Paradigm Shift

**Paradigm Shift** is the tenth episode of *Survivor: Samoa.*

## Story

Returning from Tribal Council, most of the Aiga tribe is in high spirits. The Galu majority is happy that the vote went according to plan, and that the most threatening Foa Foa girl has been voted out. Meanwhile, Liz and Natalie are both very worried about their standing on the tribe, doing their best to get in everyone's good graces. At first, things seem hopeless, but then the next morning, Erik and Kelly pull the two girls aside and say they are planning a move to break up the core alliance at the center of the game. Excited, Liz and Natalie promise not to tell anyone, knowing this could be their ticket off of the bottom. Meanwhile, Erik and Kelly continue to do their best to seem unassuming, but secretly they are plotting to tear apart the core Galu alliance of Laura, Brett, Russell S., Yasmin, and now Dave who has become close to Laura and Brett especially. The rest of the Galus plus Jaison want to keep voting out Foa Foa girls for now, but Erik and Kelly believe they can flip enough people to fracture the alliance.

At the Reward Challenge, the team of Brett, Dave, Liz, Natalie, and Russell S. wins out, and they get to go scuba diving as a team and then enjoy lunch together. While on Reward, there is an idol clue hidden underneath a plate of food, but no one finds it. The Reward is a bit awkward as none of the guys are keen on flipping to the Foa Foa's side, but Liz and Natalie do their best to act social and get in their good graces.

At the Immunity Challenge, Liz pulls out a much needed win, making sure she is safe from getting votes that night. This also leaves Natalie as the only Foa Foa girl vulnerable, and she is very worried about her future in the game. She turns up her social game to the maximum, and it starts to work for her. Erik and Kelly reveal their plan to Liz and Natalie: they want to vote off Dave, who has been gaining steam in the game and is now at the center of the tribe. The girls are down, and they talk to Jaison about the idea. They bridge the gaps between them built during the pre-merge, recognizing they need to work together in order to have a chance at winning the game. This leaves the votes at 5-5, and the group trying to flip the game realizes they need to approach Russell S. and Yasmin. Erik does the work, telling them he sees Dave as taking away Laura and Brett from them and as a huge threat in the game. Yasmin wants to make the move, but Russell S. is more hesitant, wanting to stick to the Galu alliance's plan to vote out Natalie and maintain it's dominance. However, Russell S. eventually agrees that it is a smart idea and it will give him and Yasmin more power. They flip the game, and at Tribal Council Dave is absolutely blindsided in a 7-3 vote.

## Challenges

* Reward
* Immunity

**Team Reward Challenge:** *Pentagonal Panic*

The ten castaways will be split into two teams of five. Each castaway will stand at one vertex of a pentagonal table, and they must balance five balls on the table while crossing an obstacle course. If they drop a ball, they have to go back to the beginning of their current obstacle. The first team to reach the end of the course will win Reward.

**Reward:** Scuba diving and lunch

**Winners:** Brett Clouser, Dave Ball, Liz Kim, Natalie White, and Russell Swan

**Individual Immunity Challenge:** *Symbol Sequence*

The castaways will be shown a series of symbols by Jeff, starting with 4 symbols in a row. Symbol by symbol, they must repeat the sequence back. If a wrong symbol is shown, that castaway is eliminated. Each time a sequence ends, a new one will begin, but with one more symbol. This will keep going until only one castaway remains, and they will win Individual Immunity.

**Winner:** Liz Kim

## Voting Confessionals

*Russell S.'s vote was not shown during his confessional.*

## Next Time on Survivor...

Brett and Laura are both shocked at their fall from grace...

...and strategy at the Aiga camp becomes more complex than ever before.

## Trivia

The episode title was said by Erik Cardona when talking about how the power structure of the game would completely change if his move worked out.