Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X castaway Paul Wachter was voted off his Takali (Gen X) tribe during Wednesday night's Episode 3 broadcast on CBS.

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Paul, a 52-year-old boat mechanic from Sugarloaf Key, FL, became the third castaway voted out of Season 33 of Survivor on Night 10 at the game's third Tribal Council session.

The Gen X tribe had to vote one of their members off after they lost the game's third Immunity Challenge to the opposing Vanua (Millennials) tribe, resulting in the older tribe's second trip to Tribal Council.

Paul said he was "blindsided 150 percent" by his vote-off because he had been anticipating Ciandre "CeCe" Taylor's ouster instead.

"Apparently somebody played better than I did, and I'm still kind of in shock trying to figure out who voted for me and what happened," Paul admitted in his final words. "When I got sick, it was pretty scary. Survivor has been a great experience for me. At 52 years of age, I've been through a lot in my life and I would say this rates up there with number one."

The Survivor broadcast began on Night 7 at the Millennials tribe.

"Vanua" was comprised of Michaela Bradshaw, a 25-year-old in vacation club sales from Fort Worth, TX; Michelle Schubert, a 28-year-old missionary recruiter from Yakima, WA; Jessica "Figgy" Figueroa, a 23-year-old bartender from Nashville, TN; Adam Klein, a 25-year-old homeless shelter manager from San Francisco, CA; Hannah Shapiro, a 24-year-old barista from West Hollywood, CA; Zeke Smith, a 28-year-old asset manager from Brooklyn, NY; Justin "Jay" Starrett, a 27-year-old real estate agent from Fort Lauderdale, FL; Taylor Stocker, a 24-year-old ski instructor from Post Falls, ID; and Will Wahl, an 18-year-old high school student from Long Valley, NJ.

Following the Tribal Council in which Mari Takahashi went home, Adam and Zeke felt very betrayed by Hannah and Will. They realized they were at the bottom of their tribe because they had been the only people to write Figgy's name down.

Hannah assured Zeke she had no intention of voting Mari out until Michelle asked her to trust a new plan at Tribal, however, he was very upset and didn't want to talk to her at all. Hannah told the cameras she had to do what was best for her game, and that was to join the majority alliance with Figgy in it.

Zeke told Hannah not to play the victim. She hoped to repair her relationships with Zeke and Adam going forward and they'd use her to make moves, because at the end of the day, she didn't even like the people in the majority alliance. It was the pretty, popular crowd she had poked fun at before.

Adam hated the fact he had to play from the bottom, but he had no doubt he could work his way back up to the top.

By Day 8, alliances in Gen X were pretty much established.

"Takali" consisted of Paul; Sunday Burquest, a 45-year-old youth pastor from Ostego, MN; Chris Hammons, a 38-year-old trial lawyer from Moore, OK; Lucy Huang, a 42-year-old dietitian from Diamond Bar, CA; Bret LaBelle, a 42-year-old police sergeant from Dedham, MA; Jessica Lewis, a 37-year-old assistant district attorney from Voorheesville, NY; Ken McNickle, a 33-year-old model from Denver, CO; CeCe, a 39-year-old insurance adjuster from Granada Hills, CA; and David Wright, a 42-year-old television writer from Sherman Oaks, CA.

David noted himself, Ken and CeCe were on the bottom of the tribe, no questions asked, but he felt pretty safe because he had found a hidden Immunity Idol.

Meanwhile, Paul had a new energy and spirit about him after a recent health scare. Ken told the cameras Paul talked a big game all the time -- especially about being an expert fisherman -- but never followed through in his actions. Ken explained Paul was not providing for the tribe or contributing.

The millennials were then shown receiving Tree Mail.

Each castaway was required to draw a rock at random, and the four people to pick an orange rock would briefly be sent over to the opposing tribe to spend some time with the older generation. The same process went down at the Gen X camp. The twist was designed to mix and mingle the two tribes before a potential swap or the eventual merge.

Figgy, Taylor, Jay and Will drew the orange rocks for the millennials, while Gen Xers Paul, CeCe, David and Chris also selected them. The eight castaways met on a neutral beach.

As a Super Fan, Will was excited to be a part of this twist and looking forward to building bonds with people on the other side. Jay just didn't want Taylor and Figgy to make out in front of anyone and show their power-couple cards.

David attempted to make new friends so that once a swap emerged, he could get rid of Paul. When the boys went swimming, Figgy tried to find out who was scrambling on the opposing tribe and it became clear that CeCe and David thought Paul was in charge, the "alpha male."

David later made a pact with Taylor to work together. David said in a confessional that if it came down to two Gen Xers and three millennials in a swap, he'd stick with the younger generation. David grew optimistic about his game after speaking with Taylor.

Back at Gen X's camp, Ken explained his tribe would miss him if they got rid of him because he finds them food. Ken called Paul an "incapable and incompetent leader." He tried to buddy up to Jessica and Sunday by calling them humble and throwing Paul under the bus, but the girls seemed pretty tight in an alliance of six with Ken, David and CeCe on the outs.

On Day 10, Taylor felt like he couldn't be in a better position in the game, playing with the girl he really liked. He then discussed with Figgy, Michelle and Will about taking out Zeke next. Adam, however, was banking on a shift in the tribe and eliminating Figgy once and for all.

Adam told Hannah and Michaela they needed to break up the strong foursome of Figgy, Taylor, Jay and Michelle. Michaela considered it because she didn't get along with Figgy to begin with, but she had already cemented herself in the majority alliance.

It then became time for the season's next Immunity Challenge, which also served as a Reward Challenge.

Each tribe was required to carry one heavy bag at a time over and under an obstacle and across a balance beam. After separating the sandbags from coconuts, one player on each tribe had to throw the sandbags to knock down large block-shaped puzzle pieces.

Once the puzzle pieces were on the ground, each tribe had to race to re-assemble the puzzle. The winning tribe would receive immunity as well as reward in the form of comfort -- hammocks, blankets, pillows, candles and two custom Survivor lounge chairs.

CeCe unfortunately took a long time to cross the balance beam when she could've had a tribemate transfer the bag much quicker for her. The millennials therefore held onto a big lead.

Jay knocked off the puzzle blocks before Ken, so then Michelle and Zeke got working on their puzzle. Shortly afterwards, Sunday and David took on the puzzle together.

In the end, the millennials won immunity and reward. The tribe asked Survivor host Jeff Probst if they could exchange comfort for fishing gear. Jeff said that while comfort probably wouldn't buy them very much for fishing gear, Gen X also had to agree to the exchange, which they did not after a short deliberation.

Gen X understandably did not want the millennials to grow stronger. Chris said after CeCe's performance in the challenge, it was clear she needed to go home next. 

Back at Gen X's camp following the challenge, Paul agreed CeCe had lost it for them and needed to go home. The majority of the tribe seemed to agree on CeCe -- even Sunday could argue the reasoning for her ouster.

CeCe realized she was in trouble because she felt totally clueless. No one was answering her questions or approaching her with strategy. Jessica simply told CeCe that the boys were working out the details.

David, however, talked to CeCe and Ken about turning the target onto Paul. David wished the alliance of six could see there was no point in keeping Paul on their side. A conversation then unfolded that played right into David's wishes.

Jessica told Paul, with Sunday listening, that she was solid with the six as long as the boys weren't forming their own alliance together. Paul assured her there was no talk of a male alliance.

"You have my word," Paul told the girls. "If that came up, if they decided to do that, I would say, 'ladies, you're on your own.'"

That statement right there told Jessica that Paul was closer to the boys and wasn't technically with the girls. She told Lucy about Paul's comment and it didn't take long for the three women to turn their backs on him. The girls didn't want to stay on the bottom of that alliance, so they were ready to vote Paul out.

Jessica definitely struggled with the decision though, because it would mean hurting Bret and Chris. She was fearful of what might happen whether or not Paul went home.

At Tribal Council that night, David told Jeff the game was helping him cope with his anxiety issues. CeCe was nervous since she had received three votes at the prior Tribal Council. Chris also insisted it was too early to determine which players were at the bottom of the majority alliance.

Paul told Jeff the level of paranoia for the six was low, but for the three outsiders, it was high. He acknowledged, however, there could always be a blindside. Ken then addressed the group, saying he was an asset to the tribe.

Before everyone cast their votes, CeCe pointed out she thought she had a "10 percent chance" of staying. Jessica announced that the person going home would hopefully help the tribe win challenges going forward.

David chose not to play his idol.

Jeff revealed the votes in the following order: Paul, CeCe, Paul, CeCe, Paul, CeCe, Paul, and Paul.

The episode's closing credits later showed that Paul, Bret and Chris voted for CeCe; and David, Ken, CeCe, Jessica, Sunday and Lucy voted to oust Paul from Survivor.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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