The episode began on Redemption Island, Russell and Matt spent some time talking to each other the night before their duel.  I chuckled a little when Russell called Matt “this other kid”.  He doesn’t care what this kid’s name is!  On the Ometepe team, Phillip was still annoying everyone, but that hasn’t diminished his motivation to win the million.  Unfortunately, I think he’s a long shot right now.  Boston Rob’s analogy fit Phillip’s description perfectly!

Ralph energized his team when he revealed to them that he had the immunity idol.  Later, at the duel, he even went so far as to tell Russell that he had the idol – DUMB MOVE!  Ralph tried to cover it up, but Russell was too savvy for that.  The challenge that Matt and Russell faced was fun to watch.  They each made an attempt to knock over their row of dominos that fell a bit short.  Amazingly, Matt was able to win and knocked Russell out of the game.  Russell took it badly; he pulled his hat over his eyes and cried.  Afterward, he claimed to be done with Survivor, but we’ll see – Boston Rob said the same thing and here he is playing again.

Boston Rob devised a “beach day” and an elaborate Royal Treatment game to distract his team as he frantically searched for the hidden idol.  He was successful in finding it and it was great to watch him celebrate a little.  Watching him run through the forest to begin his search made my wife and I laugh out loud.

After Ometepe was unsuccessful in winning the challenge, they were sent to Tribal Council yet again where Kristina was voted out.  She’ll have to defeat Matt if she wants to keep her hopes alive.

The start of this episode hyped the upcoming duel between Matt and Francesca. Two contestants from each tribe were randomly selected to watch the match-up. Matt and Francesca faced off in the Redemption Island Arena, where they had to build a stick long enough to grab 3 keys that would be used to unlock a door. The challenge was tough; despite getting a slow start, Matt was able to come away with the win. Even though the previews led me to believe it was more of a physical duel than what we saw, it was fun and exciting to watch these two compete.

After the duel, the Zapatera contestants who got to watch the battle lied to Russell and told him that Francesca actually won. They hoped to surprise him in the event that he gets sent to Redemption Island. Steve openly started the process of getting the majority of Zapatera to vote Russell off the tribe. The decision was made for the team to throw the challenge. That’s exactly what they did; unfortunately, Russell is pretty savvy and realized it quickly.

With the reward items back at camp, everyone on Ometepe is searching for the hidden immunity idol clue. Boston Rob never really paid much attention to idols in the past, but this time around he wants to make it part of his game. Thanks to Phillip’s lazy butt, Boston Rob is able to find the clue; it proved to be too vague and he hasn’t located it yet.

Prior to Tribal Council Russell and Stephanie pushed hard to get Julie to flip on her alliance. When it came time to vote, she did not decide to flip. Instead the vote was split 3 to 3 to 3. There was a re-vote and the three contestants that had been voted for could not participate. Once the votes were tallied for the second time, it was revealed that Russell was outplayed. Finally! He’s one step closer to being off the island.

That Tribal Council was so exhilarating. I was on the edge of my seat as it played out. I was glad at the outcome. I can’t wait to see how Redemption Island plays into all of this. It would be a shame to see Russell dominate and get to re-enter the game. Chances are pretty good that he can do it. If both teams vote out their weakest players, Russell may be able to build some momentum on the island. Meanwhile, I hope that Matt can put forth a good effort and knock Russell out of the game completely!

This episode started with Ometepe debriefing from that outrageous Tribal Council.  Phillip pledged his vote to Boston Rob and claimed that he will play with integrity.  Boston Rob told his alliance-mates that Phillip must be voted out quickly.  Rob also said that he felt that Kristina is a good player.  How can he really know that having only seen her for 4 or 5 days?  Maybe he has the eye for talent, but time will tell how good of a player she really is.

Over on the Zapatera side, Russell started to actively search for the hidden immunity idol.  Amazingly, Ralph (the dumbest person on the planet according to Russell) found the idol hidden in a tree while gathering rocks.  Zapatera went on to win the reward challenge and Russell found a hidden immunity idol clue.  Ralph noticed it and called Russell out on it.  I loved the way Ralph was right to the point and got in Russell’s face in front of other tribe members.  Hopefully, that’s not a mistake.  Russell didn’t appreciate that and has made Ralph his next target.  I hope Ralph manages to stay around for a while; I think it would be great to watch him butt heads with Russell.

After losing the reward challenge, Phillip made it a point to talk to the whole team about their performance.  Boston Rob was annoyed by that.  Rob was also annoyed with Matt for congratulating Zapatera on their win.  Matt and Andrea have paired up, and that can be powerful as the game goes on.  Just before Tribal Council Rob pulled Phillip aside and gave him advice on how to behave at Tribal Council.  He also told him to vote for whoever he put his right hand on just before the vote.  That was a pretty smart move on his part.  That way, Phillip couldn’t reveal anything before the vote.  In the first blindside of the game, Matt was voted out and Andrea was shocked!