off without Brandon anyway. So Phillip's goal is to get rid of Corinne.
Both tribes report to the Reward Challenge only to find out that they're switching tribes via colored egg smash. Ugh, now I have to start calling them by their tribal names instead of Fans and Favorites. Here are the new tribes: Gota is now Eddie, Reynold, Andrea, Malcolm, Sherri, Erik and Brenda. Bikal is Phillip, Corinne, Michael, Matt, Cochran, Dawn and Julia. Man, the Gota tribe has all the young and strong people. And two people with Idols. That's comical. Probst tries to get them all to admit how uneven the tribes are, but no one will come right out and say it.
There's no challenge and the new tribes return to their camps. Reynold and Eddie immediately tell the former Favorites that they hate Sherri and wouldn't mind voting her out. Meanwhile, Sherri tries to get Andrea and Brenda on her side.
Over at Bikal, Corrine wants to befriend Michael because he's gay and she's THAT girl, while Phillip tries to get Julia on his side. Corinne and Dawn are pissed that Phillip is trying to expand their alliance without checking with them first.
Immunity Challenge: Pairs run out and move very heavy crates back to the starting point, then assemble them into a staircase which they run up and win immunity. Gota (the "young" tribe) gets their crates in way ahead of Bikal (the "old" tribe) and have a terrible rotation strategy including having Phillip bring in two crates in a row over his protests. Bikal also does a terrible job with the assembly of the staircase, spending more time arguing about placement than actually moving crates around. Gota wins easily.
Phillip decides to vote out Julia, and brings Michael and Matt in on the plan. Julia tries to rally her former tribemates to get rid of Dawn. And then suddenly the former Favorites are talking about voting out Matt? I don't even know where that came from. Something about how they think Matt definitely doesn’t have a Hidden Idol and they others might?
Ultimately, Julia votes for Dawn, Matt and Michael vote for Julia, and everyone else votes for Matt. Julia and Michael had better hope that their tribe gets their collective shit together and starts winning.
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The Favorites return to their camp after getting rid of Brandon Hantz via a forfeited challenge and an impromptu Tribal Council. Most of them are talking about how the Fans just got a big shot of adrenalin because they learned that all was not kosher in the Favorites tribe, so now they'll have a boost of confidence. Phillip and Corinne, however, are concerned about how mean Brandon was to them personally. Corinne points out how stupid it was for Brandon to screw over the whole tribe when he only hates a few of them. I get the vibe that no one wants to talk to Corinne; she's one of those people who makes her point and you're like, "Yeah, I get it, I agree" and then she has to say it like five more times until, even though you agree with her, you just want her to shut up.
Phillip goes on and on about how he never had a fight with Brandon and their rivalry was all in Brandon's head. Well, maybe he never initiated a fight with Brandon, but he and Brandon definitely had words and Phillip certainly didn't walk away every time or try to make peace every time. Phillip interviews that Brandon needs professional help. Corinne says that Brandon is crazy like Mel Gibson. Dawn apologizes to Corinne and Phillip that they got called out, and Phillip says he wished someone had stood up for them when Brandon was calling them out. Corinne interviews the same thing. I thought they had pretty much agreed that they wouldn't engage Brandon while voting him out. What good would standing up for Phillip or Corinne have done? It would have legitimized his craziness, frankly, and antagonized him more. What do they care if the other tribe thinks they're weak? Good!
Anyway, Phillip concludes that they're now a better tribe and one of them will win this. They all agree that it feels good that Brandon is gone. Cochran interviews that now Phillip is the only crazy one left, but he says it in his typical overly mannered Cochran way. Phillip tells everyone that the other tribe is worn out. And then Phillip interviews that now that Brandon's gone, he's going full bore after Corinne. So we'll see how that goes.
The day, the Fans get tree mail. It says something about how the winners will have fun and celebrate together. Michael snarks that the losers will be sad and return to their wet camp. Reynold interviews that he and Eddie have given up on making any social alliances so they are just going to try to win challenges and eat rice and wait for the game to shift. I bet that's not a prophetic statement; probably the status quo will remain for this entire episode, right? Anyway, they grab their tribe flag and head off to the challenge.
By Kim
The two tribes report for their challenge and Probst leads off by reminding everyone what happened with Brandon, as if they could forget. Michael says that it was good for their tribe to feel something positive together FOR ONCE. He doesn't say FOR ONCE, but you can tell he's thinking it. Matt says that they've been really bummed about losing challenges, but it's good because they found out that the Favorites were not "one big happy family" as they thought. Matt adds that he feels bad for Phillip because he didn't deserve the tongue-lashing he got. And then Corinne says "Thank you." Um, he didn't mention your name, sweetheart.
Probst asks Phillip how their tribe has been doing, and Phillip says he could finally let his guard down a bit because he's been sleeping with one eye open. Probst asks a super leading question about if they all feel really good about their current tribes. They do. Well, the Favorites probably do. You know Reynold is like, "Get me the eff out of here." His prayers are answered when Probst says that they're switching tribes.
As they all groan and drop their buffs, Probst hands out eggs filled with paint. There was a lot of hullaballoo online about how Probst could have influenced the outcome of the switch based on who got which egg, but I saw Erik, Malcolm, and Cochran all take from the same bowl and they did not all end up on the same tribe, so I think it's malarkey. Also, if Probst were going to influence the outcome, I think he would have made the tribes more even. There were a lot of ways to make this switch interesting; the outcome was not that interesting.
Anyway, they all break eggs and get either orange (Gota) or purple (Bikal). The new Gota is Reynold, Eddie, Sherri, Andrea, Erik, Malcolm, and Brenda. The new Bikal is Michael, Matt, Julia, Phillip, Corinne, Cochran, and Dawn. So check out that Gota tribe - all the young and athletic people are there. The Bikal tribe got all the oldies and the weaklings. Cochran says that this has changed the game and Matt adds that he's fine with his new tribe and just excited to get going. Corinne says that she has to adjust and she's a little overwhelmed.
Probst keeps trying to get someone to state the obvious, that the tribes are mismatched. Finally Brenda says that her tribe looks strong and they all agree. Probst announces that they've each been given another bag of rice and a new flint, which cheers everyone up. Reynold interviews that he's psyched about his new tribe and he feels like he and Eddie have been given new life. I don't know why Eddie is unable to speak for himself. Do he and Reynold share a brain? So they each have half? That would explain a lot, actually.
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Once the Gota tribe returns to their camp, they can actually let themselves celebrate their awesome fortune and discuss how they're probably going to win every challenge from here on out. Eddie interviews that the former Favorites still have a majority in the tribe but he thinks they'll be able to avoid Tribal Council for a while, so it won't matter.
Reynold, who has a history of running his mouth, immediately tells Erik and Malcolm that Sherri is "the worst person" and she's been trying to vote him and Eddie out since day one. What a dummy. Even Erik knows that if Sherri was trying to ditch Reynold, that's probably a strike against Reynold, not Sherri. Even ERIK KNOWS! Erik interviews that Reynold is like a "used car salesman."
Sherri goes in the water with Brenda and Andrea and says that Eddie is a nice guy when he's away from Reynold, but Reynold is the worst. Brenda and Andrea laugh that obviously Sherri would like to see Reynold be the voted off, and Sherri shares that Reynold already played one Idol; she doesn't think he has another yet, but she knows he's looking. Andrea confirms in an interview that the Favorites still plan to stick together, so any information is welcome.
The new Bikal also returns to their camp. Corinne interviews that she loves Michael because he's "a gay" and she wants to turn on her alliance to align with "a gay." Look, it's not like Corinne is homophobic, but she is treating Michael like a pet. I mean, some gay people are dipshits, just like some straight people are dipshits. If someone did an interview saying that they wanted to align with the cute little Asian lady because she's "an Asian" and for no other reason, that would be offensive too. I'm just saying, Corinne has been flying under the radar thus far, but this episode just reminded everyone how she's an idiot.
Phillip finds Julia inside the shelter and immediately announces that he's taking her under his wing. Of course, Phillip has welcomed everyone into his alliance so far, whether he intended to keep them around or not, so this means nothing. Julia is interested but skeptical, and Phillip interviews that out of the three Fans on his tribe now, he thinks she's the most likely to flip, so that's why he approached her. I don't know if he's right or not, but Matt and Michael are clearly a pair so whatever they do, they will do together.
Malcolm and Andrea go into the jungle and share what they've learned so far abut their new tribemates. Malcolm is surprised to hear that Reynold has already played an Idol. They agree that this is a perfect scenario, to have the new tribemates already hating one another so they don't have to worry about them banding together somehow. Andrea also asks Malcolm if he has an Idol. We know that he does, but he tells her no. Malcolm interviews that he's "an accomplished liar to women" (hope your mom's proud, dude) so he thinks she bought it. Come on, Malcolm. I know you can't be perfect, but don't be so gross about women. Please?
Bikal. Julia asks Michael how he feels about the split. Michael says he's happy with the new camp and the new tribemates so far, and they'll see how it goes. Phillip tells Corinne that he had a chat with Julia about potentially flipping and Corinne is, understandably, like, "Why do we need her? Why are you recruiting her?" Corinne interviews that Phillip must be the worst Federal Agent ever and she wonders what cases he worked on and if he's the reason our country is such a mess. After telling Phillip that she's not super concerned about getting a flipper now, Corinne finds Dawn and tells her what happened. Dawn is also gobsmacked and says that they can't leave Phillip alone for a minute because he's a loose cannon. Corinne interviews that she's thought about voting Phillip out. She concludes by telling Dawn that Phillip needs "a warm glass of shut the hell up." So they aligned with a known nutball and now they're surprised that he's doing nutty things?
The tribes arrive at the Immunity Challenge, which appears to be the same one that was aborted previously when Brandon got sent home. I mean, why waste a challenge? But some conspiracy theorists proposed that this challenge was meant for a stronger team to win easily, but that won't fly since they were supposed to do it with their original tribes. The challenge involves pairs of teammates running out and retrieving these giant cubes - they're over four feet per side and God knows how heavy. Once all of the cubes have been retrieved, the tribe has to assemble them into a staircase that spells Fans Vs Favorites, so they can't just randomly put the cubes anywhere; they need to be in specific spots.
First up, Eddie and Erik head out against Phillip and Julia. You know, I had a whole play-by-play typed up here but it was really dull to read. Here's what you need to know: Gota (the young people tribe) does really well. Bikal (the old/weak people tribe) struggles. Phillip goes out first for Gota and then takes his second trip later with Cochran, and gets lapped by Eddie and Malcolm (both on their second trip). Phillip returns, exhausted, and Michael tells him he needs to go out again. Phillip wonders why he has to go twice in a row, which is a good question. He's pretty slow, which is understandable since he's exhausted, and Gota starts assembling their staircase while Bikal still has two crates in the field.
Malcolm is calling the shots for Gota, telling them which crates to put where. Julia tries to tell her tribemates on Bikal where to put crates but no one listens to her, and Phillip just argues. They finally start moving crates and get one on top, and then Cochran points out that it should actually be on the bottom. They all just stand around and look tired while Gota gets their final crate in place and wins immunity. Probst tells Bikal that their performance was pathetic. Way to rub salt in the wounds, dude. Phillip interviews that he blames their loss on Corinne? I'm not sure why it was her fault. It seemed like a full tribal breakdown: Phillip shouldn't have gone twice in a row, someone should have taken point on the assembly of the staircase, they should have planned better. And ultimately, the other tribe is just younger and stronger.
Once Bikal returns from the challenge, Phillip gives a little speech where he says that they did the best they could today in the challenge, and sometimes the better team just wins. He adds that he didn't see anyone on their tribe slacking off, but the other tribe was just stronger. Corinne interviews that they've all let Phillip believe he's the tribe leader so they just have to grit their teeth through his motivational speeches like this, even though she finds it incredibly annoying. Except everything Phillip is saying is true, so I'm not sure why it's so annoying, and also he's putting himself out there which takes the spotlight off Corinne. I don't get why she's so upset. Anyway, Corinne interviews that she's going to stick with Phillip because she knows he will vote with her and he won't flip.
Julia is in the water, so Matt and Michael catch Phillip and ask what he's thinking about the vote. Phillip says they're going to vote off "the girl"; the implication is that obviously one of the Fans is going home, so they're going to keep the two guys to try to keep the strongest people for challenges. Matt and Michael immediately agree, because what else are they going to do? They should have already been seeking out the malcontents on the Favorites side and trying to flip them, but we haven't seen any of that. Phillip tells Matt and Michael about Stealth R Us and how they should do whatever someone else on the alliance tells them to do. I would be a terrible Stealth R Us member because I don't even understand the instructions that Phillip just gave. Matt and Michael just agree to whatever, hoping to avoid being voted out tonight.
Michael and Matt go to gather sticks and talk about what to tell Julia. Before they can agree on a story, Julia joins them and asks who they're voting for. They say they don't know, and explain that they're just trying to get a sense of what the alliance is thinking, but no one will tell them. Julia says that the best scenario is that they want to get rid of one of their own and ask for help with the votes. Really, Julia? You think that might happen? Is she really that dumb? Julia proposes that they all vote for Dawn, and Michael and Matt agree quickly, because they know they're not really voting for Dawn. And why would they? Wasted vote.
Corinne rounds up Matt and Michael and says that, if they had all started on the same tribe, they would probably be in an alliance. So she wants to know how they're voting, and they say they'll vote however she says. Corinne doesn't answer them, but does ask if either of them has an Idol. They both deny it. Cochran interviews that the consensus seems to be voting out Julia, but that would leave Matt and Michael still together as a pair. Cochran doesn't think Matt has the Idol because he reeks of desperation. Takes one to know one.
The former Favorites converge on the beach to determine their vote. It comes down to either Matt or Julia. Some want Julia because she's weak and unhelpful in challenges. Cochran pushes for Matt because he's too close to Michael and they need to break that up, and Cochran is pretty sure that Matt doesn't have an Idol. Dawn agrees. Phillip and Cochran thinks they should keep both Matt and Michael, because they think they can be flipped. No one asks, "Why? We don't need them." Perhaps they are thinking of post-merge, in case the other half of their alliance takes up with Reynold/Eddie/Sherri? Corinne, surprisingly, agrees with Phillip. I mean, at some point, your alliance is too big, right? Corinne interviews that she's glad her gay got saved. Ugh, shut up, Corinne. Corinne thinks Julia is boring and made them lose the challenge, so she should go. Corinne is a garbage person.
Tribal Council. Matt immediately says that he was psyched to play with the people he had watched and enjoyed on TV. Julia admits that the Fans are in "a little bit of trouble" since they're in the minority. A little bit? Does she understand voting? And alliances? I can't figure out if she's purposely downplaying it or if she truly believes someone from the other side is just going to go rogue and vote out Dawn.
Corinne talks about how awesome the new tribe members are, and who she wishes she could replace some of her own alliance members with them. Wow. That's a great way to keep your alliance members happy. Anyway, she struggles with tonight's decision, because she doesn't feel it's fair. Probst asks Phillip how he's making his voting decision, and Phillip says he's looking for people who are loyal, trustworthy, good at challenges, and who can follow instructions post-merge. He sounds like he's going to ask someone to assassinate a fellow player. I mean, what's he going to ask them to do? Vote a certain way? Let's take the drama down a notch, Phillip.
Corinne says that she's worried that one of them has the Hidden Immunity Idol, and it could screw up her alliance's plans, because she knows that they wouldn't tell her if they did. Matt says he told Corinne he doesn't have it, and he thinks Julia or Michael would tell him if they did, and he's saying that none of them have it. Corinne wants to believe him, but it would be "Survivor 101" to keep it concealed. Phillip adds that their fears over someone having an Idol are driving their vote tonight.
Probst tells Cochran that, when deciding on a vote, you also have to consider what's happening on the other tribe, which is an unknown. Cochran agrees, and says that if they keep losing challenges, that will only make the other tribe grow closer since they have the good feelings of winning and also no bad feelings about voting someone out. Cochran calls them "the bold and the beautiful group" and doesn't think he would be a member.
Time to vote! Michael and Matt vote for Julia to try to save their own hides. Probst tallies the votes and no one plays an Idol because no one on this tribe has one; Malcolm and Reynold have them. The first two votes are for Julia from Michael and Matt. Then Julia votes for Dawn. All of the rest of the votes are for Matt from the Favorites, and he's out. Aw, Michael is sad. His buddy is gone. Probst tells Julia and Michael that they're in trouble. Wow, thanks Captain Obvious.