'Survivor' recap: Nicholas "Sifu" Alsup and Kaleb Gebrewold voted out at back-to-back Tribal Councils

Survivor's Season 45 castaways voted out Nicholas "Sifu" Alsup and Kaleb Gebrewold at back-to-back Tribal Council sessions after they were split into two teams for the Immunity Challenge during the Season 45 episode that aired Wednesday night on CBS.


Sifu, a 30-year-old gym owner from O'Fallon, IL, was voted out on Night 14 of the game through a 5-1 vote instead of Bruce Perreault, a 47-year-old insurance agent from West Warwick, RI.

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And during the second Tribal Council session of the evening, Kaleb, a 29-year-old in software sales who currently resides in Vancouver, British Columbia, was voted out with a 4-2 vote instead of Julie Alley, a 49-year-old estate attorney from Brentwood, TN.

"Right as my game was about to take a turn, I got voted out, and I couldn't have played a more different game than the one I thought coming onto this beach," Kaleb said in his final words.


"I'm the first member of the jury -- not at all the place I thought I wanted to go, but I never gave up and I fought until the very end. And so I am really proud of how I pushed in this game."  

The Survivor broadcast began on Night 13 at the Dakuwaqa camp following Janani "J. Maya" Krishnan-Jha's elimination.

The entire tribe had voted for Kaleb but for the first time in Survivor history, his "Shot in the Dark" -- which ultimately saved him -- was played correctly when he was supposed to go home.

Kaleb felt totally alone in the Survivor game as a result.

Bruce then talked to Katurah Topps, a 35-year-old civil rights attorney from St. Louis, MO, who currently resides in Brooklyn, NY, about how she seemed hesitant to vote for Kaleb.


This question infuriated Katurah because the conversation could've put a new target on her back in the Survivor game. She could tell that Bruce was trying to "isolate" her from what would've been a unanimous vote.

And Bruce admitted to the Survivor cameras isolating Katurah was exactly what he was trying to do because he thought she was a more dangerous player than people thought or she was letting on.

"Bruce and I are supposed to be working with the same people," Kendra McQuarrie, a 31-year-old bartender from Haverhill, MA, who currently resides in Steamboat Springs, CO, said in a confessional.

"We've been on a tribe since the beginning of the game, 'Belo Strong,' but he is starting rifts with his own alliance members, which makes him extremely hard to work with. So I'm nervous about moving forward in this game with Bruce."

On Day 14, Katurah felt closely connected with Kaleb, and so she looked forward to working with him on Survivor. Katurah loved the idea of "Old Belo plus Kaleb" and letting Bruce go.


Katurah said she only needed to convince a few other people around her that Bruce needed to go, and Kendra had already been losing trust in Bruce.

Kellie Nalbandian, a 30-year-old critical care nurse from Weston, CT, who currently resides in New York, NY, also said she was "over" Bruce. She didn't think he was very strategic, and she called him a very emotional player.

However, Bruce had told Kellie that she was his No. 1 Survivor ally, and so she wanted to keep him in the game.

Emily Flippen, a 28-year-old investment analyst from McKinney, TX, who currently resides in Laurel, MD, really liked Kaleb, but she didn't want to stick her neck out for him too much in fear people would turn against her or come after her.

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Emily then tried to re-solidify her Survivor alliance with Drew Basile, a 23-year-old graduate student from Birmingham, MI, who currently resides in Philadelphia, PA, and Austin Li Coon, a 26-year-old graduate student from San Jose, CA, who currently resides in Chicago, IL, which she had cultivated when she was on the new "Belo Tribe" after the swap.

Austin was excited because, after not voting at the previous Tribal Council, he finally had a normal, working hidden Immunity Idol. He boasted about how he could be the most powerful man in the game at this point.

Later that day, Kaleb wanted to find a way to repair his relationship with Bruce and work with him.

Jake O'Kane, a 26-year-old attorney from Hanson, MA, who currently resides in Boston, MA, wanted to continue working with Kaleb, but he said Bruce and Kaleb needed to come together in order to make that happen. Jake wanted the Survivor numbers and peace amongst his allies.

Kaleb, however, said his conversation with Bruce was "frustrating" and they simply didn't mesh.


"I feel like one of his kids, and I don't know how I made it 28 years without Bruce telling me what to do!" Kaleb sarcastically told the Survivor cameras.

Kellie was also trying to "deal with" Bruce, which she found to be a problem. Kellie asked Bruce to be a little more low key and stop asking people confrontational questions, but he clearly wasn't comprehending or taking the advice to heart.

"He's just this anchor I've been dragging around this whole game!" Kellie complained to the Survivor cameras. "Bruce is just his way or the highway, and he keeps these vendettas against people... like Katurah... and Kaleb, which he cannot let go."

Kellie said she liked Bruce as a human but he was very "difficult" as a Survivor player.

Jake wanted the five original Belo to come together because the old Reba seemingly wanted to stick together. Jake told Kellie that they'd need to force Kaleb and Bruce to come together, whether they'd like it or not.

It then became time for the first Individual Immunity Challenge of the season.


The castaways were required to hold onto a pole for as long as possible. Once a player dropped, he or she would be out. The last person left standing would win immunity and could not be voted out of the game.

But there was a twist! The Survivor castaways were divided into two groups of six.

"The person who lasts the longest for each group earns Individual Immunity," Survivor host Jeff Probst revealed. "Two necklaces today! In addition, you're playing for Reward... The person who lasts the longest out of everybody earns for their group a visit to the sanctuary."

The lucky group would enjoy tacos and soft drinks and also earn the right to attend Tribal Council second.

"It matters because both groups are going to go to Tribal Council separately," Jeff announced. "So tonight, two people will be safe and two people will be going home."

The first person voted out that evening would not become a member of Survivor's jury.


The groups were determined by random draw. The first group, wearing red, was comprised of Jake, Austin, Kaleb, Katurah, Julie and Dee Valladares, a 26-year-old entrepreneur from Havana, Cuba, who currently resides in Miami, FL.

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The other group, wearing blue, was made up of Bruce, Kendra, Kellie, Emily, Drew, and Sifu.

The castaways dropped in the following order: Emily, Julie, Kendra, Jake, Sifu, Bruce, and Austin.

On the Red team, Dee, Kaleb and Katurah were left fighting. On Blue, it was Kellie vs. Drew.

Drew was out of the Survivor challenge next, and so Kellie won Individual Immunity. She continued competing for Reward for her whole team, who were depending on her for food.


Kaleb dropped next, and Katurah wasn't far behind him.

Dee won Individual Immunity for the Red team, and then it was a showdown between Dee and Kellie for a visit to the sanctuary, where they'd enjoy a spa day and some good food.

The women were still in it after 17 minutes, but Kellie started slipping.

In the end, Kellie dropped and Dee won for her group. Both Kellie and Dee cried after such a huge effort, and Dee could barely stand after being named victorious of the Survivor challenge.

"I was just thinking about my family... The pole signified the American Dream for me, and I knew I wasn't going to let go. I just kept thinking, 'I want to take care of them,'" Dee shared with Jeff.

After the challenge, Julie started fearing for her life in the game. She didn't want Kaleb to stay at her expense.


During the Survivor Reward, Jake told the cameras how Dee was the biggest threat in this game and Julie was a weapon for her. However, Dee was safe.

"I want to disarm Dee. So tonight, it's Julie," Jake noted.

Meanwhile, at the old Lulu camp, Drew told Bruce that he'd like to blindside Sifu, who probably had a hidden Immunity Idol. Drew had a "Safety Without Power Advantage," but he accidentally left his bag back on Reba's beach.

"I can't get to it! I am out of luck. So at this point, my game has been reduced to begging," Drew acknowledged.

Kendra then told Drew that she wanted vote Bruce out, and the pair shared that information with Emily and Sifu as well. The Survivor group agreed to "keep it cool" because Bruce was paranoid and they didn't want him playing an idol.

But Bruce had an inclination that his name was being dropped by Kendra. He and Kendra had never established a bond or alliance, but he had an idol and assumed he and Kellie were "rock solid." Kellie hoped she could get Bruce and Kendra to get on the same page, which would be best for her own game.


Dee and Austin were then shown talking about how they wanted Kaleb gone from Survivor 45. Dee recognized that she was a power threat in others' eyes, and so Austin suggested they may want to keep another threat around as a shield.

"But I'm the one in the position of power, and so we're voting out Kaleb no matter what," Dee explained in a confessional. "I don't think much is going to go wrong tonight... Nobody is going to be against us because everyone wanted him out to begin with."

Jake, however, didn't like being told what to do. He said he wanted to win Survivor, not just play the game. He therefore wanted to take control of the game.

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Kaleb proceeded to talk to Jake about how they should tell Katurah about Bruce's Survivor idol.

Katurah was the third vote that the men needed at the upcoming Tribal Council to vote out Julie that night, and Kaleb was afraid that if Katurah found out about Bruce's idol from someone else, she'd flip on him and potentially vote him out.


Jake planned to put three votes that night on Julie. If Julie, Austin and Dee voted for Kaleb, it would result in a tie. On the re-vote, Jake said that in the case of another tie, Dee would be safe and the people who receive votes would be safe.

"Then, Katurah, myself and Austin draw rocks. Austin is really scared in this game, and once we get to a re-vote, I think I can convince Austin, 'We don't have to go to rocks, bud!'" Jake explained to the Survivor cameras.

Kaleb pitched the plan to Katurah and let her know that Bruce had an idol, which had been buried in their shelter. Katurah was upset that Kaleb hadn't informed her of this sooner, but she agreed to vote with him and fight for him, along with Jake.

Jake subsequently confirmed to Katurah that Bruce had a Survivor idol. Katurah was angry that everyone in her alliance had known about the idol except for her, but Jake promised that he had her back.

"Now I'm kind of feeling like I might vote with the Reba people tonight! But me, Dee, Julie, and Austin don't really know each other," Katurah said, adding how she didn't really trust her own allies either.

Ahead of Tribal Council, Sifu was feeling like he was going to be the target, but Emily assured him that wasn't the case. Making the jury was a dream of Sifu's and so he really hoped this wasn't going to be the end for him.


And then Kellie and Kendra talked about how Sifu was an "unpredictable" wild card in the Survivor game. The women realized that while Bruce was annoying, in their opinion, no one was going to take him to the end.

Kendra and Kellie therefore switched their target to Sifu, and Kendra asked Drew to vote out Sifu instead. Drew, however, thought Sifu was going to be better for his own game and that Bruce was extremely hard to read.

Drew suggested to Kendra that Bruce would be the easier and safer Survivor vote, and so she and Kellie had a big decision to make with allies "tipping back and forth."

"When I choose to take [Bruce] out will probably be the most important move for my game," Kellie noted.

And Bruce said that if he felt some tension that night or didn't know what was going on, he'd play his idol.

On Night 14 of Survivor 45, Drew, Kendra, Emily, Bruce, Kellie and Sifu attended Tribal Council first.


Sifu announced how he was a threat and people were viewing him that way. He said he felt on the outs, and then Bruce shared how he felt the same exact way.

Sifu said this group could view themselves as two Reba and two Belo and then get rid of him. But he pitched loyalty and strength going forward.

It then became time to vote, and Jeff read the Survivor votes aloud in the following order: Bruce, Sifu, Sifu, Sifu, and Sifu.

"So I felt the whole day something looming; it was impending doom. I did everything that I wanted to do, and in my day to day life, I'm a master instructor, but out here, I'm a student of the game of Survivor. I appreciated it," Sifu said in his final words.

The second Tribal Council session of the night then commenced with Dee, Jake, Kaleb, Katurah, Austin, and Julie.

Kaleb told Jeff that he was trying to be transparent as well as an ally that people could rely on, despite having received every single vote at his last Tribal Council.


And Katurah made it known that she was going to follow her gut and side with the people whom she thought she could trust the most.

Dee was shown writing Kaleb's name down in the voting booth, and Jake was shown writing Julie's name down.

"I didn't have a say in it last night; I hope I do now," Jake shared with the Survivor cameras.

After no one played an idol, Jeff read the votes aloud in the following order: Kaleb, Julie, Kaleb, Julie, Kaleb, and Kaleb.

Jake look confused as Katurah stared at the ground with a guilty expression on her face. Kaleb appeared surprised and devastated, but he said congratulations to the group for surviving another day.

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Jake proceeded to admit to Julie, "It was me, we can talk."

The episode's closing credits later showed that Dee, Julie, Austin and Katurah voted for Kaleb.







About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski