Survivor: Pearl Islands

Survivor: Pearl Islands (initially dubbed as Survivor: Pearl Islands — Panama) is the seventh installment of the United States reality show Survivor. It was won by Sandra Diaz-Twine.

The complete season, including the Live Reunion Show, was released on DVD on February 7, 2006.

Twist/Changes
These are the game-changing events of the season:
 * Unexpected start: The contestants were invited to a yacht to take some pictures to promote the season. Much to their surprise, they were told the game has begun, and they will start it with only the clothes on their backs (with their luxury items and other personal belongings staying on the boat). After being divided into tribes, they were sent to a fishing village with 100 Panamanian Balboas (roughly $100) to buy their supplies.


 * Looting : Aside from the actual prize that a tribe gets after winning a Reward Challenge, the survivors experience pirate life by pillaging from the losing tribe's camp. One member of the winning tribe is sent to the other tribe's camp to loot one item of their choice.


 * Buried Treasure : Aside from looting items from the rival tribe, the tribe that wins a Reward Challenge also gets a third prize: a clue to the whereabouts of a hidden treasure chest buried somewhere on the tribes' respective islands.


 * Entirely distant camps: Unlike previous seasons, where the tribes dwell on the same island (but on opposite sides), the survivors live on two entirely different islands, with an equal amount of resources.


 * Kidnapping: The Morgan tribe was given an additional advantage after winning the Day 12 Immunity Challenge. They were told that they will kidnap one member of the opposing tribe until the next challenge, and that player will skip his tribe's Tribal Council and will compete with them at the next challenge.


 * Outcast Twist: On Day 19, the ten remaining survivors faced a third tribe comprised of the first six departed castaways in a 3-way special challenge. If the Outcasts win, both Drake and Morgan will go to separate Tribal Council sessions and will vote one of their own. The Outcasts will vote two of their own back into the game, with the remaining four eliminated for good. The two returning castaways will be granted immunity at their first visit to Tribal Council. If the Outcasts finish second, only one of them will be voted back in the game, and only the losing tribe will vote somebody out. If the Outcasts lose to both tribes, they are eliminated from the game, and Morgan and Drake merge without voting anybody out.


 * Jury competing in a challenge and immunity-free Tribal Council: At the Day 37 Immunity Challenge, while the final four castaways vie for individual immunity, the incomplete Jury also join the challenge as a team. If the Jury wins, none of the remaining survivors will have immunity.

Season Summary
On the first day, the castaways were lured into taking publicity shots, only to discover that the game has started already. Not to be left with totally nothing, the tribes were given 100 Balboas and were sent to a local village to buy their supplies. Drake prospered early by having more items (thanks to Sandra Diaz-Twine, who spoke Spanish, and was able to communicate with the locals; and Rupert Boneham, who stole the other tribe's shoes). This start propelled Drake to dominate the game by winning six consecutive challenge wins, while Morgan's numbers dwindled to five after only nine days.

With Drake apparently set to continue winning, Burton Roberts concocted a plan to purposefully throw the fourth Immunity Challenge in order to get rid of the tribe's weaker players, among them Trish Dunn and Christa Hastie. Though the rest of the tribe disagreed (particularly Rupert), they went through with it anyway, allowing Morgan to win. In a twist, Jeff Probst revealed that Morgan had won the right to "kidnap" one Drake member for a period to extend through the next Reward Challenge, and Morgan quickly selected Rupert. Angry with the outcome, Drake blindsided Burton at Tribal Council. Rupert was liked by the Morgan members, and this created a problem for him, as realized he will have to betray one of the tribes in the future. Burton's ouster proved to be a pivotal point, as the once strong Drake tribe went on losing the next two Immunity Challenges and leaving the tribes even with five members each.

On Day 19, the tribes faced another twist, when the six eliminated players returned to the game as a Ghost Tribe to participate in a special challenge. At the challenge, the Outcasts tribe did the unthinkable, beating both Morgan and Drake, and sending them to Tribal Council. At Drake's Tribal Council, Shawn Cohen was eliminated for his volatile demeanor. The Morgans did not vote anyone out because Osten Taylor decided to quit, fearing for his health. Jeff Probst expressed outright disgust at Osten's request, but agreed to send him home. Right after the tribes' Tribal Councils, the Outcasts voted in two players to return to the game and replace Shawn and Osten. They selected Lillian Morris and Burton to return to the game. Both, by chance, returned to their original tribes. While Burton made amends with his former tribe, Lillian's return was still resented by Andrew Savage and other Morgan members. The returning players were granted immunity at the next Tribal Council.

The next day, the two tribes merged and created the Balboa tribe. The merged tribe was named after an injured sea snake Rupert had found and tried unsuccessfully to nurse back to health (the snake, in turn, was named after Vasco Núñez de Balboa). The tribe moved to Drake's beach. Burton won the first Immunity Challenge, and gave his necklace to Rupert, as he was already immune. This move helped him get Rupert's trust. At the next two Tribal Councils, Lill, who was still angry at her tribe for voting her out, helped to eliminate the Morgan leader Andrew and his close ally Ryan Opray. Jon Dalton and Burton, who tried to eliminate Rupert at the tribal stage, decided to target Rupert again, irking Rupert's alliance members Sandra and Christa. Eventually, the second time proved successful for Burton and Fairplay, and they managed to blindside Rupert. At the next Reward Challenge, where loved ones of the contestants were brought to the islands, Jon's friend brought him the news that his grandmother, who was allegedly supposed to appear at this challenge, had died. The news saddened all the tribemates except for Sandra, who wasn't impressed. Despite her efforts, Jon and his friend won the challenge with help from everybody else. Their prize was some time alone at the camp, while the others spent the night at the old Morgan camp. Jon quickly revealed to the viewers that his grandmother did not die, and that this moment was planned weeks before the game started. The "dead grandmother lie" helped Jon convince the other players to trust him. The only one who saw through the lie was Sandra. Jon and Burton continued to conspire against the remaining female players, voting off Tijuana Bradley and Christa. With five players remaining, Burton won a car and took Jon with him on a reward trip. This allowed Sandra, Lill, and Darrah Johnson to hatch a plan to vote off Burton, having Sandra act as if the next vote was already settled and that she would be eliminated. Burton and Jon dismissed the possibility that the women were working against them, and to his surprise, Burton was voted off at the following Tribal Council. This left Jonny Fairplay alone without an ally, trying to regain the women's favor. The following Immunity Challenge included yet another twist. In a trivia contest the Jury members played as a team, trying to beat the final four castaways and prevent one of them from gaining the Immunity Necklace. In another surprising turn of events, the Jury won, leaving all four remaining players vulnerable. Lill and Sandra decided that Darrah, who won three challenges in a row, was a bigger threat than Jon, and she was sent home, while Jon was spared.

The women's decision proved correct. During the final Immunity Challenge, Sandra fell out early, but Lill outlasted Jon, winning immunity. Lill's refusal to Jon's deals pretty much meant it was game over for him, and indeed, at Tribal Council Lillian selected Sandra to stay in the game. At the Final Tribal Council, Lillian was criticized for her game, as her actions contrasted with what people expected of a scoutmaster. The fact she was an Outcast also did not help her cause. It was Sandra's "as long as it isn't me" strategy, her friendships with Rupert and Christa and her not being an Outcast, that made her the seventh Sole Survivor after a 6-1 vote.

Trivia

 * This is the first season to have the castaways start the game with the clothes on their back and not bring anything else, except for another pair of shoes.
 * The Drake tribe won the first six challenges in a row, setting the record for most consecutive Tribal Challenges won. This record stood until the Moto tribe of topped this feat by winning the first nine challenges in a row.
 * This is the first time contestants were given a second chance to play the game.
 * Because Osten's departure from the show was regarded as less than honorable, his final words were not broadcast during the end credits as they would have had he actually been voted out (nor were they posted on the show's official website at the time).
 * This season marks the only time nobody won individual immunity at an Immunity Challenge (the challenge involved the Jury, who defeated the castaways - another Survivor first).
 * This season had the first Survivor quitter - Osten Taylor.
 * Osten's torch was excluded from the Rites of Passage ritual. It was instead shown lying on the ground at the Tribal Council area, after the final three had finished walking the path.
 * Sandra is the first, and so far only, Hispanic player to win Survivor.
 * This season ended the Sole Survivor male-female pattern that existed in the first six seasons.
 * If one counts the Outcasts as an actual tribe, this is the first season to have three non-merge tribes.
 * It is the only pre season to be represented in . Jon Dalton returned for the latter season, where he placed 20th.
 * This is the first season in which votes were cast for (and not against) players in a vote other than the Final Tribal Council.
 * It was followed by.


 * This is the first season to have tribe names derived from the English language.
 * This is the only odd-numbered season that did not have a yellow or gold colored tribe.
 * This is the first season to have an episode end with a cliffhanger.
 * This is the only season where only one person never left the game.
 * This is due to the Outcasts twist.
 * Michael Skupin was originally cast to be in this season, on the Morgan tribe, but for unknown reasons was not apart of the final cast, and was replaced by Andrew Savage.
 * This is the first season not to feature luxury items.