Survivor: David vs. Goliath eliminated Lyrsa Torres during Wednesday night's Survivor Season 37 episode on CBS.
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Lyrsa, a 36-year-old airline agent from Puerto Rico, who currently resides in Boston, MA, became the seventh castaway to leave the game on Day 17 through a 3-1 vote instead of Angelina Keeley, a 28-year-old financial consultant from Sparks, NV, who currently resides in San Clemente, CA, at Tribal Council after her Jabeni tribe lost the Immunity Challenge.
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"Well, they voted me out. I didn't see it coming. They played me good. I am super pissed at [Nick Wilson] because I didn't know he was a flip-flopper. Of course it sucks to lose. But if you want me to be honest, I'm really, really upset I will have to sit next to Miss [Natalie Cole] at the reunion and I have to go with her right now to Ponderosa," Lyrsa said following her Survivor ouster.
After a recent tribal swap, the castaways were divided into three tribes: Vuku, Tiva and Jabeni.
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In addition to Lyrsa and Angelina, Jabeni was also comprised of Nick, a 27-year-old public defender from Williamsburg, KY, who currently resides in London, KY, and Mike White, a 47-year-old filmmaker from San Diego, CA, who currently resides in Los Angeles, CA and has previously competed on The Amazing Race.
Vuku was made up of Alec Merlino, a 24-year-old bartender from San Clemente, CA; Davie Rickenbacker, a 30-year-old social media manager from Orangeburg, SC, who currently resides in Atlanta, GA; Elizabeth Olson, a 31-year-old kitchen staffer from Dallas, Fort Worth, TX, who currently resides in Longview, TX; Carl Boudreaux, a 41-year-old truck driver from Beaumont, TX, who currently resides in Houston, TX; and Kara Kay, a 30-year-old realtor from San Diego, CA.
And Tiva featured Christian Hubicki, a 32-year-old robotics scientist from Baltimore, MD, who currently resides in Tallahassee, FL; Gabby Pascuzzi, a 25-year-old technical writer from St. Augustine, FL, who currently resides in Denver, CO; John Hennigan, a 38-year-old professional wrestler from Los Angeles, CA; Dan Rengering, a 27-year-old S.W.A.T. officer from Lake Butler, FL, who currently resides in Gainesville, FL; and Alison Raybould, a 28-year-old physician from Leawood, KS, who currently resides in Chapel Hill, NC.
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The Survivor broadcast began on Day 16, with Lyrsa saying she can't believe she had survived Tribal Council again and seems to have as many lives as a cat.
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Angelina admitted her vote for Lyrsa was phony and insincere, and the only reason she wrote her name down was so Natalie might give up her jacket.
Lyrsa told the cameras Angelina's behavior was "petty" and her vote said a lot about her character. Lyrsa no longer trusted Angelina, reasoning that her jacket was more important to Angelina than she seemed to be.
Meanwhile, Angelina gushed about there being peace at camp with Natalie gone, and she enjoyed a few laughs with her fellow Goliath member, Mike. Although he's a former David member, Nick felt he was sitting pretty because Angelina had made herself look like "a fool."
Nick said Angelina "might flip on a dime" and her aggressive gameplay probably opened up Mike's eyes and made him realize she's dangerous and untrustworthy.
Later that day, the three tribes met Survivor host Jeff Probst for a Reward Challenge.
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Jeff instructed one person from each tribe to be attached to a heavy bag of coconuts. Each tribe would then work together to get that bag to the beach, where they must then lift the bag, allowing the person to climb over an obstacle and retrieve four rings. The first two tribes to land all four rings on a series of targets would win Reward.
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The first tribe to finish would receive cooking utensils, herbs, spices, and 10 vegetable kabobs. The second tribe to finish would win two kabobs.
Kara sat out for Vuku, and Alison sat out for Tiva.
In the end, Tiva won first place "by a landslide," according to Dan, and Jabeni placed second in a close call against Vuku.
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"Some Goliaths from the other tribe were not happy to see that we voted off Natalie, so maybe staying with Angelina makes more sense because if we merge together, then I've taken out two Goliaths from my original tribe. I would have a huge target on my back!" Mike admitted in a confessional.
After the challenge, Dan discussed how he was still a member of the "brochachos" with John and Christian, and he trusted Christian and wanted to keep him around much more than Gabby.
Christian couldn't believe he was a popular player, that people actually wanted to talk to him and spend time with him. Christian's biggest fear in the game was being ostracized, but he was acknowledging self improvement -- and he even did some spearfishing!
Gabby noticed she was on the outs and needed to take the game into her own hands. Gabby didn't want to rely on hope her tribe would keep winning Immunity Challenges since "hope is not a strategy," so she tried to rope Alison in.
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Gabby cried to Alison about how it was really scary to be on the bottom. Alison said she's an "incredibly empathetic" person, so she wanted to alleviate her suffering. Alison, in fact, felt she could trust Gabby long-term.
Alison subsequently told the cameras this game was no longer about Davids vs. Goliaths because the lines were blurred. Alison told Gabby she would be willing to take Dan -- who has two hidden Immunity Idols under his belt -- out as a result. (Alison only knew about one of Dan's idols).
On Day 16 at Vuku's camp, Elizabeth's back was really hurting her and she wasn't able to sleep. No one except Kara, however, was helping her adjust the bamboo bed to be level so it would become more comfortable.
Elizabeth's tribemates said there wasn't enough daylight left to get the job done, and then she vented in a confessional she couldn't stand "lazy" and "stupid" people.
Although Elizabeth and Carl were tight at the beginning of the game thanks to their country roots, they were clashing at camp, and Carl noted he doesn't do well with "know-it-alls."
As much as Kara hated conflict, she wasn't involved, and so she basically sat back and metaphorically ate popcorn as discourse erupted in her tribe. Carl noted if Vuku happened to lose the next Immunity Challenge, he would target Elizabeth.
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On Day 17, the three tribes met Jeff again for the season's next Immunity Challenge.
Each tribe was required to carry a large water saucer to a water tower, fill it, make their way through a series of obstacles, and then empty what's left into a well. The goal was to fill the well with water, so they'd have to race back and do the course again as many times as it takes.
A full well would release a bag of puzzle pieces, and then each tribe must solve the puzzle.
The first two tribes to finish would receive immunity and be safe from the vote at the next Tribal Council. But the losing tribe must vote someone out -- the seventh person to be voted out of the game.
Elizabeth sat out for Vuku, and then Gabby sat out for Tiva.
Tiva had a huge lead in the challenge, as they began working on the puzzle before the other two tribes even filled their wells. Jeff pointed out it "would be an impossible comeback for Jabeni" but their hearts were in it and they continued to fight.
Tiva ultimately won first place, with Vuku finishing in second place.
Mike apologized to his tribemates for being unable to contribute more to the challenge, and then he cried to Jeff about how he didn't want anyone in his tribe to go home.
Mike had gotten to know all three of his tribemates very well, and they were all passionate about playing the game of Survivor, so he didn't like the idea of "dashing dreams."
Mike confessed sending one of them home wasn't going to be as fun as he thought it would be.
Mike said this vote was "a momentous" occasion because there were seven Goliaths and seven Davids left in the game and there were two Goliaths and two Davids left on their tribe. Mike knew this decision was going to impact the entire game and everyone in it going forward.
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After the challenge, Angelina asked Lyrsa what she was thinking, and Lyrsa insisted she'd stick with Nick going forward and so she expected to draw rocks at Tribal Council.
"Coming back from the Immunity Challenge, I was actually feeling pretty open-minded to working with Lyrsa given we're both Latinas, but it felt like there was no room for negotiation or compromise or consideration, and so that put the nail in her coffin. It will absolutely be Lyrsa tonight," Angelina told the cameras.
Angelina and Mike anticipated Nick would work with them because no one in the tribe would want to leave their fate up to rocks.
While Mike and Angelina needed to convince Nick to work with them, Lyrsa believed Nick and herself needed to convince Mike to work with them. Mike was clearly the swing vote.
Mike expressed to Lyrsa how he had no loyalty to Angelina because she was strategizing nonstop. He said he was down to vote out Angelina and she was going to be "so mad" at him.
Nick had "no desire" to work with Angelina and didn't trust her "as far as he could throw her," so he decided to make a decision based on what was best for his own game as well as Mike's game.
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"I do have a lot of faith in Mike and I trust him. At this point, I feel Mike is my best friend and we can go deep in this game and have fun playing it!" Nick told the cameras.
Mike was shown telling Nick that Lyrsa was "the safe vote" but there was "some upside" to voting out Angelina. Nick appeared to push the Angelina vote, and Mike was well aware he needed to make up his mind.
The Jabeni tribe then attended Tribal Council, and Nick revealed he was surprised the bond between tribemates was so strong.
The vote seemed to come down to trust, loyalty and bonds for every single player of the tribe. But Angelina noted the vote was also about strategy for her given the merge was likely ahead.
Angelina then "went to bat" for Nick, saying he was very trustworthy and loyal and it's difficult to find someone like him in Survivor. Lyrsa, however, pointed out that Angelina was probably just trying to buy Nick's vote.
"If we get it wrong, I hope it's not a fatal mistake," Mike told Jeff.
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After the castaways voted, Jeff read the votes in the following order: Lyrsa, Angelina, Lyrsa and Lyrsa.
Jeff acknowledged the vote didn't seem to be about whom to get rid of but rather whom to keep together, and the Jabeni tribe members all nodded their heads.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski