'Survivor: Redemption Island' votes castaway Francesca Hogi off

Survivor: Redemption Island's Ometepe tribe voted Francesca Hogi, a 36-year-old attorney from Washington, DC, out of their tribe during Wednesday night's premiere of the CBS reality series' 22nd edition.


After being voted out at the season's first Tribal Council session, Francesca was taken -- courtesy of the season's new game-changing twist -- to Redemption Island, where she will live alone in exile and battle subsequent eliminees in an attempt to eventually earn the right to rejoin the competition and resume competing for Survivor: Redemption Island's million dollar prize.

"Wow, um, I don't know what to say. I guess I should have trusted my instincts from the beginning, which was that [Phillip Sheppard] wasn't one to be trusted. I have no idea what's going to happen when the next person comes to Redemption Island. I have no idea what the dual is going to entail. Oh God," Francesca said following her ouster.

Survivor: Redemption Island's premiere broadcast began with the season's 16 first-time castaways arriving on the beach already divided into two tribes.

The Ometepe tribe -- wearing yellow -- consisted of Andrea Boehlke, a 21-year-old student from Random Lake, WI; Matt Elrod, a 22-year-old pre-med student from Nashville, TN; Francesca; Kristina Kell, a 46-year-old law student from Malibu, CA; Grant Mattos, a 29-year-old yoga instructor and former NFL football player from West Hollywood, CA; Phillip, a 52-year-old technology executive from Santa Monica, CA; Natalie Tenerelli, a 19-year-old professional dancer from Acton, CA; and Ashley Underwood, a 25-year-old nurse and former Miss Maine USA from Benton, ME.


The Zapatera tribe -- wearing purple -- consisted of Mike Chiesl, a 31-year-old former U.S. Marine from Del Mar, CA; Ralph Kiser, a 44-year-old farmer from Lebanon, VA; Krista Klumpp, a 25-year-old pharmaceutical representative from Columbia, SC; David Murphy, a defense attorney from West Hollywood, CA; Stephanie Valencia, a 25-year-old waitress from Long Beach, CA; Sarita White, a 36-year-old visual effects producer from Santa Monica, CA; Julie Wolfe, a 50-year-old firefighter from Oceanside, CA; and Steve Wright, a 51-year-old former NFL player from Huntington, CA.

Once on the beach, host Jeff Probst explained to the castaways there would be two returning Survivor players joining them: former Survivor: Samoa and Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains castaway Russell Hantz, a 38-year-old oil company owner from Dayton, TX, and former Survivor: Marquesas, Survivor: All-Stars and Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains castaway Rob Mariano, a 35-year-old from Canton, MA who now resides in Pensacola, FL.

Boston Rob ended up on the Ometepe tribe through random selection, while Russell was then left to be on the Zapatera tribe.

Jeff gave both Boston Rob and Russell lengthy introductions telling the castaways that Rob -- who was bested by Russell in their Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains showdown -- has played Survivor three times and made it to the final once (alongside his wife and Survivor: All-Stars winner Amber Brkich) but never won, while Russell was on Survivor for back-to-back seasons and made it to the end twice but also never won. Probst also noted that both tribe members together had a combined 156 days of Survivor experience.

The 16 other castaways had mixed reactions to the news that the former "villains" would be returning and playing with or against them for the grand prize.


"They're sizing us up like we're prey... They're troublemakers. They're two of the most famous troublemakers in Survivor history, so I mean, I don't think they're here just to help us out," Francesca said.

Jeff then continued to explain that when a castaway gets voted out at Tribal Council, he or she would not be sent home, but rather would end up at Redemption Island, where the tribemate would live alone off of the same basic supplies their fellow castaways had back at camp.

However, the member must must be responsible for taking care of him or herself, make fire singlehandedly, and hunt for food. Then, when the next tribemate arrives at Redemption Island, the two castaways would square off in a duel. The winner would stay, but the loser would be out of the game for good. At a certain point in the game, the person left on Redemption Island would be allowed to return to camp and fight for the money.

On Day 1 for the Zapatera tribe, Russell wanted to establish his power and place among his tribe members. 

"The first two, I was a school boy. This one, I'm bringing it. This is going to be the new me. I'm going to be the leader to my tribe. When I sit them all down and I take control of the camp, I become the leader of the camp," Russell said once arriving at camp.


Russell then gave Zapatera a little speech about how tough it was going to be, and he attempted to convince them he was not there to sabotage anyone in that he was simply there to play and win.

"I think anybody that doesn't think Russell is dangerous is foolish. He's played the game twice and he's been in the finals twice. He hasn't won, and there's no mystery to why he hasn't won. It's the way that he's chosen to play the game. He's too aggressive and he wants the blood on his hands," David said.

Zapatera then began to build their shelter, meanwhile the Ometepe tribe began to do the same where they were situated at camp, and most of the members seemed to be welcoming Boston Rob with open arms.

"Things are going really well right now. It's just such a blessing to have Rob here. His history and construction and his experience being here, and I mean, his laid back approach is really bringing a lot of harmony to this tribe," Matt said. "We might as well just call us 'Camp Harmony' right now.

"I am so glad that we have Boston Rob. He's amazing. I'm just having so much fun with him and I feel a sense of comfort and I think if Russell was here, we would all be on edge, because he's nuts. We would have been crazy," Natalie said.


Phillip, who began instructing his tribe members how to build a proper shelter, started to annoy people by his confidence and attempt to control the happenings at camp. He said he could analyze behavior and would be able to tell if people were lying. Phillip also repeatedly claimed he used to be a "federal agent" and Francesca laughed at him, saying no one actually cared who he was.

Boston Rob then came across Kristina, who was fishing through their supplies at camp for a reason known to both of them but kept undisclosed at the moment. Kristina was looking for the hidden Immunity Idol and Boston Rob new exactly what her intentions were, so he told her he'd try to clear people from the area in support of her attempt to look and find the Idol. He asked if she found anything, and she had not at the time.

Phillip had a conversation with Kristina and told her he was going to stick with the girls, so they decided to work together.

Meanwhile, back at Zapatera's camp, Russell attempted to convince Stephanie to join forces with him and form an alliance. Russell told her they need to get on the right team, and noted she was "that girl" for him, referencing how in past seasons he had always paired up with a young woman right off the bat. He then told Stephanie he was not going to walk around that much with her until they got to the merge so that people wouldn't discover they're plan.

However, David caught the two of them talking and told Mike that Russell already had "his hooks in" Stephanie and they disapproved, wanting Russell gone as soon as possible.


On Day 3, Kristina then noted Boston Rob was "dangerous" to have on the tribe and all the young girls seemed drawn to him. She continued to look for the hidden Idol because she wanted it so badly and eventually found it hidden in the dirt near a tree. Kristina then had to think about who to share the news with and use her newfound power against, all the while planning to get rid of Boston Rob immediately.

Afterward, Kristina approached Phillip and told him to vote for Boston Rob with her, but he wouldn't agree to such a circumstance until she shared all the details of how she arrived at the decision and who else was willing to go along with the plan. Kristina was getting annoyed with his interrogation, while Francesca obviously became less and less of a fan as well.

The castaways then met Jeff and he explained the rules to what would be their first Immunity Challenge. The tribe members learned each tribe would push four blocks along a track to build the base of a temple and then they'd have to run up the steps, where one person would use an ax to chop a series of ropes releasing another set of steps. They were then required to make their way to the top where they must solve a block puzzle to complete the temple.

The first team to win would be safe from elimination and receive immunity, while the other losing tribe would have to vote someone out -- who would then be sent to Redemption Island. In addition to winning immunity, the tribe to complete the temple first would receive a flint, which would allow them to easily light a fire back at camp.

Zapatera completed their base to the temple early on and gained an early lead, but then Boston Rob led Ometepe with the solving of their puzzle and caught up quickly. The competition grew very close, but Zapatera won and received immunity.

"We are stronger than they are, we're faster than they are, we're smarter than they are. I know how Boston Rob thinks, and right now, he's thinking 'Oh, crap.'" Russell said after the challenge.


As Day 3 continued, Ometepe was upset they lost the first challenge.

"Yeah, we lost the first challenge and that totally sucks. And in a way, I don't know if other people feel this way, but, I feel like we let Rob down. It's weird but you want to please your leader, I guess, but it sucks we have to go to Tribal Council tonight," Ashley said.

Kristina then decided to tell Francesca she found the hidden Immunity Idol and wanted to convince Boston Rob's girls (Andrea, Ashley and Natalie) to vote for herself while Kristina, Francesca and Phillip would secretly vote for Rob and get him out of the game when she played her Idol and nullified all the votes cast against her.

Kristina truly wanted to eliminate Boston Rob, but Francesca said she thought Boston Rob was helpful and brought a lot to the team. Therefore, Francesca believed they should vote out Natalie because she was the weakest player on their Ometepe tribe.

Boston Rob then shared his private thoughts on whom he wanted vote off during the subsequent Tribal Council.

"Originally, I wanted to vote Francesca off because they very first time I met her, she stood up on the mat, looked at Jeff, and said, 'I don't want to play with him because he's too sneaky.' She knows my game, so I don't want someone like that on my tribe. But after thinking about it some more, the second we landed on our beach, Kristina was the one looking through all the supplies looking for a hidden Immunity Idol. So, she's dangerous. She knows strategy. She knows to get out there and work for it. For me, I don't need someone like that with me," Boston Rob explained.


Boston Rob then began leading Ometepe again by telling Andrea, Ashley, Grant, Matt, and Natalie to join him in voting vote for Francesca or Kristina because one of the two women knew about or had the hidden Immunity Idol. He said for the rest of the tribe to be safe, they should probably split the vote.

Afterward, Kristina decided to tell Phillip that she had the hidden Immunity Idol, but was very cautious in doing so, because she didn't trust him. However, when they spoke about voting off Boston Rob again, Phillip intently needed the reassurance and reasoning behind her choice, so she admitted to him she had the Idol.

Phillip then decided he as well wanted to rid of Boston Rob immediately in order to become the new leader of the Ometepe tribe.

That night, Survivor: Redemption Island's 18 castaways arrived for their first Tribal Council.

Jeff began to ask the Ometepe tribe questions about their game playing so far, and Phillip came out and announced Kristina and Francesca asked had him to join them in voting for Boston Rob after Francesca made a passing mention that Rob wouldn't be getting voted off that night.

Francesca completely denied his claim and kept lying about wanting to get rid of Boston Rob, even though Kristina backed her up that she never admitted those were her intentions, causing Phillip to reveal he changed his mind and was going to vote for Francesca instead.


Kristina then tried to get herself out the fire sparked by Phillip by convincing the tribe that she originally wanted to vote out Boston Rob, but then changed her mind last minute to vote off Natalie. Phillip, angered and frustrated by the whole situation, then gave away the fact that Kristina had the hidden Immunity Idol, which shocked everyone -- including Jeff, whose jaw nearly dropped to the floor.

Boston Rob told Jeff he didn't know which side to believe or trust. 

"Phillip is pretty adamant about his story. Francesca has adamantly denied it. Kristina really hasn't defended herself at all," he said.

"It was something we considered. We would have been idiots not to," Kristina fired back. "But it was not going to be something we were going to do tonight."

After Boston Rob asked to see Kristina's Immunity Idol and questioned again whether Phillip was lying, he came up with what he thought was a quick solution.

"Give me the Immunity Idol and you'll stay," he told Kristina. "Why should I trust you anymore than you should trust me?"


"I can't do that," Kristina replied.

"I'm just saying that by you not giving it to me, it makes me think that you're not telling the truth," Boston Rob said.

Boston Rob then announced -- in what appeared to be an attempt to signal Andrea, Ashley, Grant, Matt, and Natalie to proceed with their plan to split the vote between Francesca and Kristina -- that he was going to follow through with his original plan and noted that Kristina wouldn't be around for much longer.

The voting then commenced and Jeff revealed the votes after Kristina opted not to play her hidden Immunity Idol. Three people voted for Kristina, including Natalie, four people voted for Francesca, including Boston Rob, and two people voted for Phillip, including Francesca -- suggesting that Phillip's vote for Francesca was the deciding vote.

Francesca's torch was then extinguished and she was exiled to Redemption Island, where she would attempt to survive while awaiting her competitor for the season's first duel.






About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski