Survivor: Thailand

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Episode 1: Free Rein

Sixteen castaways arrived on a beach in Thailand and were told that the two oldest members of the group would be the tribe pickers. Jan and Jake had the distinction. Jan picked for Chuay Gahn; Jake picked for Sook Jai. Chuay Gahn had lots of success at camp with Ken, Helen and Ted leading the way in building the shelter. At Sook Jai, Jake attempted to make an alliance with Fast Brian, which the latter wanted no part of. Meanwhile, Penny, Tanya and Stephanie agreed to form an alliance to pick off the men. The tribe had success at camp, building a good shelter under the leadership of Jake. Despite having more men, Sook Jai lost thanks to Jake's poor performance on the puzzle. Back at camp, everyone was unsure whether to vote for Jake because of his bad puzzling or Clay because of laziness and overall weakness. Fast Brian, annoyed by Jake's begging for an alliance, was the only one to side with Clay. Clay was voted out 6-2.
 * Immunity Challenge: The tribes must race around a small island by paddling a boat. As they go around the island, they must solve puzzles along the way. One castaway will be stationed at each puzzle. First tribe to assemble their puzzles and retrieve their tribe's flag wins immunity.

Episode 2: Master of the Mind

Coming back from tribal, no one knew or cared that Fast Brian had voted for Jake. Worried by the two votes, Jake continued to pester people for an alliance. He found an ally in John. The next day, Fast Brian found two bird eggs in a fallen nest and cooked them. However, Penny found out that they still had birds inside them, making people stop eating the eggs and making them angry with Fast Brian. On Chuay Gahn, no one was playing the game, annoying Zbacnik. He made secret alliances with just about everyone. Chuay Gahn won the reward challenge, receiving the fishing gear and lantern. Zbacnik was able to grab the clue to the idol while no one was looking. Sook Jai got their first win at the immunity challenge. Everyone approached Zbacnik so they could know who to vote out. Despite a good performance in challenges, Zbacnik told everyone to vote for Shii Ann because he believed that she was on to his alliances with everyone. At tribal council, Zbacnik's secret allies banded together without knowing it, and Shii Ann was voted out unanimously.
 * Reward Challenge: The tribes must choose one castaway to act as a guide, while the others will be blindfolded. The blindfolded tribe member must carry their guide in a palanquin, while the guide helps them navigate through a course in order to retrieve tribe-colored bags. First tribe to complete the course and collect all of their bags wins reward.
 * Reward: A lantern, a fishing line, and hooks.
 * Immunity Challenge: Each tribe will be given a large, floating lotus flower puzzle that's missing six pieces. The six missing pieces will be tethered to the puzzle, each floating at an equal distance from it. First tribe to untether all of their puzzle pieces and assemble their puzzle wins immunity.

Episode 3: Failed Revolution

Zbacnik was still in complete control as the tribe returned from tribal council. The tribe was surviving well; Ken put the fishing gear to good use by catching six fish. Meanwhile, Zbacnik found the hidden immunity idol. At Sook Jai, Fast Brian kept a low profile so he did not anger anyone again. Meanwhile, the girls debated whether to vote off Fast Brian, Jake or John. Sook Jai won reward. Even though they already had a good shelter, the guys made it even nicer and built a kitchen area. Sook Jai continued their streak by winning the immunity challenge. At Chuay Gahn, Jan's lack of work ethic angered Zbacnik. He told his allies to vote for Jan. Helen wanted Jan around and told Jan of her alliance with Zbacnik and the imminent blindside. It was too late to stir up trouble as Jan was voted out 5-2.
 * Reward Challenge: The tribes must race across a bamboo course over the water. In the middle of the course was a "contact zone" where the castaways were able to knock other castaways off the course. At the end of the course were two tribe-colored boats filled with baskets. The tribe members must steal baskets from the opposing tribe's boat. First tribe to steal ten baskets wins reward.
 * Reward: Two Thai Red Beret Special Forces soldiers who will visit the winning tribe's camp for a day to help improve living conditions.
 * Immunity Challenge: The tribes were given three stations and one temple made up of six large puzzle pieces. The tribes must transfer the six pieces from their first station to their third. Once the tribes have all their pieces at the third station, they must reassemble the temple so it is identical to the original. First tribe to assemble their temple wins immunity.

Episode 4: If I Can't Feed the Chickens, then No One Can

Zbacnik knew that it was Helen who had voted with Jan against him, but he said nothing. Helen was worried about her position in the tribe. Meanwhile, Zbacnik decided to make a final two alliance with Erin, while Ken and Ted made a pact of their own. At Sook Jai, Fast Brian, Jake and John continued to annoy the tribe with their antics: chopping wood in the middle of the night, talking to people after they had fallen asleep and twisting an ankle while climbing a tree, respectively. The girls added Jed to the voting block, but not to their alliance. Chuay Gahn got a much needed win at the reward challenge. Helen was declared the keeper of the chickens, and the tribe fried and ate most of the bananas that night. Sook Jai won another immunity, sending Chuay Gahn to tribal council. Helen scrambled to gain support against Zbacnik, but the rest of the tribe was blind to his cunning and valued their secret alliances with him too much. At tribal council, Helen was voted out 5-1.
 * Reward Challenge: Before the challenge, the tribes received a 10-foot-tall (3.0 m), 250-pound (110 kg) dummy to be decorated. For the challenge, the tribes had to race around an island while carrying their dummy. First tribe to make it around the island and cross the finish line wins reward.
 * Reward: Bananas and a mystery food prize, which turned out to be four chickens.
 * Immunity Challenge: The tribe members must work in pairs to solve two puzzles, with the goal being to match a picture in front of them. First tribe to correctly assemble their puzzles wins immunity.

Episode 5: Gone!

Zbacnik felt great coming back from tribal council, as everyone had complete trust in the secret alliances. He stated that although he never minded voting people off, he didn't want to lose another immunity, lest they be outnumbered at the merge. At Sook Jai, John did not do much around camp because of his ankle. Fast Brian considered acepting Jake's offer to align, but did not act on his thoughts. At the auction, Chuay Gahn got a tub of chocolate ice cream, some carrots and coffee. Sook Jai got a massive bowl of hard candy, thanks to bad decision making by the tribe's men, save Jed. Chuay Gahn won their first immunity in a while, sending Sook Jai to tribal council. John tried to gain support against Fast Brian, but his ankle was too big a liability. John was voted out 6-1.
 * Survivor Auction: Both tribes were given $1,000.00 (USD) to spend as a team on the items presented in the auction.
 * Immunity Challenge: The tribes were each presented with an entire pile of mixed fish. The tribes had to sort the fish into their respective bowls. The fish were Barramundi, Travelly, Squid, and Silver Fish. The first tribe to correctly sort their fish the quickest wins.

Episode 6

Fast Brian and Jake knew that they were in danger, so out of necessity, the formed an alliance. Meanwhile, Stephanie and Tanya considered making Jed the third in the alliance instead of Penny. Sook Jai was experiencing problems, with the majority alliance being lazy and Jake and Fast Brian having bad luck providing. Meanwhile at Sook Jai, Ken and Ted were doing a good job at keeping their tribe strong. Zbacnik flirted with Erin and later stated that he wouldn't mind having a romantic relationship with her. Sook Jai won reward, and the whole tribe got to see the clue. Jake later found the idol by accident while looking for firewood. Sook Jai won immunity, sending Chuay Gahn to another tribal council. Zbacnik wanted the weak and less trustworthy Ghandia out. His allies came through for him, and Ghandia was blindsided 4-1.
 * Reward Challenge: The tribes must start by selecting one member to be a ball launcher. The remaining tribe members, who will be situated at four different stations, must use wicker baskets in order to catch balls thrown from their tribe's launcher. At the same time, they must try to prevent the other tribe from catching their balls. First tribe to catch five of their balls wins reward.
 * Reward: A Thai feast consisting of shrimp, pineapple, vegetables and wine.
 * Immunity Challenge: There will be 21 flags placed in a circle. Taking turns, the tribes must gather one to three flags at a time. The tribe that takes the final flag wins immunity.

Episode 7: A Brand New Policy

Coming back from tribal, Zbacnik was happy that the merge was imminent, as if his tribe lost again, he would have to vote out either his romantic interest or one of the two guys who were providing for the tribe. After more flirting, Erin agreed to be Zbacnik's girlfriend. This new romance worried Ken and Ted. At Sook Jai, Jake decided not to tell Brian about his idol. Rather, he told Jed in an effort to sway Jed to the men's side. This worked against Jake, and Jed alerted the women. When the tribes gathered at challenge beach, they were surprised to learn that there would be no merge. Sook Jai won immunity, sending Chuay Gahn to another tribal council. Zbacnik, fairly sure that the men would target Erin, gave her the idol to play. She did, and Zbacnik and Erin chose to send Ted home 2-0.
 * Immunity Challenge: The tribe members will be shackled in a prison. Using resources in the cell, the tribe members must gather keys hanging on the outside of the prison. First tribe to gather their keys and escape wins immunity

Episode 8: Food, Water and Air

Desperate, Zbacnik searched for the idol the whole time in between challenges. He did succeed. Meanwhile, Ken knew that winning immunity was vital to his survival. At Sook Jai, Fast Brian was amazed that his tribe had won as much as it did. He and Jake continued to have trouble with providing. Chuay Gahn won immunity, sending Sook Jai to tribal council. Jake thought that the guys were voting for Penny for being weak, while the girls were voting for Brian. Jed informed Fast Brian of the vote against Jake. However, Fast Brian remained loyal to Jake and told him to play his idol. Brian feigned loyalty to the majority by voting for Jake. However, Jake played his idol, negating everyone's vote. In order to get revenge on Jed for being dishonest, Jake sent him to the jury 1-0.
 * Immunity Challenge: The castaways will be timed while underwater, using bamboo snorkels to breathe. When a castaway comes up for air, their time is stopped. The tribe with the longest cumulative running time underwater wins immunity.

Episode 9: The Merge

Coming back from tribal, Jake told Fast Brian that he understood the rationale behind the latter's vote and that it was totally fine. Meanwhile, the girls agreed that Jake had to go next. However, they would not get a chance, as the merge happened the next day. Their tribe was called Chuay Jai and they lived on Sook Jai's old beach. Zbacnik, seeing a clear divide in the old Sook Jai, tried to convince Jake and Fast Brian to flip. Jake and Penny won the reward and got to see their loved ones on video. Jake also won immunity. Seeing no reason to flip with immunity, Jake and Fast Brian decided to stick with the old Sook Jai. Ken was voted out across tribal lines and became the second member of the jury.
 * Reward Challenge: The first round would be done in pairs. The pairs must navigate through an obstacle course performing various tasks along the way. The two pairs to complete the obstacle course first move on to the next round. The four finalists must compete against each other to assemble a pyramid puzzle. First castaway to correctly assemble their puzzle wins reward.
 * Reward: A video of the winner's loved ones from home.
 * Immunity Challenge: The castaways must match Thai numbers with the numbers in English. The first two to match the numbers move on to the final round, where they will be pitted against each other in a test of memory and skill. The castaway that outwits the other wins.

Episode 10: To Be or Not to Be?

Zbacnik was happy that he had been given a reprieve, but he knew that it was only a matter of time before he was voted out. Knowing that he would be gone soon, he took Erin into the woods for romantic time, aggravating the other women. The former Sook Jai women agreed that Jake and Fast Brian were extremely annoying, but they also agreed that they didn't have the numbers to vote one of them off, as if one was voted out the other would flip, making it three on three. Erin won the reward and had a great time on the reward. She chose to bring Zbacnik along. At the immunity challenge, Jake defeated Zbacnik in a very close match. Back at camp, the former Sook Jai agreed to split their votes between Zbacnik and Erin. Zbacnik, fully aware of this, had to decide whether to use the idol for himself or save his girlfriend. In the end, Zbacnik decided to further himself, and Fast Brian and Erin tied 2-2. At the revote, Erin was eliminated 4-1 and became the third jury member. The unchivalrous move by Zbacnik locked up his place as a villain.
 * Reward Challenge: The castaways must race through a four-stage obstacle course. First, the castaways will pair up to navigate between towers using two wooden planks to bridge the gaps. The first two pairs to finish move on to the second round, where they will have to do a belly crawl underneath a bamboo course. First three to complete the belly crawl move on to the third round, where they will have to climb a wall with the aid of another castaway. First two to climb the wall move on to the final round, where they must race across a balance beam. The castaway that crosses the balance beam first wins.
 * Reward: An elephant trek through the Thai jungle, plus a Thai feast.
 * Immunity Challenge: The challenge tested the castaways' knowledge of Thai culture. Each castaway who answered a question correctly was permitted to snuff another castaway's torch. The last castaway with a lit torch wins.

Episode 11

Every behaved civally to each other coming back from tribal, but the other six tribe members expressed distaste for Zbacnik's lack of chivalry, especially Stephanie. At an alliance meeting, the three women realized that they now had enough numbers to get rid of either Fast Brian or Jake, but Stephanie refused, saying that she wanted Zbacnik out. Meanwhile, Jake killed a snake, which the tribe ate for dinner. Zbacnik lamented that he felt like a total outsider in the group. Fast Brian's wife won the reward challenge and got to spend a day at camp. This caused some of the tribe to be jealous of Fast Brian. With the help of his wife, Fast Brian won immunity. After it became clear that Stephanie was sticking with Jake and Fast Brian, the other two women relented and agreed to vote across tribal lines. Robb Zbacnik, the man who once had complete control over his tribe, was voted out 5-1 and became the fourth member of the jury.
 * Reward Challenge: The castaways' loved ones were brought in to compete in the challenge. The loved ones would compete against each other in an insect-eating contest. Should a loved one fail to eat an insect, they are eliminated from the challenge. The loved one that eats everything all the way to the end wins.
 * Reward: A day at camp with their loved one.
 * Immunity Challenge: The castaways, with the help of their loved one, must retrieve their designated puzzle pieces from a pile in order to construct a cube. The castaways will have their loved one tied to their wrist. First team to construct their cube wins.

Episode 12: Spelunking Shenanigans

Coming back from tribal council, spirits were high. However, they were dashed the next day. All of the girls privately expressed desire to go with Jake and Fast Brian because neither of them could ever win, but none of them wanted to be the person to flip. Meanwhile, Fast Brian and Jake got lost in a cave while looking for food. It took them several hours to get out. Stephanie said to the others that Jake and Fast Brian were acting like they were on Gilligan's Island. Penny won the reward challenge and the fantastic reward. She chose to take Stephanie along, angering Tanya. At the immunity challenge, Stephanie took home victory. Though Tanya was angry with Penny, she agreed that Jake and Brian's annoying behavior had reached a fever pitch. She sided with the other women and sent Jake home 3-2, making him the fifth jury member.
 * Reward Challenge: This challenge was a word puzzle. The castaways must gather a series of placards, each bearing a letter, at different stations. Once they have gathered their letters, they must unscramble them in order to form a two-word phrase. The first castaway to unscramble their letters to form the phrase "Road Trip" wins.
 * Reward: A brand new Chevrolet TrailBlazer, plus a Thai dinner, a shower, and a massage.
 * Immunity Challenge: The castaways must assemble a staircase using jigsaw puzzle pieces. The first castaway to assemble their staircase and climb up to the finishing platform wins.

Episode 13: The Final Four

Fast Brian felt like he had lost his best friend as the tribe came back from tribal council. Because he had no luck in providing the whole time he was there, Fast Brian stopped doing work and just sat around. Nothing got done all day. Stephanie discussed with both other women separately the idea of keeping Fast Brian around since he did not pose a jury threat. Fast Brian won immunity over Tanya, forcing the girls to vote out one of their own. After ascertaining that Tanya and Penny would be voting for each other, Fast Brian asked Setphanie to vote for Tanya with him because she pissed him off. In the end, Stephanie did Fast Brian a favor and Tanya became the sixth member of the jury. (3-1) The next morning, the three remaining castaways went on the rite of passage to pay homage to their fallen comerades. They then went to the final immunity challenge. Stephanie won immunity. She wanted to remain faithful and take Penny to the end, but winning against Fast Brian was almost a sure thing. Ultimately, she decided to take Fast Brian, and Penny became the final member of the jury. The next day, Stephanie and Fast Brian celebrated by having the traditional final two feast. They then headed off for tribal council. Jed asked Fast Brian why he didn't tell him that he was about to get blindsided even though they had agreed to do so for each other. Fast Brian said that he wanted to protect Jake, his closest ally in the game at that point. Ken asked them to name the worst moral thing that they had done in the game. Fast Brian said killing the baby birds; Stephanie said turning on Penny. Erin asked them what they thought of Zbacnik. Fast Brian said that he was an excellent strategist, but a bad person. Stephanie took the opportunity to rip on Zbacnik in order to win Erin's vote. Zbacnik said that he had no questions and used his time to rip of Stephanie. Jake gave a long-winded speech about how hanging out with Fast Brian reminded him of his childhood down south. He said that Stephanie was a lovely young lady. Tanya asked Stephanie and Fast Brian why they had chosen to vote her out instead of Penny. Fast Brian said the social game; Stephanie said because of being a physical thread. Penny asked Stephanie why she had taken Fast Brian instead of her. Stephanie said because she was sure that she could win against Fast Brian. In the end, Fast Brian Heidik was voted Sole Survivor, getting the votes of Ken, Zbacnik, Jake and Penny. Some of these votes were to spite Stephanie.
 * Immunity Challenge: The castaways would compete in an obstacle course containing elements from previous challenges. The first castaway to complete the obstacle course would win.
 * Immunity Challenge: Situated in the deepest portion of a cave. the castaways must wedge three large coins between their fingers on both hands. While holding the coins, the castaways would position themselves in a frames constructed to hold themselves in an uncomfortable traditional Thai stance. The last person left standing with all of their coins in their hands would win.