One-Man Wrecking Ball

One-Man Wrecking Ball is the sixth episode of.

Day 13
After voting out Laura Morett, Galang returned to camp and debriefed the events of Tribal Council. Laura Boneham was relieved to have survived her first Tribal. Aras Baskauskas, who had orchestrated the blindside and having noticed that players have been harsh to people who voted them out at Redemption Island (mostly at Brad Culpepper), worried that Laura M. would haunt him and have a negative impact on his game, noting that she had glared coldly at him upon realizing she’d been voted out. "galang"

- We just got back from my first Tribal Council and I’m back! I’m back home. It wasn’t me. My name was written down, but we all had a unanimous vote to vote out Laura M. tonight. Rupert gave up his game to let me play. I think he’s going to be so proud of me.

"galang"

- Laura M. looked me dead in the eye as she realised it was her and she was very angry. I got my fingers crossed that she’s gonna take the noble approach to Redemption Arena, but unfortunately Redemption Arena has become a place to besmirch people’s character. Unfortunately, it looks like I’m the ringleader and that’s never a good thing. You never want to be at the top. I don’t know how to get out of that position. I’m in it, I have one foot in front of the other and tread carefully, I suppose.

Day 14
The following morning, Gervase Peterson and Tyson Apostol collected Tree Mail, and took the opportunity to solidify their alliance and discussed future move to “dethrone” Aras. They both agreed that he would become a big threat if he was able to team up with his brother, Vytas Baskauskas, at the merge and were both open to taking him out if they lost the next challenge. "galang"

- I really do like Aras – he’s a great guy, he’s funny. He’s a little out-there on his zen-type beliefs because I just have zero beliefs. Except for magic. I believe in magic – it’s awesome. But people like Aras, they do. That’s the tricky part: when to dethrone King Aras.

"galang"

- Right now, Aras is the leader here. He’s kind of running the show and Tyson has brought up some good points that we may only have one more challenge left before this merger and that’s gonna be our last chance to get rid of Aras. I absolutely screwed up in my first season being a chess piece and that won’t happen this time. Just to be looked at as a player who played it twice and didn’t play it I think would kill me more than anything. I think the power couple out here is me and Tyson.

At Redemption Island, Tadhana got their first look at the new Galang tribe. The competitors, John Cody, Brad Culpepper and Laura M. then entered the arena. Ciera Eastin was comforted by her tribe upon the realisation that her mother had been voted out. She told Jeff Probst that she’d had a “weird feeling” all day, and a part of her had anticipated that her mother would be at Redemption. Laura added that they were both still in the game, noting her confidence going into the Duel. Laura flatly denied Ciera the opportunity to take her place, saying, “I got this.”

Jeff then revealed the Duel: A Numbers Game. The three castaways were to race across a balance beam, pausing to untie one bag of puzzle pieces. At the other end of the beam, they would arrange the tiles in the bag in sequential numerical order. Once using all of their tiles, they would traverse the balance beam again, and repeat the process. The first two people to correctly place their one hundred tiles would remain in the game, with the loser being permanently eliminated. Furthermore, the first-place finisher would be able to give a clue to the Hidden Immunity Idol to any player still in the game.

Laura pulled ahead to an early lead, with John and Brad following close behind. Laura and John quickly placed their tiles, as Brad began to fall behind. However, John fell off the balance beam numerous times, giving Brad the opportunity to overtake him. Laura extended her lead as Brad and John continued to keep neck-and-neck throughout the race. Effortlessly, Laura completed her numbers. Brad and John were only a few tiles apart, but it was John who finished first, eliminating Brad from the game.

Jeff asked Brad how Survivor compared to his history in the NFL, and Brad answered that he’d had a bigger advantage in football. However, he turned to his wife, Monica Culpepper, and apologised for becoming an “anchor” to weigh her down, urging her, “You’re free. Wind’s blowing. Sail. Sail hard.” She climbed down into the Arena to hug him farewell. He burnt his Buff and departed the Arena, becoming the 6th person eliminated from. "galang"

- I am going to have to do this all by myself. Now that I don’t have Brad any more to soften whatever blows or help me out or have my back, I have to think about me. That’s it.

Jeff then asked Laura M. to whom she wished to give the clue. She chose to give it to Vytas, saying “We all know it’s a target on our back.” As soon as Jeff gave him the clue, Vytas followed Jeff into the Arena and burnt it, astounding Jeff. John and Laura M. departed the Arena, but before the tribes departed for camp, Jeff revealed that they would be randomly drawing for new tribes.

He handed each contestant a sealed tube containing new Buffs. Tyson asked to take his Buff last and “let fate decide.” The castaways revealed their new Buffs. Katie Collins and Vytas drew Galang Buffs, joining Kat Edorsson, Laura B, Monica and Tina Wesson. Meanwhile, Aras, Gervase and Tyson switched over to Tadhana, joining Caleb Bankston, Ciera and Hayden Moss.

Ciera was asked how she felt being the only woman on the tribe, and said that it could either be very good or very bad for her, but it was too early to tell. Katie said she was excited to be on a tribe with her mother and was eager to get to know her new tribe. Vytas said that he “fancied [himself] a ladies’ man,” so wasn’t concerned about being the only man on a tribe of women. The new tribes departed for camp, as Aras worried, in a confessional, that the new tribal dynamics could alter his place in the game. "tadhana"

- I have worked really hard the first fourteen days of this game and a tribe switch puts all that in jeopardy. I hope I have enough people on my side with this switch that I’m not on the chopping block.

The new Tadhana arrived at camp. Aras casually asked the old Tadhana players what had happened over the last fourteen days, and Caleb and Hayden began to explain the details of John’s blindside, including divulging their knowledge about the clues to the Idol. The freedom of information surprised the former Galang men. "tadhana"

- Y’know, coming back from Redemption Island with three new tribemates is... it’s a little different. You don’t know what to expect. Now it’s three-three. It evens the playing field over here that if we were to lose a challenge and go to Tribal Council, well, are we three going to stick together? Are they three gonna stick together? And what information are they gonna give you about what went on over there and how much information are you gonna share about what went on over here?

"tadhana"

- As soon as we got here, we tried to do a little bit of fishing to find out what was really going on in their tribe. And I don’t know if Tadhana really realised that that’s what we were doing, but they started giving up the goods.

"tadhana"

- Hayden and Caleb gave the clue to the Hidden Immunity Idol to me. Is it just ‘cause they’re new guys here or they haven’t played the game before? I don’t know. Stupid will be stupid.

The tribe’s attention turned to food. Hayden was disgruntled by the new tribe members’ consumption of their stockpile, but Tyson, a self-proclaimed “one-man wrecking ball,” took full advantage of the opportunities to eat more food in private, echoing the Coconut Bandit philosophy. As the rest of the tribe lounged in the ocean, Tyson went to gather fruit and coconuts for everyone, but drank half of the coconut before bringing it back to his oblivious tribe. "tadhana"

- Three big dudes, they show up at our house. They start going through the cupboards, taking our seasoning, like, y’know, eating our food. And I’m... In the back of my mind, I’m thinking, “That’s my stuff, dude!”  I want to smack their hand and say, y’know, find your own food, but you just...  You can’t do that.

"tadhana"

- There are social faux pas to the game of Survivor and one of them is eating more food than everybody else. But if you just come in and pretend like, yeah, everyone just cracks open a coconut whenever they want, everybody just eats a banana whenever they want. It doesn’t have to be fair. It’s definitely a goal to eat and steal as much food as I can from this tribe and I’m gonna keep eating that food ‘til it’s gone. You do have to do a certain amount of work or appear to be working so that people just don’t paint you as the lazy guy. I don’t think I’m painted as the lazy guy yet, ‘cause after I crack a coconut and drink half of it, I pass the rest around to the other five people to share. So, that’s kind of generous of me to do.

Meanwhile, at Galang, the tribe were getting to know each other. Tina was excited to have her daughter on her tribe, but Vytas was wary of being the only man on the tribe. Sure enough, he was in the crosshairs as Monica discussed a plan with Tina and Kat to keep the original Galang together and boot Vytas next. However, Kat was wary of Monica’s overactive strategic thinking. "galang"

- Oh my goodness, it is so wonderful to have Katie. This is a dream come true. That first night, I thought this might be the only night she and I spend together and here we are, together again and to be able to play this game with her and play as a team is just wonderful. ‘Cause now, you switch. I’ve been playing water and now I can play blood.

"galang"

- I was really disappointed with what happened. I mean, I came from a place where I was pretty much, like, in control of my destiny to a place where I have zero control. I mean, you could say, yeah, two of us came over to a group of four. But it’s not that simple, because one of us that came over is the daughter of one of the four. Y’know, so you take Katie with Tina. There’s me, with five girls. Y’know, so I’m the odd man out.

"galang"

- I’m in an alliance with Tina, Monica, Laura B and Katie. But Monica will not stop strategising. She’s driving me crazy. When you have an alliance, don’t over-strategize. All that does is put heat on your back. You want to learn how to play Survivor? Shut it!

Back at Tadhana, Aras suggested chopping down a Y-branch to prop the cooking pot on, but Caleb explained that they had just placed the pots straight on the coals. Nevertheless, Aras chose to cut down a branch off of a tree right beside the shelter, destroying some of the shade for camp. Tyson playfully admonished Aras for his bossiness and stupidity, but revealed in a confessional that the banter was intentional in trying to throw shade on Aras without being too obvious. "tadhana"

- Before the tribe swap, Gervase and I had decided that getting rid of Aras might be a wise move. So now, I just make it look like he’s bossing everybody around, taking charge and doing whatever he wants. Y’know, I’ll apologise for him constantly. I’m always like, “Oh, sorry about Aras. He kinda doesn’t know, he’s socially unaware,” and make sure people know that between him and I, he’s the one in charge. I’m out here to play, and I have to use my brain. So, hopefully the target will be a little bit smaller on me and maybe a little bit larger on Aras. I have to do everything I can to get to Day 39.

Day 16
Galang began the morning with a prayer, in which Kat bungled the phrase “less fortunate.” Gathered around the fire, Vytas then shared his chequered past with his new tribe, revealing his heroin addiction, time in jail and the damaged relationship with his brother. He hoped his display of vulnerability would endear him to the women, and Laura B. noted in a confessional that she was impressed with his openness, but was wary of letting her heart get in the way of her game. "galang"

- It is me and five women on the new Galang tribe and there’s not a lot of play for me coming in here. Basically, these women have bonded and so I’m at the mercy of them. I don’t know that much about women, but I do know that when I’m a little bit vulnerable with women, y’know, it goes a long way. So me opening up and letting them know about my past could keep me around.

"galang"

- Hearing Vytas admit that he had a really hard time with the heroin addiction was very powerful. That’s a neat part of a man that can share his emotions and his feelings, y’know? It reminds me of Rupert. I love Vytas. I mean, I feel connected to him already. But I’ve got to keep my heart out of it. I like him a lot. But Vytas and Aras, y’know, could take this whole game.

The new tribes then met for the Immunity Challenge. Jeff took back the Immunity Idol and revealed the challenge: Buoy Oh Buoy. In pairs, tribe members would race out into the water and untie a gate from a cage on the ocean floor. They would then extract a fishing trap and swim it back to shore, allowing the next pair to go. Once all three traps were acquired, any two members of the tribe would untie the traps and use the planks inside to solve a vertical puzzle. The first tribe to complete their puzzle would win the immunity, and reward in the form of a picnic basket containing turkey, roast beef, ham, cheese, bread, toppings and brownies.

Aras and Gervase began the challenge for Tadhana, with his swimming markedly improved from the first challenge. Laura B. and Tina kept pace, but Tadhana maintained a lead, being the first to retrieve their trap. Although Laura B. and Tina untied the gate, they began swimming back to shore without collecting their trap, not hearing the shouts of warning from the rest of their tribe. They arrived back on the beach to realise they had to swim back out to retrieve the trap, giving Caleb and Tyson the opportunity to extend Tadhana’s lead. Monica and Vytas retrieved the second trap for Galang as Ciera and Hayden raced to collect the final trap for Tadhana. As Kat and Katie went to retrieve Galang’s final trap, Tadhana began work on their puzzle.

Aras and Tyson began untying their planks and solving the puzzle. Despite their huge lead, they realised that they had begun to solve their puzzle off-centre, requiring them to shift the entire puzzle. This allowed Monica and Tina, working on the puzzle for Galang, to make up some ground. As Tadhana noticed more problems with their puzzle, the tribes became neck-and-neck. Galang began celebrating, believing they’d finished the puzzle, but Jeff pointed out that it wasn’t correct. Nevertheless, they adjusted their puzzle and thought they’d solved it for a second time, only to be disappointed yet again. In the end, Aras and Tyson were the first to complete the puzzle, winning immunity and reward for Tadhana.

As the defeated Galang returned to camp, Tina apologised for her critical error in the challenge, explaining that she wouldn’t be surprised if it was her name on the ballot and if not, she felt guilty for whoever was voted out. However, Vytas was furious, but made sure not to let that emotion out publicly, knowing that he was already in a precarious position. "galang"

- On the inside, I’m so frustrated with Tina and Laura B. I would have never made a mistake like that. I should have gone first. I should... Something should have happened different, but I can’t act out on that. It took everything in me to not let them know how I actually felt about the mistakes they made because being a man in the midst of only women, whatever they choose to do is gonna go down. If I go home ‘cause they want me to go home, there’s nothing I can do.

Although the women were on board with taking out Vytas, Kat grew wary of Monica as she felt that she was over-strategizing. Kat approached Tina about changing the vote to Monica. Tina was hesitant and distrusted Kat’s loyalty given her sudden push for a blindside. On a water-run with Monica and Vytas, Tina revealed that Kat had been targeting Monica. Monica noted that this could be an indicator of Kat’s long-term lack of loyalty, to which Tina agreed. "galang"

- We’re gonna eliminate Vytas tonight, but the more I think about it, what we need to do is take out the person that won’t stop talking. Monica can’t stop talking. Every single time I catch her, she’s always strategizing. When you look like you’re over-strategizing in front of your alliance, that’s when you get in trouble and I’m about to kick you out of this game if you don’t stop talking.

"galang"

- We all know why it’s a good idea to stay with the plan: let all the girls stick together, and get rid of the guy. Well, Kat’s already wanting to switch that up and send Monica home. So Kat’s loyalty, I don’t feel like is as strong and that’s just information that needs to be out there for everybody to know.

Later, Monica pulled Kat aside and asked her what she’d talked to Tina about. Kat lied that she had only been discussing whether or not to tell Vytas before the vote that he was going home. Monica persisted, saying that she’d heard that Kat had brought her name up, but Kat denied the allegation. As Monica began to entertain the idea of turning the vote towards the unreliable Kat, Kat looked to back up to the women’s agreement to take out Vytas. "galang"

- I was totally on board that it would be Vytas. But if I’m hearing that Kat’s gunning for me, I need to do what’s best for Monica. I know my name’s been thrown out there, I’ve asked her to tell me the truth and she won’t. If somebody is gunning for me, which I can feel it, I can sense it in Kat that she is, it doesn’t make sense to keep ‘em around.

"galang"

- Monica’s very dangerous because when she strategizes, people actually might listen to her. So my back’s up against the wall. I’m gonna do everything I can to stay here and that’s it. So if Vytas has to go home tonight, he’s gonna have to go home. It’s how the nature of the game goes.

Kat told Laura B. that the vote was still on Vytas, but Monica approached Vytas with the idea to take out Kat. He happily agreed to vote however she instructed. Monica also shared her plan with Tina, who, in a confessional, noted that the vote could easily go either way. "galang"

- I teach my kids, “Do unto others as you would want them to do unto you.” But you know what? In Survivor, I figured it out. It’s “do unto others before they do unto you.” If somebody’s gunning for me, I’m writing their name down and I’m trying to corral and persuade everybody in this tribe to do the same thing.

"galang"

- We have to make a decision tonight. Who does it make sense to send? Kat or Vytas? I think it’s a good idea to stay with the plan, which is to vote for Vytas. But Kat’s loyalty... I’m not so sure about that. Who should go? Honestly, it is a coin toss. It is fifty-fifty.

At Tribal Council,Jeff first asked Kat about conflicts in the new tribe, and she answered that the only real disagreement had been between herself and Monica. She elaborated that she had had a conversation with Monica that hadn’t ended the way she’d thought it would. Monica added that the conversation had been about trust issues, which had been difficult as she liked Kat. Kat also interjected that she loved Monica and didn’t want it to be about the two of them.

She concluded that she thought the five women could stick together and should stick together after a merge. Jeff pointed out that the only way that could happen is if Vytas was voted out, and Vytas noted that Kat was going to be writing his name down. He continued that Survivor was about trust, and he was disappointed he was on the chopping block despite having formed strong relationships. Kat countered that she had strong bonds with the women too, and turned to Monica to tell her that she always had her back. Monica sighed and said that she wanted to trust her, but given Kat had thrown her name around, she couldn’t trust her.

Kat said she would “do anything” to stay in the game, and hoped she wouldn’t be voted out. She confirmed that she was voting for Vytas and urged the women to do the same. Vytas countered that Kat had made mistakes in establishing trust, but he hadn’t, and it made more sense to keep someone who had demonstrated that they would be loyal. Kat said that the depth of Vytas’ loyalty couldn’t be established in only a few days, but pleaded that she would be loyal.

Tina was asked about the divisions of the tribe between the old Galang and the new Galang. Tina said it was complicated due to the fact that her daughter Katie was in the mix on the tribe, and that her decision would take both the present game and the future game into account. Vytas said that the only way he could escape the vote was to be true to himself and show vulnerability, and then just leave it in the others’ hands.

Before going to the vote, Kat made a final plea to the women to keep her in the game as she would always have their back. Vytas shook his head and pointed out that he’d heard stories about Kat betraying her allies, and her denial and vows was merely due to being caught in the act. Kat urged, “Please stay together, guys, please.” Vytas interjected, “And we will stay together, and we will stay strong.”

With that, it was time to vote. Laura B. voted first, followed by Kat who cast her vote for Vytas (“Vetus”). Katie and Vytas followed, with the latter casting a vote for Kat. Monica and Tina concluded the proceedings, and Jeff tallied the votes.

The first vote came up for Vytas, but the remaining five votes all fell for Kat and she became the eighth person voted out of. Her torch was snuffed and she departed for Redemption Island as Vytas whispered thanks to his tribemates. Jeff sent Galang back to camp, pointing to the vote as proof of the need for trust in the game.

Kat arrived at Redemption Island and greeted John and Laura M. She was concerned that her boyfriend Hayden would be disappointed or embarrassed by her game, saying, “No one wants to date someone who doesn’t make the merge.” "redemption"

- At Tribal today, I got eliminated, but I’m worried about Hayden. I’m worried that he’s gonna be disappointed in me and God forbid this does anything to our relationship. ‘Cause on a scale from one to ten on coolness, I just got a negative two.

Duel
Challenge: A Numbers Game

The three players race along a balance beam to collect a series of bags containing 100 numbered tiles. The first castaway to place their tiles on a board in order from 1 to 100 hundred wins. Second player to finish the puzzle is safe.

Winners (in order of finish): Laura Morett and John Cody (Laura M. gave Hidden Immunity Idol clue to Vytas Baskauskas)

Reward/Immunity
Challenge:  Buoy Oh Buoy

Two tribes will break up into pairs and race out into the ocean, dive down, untie a series of knots and release a series of floating gates. Behind each gate is a fish trap. Inside each fish trap is a series of puzzle pieces. They will retrieve their fish traps and puzzle pieces and bring it back to the platform. When they have all 4 fish traps, two players will assemble the puzzle. First tribe to finish their puzzle, wins.

Reward: A full-stocked picnic basket

Winner: Tadhana

Voting Confessionals
"galang"

- I hope you enjoy the ambiance at Redemption Island.

Trivia

 * No footage from Day 15 was shown in the episode.
 * This marks the second consecutive episode in which a whole day of footage was omitted.
 * This is the first episode of the season in which neither of the Codys placed first in the Duel.
 * This is the first occasion where Katie Collins voted for a woman but received no votes against her.
 * Tyson Apostol said the episode's title, claiming he was eating so much food that he was "a one-man wrecking ball."
 * Kat Edorsson, Tyson Apostol and Vytas Baskauskas received the most confessionals this episode, with four each.
 * Brad Culpepper, Ciera Eastin, John Cody, Katie Collins and Laura Morett received no confessionals in this episode.
 * This is also the 1st season since where Jeff says "6th person voted off" in the Tribal Council area.
 * had a medical evacuation, and therefore, Colton Cumbie was the 6th person eliminated.
 * had Dana Lambert have a voluntary medical evacuation, and Jeff said 5th person voted out when Sarah Dawson was voted off (since although Dawson was the 6th person to leave the game, Dana wasn't the 5th person voted out, which meant Dawson was), and hence omitted the 6th person voted off and skipped to the 7th person voted off.
 * mentioned Brandon Hantz as the 6th person voted out, but it was an impromptu tribal council.
 * Fun Fact: Vytas' confessional at Tribal Council to Kat "I hope you enjoy the ambiance at Redemption Island" is a call-back to episode 1 Two Tribes, One Camp, No Rules where Kat doesn't know the meaning of ambiance after Kim makes a comment about it.