Episode #1510 Recap - Days 28, 29, and

Reward Challenge: "Confucius Said" -
Sitting at Tribal Council after Frosti is voted out of the game, Jeff Probst surprises the group by telling them, “Tonight you will not be heading directly back to camp because you are going to be participating in a Reward Challenge right here at Tribal Council.”

The winner of the challenge must choose two more people to travel by private jet to the ancient Shaolin Temple, one of the origins of martial arts. They will enjoy a martial arts demonstration, a hot meal, and an overnight stay. Jeff explains the rules: “I am going to ask you a series of questions based on Chinese culture. Each time you get one right, you score a point. First person to five wins Reward.”

The game of trivia begins with a true or false question that Amanda, Erik, and Courtney answer incorrectly. For the last question, Peih-Gee, James, and Todd are all tied with four points. Peih-Gee outsmarts the rest as she answers the final question correctly and wins the epic Reward. She chooses Erik and Denise to join her.

When Three Are Away the Four Will Play -
Peih-Gee, Erik, and Denise leave camp for their Reward as Todd, Amanda, James, and Courtney relish the idea of being the final four in the game. “When the three left for the Reward, we were all like, ‘This is nice to have just the four of us and it could be this way,’” explains a confident Todd. James, wanting to keep his four-person alliance intact, compares his fruitful position in the game to a biblical tale: “The four of us right now are in the proverbial garden of Eden. The Lord said don’t bite the apple. If Eve would have listened, they would still be frolicking naked in heaven. I just want us to frolic naked as long as we can, so don’t be tempted by Peih-Gee and Erik. Don’t bite the apple!” Despite James’ conviction, Amanda has thoughts of her own: “In all reality, I don’t feel comfortable going to the final three with any of them. This is the time in the game that a change needs to be made. This is my chance to make something else happen the way I want it to happen.”

First Class -
Boarding a private jet, Erik, Denise, and Peih-Gee share a champagne toast and marvel in the opulence that is bestowed upon them. “Here we are sitting in the lap of luxury, like millionaires,” Denise excitedly admits. As the enthusiasm calms, Peih-Gee turns their thoughts back to the game and suggests that she, Erik, and Denise should be the final three. “Peih-Gee and Erik are definitely on the outsides and you don’t want to make enemies. So I am just going to have to wait and see what happens at this point,” explains Denise.

The Shaolin Temple -
Arriving at the ancient temple grounds, Erik, Peih-Gee, and Denise take in the awesome site and are greeted by their hosts. Peih-Gee, especially moved, revels in her heritage and explains its significance: “Being Chinese, it was really great to be able to experience something that up until now has kind of been like a separate foreign world to me. I mean a 1500-year-old Shaolin Temple and the Shaolin Monks that are renowned for their martial arts prowess.”

As the Survivors sit, they are treated to a once in a lifetime martial arts display by their gracious hosts. With each choreographed move bigger and more awe-inspiring than the last, the three Castaways watch, amazed at the talent and power the monks possess.

Soon after the Kung Fu display, Erik, Denise, and Peih-Gee meet the children of the Temple, who give the Survivors their own lesson in martial arts. After revealing that she is a martial arts instructor back home, the Monks ask Denise to display her skills. Denise reluctantly performs for the group and she impresses her audience with her knowledge of the art. “At this point, I could not thank Peih-Gee enough for picking me for this Reward. To take that experience back home to have for the rest of my life, there are no words to be able to describe that,” Denise admits.

Safe in the Cave -
Back at camp, the tribe miserably huddles in the small cave, weathering a torrential storm. Frustrated with the harsh living conditions, Todd comes to a boiling point and vents, “This rain is hell when you are sitting in a muddy hole in a swimsuit you have been wearing for a month, hunched over praying for the clouds to go away. I am done with the rain…done.”

As the rain clears, Erik, Peih-Gee, and Denise return to camp to an icy greeting from the bitter tribe. When Peih-Gee describes the events of the Reward to Todd, James, and Courtney, it causes more strife. “The cave is the best thing I have right now. The cave is my happy place. What I don’t like is when everyone and their damn mother decide they like the cave too. Peih-Gee comes sidling up in there and I'm like, ‘I’m going to kill you.’ And then you want to start talking? No, get out of here! No talking in the cave!” states an angry Courtney.

A Missed Opportunity -
Erik finds James alone, untangling the tribe fishing net, and suggests that James join Peih-Gee and himself in a campaign to oust Todd. James shrugs off the idea and laughs at Erik’s plan. “There is an original group of five and a group of two…Erik is not that smart. Why would I go from the nice happy five to the evil two? I am not going to eat that apple. They can tempt me as much as they want but I’m not having it,” explains James.

The Master Plan -
Courtney and Amanda hike to Tree Mail and find a traditional Chinese weapon, steel stars with sharp points, plunged into a board with a note attached, notifying them of the upcoming Immunity Challenge. Seizing the opportunity to be alone, Amanda hatches a plan to flush out the Hidden Immunity Idols. “I have a really good idea,” she tells Courtney. “We get rid of James tonight. The thing is, to get James out, he can’t expect it and he doesn’t expect it right now.” As Courtney agrees to Amanda’s plan to blindside James, Amanda explains her plot. “I have come up with a plan to get rid of James because he is in control right now because he has the Immunity Idols. So he definitely has to be blindsided tonight.”

Immunity Challenge: "Star Struck" -
The tribe arrives at the Immunity Challenge, where Jeff Probst explains the rules. The Survivors will each throw three stars at a series of targets, each one having a different point value. A one-point target, two-point target, three-point target and a five-point target. The three people with the highest point total at the end will move onto a sudden death round, in which they will have one opportunity to score. The person who scores the highest wins.

The first round begins as Erik, Courtney, James, and Amanda all prove their skill and score six points each, causing a tie that moves the four of them into the final round. Courtney fires first and misses the targets. Amanda takes the lead scoring two points with her toss. Erik takes aim and scores three points, taking the lead from Amanda. James sizes up his target and needs at least three points to tie. He throws his star and bounces it off the target. With that missed attempt, Erik wins Immunity.

Idol Minds -
The tribe returns to camp after the Immunity Challenge, where James feels confident the vote will go as planned. “Erik got the Immunity, so we get rid of Peih-Gee tonight and after that focus on getting rid of Erik. It’s all cake after that.”

Meanwhile, Amanda conspires with Todd and brings him up to speed with her plan of blindsiding James at Tribal Council. “Why don’t we take control and vote him out tonight?” Amanda asks. Todd mulls over her plan and finally agrees, stating, “I guess if there was a time to do it, it would be now.”

Needing a majority vote, Todd and Amanda approach Denise and Courtney to secure their numbers. With the plan in motion to take James out, all they can do is hope he doesn’t use either of his two Hidden Immunity Idols. “If he pulls out the Idol, all of our votes for James go away, so we just have to continue to convince him that we are voting Peih-Gee out,” explains Todd.

Peih-Gee, believing she is the next to go, approaches Amanda and suggests they vote James out of the game, thus getting rid of the Hidden Idols. Amanda listens to Peih-Gee’s plan and responds, “You just need to not do anything and just trust me. Act like you are going home…and just keep it like that.” As the dreaded vote looms, James’ watchful eye surveys the camp. After he gives thumbs up to Todd, confirming the Peih-Gee vote, James states, “I will have the Idols there. They will be in my possession, just in case. If I get a sense that somebody is going to do something they’re not supposed to do, I will play the Idols. I have to.”

Tribal Council -
At Tribal Council, James and Peih-Gee butt heads over their philosophies within the game when James tells Peih-Gee and Erik that they lose in order to win. “That’s not even accurate because, after all, who has been winning Individual Immunity? Oh, Erik, that’s a lovely necklace you have on!” Peih-Gee responds. When the issue of trust is debated, James feels confident that he is capable of trusting his alliance due to the overwhelming numbers advantage he believes to have.

Before the votes are read, Jeff Probst offers the opportunity [for James] to play the Hidden Idols. But in the end, James feels secure and does not opt to play an Idol. As the votes are read, he realizes his game-ending blunder. James becomes the eleventh person voted out of Survivor: China and the fourth member of the Jury that will ultimately decide who wins the title of Sole Survivor and the million dollar check that comes with it.

With both Hidden Immunity Idols in hand, James leaves us his final words. “I have the two Idols and I guess I should have played them. I am kind of disappointed in myself because I could have caught a feeling but I still didn’t do it. You can’t be angry with anybody because it’s a game and they played their best hand and they did what they were supposed to do. I rolled the dice too many times and I just got caught up.”