Day 19. Survivor has reached a turning point. Very soon, the ten remaining members of Tagi and Pagong will form one new tribe. They will live together but they will now compete against each other individually. There are many questions to be answered: Where will they live? What will this new tribe call themselves? What kind of world will they now create? To begin the process, an ambassador from each tribe-- Jenna from Pagong and Sean from Tagi-- will assess the livability of each others' camp. They will then paddle out to the sand spit for a summit where they will negotiate and decide on which of the two beaches this new tribe of ten will live. Their decision will be final. Sean is being guided to Pagong Beach by Greg, and Jenna is being guided to Tagi by Kelly. This is the first time either ambassador has seen the opposing tribe's camp.
Sean and Jenna were sent to the opposing tribe's camp to assess its livability, for this will help the two decide on which of the two camps the ten remaining survivors will reside. The Tagi members insisted to Jenna that they should merge at the Tagi camp since their camp was well organized, having well-stocked supplies and fish thrives there more. Jenna then revealed that her tribe has been gossiping about Tagi having a voting alliance.
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Our camp's way better than theirs just from talking to them. They don't have a living room with benches, never mind a decent kitchen. I think our house is better from what they've described. We have fish.
As far as somebody coming here from Pagong today, it's going to be fun. We like having company over at camp, even though we don't have a whole lot to offer for lunch. I'm hoping... I think the kicker of it all will be if Rich gets fish and we have fish for lunch. I think they'll be here.
I'm excited about it being a big group, because right now there's not a lot of personalities going on and it's quiet and we've seen every inch of this little place here, and I'm excited to meet new people, and even if it's some good, some bad, or whatever, at least, it's something. It's a mix and so it'll be more interesting than it is right now.
Yeah, when we merge tonight, I think it'll be interesting. I think, uh, it'll set up a whole 'nother set of interpersonal dynamics that'll be fun for me to watch.
Rich, Sue, Kelly and Rudy then weighed their voting options, if they would eliminate the Pagongs or get rid of Sean (the only Tagi that wasn't part of Rich's alliance).
“
The alliance that we have going on is Rich, Rudy, Kelly and me. We'll vote four people strong, and if we can make it through the first two votes, getting somebody off of their team off... (chuckles) we should be able to slide into home plate.
Sean's ethically against any kind of alliance and I hear Gretchen is similar on the other side and, um... I don't get it. You know, I-I consider myself extraordinarily ethical and moral and, uh, this has absolutely nothing to do with this. Uh, it sounds like sheer stupidity to me when somebody says "Oh, no, I'm not going to build an alliance, and I hope they wouldn't do that either." Uh, you know, I giggle and think, "okay."(laughing)
After visiting the camps, Jenna and Sean then paddled to the Sand Spit for a "summit" to compare both camps to decide on which of the two camps will the new tribe live.
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Sean's cool. Sean's a nice guy. He had a lot of stories to tell, and... I mean, he... he was just, like, a genuine, honest guy-- you know, what he said, you just believed what he said. You can just tell he wants to have some fun. He hasn't had fun yet, so, uh... we'll bring lots of fun his way. We'll keep him entertained.
Upon arrival at the Sand Spit, the "ambassadors" were welcomed by Jeff Probst where he revealed that they will have an overnight feast while choosing their new tribe name, with two beds also waiting for them. They were also given a new tribe flag, ten new green buffs and some paint to decorate their new flag. Jeff also reminded that the tribe that will transfer camps must only take three items from their own camp before migrating.
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I immediately saw the table set up with... it was like a romantic dinner. It was like this table all set up with everything, two beds off to the right single, like, really nice sheets and pillows and blankets, and, uh... like, a stump, we had a bedside table, we had lanterns everywhere, tiki torches, and the first thing I thought was... "Oh, man, they're so setting this up for it to be romantic with Sean" and there's just... there's not a spark there.
But I often give a bad first impression sometimes. They wanted it to be more romantic than it was ever going to be, but, uh... from either end of us, but we really had an exceptional time, and we tied one on, you know, uh, finished the bottles of wine, and we ate like kings and queens, and, uh, it was fantastic.
While enjoying the night at the Sand Spit, Jenna asked Sean to light up a large bonfire to greet her tribemates back at camp.
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Uh, we saw Pagong's fire was still lit so I was like, "Oh, I want to call home. They're probably worried." And, uh, so we threw a bunch of kerosene on our fire to make it whoosh, and they said they saw that, so I hoped that they would figure that I was still there, that I was okay.
At Pagong, Gervase and Gretchen became frustrated on why they were not given further information about the merge yet and Jenna was still missing.
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We're just waiting 'cause no one's given us any information. So, I mean, last night we were wondering where she was. And then somebody said "Well, she can't come back until the negotiations are over." But there's really nothing to negotiate. We could have made a shelter in that time. We could have made-- whatever they're negotiating for, we could have moved our whole camp-- been done in that time. So I don't, I don't know what the whole process is about.
I'd be wasting my time and energy to, uh, guess what's happening. So I don't even bother. What's going on? It's a beautiful day. The sun's nice. You can see Mount Kinabalu and, uh, we're going to go fishing.
At Tagi, everyone became anxious and worried of what was to come.
“
They talked about some kind of a negotiation, and I would imagine if the two parties had opposing views as to what camp they should move to that the negotiation might go on-- or might be interesting. But since both parties, as far as we know, want to move to this camp, I can't imagine what's going on on the sand spit.
We're not sure yet, because Sean has been gone almost 24 hours now since we sent him off on the messenger thing. So the anticipation of waiting for Sean is just actually starting to drive us wild.
Back at Pagong, Jenna and Sean arrived at camp, where they told the tribe that they have only five minutes to gather their belongings and luxury items and bring three of their supplies before moving to Tagi beach. They decided to bring their mosquito net, the cooking pot and their blanket.
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And we told Pagong the unfortunate news that they had five minutes to pack their things-- get their luxury item and choose three items. Which we decided were the wool blanket that they have, the mosquito netting, so we could sleep under the mosquito netting, and the, um, cooking pot.
Jenna came up with the name. It had to be something that was indigenous to the island and, you know, we have a lot of rattan wood here. And we just added an "a" to make it sound more exotic. That was my idea. You know, give it a little flair, a little pizzazz.
Greg became annoyed when the two ambassadors talked too much information about their stay at the Sand Spit.
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You know, they come back having had a great night and "Oh, my God, I can't wait to tell you guys how much we've eaten." And that's wonderful. That's how ambassadors should be treated. But, you know, of course, when you're on an island surviving on white rice and the occasional fish... Hey, tell me a little bit more about it. I'd love to hear about butter sauce. Like... thanks!
I mean, it just makes more sense to go to their side. I mean, I think that's what everybody wanted to do anyway. Everybody wanted to get out of this section just for a new change of scenery. We've been here for 20 days. We've seen it. We know it. So it was just like, you know, let's try something new.
Sean was even saying there's enough room for us in the hutch because enough people sleep outside, so... It's going to go quick. God, I hope it goes quick from here on out, you know. Really.
When I first got here, I... you know, I think maybe I would have been more comfortable on the other team, because I, you know, from what I understand, they like pulled their camp together, they got their stuff hanging up, which is, like, something that's been bothering me since the day we got here, and... but I think it was good for me to be with this tribe because, um, you don't have to work all the time and you don't have to be busting butt. It's nice... you know, we're healthy and we're happy and we spend a lot of time having fun. So I think it taught me something, too. You can be very comfortable and I don't feel like I need to bust butt all the time, and I've had a good time while I'm here. So I'll be glad to go with the other tribe and I was glad to be with this tribe.
After packing, the remaining members of Pagong and Sean paddled to Tagi's beach.
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It's like starting over. We've left behind a lot of things-- a lot of material possessions. Metaphysically, we've also left behind a lot of emotional issues. Um... there was a lot of baggage that we left on that... on that Pagong Beach.
I did feel sadness when we left Pagong. Looking back, that was where we rode to the first day when we were shipwrecked. It was where I'd formed a bond with eight... seven other people, so... it was sad. But it was a new beginning for me-- a whole 'nother tribe.
So, what they were really doing was coming to the beach and, uh, were moving in with what things they could have gotten together in the five minutes that they had to get together, I guess. I was glad to see that.
Rudy became annoyed about the merger, saying that the increased tribe population was "a pain in the ass".
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I think Rudy's very set in his ways, so having, you know, five new people move in, it scared him a lot, so he was just sitting back and he was assessing the situation, I think.
Despite this, the rest of the tribe got along quite well.
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It's almost too good. Like, everybody's too... "Oh, you go first." "No, you go first," oh, you know, everybody's being real, real super polite, you know, which is cool.
Sean is very intelligent. Sometimes he says interesting things. Sometimes you tune out for a while, and then he hits on something so you tune back in, you know. I mean, he's always going.
Rich is clever and, uh... I mean we'll start being honest now. I think Rich thinks he's very clever. He is, uh, relatively sharp, and, uh... he has a lot of things going on in his mind that he, uh... selectively decides, uh, what he will share and with whom. Rich is playing a big game, which is very fun, so he's awfully entertaining.
The women then refitted the old Tagi shelter while noticing the males' lack of work ethic.
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That... it was suggested... that we should, you know, "beef up" the supports and everything. Okay, which, you know, I don't know I don't know anything about shingles and roofing, and I just know how to tie knots, that's pretty much all I know how to do.
Yeah, it's the same as it is back home, ladies, here in the jungle. The women are doing all the work and the guys are just hanging out and b.s.'ing, yeah.
It's how men and women relate, you know. The women-- we work together and we... it's a little... women are always a little bit competitive in everything we do, you know, so it's like when you're working together you're seeing what the other person can do, and you're proving each other at the same time. Men can sit down and talk for hours and walk away friends.
Gervase taught Richard how to play cards, in which Richard surprisingly won.
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Gervase was great. I beat the hell out of him in a number of games that I've never played before, and he's, uh, he's good at cards. I think he could have been letting me win. Uh, who knows? He could be playing the odds, too.
It's natural to me. What I do, I don't think I'm doing anything special. I'm just being myself. But other people always say, like, "You're a charmer." "You're a smooth talker."
Greg, on the other hand, tried to fish, but to no avail, much to Richard's delight.
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Greg's an interesting character. He's young, too. He's 24, and he was pretty cocky. He was thinking he could go out and get something, came back in with a sea urchin. (derisive chuckling) But that was good, that shows people that he who thought he was a spearfishing person could go out there, no problem, comes from the other tribe and came back in, telling everybody just how difficult it is-- that ups my value even more.
Gretchen said she drank a fifth of whiskey in two minutes when she was and I would have never guessed that about her, you know? Sounds like we kind of have a similar past. (laughs)
Following last night's heavy rain, the rebuilt shelter was destroyed, much to Gretchen's chagrin.
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It rained again last night and we had to rebuild the roof of their shelter yesterday and I think half of it is leak-proof and half of it doesn't have a roof, and so a lot of us got very wet. And it's frustrating because we had just moved from a shelter that we had worked out all the bugs in and kept us 90% dry.
Rudy on the other hand became grumpy when he discovered that most of the women were snuggling at him while sleeping last night, while Gretchen, Jenna, and Colleen rebutted that it was Rudy who had awkward sleeping habits (i.e. kicking their heads).
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I was in there last night and, uh, when the rain came all them women eased down our way and I had about five women in my lap all of a sudden.
I don't know. Rudy kicked me in the head, like, three times last night and I said, "Rudy, that's my head," and he said, "This is my space, so..." (laughs)
Before the Immunity Challenge, Jeff congratulated them for making it to the merge. He revealed that future challenges will be on an individual basis, with the Immunity Idol being replaced by the Immunity Necklace. After the first round of the challenge, Sean, Greg, and Gervase advanced to the second and final round, where Greg became victorious by a matter of seconds, thus keeping him safe from the vote.
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But even though we aren't any longer two different teams, I still have a team. It's going to be interesting because we're not solid. We're solid with one another, but we're not solidly unbeatable yet just by circumstance, because there are only four of us and there are ten people still left on the island.
When you get in that Tribal Council and you walk up and you see that little piece of paper and the thing that you put the vote in-- it's all different. You know, you might... you might have a thought and say, "Hey, I really don't want to vote this person off." It's easier said than done. An alliance is easier said than done.
If people are fear- and self-preservation-motivated they'll band together, they'll form alliances, they'll start beating people out to try and get rid of the strong ones and get rid of this and get rid of that, and, uh, you know, if that happens I hope they vote me off really soon because, uh, that to me is-- whoa, cool flying fish-- that to me is really boring.
Coming into this merger, I consider it a brand-new tribe. I want a vote based on people's merits. I don't want a vote based on "Let's get rid of each of them first and then come back to our tribe." I... I want a vote based on, uh, who I really think should go, whether it be a member of our tribe or a member of theirs.
At Tribal Council, the former Pagongs and Sean foolishly split their votes, while the Tagi alliance of Sue, Rich, Kelly, and Rudy cast all of their votes for Gretchen, who was deemed the leader of the former Pagong tribe. Gretchen was surprised as she was voted out in an erratic 4-1-1-1-1-1-1 vote.
Challenges
Immunity Challenge:Snake Island Relay All ten castaways submerged themselves underwater to see how long they could hold their breath. The top three castaways then had another competition of releasing buoys along a ladder submerged underwater. The first castaway to release all of their ten buoys would win immunity. Winner:Greg Buis
Tribal Council
Tribal Council 7: Rattana
Voted Against
Voter
Gretchen (4 votes)
Kelly, Richard, Rudy, Susan
Colleen (1 vote)
Sean
Gervase (1 vote)
Jenna
Jenna (1 vote)
Greg
Richard (1 vote)
Colleen
Rudy (1 vote)
Gretchen
Susan (1 vote)
Gervase
VOTED OUT: Gretchen Cordy
Voting Confessionals
Gervase's confessional is currently unavailable. Also, Kelly, Rudy, and Richard's confessionals are only available on DVD.
(voting for Colleen) I am not really employing any strategy. I'm voting for Colleen today. I love her, she's cute, adorable and nice to look at and fun to have around, but she's the first in a long list of alphabetical order and she won't get another vote from me unless she pisses me off or something. But it's her turn today, being the first... alphabetical order.
I would hope that it was because they felt that I was a threat, unless, you know, people had a conflict with me and didn't ever voice it-- which I do think is kind of an injustice. And I would hope that if somebody had a problem with me they would say it. So, you know, I can hope that, but I won't know until I watch the show. I can hope that it was because they thought I was a threat. That would make me feel good.
Greg Buis is the first contestant to win individual immunity.
This is the first time the eliminated contestant received less than half of the votes cast.
During the reading of the votes, all four votes for Gretchen Cordy were revealed, even after she was mathematically eliminated when the third had been revealed.
When Gervase's vote against Susan Hawk was revealed, Greg's name was scratched out on the ballot.
This episode's Tribal Council holds the record for the most contestants receiving votes, with 7.
Aside from Greg, who had immunity, Sean and Kelly were the only contestants to not receive a vote against them at Tribal Council.
