Survivor NZ recap: A fiery tribal council exposes a player's power as the end game nears

Walking to the reward challenge.

Previously on Survivor NZ: A shocking tribal council saw Brad sent to the jury with an idol in his pocket, while Dave held onto his immunity idol and is sitting pretty in his secret alliance with school buddy Matt.

Back at camp the biggest blindside of the series has left many people with doubts about where they sit in the game.

Matt puts up his hand as the one who masterminded the move against the original Khangkhaw alliance. Tess isn't happy and might be out for revenge now, she was sure her alliance with Brad and Matt was rock solid.

Tara confirms Tess' worst fears and tells her that the original Khangkhaw alliance is dead, Tess quickly runs off to tell Adam who assures her it isn't.

All the drama means that Tess and Tara's names are coming to the fore this week and the two of them are early contenders for the chopping block at tribal.

Small things can lead to big conflicts in Survivor and those people involved generally make easy targets.

"Ready to rip into it?"

The tribe is split into two teams for the reward challenge that sees them knocking over the opposing teams puzzle who then have to rebuild it.

Lisa vs Tara.

The victor gets to watch Jurassic World complete with movie treats. Is it the new Jurassic World or the older one? We'll find out soon, Adam is a huge fan so is excited either way.

It's Lisa vs Tara for their teams on the puzzle rebuild, judging by the orders that Eve is yelling at Tara it should have been her doing it instead.

Lisa on the other hand is killing it and easily wins the reward for her team meaning dinosaur enthusiast Adam misses out on his treat. He doesn't look impressed with Tara who never stood a chance in that one.

"I'm pissed!" Adam says after missing out on seeing the best movie he has ever seen in his life.

Victory!

Tara was dusting the bench that the puzzle was made on before attempting to build it and it made Adam livid. He goes off to sulk in his hammock and Tara really needs to watch her back now.

"Hey darling"

Adam is going to be even madder when he hears that the Survivors who got to enjoy the movie also had messages from loved ones back home play on the screen.

Cue the tears of happiness from Matt, Dave, Lisa and Tess as their families and partners pop up on screen.

The movie is the first Jurassic World, not the new one in cinemas now. The Survivors don't care though, they're just there for the popcorn and soft drinks.

"Pretty cool for them"

News of the family video messages at reward hits Tara hard back at camp and she breaks down in tears that she didn't get to hear from her kids.

Matt and Dave sneak off for one of their strategy sessions and they plot to get rid of Eve or Renee at the next tribal depending on who wins immunity. Dave wants Renee to go and Matt wants Eve.

The two old mates seem to part with some sort of agreement, but there is still pressure on Matt to get rid of Dave from Renee.

With all the names being thrown around looks like immunity will be more important than ever.

"Still a heap of work left to be done"

Dave concentrates.

Once again individual immunity is back up for grabs and for todays challenge the Survivors have to balance balls on an over sized paddle, attempting to land six balls onto holes in the paddle.

It's a tough challenge and Dave, Eve and Adam race out to an early lead.

Disaster for Dave though, he only needed one more ball to win but then loses them all!

Adam wins his first immunity challenge.

This opens the door for Adam who wins his first individual immunity and he's quite happy about it too.

Renee wants Dave gone and Dave wants Renee gone

Looking like a showdown between Dave and Renee as the scrambling gets underway before tribal.

The big question is will Matt turn on his mate or protect him again? Matt tells Tess he would vote Dave and the plot thickens…

Dave does have a hidden idol to play if he feels threatened, but he would like to keep it for as long as possible.

At tribal council Renee says she feels like she has been trustworthy with everyone in the game. Matt hits back against her saying she hasn't built trust with anyone.

Renee then outs Matt as the mastermind behind the whole game before launching into a heated argument with Dave.

Often at tribal outbursts like this can come back to haunt a player and they end up going home.

This proves to be the case again tonight as Renee is sent packing and becomes the third member of the jury.

The Dave and Matt alliance stays strong for another week, but after Renee's truth bombs at tribal how long will it last?

Watch all episodes of Survivor NZ on TVNZ OnDemand.

List of Survivor's and vote status:

Adam, 28, Self-Employed, Auckland
Arun, 30, Dairy Farmer, Waikato (voted out episode 8)
Brad, 27, School Teacher, Nelson (voted out episode 9)
Dave, 26, Clinical Pharmacist, Auckland
Dylan, 26, Retail Manager, Whangarei (voted out episode 7)
Eve, 26, Hiking Guide, Auckland
Franky, 24, Journalist, Auckland (voted out episode 3)
Josefien, 23, Audio Post Producer, Blenheim (voted out episode 1)
Josh, 28, Chartered Accountant, New Plymouth (voted out episode 6)
JT, 32, Project Manager, Manawatu (left for medical reasons)
Karla, 37, Reporter, Palmerston North (voted out episode 2)
Kaysha, 24, Social Worker, Horowhenua (voted out episode 4)
Liam, 23, Videographer, Tauranga (voted out episode 5)
Lisa, 38, School Librarian, Christchurch
Matt, 25, Rocket Technician, Auckland
Renee, 28, Real Estate Agent, Auckland (voted out episode 10)
Tara, 44, Full-time Mum, Hamilton
Tess, 24, Office Manager, Christchurch

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