Survivor: Gabon Week 7: Fang Deals Ace Out - Kota Cuts Dan Loose (Recap)

By Tom Rose
Fancast.com

Last night on Survivor: Gabon - Earth’s Last Eden both sides went to Tribal Council. The results sent a shock wave through the game that hasn’t been felt since Johnny Fairplay’s Grandma learned she was dead on national television.

On Fang, Ace’ s sweet talk went sour with Sugar, while Dan’s compulsive behavior got him kicked out of Kota. Jeff Probst revealed a nasty twist after Immunity Challenge that set the stage for fevered maneuvering among the alliances and an unlikely Alpha Male stepped forward from the shadows.

Survivor is on!

At Fang, “rice is more valuable than gold” says Matty after Crystal carelessly kicks over the food locker, spilling a giant mound to the dirt. She immediately becomes Ace’s target when she seems unapologetic, despite refusing her morning ration right afterwards. That shows surprising will power. At Kota, the high life continues for all but Dan, who tries to ingratiate himself into the Onion Alliance, with no luck. He’s too “socially inept” according to Corinne.

At the Reward Challenge a game of keepaway is played. Three members of each tribe throw a breakable ball back and forth as one opposing tribe member attempted to smash it, or force it to the ground. Both games were played simultaneously in 2 separate rings. The first attacker from either tribe who broke the ball or forced it to hit the ground would win the round.

3 rounds are played and Crystal stands out for her terrible approach: doing nothing. Randy picks up on the idea that aggression is the key while it was Bob who gave his all on his turn. He literally threw himself at Fang, falling over railings and wresting Ace to the ground. Eventually his harassment caused Ace to fumble away a toss. Kota wins easily 3-0. Again, Sugar is banished to the Sugar Shack at Exile Island for a record-breaking 5th time in a row. When she gets there this time there are no tears for her tribemates. Boredom with the familiar surroundings lead her to speculate about plots against her (she’s right - Matty wants to force the Immunity Idol out into the open, but Ace redirects the hit to Crystal) and she bides her time, lazily scarfing the bounty of exile.

The Reward is spectacular. A helicopter ride to a nearby cliff for a sumptuous picnic of meats, fruits, bread and wine. Survivor throws a further bone when each castaway is given a bundle of letters from home. The giant hearted Bob is overcome with emotion, crying real tears of joy to read the news from his family. The Old Guy breaks his ass at every turn and this unexpected bonus has deep meaning for him. Watch out for Bob. He’s absolutely resilient.

At the Immunity Challenge Jeff reveals the bad news: both teams are heading for Tribal Council. And the good news: the challenge winner will receive individual immunity. He ominously let’s it slip that a further twist will come at the end of the challenge.

The match is the familiar log roll. Opponents try to cause each other to slip off the log and the first one in the water is out. The play continues until the final round when 3 tribers vie for the top spot. The match-ups proceed with no surprises. Who’s good at the log roll? Bob of course. When he goes against Corinne he reveals he was log rolling champ in college. The boast unnerves Corinne, but a later round goes to the well-balanced Sugar, who looks like tap dancing lessons came in handy. She makes it to the final round with Ace and Marcus but falls away quickly. Ace and Marcus battle it out with Ace hitting the water a fraction of a second before the winning Marcus. Individual Immunity goes to the good Doctor.

The twist is revealed: Marcus can hand out individual immunity to one member of the opposing tribe. He hands it to Sugar. His thinking is that if Sugar does indeed have the Immunity Idol from Exile Island, a power play can erupt at Fang Tribal which will knock a strong player out of the game - particularly Ace. When Crystal sees her chance at immunity vanish in Sugar’s hand she remarks “Damn. This girl has 2 Idols. She is now the most powerful person in this game.” Sugar is breaking a lot of records tonight.

With Sugar’s double Immunity on full display, Ace turns into the snake we all expected - except for Sugar. When Kenny reveals that Ace is gunning for her she decides to blindside him with Kenny and Crystal. When Ace asks for the hidden Idol, Sugar sees that Kenny is telling the truth and rebuffs him. Although Ace has had Sugar’s back throughout the game, she decides his double-dealing is too much. He’s gotta go.

At Fang Tribal Council, Crystal’s rice spill becomes the immediate focus, lulling Ace into thinking he is safe. Sugar sits at the throne, immune from voting so she takes the chance to point out that the sniping is sapping Fang’s strength. The Immunity Idol stays hidden.

Jeff tallies the votes: Ace, Crystal, Ace, Crystal, one vote left: seventh person voted out of Survivor: Gabon…

Ace. The Tribe Has Spoken.

Ace is stunned to be walking the plank. Jeff points out that Ace’s reaction shows he was beautifully blindsided. “21 days in, Fang is finally starting to play this game.”

The Era Of Sugar has begun.

At Kota, Randy emerges as a wily strategist, peeling Bob away from the Onion Alliance. He’s come a long way since agitating the crumbling Fang before the shuffle. Dan is feeling the heat due to his nitpicking worry-wart ways, though Susie gives him a good run for the money with her inappropriate comments. To Randy, she’s a wacko, but Corinne is driven over the edge when Susie discloses she intended to vote for her. Both loonies are hanging by athread. Still, noone really knows if Dan has the Immunity Idol for sure, giving him an edge. When the others realize that lulling Dan into keeping the Idol hidden (if he has it) is the best strategy, Susie escapes the chopping block.

At Tribal Council, Susie almost blows it with her loose tongue, claiming to have more upper body strength than Corinne. Dan comes off a little loopy, justifying the mistrust from the Onion Alliance. But the Immunity Idol does not come out and the votes are tallied: Susie, Dan, Dan, Susie, Dan, Susie - one vote left… 8th person voted out of Survivor: Gabon…

Dan. The Tribe Has Spoken.

As Dan walks out, Jeff observes that “despite being very successful, this is not one big happy family.”

In their last words, Ace says “this pretty much blows” and Dan is happy to go back to friends and family.

NEXT WEEK: Randy emerges as the dominant player, claiming “I am King.” How will that happen?

Find out next time on Survivor: Gabon Thursday at 8:00 on CBS.

And don’t forget to check back here on Fancast for recaps and Survivor news.

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