Survivor featured the Dakuwaqa Tribe blindsiding and voting out Drew Basile, which required Dee Valladares to lie to Austin Li Coon, during Season 45's penultimate episode that aired Wednesday night on CBS.

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Drew, a 23-year-old graduate student from Birmingham, MI, who currently resides in Philadelphia, PA, was voted out of Survivor 45 through a 4-2 vote at Tribal Council on Night 23 of the game instead of Julie Alley, a 49-year-old estate attorney from Brentwood, TN.

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"Oh man, I got totally blindsided! It's a tragic time-old story of a young guy who goes into Survivor with a lot of brain power and a little bit of too much confidence," Drew lamented in his final words.

"I'd love to tell you that, like, Survivor totally transformed me, but it's a deeply-ambiguous experience that breaks you down, and I'm hopeful that I'll be given the opportunity to grow building off this."

The Survivor broadcast began on Night 21 at the Dakuwaqa tribe following the Emily Flippen vote at Tribal Council.

Julie announced how it was "awkward" returning to camp because everyone had turned on her, but her former allies congratulated her on a fantastic play.

Julie said she understood that everyone was just playing a game, but she was thankful for Dee, a 26-year-old entrepreneur from Havana, Cuba, who currently resides in Miami, FL, who had warned her that the tribe was going to blindside her.

"We want to keep that undercover, that Dee and I are working together. So in order to hide that, we're acting totally pissed at each other," Julie explained to the Survivor cameras. "But in reality, we've got to keep that freakin' alliance! So it's exciting!"

Austin, a 26-year-old graduate student from San Jose, CA, who currently resides in Chicago, IL, called the Tribal Council "a complete disaster," but he still had an Amulet -- which had turned into a real idol -- to play at the next Tribal Council session.

When talking to Austin, Dee swore on her mother that she hadn't tipped off Julie. Dee told Austin that Julie was probably going to go after her, but Austin didn't think that was the case.

Austin assured Dee that he wanted to go to the Final 3 with her but they needed to convince Drew that she never told Julie about the plan to take her out.

Dee put on her best acting skills to make Drew think that she and Julie were against each other, and Dee pointed out how they had to knock Julie down at the Immunity Challenge.

"We all wanted Julie to go home, but she didn't. She's like the guest who shows up uninvited at the party, like, the ex-girlfriend at the wedding," Drew told the Survivor cameras.

Julie, for her part, said she probably couldn't trust the "Reba Four" again and so it was "game on."

On Day 22, Katurah Topps, a 35-year-old civil rights attorney from St. Louis, MO, who currently resides in Brooklyn, NY, woke up early and went looking for a hidden Immunity Idol, knowing that it had been placed in the game again.

Katurah said that she wanted to add to her Survivor resume because, at this point, she wouldn't have a very compelling speech at the Final 3 Tribal Council.

Austin and Dee noticed that Katurah was gone, and so they went looking for her to blow up her spot.

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Austin found Katurah and startled her, but Katurah claimed she was looking for the idol so that Julie couldn't find it again and protect herself.

When Julie and Drew took off for a conversation, Austin announced to the other castaways how everyone knew what needed to be done, meaning that Julie still had to go next. Jake O'Kane, a 26-year-old attorney from Hanson, MA, who currently resides in Boston, MA, appeared to agree.

But Julie pitched Jake's name to Drew. Julie insisted to Drew that it made sense for them to continue working with each other as original Reba Tribe members.

Drew decided to coddle Julie and put her at ease, but he told the Survivor cameras that she was "on an island alone" for the rest of the game.

"I just feel like it's lies," Julie noted in a Survivor confessional. "I think he's just feeding me what he thinks I want to hear or want to believe... There is only one person I trust 100 percent."

Dee told Julie that Drew had been "the master" behind her blindside and Austin was just playing along. The women therefore agreed that Drew needed to go next.

Later that day, the castaways met Survivor host Jeff Probst for a Reward Challenge.

For the challenge, the players were required to race in from the ocean, stand on a barrel, and move the barrel forward by pulling on a bunch of ropes hanging from above. While moving along the course, they had to collect three keys. Once all three keys were obtained, they had to unlock and solve a Survivor slide puzzle.

The winner would receive a Survivor picnic complete with meat, cheese, nuts, crackers, and jam on a sandspit in the middle of the ocean. The winner would also be taken to the sandspit by helicopter, making for an unforgettable experience.

Austin led the challenge from start to finish and ultimately won Reward. Austin got to choose one person to join him on the adventure, and he picked Dee. Austin then got to choose one more player to enjoy the picnic, and he selected Katurah.

Austin suggested that he needed Drew to stay back at camp to protect their Survivor alliance and not let people form a plan to target him. Drew, however, appeared disappointed and bummed out.

"I'm the only person out here who never gets picked for a Reward," Drew lamented to Jeff, adding how he felt like he was always the person picked last. "It feels like middle school. It sucks."

Julie shared how Austin's decision made her feel like he wanted eyes on her back at camp. And she was right -- Austin wanted to keep "all eyes on Julie."

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Back at camp, Drew admitted the "babysitting" sucked and it put some social heat on him because it made Julie distrust him even more. Drew, however, allowed Julie and Jake to go collect some peppers.

Jake decided that he was going to be "the fun babysitter" by letting Julie look for a Survivor idol. And so Jake joked to the Survivor cameras about how he and Julie were looking for peppers in the trees, under leaves and all through the jungle.

On the Reward, Dee and Austin's showmance was progressing, and they basically held hands during their helicopter ride. Katurah didn't seem to mind as long as she could eat and think about how to win Survivor.

"I am a little bit smitten. [Austin] is a cool guy and I like him," Dee told the Survivor cameras while blushing.

And Austin felt honored and admitted it was a huge ego boost to have someone as cool as Dee be into him.

Meanwhile, Jake was annoyed because everyone he wanted to "scheme with" was having a picnic. He was stuck on a beach with his next two targets, and so he said he was going to take a swim and change his outfit. Instead, Jake ran off and began looking for a hidden Immunity Idol.

Jake said that if he managed to find an idol, he wasn't going to share the news with Julie, even though they were working together at that point.

Jake then found a clue to a hidden Immunity Idol, which informed him that his Survivor idol was located in a secret compartment in the bamboo of his tribe's raft.

Jake was determined to find that idol, and so he stripped into his underwear -- to keep his cover story going -- and searched the raft.

Jake essentially unscrewed a cap to one of the bamboo sticks and discovered the Survivor idol inside.

"The last time this idol can be played is when there are five players left in the game," the Survivor idol's parchment read.

"I would like to get innovative with this. I need to play this and have it do more than just save me in this game on a vote. I need this to earn me votes at Final Tribal... I need to figure out how to best implement it. I'm still a threat! I'm a wolf in goat's clothing!"

On Day 23, the remaining six castaways met Jeff for the next Individual Immunity Challenge of the Survivor season.

Jeff instructed each player to put one foot on one end of a hinged beam. At the other end was a ball, and their job was to keep that ball in place for as long as possible. Once a ball dropped, that person would be out.

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The last person left standing would win immunity, be safe at Tribal Council, and be guaranteed a spot in Survivor's Final 5. The losers would have to vote out the 13th castaway from Survivor 45 and become the sixth member of the jury.

Julie was out of the challenge first, and then she was followed by Jake, Katurah, and Drew.

The Survivor challenge came down to Dee vs. Austin. Both castaways had won immunity before, and Dee decided to tease Austin and smack talk a little bit.

In the end, Austin dropped after about 21 minutes, and so Dee -- who was rock solid and didn't move at all through the challenge -- won Individual Immunity.

After the Survivor challenge, Drew said he still wanted Julie to go because she was a constant reminder that they had been beaten and fooled. Austin also wanted Julie to go down.

While Dee was walking down by the ocean, the rest of the tribe discussed how they needed to take out Julie, but that move wasn't going to help Jake's resume at all.

"Julie and I don't have the best history, but Julie playing in desperation is a great thing for Jake," Jake boasted in a Survivor confessional.

Jake explained to Julie how dog-piling votes on her again wouldn't benefit him at all, and so he pitched the idea of pulling in Katurah with them and blindsiding Drew.

"Because if anyone sits next to him in Final 3, it's over," Jake said, "because he's one of the best speakers I've ever met in my life."

Dee had also been down with writing Drew's name down, but she wasn't going to let Jake know that. Julie said if everything went according to plan, there would be four names put on Drew.

Jake was hoping to be in "absolute control," and Katurah seemed onboard with the Drew blindside.

Katurah said she could probably pull Dee in, but Jake feared Dee would ruin the plan or take credit for the move, and so he asked her not to. Jake figured that the vote would come down to three on Julie and three on Drew, which would result in a tie.

Jake felt confident he could then get Dee or Austin to flip on the revote.

Dee, however, was already ready to vote out Drew, and Katurah soon discovered that. The girls celebrating potentially making this big move together, but Jake believed he deserved full credit.

"I'm worried about lying to Austin, but when it comes to lying to Drew, I could care less," Dee told the Survivor cameras with a laugh.

Drew, meanwhile, thought he was going to cruise into a clean Final 5, and he felt great about being in charge. Drew also thought that if there was any chance he was in danger, Austin would play his Amulet to protect him.

Austin was also proud of his alliance with Drew, saying they could go down as one of the greatest Survivor duos ever. But Drew acknowledged they needed to stay grounded for the next vote.

Dee hated lying to Austin, but she didn't want her emotions or heart to get in the way of her Survivor strategy.

"Should I tell Austin, or should I not tell Austin?" Dee questioned, adding how she was struggling to be deceptive due to her morals.

On Night 23 at Tribal Council, Katurah announced how everyone enjoyed each other's company on the beach and she'd even throw the word "love" around, but Drew said the million-dollar check was on his mind and brought people back to reality pretty quickly.

And Dee confirmed that everyone was still lying to each other and alliances were not locked in.

Drew disagreed, however, and told Jeff that he felt confident in his allies and thought he had a Survivor alliance locked in.

"I think if I get through tonight, I have a clear vision to the end," Drew declared.

"I'm jealous," Julie admitted. "I'm in a different spot."

Drew made it pretty clear that Julie was going to have trouble surviving that night, but Julie told the Survivor host that she remained hopeful and there had to be a better play out there to make.

Dee told Jeff that she thought everyone had a Final 3 plan, but she clarified, "I don't think that the Final 3 we all have in mind -- even my own -- will play out like that. You've got to be prepared for multiple options, for sure."

It then became time to vote.

Drew was shown casting his vote for Julie, who was known as "mom" at camp, and Julie was shown writing Drew's name down.

Before Jeff read the Survivor votes aloud, Austin decided to play his Amulet idol for himself. He said he didn't need to leave Survivor with any souvenirs.

Jeff then read the votes in the following order: Julie, Julie, Drew, Drew, Drew, and Drew.

"No way," Drew voiced after his name had been called a couple of times.

And Austin seemed shocked and said, "Wow."

Austin looked over at Dee, who remained stone-faced, and the jury could tell that Drew looked pissed.

Based on Austin's idol play for himself, it would appear Dee never warned him that players were gunning for Drew.

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Jeff then announced how the Final 5 castaways were going to be taken to a new island, where they must start over and begin the final push to the end of Survivor 45.

The episode's closing credits later showed that Drew and Austin had voted for Julie while Jake, Dee, Julie, and Katurah had voted for Drew.




About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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