Bikal

Bikal (which is known as Favorites before the swap) was a tribe from. The tribe consisted of previous Survivor contestants who were the favorites from their seasons.

Their tribe color is purple.

Original

 * Andrea Boehlke from, the first and only woman to win and return from Redemption Island.
 * Brandon Hantz from, known for being Russell Hantz's nephew and struggling with his morality and temptations within the game while holding strong religious beliefs.
 * Brenda Lowe from, a strategic power player from her original season who was betrayed by her own alliance.
 * Corinne Kaplan from, a member of the overthrown Onion Alliance, infamous for openly expressing her hatred of other castaways and for her harsh Jury speech against Sugar Kiper.
 * Dawn Meehan from, an adoptive mother of six and part of the failed Savaii Alliance who started off on shaky grounds, but later grew into a challenge force and a Jury threat.
 * Erik Reichenbach from, best known for giving up his Immunity Necklace to the infamous Black Widow Brigade and getting blindsided as a result.
 * Francesca Hogi from, known as the first person ever sent to and eliminated from Redemption Island and for her rivalry with Phillip Sheppard.
 * John Cochran from, the self confessed "Super Fan". Remembered for asking Jeff Probst to call him by his last name since he claims Jeff calls all the best players by their last name and for betraying his original tribe because of how they treated him.
 * Malcolm Freberg from, the fan favorite "Golden Boy" who rose from the decimated Matsing tribe and developed into a threat for the win.
 * Phillip Sheppard from, known for his brash, outspoken nature and claiming to be a former Special Agent, his rivalry with Francesca Hogi, the only returning player to make it to the finals before.

Post-Tribe Switch

 * Dawn Meehan
 * Corinne Kaplan
 * John Cochran
 * Julia Landauer
 * Matt Bischoff
 * Michael Snow
 * Phillip Sheppard

Episode 1-2
In She Annoys Me Greatly (Episode 1), the tribe of favorites arrived by helicopters. They were able to win the reward challenge. At camp, Phillip decided to make a six-member alliance consisting of Andrea, Corinne, Malcolm, Dawn, Cochran, and himself, forming it after his previous Stealth R Us alliance with Boston Rob from Redemption Island. He tried to bring Erik in as a seventh member, but he was too controlling and intimidating in the conversation, which Erik didn't like. They lost the Immunity Challenge, after Malcolm let fan Reynold Toepfer catch up on the sand bag-throwing stage. Phillip and Andrea were the initial targets for the Erik/Francesca/Brandon/Brenda alliance, with them settling on voting for Andrea because of her strategy of playing both sides. They thought that Dawn and Cochran were on their side, however, the alliance of six stuck together and voted for Francesca, allowing her to be first eliminated again by a vote of 6-4.

In Honey Badger (Episode 2), when the favorites arrived back from the first Tribal Council, Dawn tries to apologize for the voting off of Francesca. Brandon and Dawn began to argue, where Brandon states he is a honey badger. The next day, Phillip and Brandon had a conversation where Phillip says that he is the CEO and Brandon is like  middle management. Then Brandon went to other tribe members and told them what Phillip had said. Phillip and the other majority alliance were together and Phillip gave a recap of their alliance nicknames. Malcolm, an alliance member, confessed that this play of Phillip was becoming old. The Favorites won the following challenge, along with a fishing kit, sending the fans to Tribal Council.

Episode 3-4
In There's Gonna Be Hell to Pay (Episode 3), Brandon warned that he would do anything if he was not thought as a good contributing member of the tribe. Corinne noted that the majority alliance of the Favorites had small mini-alliances that made up the big six. She noted that Andrea and Phillip are close, Dawn and Cochran are close because both pairs of played with each other in their pair, and Malcolm and Corinne are close. Andrea was concerned about Corinne's one-on-one conversations with people and had her own one-on-one conversations with Phillip and Cochran about this. Andrea and Cochran also talked to Brandon about the fact that they are not so sure about Corinne. Malcolm and Corinne went looking for the Hidden Immunity Idol and they found the Bikal Idol. It seems that Malcolm is the possessor of the idol, being he found it. The Reward/Immunity challenge was won by the Favorites. For the reward, they won comfort in the form of chairs, blankets, pillows, and a tarp.

In Kill or Be Killed (Episode 4), Phillip chose to give the minority alliance agent names, which Andrea was suspicious about, especially after both Brenda and Erik received them. At the reward challenge, Cochran sat out and the Favorites were able to win it. It was a close challenge, but the Fans were slowed down by Laura. A Fan, Shamar Thomas, was celebrating after thinking the Fans had won the challenge, but Jeff then told him they lost. A local bushman came and gave the Favorites instructions on how improve their camp life. The Favorites won their third Immunity Challenge. After an evacuation and the Fans went to Tribal Council again, the Favorites are up in numbers 9 to 6.

Episode 5
In Persona Non Grata (Episode 5), Brandon wanted the tribe to vote him out in the next Tribal Council. However, he rescinded that idea and stated that he will fight to the end. Dawn, Erik, and Andrea sat out in the reward challenge. It came down to Phillip and one of the Fans Michael to hold on the nets. Phillip was able to hold on the longest and the Favorites won the reward challenge, their fifth straight challenge victory. They won an assortment of food, wine, and seasonings. At camp, Brandon and Phillip have an argument, while the other tribe members wonder what mental state Brandon is in. Brandon is finally pushed over the edge mentally, so he dumps the rice and the beans on the ground. He then starts yelling at Phillip and throws one of the chairs onto the ground. Dawn fruitlessly tries to calm him down. The rest of the tribe is in shock. Brandon then melts down at the Immunity Challenge. Brandon admits that this is in his blood. After forfeiting the Immunity Challenge, the tribe votes verbally and votes off Brandon by an 8-1 decision.

The New Bikal - Episode 6-7
In Operation Thunder Dome (Episode 6), the tribe of favorites arrive back from the tribal council at the challenge site. Corinne was disappointed that no one spoke up when Brandon singled out she and Phillip. The tribe seemed united, but Survivor threw a wrench into that when they headed to the next challenge. The two tribes met and Jeff reveals that they're switching tribes. They grab colored eggs and crack them, revealing the new tribal assignments. Phillip, Corinne, Dawn, and Cochran stay at Bikal, with Matt, Michael, and Julia joining them. Andrea, Brenda, Erik, and Malcolm of the favorites are given orange buffs and move to Gota with Reynold, Eddie, and Sherri. No challenge is held, and the tribes return to camp. At camp, Phillip decided to assimilate Julia into the alliance, which made Corinne curious about the need. At the first post-switch immunity challenge, Phillip had to do back-to-back runs for the blocks - which slowed them down even more. Julia was tasked to navigate the block movements in making the staircase, but she struggled with it. The Bikal tribe lost the challenge (in fact, the purple tribe lost this same challenge twice, due to the favorites forfeiting before the challenge started in episode 5) and sending them to tribal council. At the tribal council, the old fans members were worried that one of them would be voted off. The four favorites were afraid of an hidden immunity idol being played. Matt and Michael voted for Julia, with Julia voting for Dawn. The four favorites stuck together and voted for Matt, who became the seventh person eliminated from the game in a 4-2-1 vote.

In Tubby Lunchbox (Episode 7), the new Bikal loses the reward challenge. They discuss strategic plans, and Phillip gives Julia more information. It is suggested that Michael is on Corinne's side. The favorites mention that there is a divide between Corinne and Phillip, and this might have to be addressed before the merge. Julia talks to Dawn about the state of Phillip on wondering why the favorites didn't get rid of him. Dawn tells Phillip about the conversation and Phillip starts to re-consider his allegiance to Julia. The new Bikal loses the immunity challenge, which sends them to tribal council. At the vote, Michael and Julia each receive three votes, and a revote is commenced. In the revote, Julia is voted off by a vote of 4-0.

The Merge - Episode 8
On Day 20, the new Bikal tribe and the new Gota merged into Enil Edam.

Trivia

 * Like the previous Favorites tribe, Bikal is a purple tribe.
 * Both tribe names end with the syllable -kal.
 * The Bikal tribe also lost the first immunity challenge, like Malakal.
 * After the Tribe Switch both tribes lost the remaining immunity challenges.
 * Both produced two finalists.
 * Bikal is the 8th purple tribe of Survivor.
 * 6 members of the original Bikal tribe came from seasons that have the Redemption Island twist (3 each from  and ).
 * Phillip Sheppard is the only one of the six to have never participated in a Redemption Island duel.
 * Andrea Boehlke is the only one of the six to have won a Redemption Island Duel.
 * All three members returning from  are from the original Ometepe tribe.
 * Francesca Hogi is the only Bikal tribe member to have never reached the Merge phase of her original season, as she was the first one voted out.
 * As a result, Bikal is currently the only tribe in Survivor history to have a returning castaway who was voted off first in their original season.
 * This is the second tribe that voted out Francesca first. Ometepe was the first.
 * Phillip is the only Bikal tribe member to never have been voted out before coming onto this season, as he was in the Final Three of his original season.
 * Bikal is the eighth purple tribe.
 * Bikal won every Reward Challenge before the Tribe Switch.
 * Bikal was the only one of two tribes to produce female jury members in Caramoan.
 * Like Favorites tribe Malakal, Bikal is also another Favorites tribe in which the Sole Survivor eventually came from. (Parvati Shallow for Malakal, John Cochran for Bikal)
 * Both castaways were considered sketchy choices for Favorites; Parvati was viewed as a "One-dimensional flirt" in Survivor: Cook Islands while Cochran was largely viewed in a negative light for flipping on the Savaii Alliance, disputing both as not true fan favorites when they were cast on their respective Fans vs. Favorites seasons. However, both played a very strategic game in their second season and earned the praise from fans and jurors alike. Also, both seasons had 8-person juries.
 * John Cochran, Dawn Meehan and Brenda Lowe were the only Bikal members to improve over their previous placings.
 * Brenda is the only one not to make the Final Tribal Council.
 * Bikal was the only tribe of the season to have a 3-3 tie; both Enil Edam and Gota had 3-3-3 ties.
 * Michael is the only fan to go in the merge who was on the Bikal tribe after the switch.
 * Despite its original members being returning players, only four of them have had their torches snuffed twice: Francesca, Corinne, Malcolm, and Brenda.
 * Brandon was voted out outside of Tribal Council and thus did not have his torch snuffed for a second time.
 * Phillip was a finalist on his first season; being voted out this season, his torch has only been snuffed once.
 * Andrea was voted out twice in her first season, having returned from Redemption Island; being voted out this season, her torch has been snuffed thrice.
 * Erik was medically evacuated and thus did not have his torch snuffed for a second time.
 * Cochran and Dawn were finalists this season; being voted out once in their original seasons, their torches have only been snuffed once.