Tonight we got a twofer episode with Vytas following his brother to Redemption Island and Tina, despite her efforts to find the hidden immunity idol that Tyson already found, leaving after the following Tribal Council.

As the remaining member of her alliance, it’s unlikely Katie will last much longer in the game. Even if the alliance of seven cracks and she makes it past the next Tribal Council, she’s too much of a wildcard to keep in the game for very long without any ties to the remaining players.

Then again, she isn’t the only wildcard. With Monica’s growing (and valid) paranoia, I expect she’ll soon follow her husband out of the game. Just a few episodes ago, the tribe voted out Kat for exactly the same reason. With returning players like Gervase and Tyson (whose games ended due to unpredictable players in their respective seasons) around, Monica stands an even lesser chance of staying in the game.

With the tribes now merged into the single tribe Kasama, it’s time for the players to begin enacting their endgame strategies. Tyson, with his hidden immunity idol, stands the best chance of making some big moves to get him to the end of the game, and he’ll likely bring Gervase with him. Right now, Hayden and Caleb are sailing under the radar, but unless they move to vote Tyson out, they’re less likely to make it to the end. Monica and Katie are on the outs and don’t stand a chance, which leaves the final loved-one couple left in the game, Laura and daughter Ciera. We didn’t see much of Laura and Ciera this episode, but if last week’s episode and the previews for next week’s episode are any indication, Ciera is gunning for her mom to be voted out.

But why get rid of her mother? For Katie, her mom Tina was her crutch. Without mom around she’ll have to fend for herself … something she hardly seems capable of doing. Yet Ciera seems eager to get Laura out of the picture and start playing her own game. Although having a ready-made alliance with a loved one is convenient, as we just saw with Aras and Vytas, it also puts a larger target on the couple’s back. By getting rid of her mom, and sticking with her original alliance, Ciera could be trying to get rid of the target of having a loved one in the game as well as showing her dedication to her alliance. But if she votes out Laura, her own mom, could she really be trusted not to turn on her alliance as well? By too aggressively trying to further her own game, Ciera might just dig herself into a hole and right out of the game.

We’ll just have to find out what she does next week on “Survivor.”

— Claire Cinquegrani