Survivor: South Pacific
Encyclopedia
Survivor: South Pacific is the twenty-third season of the American CBS
competitive reality television
series Survivor
, which premiered on Wednesday, September 14, 2011. The season was filmed in the vicinity of Upolu
, Samoa
, which is the same filming location as season 19
and season 20, and it will also serve as the location for Season 24. Redemption Island, first introduced in the prior season
, returned for this season.
and Benjamin "Coach" Wade. Ozzy and Coach drew eggs containing either red and blue paint to see which tribe they would join. Ozzy joined Savaii and Coach joined Upolu. Coach and Ozzy immediately faced-off in a Tower of Hanoi
reward challenge for their respective tribes, where Ozzy emerged victorious. After Coach was defeated by Ozzy in a head-to-head battle, Edna became Coach's only ally. However, Coach quickly forged bonds within his tribe, eventually forming an alliance consisting of him, Albert, Brandon, Sophie, and Rick. Christine openly searched for the hidden immunity idol but came up short and instead made herself a target.
The first six immunity challenges were split equally between the two tribes. In the first immunity challenge, Savaii lost due to Semhar's incapabilities and the tribe was sent to Tribal Council, where Semhar was the first sent to Redemption Island. Edna joined the Upolu alliance as the sixth member. Ozzy, Jim, Keith, Whitney, and Elyse formed an alliance at Savaii, leaving Mark, Dawn, and Cochran on the outside. Ozzy found the hidden Immunity Idol. He told only Keith that he had found it, and Keith secretly told Whitney. Christine was voted out of Upolu after Brandon's attempt to blindside Mikayla failed. Christine defeated Semhar in the first duel. Mark "Papa Bear" Caruso was voted out next, as he was seen as the weakest of the three alliance outcasts. He would go on to be defeated by Christine in the second duel. In the fourth tribal council, Stacey was voted off by the six-person Upolu alliance and Mikayla. She lost to Christine in the third duel. In the fifth immunity challenge, Upolu narrowly won. Elyse was voted off by the makeshift alliance of Jim, Cochran, and Dawn with Whitney and Keith casting their votes for Dawn to assist the alliance of three to blindside Elyse while keeping their own hands clean. Savaii won the sixth immunity challenge. Upolu was split over voting out Mikayla or Edna. Brandon and Coach supported voting out Mikayla, and Albert and Sophie supported voting out Edna; Rick ultimately cast his vote against Mikayla, taking her out 4-3. In the seventh immunity challenge, Savaii lost. The tribe assumed, based on knowledge of the past season, that the winner of the next duel would rejoin the game and the tribes would merge. In order to maintain numbers, Ozzy volunteered himself to go to Redemption Island, so that he could beat Christine and help Savaii go into the merge 6-6. The following day, Ozzy wins the duel, rejoins the game, the tribes merge and name themselves Te Tuna. At the first post merge tribal council, the castaways vote along former tribal alignment resulting in a tie; 6 votes for Keith and 6 for Rick. Cochran defected on the re-vote, however, causing Keith to be sent to Redemption Island by a 6-4 vote. The next two tribal councils resulted in Ozzy and then Jim getting voted out. Ozzy defeated both at the Redemption competition and they became the first jury members. In the following tribal council, Dawn was voted off. Immediately after voting out Dawn, there was a trivia-based immunity challenge and another round of voting; Whitney lost to Sophie in the challenge and was voted out leaving Cochran as the only Savaii member standing. Once again Ozzy defeated both contestants and they joined the jury. In spite of his concerted efforts to convince Upolu that they were indebted to him, Cochran was voted off at the next tribal council.
from Cook Islands
and Micronesia
, and Benjamin "Coach" Wade
from Tocantins and Heroes vs. Villains. One of the 16 new players is Brandon Hantz, the nephew of the notorious Survivor villain Russell Hantz.
Keith was voted out in a 6–4 tie-breaker vote between himself and Rick. In the initial vote, Keith and Rick received six votes each.
Ozzy received five total votes before he was first sent to Redemption Island. He received nine total votes before he was sent to Redemption Island for the second time.
In the case of multiple tribes or castaways who win reward or immunity, they are listed in order of finish, or alphabetically where it was a team effort; where one castaway won and invited others, the invitees are in brackets.
Combined Reward and Immunity Challenge.
There was no Reward Challenge due to the tribal merge.
Albert chose to give his reward to Cochran and not take it himself.
The sixteen new castaways rowed rafts ashore to the Redemption Island Arena to await the arrival of two mystery players by helicopter. Coach and Ozzy disembarked. To determine which tribes the two returnees would join, Jeff gave them each an egg with either blue or red paint inside. The two crushed their eggs, with Ozzy crushing it on his chest, to reveal that Coach joined Upolu and Ozzy joined Savaii. Coach's welcome to his tribe was cold, while Ozzy's was warm. John requested that Jeff call him by his last name, Cochran, in the vein of past castaways that Jeff really liked. Jeff explained that Redemption Island was in play and that a Reward Challenge would begin immediately between Coach and Ozzy representing their tribes. They both struggled with the Tower of Hanoi puzzle, requesting help from their tribes. Savaii's assistance was pivotal and Ozzy took the win. When Upolu arrived at their campsite, Coach tried to charm his tribe and overcome his cold greeting, while Christine went off to look for the Hidden Immunity Idol. Brandon struggled with a dangerous secret. He is Russell Hantz's nephew and has "Hantz" tattooed on his back and arm. Coach formed an alliance with Albert, Brandon, Rick, and Sophie. Over at Savaii, Mark asked to be called Papa Bear. On day 2, Dawn had a minor emotional breakdown, which concerned Papa Bear and Ozzy. The first Immunity Challenge was won by Upolu in a close match. In addition to Tribal Immunity, Upolu received flint and was told that a clue to the Hidden Immunity Idol was hidden at their campsite. When Savaii returned to camp, Semhar and Jim had an argument about Semhar's effort and Jim's criticism at the Immunity Challenge. Most of the tribe wanted to vote out Semhar due to her failure at the coconut throwing stage of the challenge, for which she had volunteered. Ozzy suggested that the tribe consider voting out Cochran for being physically inept. Jim was suspicious about Ozzy's reasons for keeping Semhar in the game. Ozzy told Semhar that she needed to lobby the others in voting out Cochran. Jim told Cochran about Ozzy's suggestion and Cochran became paranoid that he would be voted out. At Tribal Council, the tribe debated if Semhar or Cochran was to remain in the tribe. When the vote came, the tribe decided against Semhar and she became the first resident of Redemption Island by a vote of 8–1.
On Redemption Island, Semhar recited poetry to comfort herself over feeling abandoned by her tribe. At Upolu, even though Coach already had an alliance, he formed a "needs to know" alliance with Edna. With lying in keeping his relation to Russell Hantz eating at him, Brandon revealed his secret to Coach and asked him to keep it to himself. Brandon gave his word that he would stick with Coach and their alliance. Christine found the clue to the Hidden Immunity Idol. Brandon continued to project sinister and sordid motivations to Mikayla's simple camp activities and so felt uncomfortable around her, saying she reminded him of Parvati Shallow
and that he planned to vote her out as soon as possible. At Savaii, Ozzy used his past Survivor experience, looked for things out of place and discovered the Hidden Immunity Idol. Jim put forth a "3 plus 2" alliance plan of himself, Keith, and Ozzy as a core alliance with Elyse and Whitney as the "plus 2". At the combined Reward/Immunity Challenge, the men of Upolu blew a huge lead going into the crate stage of the challenge to let Savaii win the challenge. Back at camp, Coach was concerned about Christine having a Hidden Immunity Idol and suggested to his alliance that they flush the Idol by splitting their vote between Christine and Stacey with three votes for each. Brandon lobbied everybody to vote out Mikayla. Coach wanted his alliance to stick to his plan as he thought Mikayla was an asset at challenges and did not deserve to be voted out. Brandon lied to Coach and told him that Christine and Stacey would vote for Mikayla. At Tribal Council, Coach confronted Christine and Stacey about their votes. Christine and Stacey denied they had ever said they would vote for Mikayla. When they asked who Coach had heard that from, Coach refused to say until Brandon confessed to telling the two women to vote against Mikayla. When the vote came, the alliance of six followed Coach's plan and split their vote. Mikayla also voted against Christine and she was sent to Redemption Island by a vote of 4–3–1–1.
Day 6's tree mail announced the first Redemption Island Duel. The tribes were instructed to send two members to witness the duel; Upolu sent Coach and Stacey while Savaii sent Ozzy and Elyse. Before the duel started, Semhar recited more poetry to calm herself, but it did not help and she lost to Christine. On day 7 at Upolu, Brandon felt guilty about lying to his tribe during his push to vote out Mikayla. He finally told them the truth about his family, displayed his tattoos and apologized for continuing to lie to them. In private, Brandon and Mikayla discussed why he wanted to vote her out. After Brandon felt threatened by her demeanor, he gathered the rest of the tribe and told them all that he was very upset at Mikayla's approach, that she did not appear to have much of an alliance, and to keep him out of all tribal drama. Coach was concerned that Brandon's outburst would cause friction within the tribe and his alliance. At Savaii, Ozzy decided that he had to trust somebody with the knowledge of his Hidden Immunity Idol discovery and he decided upon telling Keith. Keith then told Whitney in order to gain her trust. The combined Reward/Immunity Challenge was won by Upolu when Coach did a phenomenal job with the grappling hook. Back at Savaii, Cochran and Papa Bear shared their fear that one of them would be going to Redemption Island after Tribal Council and that the other would go at the next Tribal Council. The rest of the tribe decided on voting out Papa Bear, but would tell him that they would be voting for Cochran. Ozzy told Cochran about the plan. When Jim and Ozzy told Papa Bear that Cochran was going home, Papa Bear knew they were lying and he went to search for the Hidden Immunity Idol as his last ditch play. Elyse and Jim followed him into the woods to watch him look for the idol. Not finding the idol, Papa Bear decided to create a fake one in order to bluff the tribe into thinking he had one. Papa Bear told Jim that he found the idol. Cochran saw through his bluff, but was still concerned that the tribe would shift the vote to him. At Tribal Council, the tribe voted to call Papa Bear's bluff and he was sent to Redemption Island by a vote of 6–1–1.
Jim was concerned that Ozzy and Elyse had a tighter bond than people realized and that he could not vote out Ozzy, so he confided with Cochran about a plan to vote out Elyse next. Cochran agreed as that would leave him in the game for at least another three days. At Upolu, Brandon was still feeling tormented by his actions and decided to be a better more honest player. He apologized to Mikayla for his recent outburst in front of the tribe. He then told Edna that she was not part of the core alliance of Albert, Brandon, Coach, Sophie, and Rick, but just a sixth subordinate member. Cochran, Jim, Brandon, and Edna went to observe the Redemption Island Duel. Before the duel started, Brandon apologized to Christine for how the Tribal Council went against her. Christine edged out Papa Bear to win her second duel in a row. Brandon's revelation about her status made Edna more cautious and she decided that she had to emphasize the social aspect of her game by being cordial and polite since she was not a strong physical compettitor. However, her constant talking and laugh annoyed Mikayla and Stacey. At Savaii, Cochran approached Dawn about voting out Elyse next. At the combined Reward/Immunity Challenge, Savaii chose Dawn, Jim, and Keith to be the weight bearers while Upolu chose Albert, Brandon, and Stacey. Keith dropped out first after 26 minutes and 180 pounds (81.6 kg). Albert was out next at the same weight. Jim and Brandon surpassed the Survivor record of 220 pounds (99.8 kg) held by Rupert Boneham
in Survivor: Pearl Islands
and James "J.T." Thomas, Jr. and Brendan Synnott in Survivor: Tocantins by going to 240 pounds (108.9 kg), but both dropped the pole shortly after the last 20 pounds (9.1 kg) were added. Just like Survivor: Tocantins, it came down to the two women: Dawn and Stacey. The weight was at 140 pounds (63.5 kg) when Stacey dropped her pole to give Savaii the win. Even though Stacey thought she had proved herself as a strong player by her performance in the challenge, she was still concerned that she would be voted out next. Stacey asked Coach where she stood in the tribe and Coach told her that it would be her or somebody else to be voted out next. Stacey tried to stir things up by telling Brandon that he needed to watch out for Albert, Mikayla, and Sophie. Brandon told Coach the news, but Coach cut him off and told him to not believe someone who was the next to be voted out and was not a member of their alliance. Sophie and Coach were concerned about Brandon's actions and that, in order to protect the alliance, he might have to be kicked out some time in the future and that Mikayla would have to be brought in in his place. At Tribal Council, Brandon broke down emotionally for feeling that he had something to prove by being Russell Hantz's relative and that he had to reclaim the family name in a positive manner. The tribe discussed trust and loyalty within the tribe. When the vote came, Stacey's worries about being voted out came true and she was sent to Redemption Island by a vote of 7–1. As Stacey was leaving the Tribal Council area, Coach prompted the tribe to "give her a hug", but Stacey rejected them as she felt that everything the tribe said about trust and loyalty was a lie.
When Stacey arrived at Redemption Island, she vowed to tell Savaii at the Redemption Island Duel that Coach was in control of Upolu. At Upolu, Brandon felt offended by Mikayla's answer during the previous Tribal Council that she disliked him because he was a Hantz. Albert, Mikayla, Dawn, and Whitney went to witness the Redemption Island Duel. Christine and Stacey told Dawn and Whitney that Coach, whom they declined to call Coach, but instead used Benjamin, was in complete control, Albert was Coach's right-hand man, and the entire tribe were liars. Christine won her third duel in a row. When Albert and Mikayla returned to camp, they told the tribe about Stacey's venting, which upset Coach as he felt it would put a target on his back. Albert found the clue to the Hidden Immunity Idol, but when he couldn't find the Idol itself, he told Coach and Sophie about the clue to enhance their trust in him. Coach found the Hidden Immunity Idol and told his new sub-alliance of three. The combined Reward/Immunity Challenge was won by Upolu by a slim 2 ounces (56.7 g), continuing the trend of alternating tribal wins. Back at the Savaii camp, Ozzy wanted to vote out Cochran while Jim, Cochran, and Dawn wanted to blindside Elyse to break up her close alliance with Ozzy. In an effort to get the majority fourth vote, Jim approached Keith about voting out Elyse. Keith talked to Whitney about how to vote out Elyse without breaking their alliance with Ozzy. Whitney thought about letting Jim, Cochran, and Dawn vote for Elyse, but she and Keith would vote for anybody but Cochran. At Tribal Council, Keith and Whitney threw their votes against Dawn, allowing the alliance of three to blindside Elyse by a vote of 3–2–2.
When Savaii returned to their camp, Ozzy felt betrayed by the tribe and declared himself a "free agent" in terms of no alliances with the tribe. Feeling that he wanted to put everything out in the open, he declared that he had the Hidden Immunity Idol. The rest of the tribe felt that Ozzy was being childish about the blindside. Over at Upolu, Brandon found the clue to the Hidden Immunity Idol and shared it with Coach and Albert. Brandon went on the hunt without knowing that Coach already had the idol. Coach and Albert agreed that telling Brandon that they already had the idol would cause him to fly off the handle. Sophie, Rick, Ozzy, and Keith witnessed Christine continue her domination at the Redemption Island Duel with her fourth win in a row. Over at Upolu, Edna continued cozying up with Coach in order to strengthen her outsider status with the alliance of five. On day 15, Ozzy realized that his temper tantrum after Tribal Council was a mistake and tried to patch things up with the tribe. At the combined Reward and Immunity Challenge, Savaii struggled during the first half of the challenge; falling way behind Upolu. When Mikayla missed several shots with the slingshot, Coach tried to get her to sit out, but she declined. Savaii let Jim and Keith handle most of their shots with the slingshot. Their sharpshooting allowed Savaii to overcome the deficit and take the win. Coach blamed the loss on Mikayla and wanted to vote her out, despite the fact that he also did not hit any shots in the challenge. Albert told Mikayla that he would be able to convince the alliance of five to vote out Edna. Sophie agreed with Albert to vote out Edna. Brandon said that he would keep his word that he would not vote out Edna as she was part of the alliance. Albert and Sophie tried to convince Coach that Edna was weakest at challenges and they needed Mikayla to have the chance to win future challenges. However, Coach was sure that Edna was loyal to him and would do whatever Coach told her to do, while Mikayla would not, and that was more important going to the merge. With the alliance split, Rick became the swing vote and both Coach and Albert lobbied for his vote. At Tribal Council, Rick decided to vote against Mikayla and she was sent to Redemption Island by a vote of 4–3.
When Upolu returned to camp from Tribal Council, most of the tribe expressed concern that Brandon's recurring blowups at Tribal Council could potentially jeopardize their future in the game. Edna, however, secretly hoped that Brandon's behavior would continue, as it might take the target off her. Sophie, Albert, Ozzy, and Cochran witnessed the duel between Christine and Mikayla. Despite the support that Mikayla received from Albert and Sophie, Christine won her fifth Redemption Island Duel in a row in a closely fought match. With Christine's continued domination at the duels and the possibility that Savaii might lose the next challenge, Ozzy began to consider volunteering to be sent to Redemption Island so that he could defeat Christine ahead of a tribal merge. A win by him would mean that the tribes would go into the merge in equal numbers. He approached Cochran about his plan and also offered to give his Hidden Immunity Idol to someone to hold for him while he was at Redemption Island. At Upolu, Coach tried to inspire his tribe by having them all "find" the Hidden Immunity Idol. Coach, Albert, and Sophie staged a hunt for the idol for the others. While passing the tree mail stand, Coach and Sophie found a package announcing the upcoming challenge, so they took the opportunity to announce they had "two pieces of great news": the upcoming challenge and the "finding" of the Hidden Immunity Idol. At the combined Reward/Immunity Challenge, Upolu had Coach and Rick as callers, while Savaii used Jim and Cochran. During the third swapping of pairs to retrieve the final bag of masks, Cochran struggled to get Ozzy and Whitney properly hooked into the rope. Savaii fell behind and never recovered, letting Upolu take the win. Ozzy was extremely upset at Cochran's mistake, which made Cochran concerned that Ozzy would renege on his plan to volunteer to go to Redemption Island. When Savaii got back to camp, they blamed the loss on Cochran and told him that he could redeem himself at Redemption Island. However, by the next morning, the anger at Cochran had subsided. Ozzy retrieved the Hidden Immunity Idol, presented it to the tribe, and put forth his volunteer plan. Jim and Keith were concerned about Ozzy volunteering to be voted out since, if the merge did not happen the next day, the tribe would be weaker with Cochran competing in the next challenge rather than Ozzy. At Tribal Council, Ozzy offered his plan to volunteer with the twist that he would tell Christine that Cochran had found the Hidden Immunity Idol and used it to blindside Ozzy. Before the votes were read, Ozzy handed the idol to Cochran and made him promise to give it back to him if he returns. When the votes were read, Ozzy's plan was set in motion by a 5-1 vote to send him to Redemption Island.
When Ozzy arrived at Redemption Island, he spun his planned tale about being blindsided by Cochran to Christine. Both tribes arrived to witness the Redemption Island Duel and Upolu was stunned to see Ozzy in the duel. When asked by Jeff if he was surprised to be here, Ozzy laid it on thick with the resentment towards Cochran on being voted out, but Albert and Coach were suspect about the act. After Jeff announced the rules of the duel, he announced that the winner would return to the game. Ozzy crushed Christine at the duel when he retrieved all his keys and walked thru the doorway without Christine retrieving a single key. Jeff told Ozzy that he was back in the game and that the tribes had merged. After the traditional merge feast, Cochran tried to play being an outsider to Coach, but Coach saw right through Savaii's intentions and laid out exactly what they had planned. Coach told Cochran that he had a choice of leaving the Tribal Council vote up to chance after a split vote or truly leaving his former tribe and voting with Upolu. Cochran decided to leave his old tribe and he told Upolu all about Savaii's plans and tribal politics. Cochran considered himself a mastermind, but not an evil mastermind so he returned the Hidden Immunity Idol to Ozzy. Cochran and Dawn talked about being an outsider within their own tribe and she considered flipping tribes with Cochran. At the Individual Immunity Challenge, after other players were eliminated, Dawn beat out Sophie while Ozzy beat out Albert. When the tribe returned to camp, the former Savaii gathered to congratulate themselves on their pre-merge plan working and to vote for Rick. They thought Upolu would vote against Whitney, so Ozzy would hand the Hidden Immunity Idol to Whitney at Tribal Council. Little did they know that Cochran immediately told Sophie about the Savaii's plan. Dawn asked Cochran what he was going to do and he told her that he was thinking of flipping tribes. While she had earlier considered joining Cochran, she now wanted to stay loyal to the tribe and warned him to not flip. At Tribal Council, Upolu declared that they saw through Savaii's charade at the Redemption Island Duel. Ozzy told them to call their bluff. Before the votes were read, Ozzy played the Hidden Immunity Idol for Whitney. But Savaii had guessed wrong as Upolu did not cast a single vote for Whitney; the vote split along tribal lines with six votes apiece against Keith and Rick. Jeff called for a revote with the castaways only being able to vote for Keith or Rick. On the second vote, Cochran flipped to the other side, cast his vote against Keith and Keith was sent to Redemption Island by a vote of 6–4. After the vote, Cochran turned around and told Ozzy and Jim that he had flipped and that he would explain his vote later. Jim called him a coward, and Brandon immediately came to his defense and told him to stick close to him as they left Tribal Council.
When Te Tuna returned to camp, Ozzy, Jim, and Whitney ripped into Cochran over his betrayal. Cochran retreated to his new Upolu alliance. Coach asked Cochran who he would like voted out next and he responded, "Ozzy" because he was a threat at challenges or Jim on a personal level. At the Immunity Challenge, Dawn, Whitney, Jim, and Sophie made it to the second round. In the second round, Jim beat out Sophie after Sophie gagged on the mouthful of coconut water that would have won the challenge. Back at camp, Jim came up with a plan to stir up Tribal Council by giving the Immunity Necklace to Ozzy and then making a rousing speech to get two of the Upolu tribe to vote against Cochran. When Tribal Council came, Jim and Ozzy made several rousing speeches, but Jim did not hand over the Immunity Necklace because Upolu threatened him before Tribal Council that if he gave his Immunity Necklace to Ozzy, he would be voted out. This sealed Ozzy's fate and he was sent to Redemption Island by a vote of 9–2 with Dawn and Whitney voting with the Upolu alliance.
After Jeff announced the rules for the Immunity Challenge, Jeff offered the castaways to opt out of the challenge by choosing pastries and iced coffee. The former Upolu tribe, and Cochran, opted out of the challenge in order to feast, leaving the immunity to be decided between Dawn, Jim, and Whitney. Whitney beat out Dawn to win Individual Immunity. Knowing that he was most likely going to be voted out next, Jim approached Albert and Sophie about joining the Savaii block in blindsiding Edna, but Albert and Sophie weren't budging. Albert came up with an alternative plan to vote out Dawn as he saw her as a bigger threat than Jim because Dawn was slowly ingratiating herself into the Upolu alliance. He discussed the plan with his alliance, but the reception was lukewarm. At Tribal Council, the Upolu alliance stuck with their original plan and Jim was sent to Redemption Island by a vote of 7–3.
On day 25, Cochran tried to cozy up to Coach by joining him in a session of ta'i chi on the beach. Coach told Cochran that he would do everything he could to keep Cochran in the game longer than seventh place and that he was concerned that Albert might be plotting something. At the Redemption Island Duel, after Jeff announced the rules of the duel, he told the tribe that the losers would be the first and second members of the jury. Jim flinched first and he became the first member of the jury. Keith dropped out next to become the second jury member. On Redemption Island, Ozzy thought the situation of no stress and abundant food allowed him to recharge and be a bigger physical threat towards the end game. Over at Te Tuna, Cochran thought about trying to regain some of the trust he lost from Dawn and Whitney by helping them last further in the game. At the Immunity Challenge, Sophie beat out Dawn and Brandon while the rest struggled. After Jeff awarded the Immunity Necklace, he said that there would be a twist at Tribal Council. Back at camp, Dawn and Whitney talked to Albert and Cochran about blindsiding one of the Upolu alliance. Albert considered blindsiding Edna which would curry favor from the former Savaii jury members. Albert told Cochran that he would be voted out seventh and his plan to blindside Edna. Albert also told Sophie about his plan as she would be the swing vote. Coach was suspicious about Albert's moves and decided that he needed to lay down the law by stating that anybody who voted outside the Upolu bloc would be dead. At Tribal Council, the Upolu alliance fell into line and voted for Dawn, sending her to Redemption Island by a vote of 7–2.
After Dawn left, Jeff announced that the twist would be an immediate Immunity Challenge followed by a second round of voting. The Upolu alliance avoided having to turn on one of their own when Sophie prevailed over Whitney in the final question. The Upolu bloc continued voting against former Savaii members and sent Whitney to Redemption Island by a vote of 7–1.
Fearing that the original Upolu tribe would turn on him now that the Savaii tribe was gone, Cochran made a plea to the core Upolu alliance of Albert, Brandon, Coach, Rick, and Sophie to keep him in the game for at least one more Tribal Council as he felt that they owed him for flipping over to their side and that it was his birthday in three days. After Cochran walked away, Albert and Coach felt that they did indeed owe him, but Sophie felt that she didn't owe him anything as she felt indebted to Edna as much as she was to Cochran. At the Redemption Island Duel, Ozzy beat out Dawn and Whitney, who became the third and fourth members of the jury. On day 29, the tribe got a little frustrated at Albert for not working around the camp. Edna asked Coach for advice on how to make it further than sixth place ahead of Cochran, but Coach was torn between staying loyal to the alliance of five or keeping Cochran and Edna in game as he knew they would never vote against him. At the Reward/Immunity Challenge, Albert, Rick, and Sophie moved on to the final round. In the final round, Albert beat out Rick. After the challenge was over, Jeff told Albert that he could choose somebody to join him in the reward and he picked Coach. Albert then asked if he could choose another, but when Jeff told him that he could not, Albert asked if he could give up his reward. Jeff allowed that and Albert gave up his reward to Cochran as a birthday gift, which turned out to be a lie from Cochran. During the massage, Coach told Cochran that he would fight to keep Cochran in the game. After the spa was over, Cochran tried to get Albert to vote out Rick and Albert agreed if Coach and Edna would join them. Cochran then told Edna about Albert's agreement and she agreed to the plan. When Cochran told Coach about the plan, Coach was unsure of staying loyal to his original alliance or creating a new one. At Tribal Council, Cochran again pushed his feeling that the Upolu alliance owed him a debt. Edna voiced her sadness in being a junior member of the Upolu alliance. When Brandon declared that he would vote out Cochran and Edna next, Brandon's lack of strategic play was discussed. When the vote came, Albert and Coach decided to stick with their original alliance and voted against Cochran, sending him to Redemption Island by a vote of 5–2.
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
competitive reality television
Reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that presents purportedly unscripted dramatic or humorous situations, documents actual events, and usually features ordinary people instead of professional actors, sometimes in a contest or other situation where a prize is awarded...
series Survivor
Survivor (U.S. TV series)
Survivor is an American version of the Survivor reality television game show, itself derived from the Swedish television series Expedition Robinson originally created in 1997 by Charlie Parsons. The series premiered on May 31, 2000 on CBS...
, which premiered on Wednesday, September 14, 2011. The season was filmed in the vicinity of Upolu
Upolu
Upolu is an island in Samoa, formed by a massive basaltic shield volcano which rises from the seafloor of the western Pacific Ocean. The island is long, in area, and is the second largest in geographic area as well as the most populated of the Samoan Islands. Upolu is situated to the east of...
, Samoa
Samoa
Samoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
, which is the same filming location as season 19
Survivor: Samoa
Survivor: Samoa is the nineteenth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The season premiered on Thursday, September 17, 2009....
and season 20, and it will also serve as the location for Season 24. Redemption Island, first introduced in the prior season
Survivor: Redemption Island
Survivor: Redemption Island is the twenty-second season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor, which premiered on February 16, 2011. Applications were due in January 2010, and filming lasted from August to September 2010. The season was filmed in the vicinity of San...
, returned for this season.
Season summary
The season premiered on September 14, 2011, at 8:00 pm Eastern time with a 90-minute debut. Sixteen new castaways, divided into two tribes, Savaii and Upolu, were brought back to Samoa to compete in the 23rd season of Survivor. They were joined by two all-stars, Oscar "Ozzy" LusthOzzy Lusth
Oscar "Ozzy" Lusth is a reality show contestant who first appeared on Survivor: Cook Islands. He finished as the 1st runner-up in a 5–4–0 vote to Yul Kwon. Lusth later competed in Survivor: Micronesia as one of the returning favorites...
and Benjamin "Coach" Wade. Ozzy and Coach drew eggs containing either red and blue paint to see which tribe they would join. Ozzy joined Savaii and Coach joined Upolu. Coach and Ozzy immediately faced-off in a Tower of Hanoi
Tower of Hanoi
The Tower of Hanoi or Towers of Hanoi, also called the Tower of Brahma or Towers of Brahma, is a mathematical game or puzzle. It consists of three rods, and a number of disks of different sizes which can slide onto any rod...
reward challenge for their respective tribes, where Ozzy emerged victorious. After Coach was defeated by Ozzy in a head-to-head battle, Edna became Coach's only ally. However, Coach quickly forged bonds within his tribe, eventually forming an alliance consisting of him, Albert, Brandon, Sophie, and Rick. Christine openly searched for the hidden immunity idol but came up short and instead made herself a target.
The first six immunity challenges were split equally between the two tribes. In the first immunity challenge, Savaii lost due to Semhar's incapabilities and the tribe was sent to Tribal Council, where Semhar was the first sent to Redemption Island. Edna joined the Upolu alliance as the sixth member. Ozzy, Jim, Keith, Whitney, and Elyse formed an alliance at Savaii, leaving Mark, Dawn, and Cochran on the outside. Ozzy found the hidden Immunity Idol. He told only Keith that he had found it, and Keith secretly told Whitney. Christine was voted out of Upolu after Brandon's attempt to blindside Mikayla failed. Christine defeated Semhar in the first duel. Mark "Papa Bear" Caruso was voted out next, as he was seen as the weakest of the three alliance outcasts. He would go on to be defeated by Christine in the second duel. In the fourth tribal council, Stacey was voted off by the six-person Upolu alliance and Mikayla. She lost to Christine in the third duel. In the fifth immunity challenge, Upolu narrowly won. Elyse was voted off by the makeshift alliance of Jim, Cochran, and Dawn with Whitney and Keith casting their votes for Dawn to assist the alliance of three to blindside Elyse while keeping their own hands clean. Savaii won the sixth immunity challenge. Upolu was split over voting out Mikayla or Edna. Brandon and Coach supported voting out Mikayla, and Albert and Sophie supported voting out Edna; Rick ultimately cast his vote against Mikayla, taking her out 4-3. In the seventh immunity challenge, Savaii lost. The tribe assumed, based on knowledge of the past season, that the winner of the next duel would rejoin the game and the tribes would merge. In order to maintain numbers, Ozzy volunteered himself to go to Redemption Island, so that he could beat Christine and help Savaii go into the merge 6-6. The following day, Ozzy wins the duel, rejoins the game, the tribes merge and name themselves Te Tuna. At the first post merge tribal council, the castaways vote along former tribal alignment resulting in a tie; 6 votes for Keith and 6 for Rick. Cochran defected on the re-vote, however, causing Keith to be sent to Redemption Island by a 6-4 vote. The next two tribal councils resulted in Ozzy and then Jim getting voted out. Ozzy defeated both at the Redemption competition and they became the first jury members. In the following tribal council, Dawn was voted off. Immediately after voting out Dawn, there was a trivia-based immunity challenge and another round of voting; Whitney lost to Sophie in the challenge and was voted out leaving Cochran as the only Savaii member standing. Once again Ozzy defeated both contestants and they joined the jury. In spite of his concerted efforts to convince Upolu that they were indebted to him, Cochran was voted off at the next tribal council.
Contestants
This season features 16 players new to Survivor, as well as two returning players: Oscar "Ozzy" LusthOzzy Lusth
Oscar "Ozzy" Lusth is a reality show contestant who first appeared on Survivor: Cook Islands. He finished as the 1st runner-up in a 5–4–0 vote to Yul Kwon. Lusth later competed in Survivor: Micronesia as one of the returning favorites...
from Cook Islands
Survivor: Cook Islands
Survivor: Cook Islands is the thirteenth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor, having premiered on September 14, 2006...
and Micronesia
Survivor: Micronesia
Survivor: Micronesia — Fans vs. Favorites is the sixteenth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor, being the show's third to include contestants from past seasons, after the all-returning contestant pool from Survivor: All-Stars, and Survivor: Guatemala in which...
, and Benjamin "Coach" Wade
Benjamin Wade (Survivor contestant)
Benjamin "Coach" "DragonSlayer" Wade is an American reality television personality best known for being a contestant on Survivor: Tocantins, Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, and Survivor: South Pacific...
from Tocantins and Heroes vs. Villains. One of the 16 new players is Brandon Hantz, the nephew of the notorious Survivor villain Russell Hantz.
| Contestant | Original Tribe | Merged Tribe | Voted Out | Redemption Island | Finish | Total Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Semhar Tadesse 24, Los Angeles, CA |
8 | |||||
| Mark "Papa Bear" Caruso 48, Forest Hills, NY Forest Hills, Queens Forest Hills is a neighborhood in the borough of Queens in New York City, New York, United States.-Neighborhood:The neighborhood is home to upper-middle class residents, of whom the wealthier residents often live in the neighborhood's Forest Hills Gardens area... |
6 | |||||
| Stacey Powell 44, Grand Prairie, TX |
10 | |||||
| Elyse Umemoto 27, Las Vegas, NV |
3 | |||||
| Mikayla Wingle 22, Tampa, FL |
4 | |||||
| Christine Shields Markoski 39, Merrick, NY |
4 | |||||
| Oscar "Ozzy" Lusth Returned to game |
5 | |||||
| Jim Rice 35, Denver, CO |
8 | |||||
| Keith Tollefson 26, Edina, MN |
||||||
| Dawn Meehan 41, South Jordan, UT |
9 | |||||
| Whitney Duncan Whitney Duncan Whitney Duncan is an American country music artist, who was the fifth place finalist on the fifth season of Nashville Star. She has released one studio album and has charted on the U.S... 27, Nashville, TN |
7 | |||||
| Oscar "Ozzy" Lusth Ozzy Lusth Oscar "Ozzy" Lusth is a reality show contestant who first appeared on Survivor: Cook Islands. He finished as the 1st runner-up in a 5–4–0 vote to Yul Kwon. Lusth later competed in Survivor: Micronesia as one of the returning favorites... 30, Venice, CA Cook Islands Survivor: Cook Islands Survivor: Cook Islands is the thirteenth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor, having premiered on September 14, 2006... & Micronesia Survivor: Micronesia Survivor: Micronesia — Fans vs. Favorites is the sixteenth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor, being the show's third to include contestants from past seasons, after the all-returning contestant pool from Survivor: All-Stars, and Survivor: Guatemala in which... |
Current Inhabitant | 14 | ||||
| John Cochran 24, Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution.... |
13th Day 30 |
Current Inhabitant | 13 | |||
| Sophie Clarke 22, Willsboro, NY Willsboro, New York Willsboro is a town in Essex County, New York, in the United States, and lies thirty miles south of the city of Plattsburgh. As of the 2000 census, the town population was 1,903... |
1 | |||||
| Albert Destrade 26, Plantation, FL |
||||||
| Brandon Hantz 19, Katy, TX |
||||||
| Edna Ma 35, Los Angeles, CA |
10 | |||||
| Rick Nelson 51, Aurora, UT |
||||||
| Benjamin "Coach" Wade Benjamin Wade (Survivor contestant) Benjamin "Coach" "DragonSlayer" Wade is an American reality television personality best known for being a contestant on Survivor: Tocantins, Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, and Survivor: South Pacific... 39, Susanville, CA Susanville, California Susanville is the county seat of Lassen County, California, United States. Susanville is located on the Susan River in the south-central part of the county, at an elevation of 4186 feet . The population was 17,974 at the 2010 census, up from 13,541 at the 2000 census... Tocantins & Heroes vs Villains |
- The Total Votes is the number of votes a castaway received during Tribal Councils where the castaway was eligible to be voted out of the game. It did not include the votes received during the final Tribal Council.
Keith was voted out in a 6–4 tie-breaker vote between himself and Rick. In the initial vote, Keith and Rick received six votes each.
Ozzy received five total votes before he was first sent to Redemption Island. He received nine total votes before he was sent to Redemption Island for the second time.
The game
| Episode title | First air date | Redemption Island | Challenges | Voted out | Vote | Finish | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eliminated | Reward | Immunity | |||||||
| "I Need Redemption" | September 14, 2011 | 8–1 | 1st Voted Out Day 3 |
||||||
| "He Has Demons" | September 21, 2011 | Semhar | colspan="2" | 4–3–1–1 | 2nd Voted Out Day 5 |
||||
| "Reap What You Sow" | September 28, 2011 | Semhar | Christine | Semhar | colspan="2" | 6–1–1 | 3rd Voted Out Day 8 |
||
| "Survivalism" | October 5, 2011 | Christine | Papa Bear | Papa Bear | colspan="2" | 7–1 | 4th Voted Out Day 11 |
||
| "Taste the Victory" | October 12, 2011 | Christine | Stacey | Stacey | colspan="2" | 3–2–2 | 5th Voted Out Day 14 |
||
| "Free Agent" | October 19, 2011 | Christine | Elyse | Elyse | colspan="2" | 4–3 | 6th Voted Out Day 16 |
||
| "Trojan Horse" | October 26, 2011 | Christine | Mikayla | Mikayla | colspan="2" | 5–1 | 7th Voted Out Day 18 |
||
| "Double Agent" | November 2, 2011 | Christine | Ozzy | Christine | None | rowspan="2" | 6–6 6–4 |
8th Voted Out Day 21 |
|
| "Cut Throat" | November 9, 2011 | Keith | None | 9–2 | 9th Voted Out Day 22 |
||||
| 7–3 | 10th Voted Out Day 24 |
||||||||
| "Running the Show" | November 16, 2011 | Keith | Ozzy | Jim | None | 7–2 | 11th Voted Out Day 27 |
||
| Jim | Keith | 7–1 | 12th Voted Out Day 27 |
||||||
| "A Closer Look" | November 23, 2011 | Recap episode | |||||||
| "Cult Like" | November 30, 2011 | Ozzy | Dawn | Dawn | rowspan="2" colspan="2" |
rowspan="2" | 5–2 | 13th Voted Out Day 30 |
|
| Whitney | Whitney | ||||||||
In the case of multiple tribes or castaways who win reward or immunity, they are listed in order of finish, or alphabetically where it was a team effort; where one castaway won and invited others, the invitees are in brackets.
Combined Reward and Immunity Challenge.
There was no Reward Challenge due to the tribal merge.
Albert chose to give his reward to Cochran and not take it himself.
Episode 1: "I Need Redemption"
- Reward Challenge: Coach and Ozzy would represent their tribes by climbing a 12 feet (3.7 m) pole to retrieve a wooden turtle. They would then have to dig themselves under a log. Finally, they would solve a six-level Tower of HanoiTower of HanoiThe Tower of Hanoi or Towers of Hanoi, also called the Tower of Brahma or Towers of Brahma, is a mathematical game or puzzle. It consists of three rods, and a number of disks of different sizes which can slide onto any rod...
puzzle with the turtle as the top piece to win the challenge. - Reward: TaroTaroTaro is a common name for the corms and tubers of several plants in the family Araceae . Of these, Colocasia esculenta is the most widely cultivated, and is the subject of this article. More specifically, this article describes the 'dasheen' form of taro; another variety is called eddoe.Taro is...
and flint - Immunity Challenge: The tribes would race through an obstacle course of zigzagging pathways, through a web of strung up coconuts, and over a 10 feet (3 m) wall. One tribe member would then dig up a machete and use it to cut five ropes which would release a bin of coconuts. Three tribe members would then shoot the coconuts through a hoop into a net. When enough coconuts were shot into the net, their combined weight would raise a flag. The first tribe to raise their flag would win.
The sixteen new castaways rowed rafts ashore to the Redemption Island Arena to await the arrival of two mystery players by helicopter. Coach and Ozzy disembarked. To determine which tribes the two returnees would join, Jeff gave them each an egg with either blue or red paint inside. The two crushed their eggs, with Ozzy crushing it on his chest, to reveal that Coach joined Upolu and Ozzy joined Savaii. Coach's welcome to his tribe was cold, while Ozzy's was warm. John requested that Jeff call him by his last name, Cochran, in the vein of past castaways that Jeff really liked. Jeff explained that Redemption Island was in play and that a Reward Challenge would begin immediately between Coach and Ozzy representing their tribes. They both struggled with the Tower of Hanoi puzzle, requesting help from their tribes. Savaii's assistance was pivotal and Ozzy took the win. When Upolu arrived at their campsite, Coach tried to charm his tribe and overcome his cold greeting, while Christine went off to look for the Hidden Immunity Idol. Brandon struggled with a dangerous secret. He is Russell Hantz's nephew and has "Hantz" tattooed on his back and arm. Coach formed an alliance with Albert, Brandon, Rick, and Sophie. Over at Savaii, Mark asked to be called Papa Bear. On day 2, Dawn had a minor emotional breakdown, which concerned Papa Bear and Ozzy. The first Immunity Challenge was won by Upolu in a close match. In addition to Tribal Immunity, Upolu received flint and was told that a clue to the Hidden Immunity Idol was hidden at their campsite. When Savaii returned to camp, Semhar and Jim had an argument about Semhar's effort and Jim's criticism at the Immunity Challenge. Most of the tribe wanted to vote out Semhar due to her failure at the coconut throwing stage of the challenge, for which she had volunteered. Ozzy suggested that the tribe consider voting out Cochran for being physically inept. Jim was suspicious about Ozzy's reasons for keeping Semhar in the game. Ozzy told Semhar that she needed to lobby the others in voting out Cochran. Jim told Cochran about Ozzy's suggestion and Cochran became paranoid that he would be voted out. At Tribal Council, the tribe debated if Semhar or Cochran was to remain in the tribe. When the vote came, the tribe decided against Semhar and she became the first resident of Redemption Island by a vote of 8–1.
Episode 2: "He Has Demons"
- Reward/Immunity Challenge: Four members from each tribe would unwind ribbons from a maypoleMaypoleA maypole is a tall wooden pole erected as a part of various European folk festivals, particularly on May Day, or Pentecost although in some countries it is instead erected at Midsummer...
to release a set of keys. One of the four would then use the keys to free four other tribemates. Those four tribemates would then push crates around a platform to clear the way for a large crate to pass under a pole. The entire tribe would then carry the large crate to a finish platform. The first tribe to have their large crate onto the finish platform would win. - Reward: Pillows, blankets, a hammock, and a mat.
On Redemption Island, Semhar recited poetry to comfort herself over feeling abandoned by her tribe. At Upolu, even though Coach already had an alliance, he formed a "needs to know" alliance with Edna. With lying in keeping his relation to Russell Hantz eating at him, Brandon revealed his secret to Coach and asked him to keep it to himself. Brandon gave his word that he would stick with Coach and their alliance. Christine found the clue to the Hidden Immunity Idol. Brandon continued to project sinister and sordid motivations to Mikayla's simple camp activities and so felt uncomfortable around her, saying she reminded him of Parvati Shallow
Parvati Shallow
Parvati Shallow is the $1,000,000 winner of the reality television series Survivor: Micronesia after receiving votes from Eliza Orlins, Jason Siska, Alexis Jones, Natalie Bolton, and Cirie Fields. She had previously competed in Survivor: Cook Islands where she placed sixth, and later was the...
and that he planned to vote her out as soon as possible. At Savaii, Ozzy used his past Survivor experience, looked for things out of place and discovered the Hidden Immunity Idol. Jim put forth a "3 plus 2" alliance plan of himself, Keith, and Ozzy as a core alliance with Elyse and Whitney as the "plus 2". At the combined Reward/Immunity Challenge, the men of Upolu blew a huge lead going into the crate stage of the challenge to let Savaii win the challenge. Back at camp, Coach was concerned about Christine having a Hidden Immunity Idol and suggested to his alliance that they flush the Idol by splitting their vote between Christine and Stacey with three votes for each. Brandon lobbied everybody to vote out Mikayla. Coach wanted his alliance to stick to his plan as he thought Mikayla was an asset at challenges and did not deserve to be voted out. Brandon lied to Coach and told him that Christine and Stacey would vote for Mikayla. At Tribal Council, Coach confronted Christine and Stacey about their votes. Christine and Stacey denied they had ever said they would vote for Mikayla. When they asked who Coach had heard that from, Coach refused to say until Brandon confessed to telling the two women to vote against Mikayla. When the vote came, the alliance of six followed Coach's plan and split their vote. Mikayla also voted against Christine and she was sent to Redemption Island by a vote of 4–3–1–1.
Episode 3: "Reap What You Sow"
- Redemption Island Duel: The castaways would balance a wooden totem on top of a pole which they would have to keep upright by holding at the bottom. At regular intervals, the player would add an additional section to the bottom of the pole, making the pole longer and harder to balance. The last castaway still holding the totem up would win.
- Reward/Immunity Challenge: A tribe member would race across a floating bridge carrying a bodyboardBodyboardingBodyboarding is a surface water sport . The average board consists of a small, rectangular piece of hydrodynamic foam, sometimes containing a ridged spine called a 'stringer'...
attached to a rope. The tribe member would grab a bag containing a banner that would form part of their tribe's flag. They would then ride the bodyboard back to shore as it was winched in by the four members of their tribe. Five bundles would need to be winched to the beach in this manner. Two tribe members would then use grappling hooks from the top of a wall to retrieve the five banners. Finally, the two tribe members would assemble the banners into their tribe's flag. The first tribe to have their flag completed would win. - Reward: Chocolate, cookies, coffee, powdered milk, tea, and sugar.
Day 6's tree mail announced the first Redemption Island Duel. The tribes were instructed to send two members to witness the duel; Upolu sent Coach and Stacey while Savaii sent Ozzy and Elyse. Before the duel started, Semhar recited more poetry to calm herself, but it did not help and she lost to Christine. On day 7 at Upolu, Brandon felt guilty about lying to his tribe during his push to vote out Mikayla. He finally told them the truth about his family, displayed his tattoos and apologized for continuing to lie to them. In private, Brandon and Mikayla discussed why he wanted to vote her out. After Brandon felt threatened by her demeanor, he gathered the rest of the tribe and told them all that he was very upset at Mikayla's approach, that she did not appear to have much of an alliance, and to keep him out of all tribal drama. Coach was concerned that Brandon's outburst would cause friction within the tribe and his alliance. At Savaii, Ozzy decided that he had to trust somebody with the knowledge of his Hidden Immunity Idol discovery and he decided upon telling Keith. Keith then told Whitney in order to gain her trust. The combined Reward/Immunity Challenge was won by Upolu when Coach did a phenomenal job with the grappling hook. Back at Savaii, Cochran and Papa Bear shared their fear that one of them would be going to Redemption Island after Tribal Council and that the other would go at the next Tribal Council. The rest of the tribe decided on voting out Papa Bear, but would tell him that they would be voting for Cochran. Ozzy told Cochran about the plan. When Jim and Ozzy told Papa Bear that Cochran was going home, Papa Bear knew they were lying and he went to search for the Hidden Immunity Idol as his last ditch play. Elyse and Jim followed him into the woods to watch him look for the idol. Not finding the idol, Papa Bear decided to create a fake one in order to bluff the tribe into thinking he had one. Papa Bear told Jim that he found the idol. Cochran saw through his bluff, but was still concerned that the tribe would shift the vote to him. At Tribal Council, the tribe voted to call Papa Bear's bluff and he was sent to Redemption Island by a vote of 6–1–1.
Episode 4: "Survivalism"
- Redemption Island Duel: The castaways would toss sand bags and attempt to land them on top of ten crates. The first castaway to have one bag on all ten crates would win.
- Reward/Immunity Challenge: Three castaways, two men and one woman, from each tribe would stand on perches holding a wooden pole on their shoulders to which weighted bags would be added. Every few minutes, the other four members of the opposing tribe would select someone to carry an additional 20 pounds (9.1 kg) of weight. If the weight becomes too much for a castaway, they would drop the pole and be out of the challenge. The last castaway standing would win the challenge for their tribe.
- Reward: Two chicken hens and one rooster.
Jim was concerned that Ozzy and Elyse had a tighter bond than people realized and that he could not vote out Ozzy, so he confided with Cochran about a plan to vote out Elyse next. Cochran agreed as that would leave him in the game for at least another three days. At Upolu, Brandon was still feeling tormented by his actions and decided to be a better more honest player. He apologized to Mikayla for his recent outburst in front of the tribe. He then told Edna that she was not part of the core alliance of Albert, Brandon, Coach, Sophie, and Rick, but just a sixth subordinate member. Cochran, Jim, Brandon, and Edna went to observe the Redemption Island Duel. Before the duel started, Brandon apologized to Christine for how the Tribal Council went against her. Christine edged out Papa Bear to win her second duel in a row. Brandon's revelation about her status made Edna more cautious and she decided that she had to emphasize the social aspect of her game by being cordial and polite since she was not a strong physical compettitor. However, her constant talking and laugh annoyed Mikayla and Stacey. At Savaii, Cochran approached Dawn about voting out Elyse next. At the combined Reward/Immunity Challenge, Savaii chose Dawn, Jim, and Keith to be the weight bearers while Upolu chose Albert, Brandon, and Stacey. Keith dropped out first after 26 minutes and 180 pounds (81.6 kg). Albert was out next at the same weight. Jim and Brandon surpassed the Survivor record of 220 pounds (99.8 kg) held by Rupert Boneham
Rupert Boneham
Rupert Boneham is an American mentor for troubled teens who became known to reality television audiences in 2003 as a contestant on Survivor: Pearl Islands where he placed 8th. He later appeared on the All Stars and Heroes vs. Villains seasons of Survivor, placing 4th and 6th respectively...
in Survivor: Pearl Islands
Survivor: Pearl Islands
Survivor: Pearl Islands is the seventh season of the United States reality show Survivor. It was filmed in 2003 and debuted in the United States on CBS on September 18, 2003....
and James "J.T." Thomas, Jr. and Brendan Synnott in Survivor: Tocantins by going to 240 pounds (108.9 kg), but both dropped the pole shortly after the last 20 pounds (9.1 kg) were added. Just like Survivor: Tocantins, it came down to the two women: Dawn and Stacey. The weight was at 140 pounds (63.5 kg) when Stacey dropped her pole to give Savaii the win. Even though Stacey thought she had proved herself as a strong player by her performance in the challenge, she was still concerned that she would be voted out next. Stacey asked Coach where she stood in the tribe and Coach told her that it would be her or somebody else to be voted out next. Stacey tried to stir things up by telling Brandon that he needed to watch out for Albert, Mikayla, and Sophie. Brandon told Coach the news, but Coach cut him off and told him to not believe someone who was the next to be voted out and was not a member of their alliance. Sophie and Coach were concerned about Brandon's actions and that, in order to protect the alliance, he might have to be kicked out some time in the future and that Mikayla would have to be brought in in his place. At Tribal Council, Brandon broke down emotionally for feeling that he had something to prove by being Russell Hantz's relative and that he had to reclaim the family name in a positive manner. The tribe discussed trust and loyalty within the tribe. When the vote came, Stacey's worries about being voted out came true and she was sent to Redemption Island by a vote of 7–1. As Stacey was leaving the Tribal Council area, Coach prompted the tribe to "give her a hug", but Stacey rejected them as she felt that everything the tribe said about trust and loyalty was a lie.
Episode 5: "Taste the Victory"
- Redemption Island Duel: The castaways would drop a ball into a metal chute. The ball would travel down a spiraling metal track and exit out of one of two points. The castaway would have to catch the ball and drop the ball back into the chute at the top. Every few minutes, an additional ball would be added to the track until six balls were simultaneously going around the track. A turnstile gate in the middle of the track would rotate, causing the balls to alternate exiting out of the two exits. If a ball exits the track and is not caught, the castaway would be eliminated from the challenge.
- Reward/Immunity Challenge: Using only their mouths, the castaways would rip pieces of meat off a large pork roast and put it into a basket. The tribe with the most meat in the basket after ten minutes would win.
- Reward: Vegetables, spices, bread, and the meat that they collected.
When Stacey arrived at Redemption Island, she vowed to tell Savaii at the Redemption Island Duel that Coach was in control of Upolu. At Upolu, Brandon felt offended by Mikayla's answer during the previous Tribal Council that she disliked him because he was a Hantz. Albert, Mikayla, Dawn, and Whitney went to witness the Redemption Island Duel. Christine and Stacey told Dawn and Whitney that Coach, whom they declined to call Coach, but instead used Benjamin, was in complete control, Albert was Coach's right-hand man, and the entire tribe were liars. Christine won her third duel in a row. When Albert and Mikayla returned to camp, they told the tribe about Stacey's venting, which upset Coach as he felt it would put a target on his back. Albert found the clue to the Hidden Immunity Idol, but when he couldn't find the Idol itself, he told Coach and Sophie about the clue to enhance their trust in him. Coach found the Hidden Immunity Idol and told his new sub-alliance of three. The combined Reward/Immunity Challenge was won by Upolu by a slim 2 ounces (56.7 g), continuing the trend of alternating tribal wins. Back at the Savaii camp, Ozzy wanted to vote out Cochran while Jim, Cochran, and Dawn wanted to blindside Elyse to break up her close alliance with Ozzy. In an effort to get the majority fourth vote, Jim approached Keith about voting out Elyse. Keith talked to Whitney about how to vote out Elyse without breaking their alliance with Ozzy. Whitney thought about letting Jim, Cochran, and Dawn vote for Elyse, but she and Keith would vote for anybody but Cochran. At Tribal Council, Keith and Whitney threw their votes against Dawn, allowing the alliance of three to blindside Elyse by a vote of 3–2–2.
Episode 6: "Free Agent"
- Redemption Island Duel: The castaways would play a variation of shuffleboardShuffleboardShuffleboard, more precisely deck shuffleboard, and also known as shuffle-board, shovelboard, shovel-board and shove-board [archaic], is a game in which players use broom-shaped paddles to push weighted pucks, sending them gliding down a narrow and elongated court, with the purpose of...
. The castaways would start the game with four pucks a piece on the board and would slide another puck to knock their opponent's pucks off the board. The last castaway to have a puck on the board would win. - Reward/Immunity Challenge: Three castaways from each tribe would assemble a wheelbarrow and then push the wheelbarrow around a series of obstacles. Along the way, they would stop at two stations and collect a load of coconuts. At the end of the obstacle course, the three tribe members would dump out the coconuts into a box. The three other castaways would then disassemble the wheelbarrow and reassemble it into a sling shot. They would use the coconuts as ammunition for the slingshot to knock down six targets. The first tribe to knock all six of their targets down would win.
- Reward: A trip to the "sliding rocks", a waterfall where people can slide down the rocks into a pool below, and a picnic lunch.
When Savaii returned to their camp, Ozzy felt betrayed by the tribe and declared himself a "free agent" in terms of no alliances with the tribe. Feeling that he wanted to put everything out in the open, he declared that he had the Hidden Immunity Idol. The rest of the tribe felt that Ozzy was being childish about the blindside. Over at Upolu, Brandon found the clue to the Hidden Immunity Idol and shared it with Coach and Albert. Brandon went on the hunt without knowing that Coach already had the idol. Coach and Albert agreed that telling Brandon that they already had the idol would cause him to fly off the handle. Sophie, Rick, Ozzy, and Keith witnessed Christine continue her domination at the Redemption Island Duel with her fourth win in a row. Over at Upolu, Edna continued cozying up with Coach in order to strengthen her outsider status with the alliance of five. On day 15, Ozzy realized that his temper tantrum after Tribal Council was a mistake and tried to patch things up with the tribe. At the combined Reward and Immunity Challenge, Savaii struggled during the first half of the challenge; falling way behind Upolu. When Mikayla missed several shots with the slingshot, Coach tried to get her to sit out, but she declined. Savaii let Jim and Keith handle most of their shots with the slingshot. Their sharpshooting allowed Savaii to overcome the deficit and take the win. Coach blamed the loss on Mikayla and wanted to vote her out, despite the fact that he also did not hit any shots in the challenge. Albert told Mikayla that he would be able to convince the alliance of five to vote out Edna. Sophie agreed with Albert to vote out Edna. Brandon said that he would keep his word that he would not vote out Edna as she was part of the alliance. Albert and Sophie tried to convince Coach that Edna was weakest at challenges and they needed Mikayla to have the chance to win future challenges. However, Coach was sure that Edna was loyal to him and would do whatever Coach told her to do, while Mikayla would not, and that was more important going to the merge. With the alliance split, Rick became the swing vote and both Coach and Albert lobbied for his vote. At Tribal Council, Rick decided to vote against Mikayla and she was sent to Redemption Island by a vote of 4–3.
Episode 7: "Trojan Horse"
- Redemption Island Duel: The castaways would dissemble a box and use the pieces as planks to build a bridge. Once they cross the bridge, they would use some of the planks to solve a pattern puzzle. The first castaway to solve their puzzle would win.
- Reward/Immunity Challenge: The tribes would split off in pairs of castaways. One pair would act as callers to the two other pairs as they navigate blindfolded and hooked to a rope through an obstacle course to collect four bags of masks. One pair of castaways would then use only their sense of touch with no help from the rest of the tribe to match the masks into pairs. The first pair to properly match all eight masks would win for their tribe.
- Reward: A screening of Jack and Jill.
When Upolu returned to camp from Tribal Council, most of the tribe expressed concern that Brandon's recurring blowups at Tribal Council could potentially jeopardize their future in the game. Edna, however, secretly hoped that Brandon's behavior would continue, as it might take the target off her. Sophie, Albert, Ozzy, and Cochran witnessed the duel between Christine and Mikayla. Despite the support that Mikayla received from Albert and Sophie, Christine won her fifth Redemption Island Duel in a row in a closely fought match. With Christine's continued domination at the duels and the possibility that Savaii might lose the next challenge, Ozzy began to consider volunteering to be sent to Redemption Island so that he could defeat Christine ahead of a tribal merge. A win by him would mean that the tribes would go into the merge in equal numbers. He approached Cochran about his plan and also offered to give his Hidden Immunity Idol to someone to hold for him while he was at Redemption Island. At Upolu, Coach tried to inspire his tribe by having them all "find" the Hidden Immunity Idol. Coach, Albert, and Sophie staged a hunt for the idol for the others. While passing the tree mail stand, Coach and Sophie found a package announcing the upcoming challenge, so they took the opportunity to announce they had "two pieces of great news": the upcoming challenge and the "finding" of the Hidden Immunity Idol. At the combined Reward/Immunity Challenge, Upolu had Coach and Rick as callers, while Savaii used Jim and Cochran. During the third swapping of pairs to retrieve the final bag of masks, Cochran struggled to get Ozzy and Whitney properly hooked into the rope. Savaii fell behind and never recovered, letting Upolu take the win. Ozzy was extremely upset at Cochran's mistake, which made Cochran concerned that Ozzy would renege on his plan to volunteer to go to Redemption Island. When Savaii got back to camp, they blamed the loss on Cochran and told him that he could redeem himself at Redemption Island. However, by the next morning, the anger at Cochran had subsided. Ozzy retrieved the Hidden Immunity Idol, presented it to the tribe, and put forth his volunteer plan. Jim and Keith were concerned about Ozzy volunteering to be voted out since, if the merge did not happen the next day, the tribe would be weaker with Cochran competing in the next challenge rather than Ozzy. At Tribal Council, Ozzy offered his plan to volunteer with the twist that he would tell Christine that Cochran had found the Hidden Immunity Idol and used it to blindside Ozzy. Before the votes were read, Ozzy handed the idol to Cochran and made him promise to give it back to him if he returns. When the votes were read, Ozzy's plan was set in motion by a 5-1 vote to send him to Redemption Island.
Episode 8: "Double Agent"
- Redemption Island Duel: The two castaways would use rope to tie together sticks in order to make a pole to retrieve three keys. The first castaway to retrieve all three keys, unlock three locks and walk thru the doorway would win.
- Immunity Challenge: The castaways would balance on a small perch while holding a coconut between two ropes. At regular intervals, the lengths of the rope would be increased. The last man and last woman balancing their coconuts would win.
When Ozzy arrived at Redemption Island, he spun his planned tale about being blindsided by Cochran to Christine. Both tribes arrived to witness the Redemption Island Duel and Upolu was stunned to see Ozzy in the duel. When asked by Jeff if he was surprised to be here, Ozzy laid it on thick with the resentment towards Cochran on being voted out, but Albert and Coach were suspect about the act. After Jeff announced the rules of the duel, he announced that the winner would return to the game. Ozzy crushed Christine at the duel when he retrieved all his keys and walked thru the doorway without Christine retrieving a single key. Jeff told Ozzy that he was back in the game and that the tribes had merged. After the traditional merge feast, Cochran tried to play being an outsider to Coach, but Coach saw right through Savaii's intentions and laid out exactly what they had planned. Coach told Cochran that he had a choice of leaving the Tribal Council vote up to chance after a split vote or truly leaving his former tribe and voting with Upolu. Cochran decided to leave his old tribe and he told Upolu all about Savaii's plans and tribal politics. Cochran considered himself a mastermind, but not an evil mastermind so he returned the Hidden Immunity Idol to Ozzy. Cochran and Dawn talked about being an outsider within their own tribe and she considered flipping tribes with Cochran. At the Individual Immunity Challenge, after other players were eliminated, Dawn beat out Sophie while Ozzy beat out Albert. When the tribe returned to camp, the former Savaii gathered to congratulate themselves on their pre-merge plan working and to vote for Rick. They thought Upolu would vote against Whitney, so Ozzy would hand the Hidden Immunity Idol to Whitney at Tribal Council. Little did they know that Cochran immediately told Sophie about the Savaii's plan. Dawn asked Cochran what he was going to do and he told her that he was thinking of flipping tribes. While she had earlier considered joining Cochran, she now wanted to stay loyal to the tribe and warned him to not flip. At Tribal Council, Upolu declared that they saw through Savaii's charade at the Redemption Island Duel. Ozzy told them to call their bluff. Before the votes were read, Ozzy played the Hidden Immunity Idol for Whitney. But Savaii had guessed wrong as Upolu did not cast a single vote for Whitney; the vote split along tribal lines with six votes apiece against Keith and Rick. Jeff called for a revote with the castaways only being able to vote for Keith or Rick. On the second vote, Cochran flipped to the other side, cast his vote against Keith and Keith was sent to Redemption Island by a vote of 6–4. After the vote, Cochran turned around and told Ozzy and Jim that he had flipped and that he would explain his vote later. Jim called him a coward, and Brandon immediately came to his defense and told him to stick close to him as they left Tribal Council.
Episode 9: "Cut Throat"
- Immunity Challenge: The castaways would toss coconuts into a hole in the ground. The first four to successfully land a coconut into the hole would move on to the second round. In the second round, the four castaways would crack open coconuts, take the coconut waterCoconut waterCoconut water is the clear liquid inside young coconuts . As the fruit matures, the coconut water is gradually replaced by the coconut meat and air. A very young coconut has very little meat; the meat that it has is very tender, almost a gel...
into their mouths, and then run through an obstacle course. At the end of the course, the castaways would spit out the coconut water into a tube and then repeat the course until the tube was filled. The first castaway to fill their tube would win.
When Te Tuna returned to camp, Ozzy, Jim, and Whitney ripped into Cochran over his betrayal. Cochran retreated to his new Upolu alliance. Coach asked Cochran who he would like voted out next and he responded, "Ozzy" because he was a threat at challenges or Jim on a personal level. At the Immunity Challenge, Dawn, Whitney, Jim, and Sophie made it to the second round. In the second round, Jim beat out Sophie after Sophie gagged on the mouthful of coconut water that would have won the challenge. Back at camp, Jim came up with a plan to stir up Tribal Council by giving the Immunity Necklace to Ozzy and then making a rousing speech to get two of the Upolu tribe to vote against Cochran. When Tribal Council came, Jim and Ozzy made several rousing speeches, but Jim did not hand over the Immunity Necklace because Upolu threatened him before Tribal Council that if he gave his Immunity Necklace to Ozzy, he would be voted out. This sealed Ozzy's fate and he was sent to Redemption Island by a vote of 9–2 with Dawn and Whitney voting with the Upolu alliance.
- Immunity Challenge: While balancing on a beam that narrows in three stages, the castaways would hold a wooden bow with a ball balanced on top. At regular intervals, the castaways would move down the beam towards the narrower part of the beam. The last castaway balancing the ball on the bow and standing on the beam would win.
After Jeff announced the rules for the Immunity Challenge, Jeff offered the castaways to opt out of the challenge by choosing pastries and iced coffee. The former Upolu tribe, and Cochran, opted out of the challenge in order to feast, leaving the immunity to be decided between Dawn, Jim, and Whitney. Whitney beat out Dawn to win Individual Immunity. Knowing that he was most likely going to be voted out next, Jim approached Albert and Sophie about joining the Savaii block in blindsiding Edna, but Albert and Sophie weren't budging. Albert came up with an alternative plan to vote out Dawn as he saw her as a bigger threat than Jim because Dawn was slowly ingratiating herself into the Upolu alliance. He discussed the plan with his alliance, but the reception was lukewarm. At Tribal Council, the Upolu alliance stuck with their original plan and Jim was sent to Redemption Island by a vote of 7–3.
Episode 10: "Running the Show"
- Redemption Island Duel: The castaways would hold two poles on the tops of their hands up against a board over their heads. Any movement in their hands would cause the poles to drop to the ground. The last person who does not drop their poles would win.
- Immunity Challenge: The castaways would fill a bowl with rice and balance it on their head while crossing over two teeter-totters. They would then dump the rice into a basket on a third teeter-totter. If a castaway touches the bowl or drops it, they would need to go back to the start. The first castaway to fill their basket with enough rice to cause their teeter-totter to tip and raise a flag would win.
On day 25, Cochran tried to cozy up to Coach by joining him in a session of ta'i chi on the beach. Coach told Cochran that he would do everything he could to keep Cochran in the game longer than seventh place and that he was concerned that Albert might be plotting something. At the Redemption Island Duel, after Jeff announced the rules of the duel, he told the tribe that the losers would be the first and second members of the jury. Jim flinched first and he became the first member of the jury. Keith dropped out next to become the second jury member. On Redemption Island, Ozzy thought the situation of no stress and abundant food allowed him to recharge and be a bigger physical threat towards the end game. Over at Te Tuna, Cochran thought about trying to regain some of the trust he lost from Dawn and Whitney by helping them last further in the game. At the Immunity Challenge, Sophie beat out Dawn and Brandon while the rest struggled. After Jeff awarded the Immunity Necklace, he said that there would be a twist at Tribal Council. Back at camp, Dawn and Whitney talked to Albert and Cochran about blindsiding one of the Upolu alliance. Albert considered blindsiding Edna which would curry favor from the former Savaii jury members. Albert told Cochran that he would be voted out seventh and his plan to blindside Edna. Albert also told Sophie about his plan as she would be the swing vote. Coach was suspicious about Albert's moves and decided that he needed to lay down the law by stating that anybody who voted outside the Upolu bloc would be dead. At Tribal Council, the Upolu alliance fell into line and voted for Dawn, sending her to Redemption Island by a vote of 7–2.
- Immunity Challenge: The castaways would be asked a series of survival related questions. If a castaway were to answer the question incorrectly, they would be out of the challenge. The last castaway to answer a question correctly would win.
After Dawn left, Jeff announced that the twist would be an immediate Immunity Challenge followed by a second round of voting. The Upolu alliance avoided having to turn on one of their own when Sophie prevailed over Whitney in the final question. The Upolu bloc continued voting against former Savaii members and sent Whitney to Redemption Island by a vote of 7–1.
Episode 11: "Cult Like"
- Redemption Island Duel: The castaways would balance ceramic dishes on the end of a balancing arm. As the challenge progresses, Jeff would call out different dishwares that the castaways would stack on the far end of the balance. Should any part of a castaways's stack fall, that castaway would be out of the challenge. The last castaway in the challenge would win.
- Reward/Immunity Challenge: The castaways would replay previous challenges. In the first stage, the castaways would toss sand bags and attempt to land them on top of three crates. The three castaways to have one bag on all three crates would move on. In the final stage, the castaways would use the coconuts as ammunition for the slingshot to knock down three targets. The first castaway to knock all three of their targets down would win.
- Reward: A spa afternoon with a shower and a massage.
Fearing that the original Upolu tribe would turn on him now that the Savaii tribe was gone, Cochran made a plea to the core Upolu alliance of Albert, Brandon, Coach, Rick, and Sophie to keep him in the game for at least one more Tribal Council as he felt that they owed him for flipping over to their side and that it was his birthday in three days. After Cochran walked away, Albert and Coach felt that they did indeed owe him, but Sophie felt that she didn't owe him anything as she felt indebted to Edna as much as she was to Cochran. At the Redemption Island Duel, Ozzy beat out Dawn and Whitney, who became the third and fourth members of the jury. On day 29, the tribe got a little frustrated at Albert for not working around the camp. Edna asked Coach for advice on how to make it further than sixth place ahead of Cochran, but Coach was torn between staying loyal to the alliance of five or keeping Cochran and Edna in game as he knew they would never vote against him. At the Reward/Immunity Challenge, Albert, Rick, and Sophie moved on to the final round. In the final round, Albert beat out Rick. After the challenge was over, Jeff told Albert that he could choose somebody to join him in the reward and he picked Coach. Albert then asked if he could choose another, but when Jeff told him that he could not, Albert asked if he could give up his reward. Jeff allowed that and Albert gave up his reward to Cochran as a birthday gift, which turned out to be a lie from Cochran. During the massage, Coach told Cochran that he would fight to keep Cochran in the game. After the spa was over, Cochran tried to get Albert to vote out Rick and Albert agreed if Coach and Edna would join them. Cochran then told Edna about Albert's agreement and she agreed to the plan. When Cochran told Coach about the plan, Coach was unsure of staying loyal to his original alliance or creating a new one. At Tribal Council, Cochran again pushed his feeling that the Upolu alliance owed him a debt. Edna voiced her sadness in being a junior member of the Upolu alliance. When Brandon declared that he would vote out Cochran and Edna next, Brandon's lack of strategic play was discussed. When the vote came, Albert and Coach decided to stick with their original alliance and voted against Cochran, sending him to Redemption Island by a vote of 5–2.
Voting history
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U.S. Nielsen ratings
| Episode | Rating | Share | Rating/share Nielsen Ratings Nielsen ratings are the audience measurement systems developed by Nielsen Media Research, in an effort to determine the audience size and composition of television programming in the United States... (18–49) |
Viewers (millions) |
Weekly rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "I Need Redemption" | 6.4 | 10 | 3.4/10 | 10.74 | #9 |
| "He Has Demons" | 6.3 | 10 | 3.2/9 | 10.46 | – |
| "Reap What You Sow" | 6.4 | 10 | 3.2/9 | 10.71 | #25 |
| "Survivalism" | 6.3 | 10 | 3.1/9 | 10.72 | #24 |
| "Taste the Victory" | 6.6 | 11 | 3.2/9 | 10.69 | #23 |
| "Free Agent" | 6.7 | 11 | 3.3/9 | 11.24 | #23 |
| "Trojan Horse" | 7.1 | 11 | 3.5/10 | 11.79 | #17 |
| "Double Agent" | 7.0 | 11 | 3.6/10 | 11.95 | #18 |
| "Cut Throat" | 6.5 | 10 | 3.2/9 | 10.80 | #22 |
| "Running the Show" | 7.0 | 11 | 3.3/9 | 11.66 | #20 |
| "A Closer Look" | 4.6 | 8 | 1.9/6 | 7.98 | – |