At the Redemption Island Truel, Tina, Laura, and Vytas have to retrieve four colored cubes and then stack them so that no side has repeating colors. So not so much physical, more puzzle, which favors the ladies. All three are close in retrieving the blocks. Laura gets her puzzle complete first, and spins her own puzzle so that Vytas can't look at it to finish. Then Laura starts giving Tina pointers. But Vytas can hear the pointers and follows them. Tina finishes one second before Vytas, so Vytas goes home. And he's pissed. Laura gives the Idol clue to Ciera, who burns it.
Hayden talks to Caleb about blindsiding Tyson while they have the chance. Katie is, of course, on board. They try to get Ciera on board, and she immediately goes and tells Tyson. He gets Gervase on board to vote out Caleb and knock out this potential threat to their alliance. Later, Hayden twigs to the fact that Ciera is cozying up to Tyson, and gets rightfully paranoid about his plan.
So this Immunity Challenge is really important. They have to hold a rope attached to a bucket with 25% of their body weight. The last person holding up the bucket wins immunity. Or they can choose to skip the competition and feast on some food. Tyson, Gervase, and Ciera choose to eat. Probst makes sure to needle the competitors about how annoying it is that some people felt they didn't have to compete. Katie is the first one out of the challenge, followed a while later by Caleb. Hayden eventually drops the bucket and Monica wins immunity AGAIN. Maybe someone should start worrying about Monica making the finals because they never get the chance to vote her out?
After realizing that Ciera's with Tyson, Caleb and Hayden discuss what to do, since now they only have three, which isn't the majority. So Caleb and Hayden straight out talk to Tyson about how Ciera's playing both sides to try to convince him to vote out Ciera. Tyson and Gervase have to decide whether to trust Ciera or Caleb and Hayden and then vote accordingly.
At Tribal Council, there's a lot of talk about trust and alliances and who feels safe and who doesn't. Tyson plays his Idol, but not before making a big show about not being able to find it and dumping out his bag. Everyone else is pretty surprised. Turns out he didn't need to play it because his alliance pulled through and voted out Caleb. Hayden's face is like, “Oooooohhhh crap.”
The tribe returns from voting out Laura, with everyone offering Ciera comfort since she just had to vote out her mom. Katie interviews that Ciera clearly has a plan, and her mom isn't part of it. Ciera interviews that she hopes this move proved that she's trustworthy and she needs to be taken seriously. Her problem is that she really needed people to think that she isn't serious about the game; now she's a threat, since she's shown that she's capable of making strategic moves. As Tyson says, voting out her mom showed Ciera's loyalty, but it also showed how hard she's playing the game, and she's dangerous.
Laura arrives at Redemption Island and for a second, pretends that she's Katie to fake Tina out. It weirdly works; doesn't Tina recognize her own daughter's voice? Laura tells Vytas and Tina how Ciera had to vote her out, and reveals her conflicting emotions surrounding that. Laura's no dummy; she points out that Monica is winning a lot of challenges and Tyson is running the show and yet no one has made a move against either one of them. Vytas and Tina can't understand why no one is voting Tyson out. Agreed.
Redemption Island Truel. Vytas, Tina, and Laura arrive, and then Probst has to make a big stinking deal about how Ciera voted her mom out of the game. Maybe he feels like it's his last chance to milk the Blood Vs. Water thing. Laura cries a little and says they knew one would have to vote out the other eventually, but she didn't think it would be so soon. Ciera mouths "Sorry" and Laura says it's okay and she'll come back. Ciera doesn't mouth "Please don't," but she probably should.
Now that he's sucked some more tears out of contestants, Probst moves on to explain the challenge. They will have to remove four cubes through a long net-covered tunnel, and then stack the cubes so that no side has repeating colors. So not so much physical and lots of puzzling – great for Laura, not so great for Vytas. After Probst tells them to start, Vytas and Laura get their boxes through the tunnel quickly and start working on their puzzle at the same time. Tina is only on her third out of four boxes when they start working. Shortly after Tina finally gets her fourth box free of the tunnel, Laura figures out her puzzle and wins first place in the challenge.
Once Probst certifies that Laura has it right, she stands between her finished product and Vytas so that he can't see her solution, and then she starts spinning it. Is she allowed to just take it apart? Because it seems like that would be a lot easier. Then she starts coaching Tina on how to finish. Coaching might be understating it; she's telling Tina which cubes to put where. But Vytas can hear her too, and benefits from her instruction. Probst hears the whole thing and doesn't tell Laura to stop, so it's not cheating. Tina finishes seconds before Vytas, and Probst certifies her win. Tina hugs Laura and thanks her and then goes and hugs Vytas. Laura also tries to hug Vytas but he's like, "Nope." I don't blame him for being mad; I'd be mad too.
Probst talks to all three of them, but wants Vytas to talk some more about his relationship with Aras because we haven't heard enough about THAT. Vytas says that he and Aras were both voted out because they are threats, and that when they get home, they will be closer because of this shared experience. Vytas leaves with his parting thoughts: "Namaste, bitches!" I think Vytas might have a ways to go before he reaches a state of Zen. Laura chooses to give her Hidden Immunity Idol clue to Ciera, who burns it immediately.
Once they return from the truel, Tyson interviews that the two votes are really important for his end game, and his strategy is going to be keeping everyone against Katie. Tyson tells Hayden, Caleb, and Gervase that they need to get rid of Katie because she has three jury votes (Aras, Vytas, Tina) sealed, so she's too dangerous to keep around in case she somehow slips through to the finals. Hayden resets everything for us in an interview when he explains that they have a five-person alliance (him, Caleb, Tyson, Gervase, and Ciera), and they could continue working together, but you don't want to be the person who waited too long to make a move either.
Hayden and Caleb talk alone about whether or not it's time for them to make a move, or else end up going out right before the finals. Caleb goes and tells Katie that she's safe, because they've decided to blindside Tyson while they can. Katie interviews that she's felt like a hermit crab in this game, going from shell to shell to shell for temporary protection from predators. But she feels like working with her original Tadhana members to blindside Tyson is the best option yet. She's not wrong. It's a great move, if they can pull it off. Who's going to be against them when it's done? Monica? Gervase? Yikes, not those two.
Caleb and Hayden tell Ciera their plan, and promise her final three with the two of them. Ciera tells them it's a smart move, but in her interview, she says that the "people who haven't played the game before" (like her?) are too willing to flip on the people they've aligned with. Well, it's not like they aligned with Tyson by choice; it was by self-preservation, or they would have been out. I mean, it's possible that Tyson will take Ciera to the final three with him and Gervase. It's also possible that he'll take someone he thinks he has a better chance of beating.
Ciera finds Tyson in the woods and tells him what the other guys just proposed to her. But she says that she doesn't trust them, and she plans to vote however Tyson tells her through the end of the game. Tyson looks a little scared but tells Ciera that he has her back and they just need to work together with Gervase and Monica to take Hayden and Caleb out. It's shocking how every week they say that they're going to get rid of Katie and every week, there seems to be a higher priority. Tyson interviews that he was hoping to make it to the final six before locking down his final three, but he might have to do it earlier, just to keep Ciera happy and loyal.
Tyson tells Gervase about Hayden and Caleb's plan. I think Hayden and Caleb's mistake was telling Ciera so early. At least wait until after the immunity challenge! Gervase and Tyson can't believe how sneaky the other guys are being, and admit that they were planning on taking the guys to the final four. Gervase interviews that the guys got sloppy. Tyson says that he thinks they should take out Caleb first, because he's way too likable and that could mean jury votes. Gervase agrees.
The morning, Ciera gets up and won't look at or talk to Hayden and Caleb, but she perkily asks Tyson to go get treemail with her. Way to be subtle, Ciera. After they pick up the tree mail, Ciera and Tyson agree that they're still voting out Caleb, and Tyson adds that Gervase is on board. Ciera interviews that she's glad she didn't go with her original tribe, and that she trusts Tyson because he needs her vote, plus she helped him avoid a blindside, plus he doesn't want to sit to Hayden and Caleb in the finals.
Ciera reads the treemail to everyone. Hayden interviews that he's starting to get suspicious about Ciera and Tyson spending so much time together, and he wonders if Ciera isn't really going to vote with them. Hayden discusses his suspicions with Katie, who confirms them and says that if they don't have Ciera's vote, then either she's going home or Hayden or Caleb will be blindsided. Katie interviews that she thought their plan to vote out Tyson was solid, but now they have doubts about Ciera. So, in conclusion, this immunity challenge is important. Is Monica even playing this game anymore? No one talks about her and she never gets any screen time after being a major player in the first half. I think she and Gervase must be really boring, and thus their lack of screen time.
It's another endurance-type challenge. This time, they have to hold a spool of rope that's connected to a bucket weighing twenty-five percent of their body weight. The last person with a bucket in the air wins immunity. But there's a twist: contestants who don't want to compete can sit out and eat a plethora of barbecued meats. Tyson, Gervase, and Ciera decide to eat. I don't really get the strategy here on Tyson and Gervase's parts. Tyson knows there's a plot against him, and he's said that he's concerned about a blindside. I know he has the Idol, but I'm sure he'd rather hold onto it than use it. Why not compete? He's also stated in the past that he's eating just fine, so it's not like he's hungry. Ciera said in post-show interviews that she knew there was no way she could win the competition so she figured she might as well eat. I don't know that I completely agree with that strategy, but at least I can understand it.
So Hayden, Caleb, Katie, and Monica are competing. It's a pretty boring challenge to watch because, you know, buckets. They're in the air. Not a lot of dynamism here. Tyson makes a Mormon reference when Probst asks how the food is: "Delicious to the taste and very desirable." According to my limited Googling, that's what Lucifer says to Eve to convince her to eat an apple from the Tree of Knowledge in the Garden of Eden. Tyson is really going for the evil genius type of edit but he's kind of trying too hard. Everyone since Evil Dr. Will has tried too hard. Monica says she's going to win this challenge to prove to her kids that there's more than one badass in the family.
Ten minutes has elapsed with little to no movement. A few people's buckets drop, but they crank them back up. Finally, Katie's hands slip and her bucket drops. She's out. Probst keeps asking the ones competing if they're bothered that three people chose to eat instead. Do we have to make the subtext text every time, Probst? Can't we draw our own conclusions? Gervase and Tyson do a Lady and the Tramp with a giant loaf of bread (minus the kissing part). Probst tries to get under Hayden's skin again, this time affecting a weird British accent and says, "Perform for me! Show me blood!" Wouldn't that be more Roman than British?
Twenty minutes have elapsed. Everyone winches their buckets back up. Hayden has some serious blisters on his hands from holding the handle. Caleb's hands are starting to bleed, which makes his bucket slip slowly down until finally he just lets go. Caleb's out. Tyson tells Gervase and Ciera that they're good, so we know they plan to vote out Caleb. Hayden and Monica both winch back up to the top, but Hayden's bucket immediately starts slipping again. Monica is rock solid. Hayden tries, but can't keep his bucket up and he's out. Monica wins. Is anyone worried about Monica going on an immunity run and making the finals? Or do they think she's only winning because Tyson threw the last challenge and didn't compete in this one? In one of my favorite small moments of the episode, before he heads back to camp, Hayden takes a good long look at all the food he didn't get to eat.
After the challenge, everyone returns to camp and congratulates Monica on her win. And then they all want to hear about the food, which I find weird. Why torture yourself? But they seem to want specifics about the steak, the chicken, and the bread. Tyson and Ciera answer, but keep their responses brief, which is probably wise. Hayden interviews that Tyson, Gervase, and Ciera all felt comfortable enough to skip the immunity challenge, which points to the fact that they might be working together. You think? I'm changing my mind about Ciera's decision to sit out. Even if she thought she had no chance of winning, she should have competed just to avoid making it so obvious that she's working with Tyson. She could have told Tyson her rationale and he would have understood.
Hayden and Katie discuss how they know they can't trust Ciera, and if she's not with them, they don't have the voting majority. Hayden realizes he's got to change up his game if he wants to stick around, so he takes the issue to Caleb, who suggests that they just go to Tyson and ask him what's going on. They can even emphasize that Ciera is playing them against one another and try getting rid of her. Caleb says that he doesn't want to go against Ciera (why not? She's going against you?) but Ciera did it to herself.
Hayden and Caleb have the fateful meeting with Tyson. Hayden explains that they feel like Tyson, Gervase, and Ciera are out to blindside one of them. Tyson says that he thought they were coming after him, since Ciera told him that. Hayden says that they don't want to split with Tyson, and Tyson admits that Ciera's been whispering in his ear and he couldn't figure out why the guys would split up their alliance when it's all going so well. Tyson interviews that Ciera made a great move pitting the guys against one another so that they would be too busy taking each other out to worry about her, but now Tyson knows, and he doesn't trust her.
The guys all shake on voting out Ciera. So that's settled! Why bother with the rest of the episode? Oh, wait. Tyson interviews that he's not sure if he trusts Hayden and Caleb either, because they may just be trying to make him feel comfortable before blindsiding him. So Tyson might play his Idol for added insurance.
Hayden and Colton walk away together across some field we've never seen before. Hayden feels good about their deal, and thinks Tyson will keep his word. Caleb isn't as sure. Ciera's been napping this whole time, which is why everyone felt comfortable discussing her, I guess. Also, nice metaphor. Caleb interviews that hopefully Ciera is going home tonight, and it's her own fault for not sticking with a side.
Tyson pulls Gervase side to discuss their move. Tyson lays out what Hayden and Caleb just told him, and says that they need to decide whether to vote out Ciera or Caleb. They just have to figure out who's lying. I guess Hayden and Caleb are the ones lying; from what we saw, they decided to blindside Tyson for strategic purposes, not because they felt any immediate threat from him. But they might not have proceeded with their plans if Ciera hadn't affirmed the idea, so she's not blameless either. Tyson shows off his level thinking by telling Gervase that either Hayden and Caleb are telling the truth, OR they might be trying to get a few people to vote for Ciera so that they will have enough votes to send Tyson home. I never even thought of that. I don't think Hayden and Caleb did either. Tyson wants Gervase to decide who goes home, and Gervase interviews that you have to go with your gut, which is scary, because it could mean you go home if you trust the wrong person.
Tribal Council. Probst opens by probing the idea of who sat out the challenge once again, like we get it, dude. There is actually some interesting stuff going on in this tribe but that line of questioning isn't going to root it out. Anyway, Hayden repeats the company line about people feeling comfortable, and shows off his blistered hands. Hayden adds that he wasn't so much jealous of the food as he was of their feelings of safety, since he doesn't feel that way.
Probst asks Caleb if he was surprised at anyone who sat out, and he says no. Probst asks, "Not even Ciera?" Probst, if you want a scripted show, then work on a scripted show. But don't badger the contestants until they say what you think they should say. Ciera says that she looked at the challenge and didn't think she had a chance, and she'd rather sit out and eat then compete, lose, and not eat.
Tyson manages to flip the script a little bit when he says that he was surprised that his entire alliance wasn't there eating beside him, since they should feel as comfortable as he does. That's an interesting tactic, although if his entire alliance ate with him, Katie would have won the challenge by default and they'd be screwed.
Gervase talks about how he trusts the people in his alliance and he hopes that they keep their word. Probst notes that he was looking right at Hayden, and Hayden says that he trust Gervase, even if he can't help but getting paranoid at times. Ciera admits that freaks her out a little, because it feels like there are secret messages being passed. Tyson says he would be shocked to be voted out tonight, but nearly every Tribal Council at this point will feature someone being shocked.
Caleb says he thinks there will be a blindside tonight, and Ciera nervously says that she would be shocked to be voted out tonight because she has put her trust in her alliance, and shared information with them, perhaps too much.
Voting. Caleb votes for Ciera; Ciera votes for Caleb. Tallying. Request for Hidden Immunity Idol. And Tyson speaks up! He dumps out his entire bag like Ally Sheedy in The Breakfast Club, although he doesn't add that you never know when you've going to have to jam. Gervase, Monica, and Ciera look amused. Katie looks PISSED. I wonder if she still thought Ciera had it. Hayden and Caleb look worried. Probst certifies that it is, in fact, an immunity idol, so any votes cast against Tyson won't count.
Probst reveals the votes. We can assume that Hayden, Caleb, and Katie all voted for Ciera. So if Ciera gets more than three votes, she's gone. Of course, they were assuming that it was going to be six-to-one for Ciera, so when Caleb gets two votes, they know they're screwed. And in fact, it ends up four-to-three for Caleb, and he gets sent to Redemption Island. Tyson played the Idol for nothing. I assume it will get rehidden, though. So is Tyson going to sail through or will someone actually try to stop him?