Survivor: Micronesia
Encyclopedia
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 two contestants from Survivor: Palau
returned for a second chance.
Applications were due on July 7, 2007. Around August 2007, 800 applicants were selected for an interview by CBS
. Out of these 800, about 48 semi-finalists were selected to go to Los Angeles in September 2007. From these semi-finalists, 10 contestants were selected to participate in the show between late October and mid-December 2007. The full cast of 20 contestants was revealed on January 3, 2008 by Entertainment Weekly
. Host Jeff Probst revealed that a list of 20 favorites was put together (enough for an entire game) and then 10 of them were cut. Others included for consideration were Shane Powers (of Survivor: Panama
), Yul Kwon
(of Survivor: Cook Islands
), Terry Deitz
(of Survivor: Panama
), Tom Westman
(of Survivor: Palau
), and Courtney Yates
(of Survivor: China
), though Probst confirmed that Westman and Yates declined the opportunity. Pearl Islands
winner Sandra Diaz-Twine
, who initially declined to be on Survivor: All-Stars
, participated in initial casting for Micronesia but was one of those cut at the last minute. The contestants were split into two tribes, fans and favorites, named Airai
and Malakal
respectively. Both tribes were named after locations in Palau.
The season was filmed in Palau
, marking the second time Survivor has filmed there (the first
being 2005). The filming locations for this season were the same as those used in Survivor: Palau (Airai lived in the former Koror camp and Malakal lived in the former Ulong camp). Exile Island returned this season after being absent from Survivor: China, with a new twist of one castaway from each tribe being sent to Exile Island where they had to compete to find the hidden immunity idol.
For the first time since Survivor: Panama, the final Tribal Council featured a Final Two rather than a Final Three. This was also the first and currently only season to have an even numbered jury, with this season having eight jury members, rather than the traditional seven or nine in past seasons. In the end, Parvati Shallow
defeated Amanda Kimmel
by a vote of 5–3 to become the Sole Survivor. On the reunion show, it was revealed that James Clement, for the second consecutive season, was the viewer's choice of favorite contestant, winning US$
100,000. Amanda Kimmel and Oscar "Ozzy" Lusth
received the next highest number of votes.
Host Jeff Probst
has declared this as his second favorite season of all time. Probst also stated that the Tribal Council in which Erik Reichenbach was eliminated was his favorite of all the seasons, and he also said Palau was his favorite filming location.
After 11 days, with the tribes still at equal numbers, the tribes were swapped through a schoolyard pick. Despite the separate tribes, the favorites worked within their new tribes to eliminate the fans prior to the merge. Before and through the merge, three people had to be removed from the game; Jonathan who suffered an infection on his knee; Kathy, who wanted to quit after suffering psychological trauma
; and James, who had an infected finger - James remained part of the jury though had to use an IV drip
during Tribal Council.
After the first merge, the remaining fans attempted to form alliances with the favorites that held the majority. A core alliance of Amanda, Parvati and Cirie worked with the other female fans, Natalie and Alexis, to push through several upsets. First, Eliza attempted to work with Jason to use his idol to trick the majority, but her planned failed when she realized Jason's idol was fake. After luring Ozzy to believe they would be voting off Jason, breaking their promise they had made to him at the previous immunity challenge, they were able to eliminate Ozzy without him able to play the idol. Jason was next sent to Exile Island and found the relocated idol but again, the woman's alliance lured him into believing him to be safe at Tribal Council, eliminating him without playing the idol. After James' evacuation, the remaining fans (Alexis, Erik, and Natalie) maneuvered Cirie to vote with them to remove Amanda, but Amanda had been to Exile since Jason's elimination and had retrieved the idol, playing it to protect her and eliminate Alexis. Finally, the remaining women convinced Erik he was safe at the next vote regardless if he won individual immunity; Erik, having won this immunity, gave it to Natalie, allowing the women to vote him off.
After eliminating the last fan, Natalie, and realizing that there would not be three contestants in the final tribal council, Amanda and Parvati both saw Cirie as the likely winner against either of them, and through her immunity win, Amanda voted Cirie off, opting to go to the final with Parvati. The jury grilled both players, with Parvati ultimately winning in a 5–3 vote.
Amanda played the Hidden Immunity Idol, therefore four votes against her were not counted.
The players competed for a one-time use individual immunity (one per tribe).
This was a combined reward and immunity challenge.
No one was sent to Exile Island because it was not yet known to the castaways.
No one was sent to Exile Island due to the tribal switch.
There was no Reward Challenge due to the tribal merge, therefore no one was sent to Exile Island.
At the Survivor Auction, Natalie bought the right to send someone to Exile Island and take all of his/her money. She chose Jason.
Amanda played the Hidden Immunity Idol, so the four votes against her did not count. Alexis, who had two votes against her, was eliminated instead.
Erik won individual immunity, but gave it to Natalie before the vote.
In a pouring rain, the ten fans arrived on the island unaware that they would be facing past castaways and were shocked when Jeff introduced the favorites. Jeff then pointed to a beach on an island across the way with two boats and told the tribes to swim across. Two individual Immunity Idols were there for the first castaway on each tribe to find, with the stipulation that they were only good for the first time they went to Tribal Council. Jonny Fairplay was the first to find the idols tied to the boat's prows, but took the wrong one. Yau-Man noticed this, raced over, and grabbed the correct idol after Jonny tripped (Jonny accused Yau-Man of tackling him). Kathy got her tribe's idol after Yau-Man pointed it out to her. Two alliances were formed in the favorites tribe: one between Ami, Eliza, Jonathan, and Yau-Man and another consisting of the couples of James and Parvati, and Amanda and Ozzy. Both groups courted Jonny and he played both sides. At the combined Reward and Immunity Challenge, the fans took the lead early and won. After the challenge, Jonny told the tribe that his mind was not really committed to the game because he missed his girlfriend and unborn daughter. Feelings were split about whether he was being truthful or reverting to his old, dirty ways, but in the end he was unanimously voted out 9–1. After the vote, the tribe was given a flint, although Yau-Man had already started a fire by focusing the sun using water and his eyeglasses.
Airai struggled with making fire and building a shelter. Chet, Kathy, and Tracy, feeling shunned by their younger tribemates and upset that the others were not making an attempt to build a decent shelter, built their own and then another was built for the other tribe members. At Malakal, the couples of Amanda/Ozzy and Parvati/James grew closer, much to the concern of Jonathan and Cirie, who joked that Amanda would be having "Ozzlets." At the combined Reward and Immunity Challenge, Malakal won by a wide margin after Chet struggled to retrieve his key. Before the challenge, Jeff announced Exile Island and said there would be a twist revealed after the challenge. After Malakal selected Kathy to go to Exile Island, Jeff revealed the twist: the winning tribe also had to select one of their own to go to Exile Island. Cirie volunteered to go. Kathy and Cirie discovered a series of four clues at Exile Island that required them to crisscross between two islands, but did not find the Hidden Immunity Idol. After Chet's poor performance at the challenge, Mikey B wanted him to be voted out. Mikey B came up with a plan to split his alliance of seven's votes between Chet and Tracy to protect against potential Immunity Idols. Joel did not like how Mikey B was trying to control the vote, so he plotted with Erik, Alexis, Natalie, Chet, Tracy, and Kathy to break up Mikey B's alliance with Mary. Joel's plan came together, even though he changed his vote to Tracy at Tribal Council as a failsafe, and Mary was blindsided in a 6–2–2 vote.
Mikey B confronted Joel about voting out Mary at the last Tribal Council. The alliance of Amanda, Ozzy, Parvati, and James tried to swing Eliza over to their side. Cirie contemplated her options on which alliance to trust and join. At the Reward Challenge, the tribes, dressed in war paint, had a very physical battle in the rain with the reward of items chosen from a catalog. Malakal won the challenge, taking home a tarp, a lighting kit, and a survival kit. Kathy was selected to go to Exile Island for a second time along with Ami. Cirie struck an alliance with Amanda and Parvati to go all the way to the final three with them. On Exile Island, Ami tried to follow the clues without the help of Kathy, who refused to decode the clues that she already knew about from her previous stay. The Immunity Challenge was won by Airai after Cirie, James, Jonathan, and Parvati could not outlast Erik, Joel, Natalie, and Tracy. There was open lobbying by both alliances for Cirie to join their side. Cirie wanted Yau-Man voted off because she feared that he would find the Hidden Immunity Idol. The alliance of Amanda, Ozzy, Parvati, and James wanted to vote out Eliza, but decided to follow Cirie's lead and Yau-Man was voted out 6–2–1.
At Airai, Chet's lack of work around camp irritated his tribemates. At the Malakal campsite, Eliza was feeling sick and James criticized his alliance's decision to vote out Yau-Man instead of Eliza, whom he felt was the weakest member of the tribe. Malakal won the Reward Challenge after Ozzy's strategy of singlehandedly pushing his tribe's coconuts to the front of the steel cage made it easier for his tribemates to retrieve their coconuts. Kathy was sent to Exile Island for the third consecutive time with Ozzy joining her. On Exile Island, a disheartened Kathy did not want to look for the Hidden Immunity Idol, so Ozzy followed the clues on his own under the pretense of looking for food. He succeeded in finding the Idol and kept his discovery a secret from Kathy. Borrowing Yau-Man's strategy from Survivor: Fiji, Ozzy fashioned a false Idol and placed it where he found the real Idol. Eliza tried to keep herself in the game by talking to Parvati about voting out Jonathan, but Jonathan overheard them. At the Immunity Challenge, Airai struggled to unlock their hub and maneuver through the forest. Malakal won their second challenge in a row by a wide margin. Mikey B, feigning loyalty to Joel, lobbied to vote out Chet. Tracy approached Joel about a plan to use her alliance with Chet and Kathy to help vote out Mikey B. Tracy's plan came to fruition and Mikey B was voted out 6–3.
At Malakal, Ozzy told Amanda, James, and Parvati that he found the Hidden Immunity Idol. Before the Reward Challenge began, Jeff announced a tribal switch. The tribes were divided by schoolyard pick. The new Airai tribe was composed of Alexis, Eliza, James, Jason, Jonathan, Kathy, Natalie, and Parvati; Amanda, Ami, Chet, Cirie, Erik, Joel, Ozzy, and Tracy made up the new Malakal tribe. Airai won the physically punishing Reward Challenge with Parvati receiving a fat lip, Ami a tweaked knee, Jonathan a puncture wound to the knee, and Chet a blow to the head. Jeff announced that due to the tribal switch, nobody would go to Exile Island. After the challenge and back at the Airai beach, Jonathan's injured knee required attention from the Survivor medical team. On day 14, the Favorites at Airai took charge and fixed the tribe's camp site by moving it further inland and building a new shelter. While Airai fell far behind during the rock throwing stage of the Immunity Challenge, they caught up during the puzzle assembly stage and won Tribal Immunity. Joel and Erik approached the Favorites of Malakal about voting out who they perceived as the weakest members: Chet, Cirie, and Tracy. Overhearing this, Cirie took Chet and Tracy aside and they decided to vote Joel out. Cirie told Amanda and Ozzy that it would be better to vote out Joel instead of Chet as Joel was the bigger threat longer term through the game, and that Chet could be used as a pawn for future strategic votes. Cirie also expressed discomfort that if the weaker members of the tribe were to be voted out, she would be voted off soon after Chet. Cirie's argument convinced the Favorites, and Joel was voted out 6–2.
On Malakal, Tracy started to regret her decision to help the Favorites vote out Joel. Airai won the Reward Challenge and elected to send Chet to Exile Island along with Jason. After the challenge, Jeff announced that the Survivor medical team wanted to look at Jonathan's knee. The doctor recommended that he be evacuated and taken to the hospital for treatment as the knee had become seriously infected. Jonathan accepted the recommendation and left on day 15. The two Micronesians, Edwin and Joe who made a previous appearance in Survivor: Palau
, showed up at Airai bringing fishing line, an extra machete, two knives, a fishing net, vegetables, fruit, and taught the castaways how to fish and hunt for crabs. At Malakal, Ami approached Tracy and Erik about forming an alliance with them after she felt that she could not trust Cirie. On Exile Island, Jason found the fake Hidden Immunity Idol that Ozzy left. Airai continued their winning streak at the Immunity Challenge by using a strategy of carrying Eliza and Parvati on a single stepping pole instead of using both poles. After the Immunity Challenge, Chet told his tribe to vote him out because he had given up and had an injured foot. Erik and Tracy tried to convince Chet to help vote out Ozzy, but the tribe honored Chet's request and he was voted out 5–2.
At Malakal, Ozzy's de facto leadership and arrogance during a fishing excursion irked the women of the tribe. Airai's winning streak was broken when Malakal won the Reward Challenge. They chose to send Jason back to Exile Island along with Tracy, who could not go on the spa
trip with the rest of Malakal. On day 18, the constant rain, poor camp conditions, and feeling of missing her family was too much for Kathy to bear and she decided to quit the next morning. Jeff arrived at the Airai beach and took Kathy away at her request. At the Immunity Challenge, Ozzy and Erik gave Malakal a large lead during the first half of the challenge, but Eliza and Jason quickly assembled their puzzle and Airai won immunity for the third straight time. Ami came up with a complex plot to blindside Ozzy at Tribal Council: Ami would convince Amanda and Cirie to vote for Erik and would tell the two women she and Tracy would be voting with them. However, Ami and Tracy would actually vote for Ozzy along with Erik. Ozzy would vote for Tracy thinking everyone else would be voting for her as well. This would lead to Ozzy being voted out 3–2–1. At Tribal Council, the complex plot collapsed as Amanda and Cirie did not want to betray Ozzy by voting for Erik. The vote followed Fans vs. Favorites lines with Erik joining the Favorites and voting out Tracy 5–1.
At Malakal, Ozzy was still concerned about the perception that he was the leader. Ami tried to assure Ozzy that he was okay, but he began to feel uneasy about her loyalty. At Airai, Parvati approached Natalie about forming an alliance with James and Alexis in order to get them to the tribal merge. Longer term, Parvati offered to Natalie the option of going to the final four with Alexis and Amanda, which Natalie agreed with. A combined reward and immunity challenge was held on day 21 with a twist that the tribes had to select one member from the other tribe who would sit out the challenge, go to Exile Island, and return to Tribal Council with individual immunity for that one Tribal Council only should their tribe lose the challenge. Airai selected Ozzy and Malakal selected Alexis to sit out the challenge. Airai won the closely contested challenge and won Tribal Immunity for the fourth straight time. On Exile Island, Ozzy feigned not having the Hidden Immunity Idol and went through the motions of trying to find the idol with Alexis to see if somebody took the false Hidden Immunity Idol that he planted. After the challenge, Erik told Amanda and Cirie about Ami's plotting with the Fans behind the Favorite's backs. Ami tried to convince Amanda and Cirie that her allegiance was to the Favorites. As soon as Ozzy returned from Exile Island, Erik told Ozzy the same story he told to Amanda and Cirie. Although Amanda and Cirie thought it would be safer to keep Ami since they knew her game and didn't trust Erik, Ozzy was upset at Ami's previous strategizing with the fans about potentially voting him out. At Tribal Council, a very emotional Ami tried to counter Erik's story, but to no avail and she was voted out 4–1.
Eliza, disappointed that Ami had been previously voted out, formed an alliance with Jason, who told her that he had the Hidden Immunity Idol, not knowing it was a false Idol. On day 22, Airai and Malakal merged into one tribe and enjoyed the customary merger feast. The tribe decided to live at the Malakal campsite. Erik chose the name Dabu for the merged tribe, telling everyone that it meant "good" in Micronesian when in reality he had just made it up because he wanted to name the tribe something funny. Amanda became concerned about Alexis' attachment to Ozzy and she wanted to vote her off as soon as possible. Parvati told Amanda about the alliance she struck with Alexis and Natalie, but Amanda was angry about Parvati pledging Amanda's allegiance without her consent. At the Immunity Challenge, Jason won the first Individual Immunity, allowing him to give the false Hidden Immunity Idol to Eliza, though she immediately recognized it as a fake planted by Ozzy. Jason and Eliza devised a plan that involved the two of them voting for Ozzy and using the Idol to protect Eliza from being voted out when the others made it clear that they wanted her gone. Even though she knew it was a fake, calling it "just a stick," Eliza hoped that even if it wasn't the real idol, she could at least expose Ozzy for having the real one. After the castaways voted but before the votes were revealed, Eliza put her plan into action and presented the false Hidden Immunity Idol. After declaring the idol a fake, Jeff tossed it into the fire pit. Eliza then said that Ozzy must have the real Hidden Immunity Idol, and he admitted that he did. The vote tally proceeded and Eliza became the first member of the jury in an 8–2 vote.
On day 25, there was a team-based Reward Challenge won by the team of Amanda, Erik, Jason, and Ozzy. Cirie was not selected during the schoolyard pick for the challenge and she had to go to Exile Island, where she spent a cold night planning how to get rid of Ozzy. At the Immunity Challenge, the challenge came down to Parvati and Jason after over six hours of the two of them standing on the log. When Jeff offered a full tray of food that would be split with whomever stepped down and the castaways already out of the challenge, Jason said he would step down if he got a guarantee that he would not be voted for at the next Tribal Council after Parvati persuaded him that he could gain some friends by doing this. Everybody agreed, though several of the castaways crossed their fingers
, and Jason stepped down, giving Individual Immunity to Parvati. When the castaways returned to camp, Amanda, James, and Ozzy immediately wanted to renege on their promise to Jason and vote for him. Cirie saw this as a good opportunity to blindside Ozzy, the biggest physical threat, and eliminate the danger of the Immunity Idol. She approached Alexis, Jason, Natalie, and Parvati about voting for Ozzy. The four agreed with her, but decided not to tell any of the others and hoped to throw them off by acting like Jason was going home. At Tribal Council, Ozzy stated that he might have had to play the Hidden Immunity Idol, but he did not bring it with him to Tribal Council. Following that, an angry Ozzy was blindsided with a vote of 5–4, leaving Amanda, Erik, James, and Eliza (now a jury member) shocked.
After Tribal Council, Amanda was angry that Parvati and Cirie did not tell her about their plot against Ozzy. Parvati tried to patch things up with James, but her efforts didn't work and James no longer trusted Parvati. Her efforts also failed with Amanda, though she kept her distrust of Parvati and Cirie to herself. Instead of a Reward Challenge, a Survivor Auction was held. One of the items sold at the auction was a bottle containing a note that said that the winning bidder had to pick a castaway to immediately go to Exile Island. The item was won by Natalie and she chose Jason. Jeff announced that there was a new Hidden Immunity Idol on Exile Island, which was found by Jason. While Jason was on Exile Island, the girls planned to blindside him at the next Tribal Council. The plan was for Natalie to exploit Jason's trust in her and tell him that he owed her for sending him to Exile Island so that he could find the Hidden Immunity Idol. Just before the start of the Immunity Challenge, Natalie put the girl's plan into action by telling Jason that James was going to be voted out and Jason needed to make sure that James did not win Individual Immunity. On his 22nd birthday, Erik won Individual Immunity, unknowingly putting the second part of the girl's plan into place. Back at camp, the girls searched Jason's bag, much to the chagrin of James and Erik, and found the Hidden Immunity Idol wrapped in his belongings. Natalie convinced Jason that the girls would be voting for James. At Tribal Council, the girls' plan finally succeeded when Jason did not play the Hidden Immunity Idol, and he was blindsided in a 4–3–1 vote.
After Tribal Council, the Survivor medical team took a look at James' injured finger and told him that they would look at the finger again the next morning. James was told that if the infection spread to the joint, he would need surgery to prevent disablement of the joint. During the night, Alexis tripped and fell, injuring her knee. The Reward Challenge included the customary visit by the castaways' loved ones. Jeff announced that Exile Island was back in play with another Hidden Immunity Idol. Alexis won the challenge to take a trip to Jellyfish Lake and opted to take along Cirie and her husband and Natalie and her mother. Amanda volunteered to go to Exile Island and Alexis granted her wish. After the challenge, the Survivor medical team looked at James again and made the call that the risk of the infection in his finger spreading to his joint was too great and that James be removed from the game for medication attention. On Exile Island, Amanda followed a new set of clues to learn that the Hidden Immunity Idol was buried under the tribe's flag back at camp. Alexis, Natalie, and Parvati discussed what they should do if Erik succeeded in winning the next Individual Immunity. Natalie said that she would vote for Amanda since she thought Amanda had the best chance of winning over the jury while Parvati said that she could not vote for Amanda due to long term alliances. Erik's sharpshooting enabled him to win the Immunity Challenge, foiling the all-girl alliance's plan to vote him out at the next Tribal Council. Back at their campsite, Amanda truthfully told the tribe that she did not find the Hidden Immunity Idol. The idol clue stated that the idol was at camp, which she confided to Parvati. At that point, she recruited Parvati's help in retrieving the Idol. The others were fooled by Amanda and wanted to vote her out, worried that she had a better chance to capture jury votes since she had not made any enemies. Amanda and Parvati thought they could convince Erik to join their voting block by asking him to return the favor of keeping him in the game over Ami, but he would not join them. At Tribal Council, James shocked everybody by appearing with an IV
for his infection. Alexis, Cirie, Erik, and Natalie openly said they would be voting for Amanda, but the three fans received a second shock for the night when she produced the Hidden Immunity Idol. She said when she told the others she didn't have it, she wasn't lying because she didn't have it at the time. This negated their votes against her, leaving only the votes cast for Alexis, who was blindsided 2–0.
After returning from Tribal Council, Erik and Natalie plotted their next moves to stay in the game, with them figuring out that one of them had to win the next Reward Challenge so that they could send the other to Exile Island in order to find the Hidden Immunity Idol. Amanda and Cirie reconfirmed their alliance with Parvati to go to the final three. They plotted to manipulate Erik into sending Parvati to Exile Island by having Amanda convince Erik that she forgave him for his switching loyalties and that they should team up since they were the two most physical players left. This would prevent Erik or Natalie from finding the Hidden Immunity Idol, making one of them vulnerable at the next Tribal Council. Erik won the Reward Challenge and selected Amanda to join him based on his agreement with her, while Parvati was sent to Exile. Back at the campsite, Natalie felt betrayed by Erik and vented her feelings to Cirie, who found pleasure in Natalie stressing over the betrayal. At the Immunity Challenge, Erik easily won, once again ruining the women's hopes of getting rid of him. Erik later revealed his planned game play to Cirie involving his hopes of going to the final three with her and Parvati, unaware that Natalie was nearby and overheard it. Natalie explained this to the other three women, and Cirie suggested that Natalie attempt to try to convince Erik to hand the Individual Immunity over to Natalie using the argument that it would redeem himself in front of the jury and that Cirie and Natalie would agree to vote out Amanda only if Erik saved Natalie. At Tribal Council, Amanda lambasted Erik for his switching loyalties, and was soon joined by Natalie and Parvati. However when the time came, the plot worked, and Erik gave Natalie the immunity necklace, hoping that Cirie and Natalie would join him in voting for Parvati. However, the girls stuck to their plan, and Erik was voted out 4–1. The jury was shocked by this move, leading James to claim after the vote that he was no longer "The dumbest Survivor ever" (in reference to when he was voted off Survivor: China with two Immunity Idols in hand). Both these moves were included as two of the five options in the CBS website Survivor's Dumbest Move poll conducted during the twentieth season.
After returning from Tribal Council, the ladies celebrated their success in voting out all of the men from the game. At the Immunity Challenge, Natalie quickly took an early lead, but Amanda came from behind during the ladder assembly stage to win Immunity. Natalie tried to break up the alliance of Amanda, Cirie, and Parvati. During Tribal Council, Jeff hinted that instead of a final three that there would be a final two, which caused Cirie to declare that she felt she was at the bottom of every alliance that she was in. This resulted in a short argument between Cirie and Amanda. Despite this, the Favorites alliance held and Natalie was voted out 3–1.
After Tribal Council, Amanda and Cirie continued their argument over Cirie feeling that she was at the bottom of every alliance she was in, although they eventually made up and celebrated that they had all reached the final three like they had originally intended. Their happiness was cut short however, as the three found out on Day 38 that Jeff's questions at Tribal Council about a final two were not hypothetical and they would have to go through one final Immunity Challenge after the customary honoring of past castaways who left the game. While Parvati didn't really try, a distraught Amanda managed to regroup and win the final Immunity Challenge over Cirie.
At camp, Cirie tried to convince Amanda why she should keep her, but at Tribal Council, Amanda kept her loyalty to Parvati and voted out Cirie. Back at camp, Amanda and Parvati celebrated their making it to the final two by eating the customary final feast and burning down their shelter. For her opening statement at the final Tribal Council, Amanda tried to persuade the jury to vote for her by emphasizing her loyalties to her alliances. Parvati emphasized her aggressive play during the game. Tribal Council then proceeded to the jury's statements and questions. Eliza complimented the girls on their strategic gameplay, but criticized Parvati for being mean and Amanda for being superficial.
Jason asked if Amanda would have told Ozzy about the plan to vote him out if she had known about it and Parvati to list some of her redeeming qualities during the game. Alexis asked Parvati about what made her a better role model for young girls than Amanda, and asked Amanda about what part of her game was genuine. Natalie asked Parvati a confusing question about how Parvati's flirting translated into her intimate life, and Amanda was asked about her "glazed over... zombied, pretty girl, not really knowing what's going on, pageant queen cliché" look and if that was her strategy during the game.
Erik asked Amanda on what basis she felt had to judge him during Tribal Councils, but he did not ask anything of Parvati. James did not ask anything of Amanda, but questioned Parvati about what she said to him after Ozzy was voted out. Cirie asked Amanda why Parvati deserved a million dollars more than her and then asked Parvati about why Cirie should be in the final two instead of Parvati. Ozzy used his statement time to blast Parvati for taking 14 days away from him that he could have spent with Amanda and for ruining their friendship, before declaring that he was falling in love with Amanda. In the end, the jury sided with Parvati and declared her the Sole Survivor with a vote of 5–3.
Jonathan was evacuated due to medical reasons, therefore no vote occurred for his removal from the game.
Kathy voluntarily left the game, therefore no vote occurred for her removal from the game.
James was evacuated due to medical reasons, therefore no vote occurred for his removal from the game.
Because Amanda played the Hidden Immunity Idol, four votes cast against her did not count.
ranked it as his second favorite season of all time (behind Borneo
) stating that “The Parvati-led women's alliance produced some of the most memorable moments in the history of the show”. Slant magazine gave it a 3.5 star rating out of 4 saying “Never in Survivor history has there been such a string of shocking tribal councils one right after the next.” Andy Dehnart
of realityblurred.com also gave the season a positive review stating that the moment where Erik gave individual immunity to Natalie helped make “Survivor Micronesia the best season ever—or at least, the best second half of a season ever.” Survivor columnist Dalton Ross also rated the season as the second best season saying that it had “great characters and the perfect mix of solid and stupid gameplay.”
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...
, being the show's third to include contestants from past seasons, after the all-returning contestant pool from Survivor: All-Stars
Survivor: All-Stars
Survivor: All-Stars is the eighth season of the United States reality show Survivor. It was filmed in 2003 and debuted in the United States on CBS on February 1, 2004 after Super Bowl XXXVIII. It was set on the Pearl Islands of Panama, where the previous Survivor: Pearl Islands had just finished...
, and Survivor: Guatemala
Survivor: Guatemala
Survivor: Guatemala — The Maya Empire, commonly referred to as Survivor: Guatemala, is the eleventh season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The season was filmed in the Yaxhá-Nakúm-Naranjo National Park near the more popular Tikal National Park, located in...
in which two contestants from Survivor: Palau
Survivor: Palau
Survivor: Palau is the tenth season of the United States reality show Survivor. Its preview appeared during the final episode of Survivor: Vanuatu. Survivor: Palau premiered on February 17, 2005. The complete season, including the Live Reunion Show, was released on DVD by CBS Home Video on August...
returned for a second chance.
Applications were due on July 7, 2007. Around August 2007, 800 applicants were selected for an interview by CBS
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...
. Out of these 800, about 48 semi-finalists were selected to go to Los Angeles in September 2007. From these semi-finalists, 10 contestants were selected to participate in the show between late October and mid-December 2007. The full cast of 20 contestants was revealed on January 3, 2008 by Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
. Host Jeff Probst revealed that a list of 20 favorites was put together (enough for an entire game) and then 10 of them were cut. Others included for consideration were Shane Powers (of Survivor: Panama
Survivor: Panama
Survivor: Panama — Exile Island, also known as Survivor: Exile Island and Survivor: Panama, is the twelfth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The season was filmed in the Pearl Islands, off the coast of Panama. This location was previously used for Survivor:...
), Yul Kwon
Yul Kwon
Yul Kwon is a television host and former government official, lawyer, and management consultant based in Virginia. He first gained national recognition as the winner of the reality TV show Survivor: Cook Islands...
(of Survivor: 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...
), Terry Deitz
Terry Deitz
Terry Deitz is a pilot, television host, and former contestant on the American reality television show Survivor: Panama.-Biography:...
(of Survivor: Panama
Survivor: Panama
Survivor: Panama — Exile Island, also known as Survivor: Exile Island and Survivor: Panama, is the twelfth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The season was filmed in the Pearl Islands, off the coast of Panama. This location was previously used for Survivor:...
), Tom Westman
Tom Westman
Tom Westman is the $1,000,000 winner of the tenth season of the reality show Survivor, Survivor: Palau. Westman is a husband, father of three, and former firefighter. Westman has a deaf daughter. He announced his retirement from the department effective August 8, 2005...
(of Survivor: Palau
Survivor: Palau
Survivor: Palau is the tenth season of the United States reality show Survivor. Its preview appeared during the final episode of Survivor: Vanuatu. Survivor: Palau premiered on February 17, 2005. The complete season, including the Live Reunion Show, was released on DVD by CBS Home Video on August...
), and Courtney Yates
Courtney Yates
Courtney Yates is a waitress who became part of the reality television show Survivor: China in 2007, finishing second to winner Todd Herzog. In 2010, Yates returned to the series for all-star edition Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains...
(of Survivor: China
Survivor: China
Survivor: China is the fifteenth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The premiere aired September 20, 2007. Host Jeff Probst claimed the show was the first full American TV series to be filmed entirely within China...
), though Probst confirmed that Westman and Yates declined the opportunity. 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....
winner Sandra Diaz-Twine
Sandra Diaz-Twine
Sandra Diaz-Twine is the $1,000,000 winner of the seventh season of Survivor, Survivor: Pearl Islands and the winner of the 20th season in Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains; she is the show's only two-time winner...
, who initially declined to be on Survivor: All-Stars
Survivor: All-Stars
Survivor: All-Stars is the eighth season of the United States reality show Survivor. It was filmed in 2003 and debuted in the United States on CBS on February 1, 2004 after Super Bowl XXXVIII. It was set on the Pearl Islands of Panama, where the previous Survivor: Pearl Islands had just finished...
, participated in initial casting for Micronesia but was one of those cut at the last minute. The contestants were split into two tribes, fans and favorites, named Airai
Airai
Airai, located on the southern coast of Babeldaob island, is the second-most populous state of Palau. It contains the country's chief airport, Airai International Airport, and is connected by the Koror-Babeldaob Bridge to nearby Koror Island....
and Malakal
Malakal Island
Malakal Island is an island in the state of Koror, Palau. It is located at 134.45, 7.330278.Malakal Island is the site of Koror's port, as well as the radio station T8AA-AM....
respectively. Both tribes were named after locations in Palau.
The season was filmed in Palau
Palau
Palau , officially the Republic of Palau , is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, east of the Philippines and south of Tokyo. In 1978, after three decades as being part of the United Nations trusteeship, Palau chose independence instead of becoming part of the Federated States of Micronesia, a...
, marking the second time Survivor has filmed there (the first
Survivor: Palau
Survivor: Palau is the tenth season of the United States reality show Survivor. Its preview appeared during the final episode of Survivor: Vanuatu. Survivor: Palau premiered on February 17, 2005. The complete season, including the Live Reunion Show, was released on DVD by CBS Home Video on August...
being 2005). The filming locations for this season were the same as those used in Survivor: Palau (Airai lived in the former Koror camp and Malakal lived in the former Ulong camp). Exile Island returned this season after being absent from Survivor: China, with a new twist of one castaway from each tribe being sent to Exile Island where they had to compete to find the hidden immunity idol.
For the first time since Survivor: Panama, the final Tribal Council featured a Final Two rather than a Final Three. This was also the first and currently only season to have an even numbered jury, with this season having eight jury members, rather than the traditional seven or nine in past seasons. In the end, Parvati Shallow
Parvati Shallow
Parvati Shallow is the $1,000,000 winner of the reality television series Survivor: Micronesia after receiving votes from Eliza Orlins, Jason Siska, Alexis Jones, Natalie Bolton, and Cirie Fields. She had previously competed in Survivor: Cook Islands where she placed sixth, and later was the...
defeated Amanda Kimmel
Amanda Kimmel
Amanda Lee Kimmel is an actress, model and former beauty queen who has competed in the Miss USA and Miss Earth pageants. Kimmel gained international notoriety as a runner-up contestant on both Survivor: China and Survivor: Micronesia. She also competed on Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains...
by a vote of 5–3 to become the Sole Survivor. On the reunion show, it was revealed that James Clement, for the second consecutive season, was the viewer's choice of favorite contestant, winning US$
United States dollar
The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies....
100,000. Amanda Kimmel and 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...
received the next highest number of votes.
Host Jeff Probst
Jeff Probst
Jeffrey Lee "Jeff" Probst is an American game show host, executive producer and a reporter. He is best known as the host of the U.S. version of the reality show Survivor.-Biography:...
has declared this as his second favorite season of all time. Probst also stated that the Tribal Council in which Erik Reichenbach was eliminated was his favorite of all the seasons, and he also said Palau was his favorite filming location.
Season summary
The two tribes were pre-selected before the start of the show: ten returning Survivor contestants and ten fans of the show. In their first challenge, each tribe competed within themselves to be first at a distance island and retrieve a hidden immunity idol that would only be good for that tribe's first visit to Tribal Council; these were claimed by Yau-Man and Kathy (with Yau-Man's assistance). In the pre-merge reward challenges, the winning tribe selected both a member of the losing tribe and a member of their own tribe to go to Exile Island where a series of clues would lead to a hidden immunity idol. Ozzy managed to follow the clues to claim the idol, and following Yau-Man's strategy from Survivor: Fiji, left a fake idol in its place. Jason would later find this idol, believing it to be real.After 11 days, with the tribes still at equal numbers, the tribes were swapped through a schoolyard pick. Despite the separate tribes, the favorites worked within their new tribes to eliminate the fans prior to the merge. Before and through the merge, three people had to be removed from the game; Jonathan who suffered an infection on his knee; Kathy, who wanted to quit after suffering psychological trauma
Psychological trauma
Psychological trauma is a type of damage to the psyche that occurs as a result of a traumatic event...
; and James, who had an infected finger - James remained part of the jury though had to use an IV drip
Intravenous therapy
Intravenous therapy or IV therapy is the infusion of liquid substances directly into a vein. The word intravenous simply means "within a vein". Therapies administered intravenously are often called specialty pharmaceuticals...
during Tribal Council.
After the first merge, the remaining fans attempted to form alliances with the favorites that held the majority. A core alliance of Amanda, Parvati and Cirie worked with the other female fans, Natalie and Alexis, to push through several upsets. First, Eliza attempted to work with Jason to use his idol to trick the majority, but her planned failed when she realized Jason's idol was fake. After luring Ozzy to believe they would be voting off Jason, breaking their promise they had made to him at the previous immunity challenge, they were able to eliminate Ozzy without him able to play the idol. Jason was next sent to Exile Island and found the relocated idol but again, the woman's alliance lured him into believing him to be safe at Tribal Council, eliminating him without playing the idol. After James' evacuation, the remaining fans (Alexis, Erik, and Natalie) maneuvered Cirie to vote with them to remove Amanda, but Amanda had been to Exile since Jason's elimination and had retrieved the idol, playing it to protect her and eliminate Alexis. Finally, the remaining women convinced Erik he was safe at the next vote regardless if he won individual immunity; Erik, having won this immunity, gave it to Natalie, allowing the women to vote him off.
After eliminating the last fan, Natalie, and realizing that there would not be three contestants in the final tribal council, Amanda and Parvati both saw Cirie as the likely winner against either of them, and through her immunity win, Amanda voted Cirie off, opting to go to the final with Parvati. The jury grilled both players, with Parvati ultimately winning in a 5–3 vote.
Contestants
| Contestant | Original Tribe | Swapped Tribe | Merged Tribe | Finish | Total Votes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jon "Jonny Fairplay" Dalton Jon Dalton John Dalton, also known as Jonny Fairplay , is a reality TV participant and former art consultant from Danville, Virginia. He came in third place as a competitor on the reality TV show Survivor: Pearl Islands... 33, Danville, VA Danville, Virginia Danville is an independent city in Virginia, United States, bounded by Pittsylvania County, Virginia and Caswell County, North Carolina. It was the last capital of the Confederate States of America. The Bureau of Economic Analysis combines the city of Danville with Pittsylvania county for... 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.... |
1st Voted Out Day 3 |
9 | |||
| Mary Sartain 29, Emeryville, CA Emeryville, California Emeryville is a small city located in Alameda County, California, in the United States. It is located in a corridor between the cities of Berkeley and Oakland, extending to the shore of San Francisco Bay. Its proximity to San Francisco, the Bay Bridge, the University of California, Berkeley, and... |
2nd Voted Out Day 6 |
6 | |||
| Yau-Man Chan Yau-Man Chan Yau-Man Chan was the fourth place finisher in the reality television series Survivor: Fiji. He returned to the show in Survivor: Micronesia, where he was the third contestant to be ousted... 55, Martinez, CA Martinez, California Martinez is a city and the county seat of Contra Costa County, California, United States. The population was 35,824 at the 2010 census. The downtown is notable for its large number of preserved old buildings... Fiji |
3rd Voted Out Day 8 |
6 | |||
| Michael "Mikey B" Bortone 34, Los Angeles, CA Los Ángeles Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants... |
4th Voted Out Day 11 |
6 | |||
| Joel Anderson 32, Avondale, AZ Avondale, Arizona Avondale is a city in Maricopa County, Arizona, USA, adjacent to Phoenix, Arizona. According to 2010 Census Bureau, the population of the city is 76,238.Avondale is the home of Phoenix International Raceway, an auto racing facility... |
5th Voted Out Day 14 |
6 | |||
| Jonathan Penner Jonathan Penner Jonathan Lindsay Penner is an American actor, writer and film producer known for starring in The Last Supper and the television series Rude Awakening and The Naked Truth, as well as for appearing on the television show Survivor.-Life and career:Penner was born in New York City... 45, Los Angeles, CA Los Angeles, California Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California... 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... |
Removed Due to Injury Day 15 |
0 | |||
| Chet Welch 48, Ford City, PA Ford City, Pennsylvania Ford City is a borough in Armstrong County, Pennsylvania, United States, northeast of Pittsburgh along the east bank of the Allegheny River and 4 miles south of Kittanning, the county seat.... |
6th Voted Out Day 17 |
12 | |||
| Kathleen "Kathy" Sleckman 45, Glen Ellyn, IL Glen Ellyn, Illinois Glen Ellyn is an affluent village in DuPage County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2000 Census, the village population was 26,999.-Geography:... |
Quit Day 19 |
0 | |||
| Tracy Hughes-Wolf 43, Fredericksburg, VA Fredericksburg, Virginia Fredericksburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia located south of Washington, D.C., and north of Richmond. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 24,286... |
7th Voted Out Day 20 |
7 | |||
| Ami Cusack Ami Cusack Ami Cusack was a contestant on Survivor: Vanuatu and Survivor: Micronesia. She is the former Charitable Director of Experimental and Applied Sciences . Cusack is a model/barista who posed for Playboy magazine in 1996.... 34, Golden, CO Golden, Colorado The City of Golden is a home rule municipality that is the county seat of Jefferson County, Colorado, United States. Golden lies along Clear Creek at the edge of the foothills of the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains. Founded during the Pike's Peak Gold Rush on 16 June 1859, the mining camp was... Vanuatu Survivor: Vanuatu Survivor: Vanuatu — Islands of Fire, also known as Survivor: Vanuatu, is the ninth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor... |
8th Voted Out Day 21 |
4 | |||
| Eliza Orlins 25, New York City, NY Vanuatu Survivor: Vanuatu Survivor: Vanuatu — Islands of Fire, also known as Survivor: Vanuatu, is the ninth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor... |
rowspan="10" | 9th Voted Out 1st Jury Member Day 24 |
8 | ||
| 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... 26, 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... |
10th Voted Out 2nd Jury Member Day 27 |
9 | |||
| Jason Siska 22, Fox River Grove, IL Fox River Grove, Illinois Fox River Grove is a village in the Cuba Township of Lake County and the Algonquin Township of McHenry County, Illinois, United States. The population was 4,862 at the 2000 census.-History:... |
11th Voted Out 3rd Jury Member Day 30 |
8 | |||
| James Clement 30, Lafayette, LA Lafayette, Louisiana Lafayette is a city in and the parish seat of Lafayette Parish, Louisiana, United States, on the Vermilion River. The population was 120,623 at the 2010 census... China Survivor: China Survivor: China is the fifteenth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The premiere aired September 20, 2007. Host Jeff Probst claimed the show was the first full American TV series to be filmed entirely within China... |
Removed Due to Injury 4th Jury Member Day 31 |
3 | |||
| Alexis Jones 24, Los Angeles, CA Los Angeles, California Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California... |
12th Voted Out 5th Jury Member Day 33 |
2 | |||
| Erik Reichenbach 22, Pinckney, MI Pinckney, Michigan Pinckney is a village in Putnam Township, Livingston County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,141 at the 2000 census.Three miles west of Pinckney, on Patterson Lake Road, is the famous tourist destination of Hell, Michigan.-Geography:... |
13th Voted Out 6th Jury Member Day 36 |
7 | |||
| Natalie Bolton 32, Los Angeles, CA Los Angeles, California Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California... |
14th Voted Out 7th Jury Member Day 37 |
3 | |||
| Cirie Fields Cirie Fields Cirie Fields is a married mother of three children and a repeat contestant on CBS's Survivor television series. Fields has appeared in three seasons, Survivor: Panama, Survivor: Micronesia, and Survivor: Heroes vs... 37, Norwalk, CT Norwalk, Connecticut Norwalk is a city in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of the city is 85,603, making Norwalk sixth in population in Connecticut, and third in Fairfield County... Panama Survivor: Panama Survivor: Panama — Exile Island, also known as Survivor: Exile Island and Survivor: Panama, is the twelfth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The season was filmed in the Pearl Islands, off the coast of Panama. This location was previously used for Survivor:... |
15th Voted Out 8th Jury Member Day 38 |
3 | |||
| Amanda Kimmel Amanda Kimmel Amanda Lee Kimmel is an actress, model and former beauty queen who has competed in the Miss USA and Miss Earth pageants. Kimmel gained international notoriety as a runner-up contestant on both Survivor: China and Survivor: Micronesia. She also competed on Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains... 23, Los Angeles, CA Los Angeles, California Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California... China Survivor: China Survivor: China is the fifteenth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. The premiere aired September 20, 2007. Host Jeff Probst claimed the show was the first full American TV series to be filmed entirely within China... |
Runner-Up | 0 | |||
| 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... 25, Los Angeles, CA Los Angeles, California Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California... 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... |
Sole Survivor | 4 |
- The Total Votes is the number of votes a castaway has received during Tribal Councils where the castaway is eligible to be voted out of the game. It does not include the votes received during the final Tribal Council.
Amanda played the Hidden Immunity Idol, therefore four votes against her were not counted.
The game
| Episode Titles | First air date | Challenges | Exiled | Eliminated | Vote | Finish | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Reward | Immunity | ||||||
| "You Guys Are Dumber Than You Look" | February 7, 2008 | None | None | rowspan="3" | 9–1 | 1st Voted Out Day 3 |
|
| colspan="2" | |||||||
| "The Sounds of Jungle Love" | February 14, 2008 | rowspan="2" colspan="2" | rowspan="2" | 6–2–2 | 2nd Voted Out Day 6 |
||
| "I Should Be Carried on the Chariot-Type Thing!" | February 21, 2008 | rowspan="2" | rowspan="2" | rowspan="2" | 6–2–1 | 3rd Voted Out Day 8 |
|
| "That's Baked, Barbecued and Fried!" | February 28, 2008 | rowspan="2" | rowspan="2" | rowspan="2" | 6–3 | 4th Voted Out Day 11 |
|
| "He's a Ball of Goo!" | March 6, 2008 | None | 6–2 | 5th Voted Out Day 14 |
|||
| "It Hit Everyone Pretty Hard" | March 13, 2008 | rowspan="2" | rowspan="2" | No vote | Removed Due to Injury Day 15 |
||
| 5–2 | 6th Voted Out Day 17 |
||||||
| "Like a Wide-Eyed Kid in the Candy Store" | March 19, 2008 | rowspan="2" | rowspan="2" | No vote | Quit Day 19 |
||
| 5–1 | 7th Voted Out Day 20 |
||||||
| "A Lost Puppy Dog" | April 3, 2008 | rowspan="2" colspan="2" | rowspan="2" | 4–1 | 8th Voted Out Day 21 |
||
| "I'm in Such a Hot Pickle!" | April 10, 2008 | None | None | 8–2 | 9th Voted Out 1st Jury Member Day 24 |
||
| "I Promise..." | April 17, 2008 | 5–4 | 10th Voted Out 2nd Jury Member Day 27 |
||||
| "I'm Ruthless... and Have a Smile on My Face" | April 24, 2008 | Survivor Auction | 4–3–1 | 11th Voted Out 3rd Jury Member Day 30 |
|||
| "I'm Gonna Fix Her!" | May 1, 2008 | rowspan="2" | rowspan="2" | rowspan="2" | No vote | Removed Due to Injury 4th Jury Member Day 31 |
|
| 2–0 | 12th Voted Out 5th Jury Member Day 33 |
||||||
| "If It Smells Like a Rat, Give It Cheese" | May 8, 2008 | 4–1 | 13th Voted Out 6th Jury Member Day 36 |
||||
| "Stir the Pot!" | May 11, 2008 | None | None | 3–1 | 14th Voted Out 7th Jury Member Day 37 |
||
| 1–0 | 15th Voted Out 8th Jury Member Day 38 |
||||||
| "The Reunion" | May 11, 2008 | Jury Vote | 5–3 | Runner-Up | |||
| Sole Survivor | |||||||
- 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.
The players competed for a one-time use individual immunity (one per tribe).
This was a combined reward and immunity challenge.
No one was sent to Exile Island because it was not yet known to the castaways.
No one was sent to Exile Island due to the tribal switch.
There was no Reward Challenge due to the tribal merge, therefore no one was sent to Exile Island.
At the Survivor Auction, Natalie bought the right to send someone to Exile Island and take all of his/her money. She chose Jason.
Amanda played the Hidden Immunity Idol, so the four votes against her did not count. Alexis, who had two votes against her, was eliminated instead.
Erik won individual immunity, but gave it to Natalie before the vote.
Episode 1: "You Guys Are Dumber Than You Look"
- Individual Immunity Challenge: The players had to race across the ocean to a shoreline, where they would hunt for the individual immunity idols. The idols were attached to the back of each tribe's boat. The first favorite and the first fan to find their tribe's idol would be granted immunity at the first tribal council they attend.
- Reward/Immunity Challenge: The tribes are to assemble four puzzle wheels, attach them to a cart, and push the cart through a series of wooden fences. Upon reaching a sandpit with the cart, they then must dig up a set of planks to make a bridge. The tribes then push the cart over the bridge to a turnstile. The wheels are then removed and the pieces reassembled to complete the turnstile. The turnstile raises a fire wokWokA wok is a versatile round-bottomed cooking vessel originating in China. It is used especially in East and Southeast Asia.Woks are most often used for stir frying, but can also be used in other Chinese cooking techniques, such as in steaming, deep frying, braising, stewing, smoking, or making soup...
on a pulley that lights the top of a platform.- Reward: Tribal Immunity and flint
In a pouring rain, the ten fans arrived on the island unaware that they would be facing past castaways and were shocked when Jeff introduced the favorites. Jeff then pointed to a beach on an island across the way with two boats and told the tribes to swim across. Two individual Immunity Idols were there for the first castaway on each tribe to find, with the stipulation that they were only good for the first time they went to Tribal Council. Jonny Fairplay was the first to find the idols tied to the boat's prows, but took the wrong one. Yau-Man noticed this, raced over, and grabbed the correct idol after Jonny tripped (Jonny accused Yau-Man of tackling him). Kathy got her tribe's idol after Yau-Man pointed it out to her. Two alliances were formed in the favorites tribe: one between Ami, Eliza, Jonathan, and Yau-Man and another consisting of the couples of James and Parvati, and Amanda and Ozzy. Both groups courted Jonny and he played both sides. At the combined Reward and Immunity Challenge, the fans took the lead early and won. After the challenge, Jonny told the tribe that his mind was not really committed to the game because he missed his girlfriend and unborn daughter. Feelings were split about whether he was being truthful or reverting to his old, dirty ways, but in the end he was unanimously voted out 9–1. After the vote, the tribe was given a flint, although Yau-Man had already started a fire by focusing the sun using water and his eyeglasses.
Episode 2: "The Sounds of Jungle Love"
- Reward/Immunity Challenge: Five castaways are chosen to swim, one at a time, to a platform, grab a club, and leap off the platform to smash a tile that releases a key. The swimmer then retrieves the key and swims back to shore with it, allowing the next tribemate to go out. Once the five keys are collected, another castaway uses the keys to open a locked box containing a set of puzzle pieces that form a map of Micronesia. Three other castaways put the puzzle together.
- Reward: Tribal Immunity, fishing gear, and a bamboo fishing boat
Airai struggled with making fire and building a shelter. Chet, Kathy, and Tracy, feeling shunned by their younger tribemates and upset that the others were not making an attempt to build a decent shelter, built their own and then another was built for the other tribe members. At Malakal, the couples of Amanda/Ozzy and Parvati/James grew closer, much to the concern of Jonathan and Cirie, who joked that Amanda would be having "Ozzlets." At the combined Reward and Immunity Challenge, Malakal won by a wide margin after Chet struggled to retrieve his key. Before the challenge, Jeff announced Exile Island and said there would be a twist revealed after the challenge. After Malakal selected Kathy to go to Exile Island, Jeff revealed the twist: the winning tribe also had to select one of their own to go to Exile Island. Cirie volunteered to go. Kathy and Cirie discovered a series of four clues at Exile Island that required them to crisscross between two islands, but did not find the Hidden Immunity Idol. After Chet's poor performance at the challenge, Mikey B wanted him to be voted out. Mikey B came up with a plan to split his alliance of seven's votes between Chet and Tracy to protect against potential Immunity Idols. Joel did not like how Mikey B was trying to control the vote, so he plotted with Erik, Alexis, Natalie, Chet, Tracy, and Kathy to break up Mikey B's alliance with Mary. Joel's plan came together, even though he changed his vote to Tracy at Tribal Council as a failsafe, and Mary was blindsided in a 6–2–2 vote.
Episode 3: "I Should Be Carried on the Chariot-Type Thing!"
- Reward Challenge: In a playing area similar to a football fieldAmerican footballAmerican football is a sport played between two teams of eleven with the objective of scoring points by advancing the ball into the opposing team's end zone. Known in the United States simply as football, it may also be referred to informally as gridiron football. The ball can be advanced by...
, the tribes start at opposite ends of the playing field with three canvas bags. The tribes have to battle their way to their end zoneEnd zoneIn gridiron-based codes of football, the end zone refers to the scoring area on the field. It is the area between the end line and goal line bounded by the sidelines. There are two end zones, each being on an opposite side of the field...
. The challenge ends when one tribe has their three bags and two of the other tribe's bags in their end zone at the same time.- Reward: Three sets of items chosen from a catalog by the tribe
- Immunity Challenge: Two women and two men from each tribe hold onto ropes that support a large net. The other castaways, one at a time, attempt to toss coconutCoconutThe coconut palm, Cocos nucifera, is a member of the family Arecaceae . It is the only accepted species in the genus Cocos. The term coconut can refer to the entire coconut palm, the seed, or the fruit, which is not a botanical nut. The spelling cocoanut is an old-fashioned form of the word...
s into the other tribe's net. The tribe who holds up their net for the longest time wins the challenge.
Mikey B confronted Joel about voting out Mary at the last Tribal Council. The alliance of Amanda, Ozzy, Parvati, and James tried to swing Eliza over to their side. Cirie contemplated her options on which alliance to trust and join. At the Reward Challenge, the tribes, dressed in war paint, had a very physical battle in the rain with the reward of items chosen from a catalog. Malakal won the challenge, taking home a tarp, a lighting kit, and a survival kit. Kathy was selected to go to Exile Island for a second time along with Ami. Cirie struck an alliance with Amanda and Parvati to go all the way to the final three with them. On Exile Island, Ami tried to follow the clues without the help of Kathy, who refused to decode the clues that she already knew about from her previous stay. The Immunity Challenge was won by Airai after Cirie, James, Jonathan, and Parvati could not outlast Erik, Joel, Natalie, and Tracy. There was open lobbying by both alliances for Cirie to join their side. Cirie wanted Yau-Man voted off because she feared that he would find the Hidden Immunity Idol. The alliance of Amanda, Ozzy, Parvati, and James wanted to vote out Eliza, but decided to follow Cirie's lead and Yau-Man was voted out 6–2–1.
Episode 4: "That's Baked, Barbecued and Fried!"
- Reward Challenge: Four members of each tribe would swim out to a floating platform. One at a time, a castaway would dive down to a 30 feet (9.1 m) long steel cage that contained coconuts painted in tribe colors and with letters on them. The coconuts would have to be placed in a floating bin and the bin pulled back to shore. The four remaining castaways would unscramble a word puzzle using the letters on the coconuts.
- Reward: Three chickenChickenThe chicken is a domesticated fowl, a subspecies of the Red Junglefowl. As one of the most common and widespread domestic animals, and with a population of more than 24 billion in 2003, there are more chickens in the world than any other species of bird...
hens and one rooster along with chicken feed
- Reward: Three chicken
- Immunity Challenge: Six tribe members would race to six point, sliding hub and harness themselves in. The six would then pass around a keyring to find a key their individual lock that secured the hub to a stand. Once unlocked, the hub would have to be maneuvered through the forest where six puzzle piece necklaces were hanging on trees. The two remaining tribemates would use the necklaces as keys on a decoding wheel, which would decrypt a three word phrase.
At Airai, Chet's lack of work around camp irritated his tribemates. At the Malakal campsite, Eliza was feeling sick and James criticized his alliance's decision to vote out Yau-Man instead of Eliza, whom he felt was the weakest member of the tribe. Malakal won the Reward Challenge after Ozzy's strategy of singlehandedly pushing his tribe's coconuts to the front of the steel cage made it easier for his tribemates to retrieve their coconuts. Kathy was sent to Exile Island for the third consecutive time with Ozzy joining her. On Exile Island, a disheartened Kathy did not want to look for the Hidden Immunity Idol, so Ozzy followed the clues on his own under the pretense of looking for food. He succeeded in finding the Idol and kept his discovery a secret from Kathy. Borrowing Yau-Man's strategy from Survivor: Fiji, Ozzy fashioned a false Idol and placed it where he found the real Idol. Eliza tried to keep herself in the game by talking to Parvati about voting out Jonathan, but Jonathan overheard them. At the Immunity Challenge, Airai struggled to unlock their hub and maneuver through the forest. Malakal won their second challenge in a row by a wide margin. Mikey B, feigning loyalty to Joel, lobbied to vote out Chet. Tracy approached Joel about a plan to use her alliance with Chet and Kathy to help vote out Mikey B. Tracy's plan came to fruition and Mikey B was voted out 6–3.
Episode 5: "He's a Ball of Goo!"
- Reward Challenge: The tribes would divide into pairs that are harnessed together. Taking turns in rounds, one pair from one tribe would chase a pair from the other tribe through an obstacle course in the forest and attempt to grab a flag attached to the backs of the pair being chased. There would be a time limit of one minute to chase down the pair. If the chasing pair succeeded in grabbing the flag, their tribe would receive one point. If the chasing pair did not succeed, the other tribe would receive one point. The first tribe to score three points would win the challenge.
- Reward: Steak, sausage, vegetables, spices, and wine
- Immunity Challenge: Four members from each tribe would alternate at throwing rocks at hanging tiles. When the tile is broken, it would drop a bundle of puzzle pieces. Three tribe members and a direction caller would assemble a color-coded puzzle from the pieces.
At Malakal, Ozzy told Amanda, James, and Parvati that he found the Hidden Immunity Idol. Before the Reward Challenge began, Jeff announced a tribal switch. The tribes were divided by schoolyard pick. The new Airai tribe was composed of Alexis, Eliza, James, Jason, Jonathan, Kathy, Natalie, and Parvati; Amanda, Ami, Chet, Cirie, Erik, Joel, Ozzy, and Tracy made up the new Malakal tribe. Airai won the physically punishing Reward Challenge with Parvati receiving a fat lip, Ami a tweaked knee, Jonathan a puncture wound to the knee, and Chet a blow to the head. Jeff announced that due to the tribal switch, nobody would go to Exile Island. After the challenge and back at the Airai beach, Jonathan's injured knee required attention from the Survivor medical team. On day 14, the Favorites at Airai took charge and fixed the tribe's camp site by moving it further inland and building a new shelter. While Airai fell far behind during the rock throwing stage of the Immunity Challenge, they caught up during the puzzle assembly stage and won Tribal Immunity. Joel and Erik approached the Favorites of Malakal about voting out who they perceived as the weakest members: Chet, Cirie, and Tracy. Overhearing this, Cirie took Chet and Tracy aside and they decided to vote Joel out. Cirie told Amanda and Ozzy that it would be better to vote out Joel instead of Chet as Joel was the bigger threat longer term through the game, and that Chet could be used as a pawn for future strategic votes. Cirie also expressed discomfort that if the weaker members of the tribe were to be voted out, she would be voted off soon after Chet. Cirie's argument convinced the Favorites, and Joel was voted out 6–2.
Episode 6: "It Hit Everyone Pretty Hard"
- Reward Challenge: The tribes were to swim out to collect bundles of planks, sticks, and ropes. They would then have ten minutes to use these items to build a blockade of the other tribe's tunnel. The tribes would then race to tear apart the other tribe's blockade of their own tunnel and get all the members of their tribe through to the other side.
- Reward: A visit by two native Micronesians who would demonstrate how to improve the tribe campsite and catch crabs and fish.
- Immunity Challenge: The tribes were to use two stepping poles to transfer two tribe members from one platform to another out at sea. All the tribe members would then swim out to a smaller tower. To win immunity, the tribe has to get all seven of its members on the tower with both feet on or above the top deck.
On Malakal, Tracy started to regret her decision to help the Favorites vote out Joel. Airai won the Reward Challenge and elected to send Chet to Exile Island along with Jason. After the challenge, Jeff announced that the Survivor medical team wanted to look at Jonathan's knee. The doctor recommended that he be evacuated and taken to the hospital for treatment as the knee had become seriously infected. Jonathan accepted the recommendation and left on day 15. The two Micronesians, Edwin and Joe who made a previous appearance in Survivor: Palau
Survivor: Palau
Survivor: Palau is the tenth season of the United States reality show Survivor. Its preview appeared during the final episode of Survivor: Vanuatu. Survivor: Palau premiered on February 17, 2005. The complete season, including the Live Reunion Show, was released on DVD by CBS Home Video on August...
, showed up at Airai bringing fishing line, an extra machete, two knives, a fishing net, vegetables, fruit, and taught the castaways how to fish and hunt for crabs. At Malakal, Ami approached Tracy and Erik about forming an alliance with them after she felt that she could not trust Cirie. On Exile Island, Jason found the fake Hidden Immunity Idol that Ozzy left. Airai continued their winning streak at the Immunity Challenge by using a strategy of carrying Eliza and Parvati on a single stepping pole instead of using both poles. After the Immunity Challenge, Chet told his tribe to vote him out because he had given up and had an injured foot. Erik and Tracy tried to convince Chet to help vote out Ozzy, but the tribe honored Chet's request and he was voted out 5–2.
Episode 7: "Like a Wide-Eyed Kid in the Candy Store"
- Reward Challenge: Four members of each tribe would be blindfolded and would push a large money stoneRai stonesRai, or stone money, are large, circular stone disks carved out of limestone formed from aragonite and calcite crystals, Rai stones were mined in Palau and transported for use to the island of Yap, Micronesia...
through a forest course while being verbally directed by the two other tribe members. Along the course, the money stones would crush four tiles that would reveal a pair of smaller money stones. Three tribe members would then use these eight stones to solve a rotating cog puzzle.- Reward: A trip to an island to enjoy a spa and food
- Immunity Challenge: A tribe member would race across a floating bridge carrying one end of a rope. The rope would then be attached to a bundle of giant puzzle pieces. The rest of the tribe would turn a winch that would reel in the bundle and the tribe member back to the beach. Five bundles would need to be hauled to the beach in this manner. Two tribe members would then assemble the puzzle pieces.
At Malakal, Ozzy's de facto leadership and arrogance during a fishing excursion irked the women of the tribe. Airai's winning streak was broken when Malakal won the Reward Challenge. They chose to send Jason back to Exile Island along with Tracy, who could not go on the spa
Spa
The term spa is associated with water treatment which is also known as balneotherapy. Spa towns or spa resorts typically offer various health treatments. The belief in the curative powers of mineral waters goes back to prehistoric times. Such practices have been popular worldwide, but are...
trip with the rest of Malakal. On day 18, the constant rain, poor camp conditions, and feeling of missing her family was too much for Kathy to bear and she decided to quit the next morning. Jeff arrived at the Airai beach and took Kathy away at her request. At the Immunity Challenge, Ozzy and Erik gave Malakal a large lead during the first half of the challenge, but Eliza and Jason quickly assembled their puzzle and Airai won immunity for the third straight time. Ami came up with a complex plot to blindside Ozzy at Tribal Council: Ami would convince Amanda and Cirie to vote for Erik and would tell the two women she and Tracy would be voting with them. However, Ami and Tracy would actually vote for Ozzy along with Erik. Ozzy would vote for Tracy thinking everyone else would be voting for her as well. This would lead to Ozzy being voted out 3–2–1. At Tribal Council, the complex plot collapsed as Amanda and Cirie did not want to betray Ozzy by voting for Erik. The vote followed Fans vs. Favorites lines with Erik joining the Favorites and voting out Tracy 5–1.
Episode 8: "A Lost Puppy Dog"
- Reward/Immunity Challenge: One tribe member at a time would have to cross an obstacle course of stepping stones suspended by ropes, rotating barrels, a balance beam, a floating bridge, and a net to retrieve a flag. The tribe member would then have to cross back with the flag thus scoring a point for their tribe. Two tribe members would be assigned to run the course. Two other tribe members would try to knock the opposing tribe's runner from the course into a water pit by swinging canvas bags at them. If the tribe member fell off the course, they would have to return to the start and the other runner would have to make an attempt. The first tribe to collect five flags would win the challenge.
- Reward: PizzaPizzaPizza is an oven-baked, flat, disc-shaped bread typically topped with a tomato sauce, cheese and various toppings.Originating in Italy, from the Neapolitan cuisine, the dish has become popular in many parts of the world. An establishment that makes and sells pizzas is called a "pizzeria"...
and beerBeerBeer is the world's most widely consumed andprobably oldest alcoholic beverage; it is the third most popular drink overall, after water and tea. It is produced by the brewing and fermentation of sugars, mainly derived from malted cereal grains, most commonly malted barley and malted wheat...
delivered to the tribe's campsite.
- Reward: Pizza
At Malakal, Ozzy was still concerned about the perception that he was the leader. Ami tried to assure Ozzy that he was okay, but he began to feel uneasy about her loyalty. At Airai, Parvati approached Natalie about forming an alliance with James and Alexis in order to get them to the tribal merge. Longer term, Parvati offered to Natalie the option of going to the final four with Alexis and Amanda, which Natalie agreed with. A combined reward and immunity challenge was held on day 21 with a twist that the tribes had to select one member from the other tribe who would sit out the challenge, go to Exile Island, and return to Tribal Council with individual immunity for that one Tribal Council only should their tribe lose the challenge. Airai selected Ozzy and Malakal selected Alexis to sit out the challenge. Airai won the closely contested challenge and won Tribal Immunity for the fourth straight time. On Exile Island, Ozzy feigned not having the Hidden Immunity Idol and went through the motions of trying to find the idol with Alexis to see if somebody took the false Hidden Immunity Idol that he planted. After the challenge, Erik told Amanda and Cirie about Ami's plotting with the Fans behind the Favorite's backs. Ami tried to convince Amanda and Cirie that her allegiance was to the Favorites. As soon as Ozzy returned from Exile Island, Erik told Ozzy the same story he told to Amanda and Cirie. Although Amanda and Cirie thought it would be safer to keep Ami since they knew her game and didn't trust Erik, Ozzy was upset at Ami's previous strategizing with the fans about potentially voting him out. At Tribal Council, a very emotional Ami tried to counter Erik's story, but to no avail and she was voted out 4–1.
Episode 9: "I'm in Such a Hot Pickle!"
- Reward Challenge: None due to the tribal merge.
- Immunity Challenge: The tribe members are positioned under a metal grate as the incoming tideTideTides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by the combined effects of the gravitational forces exerted by the moon and the sun and the rotation of the Earth....
rises. As the tide rises, the breathing space under the grate grows smaller. The last castaway to remain under the grate would win Individual Immunity.
Eliza, disappointed that Ami had been previously voted out, formed an alliance with Jason, who told her that he had the Hidden Immunity Idol, not knowing it was a false Idol. On day 22, Airai and Malakal merged into one tribe and enjoyed the customary merger feast. The tribe decided to live at the Malakal campsite. Erik chose the name Dabu for the merged tribe, telling everyone that it meant "good" in Micronesian when in reality he had just made it up because he wanted to name the tribe something funny. Amanda became concerned about Alexis' attachment to Ozzy and she wanted to vote her off as soon as possible. Parvati told Amanda about the alliance she struck with Alexis and Natalie, but Amanda was angry about Parvati pledging Amanda's allegiance without her consent. At the Immunity Challenge, Jason won the first Individual Immunity, allowing him to give the false Hidden Immunity Idol to Eliza, though she immediately recognized it as a fake planted by Ozzy. Jason and Eliza devised a plan that involved the two of them voting for Ozzy and using the Idol to protect Eliza from being voted out when the others made it clear that they wanted her gone. Even though she knew it was a fake, calling it "just a stick," Eliza hoped that even if it wasn't the real idol, she could at least expose Ozzy for having the real one. After the castaways voted but before the votes were revealed, Eliza put her plan into action and presented the false Hidden Immunity Idol. After declaring the idol a fake, Jeff tossed it into the fire pit. Eliza then said that Ozzy must have the real Hidden Immunity Idol, and he admitted that he did. The vote tally proceeded and Eliza became the first member of the jury in an 8–2 vote.
Episode 10: "I Promise..."
- Reward Challenge: The castaways would split into two teams of four in a school yard pick, with the castaway not being picked sent to Exile Island. One at a time, a castaway from each team would swim out to a multi-level net tunnel that they would have to crawl through. After another short swim, they would reach a floating platform that contained a wall with a set of Micronesian symbols laid out in a pyramid shape. The castaway would then return to the starting position and attempt to replicate the pattern of symbols onshore. The first team to match the symbols onshore with the pattern on the platform would win.
- Reward: A flight to a village on YapYapYap, also known as Wa'ab by locals, is an island in the Caroline Islands of the western Pacific Ocean. It is a state of the Federated States of Micronesia. Yap's indigenous cultures and traditions are still strong compared to other neighboring islands. The island of Yap actually consists of four...
for a feast, watching a traditional dance, and spending the night in a chief's traditional house
- Reward: A flight to a village on Yap
- Immunity Challenge: The castaways would stand on a log, one arm above their head with their wrist tethered to a bucket of water on top of a platform. The castaway who could stand there the longest without tipping the bucket would win. During the challenge, Jeff would tempt the castaways to quit with offerings of food, including donuts, cookies, and various other foods. This challenge was used before in Survivor: AfricaSurvivor: AfricaSurvivor: Africa is the third season of the United States reality show Survivor. It was filmed during 2001 and aired from October 11, 2001 - January 10, 2002 on CBS. It was set in Kenya's Shaba National Reserve on the African continent....
and Survivor: All-StarsSurvivor: All-StarsSurvivor: All-Stars is the eighth season of the United States reality show Survivor. It was filmed in 2003 and debuted in the United States on CBS on February 1, 2004 after Super Bowl XXXVIII. It was set on the Pearl Islands of Panama, where the previous Survivor: Pearl Islands had just finished...
and was lated used in Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains.
On day 25, there was a team-based Reward Challenge won by the team of Amanda, Erik, Jason, and Ozzy. Cirie was not selected during the schoolyard pick for the challenge and she had to go to Exile Island, where she spent a cold night planning how to get rid of Ozzy. At the Immunity Challenge, the challenge came down to Parvati and Jason after over six hours of the two of them standing on the log. When Jeff offered a full tray of food that would be split with whomever stepped down and the castaways already out of the challenge, Jason said he would step down if he got a guarantee that he would not be voted for at the next Tribal Council after Parvati persuaded him that he could gain some friends by doing this. Everybody agreed, though several of the castaways crossed their fingers
Crossed fingers
To cross one's fingers, is an apotropaic hand gesture, used to superstitiously wish for good luck or to nullify a promise.The gesture is referred to by the common expression "fingers crossed", meaning "let's hope for a good outcome"....
, and Jason stepped down, giving Individual Immunity to Parvati. When the castaways returned to camp, Amanda, James, and Ozzy immediately wanted to renege on their promise to Jason and vote for him. Cirie saw this as a good opportunity to blindside Ozzy, the biggest physical threat, and eliminate the danger of the Immunity Idol. She approached Alexis, Jason, Natalie, and Parvati about voting for Ozzy. The four agreed with her, but decided not to tell any of the others and hoped to throw them off by acting like Jason was going home. At Tribal Council, Ozzy stated that he might have had to play the Hidden Immunity Idol, but he did not bring it with him to Tribal Council. Following that, an angry Ozzy was blindsided with a vote of 5–4, leaving Amanda, Erik, James, and Eliza (now a jury member) shocked.
Episode 11: "I'm Ruthless... and Have a Smile on My Face"
- Survivor Auction: There was no Reward Challenge. Instead, a Survivor Auction was held. Here is what was purchased:
Contestants Item(s) Alexis Nothing (received a part of a cake from Natalie, along with Cirie and Parvati) Amanda A peanut butter and jelly sandwich Cirie A hot dog with fries (received a part of a cake from Natalie, along with Alexis and Parvati) Erik Jarred octopus (traded for nachos with dips) licked the cake off the fingers of Cirie for $40 James Nothing (received fruit bat soup from Natalie for free) Jason Nothing (sent to Exile Island by Natalie) Natalie Fruit bat soup (she gave to James), a note in a bottle saying to send someone to Exile Island and to take all of his/her money (she chose Jason), and chocolate cake (she shared with Alexis, Cirie, and Parvati) Parvati Nothing (received a part of a cake from Natalie, along with Alexis and Cirie) - Immunity Challenge: The castaways would throw rocks at a tile which would cause a bundle of puzzle pieces to drop to the ground. The first four castaways who broke their tiles would move on to the second round of digging up a key that would unlock the puzzle pieces. The puzzle pieces would then be assembled into a wheel that would be used to crank a pulley which would lower two wooden planks. The first two castaways who completed the second round would move on the final round. The planks would be used to cross a rope bridge. The castaway would then race across a series of disks suspended on ropes to win Individual Immunity.
After Tribal Council, Amanda was angry that Parvati and Cirie did not tell her about their plot against Ozzy. Parvati tried to patch things up with James, but her efforts didn't work and James no longer trusted Parvati. Her efforts also failed with Amanda, though she kept her distrust of Parvati and Cirie to herself. Instead of a Reward Challenge, a Survivor Auction was held. One of the items sold at the auction was a bottle containing a note that said that the winning bidder had to pick a castaway to immediately go to Exile Island. The item was won by Natalie and she chose Jason. Jeff announced that there was a new Hidden Immunity Idol on Exile Island, which was found by Jason. While Jason was on Exile Island, the girls planned to blindside him at the next Tribal Council. The plan was for Natalie to exploit Jason's trust in her and tell him that he owed her for sending him to Exile Island so that he could find the Hidden Immunity Idol. Just before the start of the Immunity Challenge, Natalie put the girl's plan into action by telling Jason that James was going to be voted out and Jason needed to make sure that James did not win Individual Immunity. On his 22nd birthday, Erik won Individual Immunity, unknowingly putting the second part of the girl's plan into place. Back at camp, the girls searched Jason's bag, much to the chagrin of James and Erik, and found the Hidden Immunity Idol wrapped in his belongings. Natalie convinced Jason that the girls would be voting for James. At Tribal Council, the girls' plan finally succeeded when Jason did not play the Hidden Immunity Idol, and he was blindsided in a 4–3–1 vote.
Episode 12: "I'm Gonna Fix Her!"
- Reward Challenge: The castaways would, in private, answer a survey about their fellow tribemates. They would then have to guess whose name came up the most from the group. Each time a castaway guessed correctly, they would be given the opportunity to chop at a rope that held a weight above a statuette that represented another castaway. After three chops of the rope, the statuette would be smashed and that castaway would be eliminated from the challenge. The last castaway whose statuette was not smashed would win reward.
- Reward: A trip to Jellyfish LakeJellyfish LakeJellyfish Lake is a marine lake located on Eil Malk island in Palau. Eil Malk is part of the Rock Islands, a group of small, rocky, mostly uninhabited islands in Palau's Southern Lagoon, between Koror and Peleliu. There are about 70 other marine lakes located throughout the Rock Islands. Jellyfish...
to swim among stingless jellyfishJellyfishJellyfish are free-swimming members of the phylum Cnidaria. Medusa is another word for jellyfish, and refers to any free-swimming jellyfish stages in the phylum Cnidaria...
with a loved one; selection of two additional castaways and their loved ones to share the reward
- Reward: A trip to Jellyfish Lake
- Immunity Challenge: The castaways would take turns shooting a rifle at colored sake bottles. The first person who breaks all three of their bottles would win.
After Tribal Council, the Survivor medical team took a look at James' injured finger and told him that they would look at the finger again the next morning. James was told that if the infection spread to the joint, he would need surgery to prevent disablement of the joint. During the night, Alexis tripped and fell, injuring her knee. The Reward Challenge included the customary visit by the castaways' loved ones. Jeff announced that Exile Island was back in play with another Hidden Immunity Idol. Alexis won the challenge to take a trip to Jellyfish Lake and opted to take along Cirie and her husband and Natalie and her mother. Amanda volunteered to go to Exile Island and Alexis granted her wish. After the challenge, the Survivor medical team looked at James again and made the call that the risk of the infection in his finger spreading to his joint was too great and that James be removed from the game for medication attention. On Exile Island, Amanda followed a new set of clues to learn that the Hidden Immunity Idol was buried under the tribe's flag back at camp. Alexis, Natalie, and Parvati discussed what they should do if Erik succeeded in winning the next Individual Immunity. Natalie said that she would vote for Amanda since she thought Amanda had the best chance of winning over the jury while Parvati said that she could not vote for Amanda due to long term alliances. Erik's sharpshooting enabled him to win the Immunity Challenge, foiling the all-girl alliance's plan to vote him out at the next Tribal Council. Back at their campsite, Amanda truthfully told the tribe that she did not find the Hidden Immunity Idol. The idol clue stated that the idol was at camp, which she confided to Parvati. At that point, she recruited Parvati's help in retrieving the Idol. The others were fooled by Amanda and wanted to vote her out, worried that she had a better chance to capture jury votes since she had not made any enemies. Amanda and Parvati thought they could convince Erik to join their voting block by asking him to return the favor of keeping him in the game over Ami, but he would not join them. At Tribal Council, James shocked everybody by appearing with an IV
Intravenous therapy
Intravenous therapy or IV therapy is the infusion of liquid substances directly into a vein. The word intravenous simply means "within a vein". Therapies administered intravenously are often called specialty pharmaceuticals...
for his infection. Alexis, Cirie, Erik, and Natalie openly said they would be voting for Amanda, but the three fans received a second shock for the night when she produced the Hidden Immunity Idol. She said when she told the others she didn't have it, she wasn't lying because she didn't have it at the time. This negated their votes against her, leaving only the votes cast for Alexis, who was blindsided 2–0.
Episode 13: "If It Smells Like a Rat, Give It Cheese"
- Reward Challenge: The castaways would be quizzed about favorite moments from past seasons of Survivor. The first person to correctly answer four questions would win.
- Reward: A helicopter trip over the Rock IslandsRock Islands (Palau)The Rock Islands of Palau, also called Chelbacheb, are a small collection of limestone or coral uprises, ancient relics of coral reefs that violently surfaced to form Islands in Palau's Southern Lagoon, between Koror and Peleliu, and are now an incorporated part of Koror State...
and an overnight stay at a resort
- Reward: A helicopter trip over the Rock Islands
- Immunity Challenge: Three large sand pits are surrounded by signs with symbolic coordinate. Each castaway would be given a pair of ropes and a set of coordinates. They would use the ropes to match the coordinates up so that the ropes intersect within the circle. At that intersection point, they would dig up a bag of puzzle pieces. This would give them the coordinates to use with the ropes on the second sand pit. The process would be repeated until a final bag of puzzle pieces would be retrieved from the third sand pit. The first person to complete the last puzzle wins immunity.
After returning from Tribal Council, Erik and Natalie plotted their next moves to stay in the game, with them figuring out that one of them had to win the next Reward Challenge so that they could send the other to Exile Island in order to find the Hidden Immunity Idol. Amanda and Cirie reconfirmed their alliance with Parvati to go to the final three. They plotted to manipulate Erik into sending Parvati to Exile Island by having Amanda convince Erik that she forgave him for his switching loyalties and that they should team up since they were the two most physical players left. This would prevent Erik or Natalie from finding the Hidden Immunity Idol, making one of them vulnerable at the next Tribal Council. Erik won the Reward Challenge and selected Amanda to join him based on his agreement with her, while Parvati was sent to Exile. Back at the campsite, Natalie felt betrayed by Erik and vented her feelings to Cirie, who found pleasure in Natalie stressing over the betrayal. At the Immunity Challenge, Erik easily won, once again ruining the women's hopes of getting rid of him. Erik later revealed his planned game play to Cirie involving his hopes of going to the final three with her and Parvati, unaware that Natalie was nearby and overheard it. Natalie explained this to the other three women, and Cirie suggested that Natalie attempt to try to convince Erik to hand the Individual Immunity over to Natalie using the argument that it would redeem himself in front of the jury and that Cirie and Natalie would agree to vote out Amanda only if Erik saved Natalie. At Tribal Council, Amanda lambasted Erik for his switching loyalties, and was soon joined by Natalie and Parvati. However when the time came, the plot worked, and Erik gave Natalie the immunity necklace, hoping that Cirie and Natalie would join him in voting for Parvati. However, the girls stuck to their plan, and Erik was voted out 4–1. The jury was shocked by this move, leading James to claim after the vote that he was no longer "The dumbest Survivor ever" (in reference to when he was voted off Survivor: China with two Immunity Idols in hand). Both these moves were included as two of the five options in the CBS website Survivor's Dumbest Move poll conducted during the twentieth season.
Episode 14: "Stir the Pot!"
- Immunity Challenge: The castaways would start standing on top of a 20 feet (6.1 m) pole in the water. The would have to lower buckets into the water and use the water to fill a bamboo chute which would raise a set of keys. Once the keys are in reach, the castaway would swim ashore with the keys to unlock a box that contained 16 individually shaped ladder rungs. The ladder rungs would be used to build a ladder to a platform. The first castaway to assemble their ladder, climb to the top of the platform and raise their flag would win.
After returning from Tribal Council, the ladies celebrated their success in voting out all of the men from the game. At the Immunity Challenge, Natalie quickly took an early lead, but Amanda came from behind during the ladder assembly stage to win Immunity. Natalie tried to break up the alliance of Amanda, Cirie, and Parvati. During Tribal Council, Jeff hinted that instead of a final three that there would be a final two, which caused Cirie to declare that she felt she was at the bottom of every alliance that she was in. This resulted in a short argument between Cirie and Amanda. Despite this, the Favorites alliance held and Natalie was voted out 3–1.
- Immunity Challenge: A long wooden cylinder was cut into different sized segments. On the center segment a notch has been cut on which rests a metal ball. The castaways would have to hold up the segments by squeezing them between two handles. Every five minutes, a new round would start where the castaway would have to add two additional segments between the handles. After the cylinder was nine segments long, the final round would last as long as the castaways held out. The castaway who held up their segments the longest without allowing the ball to drop from the center segment would win.
After Tribal Council, Amanda and Cirie continued their argument over Cirie feeling that she was at the bottom of every alliance she was in, although they eventually made up and celebrated that they had all reached the final three like they had originally intended. Their happiness was cut short however, as the three found out on Day 38 that Jeff's questions at Tribal Council about a final two were not hypothetical and they would have to go through one final Immunity Challenge after the customary honoring of past castaways who left the game. While Parvati didn't really try, a distraught Amanda managed to regroup and win the final Immunity Challenge over Cirie.
At camp, Cirie tried to convince Amanda why she should keep her, but at Tribal Council, Amanda kept her loyalty to Parvati and voted out Cirie. Back at camp, Amanda and Parvati celebrated their making it to the final two by eating the customary final feast and burning down their shelter. For her opening statement at the final Tribal Council, Amanda tried to persuade the jury to vote for her by emphasizing her loyalties to her alliances. Parvati emphasized her aggressive play during the game. Tribal Council then proceeded to the jury's statements and questions. Eliza complimented the girls on their strategic gameplay, but criticized Parvati for being mean and Amanda for being superficial.
Jason asked if Amanda would have told Ozzy about the plan to vote him out if she had known about it and Parvati to list some of her redeeming qualities during the game. Alexis asked Parvati about what made her a better role model for young girls than Amanda, and asked Amanda about what part of her game was genuine. Natalie asked Parvati a confusing question about how Parvati's flirting translated into her intimate life, and Amanda was asked about her "glazed over... zombied, pretty girl, not really knowing what's going on, pageant queen cliché" look and if that was her strategy during the game.
Erik asked Amanda on what basis she felt had to judge him during Tribal Councils, but he did not ask anything of Parvati. James did not ask anything of Amanda, but questioned Parvati about what she said to him after Ozzy was voted out. Cirie asked Amanda why Parvati deserved a million dollars more than her and then asked Parvati about why Cirie should be in the final two instead of Parvati. Ozzy used his statement time to blast Parvati for taking 14 days away from him that he could have spent with Amanda and for ruining their friendship, before declaring that he was falling in love with Amanda. In the end, the jury sided with Parvati and declared her the Sole Survivor with a vote of 5–3.
Voting history
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| Jury Vote | ||
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| Finalist: | ||
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Jonathan was evacuated due to medical reasons, therefore no vote occurred for his removal from the game.
Kathy voluntarily left the game, therefore no vote occurred for her removal from the game.
James was evacuated due to medical reasons, therefore no vote occurred for his removal from the game.
Because Amanda played the Hidden Immunity Idol, four votes cast against her did not count.
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| "You Guys Are Dumber Than You Look" | 8.1 | 13 | 4.8/13 | 13.87 | #8 |
| "The Sounds of Jungle Love" | 7.6 | 12 | 4.5/13 | 13.12 | #6 |
| "I Should Be Carried on the Chariot-Type Thing!" | 7.3 | 11 | 4.0/10 | 12.55 | #8 |
| "That's Baked, Barbecued and Fried!" | 7.5 | 12 | 4.2/11 | 12.47 | #10 |
| "He's a Ball of Goo!" | 7.3 | 11 | 4.0/10 | 12.6 | #8 |
| "It Hit Everyone Pretty Hard" | 7.9 | 13 | 4.2/13 | 13.06 | #3 |
| "Like a Wide-Eyed Kid in the Candy Store" | 6.7 | 11 | 3.7/10 | 11.34 | #6 |
| "A Lost Puppy Dog" | 7.5 | 12 | 3.8/9 | 12.84 | #11 |
| "I'm in Such a Hot Pickle!" | 6.9 | 11 | 3.8/11 | 11.68 | #17 |
| "I Promise..." | 7.4 | 13 | 3.8/12 | 12.09 | #11 |
| "I'm Ruthless...and Have a Smile on My Face" | 7.9 | 13 | 4.2/13 | 12.98 | #12 |
| "I'm Gonna Fix Her!" | 7.7 | 13 | 4.0/12 | 12.53 | #14 |
| "If It Smells Like a Rat, Give It Cheese" | 7.7 | 13 | 4.1/12 | 11.98 | #9 |
| "Stir the Pot!" | 7.2 | 12 | 4.4/12 | 12.92 | #11 |
| "The Reunion" | 6.0 | 10 | 3.9/10 | 10.84 | #12 |
Reception
This season was very well received by both fans and critics alike. Jeff ProbstJeff Probst
Jeffrey Lee "Jeff" Probst is an American game show host, executive producer and a reporter. He is best known as the host of the U.S. version of the reality show Survivor.-Biography:...
ranked it as his second favorite season of all time (behind Borneo
Survivor: Borneo
Survivor: Borneo is the first season of the United States reality show Survivor. It was originally broadcast under the name Survivor but its official title was changed to Survivor: Pulau Tiga to distinguish it from subsequent installments of the series, and then changed again to Survivor: Borneo to...
) stating that “The Parvati-led women's alliance produced some of the most memorable moments in the history of the show”. Slant magazine gave it a 3.5 star rating out of 4 saying “Never in Survivor history has there been such a string of shocking tribal councils one right after the next.” Andy Dehnart
Andy Dehnart
Andy Dehnart is an American journalist and television critic. He may be best known as reality television's "longest-standing critic" for his online journalism, as he's the creator of the genre's first tracking website, RealityBlurred.com...
of realityblurred.com also gave the season a positive review stating that the moment where Erik gave individual immunity to Natalie helped make “Survivor Micronesia the best season ever—or at least, the best second half of a season ever.” Survivor columnist Dalton Ross also rated the season as the second best season saying that it had “great characters and the perfect mix of solid and stupid gameplay.”