Survivor: Worlds Apart's merged Merica tribe eliminated Joe Anglim during Wednesday night's eighth episode of the CBS reality competition's 30th season.

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Joe, a 25-year-old jewelry designer from Scottsdale, AZ, was the ninth person voted out of the game. His Merica tribe got him out on Night 24 at the season's ninth Tribal Council session.

"I tried to stay in this game as long as humanly possible. It's hard to leave the game when I feel like I had so much game left to play. But it is a game and I guess it's a bit of an indirect compliment that everyone wanted me out. It's bittersweet, but every single second out here was worth it and I would do it again in a heartbeat," Joe said following his ouster.

The players still in the game at this point were Joe; Sierra Dawn Thomas, a 27-year-old barrel racer from Roy, UT; Mike Holloway, a 38-year-old oil driller from North Richland Hills, TX; Dan Foley, a 47-year-old postal worker from Gorham, ME; and Rodney Lavoie Jr., a 24-year-old general contractor from Boston, MA.

Also still vying for the title of "Sole Survivor" were Tyler Fredrickson, a 33-year-old ex-talent agent assistant from Los Angeles, CA; Jenn Brown, a 22-year-old sailing instructor from Long Beach, CA;  Will Sims II, a 41-year-old YouTube sensation from Sherman Oaks, CA; Carolyn Rivera, a 52-year-old corporate executive from Tampa, FL; and Shirin Oskooi, a 31-year-old Yahoo executive from San Francisco, CA.

On Night 22, Shirin realized she was on the wrong side of the numbers but hoped the Blue Collars would start fracturing. She needed someone to make a big move against the others. In attempt to stir up some trouble, Shirin said aloud that she would absolutely be voting for Mike at the end of the game.

Meanwhile, Rodney told the cameras he was pretending to be with Blue all the way, but he certainly wasn't afraid to flip. Rodney insisted he didn't need friends in the game; He needed money in his bank account. He was planning to hit Mike, Sierra and Dan with a "Mike Tyson knockout punch" when they least expected it.

After her best friend Hali Ford's vote off, Jenn explained to Shirin she was done with the game and "stoked" to get voted out. Shirin needed to gain a new alliance quickly because of the situation she was in. 

As a result, on Day 23, Shirin talked to Mike and Sierra about potentially working with them.

Mike thought about pulling her in secretly and using her to get rid of some of the big threats in the game. Shirin suggested they take out Carolyn because she had Will in her pocket and also kept Rodney and Tyler close. Shirin thought her best move was to hitch onto someone else's vote at the next Tribal before she could be in control of her own game again.

Later that day, the Merica tribe met with Survivor host Jeff Probst for a Reward Challenge.

Jeff explained the castaways would be divided into two teams, and one at a time, they had to race through a series of obstacles in attempt to reach a platform in the water. Once on the platform, the next person on a team could go. Once all five people on a team gathered on the platform, one person was required to use a grappling hook in attempt to retrieve rings floating nearby.

The first team to collect all five rings would win Reward in the form of a chocolate cafe complete with M&Ms, Snickers, Dove bars, and Twix.

After a schoolyard pick went down, the two teams ended up being Mike, Tyler, Shirin, Dan and Sierra vs. Rodney, Joe, Jenn, Carolyn and Will. It was a close call in the final seconds of the challenge, but Mike's team was victorious.

Jenn then expressed to everyone how she didn't really want to be there and the game was really tough. She said no one at home knows what it's like to compete on Survivor until they are there. Joe shook his head in disagreement and disappointment. When called out for his telling gesture, Joe told Jeff he loved the game and was thrilled to be there.

Once the losing team returned to camp, Jenn explained the game "would suck less if everyone sucked less." She said she had nothing to feel but despair, and she got upset when her tribemates killed one of their two remaining chickens to eat. However, Rodney lifted her spirits and made everyone laugh by doing incredible impressions of Mike.

It became clear to Joe at that point that Rodney might've had some issue with Mike, so he intended to capitalize on that.

On Day 24, Joe felt a ton of pressure going into the next Immunity Challenge. He was already 3-0 when it came to wins vs. losses. Jenn then told Joe she wanted to go home badly, so if she won the challenge, she'd give Joe her immunity necklace. Jenn also advised Joe to throw the challenge if it came down to the two of them because her word was good.

All the castaways then gathered for the season's next Immunity Challenge.

Jeff instructed the players to balance on their toes while attempting to keep a block wedged between their heads and a wooden frame above them. If a person's block fell at any point, he or she would be out of the challenge. The last castaway standing would earn a one in nine shot of winning Survivor. 

Carolyn was the first person out of the challenge, and she was followed by Will, Shirin, Rodney, Dan, Sierra, Joe, and Mike. After 30 minutes, it came down to Jenn and Tyler, and Tyler ended up winning immunity.

Both Joe and Jenn were disappointed. Jenn wanted to protect Joe and stir up everyone else's game. It actually surprised her that she wanted to win so badly just so she could exit the game.

Back at camp, Shirin found a "numbers loophole." Shirin knew the Blue Collars would split their vote, so if Joe voted for Jenn, it would be a four-four tie between them. Shirin's vote would therefore be the deciding one since there was no way Jenn was going to vote for Joe.

Just like Shirin anticipated, the Blue Collars discussed splitting their votes -- four for Joe and three for Jenn. Mike wanted Shirin to vote for Joe in order to get him out and solidify her loyalty with himself and Sierra. Shirin wanted to respect her friend Jenn's wishes and let her leave in peace, but she also knew Joe was a much bigger threat in the game and she was being tested by Mike.

"Little does everyone know I could rock the vote tonight," Shirin said in a confessional.

In a last-ditch effort to save himself, Joe decided to make a fake hidden Immunity Idol and tell whomever he needed to that it was real.

Joe managed to escape from Mike and Dan's watchful eyes for a short period of time to make his idol with a secret stash he had been maintaining for a while in case this was to happen. Joe, who makes jewelry for a living, created an impressive-looking idol necklace using pieces from his torch and special items he had found on the beach.

Joe then told Mike he was aware the Blue Collars would be splitting the vote, so he promised to vote for Jenn and get her out if Mike promised to keep him safe this one time. In exchange for his help, Joe promised Mike he'd hand over his immunity idol the following day. Mike, however, said he needed the idol in his hands before Tribal in order to follow through with the deal.

Mike had a hidden Immunity Idol of his own -- that he had actually found with Joe's clue -- so he was very skeptical of Joe's story. The only way Joe could've been telling the truth was if there was another hidden Immunity Idol in play that no one knew about.

Before Tribal, Mike told the cameras he would "maybe" switch his vote if Joe coughed up his "idol."

Once Tribal Council commenced, Joe handed his idol over to Mike right when they sat down.   

Jeff asked Jenn why she didn't just walk out of the game like a true No Collar if she really didn't want to be there, but she assured the host she wasn't a quitter. Joe said Jenn had become very valuable in the game because people might want to pull her along to the end since she checked out of the game mentally, physically and emotionally.

Shirin also expressed how it was to her benefit to have Jenn as a strategic ally in the face of Joe being a big physical threat, but at the same time, Jenn is now less of a threat and so people might want to keep her around as a goat.

Joe let everyone know he loved the game too much not to fight to stay. He'd be willing to try to win every single Individual Immunity Challenge going forward.

Prior to the voting window, Mike asked Jeff to verify whether his idol was real since that would determine who goes home. Jeff denied Mike's request, saying it needed to be played. Joe just smiled.

Mike then decided to play the idol Joe had given him, and it was quickly revealed the idol was a fake. Mike looked pissed about the news and Joe appeared to give up hope.

Jeff revealed the votes in the following order: Jenn, Joe, Jenn, Joe, Dan, Jenn, Joe, Jenn, Joe, and Joe.

The episode's closing credits later showed Tyler, Joe, Carolyn, and Will voted for Jenn. Jenn voted for Dan. Rodney, Dan, Sierra, Shirin, and Mike voted for Joe.


About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski

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