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Survivor season 35: Why was Patrick Bolton voted out in 16th place?

By Daniel George

"My Kisses Are Very Private" - Lauren Rimmer, Patrick Bolton and Devon Pinto on the third episode of SURVIVOR 35, themed Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers, airing Wednesday, October 11 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Photo: Robert Voets/CBS ©2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved
"My Kisses Are Very Private" - Lauren Rimmer, Patrick Bolton and Devon Pinto on the third episode of SURVIVOR 35, themed Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers, airing Wednesday, October 11 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network. Photo: Robert Voets/CBS ©2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved /
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In a shocking twist of fate, Patrick Bolton was voted out in Survivor season 35 episode 3. Here’s why it’s shocking in the show, but not in practicality.

Last night, I was completely flabbergasted. For the first time in a few season, I had been shocked about who was going home in a pre-merge situation. Patrick Bolton, for all his overbearing, always-on mentality, is not the kind of player that goes home in Survivor season 35 this early. Tribes usually value strength or versatility in order to maintain numbers ahead of the merge. Yet, the tribe voted him out unanimously 4-1 in Tribal Council, setting up an interesting swap in Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers.

Why, exactly, did Patrick Bolton get voted out in Survivor? Once you re-watch the episode, the hints are scattered throughout point to an inevitable conclusion that shows the importance of watching a season live as it happens.

The setup came in the previous episode, where Lauren was voicing her concerns about just how annoying and unpredictable Patrick was as a tribemate. However, she held her ego in check in voting out Simone, who knew to voice those same concerns. The seeds of doubt had been planted, with Lauren continuing to nurture them.

Before the credits open, Lauren’s talking about Patrick, noting his comments about trusting “most of the tribe” weren’t great. Ali agrees (while sitting in the middle), but of note is Devon Pinto saying “I didn’t like what he said; that made me nervous.” That comes seconds before Patrick is angry at his tribe for confusing a rock with an octopus, calling them “stupid.”

Ali remarks in a confessional that he has no social game, but needs him at that time. However, as the rest of Survivor season 35 episode 3 rolls on, it becomes quite clear that she doesn’t need to protect him at all. She tries to tell him to cool it, but Patrick reveals that it hurts because it cuts into his personality.

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It all comes tumbling down once the Immunity Challenge comes into play. After rewatching this competition, the editors did a great job at selling just how selfish Patrick was at the throwing sandbags part of the competition. After Ben and Cole start throwing for the Heroes and Healers, respectively, Ben subs out for JP smoothly. Cole gets asked to switch with Joe by Jessica, and he obliges immediately (even with a few blocks left to go).

What does Patrick do when Lauren directly asks to switch in? He looks back, stops, and then proceeds to tire out his arm. He does proceed to hit the next few shots, including the second-last block, but hits low so many times after that Ryan, Devon and Ali are joining Lauren in telling him to swap.

This gives Lauren all the ammunition in the world to gather the tribe and convince them to vote him out. Even Devon, who’s been shown as Ryan’s soldier so far, even insists that Patrick needs to go before Lauren does. It was a key moment for him in this game, as we know the end result in Survivor season 35 episode 3.

As Tribal Council moves along, you start to see the conversation shift towards a possible merge, with the tribe wondering how they can sneak their way into new tribes going forward with Patrick or Lauren and establish relationships. Ali made the most telling comment of the night, saying it’s Patrick’s opinion he can make friends quickly before noting he hasn’t with Lauren.

Next: Survivor season 35, episode 3 recap: You guys are awful

It was there that his fate was sealed. The Hustlers tribe came to an agreement that they could trust Lauren more than they could trust Patrick going forward, hence the unanimous vote to send him home in 16th place. Even though Ali and Patrick knew each other from Auburn University, there are some harsh moves you need to make on the path to a million dollars.

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