‘Survivor’ Castaways Endure Most Intense Tribal Council Yet

This week’s episode of Survivor: David vs. Goliath reminded long-term fans of the CBS reality TV series why we liked the show in the first place. What other media outlet recaps are agreeing may have been the best episode and tribal council of the season featured multiple immunity idols and a double blindside. Who used the idols and who ended up with the ultimate blindside? Keep reading to find out.

Warning: The rest of this article does contain spoilers of this week’s episode.

Last week’s episode had former David tribe members Christian, Nick, and Gabby sitting pretty in a six-person alliance with former Goliath tribe members Alison, Alec, and Mike. Unfortunately for the Davids, Mike decided it wasn’t in his best interest to stray from the Goliath tribe. Moreover, he didn’t think it was in his best interest to keep Christian in the game at all. So, Mike did exactly what Angelina did last week and rallied the Goliath tribe members to vote out Christian. John Hennigan coined the upcoming eviction as “#BrochachoBlindside.”

Alec’s questionable loyalty to the Goliath tribe is ultimately what saved Christian in the end. Alec told Nick what was coming, and Nick warned Christian because they have had a final two deal since early in the game. It, however, wasn’t Christian that fought for his own game. It was Nick that fought for his partner. Nick approached Davie – not knowing Davie had an immunity idol – and asked if they could use the hidden power to save Christian.

At tribal council, it seemed like Christian was going home until Davie pulled his immunity idol out of his pocket and declared his loyalty to his tribe as he offered Christian protection. After a great deal of hesitation, Dan pulled out an immunity idol and protected Angelina as well.

The big mistake and ultimate blindside was overestimating the Davids. The David tribe calculated the possibility that other idols were in play. So, they split the vote to guarantee someone else – a strong competitor – went home instead.

In a real jaw-dropping moment, when everyone was expecting a re-vote to be announced, John’s name popped up with a vote cast for his eviction from the tribe. With two immunity idols at play, two votes was all it took to send John – a very strong Goliath – packing.

Every member of the David tribe – including Elizabeth on the jury – could be seen grinning from ear to ear, elated by what they had accomplished. The Goliath tribe looked to be in pain as they experienced a combination of sadness and shock. John, however, was anything but a sore loser. In fact, he seemed to appreciate the move on the David’s part with a smile on his face as he left the tribe.

Out manned and out gunned, the former David tribe shocked everyone in the successful eviction of a Goliath. The Hollywood Reporter coined the episode as the “iconic slingshot moment” between David and Goliath.

Survivor: David vs. Goliath airs on Thursday nights only on CBS.