Survivor: Caramoan -- Fans vs. Favorites' newly-shuffled Bikal tribe eliminated Matt Bischoff, a 38-year-old in BMX bike sales from Cincinnati, OH, from their tribe during Wednesday night's fifth episode of the CBS reality series' 26th edition.

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Matt was voted out of his tribe at the season's fifth Tribal Council session after Survivor host Jeff Probst shuffled the tribes, ultimately mixing up the season's "Favorites" and "Fans" at random.

"I came into this game knowing that my social game was going to be my strong point. I got along with everybody. No one thought, 'Oh this guy is crazy or too gnarly because of the beard and tattoos. Everyone accepted me for who I was. I played to win. I put all the cards out on the table and I got voted out, but I really don't regret anything," Matt said following his ouster.
 
On Day 13, the Bikal "Favorites" tribe was happy all its castaways had been united in the move to get rid of Brandon Hantz. Corinne Kaplan, a 33-year-old clinical consultant from Los Angeles, expressed surprise over Brandon's aggressive actions, saying he had never bothered her leading up to his outburst. Corinne pointed out that because Brandon was a quitter, she hoped he would never be invited back to play again.

"When Brandon was here, it was actually a certified asylum. It was comfortable to know Brandon was able to successfully fly over the cuckoo's nest and now we're just left with [Phillip Sheppard]," said John Cochran, a 25-year-old law student from Washington, DC.

Phillip, a 54-year-old in software sales from Santa Monica, CA, told the cameras he wanted to get Corinne out of the game as soon as possible.

On Day 14, the Gota "Fans" tribe still featured a majority alliance that left out Edward "Eddie" Fox, a 23-year-old fireman and EMT from East Brunswick, NJ, and Reynold Toepfer, a 30-year-old in real estate sales from San Francisco, CA. Reynold knew he and Eddie had no shot to make new alliances in the game within his tribe, so he just planned to win future challenges.

Both tribes then met with Jeff, who instructed each castaway to drop his or her buff, randomly choose an egg and smash it to reveal either an orange or purple paint inside. The colors indicated the two new tribes.

The new Gota tribe -- wearing orange -- consisted of Reynold; Eddie; Andrea Boehlke, a 23-year-old entertainment host and writer from New York; Malcolm Freberg, a 25-year-old bartender from Hermosa Beach, CA; Sherri Biethman, a 41-year-old fast food franchisee from Boise, ID; Erik Reichenbach, a 27-year-old comic book artist from Santa Clarita, CA; and Brenda Lowe, a 30-year-old paddleboard company owner from Miami, FL.

The new Bikal tribe -- which sported purple -- was comprised of members Corinne; Phillip; Matt; Cochran; Michael Snow, a 44-year-old event planner from New York; Julia Landauer, a 21-year-old racecar driver from Stanford, CA; and Dawn Meehan, a 42-year-old English professor from South Jordan, UT.

Brenda told Jeff she felt her tribe had the strength and muscle. Both tribes were then told they'd each receive a new bag of rice and a flint. Reynold believed it was the start of a whole new game for himself and Eddie.

The Gota tribe had four "Favorites" and three "Fans," so Reynold and Eddie tried to get it in good with Malcolm and Erik. Eddie and Reynold pitched the idea they should collectively get rid of Sherri because she had been gunning for them since the very beginning. Erik got a weird vibe from Reynold, saying he was like a used car salesman. Meanwhile, Sherri warned the girls of Reynold and Eddie. Andrea liked the fact Sherri was so quickly spoiling the secrets of her former tribe.

Meanwhile, Matt, Julia and Michael were the newbies on the Bikal tribe, which also featured four "Favorites." Corinne wanted to align with Michael because she said she loved the "gays," but she realized no one in her majority alliance would flip so she had to rule out the idea.

Phillip then tried to get Julia to trust him. Julia was hoping to get on his good side, but she knew he was planting a seed and wasn't falling for any of his tricks. Phillip told the fan that he was underestimated because of his pink underwear but was ready to make a move when necessary.

Over at Gota's camp, Andrea told Malcolm she had a dream that he had a hidden Immunity Idol in his possession. When she confronted Malcolm to find out, Malcolm lied and bragged that he probably got away with it because he was an "accomplished liar" when it came to women. Andrea took his word for it and didn't express skepticism. The pair then agreed they'd probably split the votes if they were to lose the next challenge in case one of the fans had an idol.

Meanwhile, Phillip was trying to get Julia to flip on the "Fans" and become the seventh member of his alliance, but Corinne just didn't see the point in doing that and hoped she could get Phillip out of the game soon.

"He's the worst federal agent I've ever met. What cases did he crack, like what was he working on? And is that the reason our country is in such a mess? Like, honestly," Corinne said, who then told Dawn that Phillip needed "a warm glass of shut the hell up."

On Day 16, all the castaways met Jeff again, who then explained the rules to what would be their sixth Immunity Challenge.

Two members from each tribe were required to race to roll a large tribe-colored crate back to the start and then the next two castaways could go and do the same task. Once a tribe collected all six of their crates, they had to use them to build a staircase reading the phrase "Fans vs Favorites." The first tribe to complete the staircase would win immunity and be safe from the vote at the upcoming Tribal Council, while the losing tribe would be forced to vote off one of its members.

In the end, Gota conquered the challenge and Bikal barely stood a chance.

Afterward, Phillip said Corinne wasn't taking care of anything but her body, but he still had to wait until the proper moment to give her the boot. He noted that the strong were going to eventually take out the weak.

But Corinne still wasn't a fan of Phillip's, as she told the cameras he was the most annoying person in the game. She explained that the only reason he seemed like the leader of Bikal was because people just stopped talking when he made his speeches -- allowing him to think they were actually listening. Corinne was frustrated but decided to put up with his antics because she knew he was going to vote with her and would never flip.

Phillip and Matt then agreed that Julia needed to go next because they needed strength in the tribe and she had helped little in the challenge. Phillip told Matt and Michael that if another "Favorite" told them to do something, they needed to do it unless he told them otherwise. Phillip explained it was a "Stealth R Us" operation he had going with six other members and two people -- including himself -- were calling the shots.

"I was trying to keep a straight face but hearing Phillip talk about 'Stealth R Us' and all this stuff, it was making me want to bust out laughing. But you know, Phillip might be a ticket to get me farther in this game, so if I have to kiss ass right now with Phillip and be like, 'Yes master, I'll do what you say,' well hey, if that can get me to the merge and to the next process in this game, then I'm going to do it," Matt explained.

Michael then told Julia and Matt that they were going to vote for Cochran. Julia suggested they should get Dawn out instead, and the guys agreed. However, Matt told the cameras had no intention to write Dawn's name down. He was set on getting rid of Julia.

Cochran explained it was obvious one of the fans were going home. He was cool with voting off Julia, but at the same time, he worried Matt and Michael were becoming too close and could eventually act as a power couple in the game. While the "Favorites" feared Matt had an idol, Cochran thought Matt "wreaked of desperation" so he probably didn't. Matt also insisted he did not have an idol.

Dawn, Cochran, Phillip, and Corinne then discussed their options. Corinne said she wanted to get rid of Julia because she was boring and weak in the challenge. She also really liked Matt and got along with him well. The vote was clearly going to come down to either Julia or Matt, and the "Favorites" simply seemed unsure.

That night, Survivor: Caramoan -- Fans vs. Favorites' seven members of the new Bikal tribe arrived for the season's sixth Tribal Council session.

Julia noted there was a divide in the tribe between the "Fans" and "Favorites," and Michael said 100% percent a fan was going home. Corinne explained the decision her alliance came to wasn't necessarily the fair one. Phillip also told Jeff his alliance wanted to keep someone around who was not only strong in challenges but could also follow instructions.

Matt said had he or his previous tribemates found an idol, he would've told Corinne hands down. The "Favorites" were very concerned about the idol and Phillip noted their voting decision reflected that. Phillip then threatened the "Fans" by saying if any of them had the idol, they needed to play it now or would be going home.

Jeff then revealed the votes. Four castaways voted to oust Matt from Survivor: Caramoan -- Fans vs. Favorites. Two people voted for Julia and one tribemate voted for Dawn.

The episode's closing credits later showed Phillip, Dawn, Cochran, and Corinne all voted for Matt. Julia was the one person who voted for Dawn. Matt and Michael voted for Julia.  


About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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