Survivor: Samoa

Survivor: Samoa was the 19th installment of Survivor. It eliminated Exile Island and reworked the "kidnapping" idea from , where one member of the winning tribe of a reward challenge was sent to the losing tribe's camp with a clue for a hidden immunity idol.

On the first day, the tribes were split in a schoolyard pick based solely on appearances. Each tribe then selected a leader whom would make decisions for the tribe, including who would sit out of the rewards. If the leader was eliminated, another leader would be selected. Mick Trimming was selected as the leader of Foa Foa and Russell Swan was the leader of Galu. There were no tribal switches throughout the season, but gossip spread through the person who was with the other tribe, missing the reward. On day 19, the tribes merged into Aiga.

The biggest water-cooler talking point of Samoa was Russell Hantz, who has been asked to appear in two of the following three seasons, ' and '. To stir the pot at his camp and to create drama, he sabotaged his own team by pouring out water and burning socks. He became the first contestant to find a hidden immunity idol without any clues and held onto it until the merge, where he used it to get Kelly Sharbaugh voted out. The next day, he found the idol in a new location without any other clues. He had a very aggressive form of gameplay, but it was that gameplay that caused the only four members of Foa Foa in the merged tribe of 12 to make it to the final five, and ultimately to compose the final three.

Once again, there was a nine person jury and a final three. Although Russell Hantz was intimidating and bullish through his whole game, he managed to become the runner-up with two votes to Mick's zero votes, but it was ultimately Natalie White who received seven votes and the title of "Sole Survivor".

Contestants

 * Foa Foa: Ashley Trainer, Ben Browning, Betsy Bolan, Elizabeth Kim, Jaison Robinson, Marisa Calihan, Mick Trimming, Mike Borassi, Natalie White, Russell Hantz
 * Galu: Brett Clouser, Dave Ball, Erik Cardona, John Fincher, Kelly Sharbaugh, Laura Morett, Monica Padilla, Russell Swan, Shannon "Shambo" Waters, Yasmin Giles

Episode 1 "The Puppet Master"
Tribal Council: Foa Foa went to tribal council.


 * Ashley voted for Marisa
 * Ben voted for Marisa
 * Betsy voted for Ashley
 * Elizabeth voted for Marisa
 * Jaison voted for Marisa
 * Marisa voted for Ashley
 * Mick voted for Ashley
 * Mike voted for Marisa
 * Natalie voted for Marisa
 * Russell H. voted for Marisa

Marisa was eliminated by a 7 - 3 vote.

Episode 2 "Taking Candy from a Baby"
Tribal Council: Foa Foa went again to tribal council after having Mike medically evacuated due to fear that he is in danger of a heart attack.


 * Ashley voted for Betsy
 * Ben voted for Betsy
 * Betsy voted for Ben
 * Elizabeth voted for Betsy
 * Jaison voted for Betsy
 * Mick voted for Betsy
 * Natalie voted for Betsy
 * Russell H. voted for Betsy

Betsy was eliminated by a 7 - 1 vote

Episode 3 "It's Called a Russell Seed"
Tribal Council: Foa Foa went to tribal council yet again.


 * Ashley voted for Ben
 * Ben voted for Ashley
 * Elizabeth voted for Ben
 * Jaison voted for Ben
 * Mick voted for Ben
 * Natalie voted for Ben
 * Russell H. voted for Ben

Ben was eliminated by a 6 - 1 vote.

Episode 4 "Hungry for a Win"
Tribal Council: Galu went to their first tribal council.


 * Brett voted for Yasmin
 * Dave voted for Yasmin
 * Erik voted for Yasmin
 * John voted for Yasmin
 * Kelly voted for Yasmin
 * Laura voted for Yasmin
 * Monica voted for Yasmin
 * Russell S. voted for Yasmin
 * Shambo voted for Monica
 * Yasmin voted for Monica

Yasmin was eliminated by a 8 - 2 vote.

Episode 5 "Walking on Thin Ice"
Tribal Council: Foa Foa went to tribal council


 * Ashley voted for Elizabeth
 * Jaison voted for Ashley
 * Liz voted for Ashley
 * Mick voted for Ashley
 * Natalie voted for Ashley
 * Russell H. voted for Ashley

Ashley was eliminated in a 5 - 1 vote.

Episode 6 "This is the Man Test"
Tribal Council: Both Foa Foa and Galu went to tribal council. Russell S. was evacuated due to a near death moment in a challenge.

Nobody was voted out.

Episode 7 "Houdini Magic"
Tribal Council: Foa Foa went to the final tribal council before the merge.


 * Elizabeth voted for Jaison
 * Jaison voted for Elizabeth
 * Mick voted for Elizabeth
 * Natalie voted for Elizabeth
 * Russell H. voted for Elizabeth 

Elizabeth was eliminated 4 - 1.

Episode 8 "All Hell Breaks Loose"
Tribal Council: The new Aiga went to tribal council


 * Brett voted for Erik
 * Dave voted for Erik
 * Erik voted for Jaison 
 * Jaison voted for Erik
 * John voted for Erik
 * Kelly voted for Erik
 * Laura voted for Erik
 * Mick voted for Erik
 * Monica voted for Erik
 * Natalie voted for Erik
 * Russell H. voted for Erik
 * "Shambo" voted for Jaison 

Erik was eliminated 10 - 2 and became the first juror.

Russell H. had prematurely played his hidden immunity idol, but was able to find a second idol before the next Tribal Council, again without clues.

Episode 9 "Tastes Like Chicken"
Russell played another idol and Kelly was voted out 4 - 0 and became the second juror.
 * Brett voted for Russell H.
 * Dave voted for Russell H.
 * Jaison voted for Kelly 
 * John voted for Russell H.
 * Kelly voted for Russell H.
 * Laura voted for Russell H.
 * Mick voted for Kelly 
 * Monica voted for Russell H.
 * Natalie voted for Kelly 
 * Russell H. voted for Kelly 
 * "Shambo" voted for Russell H.

Episode 10 "The Day of Reckoning"
First Vote:
 * Brett voted for Natalie
 * Dave voted for Natalie
 * Jaison voted for Laura
 * John voted for Natalie
 * Laura voted for Natalie
 * Mick voted for Laura
 * Monica voted for Natalie
 * Natalie voted for Laura
 * Russell H. voted for Laura
 * "Shambo" voted for Laura

The result was a tie between Natalie and Laura, 5-5. Laura and Natalie were no longer eligible to vote the second time.

Re-Vote:
 * Brett voted for Natalie 
 * Dave voted for Natalie 
 * Jaison voted for Laura 
 * John voted for Laura 
 * Laura voted for Natalie 
 * Mick voted for Laura 
 * Monica voted for Natalie 
 * Natalie voted for Laura 
 * Russell H. voted for Laura 
 * "Shambo" voted for Laura 

Laura was eliminated 6 - 4 and became the third juror.

Episode 11 "The First 27 Days"

 * Brett voted for John
 * Dave voted for John
 * Jaison voted for John
 * John voted for Mick
 * Mick voted for John
 * Monica voted for John 
 * Natalie voted for John
 * Russell H. voted for John
 * "Shambo" voted for Dave

John was eliminated 7-1-1 and became the fourth juror

Episode 12 "Off With Their Heads!"

 * Brett voted for Dave
 * Dave voted for Shambo
 * Jaison voted for Dave
 * Mick voted for Dave
 * Monica voted for Dave 
 * Natalie voted for Dave
 * Russell H. voted for Dave 
 * "Shambo" voted for Dave

Dave was eliminated 7-1 and became the fifth juror

Episode 13 "Damage Control"

 * Brett voted for Russell H.
 * Jaison voted for Monica 
 * Mick voted for Monica
 * Monica voted for Russell H.
 * Natalie voted for Monica 
 * Russell H. voted for Monica
 * "Shambo" voted for Monica

Monica was eliminated 5-2 and became sixth juror

Episode 14 "Two Brains Are Better Than One"

 * Brett voted for "Shambo"
 * Jaison voted for "Shambo"
 * Mick voted for "Shambo"
 * Natalie voted for "Shambo" 
 * Russell H. voted for "Shambo"
 * "Shambo" voted for Mick

"Shambo" was eliminated 5-1 and became seventh juror

Episode 15 "This Game Ain't Over"
First vote:
 * Brett voted for Jaison
 * Jaison voted for Mick
 * Mick voted for Jaison
 * Natalie voted for Jaison 
 * Russell H. voted for Jaison 

Jaison was eliminated 4-1 and became the eighth juror

Second vote:
 * Brett voted for Mick
 * Mick voted for Brett
 * Natalie voted for Brett
 * Russell voted for Brett

Brett was eliminated 3-1 and became ninth and final juror.

"The Reunion"
Natalie was voted Sole Survivor, 7-2-0 vs Russell H and Mick.

Trivia
Survivor: Samoa has also set and broken many records in the first half of the season alone: With Natalie White winning this season, Samoa became the 2nd season in a row to have a winner with a country accent.
 * First person to be removed from a challenge: Ben Browning in episode 2.
 * Earliest anyone ever removed from the game: Mike Borassi in episode 2.
 * First person to find the hidden immunity idol without a clue: Russell Hantz (twice).
 * Most people removed from the game (not voted out) before the merge: Two, Mike Borassi and Russell Swan.
 * First challenge to not have a winner: Reward challenge in episode 6; The challenge was halted after Russell S. collapsed (however, the challenge had a winner when used in Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains).
 * Largest merged tribe: Aiga, twelve people.
 * Most votes cast for a single person at a single tribal council: Ten, for Erik Cardona in episode 7.

Aside from Yasmin, all players voted off were voted off by Natalie and Russell H.


 * This is because Natalie and Russell H. were on a different tribe.


 * Interestingly, they became the 2 highest ranking players this season.

Between this season and its predecessor, no one named Russell has been voted off in the Survivor series.

This is currently the last season in which both tribes had a female player be their lowest ranking player.