Oh no, it’s cheerio Amigo In Survivor SA: Island of Secrets ! Nicole sells out her beloved “brother” Nate at a brutal Tribal Council

It’s the end of Survivor SA’s seemingly untouchable Amigos alliance and the beautiful bromance between Rob and Nate – all because of a sneaky blindside orchestrated by puppet-master Geoff as well as tough-as-nails beauty queen Nicole’s shocking decision to betray the man who protected her, by giving her his part of a Hidden Immunity Idol when she was at her most vulnerable. At the end of this week’s ferocious and epic Tribal Council, during which the castaways from Tribe Sa’ula viciously ripped into each other, 25-year old Nathan Castle became the eighth casualty in Survivor SA: Island of Secrets.

Rob doesn’t know about Nicole’s deceit and Nathan’s departure yet. Playing in Tribe Ta’alo since the previous Tribal Shuffle, he still can’t wait to re-unite with his Amigos. The up-until-now solid alliance was formed on the very first day on the island when Sa’ula’s gorgeous and “woke” kids - Rob, Steffi, Nicole and Nathan – naturally gravitated towards each other. Since then Rob has been fiercely loyal to Nate, vowing to take him to the end, even if he had to carry him. Like he did when Sa’ula entered the season’s very first Tribal Council dramatically with an injured Nathan on Rob’s shoulders!

Up to the time host Nico Panagio read the votes cast by the new Sa’ula, Nathan was completely oblivious to the fact that he was not sitting so pretty any more. Even more shocked, was Aquaman Danté and his bestie Meryl. Their jaws dropped when they realised that not only did they witness an epic blindside, but in the process their enemies also managed to flush out Meryl’s Hidden Immunity Idol.

How Geoff ingeniously pulled the strings and pushed the right buttons:

The honeymoon period following the recent Tribal Shuffle didn’t take long to wane at Tribe Sa’ula. Initially, the new Tribe comprised of three pairs – Danté and Meryl, Nathan and Nicole and Geoff and Mmaba – with “Misfit” Durāo dangling in between. But as the hunger pains set, the clash between the physical and social players became prevalent. Danté lashed about Geoff and Mmaba being useless parasites who want to call the shots while someone like Nathan, with his multiple injuries, is still fighting to stay in the game. When Nathan then told Geoff and Mmaba that the pair was gunning for Geoff, they expressed their disgust about the dirty games from the Tribe’s Tarzan and Jane (Danté and Meryl).

Durāo believed everyone wanted him as the swing vote and at the same time Nathan also enjoyed playing the man in the middle. As he told Nicole, both the pairs needed their vote, and it suited him perfectly well as no-one was putting his name forward or seeing him as the one pulling strings. But then Durāo was sent to the Island of Secrets, where he was blessed with a Hidden Immunity Idol to take him into Merge, and Geoff had an epiphany. If he played his cards well, his and Mmaba’s very first Tribal Council could be a blindside of epic proportions. They could make Meryl believe that they’re all gunning for her, getting her to play her Idol. At the same time they could get rid of Nathan, which meant breaking up the Amigos and having a stronger position after Merge.

The only obstacle was Nicole. The way forward was to persuade her that Nathan’s injury was weakening the Tribe and costing them the Immunity Challenge.  She took the bait, sad about the fact that she would be turning against her “brother”, but selfishly thinking about her individual game, hoping that trusting Geoff, Mmaba and Durāo would get her to Merge and back to Rob and Seipei.

Geoff was willing to be the villain at Tribal Council, pulling the wool over everyone’s eyes. And, boy did he do it well! He butchered and provoked Danté and Meryl to such an extent that Danté wanted to “hug him with his fist”.

Little did they know that Merge was just around the corner, as Nathan predicted.  At the end of the episode, viewers saw how host Nico told the Tribes to drop their buffs again.

Why fans will never forget Nathan:

The former law student with his six-pack and tattoos crept into everyone’s heart as the show’s drama queen. As such he was part of many of the season’s most tender and emotional moments. Remember how he shed tears trying to get Rob to vote him out because of the injury to his leg; how he bawled at the Island of Secrets, but still offered Nicole his part of the Immunity Idol to keep her safe; how he protected Seipei from getting voted off; how he secretly created game plans with Rob while they were sitting out at a game; and how he howled when he cut his hand while chopping a coconut. Rob is not the only one who will be missing his presence in the South African version of the greatest game on earth.