Survivor: Cook Islands is the thirteenth season of Survivor. The season generated a lot of controversy due to the decision to split tribes by ethnicity. It is also known for being the first season to utilize the Final Three, which has become a mainstay in modern Survivor.
The season was won by Yul Kwon in a 5-4-0 vote over Ozzy Lusth and Becky Lee in the first Final Tribal Council to deviate from the original Final Two format.
Production
The tribal camps, Exile Island, and many challenges of Survivor: Cook Islands were filmed on small "motu" (Polynesian word for "islet") in the Aituaki lagoon. The Rarotonga (later Aitutonga) tribe's camp was on Moturakau. The Aitutaki tribe lived on Motukitiu. The short-lived tribes of Manihiki and Puka Puka lived on Rapota and Muritapua, respectively. Most challenges were filmed on Tekopua and Tapuaetai (One Foot Island). Exile Island, a small sand cay south of Tapuaetai, is called "Nude Island" by locals in reference to its lack of vegetation. Akaiami hosted challenges and also the loser's lounge, where eliminated contestants were sequestered until the end of the game. Tribal Council, the production camp, and a few challenges were located on the main island of Aitutaki. There were three reward trips to the neighboring islands of Atiu, Mitiaro, and Rarotonga.
Twists/Changes
- Four Tribes: For the second time, the castaways are divided into four tribes, containing five members each.
- Tribes Divided by Ethnicity: This season featured twenty contestants that were divided into four tribes divided by race, despite controversy.
- Exile Island: Returning from the previous season, after a Reward Challenge, players may banish a player from the rival tribe to Exile Island. This island (entirely separate from the existing camps) will force the banished player to fend for him/herself until the upcoming Immunity Challenge (unless stated otherwise). The player would not be left in despair, for he/she will be given clues to a Hidden Immunity Idol that is hidden somewhere on the island.
- Hidden Immunity Idol: During this season, the Hidden Immunity Idol is hidden somewhere on Exile Island.
- Tribe Switch: On Day 7, the four tribes became two. Puka Puka and Manihiki were dissolved, with the 18 remaining contestants spread into the new Rarotonga and Aitutaki tribes with nine members each.
- Double Tribal Council: On Day 15, both the Aitutaki and Rarotonga tribes were forced to visit Tribal Council to eliminate one of their own.
- Mutiny: On Day 19, the tribes were offered to switch tribe affiliations.
- Message in a Bottle: After losing the Day 24 Immunity Challenge, the Rarotonga tribe received a sealed bottle with a note that can only be read after the Tribal Council elimination. The tribe assumed it was a note about instructions about the upcoming merge. But much to their shock, the note instructed them to vote another member off the tribe.
- Delayed Merge: Because of the sealed message in a bottle twist, the tribes were merged with nine members.
- Three-Way Finals and Expanded Jury: Unlike the first twelve seasons where the usual Final Two facing a seven-player jury is featured, this season featured a Final Tribal Council with three remaining finalists facing a nine-person jury.
Castaways
Contestant | Tribe Affiliation | Finish | Votes Against | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Original Tribe | Shuffled Tribe | Post-Mutiny | Merged Tribe | ||||
Sekou Bunch 45, Los Angeles, CA |
Manihiki | 1st Voted Out Day 3 |
3 | ||||
Billy Garcia 36, New York City, NY |
Aitutaki | 2nd Voted Out Day 6 |
4 | ||||
Cecilia Mansilla 29, Oakland, CA |
Aitutaki | Aitutaki | 3rd Voted Out Day 8 |
5 | |||
J.P. Calderon 30, Marina del Rey, CA |
Aitutaki | Rarotonga | 4th Voted Out Day 11 |
7 | |||
Stephannie Favor 35, Columbia, SC |
Manihiki | Rarotonga | 5th Voted Out Day 14 |
9 | |||
Cao Boi Bui 42, Christiansburg, VA |
Puka Puka | Aitutaki | 6th Voted Out Day 15 |
6 | |||
Cristina Coria 35, Los Angeles, CA |
Aitutaki | Rarotonga | 7th Voted Out Day 15 |
5 | |||
Jessica Smith 27, Chico, CA |
Rarotonga | Aitutaki | 8th Voted Out Day 18 |
6 | |||
Brad Virata 29, Los Angeles, CA |
Puka Puka | Rarotonga | Rarotonga | 9th Voted Out 1st Jury Member Day 21 |
7 | ||
Rebecca Borman 34, Laurelton, NY |
Manihiki | Rarotonga | Rarotonga | 10th Voted Out 2nd Jury Member Day 24 |
6 | ||
Jenny Guzon-Bae 36, Lake Forest, IL |
Puka Puka | Rarotonga | Rarotonga | 11th Voted Out 3rd Jury Member Day 24 |
6 | ||
Nate Gonzalez 26, Los Angeles, CA |
Manihiki | Rarotonga | Rarotonga | Aitutonga | 12th Voted Out 4th Jury Member Day 27 |
5 | |
Candice Woodcock 23, Fayetteville, NC |
Rarotonga | Aitutaki | Rarotonga | 13th Voted Out 5th Jury Member Day 30 |
6 | ||
Jonathan Penner 44, Los Angeles, CA |
Rarotonga | Aitutaki | Rarotonga | 14th Voted Out 6th Jury Member Day 33 |
15 | ||
Parvati Shallow 23, Los Angeles, CA |
Rarotonga | Rarotonga | Rarotonga | 15th Voted Out 7th Jury Member Day 36 |
4 | ||
Adam Gentry 28, San Diego, CA |
Rarotonga | Rarotonga | Rarotonga | 16th Voted Out 8th Jury Member Day 37 |
5 | ||
Sundra Oakley 31, Los Angeles, CA |
Manihiki | Aitutaki | Aitutaki | 17th Voted Out 9th Jury Member Day 38 |
6 | ||
Becky Lee 28, Washington, D.C. |
Puka Puka | Aitutaki | Aitutaki | Second Runner-Up |
5 | ||
Ozzy Lusth 25, Venice, CA |
Aitutaki | Aitutaki | Aitutaki | Runner-Up | 1 | ||
Yul Kwon 31, San Mateo, CA |
Puka Puka | Aitutaki | Aitutaki | Sole Survivor | 5 |
Season Summary
The 20 players were initially divided into four tribes based on race. On Day 7 of the competition, two of the four tribes were dissolved and the remaining members were split up and joined the two remaining tribes. An early visit to Exile Island resulted in Yul Kwon discovering the Hidden Immunity Idol. With the tribes having six members each on Day 19, Probst announced that any tribe member may mutiny and join the other tribe; Candice Woodcock and Jonathan Penner opted for this move, leaving the Aitutaki tribe at four members, consisting of Yul, Ozzy Lusth, Becky Lee, and Sundra Oakley, and an eight-strong Rarotonga tribe. However, this served to only increase the determination of the Aitutaki tribe. Between strong teamwork skills, Yul's intelligence, and Ozzy's physical skills, Aitutaki remained strong and continued to win both tribal and individual challenges, sending the Rarotonga tribe to Tribal Council three times in a row. Additionally, they would continuously send Candice to Exile at payback for her mutiny.
The tribes merged with 9 players remaining: 5 Raros and 4 Aitus. Yul cemented his Aitutaki alliance by showing them the Hidden Immunity Idol, and convinced Jonathan, a former Aitutaki member who had accepted the mutiny offer, to vote along with them in order to give the former Aitutaki tribe the majority. The Aitutaki 4 would eventually pagong the remaining Rarotonga members and become the final four. With Yul holding the Hidden Immunity Idol and Ozzy winning the Final Immunity Challenge, the four agreed to let a fire-making challenge decide who would join them at the Final Three. Despite this taking more than an hour to complete, Becky emerged victoriously.
At the Final Tribal Council, Becky was criticized for her perceived coat-tailing of Yul and poor performance at the fire-making challenge, Yul was respected for his strategic mind, while Ozzy was commended for his challenge performance. Ultimately, Yul defeated Ozzy and Becky in a 5-4-0 vote.
Episode | Air date | Challenges | Exiled | Eliminated (Vote) |
Finish | Viewers (in millions)[2] |
Rating/Share (18-49)[2] | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Reward | Immunity | ||||||||
1 | "I Can Forgive Her but I Don't Have to Because She Screwed with My Chickens" | September 14, 2006 | Puka Puka1 | Jonathan | Sekou (3-2) |
1st Voted Out Day 3 |
18.00 | 6.5/20 | |
Aitutaki1 | |||||||||
Rarotonga1 | |||||||||
2 | "Dire Strengths and Dead Weight" | September 21, 2006 | Puka Puka1,2 | Yul | Billy (4-1) |
2nd Voted Out Day 6 |
17.43 | 6.5/18 | |
Rarotonga1,2 | |||||||||
Manihiki | |||||||||
3 | "Flirting and Frustration" | September 28, 2006 | None | Rarotonga | Candice | Cecilia (5-3) |
3rd Voted Out Day 8 |
16.85 | 5.9/16 |
4 | "Ruling the Roost" | October 5, 2006 | Aitutaki | Aitutaki | Adam | J.P. (7-2) |
4th Voted Out Day 11 |
15.83 | 5.6/16 |
5 | "Don't Cry Over Spilled Octopus" | October 12, 2006 | Rarotonga | Aitutaki | Jonathan | Stephannie (7-1) |
5th Voted Out Day 14 |
15.84 | 5.5/15 |
6 | "Plan Voodoo" | October 19, 2006 | Aitutaki | None | Cao Boi (6-1-1) |
6th Voted Out Day 15 |
15.02 | 5.3/14 | |
[Nate]3 | Cristina (4-2) |
7th Voted Out Day 15 | |||||||
7 | "A Closer Look" | October 26, 2006 | Recap Episode | N/A | N/A | ||||
8 | "Why Aren't You Swimming?!" | November 2, 2006 | Aitutaki | Rarotonga | Adam | Jessica (6-1) |
8th Voted Out Day 18 |
15.30 | 5.4/14 |
9 | "Mutiny" | November 9, 2006 | Aitutaki | Aitutaki | Candice | Brad (7-1) |
9th Voted Out 1st Jury Member Day 21 |
14.39 | 4.8/13 |
10 | "People That You Like Want to See You Suffer" | November 16, 2006 | Aitutaki | Aitutaki | Candice | Rebecca (6-1) |
10th Voted Out 2nd Jury Member Day 24 |
15.35 | 5.3/14 |
Jenny (4-2) |
11th Voted Out 3rd Jury Member Day 24 | ||||||||
11 | "Why Would You Trust Me?" | November 23, 2006 | None | Ozzy | None | Nate (5-4) |
12th Voted Out 4th Jury Member Day 27 |
12.67 | 4.3/13 |
12 | "You're a Rat..." | November 30, 2006 | Survivor Auction |
Adam | Candice | Candice (5-3) |
13th Voted Out 5th Jury Member Day 30 |
15.63 | 5.4/14 |
13 | "Arranging a Hit" | December 7, 2006 | Parvati [Adam, Sundra] |
Ozzy | Jonathan | Jonathan (6-1) |
14th Voted Out 6th Jury Member Day 33 |
15.72 | 5.3/15 |
14 | "I Have the Advantage... for Once" | December 14, 2006 | Ozzy | Ozzy | Adam | Parvati (4-2) |
15th Voted Out 7th Jury Member Day 36 |
14.55 | 5.0/14 |
Parvati | |||||||||
Yul | |||||||||
15 | "This Tribe Will Self-Destruct in 5, 4, 3..." | December 17, 2006 | None | Ozzy | None | Adam (4-1) |
16th Voted Out 8th Jury Member Day 37 |
16.42 | 5.7/14 |
Ozzy | Sundra (2-2; tiebreaker)4 |
Eliminated 9th Jury Member Day 38 | |||||||
Jury Vote | Becky (5-4-0) |
Second Runner-Up | |||||||
Ozzy (5-4-0) |
Runner-Up | ||||||||
Yul (5-4-0) |
Sole Survivor | ||||||||
16 | "Reunion" | 13.53 | 5.1/13 | ||||||
Notes: ^1 Combined Reward and Immunity Challenge.
^2 Rarotonga was initially declared the sole winner of the reward, but after reviewing challenge footage, it was found that Puka Puka also finished at the exact same time as Rarotonga. Thus, both tribes shared the reward reserved only for the first-placing tribe. ^3 Aitutaki was instructed to kidnap a member of Rarotonga, allowing them to share in their reward and abstain from the vote at Tribal Council. ^4 Per Survivor rules, a fire-making challenge would be held between the tied players in case of a tie at the final four Tribal Council. |
Voting History
Original Tribes | Switched Tribes | Post-Mutiny Tribes | Merged Tribe | |||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Episode | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | ||||||||
Voted Out | Sekou |
Billy |
Cecilia |
J.P. |
Stephannie |
Cao Boi |
Cristina |
Jessica |
Brad |
Rebecca |
Jenny |
Nate |
Candice |
Jonathan |
Parvati |
Adam |
Tie | Sundra |
Becky |
Ozzy |
Yul | |
Vote | 3-2 | 4-1 | 5-3 | 7-2 | 7-1 | 6-1-1 | 4-2 | 6-1 | 7-1 | 6-1 | 4-2 | 5-4 | 5-3 | 6-1 | 4-2 | 4-1 | 2-23 | Tiebreaker | 5-4-0 | |||
►►► | Yul | — | — | Cecilia | — | — | Cao Boi | — | Jessica | — | — | Nate | Candice | Jonathan | Parvati | Adam | Sundra | — | Jury Vote | |||
►►► | Ozzy | — | Billy | Becky | — | — | Cao Boi | — | Jessica | — | — | Nate | Candice | Jonathan | Parvati | Adam | Becky | — | ||||
►►► | Becky | — | — | Cecilia | — | — | Cao Boi | — | Jessica | — | — | Nate | Candice | Jonathan | Parvati | Adam | Sundra | — | ||||
►►► | Sundra | Sekou | — | Becky | — | — | Cao Boi | — | Jessica | — | — | Nate | Candice | Jonathan | Parvati | Adam | Becky | Eliminated | Yul | |||
►►► | Adam | — | — | — | J.P. | Stephannie | — | Cristina | — | Brad | Rebecca | Jenny | Yul | Jonathan | Jonathan | Sundra | Yul | Yul | ||||
►►► | Parvati | — | — | — | J.P. | Stephannie | — | Cristina | — | Brad | Rebecca | Jenny | Yul | Jonathan | Jonathan | Sundra | Ozzy | |||||
►►► | Jonathan | — | — | Cecilia | — | — | Cao Boi | — | Jessica | Brad | Rebecca | Jenny | Nate | Candice | Adam | Yul | ||||||
►►► | Candice | — | — | Exiled1 | — | — | Cao Boi | — | Jessica | Brad | Rebecca | Jenny | Yul | Jonathan | Yul | |||||||
►►► | Nate | Sundra | — | — | Stephannie | Stephannie | — | Kidnapped2 | — | Brad | Rebecca | Jonathan | Yul | Ozzy | ||||||||
►► | Jenny | — | — | — | J.P. | Stephannie | — | Cristina | — | Brad | Rebecca | Jonathan | Ozzy | |||||||||
►► | Rebecca | Sekou | — | — | J.P. | Stephannie | — | Cristina | — | Brad | Jonathan | Ozzy | ||||||||||
►► | Brad | — | — | — | J.P. | Stephannie | — | Jenny | — | Jonathan | Yul | |||||||||||
► | Jessica | — | — | Cecilia | — | — | Jonathan | — | Jonathan | |||||||||||||
► | Cristina | — | Billy | — | J.P. | Stephannie | — | Jenny | ||||||||||||||
► | Cao Boi | — | — | Cecilia | — | — | Candice | |||||||||||||||
► | Stephannie | Sekou | — | — | J.P. | Cristina | ||||||||||||||||
► | J.P. | — | Billy | — | Stephannie | |||||||||||||||||
► | Cecilia | — | Billy | Becky | ||||||||||||||||||
Billy | — | Ozzy | ||||||||||||||||||||
Sekou | Sundra | |||||||||||||||||||||
Notes: ^1 After winning the Immunity Challenge, Rarotonga was given the opportunity to send one member of Aitutaki to Exile Island, making that player skip Tribal Council. They selected Candice.
^2 After voting out Cao Boi, Aitutaki was given the opportunity to kidnap one member of Rarotonga, making them immune from their Tribal Council and will stay at Aitutaki camp overnight. They selected Nate. ^3 Per the rules of Survivor, a fire-making challenge was held to break a tie in the final four Tribal Council. |
Reception
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Trivia
- Thus far, this is the only season to have one tribe accidentally stumble upon the opposing tribe's camp (Aitutaki members Jessica Smith, Ozzy Lusth, and Cao Boi Bui had accidentally ended up on the rival Rarotonga's beach while exploring the bay).
- This season ties with Survivor: Panama for the most starting tribes with four.
- It is the first and only season to have the tribes divided by ethnicity. Survivor: Fiji featured the same ratio of ethnicities, but only featured two tribes of varying ethnicity.
- Due to this twist, this season ties with Fiji for the most African-American contestants, with five.
- This was the first season to feature a Final Three at the Final Tribal Council rather than a Final Two as in previous seasons. Since Cook Islands, the only seasons to not have had a Final Three were Survivor: Micronesia, Survivor: Tocantins, and Survivor: Cagayan.
- Cook Islands is the only season where the mutiny offer was accepted.
- The jury (except for the last member) consists of all former post-mutiny Rarotonga members, while the Final Three and last member of the jury consists of all former post-mutiny Aitutaki members.
- This was the first season since Survivor: Thailand to have the jury phase start before the merge.
- It is the first season since Survivor: Palau to have only two different players (Adam Gentry and Ozzy Lusth) win individual immunity post-merge.
- This was the first season to have a nine-person merged tribe since Survivor: All-Stars. Survivor: Gabon would later feature a nine-person merge.
- Survivor: Palau had its individual stage start at the final nine, but it was not a merge as the eight-member Koror tribe conquered the one-member Ulong.
- This season had the most representatives in Survivor: Micronesia, with three.
- This is the first season in which a finalist (Becky) received no jury votes, which has since become very common in seasons with Final Threes.
- This was the first season where the first two people voted off were both men. It was followed by Survivor: Cagayan.
- This was also the first season where the first two people eliminated were men, unless one counts The Outcasts from Survivor: Pearl Islands as not being eliminated when they were voted out of their original tribes. It was followed by Survivor: Blood vs. Water and Survivor: Cagayan.
- 13 of the 20 contestants of this season were from the state of California. This is a Survivor record for the most castaways from one state in a single season.
- This season had the most pre-merge jury members, with three.
- Survivor: Fiji had three jury members who never took part in an individual challenge, but one of them was a member of the merged tribe.
- This is the first season since Survivor: Borneo to not have the Second Chance challenge.
- All of the returnees that originated from this season have played at least three times each.
- Ozzy Lusth is the only one of these people to have never been a member Rarotonga, and the only one to play four times.
- 17 out of the 20 contestants were recruited for this season.[3]
- This season is tied with Survivor: The Australian Outback and Survivor: Pearl Islands for being represented six times each in seasons which featured Returning Players.
References
Survivor (U.S.) Seasons |
---|
Borneo • The Australian Outback • Africa • Marquesas • Thailand • The Amazon • Pearl Islands • All-Stars • Vanuatu • Palau • Guatemala • Panama • Cook Islands • Fiji • China • Micronesia • Gabon • Tocantins • Samoa • Heroes vs. Villains • Nicaragua • Redemption Island • South Pacific • One World • Philippines • Caramoan • Blood vs. Water • Cagayan • San Juan del Sur • Worlds Apart • Cambodia • Kaôh Rōng • Millennials vs. Gen X • Game Changers • Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers • Ghost Island • David vs. Goliath • Edge of Extinction • Island of the Idols • Winners at War • Survivor 41 • Survivor 42 • Survivor 43 • Survivor 44 • Survivor 45 • Survivor 46 |