Survivor: David vs. Goliath

Host Jeff Probst explained the theme of the season before asking the Goliath tribe to choose who they perceived to be the weakest man & weakest woman on the David tribe, and to choose their own strongest man & strongest woman. They picked Christian & Lyrsa for David and John & Alison for their tribe to run a reward challenge. The Davids got to choose which tribe completed which task in the challenge.

• Reward Challenge: One pair from each tribe will have to cross either a balance beam over water, plank bridge, or two person balance beam, then go through a crawl under, net tunnel, or rope tunnel, then transfer 30 sandbags from one platform to another, complete a slide puzzle, or complete a 15 piece puzzle. Once they are done, they will climb out to get a shelter making kit. The first tribe to get the kit wins it.

David pulled away from Goliath to win the kit. Pat took charge of building the shelter, but his bossy nature rubbed some of his tribemates the wrong way. Nick spent more time making alliances rather than helping at camp, which frustrated Carl. Christian & Gabby bonded, as did Elizabeth & Lyrsa and Carl & Davie. On Goliath, Dan and Kara formed an attraction, while Natalia was put off by Natalie's orders to build the shelter despite not working herself. Everyone (particularly Mike) searched for an idol, which Dan, Kara, and Natalia eventually found. Throughout the first few days, heavy rain pounded both tribes.

• Reward/Immunity Challenge: Castaways will have to sprint through an obstacle to a sand pit, where one person from each tribe will have to dig under a log. After getting through the log, the first person will grab a machete and chop rope to release a set of ladders. The second tribe will have to untie knots instead. They will then pole vault on a platform. Once everyone is across the pole vault, they will then need to solve a number puzzle. The first tribe to finish their puzzle wins immunity and flint.

Goliath held off David's comeback to win immunity. The boat ride back to the David camp encountered rough waters, and Pat sustained a back injury that required the medical team's attention. Medical decided that Pat's injury was too severe for him to continue, and they evacuated him from the game. Jeff then cancelled Tribal Council and gave David flint. The epilogue at the end of Pat's final words revealed that he received treatment after production for this season concluded, and has since made a full recovery.

The cyclone continued through the night, and Jeff provided a firemaking kit and tarp to each tribe. At the David camp, Christian and Nick aligned, and Davie found an idol. Carl, wanting to keep the tribe strong, targeted Lyrsa. Elizabeth warned Lyrsa she was in danger, and she targeted Carl in retaliation. At the Goliath camp, Dan and Kara's connection raised red flags with their tribemates. Jeremy found Dan's idol hidden in his coat and told Mike about it. Still, most of the tribe affirmed their desire to vote out Natalie, but John told her she was a target, in an attempt to align with her. Jeremy then tried to convince Natalie to change her ways, to no avail. In fact, this only made Jeremy want to target Natalie more.

• Reward/Immunity Challenge: One member from each tribe will climb a ladder using two rungs to retrieve a key, which will unlock their boat. They will then paddle out to retrieve bags of puzzle pieces and return to shore where five castaways will need to balance a table and complete a block puzzle. First tribe to finish their puzzle wins immunity and a fishing kit.

Goliath won the grueling challenge. Bi and Jessica told Gabby that Lyrsa would go home, but Gabby was paranoid because of the lack of information Jessica and Bi would give her about the plan. Elizabeth suggested targeting Jessica for her social connections to Carl and Bi. Christian and Nick were the swing votes; at Tribal Council, they voted against Jessica, sending her out of the game.