A new episode of Survivor airs tonight on CBS. Read a live recap here.
The Vula tribe returns to camp after tribal council. Mary was on the outs, so she’s surprised Stephanie was voted out and Sai stayed. Sai tells Mary it’s water under the bridge, but she admits in a confessional that she will hold a grudge against Mary. Sai feels like she’s in control with her four-person alliance and immunity idol.
It’s Day 4 on the Civa tribe. The tribe is getting along, and they talk about their “humble traits.” David has four nipples, Charity calls her left feet “jacked up,” Kyle has a wart, Mitch has a speech impediment, and Chrissy has a deep bellybutton.
Meanwhile on the Lagi tribe, they’re feeling strong and confident in any upcoming challenge. They discuss who to sit out next, and Eva suggests Star. Star is annoyed Eva spoke on her behalf. Star worries that she’s on the outs of the tribe, so she goes searching for the hidden immunity idol. She ends up finding the puzzle lock that contains the immunity idol. She’s confused, so Star asks Joe for help. Joe suggests telling Shauhin about it too. Star gives Shauhin the clue, and he tries deciphering it. In his confessional, Shauhin admits he’s torn whether to help Star or to sabotage her.
Later, Star also tells Thomas and Bianca about the Beware Advantage. She wants to build trust with them. She also wants the tribe to vote out Eva if they go to tribal council. Shauhin and Thomas discuss Star’s Beware advantage, and Thomas suggests that Shauhin “lose” the clue to sabotage Star. Shauhin thinks that’s taking it too far.
Thomas tells Joe that Star just brought him and Bianca into the alliance too. He also tells Joe that Star wants Eva out. In his confessional, Joe points out how he is in an alliance with everybody. Joe’s strongest alliance is with Eva, so he tells Eva everything. Eva trusts Joe, and she’s hopeful he will do what he can to keep her in the game.
Back on the Vula tribe, Kevin, Justin, and Cedrek talk about the upcoming vote. Mary or Sai? Mary would be the easy vote, but Sai is playing too hard too fast. Plus, Sai has the idol. Kevin thinks they should try to blindside Sai. If she ends up playing the idol, then Mary would go and Sai won’t have an idol anymore. And then next time, the three guys will outnumber Sai.
A boat approaches each tribe’s camp. They randomly decide who should go, and Thomas, Mitch, and Mary go for their tribes. Vula does a practice round first, and Sai won that round. Sai is annoyed the three guys didn’t just let her have the win.
Thomas, Mitch, and Mary arrive at an individual puzzle challenge. If they fail the challenge, then they lose their vote at the next tribal council. They must line up number blocks in numerical order within a time limit. Mitch and Thomas complete it, but Mary fails. Thomas wins a Steal-a-Vote advantage. Mitch wins a Block-a-Vote advantage. Mary will not be able to vote the next time she goes to tribal council.
The three of them return to their camps. Mary tells the truth that she lost her vote. Thomas lies; he says he didn’t play the challenge to not risk his vote. Mitch tells the truth and shares he won the Block-a-Vote advantage. Mitch and Charity solidify their bond. David, Kamilla, Kyle, and Chrissy are worried. They go searching for an advantage together. Kyle finds the Beware advantage, and he immediately tells David. David and Kyle agree Kamilla and Chrissy should know about it too. Kyle later tells Kamilla about the Beware advantage. Kamilla ends up unlocking the puzzle lock from the letter clues they already gathered. She gives the idol to Kyle, and he pockets it.
It’s time for the immunity challenge. They must jump into the ocean, swim to a platform, and release buoys along the way. Then in two pairs at a time, they must transport buoys over balance beams. Lastly, they must land five buoys into baskets. Along with immunity, they are competing for a fishing kit.
The challenge begins. David, Shauhin, and Mary do the first stage, and it’s fairly even. Sai and Justin, Mitch and Chrissy, and Joe and Eva are next on the balance beams. Joe and Eva get Lagi in the lead. Sai and Justin cross the balance beam second. Mitch and Chrissy are struggling. Bianca and Thomas are the second pair for Lagi. Cedrek and Kevin struggling for Vula. Mitch and Chrissy finally finish. Charity and Kyle manage to pass Cedrek and Kevin. At the final stage, Eva lands the first basket for Lagi. Eva lands the second and third baskets too. Meanwhile, Mitch lands the first basket for Civa. And then one after another, Mitch lands all five baskets. Civa wins immunity! Cedrek and Kevin still struggling while Joe lands the fourth and the fifth baskets. Lagi wins immunity! Vula will go to tribal council.
The Vula tribe returns to camp. Cedrek takes responsibility for their loss. He’s crying as he says he understands if they vote him out tonight. Later, Kevin talks to Cedrek. He says he doesn’t care if Cedrek flops at every challenge. They need to try to blindside Sai. They tell Sai they will vote for Mary tonight to placate her. Mary has no vote tonight, but Kevin tells her she just needs to chill tonight. Mary hopes she will be able to trust Kevin. However, Cedrek isn’t on board with keeping Mary over Sai. Cedrek later tells Sai about Kevin’s plan. Cedrek tells Sai she needs to play her hidden immunity idol tonight. Sai is thankful for the information, but she wants Kevin gone. Cedrek says he wants to stay good with Justin and Kevin, so that’s why he prefers keeping Kevin in the game for now.
Later, Sai talks to Justin about how untrustworthy Kevin is. She gets in Justin’s head, so now Justin wonders if they should “take a swing” at Kevin. He tells Cedrek they should contemplate voting out Kevin tonight, and Cedrek is receptive to the idea. In her confessional, Sai says she’s playing her idol tonight, so she knows she will be coming back to camp tonight. But will it be Mary or Kevin going home tonight?
It’s time for tribal council. Sai says she feels reassured that Mary is on the bottom. There’s a core four without her. Kevin tells Sai that she outed them. Sai says he already did. Mary says other players are more smooth. Sai says they don’t need to be cagey since Mary is going to be voted out anyway. Kevin says it’s tough when a tribe doesn’t have unity. Justin says tonight is about confirming what they already know. Mary says they were prioritizing trust last tribal council, and she predicts they will again tonight. Sai says they don’t want to sit with people they can’t trust. She says trust is a currency in this game. Cedrek says coming to tribal council is like going to a therapist. Mary says there’s an issue of trust between her and Sai. She doesn’t think they can work together. Justin says they all have future plans, but someone’s dream will have to be crushed to keep going. Finally, it’s time to vote.
We see Kevin vote for Sai and Mary being informed that she cannot vote. But who did the other three vote for? Before Jeff reads the votes, Sai plays her hidden immunity idol for herself. Any votes cast for Sai will not count.
The first vote is for…
Sai
Kevin
Kevin
Kevin is the second person voted out of Survivor 48. He’s blindsided, but he takes his elimination in stride.
And that wraps up tonight’s episode of Survivor. Thanks for reading, and come back next week for another live recap.
