'Survivor' eliminates Krista Klumpp and votes off Stephanie Valencia

Survivor: Redemption Island eliminated contestant Krista Klumpp from the game after she lost the season's fourth Redemption Island duel to Matt Elrod during Wednesday night's broadcast of the sixth episode of the CBS reality series' 22nd edition.


"It's a real reality right now that my second chance is over and the game's over, so it's emotional... Matt and I agreed that at the end of the duel today, it would be God's will done and it was. It was my time to go," said Krista, a 25-year-old pharmaceutical representative from Columbia, SC, following her ouster.

Later in the episode, the Zapatera tribe also voted castaway Stephanie Valencia out of their tribe at the season's sixth Tribal Council session.

As the game's newest Tribal Council victim, Stephanie, a 25-year-old waitress from Long Beach, CA, will now take Krista's place on Redemption Island, where she will battle Matt, a 22-year-old pre-med student from Nashville, TN, in the game's next duel.

The winner will get to remain on Redemption Island and continue attempting to earn the right to eventually rejoin the game's other castaways and resume competing for Survivor: Redemption Island's million dollar prize, while the loser will be eliminated from the competition.


"My strategy out here is be brutally honest about the Zapatera tribe," Stephanie said upon arriving at Redemption Island prior to telling Matt he would never want to form alliances with her old tribe because they were simply not nice people. "When I win, I'm not going back to them. That's obvious."

Survivor: Redemption Island's sixth episode began with Krista arriving at Redemption Island on Night 13 following the game's fifth Tribal Council. Matt initially greeted her and they talked a little bit about their strong faith, but then Krista changed gears and told him Matt she was going to give him a run for his money. 

"I quickly realized that she is a firecracker and she is here for business," Matt said.

On Day 14, the Zapatera tribe -- which consisted of Mike Chiesl, a 31-year-old former U.S. Marine from Del Mar, CA; Ralph Kiser, a 44-year-old farmer from Lebanon, VA; Krista; David Murphy, a defense attorney from West Hollywood, CA; Stephanie; Sarita White, a 36-year-old visual effects producer from Santa Monica, CA; Julie Wolfe, a 50-year-old firefighter from Oceanside, CA; and Steve Wright, a 51-year-old former NFL player from Huntington, CA -- discussing the results of the Tribal Council in which they had voted Krista off.

Steve said the Tribal Council session got ugly when he realized Krista and Stephanie had voted for him, providing him with a harsh "slap of reality" of where he stood within the tribe.


Stephanie then discussed with Steve how the team needed the strongest competitors possible and he wasn't really cutting it, although she pleaded with him not to take it personally because she knew he was putting his best effort forward.

"I was trying to be delicate with Steve. I'm not going to be too crazy about bashing people," Stephanie said.

Stephanie knew she was at the bottom of her tribe in terms of likeability and trustworthiness, so she was basically walking on eggshells in order to gain a little respect from her Zapatera tribe and avoid getting sent to Redemption Island. Stephanie added that as much as she "hated sucking up" to her tribe, she knew it would eventually take her further into the game.

Steve was surprised votes were cast for him so early on and so it served as a wake-up call for him to dig a little deeper even though he considered Stephanie's move to vote him out "stupid." He explained to Stephanie that it would have been a wiser decision for her to vote alongside the majority to prove her alliance with them.

However, Stephanie said his was entitled to his own opinion and didn't care that much what he thought. Steve, frustrated by Stephanie's assertiveness and lack of sympathy, decided at that point she would be the next to go.


"She's tightening the rope around her neck. If we end up having to go back to Tribal, she's out," Steve noted.

Meanwhile, the Ometepe tribe members -- Andrea Boehlke, a 21-year-old student from Random Lake, WI; Grant Mattos, a 29-year-old yoga instructor and former NFL football player from West Hollywood, CA; Phillip Sheppard, a 52-year-old technology executive and former federal agent from Santa Monica, CA; Natalie Tenerelli, a 19-year-old professional dancer from Acton, CA; Ashley Underwood, a 25-year-old nurse and former Miss Maine USA from Benton, ME, and returning castaway Rob Mariano, a 35-year-old from Canton, MA who now resides in Pensacola, FL -- were beginning to disagree over the delegation of responsibilities around the camp.

Ashley and Natalie were enjoying their own little spa day, clipping their armpit and leg hair and fixing their eyebrows, while Phillip was tending to their fire. Ashley said she worked hard her entire life and finally deserved to just hang out and enjoy her time on the island as she was braiding Andrea's hair.

Phillip then asked the girls to check on the fire every half hour because of the wet wood he collected from all the rain they previously received. He attempted to ask nicely although the girls not helping out around camp was getting on his last nerve.

"If I go to Redemption Island before Ashley and Natalie, there's something wrong with the game, because those two girls are on a beauty pageant. That's their whole world, but it's hard to compete and do anything when you have two girls who won't get off their butt and they don't give you real credit for anything," Phillip said.


"I'm their red-headed stepchild. These two girls must go. They've been here for 14 days and frankly, the pageant is over."

That same day on Redemption Island, Krista received her luxury item that was a Bible. She was thrilled to have gotten her "words of wisdom" and then she and Matt prayed before the duel that was awaiting them.

Matt explained that he saw something different in Krista in that they both shared a common bond.

"Both of us have really been struggling with not having a faith community and other believers to talk to and lean on," Matt said, adding that since they developed a strong connection, it would be more difficult for him to compete against her in the upcoming duel. "I do have a little anxiety."

Later that day, Survivor host Jeff Probst met with Matt, Krista, and the onlookers who came to witness the duel. Andrea and Natalie were the spectators for the Ometepe tribe, while Julie and Mike attended the duel on behalf of the Zapatera tribe.


Jeff then explained the rules of the duel. Krista and Matt were required to each use a grappling hook to retrieve three bags in which one ball was in each bag. Once the castaway was able to grab all three bags, they would then need to use one ball to solve a table maze. The first person to complete the maze and get their ball into the finish hole would remain on Redemption Island and stay alive in the game, while the person to lose the challenge would be immediately sent home.

Matt and Krista then squared off in the duel, and although they both made mistakes and had to start the puzzle over, Matt ended up solving the maze before Krista, winning his fourth duel in a row.

On Krista's way out of the game, she asked Jeff if she could give something to Matt, and when given the okay, Krista left with him her Bible luxury item. Matt was touched by Krista's gift and knew they shared something special, and then Krista threw her buff into the urn and departed.

Andrea, watching the sequence of events from her seat, decided she was apparently not the only girl who had formed a strong connection with Matt. Overcome with either a bit of jealousy over Matt and Krista's relationship or a realization about a weakness in her own friendship with Matt, Andrea began to change her mind about him and the role he might play in her strategic game.

"They were so close and then my whole image of Matt changed. I had a really good bond with him, but obviously he bonded with Krista just as well, so even though initially I was like, 'I want Matt to stay as long as possible,' he could be very dangerous as well," Andrea explained.

On Day 15 at the Zapatera tribe, Sarita believed she got bacteria in her tooth and Julie called her a "drama queen princess." Julie and Mike then spoke and agreed that Sarita was driving them nuts.


Meanwhile, David was talking with Stephanie and they named Sarita the weakest member of the tribe. David confessed he wanted to get Stephanie back into the group, as she would be able to give more to the tribe, by ultimately sacrificing Sarita. Stephanie continued to play her two-faced game with the hopes of sticking around.

"I'm going to sit here and think about how to suck up to people I hate," Stephanie said. "Why don't they teach me this in school?"

Back at the Ometepe tribe, Phillip reiterated his frustration with Ashley and Natalie and how he would have appreciated some assistance around camp. He said he was getting no credit for the fruits of his labor and he wasn't going to ask for their respect. He simply hoped he would naturally receive it. He asked the girls if they could gather wood because a storm was on its way, and Ashley got offended that Phillip was "dictating" rather than requesting.

Phillip and Ashley then argued about who was pulling the weight around camp and Ashley was angered that he seemed to approach the women more bluntly and directly than he would with the men.

"Phillip is mental. Someone needs to diagnose him," Ashley said. "It's just annoying. I'm done with him. Done."

Boston Rob witnessed the whole dispute and realized the tribe not getting along was not good for Ometepe as a whole. He said everyone had to work together in order to win challenges and keep their numbers. As a result, Rob took Phillip aside and tried to smooth things over even though he actually agreed with why Phillip flipped out to begin with. 


"I had to play Arafat in a peace process to bring the tribe back together again," Rob said.

Rob also noted that although team unity was important, he didn't mind that some of the other castaways had their faults and annoyances about them that would eventually take the heat off of himself and give him the million dollar prize in the end.

Meanwhile, at Zapatera's camp, Stephanie decided to squash her argument with Steve and put it behind them. Stephanie told him she didn't mean anything by what she said about him being a weak player and apologized for trying to vote him out at Tribal Council.

However, Steve said he didn't know whether to take her seriously or not. He admitted that he would keep the door open for her just in case she was being honest and truthful, but at the same time, worried she was just attempting to build an alliance for her own good.

Once they seemed to have developed a friendly relationship, Stephanie told Steve she wanted to write down Sarita's name originally instead of him at the previous Tribal Council. Steve then agreed Stephanie was better at the challenges and a stronger competitor overall to have in the game than Sarita. Stephanie was happy with Steve's response and her own efforts to maintain a good reputation within the tribe.

"Anything will help me at this point. I need to drag her down and bring me up," Stephanie confessed.


Stephanie then said she wanted to show everyone what she could do at the next challenge so it would convince everyone to let Sarita go next instead of her. She felt it was necessary to prove herself and gain the right to stay.

Later that day, both the Zapatera and Ometepe tribes arrived for the Immunity Challenge and met Jeff, who explained the rules to what would be their sixth Immunity Challenge and fifth Reward Challenge.

The tribe members could feel the competitiveness in the air as Steve and Phillip exchanged harmless insults, and then they all learned they must select two members of each tribe to launch balls onto the beach where the remainder of the tribe members would attempt to catch the balls. If a castaway caught a ball of any color, he or she would score a point for his or her tribe. The first tribe to catch five balls would win immunity and a picnic at the top of a mountain overlooking San Juan del Sur.  

Sarita opted to sit out for Zapatera without much thought having gone into the decision. Stephanie and David were chosen to launch the balls for Zapatera, while Natalie and Phillip launched the balls for Ometepe.

Grant's NFL wide receiver experience paid off for Ometepe as he caught four balls while escaping Mike's attempts to block his access to the balls. Julie and Ralph came close to catching balls but Rob ended up snatching the last ball needed for Ometepe before Zapatera could even grab one. In the end, Ometepe shutout Zapatera and won five to zero. 

Zapatera then returned to camp and Steve suggested they needed to create a strong team in order to win challenges, as they had lost two in a row up to that point. He noted that they probably didn't need an "uptown" girl like Sarita.


Meanwhile, Ometepe was enjoying their reward of picnic food ontop the mountain when Rob discovered another clue to the hidden Immunity Idol he already possessed. He spotted it sticking out of the bottom of the table and said he would try to grab it if no one else managed to see it. However, he was not going to try to snag the clue if his action was apparent, and instead, would allow someone else to get it.

Grant ended up seeing the clue as well and grabbed it. Rob saw him and asked him to take a walk. Shortly after they began discussing the clue, Phillip followed them up the stairs and approached them, also seeing the clue for himself. Phillip knew that Rob and Grant were attempting to hide the Idol from him and he said he felt provoked.

Phillip explained that if someone wanted to be in an alliance with him, he or she must have integrity, but Phillip expressed he wasn't going to "dwell on the negativity" that was occurring right in front of him.

"I'm going to smile, and when the time comes, I'm going to kick a little ass around here," Phillip said.

The following day, David was lobbying for Stephanie to stay and Sarita to go at the Zapatera camp because he felt they needed someone who was going to help them in the field.

Sarita knew exactly what was going on and that people were turning against her, but she said she was not going to go campaigning because she was very loyal and she thought her tribe would have known that about her by then.


"I'm the most loyal person that my tribe will every see and they all know that," Sarita said.

Stephanie then told Julie that Sarita was the weakest player, but Julie confirmed that everyone on the tribe trusted Sarita. However, Stephanie counteracted Julie's statement by verifying they needed numbers going into the merge. She tried to convince Julie to give her a chance to prove herself in later days and show how committed she was to the tribe through her participation and effort in future challenges.

"Strong woman in a little package you are," Julie told Stephanie.

Stephanie said the tribe wouldn't be able to carry Sarita anymore and Steve admitted he was very sick of losing. When the tribe gathered to discuss their options with the exception of Stephanie and Sarita, mostly everyone seemed to agreed that both Stephanie and Sarita were both weak. David on the other hand, said he fundamentally disagreed with them in support of Stephanie and tried to convince them to let her stay.

"Stephanie has more fight in her. If Stephanie can prove she can be trusted, I'm not opposed to keeping Stephanie around," Mike said.

That night, Survivor: Redemption Island's Zapatera castaways arrived for their third Tribal Council and the season's sixth overall Tribal Council.


The tribe jointly admitted they were beginning to regret their decision to throw an earlier challenge in order to get rid of former Survivor: Samoa and Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains contestant Russell Hantz, because they were slowly declining in their numbers when they first believed themselves to be unstoppable.

Stephanie then said she was fine with Sarita sitting out of the last Immunity Challenge because she believed Sarita was not very physical. Sarita answered her comment by stating that she wanted to sit out so she wouldn't have been seen as the worst of the bunch if they were to lose the challenge. Sarita wanted to avoid taking responsibility for a loss and apparently did not want any part in the potential failure of a challenge so she could stay in the game.

As a result, the tribe saw her actions as a sign of weakness for their tribe. Stephanie pounced right on the opportunity and said Sarita didn't want to be there. Sarita, however, fired back and said Stephanie was way off base issuing such a claim, and then David chimed in in defense of Stephanie.

"I'll tell you the truth, Jeff. This is a tribe that is too obsessed with trusting one another at a time when trust isn't the most important issue. The stage we're at right now focuses on putting the best six out on the field and do what we need to do to win. Trust will come with time. Right now, we need to focus on winning," David pushed.

Ralph agreed with David's opinion and mindset for the tribe's next strategic moves, but the tribe seemed confused over whether to go with Stephanie -- who seemed to be physically stronger than Sarita and could help them win challenges -- or Sarita, who the tribe had been able to trust the whole time and knew they could continue to lean on. 

The voting then commenced and Jeff revealed the votes. Four people voted for Stephanie, while the two remaining castaways voted for Sarita.


Stephanie's torch was then extinguished and she was exiled to Redemption Island, where she would attempt to survive with Matt while awaiting the season's fifth duel.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski