'Survivor: Ghost Island' recap: James Lim voted out at Tribal Council after three-tribe swap

Survivor: Ghost Island featured another tribal swap and the elimination of James Lim during Wednesday night's episode on CBS.


James Lim, a 24-year-old business analyst from Los Angeles, CA, was voted out of his new Malolo tribe on Night 17 of the game at Tribal Council through a unanimous vote. James had cast his sole vote for Desiree Afuye, a 21-year-old student from Brooklyn, NY.

The tribal swap, which resulted in three tribes instead of two, left James and his ally, Michael Yerger, on the outs against three original Naviti members; however, the two guys had anticipated Angela Perkins flipping since original Naviti previously betrayed her once and voted for her.

"That was a great blindside and I honestly didn't really see it coming, so hats off to them," said James following his ouster.

"But I'm oddly at peace because these last 17 days -- even though it's going to be a fraction of my life -- really changed me, and I'm going to go back to the real world as a new person with a new perspective. And so I am humble and I am grateful to say that I have played Survivor."


The Survivor broadcast began on Day 15, with the two tribes meeting host Jeff Probst. Jeff quickly explained there was going to be another swap in which a new third tribe would be introduced.

Michael, an 18-year-old real estate agent from Knoxville, TN, called the swap a "saving grace" because he knew Jenna Bowman and himself had been on the chopping block come the next vote. Michael saw this as "a bright light at the end of the tunnel."

After drawing new buffs at random, Naviti -- wearing Purple -- was comprised of Bradley Kleihege, a 26-year-old law student from Haslett, MI; Chelsea Townsend, a 24-year-old EMT from Salt Lake City, UT; Domenick Abbate, a 38-year-old construction supervisor from Nesconset, NY; Libby Vincek, a 24-year-old social media strategist from Houston, TX; and Donathan Hurley, a 26-year-old caretaker from Phelps, KY.

New Malolo -- wearing Orange -- was made up of James; Michael; Desiree; Angela, a 42-year-old Army veteran from Cincinnati, OH; and Kellyn Bechtold, a 31-year-old career counselor from North Manchester, IN.

And the brand new tribe -- wearing green -- featured Jenna; a 23-year-old account executive from Detroit, MI; Chris Noble, a 27-year-old male model from Florida Keys, FL; Wendell Holland, a 33-year-old furniture designer from Philadelphia, PA; Laurel Johnson, a 29-year-old financial consultant from Philadelphia, PA; and Sebastian Noel, a 22-year-old fishing guide from Melbourne, FL.


The brand new tribe called Yanuya had to start over from scratch and build a new shelter. 

Jeff pointed out there were three original Naviti and two original Malolo members on each of the three tribes. Michael was still down on the numbers, but he intended to make the most of this opportunity.

At Yanuya's camp following the swap, Wendell gifted Sebastian with a conch shell from their previous camp that "Sea Bass" had fallen in love with.

Sebastian didn't get to spend much time with Wendell on their former tribe because the two guys had taken sides in the Chris vs. Domenick rivalry, but he thought the gesture was really cool regardless.

Wendell, who had been buddy-buddy with Domenick, was actually really excited though to be on Chris' tribe since he's an athlete with an excellent track record in challenges; however, he couldn't stand listening to Chris gloat.


Even Laurel noted Chris enjoyed listening to himself talk. But since Chris was a physical asset, Laurel did her best to fit in with Chris and make him like her and feel comfortable.

Chris then told Laurel that he's a male model -- a piece of information he had only told Libby beforehand. But with Libby, Chris said he "used to model." Chris held back that information for a while because he didn't want his tribe to think he was "self-absorbed or dumb."

But unfortunately for Chris, he was rubbing people the wrong way and no one seemed to care what he does for work. Laurel told the cameras the tribe was fine with letting Chris continue to "dig his own grave," as long as they'd keep winning challenges.

On Day 15, at Malolo's camp, Desiree, Angela and Kellyn had the numbers as original Naviti members, but Desiree knew Angela had been on the same tribe as James for a while, so she didn't really know what was going on between them.

Kellyn then learned Domenick and Wendell had previously attempted to vote Angela out instead of trying to keep Naviti strong. Michael and James viewed this as a crack in the alliance, and Michael figured the guys could pull Angela in with them since she had been backstabbed by original Naviti before.


Michael told James that Kellyn and Desiree were tight and they'd never waver from original Naviti. Although Michael wrote James' name down at the second Tribal Council session, James acknowledged they needed to work together. Since James' original Malolo 4 had saved Angela, he hoped Angela would save him back.

At Naviti's camp, Bradley noted Domenick was his ally and Chelsea was also voting with him. Chelsea felt rejuvenated and energized in the game thanks to the swap, and Domenick was also relieved to no longer have Chris breathing down his neck. Domenick was no longer on the defense, and he felt safe with Donathan and the original Naviti members.

Afterward, Domenick -- who said Libby is "a devil in an angel's body" --  spoke to Bradley about how Libby was sweet, seductive and dangerous in the game.

Libby also never gave Domenick any information to work with. Domenick called Libby "Parvati 2.0" because she'd flirt with you and then cut your throat, so both guys were onboard with taking Libby out next. Bradley thought it was the best strategic option for them.

Bradley loved reconnecting with Domenick in the game because they were really close, and he bragged in a confessional about playing "an A+ game."


On Day 17, the three tribes gathered for an Immunity Challenge, which required one castaway from each tribe to serve as "the caller."

The caller was instructed to give tribemates verbal commands while they were blindfolded. Meanwhile, the goal of the blindfolded people was to retrieve three bags of puzzle pieces, and once those bags were collected, two players must solve a puzzle while blindfolded.

This challenge was all about communication, and the caller would either end up being a hero or a goat.

The first two tribes to finish the challenge would win immunity, while the losing tribe would be sent to Tribal Council, where the sixth person would be voted out of the game this season. 

Yanuya arrived at the puzzle table in last place but finished the Immunity Challenge in first! Naviti placed second.

So although Malolo had a big lead in the challenge and started the puzzle first, they came in last place.  Malolo would therefore be going to Tribal Council for the third straight time and the fifth time this season. It was going to be Michael's fifth time going to Tribal Council out of the six sessions in total.


At Malolo's camp after the challenge, Desiree apologized for losing the challenge for her team, and she cried about not being able to prove herself. Desiree called the loss "the worst moment" of her life.

Kellyn, Angela and Desiree then discussed taking out James. Desiree was fine with that idea because she figured she was the other target option -- and none of them had really connected with James.

Meanwhile, Michael and James agreed they were "toast" if they couldn't get Angela on their side. James therefore tried to bond with Angela and convince her to flip, and Angela was shown saying that she was on the bottom of Kellyn and Desiree's alliance.

James asked Angela flat out to work with him and keep the tribe strong by voting for Desiree, and Angela admitted she trusted him. 

Angela would've liked to stay loyal to Naviti, but she needed to watch out for herself. She questioned which move would get her further in the game, and Kellyn was nervous and uncomfortable going into Tribal Council because she didn't know where Angela stood.

Kellyn said Angela was acting "paranoid" and was "all over the place," making her very "dangerous."


At Tribal Council, Desiree announced that while the tribe might want to keep strength, those type of people are not whom you want to go up against when Individual Immunity Challenges commence. But Michael argued the tribe needed to be kept strong for now.

James then addressed the tribe as a whole, asking them not to focus on original tribal lines when they were random to begin with.

Angela also pointed out she was on Naviti by chance and her original tribemates had voted against her.

It then became time to vote, and James was shown saying that wished he could have given Desiree a second chance for blowing the challenge, just like his former tribe had previously granted him.

When Jeff revealed the votes, Malolo learned that only one person voted for Desiree, and that person was James. On his way out of Tribal, James confessed it was "a true blindside," and he also wished everyone "the best of luck." 






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski