The game of Survivor is starting to undergo some serious changes in this episode of Blood vs. Water: “One Man Wrecking Ball.” It is time for an early re-drawing of tribes, and it is apparent that not all of the survivors will be happy with the results.
But before that, it is time for the survivors to face off in the Redemption Island arena. Laura M. was voted out in the last tribal council, and it was clear that her eviction was a blindside. Aras seems to believe that he is the one to blame for Laura’s eviction, and he complains that she looked him dead in the eye before she left. He does not want to be the leader of his tribe, and it’s a position he has been trying to shy away from. Now that he is the leader, however, it’s hard to completely shake the title. Tyson and Gervais are starting to notice that Aras is calling the shots, and they consider getting rid of him soon.
At the Redemption Island arena, Laura M. enters with confidence. Cierra tells us she had a weird feeling after the immunity challenge that her mom would be the one voted out. When Jeff mentions that Cierra could swap places with her mom, Laura M. cuts him off and asserts that Cierra will not be taking her place. “I got this, we’re good!” She empathically assures her daughter.
The competition begins, and just like Laura said she would, she dominates. She is the first to assemble her puzzle and untie her bags, and she is by far the winner of the competition. Now it’s between John and Culpepper. John is having a hard time staying balanced on the beam and falls several times, but Culpepper’s moving at a terribly slow pace. They are neck and neck on the last few puzzle pieces, but John is the first to get it done. John will be staying on Redemption Island with Laura M. and will continue to fight for the chance to reenter the game of Survivor. It is now Culpepper's time to leave the game of Survivor for good.
Laura M., holding on to her resentment against Aras, decides to give the clue to the hidden immunity idol to Aras’s brother, Vyas. Vyas, like the others, realizes that the clue makes him a threat, and decides to throw it in the fire.
Before Jeff ends the Redemption Island challenge, he shocks everyone by announcing that the tribes are changing. Survivors must pick a buff from a basket that lets them know what tribe they will now be on. When all is said and done, the new Tadhana tribe consists of Hayden, Cierra, Caleb, Tyson, Gervais, and Aras. The new Galang tribe will now be comprised of Tina, Laura B., Monica, Kat, Vyas, and Katie. Katie and Tina are the only two loved ones that will now get to play the game together.
It seems as though the Tadhana tribe has a clear advantage, and they are comprised of stronger physical players. This is proven in the immunity challenge when Tina and Monica forget a vital step in the competition and Tadhana laps them completely. Galang almost comes back to win it, but the new Tadhana tribe pulls through, and they are the winners of the immunity challenge. They also get a nice reward of bread, ham, turkey, and other goods.
Now the new Galang tribe must decide who to vote off at tribal council. It seems that Vyas is the immediate choice because the girls have decided to stick together and form an alliance. However, it seems that Kat is getting tired of Monica and her constant “over-strategizing.” She decides she wants Monica to leave rather than Vyas. Tina tells Monica that Kat is planning to backstab her, and Monica decides that she needs to eliminate Kat before Kat can eliminate her.
It’s clear that Kat made a serious error when she tried to go against Monica, and this error causes all the other women to question her loyalty in the game. Although they seem to go back and forth with the decision, it is ultimately Kat who is voted out. Vyas will live to see another day on the island, and Kat will now join John and Laura M. on Redemption Island for an eventual chance to reenter the game.
What will happen now that there are new tribes? Will the new Tadhana tribe continue to dominate? And who will be voted out at the next tribal council? We will find out next Wednesday at 8/7c on the next episode of Survivor: Blood vs. Water!