Survivor Wiki
Advertisement
Survivor Wiki

Survivor: Pearl Islands, initially dubbed as Survivor: Pearl Islands — Panama at the Survivor: The Amazon live Reunion Show where it was officially announced, is the seventh installment of the United States version of the reality show Survivor. The season was won by Sandra Diaz-Twine by a landslide in a 6-1 jury vote margin against Lillian Morris. It would ultimately feature one quit (the first in the series), and has to date produced four returning players (Andrew Savage, Jon Dalton, Rupert Boneham, and Sandra Diaz-Twine) for subsequent seasons.

Production[]

The season was filmed on the Pearl Islands, off the coast of Panama, and had a pirate culture theme. The complete season, including the live Reunion Show, was released on DVD on February 7, 2006.

Twists/Changes[]

  • Tribe Composition: The sixteen castaways were divided into two tribes of eight.
  • Unexpected Start: The contestants were made to believe that they will be shooting their cast photos, only to be informed that the game had already begun. With only the clothes on their backs, the tribes were given $100 to buy supplies with.
  • Camps: The tribe camps were situated several nautical miles off each other.
  • Looting: The castaways experienced pirate life with one member from the winning tribe from the Reward Challenge being sent to the other tribe to steal one item from their camp.
  • Buried Treasure: Another advantage of winning a Reward Challenge was one of three clues to a treasure chest buried somewhere at camp. Inside the treasure were additional creature comforts such as food rations and blankets.
  • Kidnapping: The Morgan tribe was given the right to kidnap one member from the rival Drake tribe after winning the Day 12 Immunity Challenge. Their chosen victim was also given immunity, skipping Tribal Council. Rupert was also forced to compete for Morgan at the following Reward Challenge.
  • Outcast Twist: On Day 19, the ten remaining castaways faced a third tribe comprised of the first six departed castaways in a three-way special challenge. If The Outcasts win, both Drake and Morgan will go to separate Tribal Council sessions and will vote out one of their own. The Outcasts will vote two of their own back into the game, with the remaining four being eliminated for good. The two returning castaways will be granted immunity at their first visit to Tribal Council. If The Outcasts finish second, only one of them will be voted back in the game, and only the losing tribe will vote somebody out. If The Outcasts lose to both tribes, they are all eliminated from the game, and Drake and Morgan merge without voting anybody out.
  • Double Tribal Council: Due to their loss to The Outcasts, both Drake and Morgan had to vote someone out, though Morgan did not need to vote due to one player quitting the game.
  • Merged Tribe Composition: The merged tribe was composed of ten members.
  • Immunity-Free Tribal Council: The final four castaways competed for individual immunity against the jury, who participated in the challenge as a group. The jury won, denying immunity to the remaining castaways.
  • Final Tribal Council Format: Two finalists faced a jury of seven. The jurors individually addressed the finalists.

Castaways[]

Contestant Tribe Affiliation Finish Votes
Against
Original Tribe Outcast Twist Post-Outcast Merged Tribe
S7 nicole t Nicole Delma
24, Hermosa Beach, CA
Massage Therapist
Morgan The Outcasts 1st Voted Out
Day 3
7
S7 ryans t Ryan Shoulders
23, Clarksville, TN
Produce Clerk
Morgan The Outcasts 2nd Voted Out
Day 6
6
S7 michelle t Michelle Tesauro
22, Washington, DC
Student
Drake The Outcasts 5th Voted Out
Day 15
6
S7 trish t Trish Dunn
42, Annapolis, MD
Sales Executive
Drake The Outcasts 6th Voted Out
Day 18
4
S7 shawn t Shawn Cohen
28, Hollywood, CA
Advertising Salesman
Drake Drake 7th Voted Out
Day 19
5
S7 osten t Osten Taylor
27, Boston, MA
Equity Trade Manager
Morgan Morgan Quit
Day 19
2
S7 andrew t Andrew Savage
39, Chicago, IL
Attorney
Morgan Morgan Morgan Balboa 8th Voted Out
Day 21
6
S7 ryano t Ryan Opray
30, Los Gatos, CA
Electrician
Morgan Morgan Morgan 9th Voted Out
1st Jury Member
Day 24
8
S7 rupert t Rupert Boneham
39, Indianapolis, IN
Troubled Teens Mentor
Drake Drake Drake 10th Voted Out
2nd Jury Member
Day 27
7
S7 tijuana t Tijuana Bradley
26, St. Louis, MO
Pharmaceutical Saleswoman
Morgan Morgan Morgan 11th Voted Out
3rd Jury Member
Day 30
5
S7 christa t Christa Hastie
24, Los Angeles, CA
Computer Programmer
Drake Drake Drake 12th Voted Out
4th Jury Member
Day 33
7
S7 burton t Burton Roberts
31, San Francisco, CA
Marketing Executive
Drake The Outcasts Drake 4th Voted Out
Day 12
13th Voted Out
5th Jury Member
Day 36
10
S7 darrah t Darrah Johnson
22, Liberty, MS
Mortician
Morgan Morgan Morgan 14th Voted Out
6th Jury Member
Day 37
6
S7 jon t Jon Dalton
29, Los Angeles, CA
Art Consultant
Drake Drake Drake 15th Voted Out
7th Jury Member
Day 38
7
S7 lillian t Lillian Morris
51, Loveland, OH
Scoutmaster
Morgan The Outcasts Morgan 3rd Voted Out
Day 9
Runner-Up
10
S7 sandra t Sandra Diaz-Twine
29, Fort Lewis, WA
Office Assistant
Drake Drake Drake Sole Survivor 0

Season Summary[]

The game began with the castaways made to believe that they were shooting their cast photos, but were later informed that the game had already begun. The two tribes, Drake and Morgan, were given some money and sent to a small village to barter and buy supplies for their camps in lieu of being given them as in seasons past. Drake secured a sizable amount of supplies, while Morgan flustered and bought little. Drake's unity allowed them to earn a six-challenge winning streak, quickly decimating Morgan to five members.

With Drake still a full tribe at eight, Burton conspired to throw an Immunity Challenge to eliminate some of Drake's weaker players. The reluctant Drake tribe did so, but Burton was voted out for his cunning. After winning their first challenge, Morgan, led by Andrew, experienced a renewal, while Drake began to splinter due to frequent in-fighting between its members. Morgan's newfound momentum led them to win two more Immunity Challenges, leaving both tribes with five players each.

On Day 19, the tribes were shaken by the return of the first six eliminated castaways, now together as a third "Outcast" tribe in a challenge that if the Outcasts won, would allow at least one of them to return to the game. The Outcasts placed first, forcing both Drake and Morgan to vote out one of their own. Shawn was replaced by Burton at Drake, while Lillian replaced Osten, who quit the game, at Morgan.

The tribes merged as the Balboa tribe, and while Burton made amends with his former tribe, Lillian's return was still resented by hers. Because of this, Burton convinced Lillian to swerve the vote in favor of the Drakes, eliminating Andrew. With the Drakes having the upper hand, Rupert, the most likable yet also the biggest physical threat on Drake, was blindsided by the trio of Burton, Lillian, and Jon, allowing inter-tribal scheming, and later them becoming the majority alliance in the final five. During the days-long chaos, Sandra, a loyal ally of Rupert's, swore revenge on Jon for turning on Drake.

Sandra finally collected her revenge on Burton and Jon by swaying the two remaining women, Lillian and Darrah to break up the duo of Burton and Jon, with Burton blindsided for a second time. Darrah was sent home next however due to her sudden winning streak after an immunity-free Tribal Council. Fed up by Jon's lies, Lillian, who won the Final Immunity Challenge, axed him, taking Sandra with her to the end.

At the Final Tribal Council, Lillian was praised by the jury for controlling the vote since her return, but also earned their ire for her multiple betrayals. Sandra on the other hand was accused of riding the coattails of stronger players, but argued that since Rupert's elimination, she managed to pit people against each other and not be seen as a target. In the end, Sandra's candid but stealthy game won her the title of Sole Survivor in a 6-1 vote.

Episode Air date Challenges Eliminated
(Vote)
Finish Viewers
(in millions)[3]
Ratings/Share
(18-49)[3]
Reward Immunity
1 "Beg, Barter, Steal" September 18, 2003 None Drake Nicole
(7-1)
1st Voted Out
Day 3
21.50 8.4/23
2 "To Quit or Not to Quit" September 25, 2003 Drake Drake Ryan S.
(5-2)
2nd Voted Out
Day 6
19.86 7.5/21
3 "United We Stand, Divided We...?" October 2, 2003 Drake Drake Lillian
(5-1)
3rd Voted Out
Day 9
19.68 7.5/21
4 "Pick a Castaway... Any Castaway" October 9, 2003 Drake Morgan Burton
(5-2)
4th Voted Out
Day 12
19.40 7.4/20
[Rupert]1
5 "Everyone's Hero" October 16, 2003 Morgan Morgan Michelle
(6-1)
5th Voted Out
Day 15
19.35 7.4/20
Rupert2
6 "Me and My Snake" October 23, 2003 Drake Morgan Trish
(4-2)
6th Voted Out
Day 18
20.19 7.5/20
7 "What the...? (Part 1)" October 30, 2003 None The Outcasts Shawn
(4-1)
7th Voted Out
Day 19
20.70 7.7/21
Osten
(no vote)
Quit
Day 19
8 "What the...? (Part 2)" November 6, 2003 Burton,
Lillian
(3-3-2-2-1-1)3
Returned
Day 19
21.30 7.7/21
None Burton4 Andrew
(6-4)
8th Voted Out
Day 21
Lillian4
Burton
(Rupert)4
9 "Shocking! Simply Shocking!" November 13, 2003 Rupert
(Burton)
[Lillian]
Rupert Ryan O.
(8-1)
9th Voted Out
1st Jury Member
Day 24
21.10 8.3/22
10 "Swimming with Sharks" November 20, 2003 Burton,
Lillian
(Jon)
Burton Rupert
(5-2-1)
10th Voted Out
2nd Jury Member
Day 27
19.90 7.0/20
11 "The Great Lie" November 26, 2003 Jon Darrah Tijuana
(5-2)
11th Voted Out
3rd Jury Member
Day 30
20.06 7.2/22
12 "Would You Be My Brutus Today?" December 4, 2003 Darrah,
Jon,
Lillian
Darrah Christa
(4-2)
12th Voted Out
4th Jury Member
Day 33
22.00 8.0/23
13 "Mutiny" December 11, 2003 Burton
[Jon]
Darrah Burton
(3-2)
13th Voted Out
5th Jury Member
Day 36
22.41 8.3/22
14 "Flames and Endurance" December 14, 2003 None Jury5 Darrah
(3-1)
14th Voted Out
6th Jury Member
Day 37
25.23 9.7/22
Lillian Jon
(1-0)
15th Voted Out
7th Jury Member
Day 38
Jury Vote Lillian
(6-1)
Runner-Up
Sandra
(6-1)
Sole Survivor
15 "Reunion" 26.19 10.3/25
Notes:
^1 The Morgan tribe was instructed to pick a member of Drake who would go back to camp with them and not attend Tribal Council. They selected Rupert.
^2 As part of their win from the previous Immunity Challenge, Rupert competed for Morgan. After the challenge, Rupert was given the chance to stay in Morgan or move back to Drake in which he chose the latter, thus forfeiting his challenge win.
^3 Due to The Outcasts twist, this Tribal Council was held to vote people back into the game.
^4 Being the two returnees, Burton and Lillian received immunity on their next Tribal Council. Burton won the Immunity Challenge and could decide whether to give away his extra immunity; he transferred his immunity to Rupert.
^5 The jury took part in the Immunity Challenge and won, denying immunity to the remaining four survivors.

Voting History[]

Original Tribes Outcasts Twist Merged Tribe
Episode 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14
Voted Out S7 nicole t
Nicole
S7 ryans t
Ryan S.
S7 lillian t
Lillian
S7 burton t
Burton
S7 michelle t
Michelle
S7 trish t
Trish
S7 shawn t
Shawn
S7 osten t
Osten
Outcasts'
Vote
S7 andrew t
Andrew
S7 ryano t
Ryan O.
S7 rupert t
Rupert
S7 tijuana t
Tijuana
S7 christa t
Christa
S7 burton t
Burton
S7 darrah t
Darrah
S7 jon t
Jon
S7 lillian t
Lillian
S7 sandra t
Sandra
Vote 7-1 5-2 5-1 5-2 6-1 4-2 4-1 No vote2 3-3-2-2-1-13 6-4 8-1 5-2-1 5-2 4-2 3-2 3-1 1-04 6-1
Sandra Burton Michelle Trish Shawn Andrew Ryan O. Jon Tijuana Lillian Burton Darrah None Jury Vote
Lillian Nicole Osten Darrah Ryan S. Andrew Ryan O. Rupert Tijuana Christa Burton Darrah Jon
Trish
Jon Burton Michelle Rupert Shawn Andrew Ryan O. Rupert Tijuana Christa Lillian Darrah None Sandra
Darrah Nicole Ryan S. Lillian Jon Ryan O. Rupert Burton Christa Burton Lillian Sandra
Burton Christa Michelle Andrew Ryan O. Rupert Tijuana Christa Lillian Sandra
Nicole
Christa Burton Michelle Trish Shawn Andrew Ryan O. Darrah Tijuana Lillian Sandra
Tijuana Nicole Ryan S. Lillian Jon Ryan O. Rupert Burton Lillian
Rupert Kidnapped1 Michelle Trish Shawn Andrew Ryan O. Darrah Sandra
Ryan O. Nicole Ryan S. Lillian Jon Christa Sandra
Andrew Nicole Ryan S. Lillian Jon
Osten Nicole Ryan S. Lillian Quit
Shawn Burton Michelle Trish Jon
Trish Burton Michelle Rupert Burton Eliminated
Lillian
Michelle Christa Shawn Burton Eliminated
Nicole
Ryan S. Nicole Osten Burton Eliminated
Lillian
Nicole Ryan S. Lillian Eliminated
Ryan S.
Notes:
^1 Morgan was given the opportunity to kidnap one member of Drake, making them immune from Tribal Council. They selected Rupert.
^2 Osten elected to quit the game due to fatigue. No vote occurred for his removal.
^3 The Outcasts were given the opportunity to vote two of their members back into the game. They selected Burton and Lillian.
^4 Jon and Sandra did not vote as they could only vote for each other. By virtue of winning the Final Immunity Challenge, only Lillian voted.

Trivia[]

  • Pearl Islands is the first season to have the castaways start the game with the clothes on their back and not bring anything else, except for another pair of shoes.
  • Pearl Islands is the first season to have tribe names derived from the English language and from actual persons.
  • Pearl Islands is the first season to have two castaways with the same first name originally placed on the same tribe.
  • Pearl Islands is the first season to have multiple castaways born in the 1980s.
  • The Drake tribe won the first six challenges in a row, setting the record for most consecutive tribal challenges won. This record stood until the Moto tribe in Fiji topped this feat by winning the first nine challenges in a row.
  • Pearl Islands is the first season where contestants were given a second chance to play the game after being voted out, and the only time outside of seasons that featured Redemption Island or the Edge of Extinction.
  • Pearl Islands is the first season to have an episode end with a cliffhanger.
  • Pearl Islands is the first season in which votes were cast for (and not against) players in a vote other than the Final Tribal Council. It would be followed by Palau and Guatemala.
  • Pearl Islands is the only season where the winner of an individual Immunity Challenge does not wear a necklace. Instead, the winner wears a cutlass in a scabbard on their shoulder.
  • Pearl Islands marks the only time that nobody won individual immunity at an Immunity Challenge. The Day 37 Immunity Challenge involved the jury, who defeated the castaways - another Survivor first.
  • Pearl Islands is the first season where all castaways won at least one challenge.
  • Sandra Diaz-Twine is the first Hispanic-American player to win Survivor. She would be later followed by Chris Underwood in Edge of Extinction, Yam Yam Arocho in Survivor 44, and Dee Valladares in Survivor 45.
  • Pearl Islands ended the pattern of Sole Survivors of alternating genders that held in the first six seasons.
  • Pearl Islands season ties with The Australian Outback and Cook Islands for being represented in the most seasons with returning players, with 7.
    • Pearl Islands is also the only pre-All-Stars season to be represented in Micronesia. Jon Dalton returned for the latter season, where he placed 20th.
    • Pearl Islands and The Australian Outback are the only seasons to be represented in every all-returning player season.
  • Excluding seasons which featured their entire cast on the DVD cover, Pearl Islands is the only season where the winner is not situated in the center of the top row of the cover. Rupert Boneham was featured instead of Sandra in this position.

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 46Survivor 47
Advertisement