Trish Disposal

On Thursday's episode of Survivor: Pearl Islands, a suspenseful strategizing session led to the Drakes' dismissal of 42-year-old sales executive Trish Dunn.

Fearing that he had acquired too much power, Trish masterminded a strategy to topple Rupert, her tribe's strongest player. Her scheme backfired, and the tribe instead decided to hand Trish her walking papers.

"It was a shocker," she said. "And that's what I loved about it, though. I mean, I just love that… It flipped around, and that's the game, and 'way to go' for them. You know?"

The Early Show co-anchor Harry Smith said that Trish had been flying under the radar. So why did she stick her neck out and go after Rupert?

"Well, the bottom line was, we were all starting to feel really uncomfortable with Rupert for at least two or three days," explained Trish, "and I love Rupert. I really like him a lot. His whole strategy, you know, being the man for everybody was great when it was just the Drake tribe."

Trish said her opinion changed after Rupert spent a few days with the Morgan tribe. The way she saw it, he had ingratiated himself with the enemy tribe. Therefore, when the time came to merge, he would be the front-runner for the million-dollar prize.

Explained Trish, "I left two kids all summer long for one thing, and that was a million dollars."

Harry, while pointing out that it's difficult for viewers to judge from a distance, at home, told Trish: "I'm thinking, if I'm going to try to ride…behind somebody's sail, it's going to be on Rupert's sail and certainly not Shawn or Jon. Why wouldn't you go against those guys as opposed going against Rupert?"

Trish's reply: "They didn't have the kind of power that Rupert had."

Tension also mounted when scrawny John clashed with brawny Shawn at the Drake camp. A disagreement between the tribemates regarding the design of their shelter escalated into a heated confrontation.

At the reward challenge, the survivors took turns firing cannons at colored targets. The Drake tribe had better aim and claimed the reward – a surf and turf dinner. Armed with a grill and a buffet of spices, they sunk their teeth into a bounty of steak and lobster.

Rupert had a heartwarming chat with his cold-blooded companion, Balboa the snake. Unfortunately, the ailing serpent passed away and Rupert had to bury him in the jungle.

Meanwhile, a pesky pelican wreaked havoc at the Morgan camp. Ryan O. got chummy with the wayward bird, dubbing him Pelican Pete, the Morgan mascot. But scaredy-cat Osten wanted nothing to do with Ryan's feathered friend. He grabbed a machete when Pete came near and threatened to chop the bird's head off.

A backbreaking immunity challenge led to a standoff between a few castaways, who carried the fates of their tribes on their shoulders. Enduring substantial pain, Andrew stood strong with over 100 lbs. resting on his back, and guided the Morgan tribe to victory.

The defeated Drake team at first leaned toward dismissing Shawn, who performed poorly in the immunity challenge. But when Trish attempted to lead an uprising against Rupert, the tide swelled against her. Rupert was able to mount a successful, last-minute counter-attack, and Trish's torch was extinguished at tribal council.