Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X merged the three tribes and then castaway Michelle Schubert was voted out of the game during Wednesday night's Episode 8 broadcast on CBS.

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Michelle, a 28-year-old missionary recruiter from Yakima, WA, became the eighth castaway voted out of Season 33 of Survivor following the merge on Night 23 at the game's eighth Tribal Council session. She was eliminated from the newly-merged Vinaka tribe.

"Oh man, well I think, I think they didn't trust me or [Justin "Jay" Starrett] or a group of us, and I thought that the majority of people were with us. I thought I could lay back and trust what people said, so maybe I went overboard with my laying back," Michelle said with a smile following her ouster.

The Survivor broadcast began on Day 20 with three separate tribes still in the picture -- Ikabula, Vanua and Takali.

Ikabula just returned from Tribal Council after Michaela Bradshaw's vote-off. Jay, a 27-year-old real estate agent from Fort Lauderdale, FL, made a big move by turning on Michaela, whom he called a "challenge closer," which would make her a dangerous threat after the merge.

Although people in his tribe wanted to "punch [him] in the face," he felt safe with Michaela gone and proud of himself. However, Hannah Shapiro, a 24-year-old barista from West Hollywood, CA, was left in the dark when it came to Jay's plan.

Jay and Will Wahl, an 18-year-old high school student from Long Valley, NJ, didn't want to put Hannah in a situation she'd be uncomfortable with since she was Michaela's friend, but it just made Hannah mistrust them and realize she's at the bottom of the Ikabula tribe.

Hannah said she's not an idiot and can see past Jay's "pretty face and intense gameplay." She wanted her revenge and was ready to play.

On Day 21, Ikabula and Takali received Tree Mail asking the castaways to gather their supplies within five minutes. The two tribes then traveled via boat to Vanua's camp for the merge and enjoyed a feast.

Bret LaBelle, a 42-year-old police sergeant from Dedham, MA, said the merge was music to his ears because he was on the verge of going home. He felt the whole game was about to open up for him. Bret thought he could definitely trust Chris Hammons, a 38-year-old trial lawyer from Moore, OK, and Sunday Burquest, a 45-year-old youth pastor from Ostego, MN -- and maybe Will and Jay.

Meanwhile, Adam Klein, a 25-year-old homeless shelter manager from San Francisco, CA, wanted to prove he's a great, strong player and not just a mediocre one.

Michelle couldn't wait to reunite with her former millennial allies Jay and Taylor Stocker, a 24-year-old ski instructor from Post Falls, ID. After being on the bottom of Vanua's tribe, she felt back in the game.

Jay was also excited about reuniting with Michelle and Taylor, and he assumed he also had Hannah in his back pocket -- and maybe Bret and Sunday. Jay called himself the "kingpin."

Chris was also meshing with Zeke Smith, a 28-year-old asset manager from Brooklyn, NY, and David Wright, a 42-year-old television writer from Sherman Oaks, CA. Chris was hoping to bring them in with Bret and Sunday.

As for Zeke, he was thrilled to be back with his "nerdy pals" Hannah and Adam, who both had intel from other tribes.

Zeke worried about Jay because he's "charming and enchanting," and he saw Chris, Taylor and Ken McNickle, a 33-year-old model from Denver, CO, being captivated by his "mystique." Zeke also acknowledged that Jay controlled Michelle, and if a bro alliance ever formed, he'd be in big trouble.  

As everyone was eating food, Adam went off looking for another hidden Immunity Idol. He ultimately found an advantage that will allow him to steal a reward after it is won by someone else. It's a brand new power in Survivor. Adam must steal a reward, however, before the players leave the challenge area.

That night, Bret and Adam caught Taylor stealing leftover food from the merge feast. Bret pretended like he was sleeping as to not make any waves, but Adam saw it as an opportunity to talk strategy with Taylor, who clearly didn't really care about strategy.

Adam thought he could control the game if he had Taylor on his side since he previously voted out Taylor's love interest, Jessica "Figgy" Figueroa. Adam told Taylor that Jay was running the show and Will had become his new right-hand man. Adam therefore wanted Taylor to target Will.

Adam said he hated taking a millennial out this early on but it would allow Taylor to become tight with Jay again. Adam showed he was serious about working with Taylor by sharing information with him about his reward advantage.

Taylor pretended to be on Adam's side, but he was still out for revenge on behalf of Figgy.

On Day 22, Ken talked to Bret, Sunday and Chris about Taylor stealing their food, and Chris noted they may have been underestimating the millennials and needed one of them to go next. David and Jessica Lewis, a 37-year-old assistant district attorney from Voorheesville, NY, agreed.

Zeke had solidified bonds with David and Chris, so he was onboard to take Taylor out in order to break up the alliance with Jay and Michelle.

On Day 23, Jay told Taylor they needed to stay millennials strong and go after a Gen Xer first. Taylor, however, revealed to his buddy that Adam was gunning for Will, which Jay found ludicrous and dumb. Taylor and Jay therefore contemplated whether they should take out Adam next. Will was then brought in on the plan and called Adam "a rat."

Zeke, however, didn't want to target Adam because they were nerd pals.

The castaways then met Survivor host Jeff Probst for the first Individual Immunity Challenge of the season.

Each player was required to balance on a narrow perch while his or her hands were tethered to a bucket above. If a castaway's hands slipped or arms dropped, he or she would be out of the challenge. 

The order in which people fell were Sunday, Chris and Bret. After 10 minutes, Jay lost, followed by Zeke, Ken and then Hannah. After 20 minutes, Michelle was out, followed by Taylor, David and Adam. After one hour and 30 minutes, Jessica and Will were still fighting for victory, and Will finally won.

Adam noted that his plan to take out Will just blew up in his face.

After the challenge, Will announced that Adam needed to go, and Jay was onboard. Michelle, however, argued that Adam didn't have the numbers to make any moves, so it wouldn't be smart to get rid of him just yet. Michelle also didn't like the idea of eliminating a millennial right away.

Michelle called Adam vote "personal and not strategic," adding that it might be a mistake.

Zeke then warned Adam, with Jessica in the conversation, that he was the target of Jay's alliance. Adam learned of Taylor's betrayal and began scrambling to stay in the game. Zeke wanted to pull votes to take out Taylor, but David mentioned that Taylor could have an idol.

Zeke argued that Jay was the person who probably found an idol, but that meant he could play it to save his best buddy. Zeke, David and Ken seemed to agree they should go after Michelle since she's in that alliance and most likely didn't have an idol in her pocket. David also liked the fact no one would see the Michelle vote coming.

Zeke and the Gen Xers were going back and forth on whom to vote for, and at least from Will's perspective, he assumed Adam didn't have an idol since he was so paranoid and worried.

Hannah and David noticed that Adam was pulling random people aside and probably making deals, so Hannah warned Adam to relax or else people would think he cannot be trusted.

When speaking with Hannah, Zeke determined Adam was a "bad alliance member" and untrustworthy player. Zeke therefore began wondering whether the Adam vote made more sense.

Going into Tribal Council, Adam knew he was on the chopping block, but he did have an idol to play. Adam just didn't want to look like "a chump" if he played the idol when he actually had the numbers to stay. 

Once Tribal Council commenced, Bret announced that Taylor ate most of their food. Taylor argued his stomach was upset and that's the only reason he ate it, but Zeke pointed out that pretty much everyone on the island was having a medical emergency at one point or another. Chris thought Taylor was selfish.

Taylor still seemed totally relaxed and comfortable. Adam noted it wasn't simply millennials vs. Gen Xers in the game due to the previous three-tribe swap. New alliances were making castaways question their old ones.

David explained trust was more important than generation. The players agreed lines would be drawn in the sand this very night and trust would be broken -- or strengthened -- among alliance members. Adam was "very" nervous he might be the one to go.

When Zeke walked up to the stand to vote, he told the cameras that he could never trust this person.

After no one opted to play a hidden Immunity Idol, Jeff revealed the votes in the following order: Adam, Michelle, Adam, Michelle, Adam, Michelle, Adam, Michelle, Michelle, Michelle, and Michelle.

The episode's closing credits later revealed that Will, Taylor, Michelle and Jay voted for Adam, while everyone else voted to oust Michelle from Survivor.


About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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