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It's time to play It's Anyone But Tom...except Tom has the hidden immunity idol. So, we guess we should say Colby. Somehow, we don't expect it to play out like that, though. Right on cue, Cirie and Candice start discussing Colby and Tom as the obvious targets. Their idea is to split the vote between the two men in such a way that even the idol doesn't protect Tom. Meanwhile, JT and Amanda are discussing their options and they are honing in on...Candice. This is getting good.

JT correctly deduces that if he works with Colby and Tom, he knows they will be above board in their behavior. The same is untrue of Candice and Cirie. This leads to the revelation we have been expecting. After Tom offers to give away the hidden immunity idol if it helps his candidacy, Amanda runs over to the person she swears isn't an ally, Cirie, and reveals the ongoing machinations. Now, it's a slam dunk that Cirie has to go home. To wit, she brings in several other players to try undercut JT's idea. Cleverly, JT watches from out of sight as Cirie's argument leads Rupert to exclaim, "Cirie is right." JT goes to Tom and recounts the events that have led him to lose control of his own alliance. At this point, Tom does the math and realizes that if he springs the hidden immunity idol, they can take out Cirie. This is the move that needs to happen, because she's such a master manipulator. If they don't act now, she'll be making her case at the final Tribal Council. It's that simple.

Tribal Council features a fascinating discussion about voting patterns. Probst queries Rupert on what strategy he has used to determine his vote tonight. After Rupert offers a pregnant pause in the middle of his reply, Probst busts him on this, stating that Rupert is voting based on his alliance rather than what he thinks will help the tribe. Rupert openly acknowledges this. Meanwhile, James rather naively states that he wants to get this vote done so that they can move past "the whole social thing". Yes, James, we're certain that all the social stuff will end now that we're down to the last...16 players. Strategy is out the window at such a late stage of the game.

At this point, Tom and Colby once again grow combative toward James, which continues to frustrate us. This is an instance where the people are too similar to work together, so they instead butt heads. This is working against Tom and Colby, who need all of the allies they can get, particularly ones who can out-work them in camp and during challenges. There aren't many of those people in the history of the game yet they keep antagonizing one of them. It's odd.

The vote plays out exactly like Tom had predicted. JT casts a vote against Cirie, as do Tom and Colby. Amanda, Candice and Cirie all vote against Tom (remember that Cirie swears she has no alliance with Amanda and yet...) while Rupert and James vote against Colby. With Colby only garnering two votes instead of the expected three, only Tom and Cirie wind up with three. When Tom plays the hidden immunity idol, the blind side is complete with Cirie eliminated from competition. This is either a masterful play by JT or suicidal, depending on what happens next. His body language as the vote is revealed is one of a traitor. He knows there may be serious repercussions from this but watching Cirie bend James and Rupert to her will made up his mind for him. She's simply too dangerous to allow to move forward in the game. The fallout from this should be interesting to watch. There are now five men remaining on the tribe who are all generally straightforward in their gameplay. With Cirie gone, will the machinations continue or will James get his wish for a while?

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