Survivor: Samoa | |
---|---|
Genre | Reality television |
Winner | Natalie White (7–2–0) |
No. of episodes | 15 |
No. of days | 39 |
No. of survivors | 20 |
Tribes | Foa Foa Galu Aiga |
Heroes vs. Villains | Russell Hantz |
Redemption Island | Russell Hantz |
Production | |
Location(s) | Upolu, Samoa[1] |
Filming dates | June 11, 2009 – July 19, 2009 |
Broadcast | |
Original run | September 17, 2009 – December 20, 2009 |
Chronology | |
Preceded by | Survivor: Tocantins |
Followed by | Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains |
Survivor: Samoa is the nineteenth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The season premiered on Thursday, September 17, 2009.
Participant applications were due by January 14, 2009. Approximately 800 might have been invited to be interviewed in several states. Following this, approximately 48 semi-finalists were invited to Los Angeles in April 2009 for final interviews with the producers. From there, 20 finalists were selected to be contestants in the show, which was scheduled to occur between mid June and mid-July 2009 in Samoa. Similar to Survivor: Tocantins, the minimum age requirement for this season was 18 for most states.[2]
In the end, Natalie White defeated Russell Hantz and Mick Trimming with a vote of 7–2–0. Hantz ended up winning the "Sprint Player of the Season" Award, earning the fans' vote over Shannon "Shambo" Waters and Brett Clouser. This was the first season when the tribes merged at 12.
Russell Hantz was the only contestant from this season to take part in Heroes vs. Villains, where he finished in 3rd place. He then returned to compete again in Redemption Island, and was the second person eliminated from the game.
The twenty contestants were already assigned tribes at the start of the game, but, based only on appearances, the tribes were told to vote one of their own as a "leader", who, for the first half of the game, would make critical decisions at certain challenges, in particular, selecting one member of their tribe to spend the day after reward challenges with the other tribe through which they would receive a clue to the hidden immunity idol. Foa Foa selected Mick as theirs, while Galu picked Russell S. as theirs. Galu took a strong lead in the game, winning most of the reward and immunity challenges, leading to a relaxed state at the camp, a condition that Shambo resented. Meanwhile, Foa Foa's Russell H. attempted to make living conditions harsher for his tribe by dumping water out of canteens and burning socks. Also, Russell H. managed to find a hidden immunity idol at his own camp without having any clues, being the first person since Gary from Survivor: Guatemala to do so. After winning a reward challenge, Russell S. opted to send Shambo over to Foa Foa for one night, where she found the tribe had a strong work ethic and welcomed her.
Prior to the merge, two players were removed from the game due to fatigue: Mike and Russell S.; Shambo was given Galu's leadership role following Russell's departure. The two tribes merged with twelve players left; Galu had the advantage of eight players over Foa Foa's four, though Shambo clearly showed favoritism towards Foa Foa. Natalie was able to convince Galu to vote off Erik along with the rest of Foa Foa. At this vote, Russell H. had played his hidden immunity idol, but was able to find the idol in its new location, again without clues, before the next tribal council. Russell H. played his new idol there, saving himself from being voted off as he was targeted by every Galu member, and eliminating Kelly. As Shambo began to shift sides to the former Foa Foa's, the next vote first ended in a tie, but John, worried about being eliminated from the game by the rock-pulling tiebreaker, switched his vote on the tiebreaker, eliminating Laura. With the tribes now 5-4, the remaining Foa Foa members continued to hold together for the rest of the game, systematically eliminating the former Galu members, one-by-one. Their plans were halted when Brett went on an immunity challenge winning streak, resulting in Foa Foa having to turn on each other with Shambo and Jaison being voted out, but Brett lost the final immunity challenge and was voted off leaving the Final Three as Russell H., Natalie, and Mick.
At the Final Tribal Council, Mick was ignored by the jury, given his lack of leadership when assigned that role. Though Russell was confident that he had played the game well and that Natalie would be seen as a coattail rider, many of the jury disliked his brash attitude and appreciated Natalie's social game, and Natalie was ultimately named the Sole Survivor by a vote of 7–2–0.
Contestant | Original Tribe | Merged Tribe | Finish | Total Votes |
---|---|---|---|---|
Marisa Calihan 26, Cincinnati, OH |
Foa Foa | 1st Voted Out Day 3 |
7 | |
Mike Borassi 62, San Diego, CA |
Foa Foa | Evacuated Due to Injury Day 5 |
0 | |
Betsy Bolan 48, Campton, NH |
Foa Foa | 2nd Voted Out Day 6 |
7 | |
Ben Browning 28, Los Angeles, CA |
Foa Foa | 3rd Voted Out Day 9 |
7 | |
Yasmin Giles 33, Los Angeles, CA |
Galu | 4th Voted Out Day 11 |
8 | |
Ashley Trainer 22, Maple Grove, MN |
Foa Foa | 5th Voted Out Day 14 |
9 | |
Russell Swan 42, Glenside, PA |
Galu | Evacuated Due to Illness Day 15 |
0 | |
Elizabeth "Liz" Kim 33, New York, NY |
Foa Foa | 6th Voted Out Day 18 |
5 | |
Erik Cardona 28, Diamond Bar, CA |
Galu | Aiga | 7th Voted Out 1st Jury Member Day 21 |
10 |
Kelly Sharbaugh 25, West Hollywood, CA |
Galu | 8th Voted Out 2nd Jury Member Day 24 |
4 | |
Laura Morett 39, Salem, OR |
Galu | 9th Voted Out 3rd Jury Member Day 27 |
51 | |
John Fincher 25, Los Angeles, CA |
Galu | 10th Voted Out 4th Jury Member Day 30 |
7 | |
David "Dave" Ball 38, Los Angeles, CA |
Galu | 11th Voted Out 5th Jury Member Day 31 |
8 | |
Monica Padilla 25, San Diego, CA |
Galu | 12th Voted Out 6th Jury Member Day 33 |
7 | |
Shannon "Shambo" Waters 45, Renton, WA |
Galu | 13th Voted Out 7th Jury Member Day 36 |
6 | |
Jaison Robinson 28, Chicago, IL |
Foa Foa | 14th Voted Out 8th Jury Member Day 37 |
7 | |
Brett Clouser 23, Los Angeles, CA |
Galu | 15th Voted Out 9th Jury Member Day 38 |
3 | |
Mick Trimming 33, Los Angeles, CA |
Foa Foa | 2nd Runner-Up | 4 | |
Russell Hantz 36, Dayton, TX |
Foa Foa | Runner-Up | 22 | |
Natalie White 26, Van Buren, AR |
Foa Foa | Sole Survivor | 53 |
^1 Five additional votes were cast against Laura during a tie-breaker vote.
^2 Because Russell H. played the Hidden Immunity Idol, seven votes against him did not count.
^3 Three additional votes were cast against Natalie during a tie-breaker vote.
Episode Titles[3] | First air date | Challenges | Observer | Eliminated | Vote | Finish | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Reward | Immunity | ||||||
"The Puppet Master" | September 17, 2009 | Foa Foa | Galu | None | Marisa | 7–3 | 1st Voted Out Day 3 |
"Taking Candy From a Baby" | September 24, 2009 | Galu1 | Yasmin | Mike | No vote | Removed Due to Injury Day 5 |
|
Betsy | 7–1 | 2nd Voted Out Day 6 |
|||||
"It's Called a Russell Seed" | October 1, 2009 | Galu1 | Shambo | Ben | 6–1 | 3rd Voted Out Day 8 |
|
"Hungry for a Win" | October 8, 2009 | Galu | Foa Foa | None | Yasmin | 8–2 | 4th Voted Out Day 11 |
"Walking on Thin Ice" | October 15, 2009 | Galu | Galu | Shambo | Ashley | 5–1 | 5th Voted Out Day 14 |
"This Is the Man Test" | October 22, 2009 | None1,2 | None | Russell S. | No vote | Removed Due to Illness Day 15 |
|
"Houdini Magic" | October 29, 2009 | Galu | Galu | Laura | Liz | 4–1 | 6th Voted Out Day 18 |
"All Hell Breaks Loose" | November 5, 2009 | None3 | John | None4 | Erik | 10–2 | 7th Voted Out 1st Jury Member Day 21 |
Laura | |||||||
"Tastes Like Chicken" | November 12, 2009 | Dave, John, Kelly, Monica, Shambo | Laura | Kelly | 4–05 | 8th Voted Out 2nd Jury Member Day 24 |
|
"The Day of Reckoning" | November 19, 2009 | Brett, Dave, Laura, Natalie, Russell H. | Mick | Laura | 5–5 5-36 |
9th Voted Out 3rd Jury Member Day 27 |
|
"The First 27 Days" | November 26, 2009 | Recap Episode | |||||
"Off With Their Heads!" | December 3, 2009 | Survivor Auction |
Jaison | None4 | John | 7–1–1 | 10th Voted Out 4th Jury Member Day 30 |
"Damage Control" | December 10, 2009 | None | Jaison | Dave | 7–1 | 11th Voted Out 5th Jury Member Day 31 |
|
Brett | Monica | 5–2 | 12th Voted Out 6th Jury Member Day 33 |
||||
"Two Brains Are Better Than One" | December 17, 2009 | Jaison, Russell H., Shambo |
Brett | Shambo | 5–1 | 13th Voted Out 7th Jury Member Day 36 |
|
"This Game Ain't Over" | December 20, 2009 | None | Brett | Jaison | 4–1 | 14th Voted Out 8th Jury Member Day 37 |
|
Russell H. | Brett | 3–1 | 15th Voted Out 9th Jury Member Day 38 |
||||
"The Reunion" | December 20, 2009 | Jury Vote | Mick | 7–2–0 | 2nd Runner-Up | ||
Russell H. | Runner-Up | ||||||
Natalie | Sole Survivor |
^1 Combined Reward and Immunity Challenge.
^2 Russell S. collapsed during the challenge; even though Foa Foa was close of winning award Jeff cancelled the challenge with neither tribe winning the reward.
^3 There was no Reward Challenge due to the tribal merge.
^4 The observer rule was no longer applicable after the tribal merge, as there was only one tribe.
^5 Russell H. played the Hidden Immunity Idol, therefore the seven votes against him did not count.
^6 Laura was voted out after the first Tribal Council vote resulted in a 5–5 tie, but John switched his vote to Laura when the tribe revoted.
When the preselected tribes arrived ashore, Jeff handed each of the tribes pens and parchment and instructed the tribes that they would each elect a leader based solely on appearance. Mick and Russell S., the elected leaders for Foa Foa and Galu respectively, selected participants in the first Reward Challenge; as directed by Jeff, they chose the best swimmer, the strongest person, the most agile, and the smartest person on their tribes. When Foa Foa won the challenge, Jeff tossed maps to both tribes and sent them on their way. At Foa Foa, Mick downplayed his role of leader to stay "under the radar", believing that the leader always has a huge target on his head. Meanwhile, Russell H. quickly made "secret alliances" with Ashley, Betsy, Marisa, and Natalie; nevertheless, Betsy was suspicious and didn't trust him. At night in Foa Foa, Russell H. told a completely fabricated story to his tribe of his experience of Hurricane Katrina in his house in New Orleans, Louisiana; later, he emptied all the canteens and burned Jaison's socks. His strategy revolved around the idea that if he could control how his tribe felt, he could control how they think. Russell H.'s hard-core strategy began to make an effect on the tribe. When Foa Foa lost the Immunity Challenge, discussions of whom to vote out began when Mike talked about voting out the physically weakest: in his opinion, Ashley. Since Marisa was skeptical of Russell H.'s quickly-made alliance with her, the latter immediately targeted her for elimination. At Tribal Council, his plan to eliminate Marisa came together, and she was voted out 7–3.
Russell H. assumed a Hidden Immunity Idol was somewhere around camp and went searching for it. While his tribemates stood around oblivious to what he was doing, he located the idol, without the help of any clues, in the roots of a large tree. After taking the idol and hiding it in his underwear, he showed the idol to Jaison to create some trust between them. At the combined Reward and Immunity Challenge, after many dirty moments during the game, Jeff announced that the next dirty play would result in getting kicked out of the challenge. Moments later, Ben attempted to trip a Galu member by kicking their feet out from under them. Jeff called a time out and kicked Ben out of the challenge, a first in Survivor history, and resulting in Foa Foa being short one member in the challenge. In the end, Galu triumphed over Foa Foa. When the challenge ended, Jeff announced a twist—the leader of the winning tribe would select one member of the tribe to accompany the losing tribe back to their camp and observe them through the next Tribal Council. When Russell S. selected Yasmin, Jeff gave her a note to be read in private. Jeff also asked Mike to stay so the Survivor Medical Team could examine him due to the hard hits he received. The Survivor Medical Team determined that he would be unable to continue and pulled him from the game. At Galu, Shambo went spearfishing with the tribe's new fishing gear; however, when she came back with no fish and a missing mouthpiece to the swim mask, Laura felt that Shambo had "signed her own death warrant". At Foa Foa, Yasmin, the observer, came off as rude to the Foa Foa members. Ben and Yasmin had a heated conversation involving racial controversy about Ben's "cheap shot". At Tribal Council, Betsy, knowing her head was on the chopping block, attempted to sway her tribe to vote out Ben; the attempt, however, proved ineffective, and she was voted out 7–1.
Upon returning from Tribal Council, Jaison talked to Mick about voting out Ben next because of what Jaison perceived as racist comments made by Ben about Yasmin.[5] Multiple stories went around about who was "stirring up the pot". At the combined Reward and Immunity Challenge, Galu never lost their lead and won their third consecutive challenge. After the challenge was over, Jeff gave Russell S., Galu's leader, an option of trading the reward of comfort items for more functional items such as fishing gear, a pot, a lantern, and a tarp. Believing it would be delightful to the Galu women, Russell S. chose the comfort items. Many of the tribe's men disagreed with his choice. When Russell S. was also given the decision on whom to send as the observer to Foa Foa, he chose Shambo. Her visit with Foa Foa went great, and she began to feel more comfortable with them than Galu. When discussions arose about whom to vote out, Liz and Russell H., as well as Ben, gunned for Ashley, but Mick was unsure if he would agree with them or vote for Ben. Russell H. made an agreement with Mick that as long as the latter would not vote for him, Ben would be the next gone after Ashley. In an attempt to gain Mick's trust, Russell H. showed the Hidden Immunity Idol to him. At Tribal Council, Ben and Jaison voiced their disagreement about whether Ben's statements were racist. The tribe decided to vote against Ben, and he was voted out 6–1.
The day's tree mail instructed the tribe leaders to select two castaways to join them at the upcoming Reward Challenge; Russell S. chose Dave and Shambo, while Mick chose Natalie and Russell H. While his tribemates were not around, Erik began a search for the Hidden Immunity Idol at Galu and succeeded. Meanwhile, at Foa Foa's campsite, Russell H. pondered about changing his "final-two alliance" from Jaison to Natalie. Upon arriving at the challenge site, the six selected castaways realized Jeff was nowhere to be seen. After some hesitation, the six made a scramble towards a treasure chest and a cage of chickens. In the treasure chest, they discovered instructions that they were to do the challenge on their own. Dave won the challenge with a last ricochet shot. When the victorious Galu trio returned to Galu with the reward, Shambo was assigned to watch over the chickens, but she mistakenly let one loose. When Foa Foa broke Galu's Immunity Challenge win streak, deliberations began about how Tribal Council would go down. Brett and Kelly were both upset at Yasmin for doing nothing around camp, while Shambo and Yasmin wanted to vote out Monica because of her performance in the challenge. When Russell S. was told that the rest of the tribe was leaning towards voting out Yasmin, he was upset that the tribe was not following his lead. However, at Tribal Council, he followed the majority, and Yasmin was voted out 8–2.
Shambo felt more alienated from her tribe when she realized that she was the only one besides Yasmin to vote for Monica at Tribal Council, and she became more attached to her Foa Foa "tribemates". At the Reward Challenge, the chance for Foa Foa to win rested on Ashley's shoulders. After much taunting from the Galu bench, she quit the challenge and lost for her tribe. Per the rules, Galu's leader, Russell S., chose Shambo as the observer for the second time, a decision which infuriated her; he selected Shambo because he felt she had to pay for the loss of the chicken. Upon reaching the opposing tribe's camp, Shambo shared all of the clues to the Hidden Immunity Idol with the Foa Foa members. Liz presumed Russell H. to have the Hidden Immunity Idol, however, and confronted him about it. He denied he had it and then threatened Liz for confronting him. At the Immunity Challenge, Russell H. was the first to drop his net, and Liz dropped her net shortly afterward, losing the challenge for Foa Foa. Back at camp, rain had been pouring down for more than a day, and the Foa Foa members were forced to huddle together. Russell H. originally wanted Liz out because she had confronted him, but had second thoughts after seeing her strength in the Immunity Challenge. He also knew that Ashley was clearly the weakest link in the tribe. At Tribal Council, Russell H. put aside his vendetta and went with the rest of his tribe to vote out Ashley 5–1.
The rain continued for the fifth straight day, but ended soon thereafter. Both tribes were extremely thankful. At the Reward Challenge, Jeff announced that both tribes would be going to Tribal Council that night to vote somebody out of the game. Foa Foa selected Liz to be the guide with Jaison and Russell H. as cage-rollers, while Galu selected Laura to be the guide with Erik and Russell S. as cage-rollers. Towards the end of the cage-rolling stage, while Foa Foa had themselves established at the Puzzle table and tried to get ahead, Russell S. became disoriented and struggled to make it to the puzzle table. When he collapsed at his station onto the puzzle table, Jeff called for a halt so the Survivor Medical Team could tend to Russell S. After examination, they announced that he had dangerously low blood pressure even worse than Mike's injury. Jeff officially called off the challenge and stated that although neither tribe would be the victor, but both would still be going to Tribal Council. Moments later, Russell blacked out again with a heart rate that dropped from 97 to 68. The medical team eventually decided it was time for him to be pulled from the game. Russell protested at first; saying his family depended on this but Jeff said that with what he just saw happen to Russell with a plummeting heart rate and blacking out two times there would be no way he would stay in the game and that if he didn't get any help he would get worse. Feeling his frustration, Jeff reminded russell that he was in great shape and led a tribe that was dominating and he even pushed and pushed his body until his body said enough. At tribal council, When the two tribes arrived at the site, he announced that Russell S. had been pulled from the game but was doing fine. Jeff made a final announcement that due to the unprecedented circumstances of the incomplete challenge; including how big of an impact that Russell had on the tribe, there would be no voting, and nobody would be going home. Before departing, Jeff told Galu that they would need to select a new tribe leader.
The men of Galu conspired to vote Shambo in as the new leader of the tribe to secure her loyalty to them, but they kept her in the dark about their plans. At the Reward Challenge, Brett, who was designated to make decisions on which items to keep, forfeited the first point to keep the then-uncovered fire starting kit. The remaining matched pairs were kept for points, and Galu easily won the challenge. Shambo chose Laura to miss the reward and observe Foa Foa, much to the anger of the latter. While at Foa Foa, Russell H. attempted to ally with Laura; unknown to him, though, Laura didn't trust him. When the Immunity Challenge was won by Galu, Russell H. considered voting Jaison instead of Liz due to his poor performance in the challenge, but seeing how Liz was weak in trust, Russell H decided to vote out Liz. Although Liz thought she was safe, Russell H.'s plan to mislead her came together, and she was voted off 4–1.
The tribes arrived at the challenge site as instructed by tree mail. Jeff was not there, and a lone treasure chest lay on the beach. When the castaways opened the chest, they saw new blue buffs and supplies to create a new tribe flag. The note stated that the newly-merged tribe would move to the old Galu campsite, and there was a feast down the beach for them. After the feast, the castaways settled on Aiga, meaning "extended family" in Samoan, as a tribe name. Russell H. scrambled around camp, showing his Hidden Immunity Idol to John, Laura, and Monica and made conflicting deals with each of them to no avail. He then turned a disgruntled Shambo away from her tribe and gained support from her in voting out Laura. At the Immunity Challenge, Jeff explained that there would be an immunity necklace for the highest-scoring man and woman. With Laura's immunity win, Russell H.'s plan to vote out Laura collapsed. Laura informed Erik that the Hidden Immunity Idol was in Russell H.'s hands, and he conspired with others. When news of Erik's strategizing spread to Natalie, she campaigned for Erik's elimination. At Tribal Council, Russell H., concerned that he was the actual target, played his Hidden Immunity Idol. Not a single vote was cast against him. Erik, not noticing the blindside coming, was voted out 10–2 with the idol in his pocket.
In the morning, Natalie stumbled upon a rat and, out of hunger, smashed it for food. This surprised the rest of the tribe, as Natalie had provided a good breakfast for all. At the Reward Challenge, the purple team of Dave, John, Kelly, Monica, and Shambo took the win. While eating their picnic lunch, they received a clue to a new Hidden Immunity Idol. The group planned only tell Brett and Laura to keep the knowledge in Galu's hands. When the five discussed which former Foa Foa member to vote out next, Shambo's defense of Russell H. made Kelly suspicious of her loyalties. Upon returning from camp, Russell H. remarkably found his second Hidden Immunity Idol without the help of a clue and informed Shambo. In return, she told him about Galu's plot against him. At the Immunity Challenge, the pair's fear came true when Laura won immunity for the second time in a row. The whole of Foa Foa plus Shambo targeted Kelly. Galu still believed Russell H. would be going home. At Tribal Council, a massive blindside of Kelly occurred when Russell H. pulled out his second Hidden Immunity Idol, and the seven Galu votes against him were negated. The remaining votes sent Kelly home 4–0.
When the tribe returned to their campsite, Russell H. went searching for his third Hidden Immunity Idol. At the Reward Challenge, the purple team of Brett, Dave, Laura, Natalie, and Russell H. won the challenge; they were given a Palm Pre to use during their picnic lunch. While flipping through the phone's photo gallery, Russell H. discovered a series of text, photo, and video clues to the Hidden Immunity Idol hidden under a rock. Upon returning from the reward, Russell immediately took off in search of it. He finally found the idol after a long chase through the forest. At the immunity challenge, Mick and Jaison each broke one of their tiles, Dave Ball broke one of Monica's tiles, but none of his, and Brett broke 2 of his tiles. In the final round, Mick came out on top with his spear closest to the center of the target to win his first immunity. When they arrived back from the Immunity Challenge, John and Russell H. debated on how the voting would go down; if John were to switch his vote to Laura after a tie, the next person voted out would be a former Foa Foa. John's first instinct was to let the Tribal Council vote to go the infamous "purple rock" tiebreaker and then hope that one of the former Foa Foa would be sent home. At Tribal Council, the vote came to a 5–5 tie between Laura and Natalie. Per the rules, a second vote was held where Laura and Natalie would not vote—the remaining eight castaways would have to vote for one of the two. When the votes were cast again, John changed his vote, and Laura was voted out 5–3.
Contestants | Item(s) |
---|---|
Brett | Nothing |
Dave | Nothing |
Jaison | A sealed container with a note that will help him at the next Immunity Challenge |
John | Clue to the Hidden Immunity Idol, slice of apple pie |
Mick | Cheeseburger, french fries, and a beer |
Monica | Whole roasted chicken (Mystery item) |
Natalie | Peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a shower |
Russell H. | Nothing |
Shambo | Sea noodles and sea slug guts with grated Parmesan cheese (Mystery item) |
The day's treemail contained envelopes full of US$500, signaling a Survivor Auction. Unlike previous Survivor Auctions, money and food could not be shared. Jaison bid high on a note that would give him an advantage at the Immunity Challenge. At the challenge, Jaison opened the sealed container; the note stated that Jaison was able to move up two knots on his rope at any time during the challenge, giving him a significant advantage. Because he had the upper hand regarding the note, Jaison won the Immunity Challenge. Back at camp, the tribe decided to eat the chickens won by Galu in a previous Reward Challenge. Shambo, the chickens' caretaker, took control of the cooking and insisted on boiling the chickens. She was infuriated when Dave, who had won the chickens for his tribe, suggested on another method of cooking. That night, Shambo had "a clairvoyant dream" in which the tribe had voted out Dave. The next day, Russell H. confronted John about the missing Hidden Immunity Idol and revealed to the latter the idol. Later, Russell H. realized that he had made a mistake in showing John the idol and felt that he needed get rid of John immediately to cover up the mistake. He organized a plan to vote John out with his Foa Foa alliance. John did not see through the Foa Foa pact, and at Tribal Council, the Foa Foa plan came together—stunning Shambo in the process—and John was voted out 7–1–1.
After returning to camp from Tribal Council, Shambo was stunned about the vote going against John. To calm down the infuriated Shambo, Russell H. said he voted out John because he was gunning for her. She bought the lie, but she insisted that Dave had to go next. The argument between Russell H. and his tribe about the former's US$1.7 million salary proved that there were cracks forming in the Foa Foa alliance. When the tribe arrived at the challenge site, Jeff announced they would be playing for immunity, not the expected reward.
Jaison took his second immunity win in a row, while Shambo reaffirmed her statement that Dave was going home at the next Tribal Council. After the challenge, Dave knew that he was the "lowest man on the totem pole" in the tribe. Russell H. debated between Dave and Shambo. However, at Tribal Council, Shambo got her wish, and Dave was voted out 7–1.
Russell H. thought that Brett was the biggest threat to him remaining as he was well liked by the jury, so he started to work on voting out Brett with the Foa Foa alliance. At the Immunity Challenge, Brett edged out Mick to win Individual Immunity, much to the alliance's disappointment. Brett's win solidified the Foa Foa theory that he could quite possibly win again, forcing the alliance to vote out one of their own at the next Tribal Council. Russell H. told the rest that Monica was to be voted out first. Monica stirred the pot by informing Russell H. that Natalie had previously told her about Russell H.'s salary—she later corrected herself and stated it was rather Jaison who revealed the information. Monica's plot to anger Russell H. worked, and he went off to confront his alliance members about Monica's story; after confronting Brett and Natalie, he went to Jaison, who denied it because he had forgotten he told Brett and Monica those stories. Jaison felt nervous around Russell H. and believed the latter should be eliminated soon. When the castaways sat down at Tribal Council, Russell H. flaunted the Hidden Immunity Idol pulled out it out and placed it around his neck. Monica commented that she was busy stirring the pot and infuriating Russell H. with her rumors. Russell H. felt that this earned her a trip home, and she was sent home 5–2.
In the tribe's shelter, Brett and Natalie felt a connection through their shared interest in religion as Brett recited verses of the Bible from memory. At the Reward Challenge, the castaways drew stones to be team captains; when Natalie, one of the team captains, selected Brett first, Russell H. and Shambo were suspicious of an alliance that would need to be broken up immediately. This was partially brought up when Brett and Natalie joined hands as "prayer warriors" to help them through the challenge. After Jaison, Russell H., and Shambo won the challenge, they went on their reward trip. Jaison told Russell H he agreed to go to the top three together. The winning trio also discussed the possibility of a Brett–Natalie alliance and that they had to put a stop to it immediately by voting out Brett or Mick next. Back at camp, Brett suggested the three from the losing team create their own reward by spending the day at the beach hunting for snails. When Russell H. returned to camp, he talked with Natalie about her picking of Brett at the Reward Challenge. She reassured him that her and Russell H.'s "final two alliance" from early in the game was still strong. At the Immunity Challenge, Russell H. became worried when Brett won immunity for the second time in a row. Jaison figured the former Foa Foa needed to be as strong as possible to prevent Brett from winning any further Immunity Challenges, and told Russell H. that Shambo would need to go next due to her poor performance in challenges. When Shambo approached the conversation, Jaison quickly scrambled off. Russell H. told Shambo, suspicious that Jaison was hiding something, that Jaison was upset, that he wanted to vote out Mick, and that Russell H. agreed with the vote. Mick was surprised when Russell H. told him that Shambo was getting on his nerves and she needed to go. At Tribal Council, Russell H. once again openly wore his Hidden Immunity Idol, but did not use it the last time it could be played. Shambo was voted out 5–1.
The remaining four Foa Foa members concentrated on getting rid of Brett, feeling that he didn't deserve to be there. Russell H. talked to Natalie about how they could keep her in the game, warning her that if Brett were to win the next Immunity Challenge, she would be voted off to keep the strongest possible in the game in the hopes of voting off Brett. Russell H. was again extremely confident going into the Immunity Challenge, but while he had an early lead, Brett came from behind during the puzzle assembly stage and pulled off his third immunity win in a row.
Natalie and Russell H. again discussed what the plans were for Tribal Council. Russell H. wanted to keep Natalie around, as he felt that she would be seen by the jury members as "riding his coattails" and therefore not get any votes. Russell H. told Jaison that they had to keep Natalie and get rid of Mick to make it to the final three, which Jaison agreed with. Russell H. told Mick a different story: Jaison could not beat Brett in anything, and voting off Jaison would give them a better chance at beating Brett. Mick agreed with the plan, believing that Jaison wasn't mentally in the game while Natalie was. With the vote split—Jaison and Mick agreeing to vote for each other—the power of who went home fell to Natalie and Russell H. They decided to vote against Jaison, and he was sent home blindsided by a vote of 4–1.
Upon returning to camp, Brett knew that he had to win the next Immunity Challenge or he would be going home. Russell H. made a deal with Brett that should either of them win the next Immunity Challenge, that they would take each other to the final three. The final four took the traditional journey honoring the castaways voted out before heading to their Final Immunity Challenge. The challenge came down to Brett and Russell H.; with the poles at 7 feet (2.1 m) long, Brett lost the balance on his pole and Russell H. won his first Individual Immunity.
Brett figured that his only hope to remain in the game was the deal he made with Russell H. Russell H. gloated about his challenge win to Mick and Natalie and said that he thought he had a great shot at the million dollars and was already rehearsing his jury speech. Mick was concerned that Russell H. had some secret plan and that Mick was going home, but Natalie reassured him that the former Foa Foa would stick together. Russell H. told Brett that he had a problem because he had made a deal with everybody to take them to the final three. Russell H. told Brett that Brett was the kind of guy that Russell H. wanted his kids to marry and he wished he was like Brett when he was young. Russell H. told Brett that Mick and Natalie would be voting against him and asked if Brett could win a fire starting challenge if Russell H. joined Brett in voting for Mick, forcing a tie.
At Tribal Council, Mick and Natalie stated that there was no doubt in their mind that Brett was going home. Jeff asked Russell H. if he could appreciate the competitor in Brett. Russell H. answered that he respected the game and that Brett deserved to be in the final three. Mick and Natalie emphasized that strategically, Russell H. had to vote out Brett. In the end, Russell H. voted against Brett and he became the final jury member by a vote of 3–1.
With only three Foa Foa members left, Mick, Natalie, and Russell H. celebrated with the traditional Day 39 breakfast. Russell H. pressed Natalie over what she was going to say to the jury and he continued to gloat over how he had locked up the necessary jury votes. The three then burned their encampment. At the final Tribal Council, the final three made their opening statements. Mick stated that he tried to play the game without overstepping his morals by trying not promise too much, overtly stomp on, lie, and mislead people, or treat them as pawns in the game. Natalie focused on how she came into the game wanting to gain the confidence in going outside her comfort zone and that she appreciated everybody on the jury. Russell H. went over many of his big strategic moves throughout the game and that he played the game better than Mick or Natalie.
The time then came for the jury to ask their questions to the final three. Jaison was up first, asking the three to tell the members of the jury who they really were and if they didn't, that he would. All three told the jury what they did, but Jaison pointed out that both Natalie and Russell H. had made a lot of money before coming on Survivor, that Mick had the potential to make a lot of money, and that the jury should not focus who was broke, but on other criteria. Shambo took the opportunity to apologize to America for dismantling Galu and that she questioned that judgment call. She called Mick's overall game play "feckless", which Mick did not know the meaning of. She used the word "coattail" to describe Natalie, to which Natalie defended that she purposefully tried not to be aggressive in the game. Shambo then said that there was no way that Mick and Natalie would get her vote and said nothing to Russell H. Brett asked nothing of Natalie or Russell H., but asked Mick what a "bro date" would be like with him to see to what level Mick invested in Brett as a human being. Kelly started with Natalie, telling her that she thought she was never on the field in the game and that Kelly always saw Natalie asking for help in the challenges, to which Natalie said that while she might not have been good in the challenges, but she gave 100% and that she got better as the game progressed. She asked Russell H. if he lied, cheated, and stole in real life as he did in the game, to which Russell H. said that he did not and that "honor, integrity, and loyalty" was the most important thing to him, which she had a hard time believing. She said nothing to Mick.
Next up was Monica, who asked Mick and Natalie why they felt the other two sitting beside them did not deserve to win. Mick said that Natalie rode out her alignment with Russell H. throughout the game and that Russell H. was willing to lie, pit people against each other, mislead, and had a giant ego. Russell H. interrupted Mick's answer by stating that both Natalie and Mick didn't mind when Russell H. was being a snake and was congratulating him all the way. Dave asked the three what they thought their chances were with the jury. Mick thought it was 20–25%, Natalie 30–40%, and Russell H. 55%. Laura asked nothing of Natalie or Mick, but asked Russell H. what he learned about her that enabled him to beat her. John asked nothing of Russell H., but asked Mick and Natalie for the "hard sell" of his vote. Mick repeated the theme of his opening statement that he was a stand up guy, while Natalie said that she saw how the aggressive women in the game were getting voted out and that she adapted her game after that.
Erik asked no questions of the final three and instead made statements to the three. He told Mick that he did nothing to deserve the title of being the tribe leader of Foa Foa. He told Russell H. that he played an unethical game and wondered if Russell H. got to the right place by behaving the wrong way and if Russell H. was proud of behaving in such a manner. Finally, Erik told Natalie that people would call her weak and undeserving, but asked that why are those characteristics were any less admirable than lying, cheating and stealing. He went on to say that maybe she would call herself the less deserving of the title Sole Survivor, but that in an environment filled with "arrogance" (pointing to Russell H.) and "delusional entitlement" (pointing to Mick), that the person who might thinks she is the least deserving, could probably be the most. Erik closed his speech by saying that Natalie had his vote and hoped she would get four more. The jury gave Natalie an additional six votes and she became the Sole Survivor over Russell H. and Mick by a vote of 7–2–0.
Original Tribes | Merged Tribe | |||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Episode #: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | ||||
Eliminated: | Marisa 7/10 votes |
Mike No vote6 |
Betsy 7/8 votes |
Ben 6/7 votes |
Yasmin 8/10 votes |
Ashley 5/6 votes |
Russell S. No vote7 |
Liz 4/5 votes |
Erik 10/12 votes |
Kelly 4/4 votes5 |
Tie8 | Laura 5/8 votes8 |
John 7/9 votes |
Dave 7/8 votes |
Monica 5/7 votes |
Shambo 5/6 votes |
Jaison 4/5 votes |
Brett 3/4 votes |
Voter | Vote | |||||||||||||||||
Natalie | Marisa | Betsy | Ben | Ashley | Liz | Erik | Kelly | Laura | None9 | John | Dave | Monica | Shambo | Jaison | Brett | |||
Russell H. | Marisa | Betsy | Ben | Ashley | Liz | Erik | Kelly | Laura | Laura | John | Dave | Monica | Shambo | Jaison | Brett | |||
Mick | Ashley | Betsy | Ben | Ashley | Liz | Erik | Kelly | Laura | Laura | John | Dave | Monica | Shambo | Jaison | Brett | |||
Brett | Yasmin | Erik | Natalie | Natalie | John | Dave | Russell H. | Shambo | Jaison | Mick | ||||||||
Jaison | Marisa | Betsy | Ben | Ashley | Liz | Erik | Kelly | Laura | Laura | John | Dave | Monica | Shambo | Mick | ||||
Shambo | Monica | Jaison | Laura | Laura | Dave | Dave | Monica | Mick | ||||||||||
Monica | Yasmin | Erik | Natalie | Natalie | John | Dave | Russell H. | |||||||||||
Dave | Yasmin | Erik | Natalie | Natalie | John | Shambo | ||||||||||||
John | Yasmin | Erik | Natalie | Laura | Mick | |||||||||||||
Laura | Yasmin | Erik | Natalie | None9 | ||||||||||||||
Kelly | Yasmin | Erik | ||||||||||||||||
Erik | Yasmin | Jaison | ||||||||||||||||
Liz | Marisa | Betsy | Ben | Ashley | Jaison | |||||||||||||
Russell S. | Yasmin | |||||||||||||||||
Ashley | Marisa | Betsy | Ben | Liz | ||||||||||||||
Yasmin | Monica | |||||||||||||||||
Ben | Marisa | Betsy | Ashley | |||||||||||||||
Betsy | Ashley | Ben | ||||||||||||||||
Mike | Marisa | |||||||||||||||||
Marisa | Ashley |
Jury Vote | |||
---|---|---|---|
Finalist: | Mick 0/9 votes |
Russell H. 2/9 votes |
Natalie 7/9 votes |
Juror | Vote | ||
Brett | Natalie | ||
Jaison | Natalie | ||
Shambo | Russell H. | ||
Monica | Natalie | ||
Dave | Natalie | ||
John | Russell H. | ||
Laura | Natalie | ||
Kelly | Natalie | ||
Erik | Natalie |
^6 Mike was evacuated due to medical reasons, therefore no vote occurred for his removal from the game.
^7 Russell S. was evacuated due to medical reasons, therefore no vote occurred for his removal from the game.
^8 The first Tribal Council Vote resulted in a tie. Per the rules, a second vote was held where the castaways involved in the tie would not vote and the remaining castaways could only vote for the two tied.
^9 Laura and Natalie were not eligible to vote in the second Tribal Council vote.
Episode | Rating | Share | Rating/Share (18–49) |
Viewers (millions) |
Weekly Rank |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
"The Puppet Master" | 6.8[6] | 11[6] | 3.6/11[6] | 11.66[6] | #12[7] |
"Taking Candy From a Baby" | 6.7[8] | 11[8] | 3.7/11[8] | 11.66[8] | #22[9] |
"It's Called a Russell Seed" | 6.9[10] | 11[10] | 3.7/11[10] | 11.54[10] | #22[11] |
"Hungry for a Win" | 7.0[12] | 11[12] | 3.4/10[12] | 11.69[12] | #19[13] |
"Walking on Thin Ice" | 7.1[14] | 11[14] | 3.5/10[14] | 11.78[14] | #19[15] |
"This Is the Man Test" | 7.7[16] | 12[16] | 4.0/11[16] | 12.88[16] | #17[17] |
"Houdini Magic" | 6.9[18] | 11[18] | 3.7/10[18] | 12.19[18] | #15[19] |
"All Hell Breaks Loose" | 7.3[20] | 11[20] | 3.7/10[20] | 12.44[20] | #20[21] |
"Tastes like Chicken" | 7.5[22] | 12[22] | 4.0/11[22] | 12.94[22] | #18[23] |
"The Day of Reckoning" | 7.2[24] | 11[24] | 3.8/11[24] | 12.33[24] | #19[25] |
"The First 27 Days" | 5.3[26] | 11[26] | 3.1[26] | 9.94[26] | #23[26] |
"Off With Their Heads!" | 7.5[27] | 12[27] | 3.9/11[27] | 12.82[27] | #7[28] |
"Damage Control" | 7.6[29] | 12[29] | 4.2/12[29] | 13.25[29] | #11[30] |
"Two Brains Are Better Than One" | 7.3[31] | 12[31] | 3.9/12[31] | 12.46[31] | #16[31] |
"This Game Ain't Over" | 7.6[31] | 12[31] | 4.4/11[31] | 13.97[31] | #12[31] |
"The Reunion" | 6.4[31] | 11[31] | 3.8/10[31] | 11.68[31] | #17[31] |
Episode | Original airdate | Five-city metropolitan figures | Total | Rank | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Sydney | Melbourne | Brisbane | Adelaide | Perth | Night | Week | ||||
"The Puppet Master" | 1 December 2009 | 247,000[32] | 274,000[32] | 106,000[32] | 56,000[32] | 105,000[32] | 788,000[32] | #14[32] | — | |
"Taking Candy From a Baby" | 8 December 2009 | 283,000[33] | 347,000[33] | 124,000[33] | 72,000[33] | 85,000[33] | 911,000[33] | #8[34] | #24[33] | |
"It's Called a Russell Seed" | 15 December 2009 | 226,000[35] | 258,000[35] | 148,000[35] | 52,000[35] | 98,000[35] | 781,000[35] | #14[36] | #39[35] | |
"Hungry for a Win" | 246,000[35] | 301,000[35] | 123,000[35] | 57,000[35] | 103,000[35] | 830,000[35] | #9[36] | #30[35] | ||
"Walking on Thin Ice" | 22 December 2009 | 252,000[37] | 184,000[37] | 135,000[37] | 49,000[37] | 83,000[37] | 702,000[37] | #16[37] | — | |
"This Is the Man Test" | 277,000[37] | 223,000[37] | 106,000[37] | 60,000[37] | 96,000[37] | 762,000[37] | #13[37] | — | ||
"Houdini Magic" | 29 December 2009[38] | 211,000[39] | 237,000[39] | 123,000[39] | 71,000[39] | 84,000[39] | 727,000[39] | #10[39] | — | |
"All Hell Breaks Loose" | 238,000[39] | 253,000[39] | 110,000[39] | 78,000[39] | 84,000[39] | 762,000[39] | #8[39] | — | ||
"Tastes like Chicken" | 5 January 2010[40] | — | — | — | — | — | 837,000[41] | #7[41] | — | |
"The Day of Reckoning" | — | — | — | — | — | 815,000[41] | #8[41] | — | ||
"The First 27 Days" | 12 January 2010 | — | — | — | — | — | 838,000[42] | #9[42] | — | |
"Off With Their Heads!" | — | — | — | — | — | 919,000[42] | #6[42] | — | ||
"Damage Control" | 19 January 2010 | — | — | — | — | — | 895,000[43] | #9[43] | — | |
"Two Brains Are Better Than One" | — | — | — | — | — | 897,000[43] | #8[43] | — | ||
"This Game Ain't Over"[aus 1] | 2 February 2010 | 233,000[44] | 291,000[44] | 166,000[44] | 88,000[44] | 114,000[44] | 892,000[44] | #13[44] | — | |
249,000[44] | 290,000[44] | 176,000[44] | 88,000[44] | 102,000[44] | 906,000[44] | #11[44] | — | |||
"The Reunion" | 243,000[44] | 253,000[44] | 147,000[44] | 80,000[44] | 82,000[44] | 804,000[44] | #16[44] | — | ||
An "—" indicates either insufficient data to determine figures/rankings from references, or the episode failed to rank in the weekly top 100 programs. |