Suck It Up and Survive

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Suck It Up and Survive
Episode Information
Season	San Juan del Sur
Episode Number	1/14 (400)
Original Release	September 24, 2014
Viewership (in Millions)	9.75
Ratings/Share (18-49)	2.7/9
Episode Chronology
Previous	"Reunion" (previous season)
Next	"Method to This Madness"
Subpages

Suck It Up and Survive is the premiere episode of Survivor: San Juan del Sur.

Story

Day 0

“	One year ago, Survivor: Blood vs. Water pitted Loved Ones against each other. Testing the core of human emotion in a way we've never experienced before. It was so compelling we're doing it again. Scattered below, nine pairs of Loved Ones have been dropped in the jungles of Nicaragua to begin the adventure of a lifetime. It's not even Day 1 and the game has already begun. Each pair has been given a flint to practice making fire together. It may be their only chance to help each other in the game. They come from all walks of life. Boyfriend, girlfriend: Jon and Jaclyn are already experienced winners. She's Miss Michigan 2013, he played football for Michigan State.	”
—Jeff Probst

“	Jon: We have a phenomenal relationship. Jaclyn: We have fun. Jon: But it's not all just this pretty beautiful picture that people just love to paint. Jaclyn: Yeah, I don't want people to hate us and think that we're this like crazy perfect couple. Jon: Yeah.	”
—Jon Misch & Jaclyn Schultz

“	Former professional baseball player John Rocker was at the center of controversy 15 years ago.	”
—Jeff Probst

“	I've spent the last 15 years of my life trying to say ”I'm not the loud, obnoxious, boisterous kind of guy” but media has loved over the years, you know, to label me racist, bigot, homophobe and everything else. I'm not a bigot. Thems are fighting words right there.	”
—John Rocker

“	Long time girlfriend Julie, hopes to provide him with the support they need to pitch a perfect game and get to the end.	”
—Jeff Probst

“	I have a lot to prove because everybody may say ”look at the girl with the hair and the boobs, and, you know, and the boyfriend” but I am very independent. I can stand on my own two feet.	”
—Julie McGee

“	Mother, daughter: Missy and Baylor are no strangers to adversity. Missy's three divorces have forced Baylor to take on the motherly role in this complicated relationship.	”
—Jeff Probst

“	Baylor: The divorces have definitely brought us closer, you know, whatever happens to me affects her, whatever happens to her affects me. Missy: Absolutely. There's this bond between mother and daughter that is so unbelievable, you can't tear it apart. I mean there's no stopping us. I mean, no way.	”
—Baylor Wilson & Missy Payne

“	Brothers Drew and Alec from rural Florida have always had a sibling rivalry. Now, younger Alec would love nothing more than to outlast his older brother in the game.	”
—Jeff Probst

“	Alec: Drew and I have been going at it pretty much since I came out the womb, I mean I hope I can prove to him that I can beat him at this game. Drew: I would love to see him beat me at this game honestly, I really would. Alec: I'm gonna give you a front row seat.	”
—Alec Christy & Drew Christy

“	For hard working Dale, farming is the only life he's ever known but growing up, daughter Kelley couldn't wait to make her own path.	”
—Jeff Probst

“	Kelley: My dad and I, we have had a up and down relationship over the past 10 years or so. We didn't talk for probably 3 or 4 years. Dale: But I think Survivor will help us grow back together. This will be something that we can share for the rest of our lives together.	”
—Kelley Wentworth & Dale Wentworth

“	Longtime Survivor fans and couple, Josh and Reed performed on Broadway in New York and both feel they have what it takes to survive 39 Days in this jungle.	”
—Jeff Probst

“	Josh: We both are such fans of the game. This guy, for our first Valentine's Day, gives me flint. Reed: I got him flint! We're actually really comfortable being outdoors and sleeping in the dirt. Josh: And we are now ready for it.	”
—Josh Canfield & Reed Kelly

“	They've left behind the comfort and safety of their normal world. For 39 Days they will be left to fend for themselves. Boston police officer Val and her firefighter husband Jeremy have an ongoing rivalry over their jobs despite being madly in love with each other.	”
—Jeff Probst

“	Jeremy: I tried to get on Survivor for 10 years. I didn't bring her out here and leave our daughters at home to lose. Val: I know that we're both in it to win it so may the best profession win.	”
—Jeremy Collins & Val Collins

“	Sri Lankan twins, Nadiya and Natalie took an aggressive approach on The Amazing Race and it failed them twice. Now they're looking to take on their biggest adventure yet and go all the way.	”
—Jeff Probst

“	On Amazing Race we had all the basic needs. You take away all the basic needs and that's Survivor. We'll have sleepless nights, empty bellies. Survivor is going to be way harder than Amazing Race. Our blood is thicker than anybody else's blood out here. I can guarantee you that because the longest, I think, we've ever been apart without seeing each other was like two weeks.	”
—Nadiya Anderson

“	Father and son, Louisiana firefighters, Keith and Wes share a love for their job and the outdoors. But while Keith is nearing retirement, he is not yet ready to pass the torch to his son Wes.	”
—Jeff Probst

“	Wes: This is my time to shine. Keith: What about my time? Is it over with? Wes: Your time has been gone. Keith: Been gone? Wes: It's showtime for me, I think. Keith: Showtime for you... Wes: I got social aspect, physical aspect, mental aspect. I feel like I got it all. Keith: You're as mentally strong as that rock (pointing to rock).	”
—Wes Nale & Keith Nale

“	Their relationships will be put to the ultimate test. It's Survivor: San Juan del Sur – Blood vs. Water. Eighteen Americans, forced to work together while battling the elements and each other. They must learn to adapt or they will be voted out. In the end, only one will remain and claim the million dollar price. 39 Days, 18 People, 1 Survivor!	”
—Jeff Probst

Day 1

“	I felt a tug on my stomach, like oh no, like what do I say to Natalie right before she goes? Being separated and not being able to know how a tribe is going to treat us. It was gut wrenching.	”
—Nadiya Anderson

“	This is it. Now I'm going to be competing against my daughter. That was pretty touching for me and it just brings it all home, you know, this whole Blood vs. Water. That's what this is about.	”
—Missy Payne

“	I've watched all types of sports and I'm pretty darn sure this is John Rocker, the relief pitcher for the Braves and he was an ass when he played then, he might be still an ass now.	”
—Keith Nale

“	I knew it's Blood vs. Water but my worst nightmare was to do this to my wife and now she's just gone and it's my fault that she's gone.	”
—Jeremy Collins

“	We walked down this beautiful beach. It's such an epic Survivor moment. I got goosebumps thinking about it, it's so crazy 'cause also you're like ”Oh, now we just need to do things!” Like, this is it. Like, go!	”
—Reed Kelly

“	Everyone was saying you know, good job and it was a tough decision for me to go against my wife and everything but everyone's happy that I won flint and beans for them and everything but going into the challenge against my wife... like I was like (pauses and looks away) … like I was ”I ain't crying out here” you know, and like they won, you know what I'm saying? Like these dudes are going to kill me back home. Me going one on one against her, like that hurt and then to see her go away. That's my wife, you know, I need to take care of her and like I didn't do that. In Blood vs. Water you do have to think about your Loved Ones and for me and Val, I feel in this game, it's all about us as a couple but it doesn't look good for her. I have a good rapport with women, I get along with women, so it's time to go balls to wall. It's time to play.	”
—Jeremy Collins

“	I really like Jeremy, you know, the way he fought today and the way he, his emotions after he had sent his wife to Exile Island showed like real true, like a good heart, you know, so I would say if I had to choose one person as my designated Twinnie, it's Jeremy. Everybody loves a firefighter.	”
—Natalie Anderson

“	For being married and divorced as many times as I have, I've learned, I've learned that you have to listen to your gut and my gut tells me that Jeremy is good.	”
—Missy Payne

“	This game, it moves so much. The beginning of the game messed me up right away but I feel pretty good where I'm at right now. Everybody's on my side and I'm the popular guy. Everybody wants to date the prom king so this is perfect. This will work out.	”
—Jeremy Collins

“	Day 1 we are doing the necessities which is trying to get fire, trying to get some nourishment in our stomachs and trying to build a shelter. It's a young group. We're with Wes, and Baylor, and Alec. They're like this young group and then it's me, Josh and Jaclyn kind in the middle and then we got the other dude is 40, and dad is like 55 and like, come on!	”
—Nadiya Anderson

“	Right off the bat there was a very definite ”OK, I'm 25 years older than almost everybody here” (laughs). I'm a self-employed farmer. I've been there all my life and we don't get a lot of visitors. My biggest challenge on Survivor is I'm not used to being in a big group of strangers. That's tough but you're always have to be looking for the positive in a situation. My first trip down to the water, I put the lid back on the well and I looked down and there's this little emblem and I go ”It's not an Idol” but it could be useful someday. So I need to look at some other way to get myself into that tribe pretty fast. I'm trying to get fire so we can boil water. It smokes but the humidity just, it won't get that red coal going. The longer I sat there, the more pissed off I was getting at myself. I'm supposed to be able to start fire. I've done it before. I used to start them all the time with magnifying glasses as a kid growing up.	”
—Dale Wentworth

“	We need fire so we have two groups of people working on two different methods. Dale is working on glasses and the sunlight which I've never seen before happen or work. And then we have group 2 which is a couple of us just scrubbing, and scrubbing, and scrubbing, and scrubbing, and trying to get something.	”
—Baylor Wilson

“	I snapped my glasses in half and doubled up the lenses to double the magnification on them. I'm sacrificing my ability to see in the game later on so I can start a fire.	”
—Dale Wentworth

“	I have to be honest. At first, you look at the oldest guy in the tribe and you know they're immediately a target and then Dale was the one who saved us all. Like the very first thing that we really needed, he provided.	”
—Josh Canfield

“	I think I don't need to worry about the social circle as much as I did. I'm the fire-starter now so that's pushed me up the food chain, so to speak.	”
—Dale Wentworth

“	First landing on Exile Island was a big shock. I mean, the Coyopa tribe is now all bonding so if there were gonna get rid of somebody first it would probably be me and on top of that, Exile Island frickin' sucks! It's desolate, it's rocky, in the ocean, looks unswimmable. You're really left with nothing.	”
—Val Collins

“	I'm thinking playing Survivor, I'm thinking take it to the end and then boom, I'm on Exile Island. The first, I'm the first out of the shoot, me and Val. That ain't the way I had this mapped out. I don't even know my tribe yet. I don't want to be here.	”
—Keith Nale

“	He picked his urn and I picked mine. We both had a note and started to read it. I was so preoccupied for the fact that I had a clue for the Idol back at camp, that I didn't even realize that his was blank. And I think he expected that I was going to say ”Oh, read it!”. I wasn't going to do that.	”
—Val Collins

“	Mine was blank. Story of my life. I said ”What you get, Val?” She kind of hem-hawed around and um, if its got something to do with Val's tribe, more power to her. 'Cause I'm not going back to Val's tribe, I'm going back to my tribe.	”
—Keith Nale

“	Come to find out, Val's husband is a firefighter. That is going to be a bond. That's going to be a big plus, probably. When I do get back to camp, I'm going to check in with Jeremy. See where he stands but who knows? I don't know what I'm going to walk into going back there. Worst case, all eight of 'em hate me. That's the end of my Survivor career.	”
—Keith Nale

“	I didn't really want to but I kinda was forced to step in and really take control of the construction of the shelter. It was a lot of work to kinda build the initial foundation for our structure. Definitely important that we have something levitated off the ground that could give a nice little cool breeze from the ocean. I hope the tribe appreciates the hard work and effort that I put into the shelter. You know I was actually a successful model for the last few years. I'm kinda not a big shot here, but you know, I'm sure my face is around some different places, but I'm not here to be a model at all. I'm here to be a Survivor.	”
—Drew Christy

“	Oh my God, I'm not sure why Drew thinks he's in charge. He's a little bit too arrogant, bless his heart. Being a woman and who I am, I mean, I'm dating John Rocker and he used to play in the Major Leagues. He is Type A with a capital A, so I understand the dude mentality and Drew, I mean, he's just kinda like a young dumb guy.	”
—Julie McGee

“	I had a suspicion about John the minute I saw him. I said ”Man, dude, I know that guy from somewhere” and I realized he played professional baseball for the Atlanta Braves and I said ”Man, that's my favorite team!” Everybody watched Atlanta. That was when they were in their prime, you know.	”
—Wes Nale

“	I've been hoping to skate through this game, anonymous, you know, unscathed, under the radar. If I'm recognized by some of the other players in the game, I'm gonna lie about it because I've not had a whole lot of anonymity, you know, for the last 18 years of my life. Wes busted me. It didn't take long. Two or three hours out here he asked me this: ”Your name is John, huh? What's your last name?” I'm like... (lowers head in frustration)	”
—John Rocker

“	He's like ”Yeah, it's me. I was like, I'm trying to keep a low profile.” I mean, it feels good. I feel like he's from Georgia, I'm from Louisiana. I knew who he was. Kinda got somewhat of a connection. I played baseball so...	”
—Wes Nale

“	With Wes knowing who I am, a secret like that, being kept safe with him may not be such a, such a good thing. So our first Council we go to, I will get a little jumpy, so I may try to get Wes out.	”
—John Rocker

Challenges

Reward (Hero Duel)

'Challenge: 'Man in the Box
One person from each tribe will race through a wood cube, while untangling rope and searching for two rings. When they reach the first ring, they will use it to retrieve a platform and drag it back. They will then head back into the cube to untangle the rest of the rope and get the second ring. It will be used to retrieve a second platform. The first person to retrieve both platforms and get them across the finish line wins reward for their tribe.
Reward: Flint and a bag of beans.
Winner: Hunahpu (Jeremy Collins chose Keith Nale to accompany Val Collins to Exile Island).

Reward Challenge (Hero Duel): Man in the Box
Result	Tribe	Representative	Spectators
Won	Hunahpu	Jeremy	Drew, Jon, Julie, Keith, Kelley, Missy, Natalie & Reed
Lost	Coyopa	Val	Alec, Baylor, Dale, Jaclyn, John, Josh, Nadiya & Wes

Immunity

Challenge: Temple of Syrinx
Each tribe will race through a series of obstacles to get to the top of a giant tower. First both tribes will crawl under an obstacle. They will then work together to retrieve three bags, which contain pieces they will need to get to the top. For the first wall of the tower they will use a rope to get over it. For the second wall they will use pegs. For the third and final wall they will have only each other to help climb it. Once the entire tribe is at the top of the tower, four people from each tribe will solve a puzzle. The first tribe to finish wins immunity.
Addition Stipulation: Coyopa gets flint if they win the challenge.
Winner: Hunahpu

Immunity Challenge: Temple of Syrinx
Result	Tribe	Obstacles Only	Puzzle Solvers
Won	Hunahpu	Drew, Jeremy, Keith, Missy & Natalie	Jon, Julie, Kelley & Reed
Lost	Coyopa	Baylor, John, Nadiya, Val & Wes	Alec, Dale, Jaclyn & Josh

Tribal Council

Tribal Council 1: Coyopa
Voted Against	Voter
Nadiya (5 votes)	Alec, Baylor, Dale, John & Wes
Dale (3 votes)	Jaclyn, Nadiya & Val
Baylor (1 vote)	Josh
VOTED OUT: Nadiya Anderson

Voting Confessionals

“	Y’know, I love you sweetheart. Great personality. But just way too much experience on The Amazing Race.	”
—John Rocker

“	‘Cause you’re the odd man out.	”
—Nadiya Anderson

Final Words

“	This is the second time I’m out first. It sucks! I don’t know if because of Amazing Race I had a target on my back. Anything’s a possibility. You can have regrets in this game, but it is what it is. So I’m not surprised, but I’m definitely disappointed. I hope Natalie wins it all. It’s gonna be hard without a loved one there with her, but I’m gonna be rooting for her all the way.	”
—Nadiya Anderson

Still In the Running

Coyopa
Alec	Baylor	Dale	Jaclyn	John	Josh	Nadiya	Val	Wes
Hunahpu
Drew	Jeremy	Jon	Julie	Keith	Kelley	Missy	Natalie	Reed

Trivia

Other

• Discounting Reunion shows, this is the 400th episode of Survivor.
• This episode marks the first time someone is exiled since "The Martyr Approach" in Survivor: Tocantins.
• Nadiya continues the trend of a woman being the first voted out off Blood vs. Water-themed tribes, following Candice Cody and Laura Boneham.
• This is the first season premiere episode to have a standalone Reward Challenge since "She Annoys Me Greatly".

Episode Title

• The title was said by Josh, referring to his eye condition.