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Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains is the twentieth season of the CBS competitive reality television series Survivor.

This season was a celebration of the ten year anniversary of the show and opted to have returning players who were known for their honor and integrity (Heroes) or their deception and duplicity (Villains). It also marked the first two-time winner: Sandra Diaz-Twine, who beat Parvati Shallow and Russell Hantz in a 6-3-0 vote. To date, it has produced ten returning players (Candice Woodcock, Cirie Fields, Coach Wade, J.T. Thomas, Parvati Shallow, Rob Mariano, Rupert Boneham, Russell Hantz, Sandra Diaz-Twine, and Tyson Apostol) for subsequent seasons.

Production[]

Unlike previous seasons where a break in production occurred between seasons, the twentieth season was shot twenty days after Survivor: Samoa was completed, taking advantage of the existing infrastructure from that season. All challenges in this season were based on challenges used in previous seasons. Rather than the usual slogan "Outwit, Outplay, Outlast", the slogan for this season was "Return, Revenge, Redemption".

The 2009 Samoa earthquake and tsunami occurred shortly after the completion of filming for this season; a CBS spokeswoman stated that no crew members were harmed from it.

The castaways eliminated pre-jury were sequestered in Australia.[2]

Casting[]

Heroes vs. Villains featured ten former castaways known for their acts of integrity and honor, the Heroes, and ten former castaways known for their deeds of deception and duplicity, the Villains. The cast was officially announced during the 36th People's Choice Awards on January 6, 2010. Jeff Probst, the show's host, stated that while they wanted to do another season where they brought back former players for the show's 10-year anniversary and 20th cycle, they did not want to simply do another "All-Stars" season. Upon reflecting on the most popular players, they realized that these players were either beloved or despised for those respective seasons, and opted to use that as the theme for this season.

Casting for Heroes vs. Villains was done simultaneously with casting for Samoa. According to Probst, the production initially selected 50 players from the past seasons, paring those down to twenty and keeping one spot open for a possible player from Samoa. Some selections were made to match players that production thought would be exciting to see, according to casting director Lynne Spillman. While the players had been classified as Heroes or Villains, Survivor creator Mark Burnett did not expect these players to maintain these roles in the game, and to instead do what they needed to survive to the end.

Richard Hatch, the winner of the original season, Survivor: Borneo, was asked to return for this season. However, he had to apply to leave the country since he was under house arrest. His request was denied by a federal judge in Rhode Island.[3] Corinne Kaplan of Survivor: Gabon and Shane Powers of Survivor: Panama were also asked to return, but Corinne declined due to work obligations while Shane was replaced by Russell Hantz.[4] Natalie Bolton of Survivor: Micronesia was seen shooting promotional images on location, but was ultimately not chosen for the final cast.[5]

Due to the back-to-back filming of Samoa and this season, the other players did not have an opportunity to see Russell Hantz's gameplay in Samoa. However, the players were told by the production crew that Hantz was considered "one of the five most notorious male villains of all time" prior to the start of the game.

Twists/Changes[]

Castaways[]

Contestant Tribe Affiliation Finish Votes
Against
Original Tribe Merged Tribe
S20 sugar t Sugar Kiper
30, Los Angeles, CA
Gabon
Heroes 1st Voted Out
Day 3
9
S20 stephenie t Stephenie LaGrossa
29, Philadelphia, PA
Palau & Guatemala
Heroes 2nd Voted Out
Day 6
6
S20 randy t Randy Bailey
50, Austin, TX
Gabon
Villains 3rd Voted Out
Day 8
9
S20 cirie t Cirie Fields
39, Norwalk, CT
Panama & Micronesia
Heroes 4th Voted Out
Day 11
3
S20 tom t Tom Westman
45, New York City, NY
Palau
Heroes 5th Voted Out
Day 14
8
S20 tyson t Tyson Apostol
30, Heber City, UT
Tocantins
Villains 6th Voted Out
Day 15
3
S20 james t James Clement
32, Lafayette, LA
China & Micronesia
Heroes 7th Voted Out
Day 15
7
S20 rob t Rob Mariano
33, Pensacola, FL
Marquesas & All-Stars
Villains 8th Voted Out
Day 18
5
S20 coach t Coach Wade
37, Susanville, CA
Tocantins
Villains 9th Voted Out
1st Jury Member
Day 21
4
S20 courtney t Courtney Yates
28, New York City, NY
China
Villains 10th Voted Out
2nd Jury Member
Day 24
9
S20 jt t J.T. Thomas
25, Mobile, AL
Tocantins
Heroes Yin Yang 11th Voted Out
3rd Jury Member
Day 27
5
S20 amanda t Amanda Kimmel
25, Los Angeles, CA
China & Micronesia
Heroes 12th Voted Out
4th Jury Member
Day 30
10
S20 candice t Candice Woodcock
26, Washington, D.C.
Cook Islands
Heroes 13th Voted Out
5th Jury Member
Day 31
5
S20 danielle t Danielle DiLorenzo
28, Los Angeles, CA
Panama
Villains 14th Voted Out
6th Jury Member
Day 33
4
S20 rupert t Rupert Boneham
45, Indianapolis, IN
Pearl Islands & All-Stars
Heroes 15th Voted Out
7th Jury Member
Day 36
10
S20 colby t Colby Donaldson
35, Los Angeles, CA
The Australian Outback & All-Stars
Heroes 16th Voted Out
8th Jury Member
Day 37
7
S20 jerri t Jerri Manthey
38, Los Angeles, CA
The Australian Outback & All-Stars
Villains 17th Voted Out
9th Jury Member
Day 38
9
S20 russell t Russell Hantz
36, Dayton, TX
Samoa
Villains Second
Runner-Up
5
S20 parvati t Parvati Shallow
26, Los Angeles, CA
Cook Islands & Micronesia
Villains Runner-Up 8
S20 sandra t Sandra Diaz-Twine
35, Fayetteville, NC
Pearl Islands
Villains Sole Survivor 3

Season Summary[]

The twenty returning castaways were pre-divided into two tribes of ten based on their previous style of gameplay. The Villains dominated the earlier challenges due to Rob's leadership, only going to Tribal Council once in the first 14 days, and the Heroes were quickly whittled down to six members. The Villains tribe was divided into two factions: Rob's alliance of six, and the minority alliance of Russell, Parvati, and Danielle. At a Double Tribal Council, Rob's alliance decided to split the vote between Russell and Parvati out of fear of the Hidden Immunity Idol which Russell had found. Rob's right-hand man Tyson, knowing that the minority alliance was voting for him, became uneasy and deviated from the plan, voting for Parvati instead of Russell. This error would prove fatal; Russell decided to play his Idol on Parvati, negating the four votes against her, and Tyson was voted out.

The Villains lost the next Immunity Challenge and, due to Jerri aligning with Russell and Coach's inability to pick a side, Rob was voted out. During this time, the dominant alliance on the Heroes tribe was centered around the returning Micronesia players; Amanda, Cirie, and James prior to Cirie's blindside caused by Tom's idol and a flip by J.T.. This move, several immunity losses, and an injury to James would force alliances to eventually dissolve as the Heroes would go down to just five members.

During the challenges after Rob's elimination, the Heroes were led to believe that the women of the Villains tribe were methodically eliminating the men. J.T. found the Heroes' second Hidden Immunity Idol, and gave it to Russell, the last male Villain remaining, with hopes that Russell would use it to eliminate Parvati and align with the Heroes at the merge. Instead, Russell shared the idol with his alliance, unaware that Parvati and Danielle had also found the Villains' second Hidden Immunity Idol. Without Rob, the Villains lost the next two Immunity Challenges, leaving Sandra as the last remaining Villain outside of Russell's alliance of four.

With five Heroes and five Villains remaining, the tribes merged into the Yin Yang tribe. While the Heroes believed Russell was on their side, Sandra attempted to warn Rupert of Russell's distrustful behavior. Ultimately, the Heroes ignored Sandra's warnings, voting for Jerri as she was considered the least likely to have a Hidden Immunity Idol. Parvati played both idols on Jerri and Sandra to gain their loyalty, negating the Heroes' votes, sending J.T. out of the game, and giving the Villains the majority.

Despite several attempts to align with the Villains, the remaining Heroes were consistently eliminated. However, after Russell realized that Parvati and Danielle's true loyalty was to each other, Russell betrayed Danielle, working with the remaining Heroes to vote her out. After this, the final Heroes were eliminated, leaving Sandra, Russell, Parvati, and Jerri as the final four. Russell, having won the Final Immunity Challenge, felt he would have a better chance in the Final Tribal Council against Sandra (whom he felt did little in the game) over Jerri, making her the final player voted out. This would ultimately be his downfall.

At Final Tribal Council, the jury blasted Russell for his numerous betrayals and poor social game, and he would go on to receive no votes. While Parvati was acknowledged for her strong challenge performances, she was criticized for her association with Russell, to which she rationalized by citing she had limited options for allies at the start of the game. Sandra was able to win over the Heroes' votes by pointing out that she tried to help them vote out the Villains and remained the last of Rob's core alliance, while also saying that despite the downfall of her alliance she continued to find ways to advanced herself in the game. Sandra won the title of Sole Survivor over Parvati and Russell, 6–3–0 respectively, and became the first two-time Survivor winner.

Episode Air date Challenges Eliminated
(Vote)
Finish Viewership
(in millions)[6]
Rating/Share
(18-49)[6]
Reward Immunity
1 "Slay Everyone, Trust No One" February 11, 2010 Heroes Villains Sugar
(9-1)
1st Voted Out
Day 3
14.15 4.5/12
2 "It's Getting the Best of Me" February 18, 2010 Villains1 Stephenie
(6-3)
2nd Voted Out
Day 6
11.97 3.9/11
3 "That Girl Is Like a Virus" February 25, 2010 Heroes1 Randy
(9-1)
3rd Voted Out
Day 8
11.60 3.7/10
4 "Tonight, We Make Our Move" March 4, 2010 Villains Villains Cirie
(3-2-0)2
4th Voted Out
Day 11
12.72 3.8/11
5 "Knights of the Round Table" March 11, 2010 Villains Villains Tom
(5-2)
5th Voted Out
Day 14
12.12 3.6/11
6 "Banana Etiquette" March 24, 2010 Villains Rob Tyson
(3-2-0)2
6th Voted Out
Day 15
11.15 3.4/11
Candice James
(5-1)
7th Voted Out
Day 15
7 "I'm Not a Good Villain" April 1, 2010 Heroes Heroes Rob
(4-3-1)
8th Voted Out
Day 18
11.26 3.5/13
8 "Expectations" April 8, 2010 Heroes Heroes Coach
(4-3)
9th Voted Out
1st Jury Member
Day 21
11.28 3.8/12
9 "Survivor History" April 15, 2010 Villains Heroes Courtney
(5-1)
10th Voted Out
2nd Jury Member
Day 24
12.31 3.8/12
10 "Going Down in Flames" April 22, 2010 None Danielle J.T.
(5-0)2,3
11th Voted Out
3rd Jury Member
Day 27
11.89 3.6/11
11 "Jumping Ship" April 29, 2010 Amanda,
Colby,
Danielle
Jerri Amanda
(6-3)3
12th Voted Out
4th Jury Member
Day 30
12.74 4.1/13
12 "A Sinking Ship" May 6, 2010 None Parvati Candice
(5-3)
13th Voted Out
5th Jury Member
Day 31
13.06 4.1/14
Russell Danielle
(4-3)
14th Voted Out
6th Jury Member
Day 33
13 "Loose Lips Sink Ships" May 13, 2010 Jerri
[Parvati,
Sandra]
Parvati Rupert
(4-0)2
15th Voted Out
7th Jury Member
Day 36
13.28 4.1/13
14 "Anything Could Happen" May 16, 2010 None Parvati Colby
(4-1)
16th Voted Out
8th Jury Member
Day 37
13.46 4.2/11
Russell Jerri
(3-1)
17th Voted Out
9th Jury Member
Day 38
Jury Vote Russell
(6-3-0)
Second Runner-Up
Parvati
(6-3-0)
Runner-Up
Sandra
(6-3-0)
Sole Survivor
15 "Reunion" 10.65 3.6/10
Notes:
^1 Combined Reward and Immunity Challenge.
^2 A Hidden Immunity Idol was played, negating all votes against its user.
^3 A Hidden Immunity Idol was played; however, no votes were cast against its user.

Voting History[]

Original Tribes Merged Tribe
Episode 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Voted Out S20 sugar t
Sugar
S20 stephenie t
Stephenie
S20 randy t
Randy
S20 cirie t
Cirie
S20 tom t
Tom
S20 tyson t
Tyson
S20 james t
James
S20 rob t
Rob
S20 coach t
Coach
S20 courtney t
Courtney
S20 jt t
J.T.
S20 amanda t
Amanda
Candice Woodcock
Candice
S20 danielle t
Danielle
S20 rupert t
Rupert
S20 colby t
Colby
S20 jerri t
Jerri
S20 russell t
Russell
S20 parvati t
Parvati
S20 sandra t
Sandra
Vote 9-1 6-3 9-1 3-2-01 5-2 3-2-01 5-1 4-3-1 4-3 5-1 5-01,2 6-32 5-3 4-3 4-01 4-1 3-1 6-3-0
Sandra Randy Russell Russell Coach Courtney J.T. Amanda Candice Rupert Rupert Colby Jerri Jury Vote
Parvati Randy Tyson Rob Coach Courtney J.T. Amanda Rupert Rupert Rupert Colby Jerri
Russell Randy Tyson Rob Courtney Courtney J.T. Amanda Candice Danielle Rupert Colby Jerri
Jerri Randy Parvati Rob Courtney Courtney J.T. Amanda Candice Danielle Rupert Colby Parvati Parvati
Colby Sugar Amanda Cirie James James Jerri Parvati Candice Danielle Sandra Sandra Sandra
Rupert Sugar Stephenie Colby Tom James Jerri Parvati Candice Danielle Sandra Sandra
Danielle Randy Tyson Rob Coach Courtney J.T. Amanda Rupert Rupert Parvati
Candice Sugar Stephenie Tom Tom James Jerri Amanda Rupert Sandra
Amanda Sugar Stephenie Tom Tom James Jerri Parvati Sandra
J.T. Sugar Stephenie Cirie Tom James Jerri Sandra
Courtney Randy Parvati Russell Coach Jerri Sandra
Coach Randy Parvati Courtney Courtney Parvati
Rob Randy Russell Russell
James Sugar Stephenie Colby Tom Colby
Tyson Randy Parvati
Tom Sugar Amanda Cirie James
Cirie Sugar Stephenie Tom
Randy Rob
Stephenie Sugar Amanda
Sugar Amanda
Notes:
^1 A Hidden Immunity Idol was played, negating all votes against the user.
^2 A Hidden Immunity Idol was played; however, no votes were cast against its user.

Trivia[]

  • Heroes vs. Villains is the first season to feature three-time returning players.
  • Heroes vs. Villains is the only all-returning player season where no tribe switches occurred.
  • Heroes vs. Villains is the only all-returning player season without a green tribe.
  • After filming, the Survivor medical team stayed in Samoa to aid the locals who were affected by the 2009 Samoan tsunami. As told by host Jeff Probst in the TV Guide preview of South Pacific, some of the filming locations also took damage from the disaster.
  • Heroes vs. Villains is currently the last season where the merged tribe only consists of ten players.
    • This is the most recent season where the merge occurred with half the cast remaining.
  • Heroes vs. Villains marks the first time a previous winner won the game for a second time.
  • The season logo featured silhouettes of the castaways from the Heroes and Villains tribes.
    • Additionally, the "Outwit, Outplay, Outlast" slogan was replaced by "Return, Revenge, Redemption" for this season.
  • Outside of Winners at War, this season is tied with All-Stars for the most former winners playing at the time of production with four; J.T., Parvati, Sandra, and Tom.
    • Along with future winners Rob (Redemption Island) and Tyson (Blood vs. Water), Heroes vs. Villains also ties with All-Stars for the most either former or future winners, with six (outside of Winners at War).
  • Amanda Kimmel is the first player to achieve the record of playing Survivor for 100 days, achieving this milestone on Day 22.
  • Both returning players from Gabon, Sugar and Randy, were voted out first from their tribes, and were both voted out 9-1.
    • Both tribes eliminated out people from China, James and Courtney, by a vote of 5-1 at their last tribal councils right before the merge.
  • All contestants made it to the jury phase of the game at least once when they previously competed.
  • Heroes vs. Villains is the first season where the Final Three was entirely composed of previous finalists from other seasons. It would be followed by Winners at War.
  • Following Sandra's elimination in Game Changers, Heroes vs. Villains became the third season (along with Game Changers) in which all contestants have been voted out at some point in their Survivor careers, following Borneo and Cambodia.
  • A misprint during the production of the Heroes vs. Villains Buffs resulted to an accidental pink Buff. The limited edition Buff, which only has 100 in stock, is made available for purchase.[7]
  • Heroes vs. Villains has had the most castaways return in future seasons, with ten.

References[]

Survivor (U.S.) Seasons
BorneoThe Australian OutbackAfricaMarquesasThailandThe AmazonPearl IslandsAll-StarsVanuatuPalauGuatemalaPanamaCook IslandsFijiChinaMicronesiaGabonTocantinsSamoaHeroes vs. VillainsNicaraguaRedemption IslandSouth PacificOne WorldPhilippinesCaramoanBlood vs. WaterCagayanSan Juan del SurWorlds ApartCambodiaKaôh RōngMillennials vs. Gen XGame ChangersHeroes vs. Healers vs. HustlersGhost IslandDavid vs. GoliathEdge of ExtinctionIsland of the IdolsWinners at WarSurvivor 41Survivor 42Survivor 43Survivor 44Survivor 45Survivor 46
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