PREVIOUSLY ON SURVIVOR: The two tribes of randomized contestants hit the beach and immediately had to get to work building their respective shelters. Kenny from Gabon knew that he was probably going to be targeted early for being a pretty big contender on his season, and went off looking for an idol. Rick Devens also figured he’d search for an idol. Ken Stafford, Jeff, T-Bird, and Willard couldn’t believe that people were already taking off into the jungle. “I played the longest time ago,” T-Bird said, “So I’m definitely not up to date with all the idol hunts, and advantages, and twists.” Devens found a note wrapped up under a rock. “Yes!” he exclaimed, “I can’t believe I already found a clue.” Upon opening, it read: THIS SEASON, THERE ARE NO IDOLS, NO ADVANTAGES. WE’RE GOING BACK TO BASICS. Rick couldn’t believe it, knowing his game was heavily idol oriented. Kenny ran into him, and Rick showed him the note. “We’re big threats and we have to stick together,” Rick said. Kenny knew aligning with Devens would put a bigger target on his back, and now that there were no twists, he had to rely on social game. They returned to camp, and Devens told the tribe that he received the note. Jeff couldn’t trust Devens, but Devens showed the note, so everybody knew it was legit. “I don’t care that there’s no advantages,” Jeff said to Jill and Angela, “but the fact that he went to look is threatening enough.” Jill, T-Bird, Michelle, and Angela met up, and agreed that the girls had to stick together. “If there are no tribe swaps,” Angela said, “then we need to keep each other strong and unified until the merge.” At the Ostriches camp, Lucy and Tijuana saw that a lot of the boys were gravitating toward one another as well. “I am definitely worried that I’ll be an early outsider,’” Tijuana said. John and Jamie were trying to act as leaders for the camp, and were clashing heads a bit. Chris, Brendan, and Gavin could see this, and knew that this conflict wasn’t good for the tribe. Ronnie didn’t want to be the first boot again, and tried making an alliance with Shannon. Shannon said that the girls were probably the easiest ones to pick off, and he’d talk to the bigger guys like John, Chris, and Jamie about getting rid of them. Devon was trying to act as a provider, but figured he’d go searching for an idol in case. He found the tied up clue, and decided to keep it a secret from the rest. “I don’t want my tribe knowing there aren’t idols. This allows me to hold lots of power in this game, and I don’t wanna give that up,” Devon said. At the immunity challenge, the tribes had to complete an obstacle course in the water, and then use flags they collected along the way to create a string of flags. Whoever completed their string of flags, in the correct order, would win. Right away, the Ostriches took an early lead, but some struggling between Rocker, Jamie, and Shannon resulted in miscommunication. The Tigers communicated well, trying to pull Willard’s weight in the back, but led strongly by Jeff and Ken S. The Tigers were able to take the lead, and Kenny and Angela started on their flags. When the Ostriches were up, it came down to Ronnie and Tijuana for the flags. The Tigers finished first and won immunity! Back at camp, Shannon threw a bit of a tantrum for Tijuana and Ronnie ruining the challenge. Ronnie knew that his first day ally was bad news, and fought back. “You and Rocker couldn’t stop bickering,” Ronnie said. Ronnie told Tijuana that he had her back, and wanted to go after Shannon. Shannon talked to Jamie and Rocker and said, “we are the strongest guys, we need to boot Tijuana. I need to get Ronnie back on our side.” Jamie and Rocker knew that Shannon was a hot head, but they needed him for challenges. John Rocker talked to Gavin and Devon about going for Tijuana. They nodded, but separately, Gavin said that Rocker, Jamie, and Shannon were the most negative energies on the tribe. Gavin and Devon talked to Chris and Brendan about all joining up to boot one of the three strong guys. “You know,” Chris said, “I’m sure Lucy, Tijuana, and Ronnie would join us in that.” Chris talked to Lucy, and Lucy said she would trust him, seeing as how they played on a season together. “I’m happy that Lucy and I are here together, because it’s somebody I know I can trust,” Chris said. Chris and Lucy talked with Ronnie and Tijuana, and said that Jamie, Shannon, and Rocker had to be split up, because they were trying to act in charge, and were butting heads too much. Ronnie was happy voting for Shannon, but Lucy felt like John Rocker would be more of an issue down the line. Shannon pulled Ronnie aside, and apologized for lashing out. Ronnie said that he didn’t appreciate it, and couldn’t trust Shannon going forward. Shannon was upset and called a camp meeting before tribal. “Everybody, Ronnie is a two-timer,” Shannon said, “and we need to get him out. He promised me an alliance, and is turning his back on me.” Ronnie remained quiet, hoping Shannon would sink his own ship. John and Jamie talked, Jamie wanting to go along with Shannon, but John not trusting Shannon, disagreed. “He’s hot-tempered,” Rocker said. This caused Jamie to get irritated at John. At tribal council, Ronnie said that he was worried he’d be the first one out, yet again, and wanted to have a chance to play. Shannon said that Ronnie had promised too many people alliances. “I would’ve aligned with you, but you bashed me in front of the whole tribe for being slower on a puzzle.” John said that Ronnie and Shannon were at odds and the cause of the non-coherent nature of the tribe. Lucy commented on how John wasn’t out of the water, as he and Jamie clashed a bit on the shelter building. “Well John needs everything to be his way,” Jamie said, “where I am more easy going!” John argued back, and the two started bickering. Gavin said that the tribe needed to go through some major counseling, and this was going to be a messy first tribal council. The votes came in. Jamie and Shannon voted for Ronnie, while John Rocker voted for Tijuana, the original plan. Ronnie and Tijuana voted for Shannon. Chris and Lucy voted for John Rocker. 2-2-2-1. The last three votes were in the hands of Gavin, Brendan, and Devon, and they went for Shannon, sending him out, and securing Ronnie as an ally. Shannon was pissed. Jamie and John knew that they had to put their differences aside and actually stick together, and Tijuana was happy that she wasn’t the one blamed for the tribe loss anymore.
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