'Survivor' Scoop: The Dragon Slayer

Heading one camp was Coach, who had planned Brendan's ouster in last week's episode but was foiled when Tribal Council was canceled after Joe was sent home due to injury. Meanwhile, Brendan tried to amass his own troops.

To open Thursday's show, the new Forza tribe sat around the fire, while Coach regaled them with tales of a deadly Amazonian adventure.

According to Coach, he was captured by a band of indigenous people, tied up and beaten, after being dropped by a military helicopter into the jungle.

He said he knew there would be trouble when, after feeling like he was being watched, he looked up and saw several people watching him. He told his tribemates: "They were probably four-and-a-half feet tall and they've got their bows and arrows drawn."

He said that after being captured he was being beaten with wooden clubs while tied to a stake. "Sometimes I blacked out, sometimes I just went to a faraway place," he said of the near-death experience.

But, according to Coach, he was able to sneak away and jump into a kayak. He said he paddled until his hands were bloody.

The next morning, tribemates Debra and Brendan expressed their doubts about Coach's story, while he told the tribe another hard-to-believe story. He said that the form of Tai Chi he does is an ancient Tibetan form that is only passed down verbally at a monastery.

Up next, it was time for the reward challenge. The tribe was broke into three teams that had to try to break tiles belonging to the other team. In the end, Brendan, JT and Debra's team won, and they were rewarded with a whitewater rafting trip that culminated in a feast.

Meanwhile, Stephen was sent to Exile. As he left, Coach said to him: "Be the wizard, Stephen. Be the wizard."

It seemed that Stephen was destined to actually "be the wizard," because, after trying for almost two hours, he was able to build his first fire. "It was like giving birth to my first child," Stephen said of his accomplishment. "I was so proud of my fire, I wanted to stay out here and tend that fire for the rest of my life."

Next, it was time for the immunity challenge, where Tyson, Brendan and JT battled it out to the end in an obstacle course. For the second week running, Tyson won immunity.

Back at camp, Coach and Brendan tried to amass a plan to blindside the other, and both were confident that their plan would work.

Brendan told the camera: "I think that this will be one of the biggest blindsides so far in the game, which I guess I'm happy to be a part of the good side."

Coach continued to refer to himself as "the dragon slayer," and told the camera that he planned to "cut the head off the dragon," with the dragon being Brendan.

He went on to say, "When it comes head to head we'll see tonight who really was the chosen one -- it's going to be Coach Wade -- so that's really fulfilling."

For his part, Tyson thought he was orchestrating Brendan's ouster, and was glad that if Brendan went home first, his ally Sierra would be vulnerable. He told the camera about Sierra: "I'd like three days of bossing her around and telling her to shut up."

JT and Stephen mulled over which camp they would go with, and JT realized that he was the swing vote and would determine who would go home next.

Finally, it was time for Tribal Council, where Brendan admitted he had the hidden idol, but neglected to play it.

When Stephen cast his vote officially breaking up his secret alliance with Taj, Sierra and Brendan, he said, "This is my wizard lightning shooting you back home – kapow."

The votes were counted, and it was Brendan whose game was cut off at the knees, leaving Coach and Tyson gloating with glee.

Published 4/16/09 by