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We rejoin the Vuku tribe returning from Tribal Council and welcoming Carl into the clan, after they voted Natalia off.
Before we go any further, allow us this one aside: Every time Jeff Probst says “Vuku,” we hear “GooGoo.” One makes as much sense as the other. OK, back to the recap.
Kara is upset that her buddy, Natalia, was voted off and that she was completely blindsided. She feels that she’s on the outs, and needs to do some scrambling.
But before anyone can do much, another cyclone hits, pounding survivors with high winds and rain, and flooding camp sites. A message is sent to the tribes that they will be evacuated for the day because it’s only going to get worse. Christian suggests that Probst is so afraid of the storm, he wants to get as far away as possible.
The next day, Jabeni returns to its camp to find the shelter destroyed. It’s no better at the Vuku and Tiva camps. Everyone starts working to rebuild.
Reward Challenge
Survivors will use giant Q-tip look-alikes to pound an overhead net and pop off a bunch of sandbags. The bags are gathered into a basket, and then hurled into targets with giant slingshots.
The reward is live chickens for the first-place winners, eggs for second place, and disappointment for third.
Tiva takes an early lead, but Vuku wins first and Jabeni takes second.
Davie is so excited to get the chickens. He says they are having Kentucky Boiled Chicken — everyone needs a little KBC (copyright pending).
There is disagreement among the Jabeni. Natalie wants to boil all the eggs at once, saying they won’t keep if they aren’t cooked. Lyrsa, who graduated from culinary school, says raw eggs will keep longer than cooked ones.
Natalie insists it’s better to put all the eggs in one pot, so she does. She is starting to really irritate Lyrsa and Mike.
At Camp Tiva, Christian is bonding with the two bros, Dan and John. Dan says that the odd person out is Gabby, who will be the first to go. He wants to make sure that she doesn’t have a secret immunity idol, so he goes looking for one and finds a clue that one is hidden in part of the Immunity Challenge course. He’ll have to try to retrieve it without anyone seeing him.
Immunity Challenge
The players will be going up and over obstacles to untie a bag that contains a ball, which will be used in a vertical serpentine maze. The players will have to stand on a narrow beam and use pulleys and a curved board to work the ball up to the top.
While everyone is preoccupied with the maze, Dan quickly grabs the hidden idol and stuffs it down his pants. Meanwhile, Vuku and Tiva win immunity, sending Jabeni to Tribal Council.
Lyrsa says she’s voting off Natalie because she can’t stand her. Outside of the game, Lyrsa says, Natalie might be an adorable lady, but inside? She’s a nightmare. Unfortunately for Lyrsa, Natalie is a former Goliath, which has a 3-2 advantage over the former Davids on the tribe. If the Goliaths decided to vote together, Lyrsa or Nick will be going home tonight.
Natalie says Nick played a great game, but somebody has to go. Natalie, Mike and Angelina, the three Goliaths, decide to vote off Lyrsa.
Angelina says she wants Lyrsa’s jacket because she’s cold, and Natalie is the best person to get it for her. Natalie tries. She wants Nick to either steal Lyrsa’s jacket or give up is own. If he does either, he can can stay in game.
That does not sit well with Nick, who won’t steal and won’t give up his own jacket. He feels like he’s being bullied. Is it worth a million dollars, Natalie asks? Mike doesn’t like the deal, either, and floats the idea of joining Nick and Lyrsa in voting Natalie off.
Mike talks to Angelina about getting rid of Natalie, which is a smart move on Mike’s part. They don’t really need Angelina’s vote, but by cluing her in on the plot, she won’t be blindsided and won’t be alienated. She later says in tonight’s vote, there is no room for error.
Tribal Council
Probst asks about the Goliath numbers advantage and Angelina says they have to remain Goliath-strong not only for their tribe, but for the other Goliaths on other tribes.
Natalie thinks she’s always being picked on at Tribal. Angelina brings up the eggs and Mike says that Natalie pushes people around. Probst notes that Natalie has had issues with Mike and Angelina; Natalie strongly objects, telling Jeff she’s never had any issues with Angelina.
Nick brings up the jacket extortion attempt, and Natalie defends it as a negotiation. She’s in sales, she unhelpfully explains. Angelina says she thinks Natalie was just trying to get her jacket because she’s cold all the time. It was an act of love, she says. You know, affection and blackmail are just two sides of the same coin.
Probst says he’s figured out Natalie — she always has to have the last word. Right? No, Natalie says. Not always.
Votes are cast and Lyrsa gets two from Natalie and Angelina, but Natalie gets three, and that’s enough. Angelina hugs Natalie and says she’s sorry that she’s going. As Natalie brings her torch over to get snuffed, a shivering Angelina asks if she can have Natalie’s jacket. Natalie ignores her.
“Natalie? Natalie?” Angelina repeats. “Can I have your jacket?” Natalie just walks away without responding or even looking back. Was it worth a million dollars, Nick asks? Guess not, Mike says.
Natalie later says that she didn’t know if Angelina was part of her ouster, so why should she give her the jacket?
Next time: Friends become enemies and enemies become friends