'Survivor: Kaoh Rong' recap: Newly-merged tribe loses Neal Gottlieb in a medical evacuation

Survivor: Kaoh Rong -- Brains vs. Brawn vs. Beauty's newly-merged Dara tribe lost former Brains castaway Neal Gottlieb in a medical evacuation during Wednesday night's broadcast on CBS.


Doctors ordered Neal, a 37-year-old ice cream entrepreneur from Sausalito, CA, to leave the game on Day 19 because an infected wound on his knee had the potential to damage his joint if not treated properly. There was no Tribal Council as a result.

Neal became the second castaway medically evacuated from Survivor: Kaoh Rong and the eighth person to leave the game overall.

"I'm one of those people that truly believes the journey is the reward, and this has been an amazing experience that I will hold near and dear and look back on with many smiles, many laughs and maybe a tear or two for the rest of my life. But that's the game! You don't have to just outwit and outplay -- you have to outlast," Neal said in his final words.

The Survivor broadcast began with the Gondol and Chan Loh tribes still intact.


The Gondol tribe was comprised of 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; Scot Pollard, a 40-year-old former NBA champion from Carmel, IN; Julia Sokolowski, a 19-year-old college student from Boston, MA; and Tai Trang, a 51-year-old gardener from San Francisco, CA.

In addition to Neal, the Chan Loh tribe was also made up of Cydney Gillon, a 23-year-old body builder from Douglasville, GA; Kyle Jason, a 31-year-old bounty hunter from Detroit, MI; Michele Fitzgerald, a 24-year-old bartender from Freehold, NJ; Nick Maiorano, a 30-year-old personal trainer from Redondo Beach, CA; and Debbie Wanner, a 49-year-old chemist from Reading, PA.

At Gondol's camp on Night 16, Joe told Scot it really confused him when he had yelled out "original plan" at Tribal Council. Scot was mad at Joe for voting for Julia and Aubry for writing Julia's name down and changing her mind last minute. Scot planned to pick off the Brains tribe one by one because of their indecision and lack of trustworthiness. Joe figured he'd go before Aubry.

On Day 17, at Chan Loh's camp, Cydney noticed a "big bulge" in Neal's pocket, so she assumed he had a hidden Immunity Idol and shared her observation with Jason. Jason noticed it too, especially because he had a matching one. Jason viewed Neal as a threat and intended to "plant some seeds" in order to blindside him. Jason felt he was ontop of the world.

A boat then arrived with a letter, instructing Chan Loh to pack up their things and head to their new home for the merge. Michele's dream of making it to the merge came true, and Debbie's immediate plan was to pull people in and "lock them down."


Scot was so excited to rejoin his former Brawn members Jason and Cydney. He said they were in "The Playoffs" and it was time to start over, refocus and ultimately get a championship. Aubry felt saved after also being able to reunite with former Brains Neal and Debbie. Everyone enjoyed a big meal and started counting the numbers -- there were four Beauties, four Brains and three Brawn.

Tai told the cameras Scot was his only ally and the most logical one because he knew about his idol. Nick had a feeling the Brawns were going to act arrogant, like no one could stop them, so he didn't like that and assumed the Brains wouldn't either, since they like playing in the shadows. Nick, at this point, felt tightly aligned with Michele and thought they were in a great spot.

Aubry bonded with Debbie again and the girls agreed they were like salt and pepper. Debbie noted the four Brains -- herself, Aubry, Joe and Neal were still strong. Neal thought the Brawn were going to be physical threats as well as bullies, so it made sense for one of them to go first. Neal hoped the Beauties would join forces with the Brains in that case.

Nick quickly learned Tai was tight with Scot, and Julia had been saved by Scot so she felt indebted to him. Nick envisioned himself and Michele working with the Brawn, as they only needed six people to have the numbers. Nick noted it also made sense to work with the Brains, but he wouldn't be playing good Survivor if he allowed himself to be backed up against a wall.

Jason and Scot then spoke to Nick about how Neal likely had an idol and so he should be their first target. The Brawn were absolutely convinced Nick was with them -- although he was still on the fence as a swing vote -- so they revealed Tai had an idol. Jason knew it was an amazing advantage since they could put Tai and Jason's idols together to make a "Super Idol."


Nick didn't like Scot and Jason's overconfidence, however, their great trust in him could eventually lead to an awesome blindside.

The newly-merged tribe named Dara made it to Day 18 of the game. Debbie tried to get Tai in with her and the Brains, but Tai didn't like how aggressive she was being. Tai wasn't going to be made into a fool.

Debbie then told Nick, Neal and Aubry she probably had Michele as well and assured Nick he wasn't going home. Aubry vented about how Debbie was showing desperation rather than confidence and her approach to getting the numbers was actually hurting them.

Meanwhile, Jason and Scot believed they had won over Julia and Michele because the pretty girls always date the athletes, not the nerds. He said they'd choose the quarterback over the valedictorian any day. They discussed as a group going after Aubry instead of Neal in the case he played his idol. Michele thought Jason was too controlling and wasn't positive she wanted to stick with Brawn.

Neal then confessed to Aubry he had an idol, which totally changed the game for them in their minds. Aubry said all they needed to do was learn the Brawn's target and then play the idol for that person. Neal seemed completely onboard.


Later that day, Dara's castaways met Survivor host Jeff Probst for the season's first Individual Immunity Challenge. Before Jeff got to the rules, everyone complained about how beat up and cut up they were. Jeff became concerned about possible infections.

For the challenge, each person was required to stand on a log while balancing a ball on a small wooden disk. At regular intervals, more balls would be added, making it more difficult to balance. If a person fell off the perch or his or her ball dropped, that person would be out of the challenge. 

Joe was the first castaway out of the challenge and he was then followed by Debbie and Jason. After balancing two balls, Michele dropped followed by Neal, Scot, Cydney and Aubry. After balancing three balls, Julia dropped out followed by Tai. In the end, Nick won immunity and had a lot of power.

Later that day, Scot and Jason told Nick they were voting for Aubry, and if Neal played his idol, it didn't matter. Scot felt totally safe and he was right, because Nick was starting to lean towards working with Brawn over Brains.

Neal, however, argued to Nick that the three Brawns were incredibly tight and very able to win Individual Immunity Challenges. Neal said the Brawn would ultimately pick the Beauties off one by one. Neal and Joe tried to use that same argument to persuade Michele to join the Brains.


Meanwhile, Debbie told Aubry and Michele that she really wanted to get Scot or Jason out. The Brains needed Nick and Michele to get out a Brawn or an idol would have to be played. The girls agreed Beauty and Brains working together gave all those individuals more alliance options that Brawn would provide, but Michele wasn't sure what was best for her game. 

Nick then confided in Michele that he wanted to work with Brawn because he could manipulate them and beat them at puzzles. He loved Aubry but insisted she was going home next. Nick hoped he was making the right choice.

The castaways then saw Jeff coming in on a boat, which was really unusual since no one asked for medical attention. Jeff explained he was worried about everyone's wounds and wanted a doctor to assess their infections.

The doctor wasn't worried about Tai's scrapes or Scot's big bump, but he ultimately put Aubry on antibiotics. Then, Neal was up. He had a gushing open wound on his knee, that was leaking pus, in addition to a horrible looking infection spot on his back. Neal insisted he felt fine and they'd have to drag him out of the game.

The medic deemed Neal's back wound non-life threatening, but the spot near his knee was dangerous because an infection could ultimately destroy the joint and leave him unable to run or play sports down the road. Neal got very emotional because the doctor determined he must be pulled from the game.

Neal told his tribemates it was an honor and privilege to play the game with them, and everyone was so lucky to be there. Aubry cried to the cameras about how she had lost her No. 1 ally, a fellow Brains member AND an idol. Aubry called him a "son of a b-tch" although it wasn't clear whether Neal just forgot to give Aubry his idol or intentionally brought it home as a souvenir.


Nick said in a confessional that "a lucky evacuation" kept Aubry alive for another day or two in this game.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski