Survivor: Cagayan

Survivor: Cagayan, also unofficially known as Survivor: Cagayan — Brawn vs. Brains vs. Beauty, is the 28th season of Survivor. Three tribes of six players each were established at the beginning of the season, each being defined by traits that its members tended to employ in their daily lives. The season saw one quit, and has to date produced four returning players for subsequent seasons.

Cagayan is famed among Survivor seasons for its unpredictability as well as the strategic and emotional dynamism of its cast. The post-merge game in particular was characterized by a higher-than-usual number of betrayals and blindsides, and there were several bitter disputes between contestants. Highlights included the frenetic scheming of Tony Vlachos, the up-and-down fortunes of Spencer Bledsoe, and the polarizing conduct of 'Chaos' Kass McQuillen. The season culminated with Tony winning the title of Sole Survivor in an 8-1 vote over Woo Hwang.

Development
The season was filmed shortly after filming for cost-cutting purposes, a tradition in the U.S. series since. It was said that several cast and crew decided to stay to enjoy the town's beaches and other natural wonders.

Jeff Probst claimed that the season format (initially code-named as "B.B.B.") was due to popular demand.

winner Parvati Shallow continued to be the host of the Survivor After Show for this season.

Twists/Changes

 * Three Tribes: The castaways are divided into three tribes of six members each.
 * Brawn vs. Brains vs. Beauty: The division of the tribes is based on the most prominent personal attributes of each castaway: brawn, brains, and beauty.
 * Tribe Leaders: At the beginning of the game, all tribes vote for a tribe leader, who will be tasked with making decisions (only the first impressions' vote) for the tribe as a whole.
 * First Impressions: The leaders of the tribes must choose who they think is the weakest on their respective tribe. The 3 chosen contestants (one from each tribe) get to ride to camp in the chopper and get there faster. At the camp, they choose between a clue for the Hidden Immunity Idol or an extra bag of rice for the tribe.
 * Hidden Immunity Idol: While the current format of the Hidden Immunity Idol still applies, an additional Hidden Immunity Idol will be in play post-merge. The said idol is to be used after the votes have been read and can be only used by its finder. This format is similar to how the idol was supposed to be used back in and.
 * Tribe Switch: On Day 12, Luzon is disbanded, and the remaining fourteen castaways are shuffled and randomly distributed into the new Aparri and Solana tribes.
 * Final Two and Nine-Person Jury: For the first time in Survivor history, two finalists would face a 9-person jury. This is also the first time since to have a Final Tribal Council with only two players.

Season Summary
The eighteen new castaways were divided into three tribes based on primary attributes: Aparri (Brawn), Luzon (Brains), and Solana (Beauty). The Brains tribe stumbled out of the gate early, losing three of the first four Immunity Challenges and being reduced to only Tasha Fox, Kass McQuillen, and Spencer Bledsoe. The Beauty tribe, led by LJ McKanas, only lost one member, while the Brawn tribe went undefeated in challenges. With 14 players remaining, the castaways were shuffled into two tribes of seven: Aparri—featuring the three Brains, three Beauty, and Sarah Lacina from the Brawn tribe— and Solana, consisting of Beauties LJ and Jefra Bland, and the other five Brawn. The Brawn initially planned to hold strong and get rid of LJ, but he and Jefra convinced Tony Vlachos and Trish Hegarty to turn on the Brawn alliance to vote out physical threat Cliff Robinson instead.

The tribes merged with 11 players remaining, five from Solana and six from Aparri. While the swapped tribes looked like they were going to stick together, Tony attempted to sway his old ally Sarah back to the Brawn-heavy Solana alliance, but Sarah was indecisive. Instead, Trish persuaded Kass to swap alliances, which she did, eliminating Sarah and putting Solana in power. Despite being in the majority, Tony's paranoia continually got the better of him as he and Woo Hwang navigated between alliances to blindside potential threats. He also found multiple hidden Immunity Idols, including a special one that could be used after the votes were read. Tony lied about the idol's "different powers" and successfully managed to avoid being targeted out of fear, ending up in the final three with Kass and Woo.

Woo won the Final Immunity Challenge; while Kass seemed like an easy choice to take to the end after betraying her initial alliance, Tony convinced Woo to honor their bond as tribe mates throughout the entire game, and Woo took Tony to the Final Tribal Council. At the Final Tribal Council, a majority of the jury grilled Tony (for his aggressive game play), and only Spencer criticized Woo (for riding Tony's coattails), but ultimately Tony was awarded the title of Sole Survivor with eight of the nine jury votes.

Trivia

 * The font used for Cagayan ' s logo is a modified version of "Kemasyuran Jawa."
 * This is the fourth season in a row to have the Philippines host the U.S. version of the show.
 * The Philippines is in a 3-way tie with Nicaragua and Samoa as the most used location, being used 4 times.
 * However, the Philippines is the only location to be featured in four consecutive seasons.
 * This is the third season to have a three-tribe format, following and.
 * However, this is the first time that the three tribes were not divided "randomly" due to the season's twist.
 * This season is the first of this format to feature an entirely new cast.
 * While the season was filmed in the Philippines, the theme of the season was mostly inspired by Indonesian culture (predominantly Balinese), with the logo of the season, torches, and the tribal Immunity Idol bearing Balinese demon designs.
 * This is the first season since where a Hidden Immunity Idol may be played after the votes are revealed. This only applied to the special post-merge idol.
 * This is the first season where the first three castaways voted out were men.
 * This is the first season since to have its finale air on a Wednesday and the first since  to not have the finale air on a Sunday.
 * This is the first season since to have a Final Two.
 * This is the first season to have a Final Two with a 9-person jury.
 * This is the first season since where a first-time castaway won the Final Immunity Challenge but did not win the game.
 * The tribe colors of Cagayan – green, purple, and orange – are the secondary colors of the red/yellow/blue color scheme previously used in and later used in  and.
 * This season is one of three to have all final four contestants return in future seasons. The other two are and.