I Vote You Out and That's It

I Vote You Out and That's It is the season premiere of.

Day 1
Traveling on two boats in the waters of Fiji, 20 new castaways are about to begin the adventure of a lifetime. They have already been separated into two tribes: Lairo and Vokai​​​​. What they do not know is that Rob Mariano and Sandra Diaz-Twine, two of the series' most dominant winners, are back. They are not competing as players, but are mentors to teach the new castaways various aspects of the game. They will live on the, a Survivor boot camp. They will give a lesson to a castaway who is sent there, then give them a chance to test what they have learned in order to win an advantage. If they lose, they lose their vote at the next Tribal Council.

The game begins, but host Jeff Probst is not there to greet the castaways. Instead, they are left on their camp beaches right away. On Lairo, Karishma Patel is eager to live her dream as a castaway.

As the tribe arrives on their beach, greeting each other and heading to their camp, Chelsea Walker is happy, but unsure on what is going on thus far, due to the unusual start. Her confusion is only amplified when the tribe learns the name of their season from the logo: Island of the Idols.

Lairo begins constructing their shelter, and the tribe slowly begins to know more about each other. Karishma reveals to Vince Moua that her family came from India, and Vince in turn reveals his was Hmong. Tom Laidlaw reveals that he was a former hockey player, and Elizabeth Beisel reveals to the girls she was a swimmer for the Olympics.

Elizabeth and Missy Byrd quickly begin to connect, the former even joking that they may be the same person.

Meanwhile on Vokai, the tribe is also confused by the lack of a marooning with Jeff Probst, and Lauren Beck begins to speculate what the season's theme means.

Vokai begins to introduce themselves to one another, each from different jobs and backgrounds, and Molly Byman begins to get a good vibe from everyone as a whole.

As the tribe agrees to start building a shelter, Janet Carbin is worried that she might be an early boot due to her older age. Janet decides that in order to break the stereotype and be seen as a good asset to the tribe, she needs to be able to make fire. She had done it before with just bamboo. The tribe eagerly waits to see if she can do it. As a chief lifeguard, Janet explains that she believes that if you proved who you are, then gender does not matter, and you can become part of the group. To everyone's joy, Janet is able to start a fire.

Back on Lairo, Vince is chopping down wood, and the other tribemates appreciate his work ethic. Vince explains why he has a good work ethic in a confessional.

Tom is impressed by Vince, and the two of them grow very close. He is also impressed with Elaine.

They also find a bond with Elaine Stott, and the three of them become tight. While gathering wood, they agree that they like the tribe, and hope it can get them to the merge. Tom believes that they would not get far just with the best athletes; they need to be able to work together as a team.

However, the absence of the three makes the rest of the tribe wonder if they are doing more than just gather wood. The seven remaining Lairo members—Chelsea, Elizabeth, Karishma, Missy, Aaron Meredith, Dean Kowalski, and Ronnie Bardah—decide to become a majority, leaving the other three on the outs.

Back on Vokai, their shelter is making good progress, everyone is working together well, and Jamal Shipman is happy about it.

While everyone is putting the finishing touches on the shelter, Jason Linden has other ideas. Due to the theme being "Island of the Idols", he decides to go looking for the Hidden Immunity Idol. Unfortunately for him, the other tribe members begin to wonder where he is, and Dan Spilo sees this as a good opportunity to keep the target off of himself.

The other castaways discuss Jason's absence, and they all agree that Jason is acting suspicious. Dan finds it joyous to watch, confident that Jason is done for.

Later, Jamal, Molly, Jack Nichting, and Noura Salman are relaxing in the water, and Jack finds a giant clam, to their amazement. When getting a closer look, the clam suddenly spits out water, leaving everyone in surprise and laughter.

Jack and the others go back to the beach, and Jack goes looking for Tommy Sheehan. As Jack had hoped, he and Tommy grow close and comfortable being together. As it turns out, Tommy also has heart-to-heart talks with Jamal and Lauren, telling the latter that he is going to propose to his girlfriend later in the year after the game was over.

Dan, Jack, Lauren, Molly, Tommy, and Kellee Kim huddle in a group, and agree that they are a tight six, forming a core alliance within the tribe with Jamal as someone else they can turn to for help.

The core group and Jamal agree that Jason is on the outs, and are grateful that because they want him out, they feel united. However, Noura overhears this, and uncomfortable with the plan to vote out Jason, she warns him that the tribe thinks that he has an idol.

Meanwhile on Lairo, Elaine begins cracking some jokes at camp, and the tribe plays along, happy to hear them, from the idea of going commando to not knowing what cumin is.

While this is happening, Missy looks around, sizing up her tribemates.

As Elaine kookily swings on a branch, she, Missy Chelsea, Elizabeth, and Karishma are gathered together in the woods. Missy brings up the idea of a women's alliance to them. The other girls are interested by the idea, agreeing that it may be best for their games, and the alliance is formed. The women go separate ways, and Missy walks with Elaine.

Missy decides to tell Elaine about the seven-person majority that formed when she, Tom, and Vince left to get wood. Elaine points out that all the three of them were doing when they split off was helping Vince cut down trees.

Day 2
The next day, at Vokai, Dan decides to give Janet a massage. Most tribe members compliment Dan's skills, but Kellee is surprised by this. She also notices how Dan also gives back rubs to other castaways, and at one point laid on her leg as a pillow. She feels uneasy about it.

Kellee's opinion of Dan is also shared by Lauren and Molly.

Janet also notices this.

Kellee heeds Janet's advice, explaining to Dan that she feels uncomfortable being touched the way he does with her. Dan understands, admitting that he needs to open to the fact that he cannot hug someone the way Janet could. The two of them mend their bond, but Kellee still has mixed feelings.

On Lairo, Elaine is still giving the other tribe members a laugh with her sense of humor, such as giving Dean a mouth-to-mouth if he passes out from starvation. Many begin to like Elaine a lot, but Ronnie is worried that someone that likeable is a threat.

Ronnie attempts to connect with Elaine, explaining that they both had struggles their whole life, and tells her that he has her back, that if her name is being thrown around, then he would tell her. Elaine tells Ronnie that she trusts him, but she privately does not believe for a second that he is being honest.

Day 3
The tribes gather for the Reward/Immunity Challenge on Day 3, where Jeff officially welcomes the cast to the season. The castaways explain that they felt disappointed that he did not greet them on Day 1, but they agree that the lack of information adds a sense of mystery to the season.

When the challenge begins, both tribes start off strong, quickly climbing the net, under the crawl tunnel, and down the slope. Vokai gets a slight lead, but Lairo catches up, and both complete the obstacle at the same time. Dean and Janet begin tossing the grappling hook for their tribes. Janet hooks the target on her first toss for Vokai, and everyone begins pulling the rope to release their bridge, putting Vokai in the lead. Dean struggles, and opts out to let Ronnie toss, and he hooks it for Lairo. They catch up to Vokai, which has already begun making their human ladder. Jack grabs the high rope, dropping the lower ropes for Vokai. Dean follows suit for Lairo, and his tribe quickly gains momentum as Vokai struggles to get everybody up. They take the lead, causing Jack to go back down to help his tribemates. Chelsea, Dean, and Vince start working on the puzzle for Lairo, but are having trouble getting the first piece in. Vokai catches up, with Jamal, Molly, and Noura working on the puzzle. They quickly get their first piece in, giving them the lead once again. After finishing their second hut, Lairo finishes their first, still in it. Suddenly, Lairo's puzzle-makers get confused, unsure if they placed the right pieces on the huts, putting them at a standstill. To Jeff's surprise, they begin to disassemble their puzzle, putting Vokai at a massive lead. Lairo is unable to recover as Vokai places their last piece, winning immunity in a huge blowout. Jeff awards the Immunity Idol to Vokai, as well as flint for making fire. Once Vokai is gone, Jeff informs Lairo that the Island of the Idols is real, and someone is about to go there right now. He offers one person to draw a name from a bag; that person will be the first to go to the Island of the Idols. Elaine offers to draw, and she draws Elizabeth's name. Lairo heads back to camp, while Elizabeth heads for the Island of the Idols.

Elizabeth arrives on Island of the Idols, and does not know what lies ahead. Eventually, she sees two huge statues of Rob and Sandra, leaving her in awe. Then, from behind the bushes, out come Rob and Sandra themselves to greet her.

Rob explains to Elizabeth that he and Sandra are not competing to win the game; they are serving as mentors to teach her aspects of the game, then give her a chance to test her skills to win an advantage. Everything that happens here is intended to make her a better player. Elizabeth is eager to begin.

Elizabeth tells her mentors that she feels that she is in a good alliance, and as for camp life they have a shelter, but no fire. Rob replies that since the tribe will get flint after Tribal Council, he can teach her how to make fire. Elizabeth immediately says yes. Rob explains that to make fire you need three things: fuel from wood, a spark from flint, and air. The flint has a spark side, and a magnesium side. You scrape the magnesium off to have a better chance for the spark to catch. Rob demonstrates, creating a fire in mere seconds. Sandra takes Elizabeth to a different spot so that she can try it on her own.

After multiple tries, Elizabeth gets the hang of it, able to make fire. She and Sandra come back to Rob, where he has set up two fire-making stations. Rob tells Elizabeth that in order to get her advantage, which is a Hidden Immunity Idol good for her first two Tribal Councils, she must defeat him in a fire-making challenge. If she fails, then she loses her vote for tonight's Tribal Council. The question to her is whether she is willing to take the risk, or play safe and return to camp. Elizabeth is given a minute to think about it, while Rob tempts her, saying that her vote might not matter if she is in a good alliance.

Meanwhile, back at Lairo camp, the tribe blames nobody for the loss; they lost as a team fair and square. The tribe gets back to work, but Elaine knows that she is still on the chopping block.

Chelsea, Elaine, Tom, and Vince gather at the well to think of a plan. The first name that comes to mind is Ronnie, as they do not trust him. They feel that they can get Elizabeth and Missy on board, but are unsure of Dean. Vince worries that he might get votes too, but Tom tells him not to fret; he believes that the other side does not have the numbers. As long as they have six, they can take out Ronnie.

In another part of camp, Aaron, Karishma, Missy, and Ronnie are talking about their own plan, when Vince shows up. Vince is invited to talk with them, and he learns that Elaine actually is in danger. Karishma, who is still in a female alliance, finds herself stuck between two sides.

Vince does not like the idea of voting out one of his most trusted friends, so he warns Elaine that Ronnie brought up her name, hoping to save her. Tom still feels certain they cannot vote Elaine out with little numbers, but they do know that they are targeting Elaine. Elaine prays to stay, but also feels that her time may be up.

Back on Island of the Idols, Elizabeth makes her decision: even though Rob has made hundreds of fires, she is a competitor, so she is going to risk her vote and attempt to beat Rob. Little does she know, Rob had something else had Elizabeth refused.

Sandra counts them down, and the duel begins. Elizabeth gets fire first, with Rob following behind. Rob gives his fire some air, quickly getting a bigger fire, while Elizabeth still has a small fire. In the end, Rob wins the duel easily, causing Elizabeth to lose her vote. Rob gives Elizabeth a moral: trust your gut, because if the deal is too good to be true, then it probably is. Before she leaves, Rob tells her to reach into a bag to select someone from Vokai to be the next person to come to Island of the Idols, but she will not know who. After choosing, Elizabeth heads back to camp.

Back at Lairo, Elaine is demoralized. Tom attempts to keep her calm as he feels that they can save her, but Elaine is mad that she is even on their radar to begin with, seemingly for no reason. Chelsea and Tom talk with Aaron and Ronnie about Elaine to understand why, when Elaine butts in, stating that she feels in trouble. She offers to vote anybody as long as it is not her. Aaron later explains the reason her name was thrown out was because of her likeable personality. Elaine feels that it is too soon to vote someone out because of that.

Aaron makes an offer to her to vote Vince instead of her, and Elaine says that she will do it. The group disbands, but Aaron is not actually set on voting Vince yet.

Elizabeth arrives back at camp, unsure of how to explain Island of the Idols to the other castaways. Her gut tells her that knowledge is power, so she reluctantly lies about the Island, saying you had to choose an urn, and that the urn she chose did not have anything in it. Afterwards, everyone wants to talk to her about the vote.

Elizabeth is unsure of what is going to happen at Tribal Council, and since people keep telling her who to vote despite her being unable too, her brain is fried. As the sun sets, the tribe gathers their things and heads for Tribal Council.

Lairo arrives at Tribal Council, lighting their torches and taking their seats. Unbeknownst to them, Rob and Sandra are inside a hidden booth to watch the events unfold. Chelsea expresses the confusion she felt when they had no traditional marooning. Elaine explains how she got along with everybody, but is disappointed that she might be going home tonight. Karishma admits that Elaine is indeed in trouble, and that being likable can be a liability sometimes. Elaine interjects, asking why vote her out now when they could vote her out later, as the end is still far away. As it starts to rain, Ronnie states that he wants to keep the tribe strong by keeping the strong people. Elaine breaks down crying, stating she struggled throughout her life, and she is finally playing the game, and if she went home now, it would be heartbreaking. Ronnie tries to relate, as he worked at many places, but never stuck with them. Vince admits that it is hard to vote anybody out, as everybody has a story to tell, and that he is really unsure of where he stands. Aaron agrees that it is not easy to vote people out for him, though Sandra secretly comments that it was not hard for her.

The Lairo tribe cast their votes, with Elizabeth unable to vote. Aaron and Ronnie vote Vince, but after Elaine's honest speech, everybody turns on Aaron and Ronnie, blindsiding Ronnie in a 7-2 vote. The poker player from Henderson, Nevada becomes the first person voted out of Survivor: Island of the Idols.

Challenges
Reward/Immunity Challenge: Tower of Equality Each tribe must climb up a net and go down a slide. One member must then use a grappling hook to lower a bridge. After crossing the bridge, each tribe must then climb up a tower and solve a village puzzle. The first tribe to solve their puzzle wins.

Reward: Flint

Winner:

Voting Confessionals
No voting confessionals were aired this episode.

Other

 * The title of this episode references the quote said by Sandra Diaz-Twine at Tribal Council when Rob Mariano asked her if she had a hard time voting at her first Tribal Council.