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GSNN PRIMES
Survivor
Blood Vs. Water
CBS 8p ET Wednesday

Recaps by Chico Alexander & Chris Wolvie, GSNN

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Well,...looks like the "Galang Strong" Alliance is still holding. Katie's mom had just been sent to RI with the Not-So-Super Baskauskas Bros, Laura and Ciera are the last of the Vet/Loved Ones "couples"...and Tyson has the rest of the Tribe in his grubby hand (with his OTHER hand tight around a 3I)! As the heat lightning kabooms in the distance, Katie has only two choices: get in good with Tyson...or she's doomed!

Meanwhile, the OTHER mother/daughter team are psyched being the last couple standing...and decide to vote for Katie or - should Katie get Immunity, Monica. They still think they are the power players of this Tribe...as long as they let Tyson do all the work and keep a low profile. Ciera seems to like that the "master" (Laura) is confiding in the "student" on how to play this game. Laura doesn't mind; she trusts her daughter's judgment. Still,...Ciera knows she'll have to ditch dear old mother if she wants to win.

REDEMPTION DUEL: PUPPET MASTER

Back to RI Arena we go. Kasama comes in and watches Vytas, Aras and Tina enter. Uncle Jeff gets right to the Duel: three balls in bags must be "fished" out with grappling hooks. Once all three bags are taken, one ball must be used to solve a "table maze" which is tilted by ropes on pullies. The first two to get their ball in the center stay around while the other is out of the game...but is the first member of the Jury who will, inevitably, decide who wins the million bucks. Once more, Uncle Jeff says the winner gets to decide who gets the 3I clue...saying that, now that it's an individual game, maybe it would behoove them to actually know where it IS now. Oh, by the way, the rule that loved ones can swap places is still in effect...but Tina says, "No way, Jose!" to Katie taking her spot.

"Survivors, ready...GO!"

Away go the hooks. Tina gets her first bag on the first toss, leaving the brothers empty. Aras snags one on his second toss. Vytas is still empty. Tina gets her second bag...and Aras is looking for some love from his former Tribe. Tina gets her third bag with ease...and she gets to untying the knots and releasing the balls. As she goes back to the maze, Vytas FINALLY gets his first bag and Aras his second.

Tina puts the ball in the maze and gets to moving it. It's not that easy with the ropes...and the four or five holes in the maze to evade makes it more difficult. Fortunately, if a ball falls through a hole, the Duelist can pick it up and start over again. As Tina starts the movements, the Not-So-Super Baskauskas Bros. catch-up, with Vytas getting his third bag before Aras. But Aras soon joins him at the mazes. Tina's face contorts hither and thither as she works the ropes. Aras drops his ball and has to restart. Vytas and Tina are at the same spot in the maze...but two holes stand between them and staying around. Tina...gets around them and gets the ball in the center area...but the ball needs to stay in the divot in the dead center for it to be called a win. She tilts...and it FALLS IN A HOLE! Oh, snap!! And Vytas...he GETS IT IN! VYTAS STAYS ALIVE!

So will his bro stay with him or will Tina show that fortitude that won her Australian Outback twelve years ago? Well, both work the ball through the maze...but Tina is a little faster and gets it back in the center section. Her attempts to get it in the divot are less than successful, though...and both she and Ciera swear with each failed attempt. Vytas is having issues of his own so Tina keeps trying....and she NAILS it! TINA STAYS ALIVE!

Mama-mia...it's-a game over for "Luigi"! He may had won on Panama - Exile Island, but a second million is not in the cards today. Instead, he will be Jury Member #1. But, make no mistake about it, the sibling rivalry will NEVER end! Oh, Vytas won't cheap-shot Aras like he did in the Sumo at Sea Challenge all those weeks ago but...hey, they're brothers. They may not LIKE each other to much...but they LOVE each other completely. It's been 25 days, but Aras is finally gone. He burns his Buff(TM) and goes to the Jury sequestering area (wherever that is).

OK, so who gets to play "Burn the 3I Clue" this time, Vytas? He thinks Katie needs it the most...and Katie...does NOT burn it! She's gonna KEEP it! Will wonders NEVER cease on Survivor?!

AFTERNOON 25: HIDING IDOLS AND BREAKING HEARTS

Katie is thrilled that her mom survived. And she's JUST as psyched that she now has a clue to the 3I. (I won't show the clue because, well, Tyson already found it, duh.) She finds the vine-gnarled tree and looks around. Meanwhile, the rest of Kasama decide to hide all the sharp objects at camp so she can't dig. Tyson decides to "take one for the team" and "be the bad guy" in order to "make a move". (Yeah, I don't get it, either.)

Tyson gathers Hayden and Caleb in the water and tells them he wants them and Gervase to vote for Laura...so that a) Laura doesn't see it coming and b) Ciera doesn't have to vote for her mom. The b) part is also so that Ciera will join Tyson's alliance. Hayden likes the idea and feels he can trust Tyson implicitly.

But Ciera already suspicious that there are four guys and three girls in their alliance. What's to stop the men from kicking her or her mother out? The relatives talk it out, wondering if Ciera could actually WIN if Laura was gone. But Ciera says Laura can only make the Final Three if she won EVERY Challenge from this point on. Ciera's reminded of the talk they had when she got pregnant...but she HAS to be honest with her mother. And, honestly, she feels Laura HAS to go. And, if Laura DOES get Immunity, Ciera knows that SHE'S gone. It's heartbreaking...but Laura seems OK with it. The fact that Ciera told her outright and honestly...makes Laura proud of how she's grown as a woman. !

MORNING/DAY 26: YOU GOTTA GET UP EARLY TO HUNT

The moon is still in the sky when Katie wakes up and starts heading to the woods...and specifically to the tree where the 3I should be hidden. When Laura sees her going, she quickly gets up and tails her...since she feels this may be her only chance at staying away from a return trip to RI. Katie catches her...and so the two decide to both dig and whosoever comes up with it keeps it.

Back at camp, everyone gets up for breakfast and talk about the two girls. Tyson thinks that he's like the "big bad wolf" now that he has power. But he NEEDS to get Ciera on board in voting Laura back to RI. Tyson tries to throw the blame for the vote towards his other tribemates...but Ciera is OK with Laura being gone. But...will she VOTE for her? SHE doesn't even know.

REWARD/IMMUNITY CHALLENGE: BACK SPLASH

At Challenge Lagoon, Uncle Jeff takes back the Immunity Necklace from Katie. The Challenge is a simple one: stand on small hinged platform, hold on to rope and lean back. Every five minutes, go down to next knot in rope and lean back. Let go of rope and lean back too far, into the drink you go and out of contention. Last person standing gets the Necklace and can't be kicked out to RI. PLUS, the winner gets a BBQ feast of burgers, hot dogs, fries and soda. (And I'm certain s/he will get to take other with him/her...but we'll see about that later.)

On the platforms, hands on ropes, lean back...and the Challenge is on!.

And Hayden is struggling...or is he readjusting his grip? No one knows. But, after a minute or so, it's obvious he's struggling. He lets go and he's out. A few seconds later, Caleb loses his grip and falls out.

Five minutes have passed and they head down to the next knot, going from about 30 degrees of tilt to about 45. Gervase's face is ALL kinds of pain-riddled. The eldest Survivor can't hang on anymore; he's in the drink. Ciera falls seconds later. Katie's back is curved the wrong way...and that's probably why she goes swimming next. Tyson, Laura and Monica are still hanging in there.

After a minute...the next one to fall...is Laura. Neither of the last couple could pull it off. Now Tyson and Culpepper struggle it out.

Tyson's rotator cuff is bothering him...Monica is struggling...and Tyson falls! MONICA WINS IMMUNITY AND REWARD!!

Monica gets the jade Necklace placed on her. And, as expected, she gets to choose one other person to attend the BBQ with her. But Monica has a different idea: she'll head home with Immunity...and the REST of the Tribe gets her Reward! Is this a gesture of faith...or a political move? Caleb thinks it's a little of both. So Jeff agrees: Monica goes to the losers' raft and everyone else comes over and chows down. Everyone thanks the Tribal "mom" and she replies, "You are more than welcome."

AFTERNOON 26: IDOL CHATTER

After the nosh-fest, Kasama returns to their camp, praising Monica over and again. The praise only ends when they see a snake in the shelter. As the guys clear it out, Ciera tries to figure out how to save her mother from the vote. On a pinky-swear, she tells Katie that three of the others are voting out Laura tonight...and they think SHE will, too. Katie shrugs, saying she'll be playing her 3I to be safe. Ciera says Katie COULDN'T have...because CIERA has it. And Katie BELIEVES her. That tells Ciera what she needs to know...and she tells Laura about Ciera NOT having the 3I. If they can convince Tyson that Katie doesn't have it, Katie MIGHT be the next to go INSTEAD of Laura!

As a storm brews around the beach, Ciera lets Tyson know about Katie being Idol-less. She tells him about her deception and gives the alliance this option: ONE person votes for Laura and everyone else for Katie. If, somehow, Katie DOES have the 3I, it'll be a tie between Laura and whoever she votes for...and Ciera agrees to let them all vote Laura. Tyson, Caleb and Hayden are cool with it.

Or so they say. Tyson KNOWS a "move" when he sees it...and he ain't as gullible as Katie seems to be. He tells Monica and Gervase that Laura is STILL going to the voted for tonight. But Caleb is still thinking Katie needs to go because she's the bigger threat.

TRIBAL COUNCIL: WHICH WOMAN WEAVES...ER, LEAVES?

Ah, the Beachfront Circle of Doom. The eight Kasamas sit and face Aras in the Jury Box. Aras, as we all know, cannot speak to the others; he is there strictly to observe and use the knowledge gathered into deciding who will get the million bucks at season's end.

Katie's thinking it most likely will be her tonight, joining her mother at RI. At least she had the 3I clue to help things. Caleb knows that the alliance could send someone to RI if Katie DOES have the 3I...but there are even MORE "maybes" than that and that one needs to "just plan ahead". Tyson thinks that Laura and Ciera have minds which will swing the same way. Caleb thinks the two want it worse than Tina and Katie do. Hayden takes the Bill Cosby approach concerning Laura towards Ciera: "I brought you IN the world, and I can take you OUT!" But their bond is still strong nonetheless.

Laura says having a Loved One was once a liability but is now a HUGE asset...because BOTH will vote the same way for whosoever wants them as their ally. Katie tosses in, saying that they ARE a threat as they'll do ANYTHING to get to the Final Three with a Loved One. Laura counters that, as long as she's NOT in the Jury, she won't have to vote for Ciera to take the million...because loved ones will, more than likely, DO that. She thinks that people shouldn't bail on an alliance early; otherwise, they'll be in the Jury wondering what went wrong.

Caleb admits it's a big decision between the original plan and spliting the couple up. But there's MORE to it than that: there's four of each gender...and four of each original Tribe. "I could go either way," he concludes.

"A lot is going to be learned," says Uncle Jeff. It is time to vote! Monica is the only one who can't be voted for. She and the others walk to the alcove and scratch out their votes. No one's vote is televised this time. Uncle Jeff tallies and puts them in dramatic order. He then asks for 3Is...but everyone stays silent. Uncle Jeff reads the votes:

Laura M...

Katie...

Laura...

Laura...

Laura...

..."Laura (Mom) :("!

The last couple will have to wait to get Redemption; it seems that everyone (INCLUDING Ciera) has thrown Momma from the train. Ciera and Laura hug, Ciera saying, "Sorry" and Laura replying, "It's OK". Uncle Jeff snufs her torch and sends her BACK to Redemption Island where, once again, she'll have to fight to get back in the game. Seven individuals now...only one winner.

To see this episode in its entirety or to find out how to become a contestant, go to cbs.com/survivor