Who was voted out of ‘Survivor 45’ this week?

This article contains spoilers for episode 7 of Survivor 45, which aired on Nov. 8 on CBS and Paramount Plus.

Twelve castaways officially made Survivor 45’s merge but by the time episode 7 wrapped, only 10 were left in the game for $1 million.

After the contestants survived “mergatory” last week, host Jeff Probst hit them with another twist — they were split into two groups and later, two Tribal Councils played out.

At the first voting ceremony, martial arts trainer Nicholas “Sifu” Alsup was sent to Ponderosa. Then, the second group had their turn in front of the fire, and unfortunately for the lone Canadian, Kaleb Gebrewold, his luck ran out. He was voted out and became the first member of the Jury.

So, what led to Sifu and Kaleb’s demise? Let me explain.

As always, the 90-minute episode opened up with the players returning from Tribal Council. J. Maya was sent packing after Kaleb successfully used his “Shot in the Dark” to nullify 11 votes — which set a Survivor record. It became clear to Kaleb that his fellow castaways weren’t expecting him to make it past day 13, and he knew he had to get to work.

The next day, we saw Kaleb attempt to solidify bonds with Emily Flippen and Jake O’Kane, who both said in private confessionals that they wanted to keep the 29-year-old around. However, Emily said that she wouldn’t derail her game for him, whereas Jake wanted to actively protect Kaleb’s position long-term — something that would become relevant later on in the episode.

The biggest storyline that swallowed the first act was Bruce Perrault and his propensity to annoy several of his former Belo tribemates, including Katurah Topps, Kellie Nalbandian, and Kendra McQuarrie. It was another chapter in the “Katurah hates Bruce” saga, but Kellie was adamant that the former blue squad needed to keep Bruce around as a number for their side.

Fast forward to the Immunity Challenge, and the 12 players were separated into two groups. Red featured Kaleb, Jake, Katurah, Dee Valladares, Julie Alley, and Austin Li Coon, and Blue had Sifu, Bruce, Kellie, Kendra, Emily, and Drew Basile.

The two groups faced off in a classic Survivor challenge where they had to hold onto a pole for as long as possible. Ahead of the challenge, Jeff revealed that whoever lasted the longest on each team would win Immunity and that each group would attend their own separate Tribal Council. Further, whichever team outlasted the other would win a feast and go to Tribal last.

Jeff also dropped the unfortunate news that whoever was voted out first that night wouldn’t make the Jury, adding even more stakes to the challenge. After 10 players dropped from their poles, Kellie and Dee secured Immunity and battled it out to become the overall winner, which the latter accomplished.

Because of Dee’s triumph, the Red team took a trip to the “Sanctuary” to gorge on tacos while Blue was sent to Lulu’s old beach to await Tribal Council.

Sifu was taken out over Bruce, and Kaleb and Jake were blindsided by Katurah

I’ll break down the dynamics of each team, and what happened at their respective Tribal Councils.

Blue (Kellie’s team)

Once Blue descended onto Lulu’s old home, it was evident that either Bruce or Sifu were going to be served their walking papers right before the Jury phase began. Bruce, Kellie, and Kendra were all from the original Belo Tribe, whereas Drew and Sifu represented Reba, and Emily was the only ex-Lulu.

Because they had the majority, Bruce, Kelli, and Kendra were in the power position — if they stuck together, the other three could only force a rock draw unless an Idol or advantage was played. But, Kendra took aim at Bruce believing it was a suitable time to silence the 47-year-old.

But, Kellie maintained that they needed to keep Bruce around as an ally and shield. Catching wind of Kendra’s hit list, Bruce made it known to Kellie that he’d potentially play his Idol. But, after speaking with Kendra, Emily, and Drew, the five players decided to oust Sifu.

And that was the plan they stuck with at Tribal Council — Sifu’s pitch fell on deaf ears and he was voted out unanimously, placing 12th overall.

Red (Dee’s team)

After refueling on some much-needed calories, the strategizing began. Dee, Julie, and Austin — a tight trio from the original Reba tribe — targeted Kaleb whereas Kaleb and Jake discussed voting for Julie to weaken Dee, someone they viewed as a notable threat.

But, for their plan, they hoped for two things to happen. First, Katurah had to join them in the vote, and second, they needed someone else to flip, specifically Austin. Their pitch to Katurah was that forcing a rock draw with a stalemate vote would put Austin in jeopardy, and he’d join their side to preserve himself.

Katurah initially seemed to be on board. However, according to the edit, Katurah reversed course after Kaleb and Jake admitted to her that Bruce found a Hidden Immunity Idol when they were all a part of Lulu — information they purposely kept hidden from her.

Once Blue departed Tribal Council, Red arrived to determine the first Jury member. Dee, Julie, and Austin kept to their guns and wrote Kaleb’s name, while Kaleb and Jake voted for Julie. However, when Jeff read the final vote, Kaleb’s game ended with a 4-2 spread — Katurah dropped the guys and the plan for the other side.

Will the move set Katurah up for the next half of the game, and will Jake’s blunder cost him? Only time will tell as the final 12 days send Survivor 45 into overdrive.