Survivor: Kaoh Rong -- Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty's newly-merged Dara tribe voted Nick Maiorano out during Wednesday night's broadcast on CBS.

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Nick, a 30-year-old personal trainer from Redondo Beach, CA, was blindsided and voted out of his tribe on Night 22 at the game's seventh Tribal Council session once the girls joined forces to get him out.

Nick, a former Beauty tribe member, became the seventh person voted out of the tribe although nine castaways have left the game overall -- two of them due to medical evacuations. 

"First and last Tribal Council. Of course it turns out to be bittersweet and I deserve it. I was beyond confident tonight. This was a blindside for sure. I just didn't see what they were pulling and I have to give them props for that. I would still be cocky and confident and arrogant, but I should've punched before they did and I didn't. And that's all," Nick said following his ouster.

The Survivor broadcast began on Day 19 with the Brains -- Aubry Bracco, a 29-year-old social media marketer from Cambridge, MA; Joseph "Joe" Del Campo, a 72-year-old former FBI agent from Vero Beach, FL; and Debbie Wanner, a 49-year-old chemist from Reading, PA -- at the bottom of the Dara tribe's totem pole.

The majority, which was everyone else on the tribe, decided the Brains needed to go one by one. Kyle Jason, a 31-year-old bounty hunter from Detroit, MI, said he was pretty sure Neal Gottlieb had left the game with an idol in his pocket, however, the majority planned to split every vote going forward just in case someone else was hiding one. Jason mentioned targeting Debbie first and then Aubry.

Aubry said camp felt like high school because it was the tough guys surrounded by the pretty girls and then the shy nerdy people on the outside. Aubry, however, noted that misfits usually get their revenge, and if there's a crack in the alliance, she'd find her way in.

On Day 20, Jason revealed his daughter is in kindergarten and has autism. He said every cent his family makes goes to doctor bills and therapy sessions. Jason admitted his family lives poorly, and while this story allowed people to see a more human and softer side of Jason, it also painted a bigger target on his back since he really needed the money and would likely gain the sympathy vote.

Cydney Gillon, a 23-year-old body builder from Douglasville, GA, therefore started thinking about whom she could really beat in this game. She worried Jason, one of her closest allies from the former Brawn tribe, wouldn't be one of them.

The tribe then met Survivor host Jeff Probst for a Reward Challenge.

The castaways were divided into two teams of five via schoolyard pick. They were required to race out, use stepping poles to transfer one tribe member from one large platform to another and then swim out to a small tower. The first tribe to get all of its tribemates on the top of the tower would win a special ice cream parlor set up back at camp.

Julia Sokolowski, a 19-year-old college student from Boston, MA, was a captain and asked Nick; Debbie; Tai Trang, a 51-year-old gardener from San Francisco, CA; and Scot Pollard, a 40-year-old former NBA champion from Carmel, IN, to be on her team.

Aubry was also a team captain by random draw and picked Cydney, Joe, Jason and Michele Fitzgerald, a 24-year-old bartender from Freehold, NJ, for her team.

In the end, Julia's team won an ice cream party. Aubry cried in a confessional about how she was making one bad decision after the next, but Debbie didn't feel bad for the losers one bit.

Back at camp, the winners ate their ice cream only 15 feet away from the other castaways, and Jason yelled out sarcastically that they could be louder. However, Michele was annoyed because she thought the winners handled their reward gracefully.

Scot then revealed to the group his mother has a rare disease that is basically the inverse of ALS and his father died when he was a teenager. Scot explained his brothers chose family and religion, and he chose the NBA to make money and care for everyone.

Julia definitely thought she could work well with Scot and really liked having him on her team.

On Day 21, Scot talked to Jason and Nick about the potential for an all-girls alliance, but Nick wasn't really worried about it. Still, they spoke about getting rid of a girl before a guy just in case. Nick then pulled Julia aside, questioning her about an all-female alliance. Julia assured him that there wasn't one, but Cydney overhears the conversation and was livid.

Cydney thought at least her closest allies, Jason and Scot, would not question her intentions in the game because she was loyal to them. Nick told Scot and Jason out loud that Julia said there was no girls alliance, and Cydney called out the guys for being shady. Jason didn't realize Cydney was going to be paranoid so early on.

Cydney was irritated that the guys could talk about things, but the second she bonded a little bit with the girls, they believed she was jumping ship. She wasn't afraid to blow up anyone's game and even point out the fact Jason has an idol. However, Jason kept promising Cydney that he had her back.

The plan for the majority alliance at this point was to split the vote between Aubry and Debbie until the Brains were gone, but Cydney wouldn't hesitate to take a man out.

On Day 22, the Dara tribe met Jeff again for an Individual Immunity Challenge.

Each castaway was required to balance on a very narrow perch while holding a handle behind their head. If a person let go of the handle or took a foot off the perch for any reason, he or she would be out of the competition.

Julia was the first person out of the challenge, and then Jeff tempted the castaways with food -- including four pizzas, brownies, drumsticks, six hotdogs and cold drinks. Scot, Joe, Michele and Jason all stepped down for the food. That left Nick, Tai, Debbie, Aubry and Cydney still fighting for the win.

Debbie fell out of the challenge next, and she was then followed by Aubry and Nick. After 40 minutes -- and Tai clearly standing there in agony -- Cydney dropped out of the challenge, naming Tai the winner of immunity. Tai announced to the cameras that the Beauties were going to vote for Debbie and the Brawn were going to vote for Aubry, meaning Debbie would go home first.

Back at camp, Nick tried to get Aubry under his wing since she was the vulnerable next target. Nick told her to vote for Debbie or Joe, but he basically admitted Debbie was the next target. He was acting arrogant, and it was clear Aubry wasn't his biggest fan.

Cydney then talked to Debbie and Aubry about how Nick rubbed her the wrong way and he needed to go. Debbie definitely agreed. Debbie hoped Nick would come around and help them blindside Jason or Scot instead, but she was perfectly fine with making Nick the target.

Cydney realized it was in her best interest for the girls to stay as close as possible. She didn't care if the plan backfired on her. Cydney therefore asked Julia and Michele if they were close with Nick, and they complained about how he always checking up on them. Cydney suggested they vote for Nick because he was "up Scot and Jason's butt."

Michele knew Nick was a threat, but he was in her alliance, so she didn't know if that was the best move for her to make right now.

Julia spoke with Michele privately and said if they wrote Nick's name down, Jason would be gunning for them. Michele, however, wanted to make a move that would solidify her title as someone who deserved to win American Idol. She just knew it was all about timing.

At Tribal Council that night, Neal walked in as the first member of the jury.

Nick announced to the group that the Brains were on the outs and the vote was going to be split. But Jeff declared someone had to be on the bottom of that majority alliance of seven. Julia said there would be opportunities for people to switch things up later on. Jason reiterated how they needed to stay strong and then could battle it out once they were down to seven.

Tai then made a big mistake when Jeff asked him about hidden Immunity Idols. Tai said he believed there were idols out there and then noted everyone knew about the "Super Idol," which could save someone after the votes are read. Scot and Jason's face dropped, because they were the only ones to know about that, along with Nick.

Tai tried to cover up his tracks, saying someone told him about the "Super Idol" but that person could just be fooling him or just trying to make him suspicious.

Debbie had hope she'd stick around, because she said sometimes more is not revealed than revealed at Tribal Council. Aubry expected to get votes, and Scot pointed out that he was convinced things would play out as he anticipated and predicted.

Jeff then read the votes: Aubry, Debbie, Nick, Aubry, Jason, Nick, Nick, Nick, and Nick.

With five votes, Nick was eliminated from Survivor: Kaoh Rong, and Jason and Scot looked surprised as Cydney appeared smug and satisfied.

The episode's closing credits later showed that Jason and Scot voted for Aubry; Nick voted for Debbie; Tai voted for Jason; and finally Debbie, Julia, Joe, Michele, Cydney, and Aubry voted for Nick.


About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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