The ranking of Survivor seasons *updated with s33*

Once you get past the forced theme, this season had some impressive gameplay, fun character moments and a solid cast. It was also low on conflict, which was nice for a change, but I wouldn't want every season to be like that. Whilst I liked everyone, I didn't love anyone...except the gone-too-soon Michaela.

1. Pearl Islands
2. Cook Islands
3. Heroes Vs Villains
4. Micronesia
5. China
6. Cagayan
7. Kaoh Rong
8. Vanuatu
9. Nicaragua
10. Philippines
11. Millennials Vs Gen X
12. Cambodia
13. Palau
14. Caramoan
15. Blood Vs Water
16. Worlds Apart
17. Samoa
18. Tocantins
19. All Stars
20. Exile Island
21. Guatemala
22. Gabon
23. San Juan Del Sur
24. Amazon
25. One World
26. Fiji
27. South Pacific
28. Redemption Island
29. Australia
30. Borneo
31. Africa
32. Marquesas
33. Thailand

Millennials Vs Gen X Episode 13: Family First

Talkin' bout my generation...

The finale is here. and there's 6 people left. Coming back from tribal, Hannah explains to an exasperated Bret why she let David slide. David decides to build a fake idol to leave in a coconut for someone to find. The next day, he gets his wish when Jay takes the bait. This is gonna be hilarious. One person who does have safety though is Ken, as he finally opens up his legacy advantage and finds a note that basically acts as an idol.

The immunity challenge involves climbing walls, crawling through obstacles, using numbered tiles to unlock a key, then using the key to unlock their bat puzzle. There's also a reward of steak for the winner (which I assume was just added to give the reward stealer one last chance to be used). Jay takes the lead going into the combination locks and gets it first, but failing to cover it up gives everyone else the chance to steal it. Jay still has a lead on his puzzle, but David is catching him. Jay's drops off, losing him all his work, and David is able to win immunity. Jay gets some consolation when he plays his reward steal though, allowing himself a dinner with Adam and David.

Over dinner, Jay makes his case to David and Adam that he's a shield for them and they should vote out Bret, who is also a threat. Adam isn't sure about it, since Bret hasn't shown much challenge prowess yet, but he does genuinely believe Jay will take him to the end. Bret thinks this should be an easy vote but gets frustrated when he sees people pulling Jay off for conversations.

At tribal council, Jay admits he used the dinner for strategic purposes. Bret tries to make sure they still see him as the bigger threat though. Hannah worries about reading the jury correctly, whereas David reveals his renewed vigor following the meal.

Jay's idol...and his dream...goes up in flames

After the vote, Jay pulls out his idol and tells them he's not going home. But then he's the one blindsided when Probst reveals the idol is a fake. Ken plays the legacy advantage, which causes even more confusion (and pisses off Jessica when she sees what she could've won). Jay is voted out, but he's a great sport about it and laughing the whole way. Definitely didn't expect to like this kid as much as I did.

"Not a participation trophy!"

We go straight into the immunity challenge now which David sees a must-win, and unfortunately it involves his biggest weakness: swimming. They have to move a buoy through the water, then transfer tiles through an obstacle course by holding them with rods. Then they have to solve a word puzzle. Ken is first out of the water, but keeps dropping his tiles. That evens it up a bit more and gives Bret, Adam and David some ground to catch up. Bret is first to the puzzle but can't get it. Adam looks to be close, but it's Ken who yells it out first. When they see the solution, Adam and Bret can't believe they missed it.

Adam decides to go looking for the idol just to make sure David doesn't get it, whilst Bret covers for him. David meanwhile is telling Hannah and Ken that maybe their plan should be vote Adam out. Adam finds his second idol and is now confident David is going home. But Hannah is playing both sides, and decides maybe she'll pull a fast one and vote out Bret.

At tribal council, Jeff gets them to start thinking about their ideal final 3, but Bret just wants to survive the night. Hannah and Bret make it clear that David is still the biggest threat. David says that if he goes tonight he'll have gained new confidence that he can apply to his real life. Adam says that's exactly why he needs to go: because he has such a fantastic story.

Another baffling vote

After the votes are in. Adam plays his idol, sensing some bullets coming his way. But he's wrong once again as it's Bret who gets voted out. That gets a big reaction from the jury, as well as Bret himself. "The flipper flips again" says the disgruntled cop, as he congratulates David for winning the game.

As Adam tries to justify to the group why he wanted David out, not even David can believe he's still there. Hannah tries to convince Adam that she couldn't afford to piss off Ken, but Adam maintains it was still a huge mistake. Question is, will they get another shot at him?

Down to the wire

The final immunity challenge is to move bowls in between a thin stretch of wire and stack them on top. The winner is the first to reach 13 or whoever has the most after 30 minutes. Adam and Ken are in the lead, but once he gets to 10, Adam decides to just stop and wait for Ken's to fall...which it does. But then Adam loses his as well, and it's anyone's game. With 2 minutes left, Hannah is in the lead. Ken ties it up and attempts for an 11th, but runs out of time. Now it's a tiebreaker between Hannah and Ken! Ken goes fast, Hannah goes slow. Ken manages to stay one step ahead of Hannah, and manages his 7th bowl just in the nick of time to win immunity.

Adam and Hannah are both voting for David, so their worst case scenario is a fire tiebreaker, although Adam thinks he would probably lose. Hannah makes an effort to sway Ken, although he wants to play an honest game. David wonders why Adam isn't trying to target Hannah, but Adam lays it to him straight and says he's gonna lose anyway if he can't get him out. David reassures Ken that he trusts him, which probably makes his big decision harder.

Nine lives over

At tribal council, Jeff praises Hannah for giving it a good go in the challenge. Adam says he was just happy to see David lose, which David says is because Adam knows he's played a better game. David praises Ken's game of loyalty, but Ken admits the others have valid points when they say David is a threat. We get to the vote, and Ken follows through with taking David out, which I genuinely did not see coming. I loved David's game and was rooting for him to pull it off - he came damn close.

Gearing up the final tribal, Ken is hoping his game of loyalty will get him the win. Hannah talks about her journey of growth, and that she plans to stay confident in front of the jury. Adam thinks about what his mom's reaction would be if she knew he was in the final 3, and pledges to win it for her.

We arrive at Final Tribal Council. Taylor is the first juror up, and just asks them for their opening pitch. Hannah says she put everybody on the jury and hopes to explain why. Ken says he brought a human side to the game. Adam thinks he played the best game, because he got to the end with who he wanted without becoming a target. Sunday wants to know how adaptable they were in the game. Adam makes the case that he's a happy medium between Ken's old school game and Hannah's chaotic game. Hannah and Adam then argue over whether her moves were good or not.

Jessica gets on Ken's case for voting out his close ally David after claiming to be a man of integrity, but he says his true loyalty was to his daughter. Will says he actually gained more respect for Ken after that. Zeke wants to know how Adam and Hannah evolved the game. Adam says he kept shields in front of him, but Hannah takes issue with that answer, saying she decided when the shields left, not him.

Michelle asks Adam to defend some of his blunders, and he passes the buck to Hannah. Bret asks Ken when he started playing. He says from the start, as he had to work to get off the bottom of Gen X. Jay asks why Adam voted him out, who says he already knows why this meant so much to him. Lawyer Chris makes the case for Adam to win because he got Ken to turn on David. Ken disputes this (wasn't it actually Hannah?)

Here come the tears again

The last juror is David, who asks about the personal evolutions they all went through. Hannah says that she started the game as someone who was terrified of everything and pushed through that. Ken says he's less socially awkward now. Adam decides to finally open up about his mom, as Ken consoles him.

We don't see any jury votes, but Jay certainly gives the impression he voted for Adam. Probst opens them up at the reunion and it's a clean sweep for Adam. It's an emotional moment and he elects to share it with his family, understandably. Glad this story had some sort of a happy ending.

STAR OF THE WEEK: ADAM KLEIN

We saw a fair share of mistakes from Adam but he also managed to correct them and knew when to lay low. He had a good read on the jury and knew who he could beat and who he couldn't, then made his winning final 3 happen. After the year he's had, he deserves something good coming his way.

Reunion notes:

• Adam recounting his last conversation with his mom was heartbreaking, and it really hit me when he said "this is not some storyline, it's my life."
• I felt like it was a real disservice to Hannah to only talk about her flirting.
• Glad Jessica got to defend her decision to draw rocks. She's right, and anyone who says otherwise is going by results-based thinking.
• Nice sentiment from Sunday about how you can still find out more about yourself even when you're a mom.
• The Figgy & Taylor update could've been a lot more awkward than it was.
• I'm not thrilled about all the choices for Game Changers, but seeing Tony and Sandra face off (or align) is a mouth-watering prospect. Oh, and Probst mentioning Ciera voting out her mom has gone beyond parody at this point.

Millennials Vs Gen X Episode 12: Frenemies

So, Will feels pretty good about his big move and feels like he can start swinging back and forth to knock out big targets from both sides now. Bret was not really a fan, and decides to make his own moves by going to Adam and telling them that David, Jay and Will have to go. Adam sees this as a great deal for him.

On a roll

We dive straight in to the first immunity challenge of the episode now, which involves transporting discs over obstacles without dropping them and then rolling them across a table into a slot. The castaways vary in terms of the amount they carry over, but most take two trips and David is the first to complete the balance beam. The next section is to go through wires. Bret, David and Jay lead the way, Hannah and Sunday struggle, but Will can't even get up to it as he's still stuck on the first part. Jay starts rolling first, then David and Bret. Jay eventually hits his stride and wins immunity.

Jay is happy he gets to keep his idol for a little while longer, but there's a lot of nervous faces now since the plan was to target Jay. Will and Jay settle on David for the vote, and Will feels confident that he has the numbers. But Adam is only playing along, and has Bret on board to vote out Will instead. Hannah feels a little guilty for going after the guy who saved her, but Adam convinces her it's the right move and they can do David next time.

Who's really in control?

At tribal council, David is feeling very vulnerable, which Jay thinks is strange since he was in the majority last time. Jeff talks about the need to make big moves without becoming too much of a target, which they all agree is a tricky balancing act. The vote is between David and Will, and Will gets blindsided with a smile on his face. Another gracious exit. His decision to flip looks pretty bad now.

Adam has to explain himself to Jay, after screwing him over once again. The old adversaries talk it out where Adam tells Jay he can't go to the end with David...but Adam's still playing him a little bit, as he actually thinks the biggest threat is right beside him.

Time is not on your side in this challenge

Another challenge now, and a pretty unique one. It involves the contestants having to split their focus between solving a puzzle and making sure their ball doesn't reach the bottom of their pinball table. If they fail to catch their ball before it drops, they have to wait out a time penalty. And stopping the ball proves quite difficult for everyone. Ken has another enemy: spelling, when he Dan Foley's it and calls Jeff over for an incorrect guess. He's still the closest by far though, and Adam and Hannah even start watching his ball and telling him when to go back. With a little help from his friends, Ken wins immunity.

Adam explains he helped Ken because he didn't want David to win, and is trying to set up the vote so it's between David and Jay. However, David knows the best way to save his ass is for him and Ken to vote Bret. Hannah then says she wants to do Sunday instead, since she's worried everyone wants to take her to the end.

Yin and Yang share a moment

Adam tells Jay he needs to play his idol tonight, and Jay just pleads with him for them to go to the end together. Adam opens up and shares the story of his mom's cancer diagnosis, which makes Jay tear up. These two have such a unique and fascinating dynamic - almost like their personal relationship and their strategic relationship are polar opposites from eachother. Hannah goes to Adam to tell him to vote Sunday, but he doesn't like the plan as it opens the door for his worst case scenario: Jay surviving the night AND still having an idol.

At tribal council, Jay makes his case that even though he's a challenge threat, he's alone in the game. Whereas Ken is a challenge threat and has a close ally in David. David mentions how his name has come up a lot and he's had to rely heavily on his allies to keep him safe. Sunday is asked if she's a goat, and she says she's being underestimated.

The look of regret

After the votes, Jay finally gives in and plays his idol. It only cancels one vote though, as Hannah's plan to blindside Sunday prevails. He's kicking himself, but he managed to milk that baby for quite a long time. With the dead weight out of the way, we now have a final 6 that have all played pretty hard. It's gonna be interesting to see which ones are able to get to the end from here.

STAR OF THE WEEK: DAVID WRIGHT

After being called out as the biggest threat, David had to make it through two votes tonight, both where he was an obvious target. However, he's still there, and can win it all if he can hang on in there a bit longer.

Millennials Vs Gen X Episode 11: Licence To Will

Carrying on the legacy

Hannah is feeling guilty that Jessica took the fall for her, as David laments wasting his idol. Zeke wants his group of five to stay loyal and is hoping to crush David's dream next. That villain edit is escalating. Ken picks up his new legacy advantage, hoping he can reap the rewards of it.

Show me love

Jeff springs a surprise on everyone at the next challenge when he decides to bring out loved ones...which makes Adam instantly cry. We see Sunday's husband, Bret's dad, Jay's sister, Hannah's mom. As Adam hugs his brother, he tells everyone he's not gonna use his advantage on this. Smart move. David's dad, Ken's brother, Will's mom and Zeke's very enthusiastic dad round out the guests. The challenge sees them attached on a rope and running through an obstacle course, starting in the water. Sunday is out of it very quickly, with Will also struggling. Ken leads until the digging part but gets stuck in his hole. Jay takes a lead in the final section as Adam gets even more stuck than Ken. Zeke makes a spirited attempt to catch up, but Jay wins reward. Getting to choose who joins him, he first takes Will and Sunday, but also takes Adam, as he was impressed that he didn't try to steal this.

Adam's brother Evan fills him in on how their mom's treatment is going. The pair then approach Jay to say thank you for picking them, and Adam decides to give him the advantage as a token of appreciation, Is that a strategic move or a personal move, or some combo of both?

Ready to join the big boys

When David points out to Will that the rest of his alliance is having an early morning meeting without him, Will seizes the opportunity to make a move. His plan is to take out Zeke, the biggest threat to win, in the hope that it'll finally get him some respect around here. This is three days after drawing a rock for him, let's not forget.

Don't let it slip through your fingers

The immunity challenge is to press their two handles against a metal bar to keep it up...if it drops, they're out. David is out immediately. Hannah, Will and Bret don't last long either. Once Zeke is gone, David starts celebrating. The last three are Ken, Jay and Adam. All three start to slip slightly, with Ken going first and Jay hanging on by a thread. Adam beats Jay to win immunity, checking another thing off the superfan's bucket list.

Looking for authenticity

David has faith that Will is going to follow through with the plan to vote out Zeke. But Zeke's side sense that David is a little too calm, and wonder what he has up his sleeve. They decide to switch the vote to Ken just in case he has another idol. Will goes for a walk with Ken to reassure him about the vote, and lets him know they're writing his name now. Ken then takes this information back to Jay, which blows up Will's spot and leaves him rightfully furious. As Will's alliance try to reel him back in, Adam and Hannah wonder if Ken has just blown it for them.

At tribal council, it's out in the open that Will is the swing vote, and he starts by denying Sunday's accusation that he was easily swayed. Will gets drunk with power and says that he's tired of being treated like a high schooler, feeling only Jay treats him like an adult. David makes the point that Will can put something on his resume by siding with them and making a move. Bret says the other side will just vote him out first chance they get. As the sides go back and forth debating their case, Jay gets the final word in and just tells him to go with his gut.

After the votes are cast, Adam pulls his idol out of his crotch and decides to use on Hannah. This effectively seals Zeke's fate, but it turns out Will voted for him anyway. Damn Adam, way to steal that thunder. In his final words, Zeke gives credit to the level of gameplay this season for making him play so hard. I'll bet there's a few more twists and turns left as well.

STAR OF THE WEEK: ADAM KLEIN

Getting to see his family and winning immunity in one episode? That must've been huge for Adam and he seems to be course correcting his earlier mistakes. He played an idol unnecessarily, but better safe than sorry, and his best move was perhaps giving away the advantage anyway.

Millennials Vs Gen X Episode 10: Trust Clusterfuck

Jay shows everyone where the rest of the food is as an act of good faith, but Adam is still really mad at him and can taste him in his mouth (ew). Chris has another target in mind: Jessica, and begins counting the votes he needs to make it happen.

Jay has an idol, pass it on

Hannah and Ken flirt a little bit, since Hannah seems to think she has a shot. Will is also trying to build a relationship with Zeke, so tells him about Jay's idol. But that information quickly spreads and through a massive game of telephone, and soon David, Chris, Hannah, Bret and Ken all know too. Zeke and Chris come up with a plan to make Jay think he is going so that he plays the idol, but then really vote out Jessica.

The reward challenge sees two teams needing to pull themselves through the water on boat with a rope, then get keys and use them to unlock blocks, which then need to be stacked on top of eachother until there are no repeating colors. One person has to sit out and David is happy to volunteer since he sucks at swimming. But the others give him encouragement to play, which makes him emotional. The two teams are Ken, Jessica, Chris, David and Will vs Bret, Zeke, Sunday, Hannah and Adam with Jay sitting out. Orange get to the platform first, obviously not hindered by David too much. Ken and Hannah lead the key-grabbing. Adam throws his key. The blocks all get unlocked and it's David and Chris doing the puzzle against Adam and Zeke. Purple team pull it out, and David feels the guilt.

The reward is to sit on a boat for pizza and beer. It's slightly awkward with camp so close, but Bret doesn't care. Then they get letters from home, which affects Adam the most. Ken and David talk back at camp, and they think Chris needs to go.

Take the plunge

You can do it

The immunity challenge is to keep a statue on a beam using a stick. Whoever's statue is the last to drop, wins immunity. Ken has a problem from the start when ants start crawling over him. Hannah is first out, but Ken is next. Then nobody drops for a while until Sunday, Chris, Will, Jay and Bret all go out in a row. Jessica looks steady, but then she goes, leaving it to Zeke and David. David holds on to pull off one of the most unlikely immunity victories ever.

In the crosshairs

After the immunity challenge, Jay feels in trouble since nobody is talking to him. Zeke is being pulled in two directions, with Chris wanting him to go for Jessica and David wanting him to go for Chris. Jessica gets nervous when she hears Chris is coming for her, and is unsure if she trusts Zeke.

At tribal council, David brings up voting blocs to describe the lack of fixed alliances this season, whereas Hannah evolves it to "trust clusters". A lot of people express confidence in their plans, with Jay sarcastically agreeing, knowing he's a huge target. Jessica says she burned some trust with her move to get out Paul, and despite Chris claiming otherwise, he's still holding a grudge. Both sides think they've pulled off a blindside, but it's Jessica that ends up victorious when Chris goes home.

Surprised, but still alive

Well, Jay keeping the idol paid off for him again, but Jessica wants him to go next. Zeke has other plans and tells Bret and Sunday that even though he blindsided their ally, he wants to work with them to go after David. David drops a hint to Bret that Zeke is in the best spot to win the game, which Bret takes right to him, intensifying the split. Zeke talks to Adam and Hannah, trying to get them on board...but they still want Jay and Will out.

Slitheryns in action

The reward challenge is for the castaways to slither across the sand like a snake with their hands and feet restrained, and once all three teammates have done so, there's a snake puzzle to complete. Hannah, Jessica and Adam are one team, Will, Ken and Jay are another and Sunday, Zeke and Bret are the third. David gets a lucky break when he wins the draw to go on the reward automatically without even having to play. Everybody looks ridiculous playing the challenge, although Jessica finds it the hardest. Ken's team get to the puzzle first but it proves to be anyone's game. Zeke's team get it first and win reward.

The rainbow connection is formed

Bret and Zeke share a nice moment on reward where Bret reveals he is gay, and for once it leads to a meaningful conversation about the generation gap, since they both realize it's less of a big deal for younger people. Getting back to the game talk, both of them admit they're scared of David. Hannah decides to fill in David that Zeke is targeting him and he shrinks into the ground when he realizes he messed up. Hannah tries to calm him down and assure him that Zeke will tell her the vote, thus meaning they can play the idol correctly if needed.

Jay gets out of jail

For the immunity challenge, the contestants have to move a peg through a maze without looking to be able to unlock their station. Once out there's a slide puzzle to finish. We start off, and Jeff can't tell anybody whether they're ahead or behind...truly a nightmare scenario for him. Jay is first to free himself, as Adam and Jessica hover around it without quite getting it. Jay does the slide puzzle unchallenged and now he's safe. Fun challenge, but let's be real, whoever got out first was always gonna have a huge advantage.

David tells Ken and Jessica to vote for Zeke, and they agree to do that. Zeke has a conversation with Hannah, but her reluctance to give a straight answer makes him realize he can no longer trust her. So now he's telling his side to write down her name instead. David wonders if this is going to be a 5-5 deadlock, and what that means for the end result.

David tells Jeff he's expecting a crazy tribal council, as Adam and Hannah are already whispering. Bret snaps at David when he doesn't like his answers, leading to both Bret and Zeke openly mocking him. Wow, this is getting heated. Sunday encourages her side to stick to the plan, but when Hannah asks what that is, she says Ken. A fed-up Bret calls for the vote to start, and that it does.

It's up to the Survivor Gods now

As we wait to see what craziness is about to unfold, Taylor is attacked by a giant bug - damn, not even the jury are safe. David plays his idol and Adam encourages him to use it on Ken, which he does. Let's see if they're right. The vote ties between Zeke and Hannah...oof, that's a miss. On the revote, Zeke tries to get Jessica to flip, and she almost does, but stays strong and takes it to rocks. Will encourages everyone to just come to a consensus so that none of them go home, but they are unable to do so. The six vulnerable people nervously draw a rock, and it's Jessica who picks black. Understandably, she's devastated. Jeff even changes his words for her as she gets the snuff, saying "the game has spoken". As for her legacy advantage, that now moves on to Ken.

Wow...either half of that would've made a fantastic episode on its own, but doubling up makes it almost an overload. The tribe has been redivided, and now we see if team David can make a comeback.

STAR OF THE WEEK: ZEKE SMITH

Zeke was the big winner tonight across both votes, going from powerful swing vote, to victorious in the battle between him and David once his name came up. He hustles hard and has proved to be a cutthroat bastard, so let's see if he can justify being talked up as the biggest threat.

Millennials Vs Gen X Episode 9: Foodgate

A midnight snack

A pissed-off Jay is openly criticizing the Millennial flippers for being on the bottom of Gen X...hang on, weren't you trying to vote out a Millennial too? Adam and Taylor agree to keep eachother's secrets, almost as mutually-assured destruction. Taylor knows his dirt on Adam is better though. Hannah justifies the move to Jay by saying she wanted to play independently.

A little tangled

The reward challenge is an obstacle course that involves grabbing a key, unlocking a box, pulling it under a net, opening it and finishing with a bolo toss. The contestants are divided into Hannah's team (all Millennials except Jessica) and Chris' team (all Gen X except Taylor). Adam is slow at taking down the key, putting Chris' team ahead. Orange team then get stuck under the net. Taylor dominates the bolo toss and wins it for purple before the other team even get out of the net crawl. Hannah's feeling pretty dumb about her picks now.

The winning team enjoy the reward, with Bret getting drunk off margaritas. Sunday's mind is on the game and is hinting at making a move though. Back at camp, Adam is almost taunting Jay that he's on the bottom. Jay vents to Will, Hannah and Zeke that Adam is an asshole...and they all seem to agree. Yikes, he might be in even deeper water than he thinks.

Sunday shares her concerns with Bret that there's still friction between her and Jessica, ever since she wrote her name down. Wanting to strike first, Sunday approaches Jay about working together, and now he has new hope.

Watching from the sidelines

The immunity challenge is to keep a ball balanced on top of an arch. Before they get started, Jeff offers them the option to sit out for food, which Will and Zeke both take. Big risk for Will! Hannah and Bret are soon out, with Bret regretting his choice to not take the food. Jessica, David, Sunday and Chris don't survive the transition to the lower foothold. Once Adam and Jay drop, it's down to Taylor and Ken. Will Taylor's extra energy from his secret stash help him? Obviously not, because Ken wins.

Hammering out the details

David organizes a split vote between Taylor and Jay. If Will was trying to look like less of a threat, it worked! Sunday tells Jay the move is off, and now he only has his idol to fall back on. Taylor and Jay decide to share the rest of the food, and Taylor lets Jay know about the ammo he has on Adam. He's got nothing to lose, so he might as well use it, right?

He might be going down, but he's taking his opponent with him

At tribal council, Jay and Adam are bitching almost immediately when Adam points out Jay is far from the first to get blindsided. Taylor full-on throws Adam under the bus by confessing to hiding food and saying Adam helped him, before also forcing him to reveal his advantage. Adam denies eating the food and finds Jay's attacks even more hypocritical when Jay admits he did eat some. The rest of the tribe awkwardly try to process all this info, as David hints it could be the nail in the coffin for one of them.

Well, no idol is played after the vote, which turns out to be a dangerous move for Jay when he picks up several votes. But Taylor gets the majority, and is out...can't imagine many people will be sad to see him go. So, how mad are people gonna be at Adam, and can he dig himself out of this hole? Guess we'll see.

STAR OF THE WEEK: ADAM KLEIN

This wasn't a perfect week for Adam by any means, but I'm giving it to him anyway as he faced a huge onslaught and weathered the storm. There might be some damage control for him left to do, but if all else fails, he still has an idol.

Millennials Vs Gen X Episode 8: Instant Gratification

Yay, we get to leave this hellhole!

We pick up on Ikabula, where Hannah is hoping for some revenge in the aftermath of Michaela's blindside. They see a boat pull up and are surprisingly unfazed, but the celebrations start once they read the note that tells them to start packing for the merge. Bret is stoked that he went from being on the verge of voted out to having brand new life in the game, and is still unsure if he's going to stay with Jay or see what Chris has going. Adam is also excited for the merge, since the gameplay standard rises.

The merge brings together new people, but also reunites old bonds. Chris and Bret touch base and worry about the Millennials being closer than they expected. Zeke, Adam and Hannah are also back together and now Zeke is worried about Jay being a power player. I knew this would happen! Should've kept Michaela as a shield, bro.

The Jay charm doesn't sway Zeke

Know who your friends are

Since they have a new tribe, Adam decides to look around to see if he can find a new idol. He finds something tucked away in treemail at least - an advantage that gives him the ability to steal somebody's reward. That's a pretty crappy advantage. At night, Taylor decides to steal some food and put it in a jar, and is caught by Bret. Adam slinks off to talk with him privately about voting out Will, since that would help him get Jay back. Adam wants to make an ally of Taylor and even tells him about his advantage. Taylor is not interested in that though and still has it out for Adam for voting out Figgy.

News of Taylor's hoarding is making it around camp, and Bret is pushing to vote him out next. Taylor lets Jay know that Adam is going after Will, which makes Jay realize he needs to go after him. Luckily Zeke hears it, and is able to form a counter plan.

He sure schooled them

The immunity challenge is to hold both hands (yep, both) in the air, fastened to a bar. If the bar drops, a bucket of water gets tipped on you. Sunday is out first, then Chris and Bret shortly after. Jay and Zeke also drop...well, it feels like anyone can win this. Hannah puts in an impressive effort but she goes out as well, and David somehow makes it to the last four. With Adam gone, Jessica and Will are the last two, and both of them hang in there for a while. The spectators notice Jessica struggling first, and she does indeed give way to give Will the win. A hard-fought victory that makes both of them overcome with emotion.

When even Hannah is telling you to calm down...

Will is deadset on taking Adam out, even though Michelle thinks it would be smarter to do some Gen X'ers first. Zeke fills in Adam that his name is out there, but promises to rally a majority that can get him to stay. But David and Ken can't agree on who to vote out either, with Ken wanting Taylor and David wanting Michelle. Then David and Hannah get a little nervous when they see Adam going back to Taylor. What are you doing, dude?

It's not long into tribal council before David and Bret decide to call out Taylor for stealing food, but Taylor's defence is that it was a "medical emergency". Taylor clearly doesn't seem worried about getting voted out, but Adam knows better, and gets even more nervous when Taylor looks at him whilst answering a question about the target.

The big question after the vote is whether Adam will play the idol or not, and he decides to chance it. He starts getting tense when he sees 4 votes for himself and 4 votes for Michelle, but the rest of the votes send the missionary out. I thought she was playing an underrated UTR game, but maybe it was too good.

Well, Taylor's revenge is gonna have to wait, as Will and Jay realize they're not the kingpins any more. They've got to do some work to re-draw the lines, but with 12 people still in the game and an idol on their hands, there's plenty of time for that to happen.

STAR OF THE WEEK: HANNAH SHAPIRO

I'm giving it to Hannah this week because she benefitted the most from the merge, getting back into the majority and getting one over on the people who blindsided her. She also did well to reign in Adam and managed to finally make it though a tribal council without hyperventilating.

Millennials Vs Gen X Episode 7: When Winners Lose

Adam has a lot of explaining to do following tribal council, and fully admits to Taylor he screwed him over. Taylor knows he's in a bad spot and plans to "destroy" Adam when he gets the chance. David feels safe on his tribe, but wants to build his relationship with Zeke a bit more, who he already trusts more than Chris. He decides to tell Zeke about his idol, saying nobody else knows about it. Risky move!

Bad poker face

Despite preaching Millennial loyalty at the last challenge, Michaela smiles at seeing Figgy gone, and gives her a "bye Felicia". The reward challenge is to race from the water to retrieve balls, then throw the balls through a hoop, take them out of a net, and get them on top of a beam. Zeke, Jay and Adam are the ones tasked to unwrap the balls. Zeke struggles so David takes over, but he's not much better. Jay, Ken and Chris do the shooting but it's Zeke and Michelle getting the balls out of the net that really makes the difference. Chris is a good thrower and ends up winning the challenge for Vanua. Ikabula finally get their last ball, and Michaela tries to make up time against Ken. Michaela pulls out another great performance, and gets them second place.

David wants to leave a 5-star Yelp review

Vanua get a chef in camp for their reward, and the guys on the tribe all scarf down the food as fast as they can. Michelle just shakes her head in disapproval. She's worried that as the only girl left on the tribe, she's the obvious next boot. Meanwhile, we see Taylor pledging his loyalty to Jessica and Ken, who wonder if he's a better option to go with than the more overtly strategic Adam.

Bret is telling his tribemates that he's a funeral director...but Hannah isn't buying it, and is pretty sure he's a cop. Jay agrees, and because of that, it's looking like Bret's game is gonna be six feet under if they ever lose a challenge.

You'd think this would be the easy part

The immunity challenge is to throw coconuts into a basket until it releases numbers that have to be put into a combination lock. Then we finish with some target practice. Takali are first to get their basket down and Adam cracks the combination in two tries. Taylor is first up on the slingshot, but switches out for Ken. Bret, Michaela and Jay all take turns on the slingshot but nobody can seem to get it. Michelle gets stuck at the combination lock for a long time, but once they get Chris on the sling shot, he's able to overtake Ikabula. Takali win the challenge thanks to Ken, and Vanua eke out a second place by one target. Ikabula taste defeat for the first time.

Seashell strategy

Ikabula sit in silence back at camp. Bret and Sunday know it will be one of them and they're forced to vote for eachother. Michaela uses rocks to demonstrate to their group that it doesn't matter who they vote out since the Millennials have the numbers. But now Jay starts talking to Will about potentially getting Michaela out instead, and not telling Hannah, since they both think she's super smart. This would be a huge move, if it goes through!

At tribal council, Jeff asks Michaela if the other tribes both having flips means this one will too, but she seems to think her tribe is trustworthy. She says that everybody likes eachother and that they could've gone far together if it wasn't for that darned slingshot. Sunday says she's obviously on the outs though. Will and Jay both say the tribe will be stronger after the vote.

Ice cold

Jeff starts by reading the Bret votes, and Michaela is then surprised by seeing her name. By the third vote, she turns around to Jay and asks if he did it, to which he calmly replies "yeah". She yells at Jay, grabs her torch, gets snuffed, goes back for her shoes to yell at Jay some more, and then exits tribal council punching a bush. Hannah is freaking out, and I must admit, I was too.

Well, that was a hell of an exit and a hell of a blindside. I don't think Ikabula got that strong 5 they wanted, but it's really cranked this season up to another level at the perfect time.

STAR OF THE WEEK: JAY STARRETT

Jay was like a mafia boss this week, looking Michaela in the eye right after ordering her execution. It remains to be seen whether it was too early to make that move, but you can't say he isn't playing.

Millennials Vs Gen X Episode 6: Nothing To Hide

So we just had a unanimous vote on a divided tribe, but David thinks the game ceased to be Millennials vs Gen X after the swap. Zeke is pretty shocked that the Gen X'ers took out one of their own, but obviously is not complaining.

Three's a crowd

Jay and Will hunt for the idol on Ikabula, and when Jay finds the tribe logo on a log, he smashes it open to release it. The two of them agree to keep it between themselves...until Michaela walks by just at the wrong time, and ends up having to be included as well. Awkward. Don't worry guys, you can trust her with this secret...at least for now.

Hannah gets injured from the bench

Arriving at the next challenge, Figgy is pretty open that she's glad Michelle survived. Great, telegraph your alliance, why don't you? The challenge is for a caller to direct their tribemates to puzzle pieces and then solve the puzzle whilst still blindfolded. Jay, Figgy and Michelle take the caller roles. Michelle proves to be a bad pick when she can't control David, needing Chris to direct him for her. Sunday and Ken both pick up battle wounds, but Hannah seems to be struggling as well on the sidelines. Takali get their puzzle pieces first, with Ken solving it. Zeke is solving for Vanua, and Michaela for Ikabula. Despite Takali's huge headstart, Vanua and Ikabula are both able to overtake them and win. But before they can call it a day, medical has to take a look at Hannah, and determine she just got too excited and is OK.

Vanua discuss Figgy's reaction at the challenge, with Zeke taking it as a sign that he's on the bottom of the Millennials and that he needs to take out Michelle. Hannah recovers from her panic attack, and talks about needing to stay strong. Figgy decides to tell both Jessica and Ken that she has a thing with Taylor, but they just laugh because it's obvious. Yeah, I think we've learned by now that Figgy does not do subtlety well.

The least necessary confession ever

Full tilt

The immunity challenge is for two tribe members to swim down and grab bags, then open them to find three balls, which the other two will put through a table maze. Ken starts off poorly (for once) and takes a hard fall dropping off the stand that contains the bags. David does OK at the swimming section, but has to go twice whilst Ken carries all three in one go. Taylor then stays ahead of Bret and Chris, before handing over to the girls. Michaela yells at Hannah whilst doing the maze, but it proves to be effective. Ikabula win the challenge under Michaela's guidance, and then Michaela starts helping Michelle and Zeke. Figgy and Jessica lose a couple of balls going too fast, but it comes down to close race for the last ball. Zeke and Michelle get it, as Takali blow a huge lead again.

As the swing vote between two pairs, Adam feels in a no-win situation since somebody will be mad at him no matter what. Figgy and Taylor want him to vote out Ken, but Ken makes his pitch that he'll still be on the bottom if he stays with them. The question for Adam is: can he really trust people he barely knows?

Looks who's third wheel

At tribal council, Taylor is pretty adamant the Millennials are sticking together, with Figgy saying Adam's past vote for her is water under the bridge. Adam makes it clear that Figgy is obviously a lot closer to Taylor than him though. Probst almost seems ready to marry the young lovers, who take offence to him implying they're not as strategic as the other pair. Taylor issues a threat to Adam that he or the other Millennials will take him out if he screws them over. Adam says he hopes the remainder of the tribe can move forward as a 4, and that he genuinely likes the person he's voting out. Figgy seems a little worried when she hears that.

The votes are in, and it's between Figgy and Ken. When the last vote for Figgy is revealed, she starts crying and tells Taylor to win the game. So, Adam has broken up the showmance...but whilst that might win him some new friends, it might also alienate old ones - leaving the game very uncertain.

STAR OF THE WEEK: MICHAELA BRADSHAW

As Bret said in the episode, there's nothing she can't do. Michaela not only won her tribe immunity, she helped win it for the other tribe too. She also showed she's focused on the big picture and is sitting on a critical piece of information, knowing about Ikabula's idol.