Plot

The two tribes search in their own camps after receiving clues to hidden immunity idols. In the Villains' camp, Coach thinks everyone is turning against him, while the rest of the tribe becomes frustrated with Russell.

Previously on...: The Heroes started strong, but began to fall apart with James and JT turning a bit villainous. The Villains were thriving, with Rob leading the way, but Russell tried to cause some conflict by hiding the tribe's machete. The Heroes came back to win immunity and Sandra called out Coach for being lazy when the Villains were at Tribal Council. They voted Randy out, unanimously.

"Seventeen are left," Jeff Probst said. "Who will be voted out tonight?"

Back at camp, Coach was bothered by Sandra calling him out. He was upset because he felt he'd done noble things out there and now he seemed ignoble. Coach was talking to Tyson about it and began to cry, wondering why no one ever says anything good about him. Tyson offered to coach Coach through it, saying he would have to tell him things he didn't want to hear, like, "don't wear feathers to Tribal" and "don't tell stories anymore, because people don't believe you and they mock you." Coach was debating quitting the game.

The next morning, Coach went for a walk. The rest of the tribe couldn't believe Coach would quit. Rob gave Coach a pep talk, telling him he's "not on the outside." Coach reminded himself he's different than most people, like the Last of the Mohicans, King Arthur, Legend. He vowed to show an even fiercer warrior.

The Heroes got Tree Mail and learned they were going to do a reward challenge for items from the "Survivor"-style Sears catalog.

Reward challenge: The competitors had to navigate a slippery course to retrieve a ball and shoot it into a basket. Each basket made would score a point. First team to four points wins.

Coach and Tom went head to head first and Coach nailed his shot after a couple of tries to give the Villains a 1-0 lead. Russell then beat Cirie for a 2-0 Villains lead.

Candice hit her shot in one try to beat Courtney and narrow the Villains' lead to 2-1. But Jerri made her shot before Amanda to extend the Villains' lead to 3-1.

James went up for the Heroes and nailed his show in one try to cut the Villains' lead to 3-2. Rupert and Danielle next went against each other and Rupert tied it up, 3-3.

The final match was between Colby for the Heroes and Tyson for the Villains. After a few misses by both, Tyson hit his shot to win reward for the Villains.

Day 9: Coach was back to his old self as the Villains celebrated their win. Russell stumbled onto a clue for a hidden immunity idol, but before he realized it, everyone has seen it. He was upset that he blew it. Rob read the clue out loud for everyone to hear. Rob asked the group what they wanted to do. It was suggested that if they found the idol, they should throw it into the ocean. Sandra said whoever found it would be "marked," meaning they'd have their name written down just to get the idol out of play.

Rob took some guys to build a shelter while Russell tried to plot a way to get to where the clue said the idol was hidden. Russell announced he was going for a walk and Rob asked Sandra to follow him. She spotted Russell down by the beach, where the idol was said to have been, and said to herself, "He's a stupid ass." Russell thought the coast was clear and kept looking for it.

Rob and the rest of the crew decided Russell was out, whether he found the idol or not.

Day 10: Back at Heroes camp, JT was making coffee with the group around him when he found the immunity idol clue in the coffee beans. Everyone was around for the reading of the clue. There was no pact made, so JT and James went to look for it, soon to be followed by just about everyone else. Tom was digging and felt the sand get soft, so he knew he was close. When he found it, he quickly put it in his sock with no one noticing -- or so he thought. Amanda noticed him acting weird and saw him tuck something into his sock before going back behind a tree.

Amanda quickly spread the word. Tom told Colby that he found it and that Amanda saw him stash it into his sock. Nonetheless, Tom hoped it would be a tool to get him and Colby back into the majority in the tribe.

Immunity challenge: A person strapped into a large sphere had to guide his or her blindfolded teammates in rolling the ball to a puzzle. The puzzle, a labyrinth that the tribes had to navigate a ball through to the end, had to be completed by four blindfolded tribe members, each controlling one corner of the maze, under the direction of one teammate who could see.

Jeff noted that the entire season was filled with classic challenges from seasons past, but this one held the distinction of never having been completed. The season it was used, it was stopped short due to a medical emergency.

Rob and Tom took their places calling the shots for their teams, and they were off. Rob got to the puzzle first, but Tom wasn't far behind. They were neck and neck, each having come oh-so-close to the end of the maze, but the Villains struck first and won immunity.

Cirie began plotting immediately, saying it would have to be either Tom or Colby going home.

Back at camp, Tom knew he was a target despite having the idol. Candice devised a plan to vote Tom and Colby to a tie, which could both bring the idol into the open and get rid of one of them.

Tom tried to get in good with the group by even offering the idol to whoever wanted it, while vowing that it would be played by committee. Amanda later said there was a part of her that trusted Tom. The apparent new alliance started talking about voting Candice out. Amanda went to tell Cirie the plan and Cirie thought it was stupid. She said Amanda was "not the sharpest tool in the shed" for having fallen for Tom's plan. Cirie started making her anti-Tom plan and JT was watching from afar. He realized he no longer had any power and that Cirie was calling the shots.

Tom then started trying to talk JT into forcing a three-way tie that would end up with Cirie going home.

JT wasn't sure what he was going to do, and he was the only person who knew how everyone was voting.

Tribal Council: Jeff wasn't clear on the tribe's "wisdom" behind its votes. No one seemed to have a clear answer. Rupert finally admitted that he wanted to keep his word with tribemates, and Jeff told him that was part of the problem with the tribe -- people weren't voting to make the tribe stronger, but to keep their alliances.

James said he was going to vote based on wanting to win. He said he was over the "whole social thing." For his part, JT said he trusted the people he was aligned with, but it still wasn't totally clear to whom he was referring.

The vote: We saw Candice's vote, which was for Tom. Tom's vote was for Cirie. We saw JT start with a "C," which could have been for Cirie or Colby.

Jeff read the votes, but before he did, Tom told Jeff he didn't want to play the immunity idol until later in the game, but he felt he had to play it now. Any votes cast for Tom would not count.

The first three votes were for Tom, the next was for Colby. As was the next. A vote for Cirie came up, followed by another. It was a 2-2 tie between Colby and Cirie with one vote left.

The final ballot had Cirie's name on it, and she was out. Jeff called it the tribe's first blindside.

The votes revealed: Tom, Colby and JT voted for Cirie; Rupert and James voted for Colby; Candice, Amanda and Cirie cast the votes for Tom that did not count.

Cirie's last words: "I couldn't just sit back and play JT's game," Cirie said. "I don't blame them at all. ... My hat's off to them. They got me."