It's a double episode of "Blood vs. Water" this week. (CBS)

Aras was voted out last week in what was touted as a major blindside. If the beginning of this week’s episode is any indication, it shouldn’t have been as surprising as it was.

We already knew that Tyson and Gervase, two of Aras’s allies, had been planning to take him out for weeks. What we didn’t know was that Aras was playing a very aggressive game without taking note of the consequences. Just about all the remaining Survivors claimed to have some type of agreement or alliance in place. If Aras really had been making conflicting promises to different people, he shouldn’t have been so surprised that it backfired.

READ MORE: 'Survivor: Blood vs. Water' Recap: Episode 7

But as we saw last week, not only was Aras surprised, Vytas, Tina and Katie were caught off guard as well. Aras assured them that he had the votes on his side, and they trusted him. They thought they were sitting pretty. And now that the rug has been ripped out from beneath their feet, they aren’t happy. Tina, poorly masking murderous rage with a smile, promises that the betrayal has guaranteed that neither Tyson nor Monica will ever get her jury vote. Vytas does a better job of pretending not to be angry, but promises vengeance for his brother once he’s alone.

By the next morning, Tina has calmed down and accepted her fate. She knows she’s basically doomed at this point, so she tells her daughter to do whatever she has to do to stay in the game. If Katie has to turn on her mother to keep herself from being voted out, Tina says she understands. It’s a generous thing to say, but let’s not kid ourselves. Katie doesn’t have the cutthroat nature to pull off that kind of move.

Yum. (CBS)

With only Aras at Redemption Island, we skip the Duel and cut straight to the Immunity Challenge. It’s the classic “Survivor” test of one’s mastery over the gag reflex. The “Survivor” eating contest. The Survivors are fed various disgusting foods and the first one to choke it all down wins. The first round is a shot glass full of live mealworms. Monica is the only woman to move on—Ciera and Tina take only a few chews before giving up—while all of the men finish their worms. The next round is pig intestines and just gross enough to keep me from eating sausage ever again. The six remaining Survivors shove the intestines into their mouths and, by virtue of being the ones to wretch the least, Monica and Gervase move on to the final round. Gervase competed in this challenge in his season, but couldn’t choke down a pair of grubs for the win. Jeff and the producers are eager for a comeback story, so the final round is a pair of grubs. Unfortunately, Monica proves herself a champion eater and Gervase goes unredeemed.

Vytas was counting on winning immunity to keep him in the game, so his only remaining option is to scramble and beg. He knows that it’s either him, Tina or Katie to go home this week, so he begs Hayden and Tyson to just spare him this one time and vote Katie off instead. He plays every card he has: He’d be good to keep around in case the women form their own alliance. He’d be willing to guarantee them his jury vote. He just doesn’t want to go out so soon after his brother. All the while he’s promising Tina and Katie that he won’t turn against them. It’s a miracle anyone still believes a word that comes out of his mouth.

At Tribal Council, Vytas must know his plan didn’t work because he spews out all of his anger in a bitter tirade against his tribemates. He opens with “f--- you” and ends with a vicious rant against Monica and her weakness. It’s harsh and unnecessary and so, so bitter. It’s also the first thing out of his mouth all season that’s felt completely genuine. After an outburst like the one he made, he was pretty much guaranteed to go home. It’s no surprise, then, that the vote comes out almost unanimously against him and his torch gets snuffed.

I'm pretty sure this is a dinosaur. (CBS)

This week’s episode is a two-in-one, so the show continues right on after Tribal Council. We see that Monica switched her vote from Katie to Vytas after the things he said to her, which makes Gervase uneasy. She deviated from the plan to split the votes evenly between him and Katie, making her a “loose cannon” in his eyes. We also get a quick glimpse of the Brothers Baskauskas at Redemption Island. Aras is his typically Zen self, assured that he played his best and that it’ll all work out in the end. Vytas, on the other hand, is still very bitter. He openly blames Aras for his elimination and promises to beat him the Duels.

The second Immunity Challenge tests balance and endurance. The Survivors balance a sword atop a shield and slowly stack more and more coins on the sword’s hilt. Whoever goes the longest without dropping their coins wins. Ciera is once again out early, unable to contain her shaking only thirty seconds. Katie is steady as a rock, barely registering any strain on her face throughout the whole challenge. Her mom cheers her on from the background as she outlasts all the other Survivors to win her first (and, to be frank, probably last) individual Immunity Challenge.

Because Katie has the Immunity Necklace, Tina is the only target remaining. She knows she has no choice but to find the Hidden Immunity Idol to save herself. Tyson, who already found the Hidden Immunity Idol, chooses to keep it a secret and lets his alliance panic. If Tina were to play the Idol at Tribal Council, she would be able to send one of their own to Redemption Island.

The guys choose to protect themselves by following Tina around all day to keep her from having a chance to find the Idol, but Monica chooses to panic instead. On the off-chance Tina does have the Idol, she wants to know that she’s not the one going home. She accosts everyone in her alliance and tries to get them to agree on someone else to send home. They all avoid giving her a straight answer because, if they were to choose someone besides Tina to vote out, it would be Monica.

For someone who was never in any real danger, Monica had a rough couple of Tribal Councils this week. (CBS)

The second Tribal Council of the week offers little suspense. We know Tina doesn’t have the Idol, so she’s going home. There’s a lot of talk about whether Monica’s predicament with her current alliance would be enough to spare Tina this week. Monica already betrayed Tina, so there’s no chance she’ll flip back.

Tina was doomed from the beginning and she’s sent to Redemption Island with having sent a single vote against Tyson her only consolation.

What did you think of this week’s episode? Were you surprised by how quickly Aras’s allies fell? Impressed by the strength of Monica’s stomach? Sad to see either Vytas or Tina go?

Reach staff reporter Reid Nakamura here.