The Beginning of the End

The Beginning of the End is the twelfth episode of.

Day 31
Day 31's tree-mail announced a surprise Immunity Challenge instead of the Reward Challenge that the castaways expected. When they got to the challenge site, Jeff announced that it would be a combined Reward/Immunity Challenge. With the castaways balanced on the first set of slats, Jeff offered up a plate of donuts and a glass of milk to whomever jumped off. Erik and Eddie agreed to jump off together. When the castaways moved up to the second set of slats, Jeff offered three hot dogs and a soda, which Cochran took. Thirty minutes into the challenge, the castaways moved to the top of the a-frame where Dawn, Sherri, and Reynold fell off, leaving Andrea and Brenda to fight it out. They tried to negotiate for one of them to win, but neither wanted to step off. They continued the challenge for three hours when they agreed to share the reward note and to make up their own fourth stage of the challenge by lifting their left foot off the top of the a-frame. Jeff counted down to this new fourth stage and Brenda fell off the top shortly thereafter to give Andrea the win. Back at camp, the reward note turned out to be a clue to the Hidden Immunity Idol. Andrea shared the clue with her whole alliance and they went looking for the idol. Erik found it and handed it over to Andrea. Brenda's determination to stick it out in the challenge made Andrea suspicious of Brenda as she could be a big threat in future challenges. Andrea pushed Cochran, Dawn, and Sherri to blindside Brenda instead of splitting the vote between Eddie and Reynold. But when Tribal Council came, the Favorites did not blindside Brenda and instead sent Reynold to the jury by a vote of 4–2–1–1.

Day 33
After Tribal Council, Andrea was still lobbying hard to Cochran about blindsiding either Brenda or Dawn. Cochran told Brenda and Dawn about Andrea's plan. Brenda immediately turned against Andrea. Erik won the Immunity Challenge by a blowout over Brenda. Back at camp, Andrea continued to push for a blindside. Cochran figured out that Andrea wanted to take Eddie to the final three, possibly displacing Cochran in the final three. Suspicious that Andrea was leaving him out of her plans, Cochran talked to Brenda, Dawn, and Sherri about blindsiding Andrea. Just in case Andrea got paranoid at Tribal Council and played the Hidden Immunity Idol, Cochran got his alliance to split the vote between Andrea and Eddie. Andrea told Erik that she would like to go to the final three with him. Erik wasn't sure if he should join Brenda and Cochran in blindsiding Andrea or joining Andrea in voting out Brenda. At Tribal Council, the timing of a "big move" was discussed. When the vote came, Erik made his "big move" and decided to vote against Andrea. Andrea was not paranoid enough to play her Hidden Immunity Idol and she took it with her to the jury by a vote of 3–2–2.

Reward/Immunity (Day 31)
Challenge: Bermuda Triangle

Players will stand on an unstable triangular platform. They would move up a rung at regular intervals until they reach the top. Jeff will tempt the castaways with food. If they fall off for any reason, they are out. Last person standing wins.

Reward: The winner will receive a note with a clue to a Hidden Immunity Idol along with Individual Immunity Winner: Andrea Boehlke

Immunity (Day 33)
Challenge: Fun Climb

The castaways would maneuver a buoy through a rope maze to a post. They would then untie a series of knots to release a key. The released key would open a chest that contained a set of ladder rung puzzle pieces. The first castaway to assemble their ladder and climb to the top of the tower would win.

Winner: Erik Reichenbach

Voting Confessionals
"eniledam"

- I think things would've gone a lot better for you if you'd've been a little bit more humble in this game.

Final Words
"eniledam"

- Here I am, adiós. I put my trust in a lot of people that wasn't reciprocated, and I had no more rabbits I could pull out of my hat. No more immunity idols, but I'll tell you one thing for sure: I had the time of my life.

Voting Confessionals
"eniledam"

- I think it was the moment that we were balancing on the doghouse in the ocean for 4 hours that I realized that you are a huge threat and need to go.

"eniledam"

- You're a sneaky, sneaky little girl, always ready to blindside someone, but I don't think you're ready for this one.

Final Words
"eniledam"

- Unfortunately, I was confident with this plan I set up that I wasn't even thinking of playing the idol. I should have learned my lesson the first time that when the days really come, people are napping and you feel comfortable, you're probably gonna get blindsided, and it happened again, but I'll always have this beautiful necklace souvenir that will remind me of trusting people too much.

Behind the Scenes

 * Andrea describes herself as a "Stubborn German" during the Day 31 Immunity Challenge. She explains that she was hungry for an immunity win and the clue to the Hidden Immunity Idol, hence the deal she brokered with Brenda.

Life at Ponderosa

 * Reynold Toepfer reflects on how bittersweet it is to be out due to the harsh conditions on the island. Reynold immediately goes to his post-game check-up, where he learns he has dropped from 203.7 lbs. to 181.0 lbs. Reynold comments that he has not weighed that much since his freshman year of high school. Reynold arrives at Ponderosa, where Michael Snow and Malcolm Freberg welcome him. Michael, Malcolm, Phillip Sheppard and Reynold sits down and eat. Reynold expresses his surprise at how down-to-earth Phillip really is, contrary to his view of Phillip being egotistical in the game.
 * Despite her blindside, Andrea leaves Tribal Council with good spirits, saying that she wanted to play hard, but it she deduces that she might have played too hard to vote Brenda out. Instead of moping about her elimination, Andrea laughs her elimination off. During her post-game check-up, she learns her body weight dropped from 126.6 lbs. to 115.6 lbs. Andrea cheerfully arrives at Ponderosa, where she is warmly welcomed by the other jurors, including Malcolm, whom Andrea thinks is bitter towards her. She then reflects her experience in two seasons, saying that she is just as surprised by how dirty and scruffy she looked when she was voted out from, and now. She happily wears her unused Hidden Immunity Idol and intends to keep it as a souvenir.

Other

 * As of this episode, due to Brenda and Erik receiving their first votes against themselves in this season, John Cochran is the only player to not have any votes against them.
 * This is the ninth episode in which a contestant was voted out by a plurality (i.e., less than half of all counted votes), with Andrea Boehlke receiving only 3 out of 7 votes.
 * This is also the second time in which Cochran and Dawn Meehan are involved in a Tribal Council that ends with the eliminated contestant being voted out by a 3-2-2 plurality, after Taste the Victory in Survivor: South Pacific where Elyse Umemoto was voted out.
 * Reynold's elimination marks the first time this season that the remaining female contestants outnumbers the remaining male contestants (4 to 3). The balance would be restored by the end of the episode and the female contestants wouldn't form the majority again until Day 39.
 * With Andrea being voted out, all returning players from Survivor: Redemption Island have been voted out.
 * The 2nd Immunity Challenge was a variation of the one used in Survivor: Micronesia.
 * Brenda Lowe & Erik Reichenbach - the only Favorites who voted against Andrea during the Day 33 Tribal Council - are also the only Favorites (and in extension, castaways) to make the Merge that voted against Andrea during the first Tribal Council vote of the season, in She Annoys Me Greatly, where they failed to vote out Andrea.
 * With Andrea's elimination, she becomes the first female Jury member of the season.
 * As of this episode, Erik has given away all three forms of immunity (Tribal, Individual, and Hidden) to a rival castaway.
 * At Reynold's elimination, no pair of castaways voted against each other, despite four different castaways receiving votes. Reynold voted for Erik, Erik voted for Eddie, Eddie voted for Sherri, and Sherri voted for Reynold.
 * Reynold's elimination briefly interrupted the streak of eliminations of players that were on Bikal at one point in this season, which started in Persona Non Grata. Afterwards, the streak continued until Eddie's elimination.
 * According to Jeff Probst in the first challenge of the episode, this is the first time that contestants added rules to the challenge that weren't otherwise there.
 * This isn't the only challenge that Brenda lasted the longest. (Or second to longest) (Last Gasp, Sea Legs,I Hold On, Loved Ones Challenge).

Episode Title

 * John Cochran says this in a confessional when talking about Andrea Boehlke's failed attempt to blindside Brenda Lowe.