Colton is still frustrated that no one will talk strategy with him, and finally realizes that it's making him a target.
At the Redemption Island duel, Tyson and Rachel immediately realize why she was voted out and Rachel calls out Brad as the person behind her ouster. Rachel tells Tyson to stay in the game and win and she'll win or lose on her own merits. Then Tyson yells at Tadhana -- especially Brad -- and Brad gets defensive, saying that his tribe has to make hard decisions and have difficult conversations. Marissa takes offense at that and says that it should be easy because they should vote out the weakest people, and yells, "Fuck you, Brad Culpepper!" Whoa! Gervase tells her to stifle and then Colton is crying and saying he wants to quit? And this all happens before the credits.
Everyone gives Colton shit, especially Probst, and they all call him a quitter. Colton quits anyway. Probst is ready to throw him in the garbage, which frankly is where he belongs. What a waste of space.
Finally we get to the Redemption Island duel (truel? Triel? Three-way battle?) between Marissa, Candice and Rachel. It involves placing blocks on a see-saw track like dominos, but each block can only go in one spot, and if they're not set up correctly, they won't fall down and send a ball to break a plate. Candice finishes easily and quickly. The other two women battle for forty-five minutes in intense heat and finish within seconds of one another. Marissa ekes out the win, so Rachel is going home. Candice gives another clue to John.
The Immunity Challenge is trying to push one another off a platform in the water, and the first tribe to win five times gets immunity. Normally this type of challenge is mildly interesting from a bloodlust standpoint, but between two mother and daughter battles (moms win both) and Vytas and Aras having a brotherly battle, it's really great. Galang wins immunity plus some comfort items, but Tyson partially dislocates his shoulder when battling Hayden.
After the challenge, Brad decides to tell everyone that they need to blindside John before he gets reunited with Candice, who's a proven challenge powerhouse and they might have an Idol still. Except then Brad makes the mistake of saying that he wants everyone to vote for John except him, so that if John ends up coming back, they can still have an alliance. Everyone quickly realizes that this would only benefit Brad and no one else. So then everyone but John and Brad wonders, "Why are we keeping Brad again?" And that's when they go to Tribal Council.
I guess they didn't get their act together quickly enough and were scared of John's potential Idol because they vote him out. I hope Brad goes , though.
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Galang. Day 7. They are having the weirdest conversation, all about Tyson's cupcake belt. He's wearing a belt with a cupcake belt buckle. He bought it at a gas station. I can't tell if they are all being like ten levels of sarcastic or if this is a serious conversation. I think Tina is taking it at face value and Tyson and Aras are putting her on. I don't know. Colton, with his amazing ability to not read the room, blurts out that they need to start thinking about who to sit out at challenges strategically and everyone just laughs and is like, "Seriously? We just woke up. Chill." Here's one thing about Colton (and there will be many in this recap): he's so self-centered and narcissistic that he doesn't listen to what other people are saying because he's up in his own head, thinking. And then he gets upset when everyone is on a different topic. Because Colton thinks he is the best, so what he's thinking is the best, so why isn't everyone else thinking the same thing or at least listening to Colton the Genius and his thoughts? That's how I imagine his train of thought goes. Meanwhile, everyone on his tribe clearly hates him and he hasn't figured it out yet.
Colton goes and sits by himself and stares at the water as he voice-overs that he's frustrated that no one wants to talk strategy because that's his favorite part of the game. For someone who is such a superfan. Colton clearly doesn't understand strategy. Strategy doesn't just mean, "Let's figure out who to vote out first" or "Let's stir up some shit so the heat is off me and on another person" although those two things are part of it. Strategy is also, "How do I fit in with this group, contribute to the overall well-being of my tribe, and seem as non-threatening as possible so that they don't vote me out?" Or instead of non-threatening, seem invaluable. Or band together for an alliance that has enough numbers to protect you with people you trust. I mean, there is SO MUCH to the strategy on this game, and Colton understands like a third of it.
Colton asks Aras if he's in trouble, and Aras tells him honestly that he is, but also that this game changes all of the time, minute to minute, so Colton shouldn't get too upset. Aras interviews that Colton doesn't understand the game and he's shooting himself in the foot and poisoning the tribe (to mix a metaphor). Aras's advice to Colton is to meditate or some yoga shit, as if Colton has ever unclenched in his whole life. Colton just wants Aras to give him a second chance, and Aras doesn't want to lie, so they're at an impasse. Colton realizes that he's totally screwed and will probably be voted out the first time his tribe goes to Tribal Council.
Time for the Redemption Island duel. I still need a better name. Truel sounds made up, but I just looked it up and it's a word (though a neologism) that is a nicer way of saying Mexican standoff, I guess. That's not really what this is – this is a three-way competition. Fine. I'll go with truel, but feel free to send me better alternatives. Galang sees that Rachel was voted off, and Tyson says that he's not shocked because he thinks Tadhana is hoping that he'll switch places with her and weaken his tribe. Rachel confirms that's exactly what happened, and points the finger at Brad as the ringleader. Rachel looks like Justine Bateman, I'm realizing. Anyway, Probst asks Tyson if he's going to switch. Tyson asks for Rachel's input, and she wisely says that Tyson has a way better shot at winning this game than she does, so he should stay put. Nice. I like Rachel. She can battle her way back in and win on her own merits or not. You see, Rupert? That is a relationship between equals. Rachel doesn't need to be rescued, like you tried to do for your wife.
So Tyson agrees to stay but then stands up and tells Tadhana that they'd better hope they don't meet him at Redemption Island, including "Mister Football over there." Brad sarcastically waves and smirks, then says that they don't want to vote anyone out, and Galang shouldn't judge until they've had to vote someone out. Yeah, those Galang members have no idea what it's like to go to Tribal Council and vote someone out, except for all the times they had to do it on their seasons. Marissa takes issue with Brad's claim that it's difficult, since she says they should just vote out the weakest people. Instead, they voted out some strong players, which might explain why they keep losing challenges. Brad drips, "We're playing Survivor, babe. Maybe there's more to it than that." Oof. Marissa gets PISSED and starts yelling, "FUCK YOU, Brad Culpepper." Heh. He deserved that. Gervase tells her to calm down and stay focused on winning truels.
Then Colton very fakely starts crying and rubbing non-existent tears from his eyes and says he can't do this anymore. Rachel is THE ONLY ONE who tells him not to quit. Probst can't believe that Colton is quitting again, and points out that he's screwing his tribe over by diminishing their numbers, and it's very selfish. Colton doesn't care, because he hates his tribe. At least he's stopped with the fake tears. Probst now wants to rehash the first time Colton quit
and get him to own up to faking it. Colton doesn't quite do that, and honestly, I don't think he was faking the first time. I think he was in pain; I think someone who wanted to stay in the game more would have gutted it out. But he was on the top of his tribe at that point, so why quit? Colton tries to say that he's on the outs with his tribe and he's tried of everyone hating him. Tyson calmly says that he started being a dick before he was on the outs, so he shouldn't blame that for his behavior. Tina adds that the game isn't going Colton's way, so he doesn't want to play. For such a superfan, you'd think he'd know that people could be down and out one week and in the finals a few weeks later. I mean, look at Christina from Colton's first season. If you had told me early on that she would make the finals, I never would have believed you. And Colton is a perfect goat to take to the finals; no one likes him. So anyway, Probst keeps hectoring Colton for being a quitter and Colton quits for good. Caleb says that he isn't disappointed but he's sad for Colton, who is obviously upset. After Probst continues to nag him, Colton finally leaps up and runs over and sits on Caleb's lap and whispers, "You can win this game. I can't."And that's the crux of it, isn't it? I really, really dislike Colton and I'm really mad that the producers gave him another chance ahead of other, more worthy contestants. But I do actually believe him that his quit was a strategic move to advance Caleb's interests. He saw that people were being voted out due to their loved one's actions on the other tribe. He knows that a single player is less of a threat than a partnered one. He knows that people actually like Caleb and they hate him, so he can't win. And perhaps most importantly, he knows that he and Caleb will share any winnings that Caleb brings home. So why not quit, save yourself the struggle, and watch your honey soar to the finals? I mean, I wouldn't quit because I feel like agreeing to join the game means that you play the game, win or lose, through good times and bad. But I can see Colton's strategy, and I can't really argue against its potential. So Probst tells Colton that he can't even throw his buff on the fire, like Colton gives a SHIT about that, and Colton leaves.
Once Colton is gone, Probst reminds us that they are only seven days in. Wow. He didn't last more than a week. Lame. Anyway, they still have a truel. This one involves stacking a series of blocks on a see-saw board so that they can eventually knock the blocks down like dominos and launch a ball to smash a plate. The blocks can only be placed in certain spots, so there is a puzzle aspect, and you won't know if you have it right until you knock them all down. Candice places her blocks quickly and starts knocking them down. She gets it right, smashes her plate, and wins the truel. John gives her a kiss and says he's proud of her.
So now it's down to Marissa and Rachel. Both try knocking down their blocks multiple times, only to find that they don't have it set up correctly, and in a few cases, knocking them over by accident. Probst mentions that it's well over a hundred degrees out there, and everyone does look sweaty and pink-cheeked, even those sitting in the bleachers. Forty-five minutes pass, and no one has won yet. Marissa tells Gervase that she's about to pass out and Gervase urges her to focus and finish. Tyson also coaches Rachel. Marissa sets her blocks off seconds before Rachel sets hers. But Rachel's isn't right, and the blocks stop falling, while Marissa's goes all the way and she wins second place. Gervase cheers for her while Tyson hops down and hugs Rachel. He asks if she had fun and she says yes, and they part.
Once they are done, Probst calls it "one of the most hard-fought duels [he's] ever seen." Rachel gets to toss her buff in the urn with honor, unlike Colton, and everyone cheers as she leaves. Candice obviously gives her clue to John, so that's two for him. Candice and Marissa head back to Redemption Island and everyone else heads back to camp.
Back at the Galang camp, everyone asks Tyson how he's doing. Tyson says he's fine, and he interviews that he expected to see that Rachel was voted out, since that move makes the most sense for the other tribe, and he knew they hoped he's swap places with her. He's now more motivated than ever to make it to the finals, so that he doesn't feel like he made the wrong choice regarding the potential swap. He gets emotional talking about Rachel, but he calms down as he says that too many people forget this is a game, and they get angry and ruin their lives, like Colton.
Kat doesn't understand why Colton quit. Based on what I remember from her first time around, Kat doesn't understand much of anything. Aras explains that no one would talk strategy with Colton on his terms, and he realized he couldn't control them all, so he quit. Monica brings up how everyone was mean to her husband, and there's a distinct lack of support from her tribe, although she doesn't seem to notice. Tyson interviews that it's a little weird playing with Monica when her husband was responsible for getting Rachel out, but he's not that worried because Brad doesn't know how to play the game and he's just putting a larger target on his back. I dig this new, mature Tyson. He sees what's going on and he's calmly plotting how to stay in the game. That's my favorite kind of player.
Over at Tadhana, Brad asks if he's really a tyrant. Everyone says no, but without much feeling. Brad should be worried. Brad also points out that he hates Redemption Island because people you voted off can come back to hate you. Is this a shock? Has Brad heard of a jury before? Brad interviews that he really is calling the shots, but he's making the tribe feel like they are group decisions. Is he? Meanwhile, John and Hayden are out in the water talking about how lucky they are to be on their tribe with their alliance.
Later, John opens his second clue. It seems pretty specific, much more so than the first one, so you'd think he'd find the Idol pretty quickly. John interviews that everyone will assume that he has found the Idol, even if he hasn't, so he decided to bring Brad into the fold to avoid falsehoods being spread. He tells Brad a little bit about the clues, but doesn't actually show them to him. Brad offers to help him look, but John thinks the other guys will get suspicious if they're looking together and want to be involved, and John doesn't want to share the Idol with their entire alliance. Brad is a bit suspicious of that move, but he's willing to wait it out and see what happens, because it will prove if John really trusts him or not.
I don't know if John does any looking at all that day, because it's suddenly the morning and Galang is reading their tree mail about the Immunity Challenge. They discover that it's going to be a fighting challenge. Aras is really excited because Vytas was always a bully towards him and Aras was always younger and couldn't fight back. Over on the other tribe, Vytas is looking forward to beating Aras at something for once, since Aras was always the golden child who won everything.
Both tribes arrive at the challenge, where Probst says that they will square off on a platform in the water and try to knock their opponent into the water using a padded bag as a weapon/shield. The first tribe to win five times gets immunity as well as comfort materials or fishing gear, their choice. Galang has to sit out a woman, and Monica will be sitting out.
First matchup is Brad versus Gervase. They don't give us any information about how these matchups were determined – randomly or by tribe choice or what. Gervase knocks Brad down at first, but eventually Brad gets his footing and knocks Gervase off, earning a point for Tadhana. The round is Laura Rupert vs. Katie, and Laura Rupert wins fairly easily, tying the score.
The match is John vs. Aras. They are fairly equal in size and strength, but John gets Aras near the edge and pushes him over. Tadhana leads. Kat takes on Ciera , gives her one push, and Ciera goes in. Whoa. That was sad. All tied up again.
Tyson and Hayden face off . Tyson is so scrawny. Hayden gives him one big hit and Tyson is in the water. Something happened to his shoulder on that one hit, so medical is called in. The medic examines him and says that Tyson's shoulder is popped out "a little bit" and he might have slightly torn a tendon. The good news is that he will probably get better quickly, but the bad news is that he has to sit out of the rest of the challenge. So Tadhana is up by one.
Tina and Katie are up against each other, mother versus daughter. Katie seems to take an early lead but Tina doesn't give up. She goes low, which I think is a smart tactic. Tina is quick, running around to avoid getting near an edge, and she finally pushes Katie off to tie the score.
And here's the big one: Aras versus Vytas. Brother versus brother. Vytas trash talks and says that Aras has always been afraid of him. Aras admits he feels like a kid, and he'd like to put his brother in the water. They really battle and it is obviously personal. They both seem to tire quickly, with Vytas just lying motionless on the platform. There isn't much movement, so Aras backs off and tells Vytas to stand up and reset. Vytas moves slowly, waits until Aras has his guard down, and attacks! Wow! Aras was giving him a chance to recover and Vytas totally faked him out. Not great sportsmanship, but maybe great game play? And it says a lot about both men's character, I think. Anyway, despite the sneak attack, Aras gets Vytas off the platform and wins. So now Galang is up by one. Probst asks Aras how he feels, and Aras gets emotional as he says that he's sorry he had to fight his brother, but he's proud he won. Vytas says that Aras is the college athlete and he's the junkie, but he's proud that his brother beat him. That seems like a backhanded compliment.
So now Galang only needs one more victory to win the challenge and it's Laura M. versus her daughter Ciera, who was a creampuff in her first round. Laura M starts crying even before the round begins because she doesn't want to intentionally hurt her child, and Ciera says her mom won't hurt her. Ciera looks like she weighs about ninety pounds and, after a little grappling, Laura M knocks her daughter out like a boss. Galang wins.
After the challenge, Tadhana sits around and rehashes the matches. Vytas is disappointed that he lost to his brother and admits that he gave Aras a cheap shot. Later, the five guys go to get water and talk about who to vote out that night. John is annoyed that Katie and Ciera both knew one of them was probably going home , and neither seemed to try that hard during the challenge or take it seriously. John tells the others that Katie has cooked almost every meal while Ciera hasn't done anything around camp, so they might as well get rid of Ciera. No one else has strong feelings one way or the other, so they agree.
Then John makes the terrible mistake of leaving the other guys to go look for the Hidden Immunity Idol. Brad immediately tells the other guys that John is a threat and they should probably blindside him. Brad interviews that he has another motive; right now Brad feels like he controls the tribe, but Candice is doing great so if she comes back into the game, she will control John instead of him. It's funny that Brad assumes that Candice wears the pants in the family. Brad tells the others that the girls will be on board with voting out John if only to save their own hides, and also tells the others what John told him about the clues. Hayden interviews that he fears that turning on one of their own alliance members will be "like opening Pandora's Box." Does anyone else feel like Hayden only knows that term because it was used on Big Brother?
Back at camp, Brad tells the girls that they're all voting out John, adding that if it's not John, it's going to be one of the girls. And if that's not obnoxious enough (though true), Brad then says that he's going to throw a vote to Ciera so that if John makes it back into the game via Redemption Island, he will still be willing to work with Brad. He really has no idea how self-serving that sounds, and is? He's basically saying, "Let's all vote out John, but I'm not going to, because I don't want him to hate me. But you guys should totally do it, or we will vote you out instead." What a bully. Vytas interviews that if they're going to make a big move like this, they have to do it together, and Brad's unwillingness to do it makes him a target.
Later, Ciera is hanging out with Vytas and Hayden and says that she's worried that John will play the Idol. The girls decide to vote out Brad and try to convince the guys to do the same. At the very least, if John does play the Idol, Brad would go home with two votes instead of Ciera with one. Vytas points out that they might not want to keep John if he has an Idol, though, and this might be their only chance to get rid of him. We don't hear a resolution before they head to Tribal Council.
Tribal Council. Probst is quick to point out that the men were the only ones who scored points for their team. Katie reminds him that they had fewer women than the other tribe, so they had to go up multiple times. Caleb add that it's obvious that the men are sending home the women, and Vytas denies that there's a male alliance, but says that he is always gathering information to help him make decisions. Brad is concerned that Vytas might use something he said against him in the future, especially since he keeps getting trashed at the truels by the people he voted out.
Probst wants to know what message Candice was sending John by giving him the clues and saying he knows what to do with them. John thinks Candice knew giving him the clues would make him a target, so she was hoping he would be able to parlay them into a smart game move. Vytas admits that having the clues can help an alliance, but also paint a target on someone's back. Vytas totally just admitted that John is in his alliance; didn't he just deny having an alliance?
Probst finds out from Hayden that John has not shared the clues. Hayden says it might make him question John. Brad jumps in and says that they can't all tell the truth all of the time, since there will only be one winner. Maybe not the smartest thing to say to all of the people you're trying to convince to be on your side?
Voting begins. From what we're shown, it looks like John voted for Ciera and then everyone else voted for John, and he was not expecting it at all. We get to see John arriving on Redemption Island and explaining to Candice that he got blindsided. He mumbles that it's good that he's there and Candice and Marissa both say, "No, it's not good! It's not good!" I'm a little sad that only one of these people gets to re-enter the game. I like all of them, even if John is kind of a doof.