This Is Where the Battle Begins

This Is Where the Battle Begins
Episode Information
Version	United States
Season	Winners at War
Episode Number	8/14 (591)
Original Release	April 1, 2020
Viewership (in Millions)	8.23
Ratings/Share (18-49)	1.6/7
Episode Chronology
Previous	"We're in the Majors"
Next	"War Is Not Pretty"
Subpages

This Is Where the Battle Begins is the eighth episode of Survivor: Winners at War.

Story

Day 19

	Danni	“	This is the moment we've been waiting for, the battle to get back in the game. We get this little scroll that gives us the layout of how to spend Fire Tokens. I need to see myself winning that challenge and see myself back in the game.	”

	Natalie	“	I decided, with my four Fire Tokens, to go for one advantage in this challenge and then put the last three on an idol. Trying not to let my nerves get to me and just kill it.	”

	Rob	“	So, Amber let me have her Fire Token so I can have an advantage in the challenge and buy an idol. I think if I win the next challenge, I can win this game. I believe it.	”

	Ben	“	This merge is the most exciting moment in the game, because this is where the battle starts, and it's time to find out who is the champion of champions. It gives me chills just talking about it.	”

	Tyson	“	The Edge of Extinction was tough, and it made me think, "You know, maybe I'm not cut out for this game anymore. Maybe fatherhood has made me soft." And so winning it boosted my confidence a little bit that maybe I can still do the things out here that I've always known I could.	”

	Tony	“	So we come into the merge tribe, and I see the new menu, and prices have gone up. I can't buy anything. I'm looking at the menu-- three tokens, two tokens. I got one. I can't do nothing. I'm just like a little poor kid going into the bodega, and I don't have enough money to buy a little bubble gum. But, thankfully, the feast doesn't cost you anything, and I'm very grateful for that. I love it.	”

	Sarah	“	To be one of twelve sitting at that table, one of the twelve greats, it's unbelievable. But the lines are so blurred right now that it looks like a big bowl of spaghetti, and you don't know where one relationship starts and one ends. Everyone's a lion that's sitting at the table. It's just who has the biggest mane right now.	”

	Sophie	“	Denise's story felt a little bit like we were all in a bar and she was telling us old war stories. It just made her look really good. But I have to imagine everybody at the table thought, "Hmm, like, one person has a résumé out here. Good to know."	”

	Tyson	“	I am honestly the only O.G. left on this beach. It's all new-school players here. I played three times before most of these people even put their Survivor diapers on. Are the kids that are coming up now changing the game so much that I can't adapt? I don't think so. If I were these people, I would get rid of me Day 1 every single time I ever played Survivor, because if you let me get my roots into whatever cracks are there, I'm gonna build a home.	”

	Wendell	“	At this point in the game, you want to have the right team around you and have the right people protecting you. I have Michele and I have Nick, two people that I can really trust. But we need more numbers. I met Jeremy outside the game once or twice. I know he's a great guy, and I can work with him. So, at this point in the game, I really want to work on my relationships.	”

	Jeremy	“	I like Wendell. We have a mutual respect for each other, so I want him to come and work with me. Wendell has Nick as his right-hand man. I want to be that person. So I wouldn't mind to see Nick go. If I get rid of Nick, I could be his number one.	”

	Ben	“	Tyson's right. Big players, big names have been taken out left and right. I mean, you look at Tyson, Rob, Parvati, Sandra. There's four right there, and after that, it'll keep going.	”

	Ben	“	We're drawing lines. It's gonna be big threats versus little threats. So that's where we need to start putting the target.	”

	Tony	“	That's music to my ears, because this is exactly what I wanted. People like Wendell, Nick, Adam, and Michele-- they're good players, but they're lower profile. They're not in the spotlight. There's no target on these people. So now's the time for me to try to get rid of all of them.	”

Day 21

	Adam	“	Some of these people, you'd think they'd never played Survivor before. They're dying in this rain, but this is nothing. I went through a cyclone. We're having fun now!	”

	Kim	“	We truly are in survival mode. It's hard out here. I mean, you either laugh or cry. Like, it's almost comical how miserable we are. We're freaking freezing.	”

	Wendell	“	Denise took down the queen. That places a lot of eyes on Denise. And I want to vote people out that are playing a winner's game right now. Man, get them away from this island.	”

	Jeremy	“	When you have this necklace, you have power. So, my plan is to go after Nick. But I don't want to be the one that's looked at as the boss. Don't get me wrong, I want to drive this thing, but I don't want everybody else to know that I'm driving this thing.	”

	Tony	“	I want to keep the higher profile threats, us lions, in the game. And Nick is a player that is that hyena that I talked about. He just stays on the outskirts. He just waits for the lions to go at it, and that's when he comes in to see what he can get. He's like a scavenger.	”

	Ben	“	It's Nick, right? Socially, his game is actually pretty good. But lately, he's just butting in on everybody's conversations now, which is very weird. It's very concerning, because you never know when it's gonna happen. And it was like, "Dude." Nick is killing me, though. If the group decides Nick tonight, I'll write Nick's name down.	”

	Nick	“	Denise is immune tonight, but she's super close with Adam. So I said, "All right, let's vote out Adam. That's easy." Everybody that has worked with him says, "Don't trust Adam."	”

	Sophie	“	Between Nick and Wendell, who would be more likely to work with me in the future? And I see Wendell, and Wendell and Jeremy are constantly bro-ing out. My sense of what's happening is that a bunch of the (air quotes) "big guys," Jeremy, Tony, Tyson, and Ben, all got together and said, "Maybe Wendell, maybe Nick." But a lot of power in this tribe is coming from Jeremy, and I think Wendell is Jeremy's man.	”

	Jeremy	“	Wendell's on the chopping block. It's horrible. I don't want that. I want to work with him. Wendell and Nick are voting for Adam. So, as long as Wendell's safe, I would love to see Adam go. Let's just vote for Adam.	”

	Denise	“	You know, Adam's been one of my closest alliance members. But at the same time, you just have to kind of go with the flow or go with the tide. So, Adam and I created a Day 1 alliance, but that may not be a Day 39 alliance.	”

	Adam	“	Of course I'm nervous. Nick and Wendell think it's me. The people who I think do have my back are telling me, "Stay calm. Stay cool." Easy to say when it's not your name on the line. What I'm hearing is either Nick or Wendell but nobody being able to make up their mind. What is the plan?! I don't know. I don't know. And then I go to Ben, and he says, (grunting mockingly) "I don't know what it is." Like, dude! I'm trying to stay alive here. Like, why are you upset? Crazy man. Tonight is about survival... (pauses) and I'm scared. I don't want to go home. (laughs) And I don't want to go to the Edge. I need to be here tomorrow. Rain or shine, I don't care. I need to stay in the game.	”

	Wendell	“	I'm captive right now, but I'm plotting a way to escape this wretched prison that they call the Edge of Extinction. Once I get out of here, I'm gonna do what I need to do. The war is not over.	”

Challenges

• Re-entry
• Immunity

Challenge: Back in the Saddle
Castaways must climb on top of a net to retrieve a bag of sticks, then untie a series of knots. They must then dig for a bag of string, then make their way to a locked gate. Using the sticks and string, each castaway must retrieve a set of keys to unlock their gate. Once through the gate, they must maneuver a ball on a vertical snake maze, while standing on a balance beam, to the top of the maze. The first person to get their ball to the top of the maze would return to the game.
Additional Stipulation: Danni Boatwright, Ethan Zohn, Natalie Anderson, Rob Mariano, and Tyson Apostol each purchased an advantage for 1 Fire Token, and did not have to dig for their bag of string.
Winner: Tyson Apostol

Challenge: Get a Grip
The castaways must hang onto a pole for as long as they can. The last man and the last woman left holding on without touching the ground wins.
Additional Stipulation: The winners of the challenge would earn 1 Fire Token each.
Winner: Denise Stapley and Jeremy Collins

Edge of Extinction

Edge of Extinction Inhabitants
Amber, Danni, Ethan, Natalie, Parvati, Rob, Tyson, Yul
Returns to Game: Tyson Apostol
Quit: None

Tribal Council

Tribal Council 10: Koru
Voted Against	Voter
Wendell (9 votes)	Adam, Ben, Denise, Jeremy, Kim, Sarah, Sophie, Tony, Tyson
Adam (3 votes)	Michele, Nick, Wendell
VOTED OUT: Wendell Holland (sent to Edge of Extinction)

Voting Confessionals

	Nick	“	(voting against Adam) Your reputation in the game has preceded you, made you a target. I'm just gonna roll with it.	”

	Adam	“	(voting against Wendell) It's either you or me tonight. I know that, but do you?	”

Still in the Running

Natalie On Edge	Amber On Edge	Danni On Edge	Ethan On Edge	Rob On Edge	Sandra Quit	Parvati On Edge	Yul On Edge	Wendell On Edge	Adam Koru
Ben Koru	Denise Koru	Jeremy Koru	Kim Koru	Michele Koru	Nick Koru	Sarah Koru	Sophie Koru	Tony Koru	Tyson Koru

Trivia

Secret Scenes

• "I Love the merge" (Day 19)
• "Time for the Winds to Change" (Day 19)
• "Return to Extinction" (Day 19)

Other

• On Day 19, Tyson Apostol became the tenth returning player to reach his 100th day on Survivor, following Amanda Kimmel, Parvati Shallow, Rupert Boneham, Rob Mariano, Ozzy Lusth, Cirie Fields, Andrea Boehlke, Aubry Bracco, and Sandra Diaz-Twine.
• No footage from Day 20 was shown in the episode.
• The episode's title is an altered version of the line "this is where the battle starts" said by Ben Driebergen when the merge was announced.