This Is the Man Test

This Is the Man Test
Episode Information
Version	United States
Season	Samoa
Episode Number	6/16 (280)
Original Release	October 22, 2009
Viewership (in Millions)	12.90
Ratings/Share (18-49)	4.0/12
Episode Chronology
Previous	"Walking on Thin Ice"
Next	"Houdini Magic"
Subpages

This Is the Man Test is the sixth episode of Survivor: Samoa.

Story

Day 15

The rain continued for the fifth straight day, but ended soon thereafter, leaving both tribes extremely thankful.

At the Reward Challenge, host Jeff Probst announced that both tribes would be going to Tribal Council that night to vote somebody out of the game. Foa Foa selected Liz Kim to be the guide with Jaison Robinson and Russell Hantz as cage-rollers, while Galu selected Laura Morett to be the guide with Erik Cardona and Russell Swan as cage-rollers. Towards the end of the cage-rolling stage, with Foa Foa in the lead, Russell S. became disoriented and struggled to make it to the puzzle table. When he collapsed at his station onto the puzzle table, Jeff called for a halt so that the Survivor Medical Team could tend to Russell S. After examination, they announced that he had dangerously low blood pressure which was even worse than Mike Borassi's was when he was medically evacuated 10 days prior. Jeff officially called off the challenge and stated that although neither tribe would win the reward, both would still go to Tribal Council and vote somebody out.

Moments later, as the medical team tried to sit him up, Russell S. blacked out again with his eyes open. The medical team tried to ask him if he remembered what had just happened and announced to Jeff that Russell S.' heart rate went from 97 (when they had set him up) to 68. The medical team eventually decided it was time for him to be pulled from the game. Russell S. protested at first; saying his family depended on this and that he was just a little dehydrated, but Jeff said that with what he just saw happen to Russell S. with a plummeting heart rate, how Russell S. wasn't feeling better, blacking out two times in front of him, and not recovering fast enough that there would be no way he would stay in the game and that if he didn't get any help, he would get worse. Feeling his frustration, Jeff reminded Russell that he was in great shape and led a tribe that dominated, that up until this day there was no sign he was going home anytime soon, and that he pushed himself until the end. Jeff told Russell S. that being evacuated and quitting are not the same. Making his decision final, Jeff ended his conversation with Russell S. and left, sending a disappointed Russell S. to tears.

Back at Foa Foa, the vote was between Natalie White and Liz, while at Galu, the women targeted Shambo Waters for being an outsider, while the men targeted Monica Padilla for being a liability in challenges. At the Joint Tribal Council, when the two tribes arrived at the site, Jeff explained Russell S.' condition, how he was removed from the game, and what had happened to Russell S. after the two tribes had been sent back to their respective camps. Jeff made a final announcement that due to the unprecedented circumstances of the incomplete challenge; including how big of an impact that Russell S. had on the tribe, there would be no vote, and nobody would be going home. Before departing, Jeff told Galu that they would need to select a new Tribe Leader.

	Russell S.	“	Being taken out of the game for medical reasons is the worst thing I've ever felt in my life. I played every minute to win this game. And to have my body fail me is utterly demoralizing. But even though it pains me to not be in it, to do it and fail is better than to never try.	”

Challenges

Reward Challenge: Roll With It
One castaway would be strapped into a wooden spherical cage and would have to guide two blindfolded castaways in rolling the cage through a maze through the forest. At the end of the maze would be a labyrinth-like table maze. The castaway inside the cage would then have to guide four blindfolded castaways in solving the table maze. The first tribe to finish the table maze would win.
Reward: Pizza while watching in on the other tribe's Tribal Council.
Winner: None (challenge is called off)

Tribal Council

Tribal Council 6: Galu & Foa Foa
No vote
EVACUATED: Russell Swan

Final Words

	Russell S.	“	I'm really ashamed that, um, I'm not in the game any more and I'm angry because I'm a fighter. But at the same time, I have to be realistic because I have to get well because I have an even bigger job to do - one that I love, one that I cherish everyday, and that's being a husband to my wife and father to my child.	”

Still in the Running

Marisa 20th	Mike 19th	Betsy 18th	Ben 17th	Yasmin 16th	Ashley 15th	Russell S. 14th	Brett Galu	Dave Galu	Erik Galu
Jaison Foa Foa	John Galu	Kelly Galu	Laura Galu	Liz Foa Foa	Mick Foa Foa	Monica Galu	Natalie Foa Foa	Russell H. Foa Foa	Shambo Galu

Trivia

• The planned Double Tribal Council where the winning tribe would vote a member out before sitting in on the other tribe's Tribal Council was called off due to Russell S.'s evacuation. The tribes instead attended the first Joint Tribal Council. It would be followed by "Thanks for the Souvenir", "The Tables Have Turned", and "It's Like the Worst Cocktail Party Ever".
• This episode marked the first time that a challenge had been cancelled after it had started, and no winner was declared after the challenge.
• This is the first time there were two medical evacuations before the merge. This would later be repeated in One World.
• Had no evacuation taken place, this would have been the first time a Tribal Council occurred despite no Immunity Challenge taking place and no one being immune or abstained.
  • However, this would not have been the first Double Tribal Council where no one was immune or abstained; in the Survivor: Pearl Islands episode, "What the...? (Part 1)", the tribal Immunity Challenge was won by The Outcasts and the other two tribes, Drake and Morgan, attended Tribal Council with no individual immunity awarded.