Survivor: One World's merged Tikiano tribe eliminated Michael Jefferson, a 30-year-old banker from Seattle, WA, from their tribe during Wednesday night's eighth episode of the CBS reality series' 24th edition.

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Mike was voted out of his tribe at the season's eighth Tribal Council session, the second session for the mixed-gender tribe since the merge. 

"I knew going into it that at some point, it'd be guys versus girls and unfortunately, it started tonight. I came out of the gates too hot and I've been back-pedaling ever since. I talked to the women all individually and I thought I had a good thing with them, but apparently, you can't trust anybody. I thought I could trust so many women out here, but it just wasn't the case," Mike said following his ouster.

Survivor: One World's eighth broadcast began on Day 21 with the merged tribe arriving back at camp following the previous Tribal Council in which they had voted off Jonas Otsuji, a 37-year-old sushi chef from Lehi, UT.

"We started out men versus women but when they did the old tribe switch, me, [Jay Byars] and Mike made this pact to kind of stick with the Salani group, which was [Chelsea Meissner], [Kim Spradlin], [Kat Edorsson], and [Sabrina Thompson]. I just hope we didn't make a mistake," Troy "Troyzan" Robertson, a 50-year-old swimsuit photographer from Miami, FL, said.
 
Jay, a 25-year-old model from Gaffney, SC, was worried about the girls forming a strong alliance against the men and believed, therefore, a girl had to be the next person voted out of the tribe.
 
"I'm really scared at this point about the girls being together, because they could very easily hook up and they could do damage. And honestly, I don't want to be overpowered by just girls," Jay said.
 
Jay and Troy then discovered the tribe's Tree Mail and received a bottle of 7Up soda. They read the clue aloud to their tribemates and learned the Reward Challenge would have something to do with sliding and refreshment.

The merged tribe's castaways then met Survivor host Jeff Probst for the Reward Challenge. Before Jeff explained the rules, he told everyone they would be required to split up into two teams again for the challenge and establish those teams by participating in a "schoolyard pick."

For the challenge, Jeff instructed both temporary tribes to each have one member at a time race down a giant waterslide and head out to the water where they would grab a big puzzle crate and then bring it back to allow the next person to go. As more tribe members went down the slide, they could then work together to gather the crates. Once all seven crates were collected, the castaways were required to put them on a platform and use them to solve a puzzle.

The first tribe to solve the puzzle would win the challenge and be brought to a 7Up oasis, where they could barbeque and eat burgers, steak, side dishes, pie, and as much 7Up as they could drink.

Team number one was comprised of Jay; Troy; Kat, a 22-year-old timeshare representative from Orlando, FL; Alicia Rosa, a 25-year-old special education teacher from Chicago, IL; and Chelsea, a 26-year-old in medical sales from Charleston, SC.

Team number two consisted of Mike; Kim, a 29-year-old bridal shop owner from San Antonio, TX; Christina Cha, a 29-year-old career consultant from West Hollywood, CA; Leif Manson, a 27-year-old phlebotomist from San Diego, CA; and Sabrina, a 33-year-old high school teacher from Brooklyn, NY. Tarzan was not picked for either team and had to sit out of the challenge as a result.

Sabrina, Mike, Kim, Christina, Leif, and Sabrina's team ended up winning the barbeque. Leif was ecstatic because it was his first Reward Challenge win, while the other group was extremely disappointed and annoyed with the other team's apparent happiness.

Afterward, the winning tribe enjoyed their reward at a 7Up resort complete with a pool and a great amount of food. After eating, Kim and Sabrina talked strategy about keeping girls in the game longer than the men, and they both discussed how they wanted to make it to the end together alongside Chelsea. Kim wanted the numbers to be six girls against four guys following the next vote, ultimately meaning they planned to eliminate another male castaway at the upcoming Tribal Council session. 

Kim and Sabrina then discussed lying to Troy in order to get him on their side in getting rid of Mike next. They figured they'd grab Alicia and Christina -- who "weren't doing anything" -- as well and would convince them to "annihilate the guys one by one."

"I was trying to think through my options, and what I thought made sense was to take out Mike. The girls are already in the majority, so if we can get a united front and come together, we could start sending these guys home. I'm going to have to be careful, but if all six girls vote together and just go for it, it could change the whole game," Kim explained.

Meanwhile, Chelsea talked to everyone on the losing tribe about whom would be the next castaway to go. Troy and Jay thought Christina was a good pick, but Kat said they should send Mike home instead because he posed a big physical threat in the game. Jay was uneasy about the idea because he didn't want to give the girls too much of an advantage in case they decided to turn on the men.

Troy worried the winning group was strategizing at the 7Up resort and realized he had to keep his eyes on the girls. He hoped Sabrina, Kim and Chelsea were going to stick with the former Salani group -- which also had previously consisted of himself, Mike and Jay -- until the end but wasn't sure if that was going to be the case.

On Day 22, the castaways were dealing with the effects of a storm and had to rebuild their shelter. The harsh weather conditions heightened the tension amongst the tribemates, especially between Tarzan and Chelsea.

"When you're around somebody, you sense whether you're an irritant to them and it seems Chelsea's been short of subliminally harassing me," Tarzan said. "I'm just the person who, if I believe I've been unfairly aligned, I can't just take it. I have to say something. I think I know why she's been unhappy with me."

Tarzan then confronted Chelsea and asked her if she didn't like him because she was constantly acting negatively towards him. Chelsea thought it was so annoying Tarzan brought up her "boob job" when asking whether she didn't like him because he happened to be a plastic surgeon and she didn't like her breast implants.

Chelsea wanted to get Tarzan out of the game as fast as possible, but she acknowledged how she had to play with her head in Survivor. She believed it was vital to remove the threats and stronger players before the weaker ones, allowing Tarzan to stick around longer.

Kim then talked to Troy and attempted to execute her plan. She told Troy that Mike was throwing his name around and telling the castaways he served as a threat. Kim was trying to convince him to turn on Mike and he was feeding into her story. Kim told Troy it was important for Mike to feel secure about his position in the game and then asked him to not reveal the situation to him. Troy agreed and was furious that Mike was allegedly betraying him.

"This morning, I hear that Mike wants to take me out of the f-cking game and that pisses me off! He does jack squat. He's just an idiot. That guy irks me, man. I'm sick of him!" Troyzan said. "Mike, I've been worried about since Day 1 and if Mike wants to frickin vote me out, he's got another thing coming. That guy should've been gone on Day 1."

Later that day, the merged tribe met with Jeff, who then explained the rules to what would be their eighth Immunity Challenge, but second Individual Immunity Challenge of the season.

The castaways learned they each had to race across a ladder bridge while maneuvering bags of puzzle pieces along a twisty rope. The first four people to reach the finish line would move onto the final round, where they would use those puzzle pieces to solve a complicated Survivor puzzle. The first person to solve the puzzle would receive Individual Immunity and be safe from the vote at the next Tribal Council session.

The challenge came down to Kim, Alicia, Troyzan, and Jay -- who all were racing to solve the puzzle. Jay ended up winning the challenge after he came from behind and quickly solved the puzzle before the other three castaways had the chance.

"Tonight, I have the immunity necklace around my neck, so I feel safe. I definitely think that since we knocked Jonas off last time, I think it's just a safe vote to knock out a girl. So if we send Christina home, that keeps the old Salani members going strong and sends an old Manono member home, as well as evens out the guys versus the girls," Jay said.

Once the castaways returned to camp, Kim asked Troy if they were on the same page in voting Mike out and Troy claimed he was certainly onboard. Kim felt great about the moves she was making in the game.

"Right now, I'm straddling two alliances. I have an all women's alliance and I have my Salani alliance with Troy, Jay and Mike. But now, I feel like it's time for the girls to take over this game. I know that Chelsea and the girls will be onboard with that, and Troy, he's blinded by his dislike of Mike. So I'm using Troy to send Mike home tonight," Kim explained.

Kim hoped Jay wouldn't get suspicious of the girls wanting to get Mike out because then he may address the situation with Troyzan and eventually find out the girls were lying. She said she might need the boys' votes a couple more times, so she didn't want to cut ties with them just yet.

Chelsea then asked Jay his thoughts on getting rid of Mike, and Jay openly admitted to her that he was scared of all the girls. He thought if Mike went, he would be the one to go immediately afterwards.

Chelsea replied that Jay's comment "wasn't necessarily true," and Jay was frustrated because her statement "wasn't very promising." Jay was shocked she said that in front of Christina and Alicia, because it made him question whether there really was a former Salani alliance anymore.

"I was sitting in the shelter and Chelsea looked at me and asked if I'm going to send Mike home. It just really shocked me that he would say that in front of Alicia and Christina because they're Manono tribe members," Jay said.

"I'm just like, 'You're supposed to be part of my alliance and you're talking about this in front of these other two people.' I don't like that plan, but I need to be careful with these girls, because if I don't go along with them and don't vote out Mike, they might very well come after me."

Chelsea told Kim what Jay had said about how he didn't trust the girls, and Kim thought Chelsea's move was horrible because she still wanted Troy and Jay to believe it was going to be Salani to the end. Chelsea was clearly giving away the fact most of the girls were working together.

Kim then approached Mike and Jay and interrupted their conversation so the guys couldn't talk strategy. She told them both to vote off Christina because it would make everyone feel better and would relieve some of the tension around camp. Kim was hoping Jay would stop worrying about the girls' alliance if she at least appeared to want Christina gone first.

Mike was convinced his alliance was strong and he was perfectly fine with voting out Christina. He was worried about being blindsided but just didn't see that happening. Kim then talked to Sabrina and Kat about whether they should actually vote off Mike or settle things down by voting off Christina.

"I'm torn over what to do because it's a huge move to take out the guys in our alliance and unfortunately, Jay freaked out. So, are we going to cause a major uproar and go with the women's alliance and vote off Mike, or do we vote off Christina and keep Salani together? We're going to have to make a choice and go with it, but whatever happens, it's going to change the whole game," Kim said.

That night, Survivor: One World's Tikiano tribe members arrived for their second Tribal Council altogether as a merged tribe, the eighth session of the season overall. Jonas, the first member of the jury, arrived to listen in on the session.

Jeff asked the castaways if anyone thought they were going home, and no one did, so every alliance apparently felt solid and loyal. Tarzan said the situation represented the fact someone in particular was very good at deceiving, and then Kim, Chelsea, Christina, Mike, and Troyzan all said they'd be shocked if they were voted out.

"Kim, where is the confidence coming from that no one here tonight thinks it's them?" Jeff asked.

"I think there are people that think they're a part of an alliance that they're not actually a part of and that's where the confusion is setting in. We all did have our first alliances and then we had time to develop new relationships when we switched tribes, so I think you always have to kind of keep your options open and then know when to stick with the plan too," Kim said.

Chelsea said it was okay to be aligned with two or three groups and see which one had more trust and them keep yourself with the majority. She said it would be good to have options.

Alicia then noted she wasn't sure who was on whose side and it would take a couple Tribal Councils to figure that out.

Christina explained there might still be a men versus women format despite the new alliances potentially formed from the Manono and Salani shuffle. Tarzan then told Jeff the allegiances formed prior to coming to Tribal Council should've been strong, and people weren't going to reveal their moves and strategies. As a result, Tarzan suggested Jeff was actually the one being played.

Mike said there were two alliances but everyone talked. However, he insisted he'd remain loyal to his alliance and felt good about it.

Jeff then revealed the votes. Two people voted to oust Christina from Survivor: One World, while two castaways voted for Tarzan. Five tribemates ended up voting for Mike. After showing the votes, Jeff extinguished Mike's torch and Mike exited the game.

The episode's closing credits later showed that Alicia and Christina voted for Tarzan, Tarzan and Mike voted for Christina, and everyone else voted for Mike.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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