Survivor: Fiji

Template:Infobox Television Survivor Survivor: Fiji was the fourteenth season of the CBS reality television series Survivor.

Applications were due June 16, 2006. In late July and early August, about 800 applicants were selected for an interview by CBS. Out of those 800, about 48 semi-finalists were selected to go to Los Angeles in September. Twenty contestants were then picked out of the 48.

The premiere of this season of Survivor aired on February 8, 2007. The two-hour season finale aired on May 13, 2007, followed by the Reunion show live from Ed Sullivan Theater in New York City.

In a twist from previous seasons of Survivor, all contestants participated in a challenge before being split into two tribes and moving to two different camps. One camp (built by all contestants in the initial challenge) was furnished with several luxuries, including shelters built from pre-cut wood, a kitchen area with dishware, a shower, a toilet, furniture, and the means to maintain fire. The other camp was given merely a water well and a machete. The tribes themselves did not switch camps from week-to-week, but in Episode 6 some individuals were swapped between tribes.

Exile Island was also in play for Survivor: Fiji, with some new tweaks. Unlike previous seasons, there were two hidden immunity idols, with one hidden at each camp. The idol now had to be played before Jeff read the results of the voting, rather than after. Once a hidden immunity idol was used, it was rehidden rather than discarded. The idols were good through the final five.

For the first time in U.S. Survivor history, the winner, Earl Cole, was unanimously decided by the jury. Yau-Man Chan reports that Andria (Dre) “Dreamz” Herd and Cassandra Franklin will receive $100,000, as they both received the same amount of votes for sole survivor (zero) and tied for second place. He also reports that he will receive $60,000 for coming in third.

Mellisa McNulty, a 27-year-old talent manager from Los Angeles, would have been the twentieth castaway but dropped out and returned home the night before the show began because of panic attacks. Because of the timing and lack of alternates, her spot could not be replaced. Gary Stritesky was the only contestant who applied to be on the show; Melissa and the other 18 contestants were recruited.

Contestants

Contestant	Original Tribe	Episode 6 Tribe	Merged Tribe	Finish	Total votes
Jessica deBen 27, Los Angeles, CA	Ravu			1st Voted Out Day 3	6
Erica Durosseau 27, Lake Charles, LA	Ravu			2nd Voted Out Day 6	6
Sylvia Kwan 52, Ross, CA	Ravu 1			3rd Voted Out Day 8	6
Gary Stritesky 55, Ramsey, MN	Moto			Left Due To Illness Day 10	0
Liliana Gomez 25, Oxnard, CA	Moto			4th Voted Out Day 11	6
Rita Verreos 38, San Antonio, TX	Ravu			5th Voted Out Day 14	6
Anthony Robinson 32, Compton, CA	Ravu	Ravu		6th Voted Out Day 16	10
James "Rocky" Reid 28, Los Angeles, CA	Ravu	Ravu		7th Voted Out 1st Jury Member Day 19	5
Lisette "Lisi" Linares 36, Los Angeles, CA	Moto	Ravu 2		8th Voted Out 2nd Jury Member Day 21	7
Michelle Yi 23, Cincinnati, OH	Ravu	Moto	Bula Bula	9th Voted Out 3rd Jury Member Day 24	3
Edgardo Rivera 28, Miami Beach, FL	Moto	Ravu		10th Voted Out 4th Jury Member Day 27	5
Mookie Lee 25, Wheeling, IL	Ravu	Ravu		11th Voted Out 5th Jury Member Day 30	6
Alex Angarita 28, Los Angeles, CA	Moto	Ravu		12th Voted Out 6th Jury Member Day 33	9
Stacy Kimball 27, Boulder, CO	Moto	Moto		13th Voted Out 7th Jury Member Day 36	4
Kenward "Boo" Bernis 34, Lafayette, LA	Moto	Moto		14th Voted Out 8th Jury Member Day 37	5
Yau-Man Chan 54, Martinez, CA	Ravu	Moto		15th Voted Out 9th Jury Member Day 38 3	5
Andria (Dre) "Dreamz" Herd 25, Wilmington, NC	Moto	Ravu		Runner-Up 3	2
Cassandra Franklin 42, Los Angeles, CA	Moto	Moto		Runner-Up 3	5
Earl Cole 35, Santa Monica, CA	Ravu	Moto		Sole Survivor	1

Template:FnbSylvia was given the task of dividing the tribes. She was sent to Exile Island and told she would join whichever tribe lost the Immunity Challenge after that tribe voted off a member. Because Ravu lost the Immunity Challenge, Sylvia became a member of Ravu.

Template:FnbLisi was not picked in the tribal switch in episode six. She was sent to Exile Island and would join the tribe that lost the Immunity Challenge. Because Ravu lost the challenge, Lisi became a member of Ravu.

Template:FnbDre and Cassandra were considered co-runners up due to being tied at zero votes each in the final Tribal Council vote, and both awarded the 2nd place monetary prize. Yau-Man was awarded the 3rd place prize.

The game

		Challenges
Episode title	Air date	Reward	Immunity	Exiled	Eliminated	Vote	Finish
Something Cruel Is About to Happen ... Real Soon	2007-02-08	Moto 4		Sylvia1	Jessica	6-1-1-1	1st Voted Out - Day 3
Snakes Are Misunderstood ... We Have an Understanding Now	2007-02-15	Moto 4		Earl	Erica	6-2	2nd Voted Out - Day 6
This Is Not Survival ... It's a Thrival	2007-02-22	Moto	Moto	Sylvia	Sylvia	4-3-1	3rd Voted Out - Day 8
Let's Just Call Jeff on the Jeff Phone	2007-03-01	Moto	Moto 5	Yau-Man	Gary	No Vote	Removed from game due to medical emergency - Day 10
					Liliana	6-1-1	4th Voted Out - Day 11
Love Many, Trust Few, Do Wrong to None	2007-03-08	Moto	Moto	Earl	Rita	5-2	5th Voted Out - Day 14
I've Got Strength Now to Carry the Flag	2007-03-21	None6	Moto	Lisi 2	Anthony	5-1	6th Voted Out - Day 16
An Evil Thought	2007-03-29	Ravu	Moto	Earl	James	4-2	7th Voted Out - Day 19
So You Think You Can Meke?	2007-04-05	Moto	Moto	Lisi	Lisi	4-1	8th Voted Out - Day 21
Are We Gonna Live on Exile Island?!	2007-04-12	Boo, Cassandra, Earl, Edgardo, Yau-Man7		None8	Michelle	3-2	9th Voted Out - Day 24
It's a Turtle?!	2007-04-19	Cassandra [Boo, Dre, Yau-Man]	Yau-Man	Mookie	Edgardo	5-3-1	10th Voted Out - Day 27
Blackmail or Betrayal	2007-04-26	Alex, Dre, Earl, Stacy	Stacy	Boo	Mookie	4-3-1	11th Voted Out - Day 30
A Smile, Velvet Gloves and a Dagger in My Pocket	2007-05-03	Boo, Yau-Man, Dre	Boo	Earl	Alex	6-1	12th Voted Out - Day 33
I Wanna See If I Can Make a Deal	2007-05-10	Yau-Man (Dre9), Boo, Stacy	Boo	Yau-Man	Stacy	2-011	13th Voted Out - Day 36
You've Got That Puzzled Look	2007-05-13	None	Yau-Man	None	Boo	4-1	14th Voted Out - Day 37
			Dre		Yau-Man	3-1	15th Voted Out - Day 38
Reunion	2007-05-13	Jury Vote		None	Dre	9-0-0	Runner-Up
					Cassandra		Runner-Up
					Earl		Sole Survivor

In the case of multiple tribes or people who win reward or immunity, they are listed in order of finish, or alphabetically where it was a team effort; where one player won and invited others, the invitees are in brackets.

Template:FnbCombined Reward and Immunity Challenges.
Template:FnbMoto originally won immunity, but gave it up to Ravu when they were given the choice between giving up immunity or their camp.
Template:FnbThere was no Reward Challenge in episode six due to a tribe mix-up.
Template:FnbCombined Reward and Immunity Challenge.
Template:FnbNobody was sent to Exile Island due to the merge.
Template:FnbYau-Man made a deal with Dre to give the reward to Dre in exchange for the possibility of a future Individual Immunity.

Elimination notes

1. Jessica - After Ravu's loss at the Reward/Immunity Challenge, they were sent to a new camp to start from scratch. James, Erica, and Jessica formed a strong alliance, while the other 6 formed a looser alliance. Jessica was voted off, being thought of as "flying under the radar" and causing the tribe to lose the challenge. James' vote for Mookie and Erica's vote for Yau-Man were throwaway votes (6-1-1-1).
2. Erica - During the combined Reward/Immunity Challenge, Erica started yelling at the other Ravu members to rethink a section of the puzzle. After much yelling and screaming, the piece she wanted to look over ended up being the wrong one after all, causing some of her tribemates to question her ability to remain cool under pressure. Although Sylvia was considered an outsider due to her exile in the first episode, Erica was voted off (6-2).
3. Sylvia - When Ravu again lost Immunity, discussion centered around sending either Sylvia or Anthony home. Wanting to determine whether or not Sylvia had the idol, the group split the vote between Anthony and Sylvia, except for Rita who voted for Earl (4-3-1).
4. Gary - Following a Reward Challenge, Gary began to complain of his inability to draw a deep breath and of his perpetual dizziness. After several days of attempting to shake it off and two separate medical examinations, Gary was forced to leave the game. In recent interviews, Gary claimed the illness was the result of an allergic reaction to some of the bug bites he encountered in Fiji.
5. Liliana - Ravu lost Immunity again, but, in a twist, Moto had to choose between moving to Ravu's camp or getting to keep their camp but voting out a tribe member. Moto chose to vote out a member and keep their camp. Liliana was voted out by the 5 person alliance of Alex, Lisi, Boo, Stacy, and Edgardo because she was their biggest threat (6-1-1).
6. Rita - Rita and Michelle's conversations about "girl stuff" (e.g. lip gloss) annoyed James. When Ravu lost their 5th consecutive Immunity Challenge, the majority of the tribe planned on getting rid of Anthony. However, James lobbied Mookie to change to Rita and the majority switched to vote her out (5-2).
7. Anthony - After a tribal swap, the now all-male Ravu lost their 6th straight Immunity Challenge. Anthony was perceived as the weakest link. Despite Anthony's mention of James' "short fuse," the group opted to vote out Anthony (5-1).
8. James - Following the Reward Challenge, James' tribemates commented that his personality had become abrasive, as his constant criticism irritated them. When Ravu lost the Immunity challenge, Alex and Edgardo decided the game had reached the point at which loyalty, not physical strength, was the main factor in deciding which person to vote out. Believing Lisi to be more loyal than James, the original Moto members banded together to eliminate him (4-2).
9. Lisi - After Ravu lost the Immunity Challenge, Lisi admitted to her tribe that she was done with the game and ready to go home. However, she had second thoughts and tried to convince Alex and Edgardo to vote out Dre, but the tribe stuck with the original plan and voted her off (4-1).
10. Michelle - Before the first immunity challenge after the merge, the Survivors were split up into two competing teams. Alex, Dre, Michelle, Mookie, and Stacy, all part of the losing team, were sent to tribal council without any discussion or strategizing. Before the vote, Jeff Probst indirectly asked Alex who he was voting for, and he implied Michelle. Dre decided to stay loyal to his ally in the new Ravu and Michelle was voted out (3-2).
11. Edgardo - After a great deal of strategizing by all players, it was discovered that the "Four Horsemen" (Edgardo, Alex, Mookie, and Dre) were going to play the hidden Immunity Idol after Stacy and Boo joined Earl, Yau-Man, and Cassandra. Dre told those five about the Four Horsemen's plans to give Alex the hidden Immunity Idol. Stacy suggested that since Mookie or Alex would be using the idol they should target Edgardo, since the others would not be expecting it, and he was voted out (5-3-1).
12. Mookie - After Edgardo's departure, Mookie and Alex felt that they were on the outside. When Stacy won immunity, Alex started to fight to stay in the game. Although the 6-person alliance decided to split their votes 3-3 to counter any possible Immunity Idol, Alex voted for Mookie to keep himself in the game, and Mookie was voted out (4-3-1).
13. Alex - Being the last person remaining from his alliance, he was seen as the odd man out, and despite his best efforts, he was voted out (6-1).
14. Stacy - Boo, Cassandra, Dre, and Stacy voted for Yau-Man thinking that now would be the ideal time to vote him out, but when Yau-Man played his Hidden Immunity Idol after sensing bad vibes and hearing comments from Stacy at Tribal Council, the plan fell apart. Earl and Yau-Man voted for Stacy who was thus voted out (2-0).
15. Boo - Seen as a physical threat, Boo was voted out. Even after trying to convince Yau-Man and Earl to try to vote Dre, claiming him to win by "sympathy votes", the plan fell through and Boo was voted out (4-1).
16. Yau-Man - In the final Immunity Challenge, Dre beat out Yau-Man for the necklace. At tribal council, Dre, did not live up to his word to give the immunity necklace to Yau-Man feeling that he would be voted out if he did so, and Yau-Man was voted out (3-1).
17. Dre - Dre was disliked by many members of the jury whether it was by personality conflicts, hypocrisy, or by betraying them. Dre received no votes.
18. Cassandra - Was accused of being greedy (by Lisi and Alex), riding on coattails, and was simply not seen as deserving of the title. Cassandra also received no votes.
19. Earl - Earl played the game more strategically, had the jury's respect, and was seen as the more deserving among the three finalists. He received all nine votes at the final tribal council, which were from James, Lisi, Michelle, Edgardo, Mookie, Alex, Stacy, Boo, and Yau-Man.

Exile notes

1. Sylvia - Being an architect, Sylvia took control of building the shelter with the materials given to the castaways. When Jeff Probst asked the castaways who was the leader in building the shelter, they unanimously said that Sylvia was the leader. Jeff then asked her to divide the other 18 people into two tribes. After finishing this, she was sent to Exile Island and was immune from Tribal Council. She would then join the tribe that lost the Reward and Immunity Challenge which was Ravu.
2. Earl - At the combined Reward/Immunity Challenge, part of the reward was that the winning tribe would choose one person from the losing tribe to go to Exile Island. After Moto won, they chose Earl to be sent to Exile Island. He would rejoin his tribe after Tribal Council, thus making him both immune and unable to vote.
3. Sylvia - The winning tribe at the Reward Challenge was again given the choice of who to send to Exile Island from the losing tribe. When Moto won, they elected to send Sylvia back for a second time.
4. Yau-Man - Moto won their fifth straight challenge and chose to send Yau-Man to Exile Island. In a post-game interview Liliana revealed Yau-Man was chosen because he was perceived to be Ravu's food provider. Alienating him from his tribe was a strategic ploy to further weaken the other Ravu tribemates.
5. Earl - Moto won their seventh straight challenge and chose Earl to once again be sent to Exile Island.
6. Lisi - When Earl and Edgardo chose the new Ravu and Moto tribes, Lisi was not picked and was sent to Exile Island.
7. Earl - When Ravu won their first challenge, they decided to send Earl to Exile Island as they did not want anyone else to receive clues about the whereabouts of the hidden Immunity Idols.
8. Lisi - When Moto won the challenge, Lisi was sent back to Exile Island because Moto did not want anyone else to receive clues about the hidden Immunity Idols.
9. None - The treemail told each of the tribes to paddle to Exile Island, where they merged, but returned to Moto's camp shortly thereafter.
10. Mookie - After Cassandra won the Reward Challenge, she decided to send Mookie to Exile Island. Mookie remained very bitter.
11. Boo - After the team of Alex, Dre, Earl, and Stacy won the Reward Challenge, they sent Boo to Exile Island with Earl stating that Boo had been living in luxury the whole game.
12. Earl - After Boo won the Reward Challenge, he decided to send Earl to Exile Island.
13. Yau-Man - Yau-Man opted to send himself to Exile Island after winning the Reward Challenge.

Voting history

	Starting Tribes						Switched Tribes			Merged Tribe
Episode #:	1	2	3	4		5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14		Runner-Up	Runner-Up	Sole Survivor
Eliminated:	Jessica 6/9 Votes	Erica 6/8 Votes	Sylvia 4/8 Votes	Gary No Vote	Liliana 6/8 Votes	Rita 5/7 Votes	Anthony 5/6 Votes	James 4/6 Votes	Lisi 4/5 Votes	Michelle 3/5 Votes10	Edgardo 5/9 Votes	Mookie 4/8 Votes	Alex 6/7 Votes	Stacy 2/6 Votes11	Boo 4/5 Votes	Yau-Man 3/4 Votes	Dre 0/9 Votes	Cassandra 0/9 Votes	Earl 9/9 Votes
Voter	Vote
Earl	Jessica	Exiled12	Sylvia			Rita					Edgardo	Alex	Alex	Stacy	Boo	Yau-Man	Jury Vote
Cassandra					Lisi						Edgardo	Mookie	Alex	Yau-Man	Boo	Yau-Man
Dre					Liliana		Anthony	James	Lisi	Michelle	Mookie	Mookie	Alex	Yau-Man	Boo	Yau-Man
Yau-Man	Jessica	Erica	Sylvia			Rita					Edgardo	Alex	Alex	Stacy	Boo	Cassandra			Earl
Boo					Liliana						Edgardo	Mookie	Alex	Yau-Man	Dre				Earl
Stacy					Liliana					Michelle	Edgardo	Alex	Alex	Yau-Man					Earl
Alex					Liliana		Anthony	James	Lisi	Michelle	Cassandra	Mookie	Yau-Man						Earl
Mookie	Jessica	Erica	Anthony			Rita	Anthony	Lisi	Lisi	Stacy	Cassandra	Boo							Earl
Edgardo					Liliana		Anthony	James	Lisi		Cassandra								Earl
Michelle	Jessica	Erica	Sylvia			Anthony				Stacy									Earl
Lisi					Liliana		Exiled2	James	Dre										Earl
James	Mookie	Erica	Anthony			Rita	Anthony	Lisi											Earl
Anthony	Jessica	Sylvia	Sylvia			Rita	James
Rita	Jessica	Erica	Earl			Anthony
Liliana					Cassandra
Gary
Sylvia	Exiled1	Erica	Anthony
Erica	Yau-Man	Sylvia
Jessica	Rita

Template:FnbHalf of Bula Bula was immune due to winning the Reward/Immunity Challenge, therefore was not present at Tribal Council and did not participate in the vote.
Template:FnbYau-Man played the hidden Immunity Idol, therefore the votes against him were not counted.
Template:FnbEarl was exiled in episode two and did not return to his tribe until after Tribal Council, meaning he could not be voted out or participate in the vote.

Episode summaries

Episode 1: The castaways arrived on an island with no instructions and were not split into tribes. After some time, a box was parachuted, which contained plans for a luxurious shelter using the provided building supplies. The castaways spent the next two days constructing the shelter from the plans under the primary direction of Sylvia. At the combined Reward and Immunity Challenge, the castaways were asked who the leader was during construction and unanimously named Sylvia. Sylvia was told to split the castaways into two tribes but was then exiled. She would be immune from Tribal Council and would join whichever tribe lost the Immunity Challenge. Ravu lost the challenge and was sent to a new island with only one pot and a machete. Moto returned to the original tribe to live in the shelter built on day one and two with additional amenities. James, Erica, and Jessica formed a strong alliance, while the other six formed a looser alliance. Jessica was blamed for losing the challenge and being under the radar. She was voted out 6-1-1-1.

Episode 2: Ravu continued to suffer from dehydration and were reduced to licking water off of leaves, though they found a supply of pineapples in addition to their coconut supply. At Moto, the castaways continued to live a cushy life at their camp. Boo injured himself in the eye and then shortly thereafter cut himself with an ax while chopping wood. On day 5, Sylvia returned from Exile Island and immediately declared that she felt like an outcast. Her tribemates were struck the wrong way by her with her bossiness. The challenge was another combined Reward/Immunity Challenge and the winners would receive fishing gear and the choice of sending somebody from the losing tribe to Exile Island. In a close race, Moto pulled out another win and chose Earl to go to Exile Island. Anthony lobbied to vote out Sylvia for being the outsider and disrupting the tribe's chemistry. However, during the challenge, Erica panicked, which caused her tribe to vote her out 6-2.

Episode 3: Michelle finally started a fire at Ravu using Sylvia's glasses. Michelle used Sylvia's glasses because the thicker bi-focals concentrated the light better that her own glasses. This energized the tribe, but the momentum failed to carry over to the Reward Challenge where Ravu lost (though they did gain flint for successfully earning fire on their own). Moto opted to have a second set of fishing gear as reward instead of their luxury items or fresh fruit. Moto also won the right to send somebody to Exile Island and they selected Sylvia to go for a second time. After the Reward Challenge when Moto returned to camp, Gary felt dizzy and complained of chest pain, thinking that it may have been a cracked rib suffered during the Reward Challenge. The medics were called in and he was cleared to continue, though his tribe encouraged him to not be afraid to call for medical help should he not be able to breathe. This deflated some of Moto's elation of the Reward win. At a food eating Immunity Challenge, tempers flared after some taunting by Mookie, but Moto was able to continue their win streak. Sylvia, knowing she was vulnerable from the previous vote and her performance at the Reward Challenge, attempted to find the idol at camp using the 3 clues she had, though was unsuccessful. Her tribemates voted her out 4-3-1.

Episode 4: Gary continued to suffer from vertigo due to an allergic reaction brought on by bug bites. Moto came up with a great strategy to win the Reward Challenge after initially falling behind. The challenge was almost exactly the same as the one in Vanuatu. Moto chose to send Yau-Man to Exile Island and received a reward of fish, rice, spices, pillows, and a king size bed. A frustrated James threw a temper tantrum after the Reward Challenge. On Day 10, Gary decided that his condition was not getting any better and he pulled himself from the game. James decided to motivate his tribe by wearing one of the women's pink top to the Immunity Challenge, but this did not help as Moto's winning streak continued. In a twist, the winning tribe opened a sealed bottle that contained a note that stated:

You have just won Immunity. You must now decide which is more important to you: Immunity or comfort. To keep your Immunity, you must live at the Ravu tribe camp. To enjoy the food and comfort of the Moto camp, you must give up Immunity and vote someone out tonight.

Moto decided to keep their comfort and go to Tribal Council. The alliance of Alex, Lisi, Boo, Stacy, and Edgardo voted out Liliana, after deciding that she was the biggest threat, 6-1-1.

Episode 5: Earl and Yau-Man discussed their clues about the Hidden Immunity Idol. Earl took the tribe on a hunting expedition, leaving Yau-Man to dig for the Idol, but his search turned up nothing. At the Reward Challenge, Moto crushed Ravu and opted to send Earl back to Exile Island. Stacy and Lisi upset Alex and Edgardo by going on a power trip, treating Dre and Cassandra rudely. Dre decided that he and Cassandra would flip to the other side after the unspoken alliance's effort to smooth things over rang hollow. Moto won a close Immunity Challenge to remain undefeated. Rita annoyed James with her chitchatting with Michelle and she was voted out 5-2.

Episode 6: After receiving tree mail, Moto and Ravu head to what they think is a Reward Challenge. Jeff tells the tribes to volunteer one member from each tribe. Earl from Ravu and Edgardo from Moto step forward. Jeff then announced that volunteers would start the selection of new tribes by schoolyard pick. The new Moto tribe becomes Earl, Yau-Man, Cassandra, Boo, Michelle, and Stacy. The new Ravu tribe becomes James, Dre, Mookie, Edgardo, Anthony, and Alex. An upset Lisi was not picked and was sent to Exile Island. Edgardo and Earl then played Rock, Paper, Scissors for the right to draw from a bag that contained Moto and Ravu buffs to see which tribe went to which camp and Edgardo drew the less luxurious Ravu camp. Cassandra, who had been weak without any alliance in the old Moto tribe quickly warmed up to the new members. Over at Ravu, the new members were not in such bad spirits as the old members at Ravu, and in turn, the new Ravu members strengthened the team with their positive attitude and well health. Despite this, Ravu was not able to win the closely contested Immunity Challenge, where each team was linked together with several different poles and had to work their way through a maze to the finish line. At the Ravu camp, two heads were on the chopping block: Anthony for being seen as weak and James for his obnoxious behavior. Things became tense at Tribal Council, when James attacked Anthony for his weaknesses, and Anthony in turn unleashed some pent up anger at James. When it came to the vote, Anthony was voted out 5-1.

Episode 7: Lisi joined the Ravu tribe after spending two days on Exile Island. Earl took his tribemates to try to retrieve Moto's stranded boat, leaving Yau-Man to search for the hidden Immunity Idol. Using Moto's digging tools, Yau-Man found the Immunity Idol and vowed to share the idol with Earl. At the Reward Challenge, Ravu finally broke their losing streak and won a trip to a video arcade. Ravu chose Earl to go to Exile Island to keep anyone else from learning clues about the location of the hidden Immunity Idols. James made fun of his tribemate's overeating at the reward, which irritated Edgardo and Alex. Yau-Man made a fake Immunity Idol and planted it where he found the real Immunity Idol, though not as deep. At the Immunity Challenge, Moto continued their winning streak for immunity. Alex and Edgardo decided they preferred Lisi's loyalty over James' strength and attitude and voted James out 4-2.

Episode 8: While Dre and Lisi slept, Alex, Edgardo, and Mookie found the hidden Immunity Idol using the clues that Lisi told Alex. The three men decided to not tell Dre or Lisi that they found the idol, though Lisi figured out that Alex told Mookie about the clues. At the Reward Challenge, where the tribes were to perform a traditional Fijian meke, Moto was judged the best and opted to send Lisi back to Exile Island for a second time. The Immunity Challenge tested the tribes' accuracy in hitting a target for 3 rounds. Each round involved a different task: blowing darts, throwing spears, and archery. Moto continued their winning streak by winning all rounds, with Yau-Man showing off some "unorthodox" but successful techniques in spear throwing and archery. A frustrated Lisi told her tribe that she wanted to be voted out, but then changed her mind and hoped that Alex and Edgardo would vote out Dre. However, the men decided to vote out Lisi 4-1.

Episode 9: On day 22, the tribes received tree mail that told them to paddle immediately to Exile Island and to not take any of their rewards with them. When they arrived, they discovered a box in the tower on the island with purple buffs and a note telling them that they were now a merged tribe and they were to return to the Moto camp. When they arrived, everything had been removed and the castaways would have to rebuild from scratch. All the castaways started scrambling for new alliances or tried to bring back together old ones. Mookie revealed to Dre that he had one of the Immunity Idols, which angered Alex and Edgardo. At the combined Reward and Immunity Challenge, the castaways were randomly split into two competing teams consisting of a green team (Alex, Dre, Michelle, Mookie, and Stacey) and an orange team (Boo, Cassandra, Earl, Edgardo, and Yau-Man). The winning team would be immune, not attend Tribal Council, and receive a reward of vegetables, meat, and wine. The other tribe would go to Tribal Council, and do what a note held by Jeff Probst said. Leading from the start, the orange team won the combined Reward and Immunity Challenge, leaving Alex, Dre, Michelle, Mookie, and Stacy to go to Tribal Council. The note revealed that they were to go to Tribal Council immediately and were not allowed to discuss anything or strategize. When they got to Tribal Council, Jeff asked each Survivor to tell him a good reason to vote out another castaway. Through this, Alex implied that he was voting for Michelle. Dre decided to also vote for Michelle, and she was voted off 3-2.

Episode 10: After the half of the tribe returned from the previous Tribal Council, tensions were high as everyone knew the next vote would decide the game between the two alliances. Cassandra won the first individual Reward Challenge, sending Mookie to Exile Island, and bringing along Dre, Boo, and Yau-man on a private yacht trip. On the yacht Cassandra and Yau-Man talked Dre into their alliance. The first individual Immunity Challenge was won by Yau-Man. In the ensuing scramble to decide the vote at Tribal Council, the self-titled "Four Horsemen" of Alex, Edgardo, Mookie, and Dre figured that Earl must have the other hidden Immunity Idol and planned to vote off him. Dre however, told Earl, Cassandra, and Yau-Man that Mookie had found an Immunity Idol. Initially, the group of Earl, Yau-Man, Cassandra, Stacy, Boo, and Dre decided to target Alex. Alex, feeling threatened, ask Mookie to discretely give him the hidden Immunity Idol for protection at Tribal Council. Dre noticed this exchange and told the Earl-led alliance of the swap, and the same group decided to change the target to Mookie. Mookie later suggested to the Four Horsemen that they vote off Cassandra instead, as she was a strong middle player in the game and if Earl did have the Immunity Idol, their plan may backfire. Seeing that Dre may have been playing both sides of the game, Stacy suggested to Earl, Yau-Man, Cassandra, and Boo that they vote off Edgardo and not tell Dre about this change; regardless of whether Mookie or Alex having the Idol (facts unsure by Dre's double-sided dealings), Edgardo would be left unprotected and be voted off if the 5-member alliance held. At Tribal Council, Alex played the hidden Immunity Idol, but for naught and the Earl-lead alliance stuck to their plan and voted Edgardo out 5-3-1. Jeff noted the Immunity Idol will be re-hidden with new clues available on Exile Island.

Episode 11: With Edgardo gone, the "Four Horsemen" alliance collapsed. Alex and Mookie confronted Dre about why he double crossed them at Tribal Council, but Dre tried to cover because he noted he needed their votes if he was to make it further in the game. For the Reward Challenge, the tribe was divided into two teams for a game to catch a ball shot into a mud flat. Boo struggled in the Reward Challenge when he injured his knee, but he popped it back into place and continued playing. Alex, Dre, Earl, and Stacy won the reward of going to a spa resort and sent Boo to Exile Island. At the spa, Alex scrambled to see if he could get any support from his fellow tribemates, but he could not. Alex and Mookie figured that Yau-Man had the other hidden Immunity Idol from the Moto camp and confirmed this when they searched through his personal belongings. They plotted to confront Yau-Man about the idol at Tribal Council to either get him to lie about having the idol or stir up trouble by casting doubt among his alliance. However, Cassandra and Stacy were nearby, attempting to eavesdrop on the conversation. Although they only heard small parts of the conversation, they were spotted by Mookie and Alex, who then decided to confront Yau-Man immediately. They attempted to blackmail Yau-Man into telling his alliance about the hidden Immunity Idol or they would tell them. Yau-Man decided to tell the members of his alliance, but the strongest reaction was their disbelief that Alex and Mookie went through Yau-Man's personal bag. At the Immunity Challenge, Stacy won immunity through a game similar to Battleship. Boo convinced his alliance that it would be better to split the votes between Alex and Mookie, just in case either of them had found the remaining idol, even though neither of them had any clues about the rehidden idol. At Tribal Council, it was admitted openly that Yau-Man had the hidden Immunity Idol and that Alex and Mookie were on the outside. The six-person alliance held to their plan of splitting their vote and Alex, to keep himself in the game, voted out Mookie 4-3-1.

Episode 12: Alex went into self-declared "ninja" mode trying to stay out of everybody's way and just observing the others looking for possible ways to continue in the game. Cassandra, Earl, and Yau-Man discussed the options for who is the fourth member of the "Core Four" alliance with Cassandra and Earl preferring Dre and Yau-Man preferring Stacy. At the Reward Challenge, the winner and the first two runners-up were taken on a river rafting excursion. The winner of the challenge also received an advantage to the next Immunity Challenge. Boo won the challenge by a wide margin with Yau-Man and Dre as runners-up. Boo selected Earl to go back to Exile Island. In a surprise, the three castaways on the trip received letters from home. Alex noticed the others complaining about Boo being too talkative, so he approached Dre about convincing the others to vote Boo out before Alex. At the Immunity Challenge, Boo's advantage turned out to be a free pass to the final round of the challenge, where he was joined by Dre and Alex. However, the energy expended by Alex and Dre were too much to overcome and Boo won Individual Immunity. With Boo winning immunity, Alex tried to convince Cassandra, Dre, and Earl that now was the time to vote out Yau-Man, but his efforts were for naught and he was voted out 6-1.

Episode 13: Boo made himself a hideout near the well to overhear conversations thinking that he would be the next one voted out. Earl discussed with his alliance that Boo would be indeed the next voted out. At the Reward Challenge, Yau-Man won a new truck, but then deals the truck to Dre in exchange for Individual Immunity should Dre win Individual Immunity if both Yau-Man and Dre reach the final four. Yau-Man also decided to send himself to Exile Island. In his new truck, Dre, Boo, and Stacy delivered school supplies and a teacher's office to the local school as part of the reward. After Dre returned from the trip, he plotted with Cassandra and Stacy to vote out Yau-Man after realizing what Yau-Man's strategy was regarding giving him the truck. At the Immunity Challenge, Boo won immunity for the second time in a row, throwing the alliance's plans into disarray. Earl found the Hidden Immunity Idol using the third clue that Yau-Man received. Feeling bad vibes leading up to Tribal Council and Stacy's hinting that his alliance would split a vote, Yau-Man played his Hidden Immunity Idol. This proves fortuitous as he would have been voted out 4-2. Instead, Stacy is voted out 2-0.

Episode 14: After Tribal Council, Earl tried to figure out his standing with his alliance after the unexpected vote results. At the Immunity Challenge, Yau-Man won immunity. Boo tried to stay in the game by trying to persuade Earl and Yau-Man to vote out Dre, but he did not succeed and Boo was voted out 4-1. With the Hidden Immunity Idol expiring at the end of Tribal Council, Earl revealed that he had the Hidden Immunity Idol, but it was not needed as nobody voted for him. The final Immunity Challenge was won by Dre when he outlasted Yau-Man. At Tribal Council, Dre reneged on his agreement with Yau-Man to hand over the immunity necklace as Dre felt that if he handed the necklace over, he would be voted out. With Yau-Man's agreement broken, he was voted out 3-1. At the final Tribal Council, the jury saw Cassandra as being undeserving, Dre being unlikeable, and Earl being the only one of the three that played the game respectably. Earl received the unanimous vote of the jury and became the Sole Survivor with a vote of 9-0-0.

Survivor records and firsts

• In previous seasons, if a castaway left the game for any reason (for instance, in a medical emergency), there would be no Immunity Challenge or Tribal Council. Episode 4 of Survivor: Fiji is the first time that an Immunity Challenge and Tribal Council have happened after someone leaving the game.
• Gary is the third person to be evacuated in the series. Michael Skupin was the first in Australian Outback and Bruce Kanegai was the second in Panama. He is also one of only three people in the history of the series to never go to a Tribal Council. The first two were Wanda Shirk and Jonathan Libby from Palau.
• Survivor: Fiji is the first season to begin with an odd number of castaways (19).
• Survivor: Fiji is the first season where the first post-merge Immunity Challenge had the castaways divided into teams; typically this has been an individual endurance competition (although the individual endurance competition was still the first individual immunity challenge). Furthermore, the winning sub-tribe did not attend Tribal Council after this challenge, another first for this season.
• Survivor: Fiji is the first season where a player (Alex) used the hidden idol found through Exile Island, the first season where the hidden idol has been transferred to another player (Mookie to Alex), and has been rehidden after its use. Yau-Man also became the first to use the idol and result in somebody else (Stacy) being voted out.
• Earl ties with Candice Woodcock (Cook Islands)for the second most times sent to Exile Island with four. Terry was in Exile Island the most times (5).
• Yau-Man is the first person ever to send himself to Exile Island.
• Survivor: Fiji is the first American season where the winner, Earl Cole, received more than six jury votes and the first season where the winner received all the jury votes, in a unanimous decision.
• Survivor: Fiji is the first season where the winner of the car (Yau-Man Chan) gives it to another person (Dre Herd). Cindy Hall in Survivor: Guatemala was offered to do this, but she chose not to.
• As Paschal English (from Survivor: Marquesas) was the first person without the most votes eliminated during a tribal council (he did not recieve any votes against him but was booted from a tiebreaker), Stacy Kimball is the first "Survivor" contestant without the most votes voted out during a tribal council.

Political turmoil in Fiji

On December 5, 2006 (two days before the final Tribal Council), a coup d'état was started by Fiji's military leader, Commodore Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama. While there was some speculation that a full evacuation of the Survivor crew members from Fiji would take place, only a few crew members on the mainland were relocated to the second-smallest island.

External links

• Official CBS Survivor Fiji Website
• Survivor Maps
• Global TV Survivor Fiji Website (Canadian broadcaster includes video clips of episodes)