Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains

Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains is the twentieth season of the American CBS competitive reality television series Survivor. It premiered on February 11, 2010 with a 2-hour special premiere.

Unlike previous seasons where a break in production occurred between seasons, the twentieth season was shot twenty days after Survivor: Samoa was completed, taking advantage of the existing infrastructure from that season. Casting for Heroes vs. Villains was done simultaneously with casting for Survivor: Samoa. Heroes vs. Villains features ten former Survivors known for their acts of integrity and honor, the Heroes, and ten former Survivors known for their deeds of deception and duplicity, the Villains. The cast was officially announced during the 36th People's Choice Awards on January 6, 2010. Jeff Probst, the show's host, stated that while they wanted to do another season where they brought back former players for the show's 10-year anniversary and 20th cycle, they did not want to simply do another All-Stars season. On reflecting on the most popular players, they realized that these players were either seen as likable or despised for those respective seasons, and opted to use that as the theme for this season. According to Probst, the production initially selected 50 players from the past seasons, paring those down to twenty and keeping one spot open for a possible player from Survivor: Samoa. Some selections were made to match players that production thought would be exciting to see, according to casting director Lynne Spillman. While the players have been classified as Heroes or Villains, Survivor's creator Mark Burnett does not expect these players to maintain these roles in the game, and to do what they need to survive to the end. Rather than the usual slogan "Outwit, Outplay, Outlast", the slogan for this season is "Return, Revenge, Redemption". All challenges in this season will be based on challenges used in previous seasons. Due to the back-to-back filming of Survivor: Samoa and this season, the other players did not have an opportunity to see Russell Hantz's gameplay in Samoa; however, the players were told by the production crew that Hantz was considered "one of the 5 most notorious male villains of all time" prior to the start of the game.

The 2009 Samoa earthquake & tsunami occurred shortly after the completion of filming for this season; a CBS spokeswoman stated that no crew members were harmed from it.

Richard Hatch, the winner of the original Survivor, was asked to return for this season. However, he had to apply to leave the country since he was under house arrest. His request was denied by a federal judge in Rhode Island. Jeff Probst also revealed to TV Guide that Corinne Kaplan of Survivor: Gabon and Shane Powers of Survivor: Panama were also asked to return but Kaplan declined due to work obligations and Powers was replaced by Russell Hantz of Survivor: Samoa. Yau-Man Chan from Survivor: Fiji and Survivor: Micronesia was also asked to return but turned the offer down. In addition, Jeff Probst revealed in an interview that the producers would have liked Elisabeth Hasselbeck from Survivor: The Australian Outback and Colleen Haskell from Survivor: Borneo, neither of whom would have accepted the offer.

In the end, Sandra Diaz-Twine won by a vote of 6–3–0, making her the first and only two-time Survivor winner. Russell Hantz was voted by fans to win "Sprint Player of the Season" award and the US$100,000 prize that went with it.

Season summary

The Heroes and Villains tribes were pre-assigned prior to the start of the game. The Heroes tribe lost many of the early immunity challenges, and voted out their more vocal players that contributed to chaos within their tribe. The Villains visited Tribal Council only once before a forced double-elimination challenge, having won most of the previous challenges due to Rob's leadership. As such, most of the Villains aligned with Rob, with Danielle, Parvati, and Russell as an outside group. When the Villains went to Tribal Council for the second time, Rob conspired to use his alliance of six to split their votes to ensure either the elimination of Russell or Parvati regardless if either of them had the idol; however, Russell, aware of this plan, tricked Tyson into voting differently from Rob's plan, leading to Tyson's own elimination. The next two subsequent councils for the Villains would see Rob and Coach removed from the game. At the following challenges, the Heroes believed the men of the Villains were being systematically eliminated from the game by a "women's alliance" that did not actually exist. However, Russell, now the sole man on the Villains, played into this and visually signaled his predicament to the Heroes. This led J.T., who had found one of the Hidden Immunity Idols at the Heroes' camp and shared it with the others, to devise a plan to give the idol to Russell at the challenge just prior to the merge. The Heroes thought Russell would use it to get rid of Parvati and align with the Heroes post-merge. Instead, Russell shared the idol with Danielle, Jerri, and Parvati, unaware that Danielle and Parvati had also found the Villains' idol.

Following the merge into the tribe Yin Yang, the Heroes believed Russell was on their side, despite Sandra's warnings to Rupert of Russell's distrustful behavior. The Heroes expectations would lead to J.T. being eliminated after Parvati, in possession of both hidden idols, protected the Villains, leaving the Villains in the majority for the rest of the game. The Heroes would continue to fall despite attempts by Sandra to convince them to vote otherwise. Russell attempted to play Parvati and Danielle against each other, and while ultimately leading to Danielle's elimination, set Parvati against Russell. The remaining Heroes would be eliminated, leaving the final four as Russell, Parvati, Sandra, and Jerri. Russell, having won final immunity, felt he would have a better chance with Sandra, whom he felt did little in the game, over Jerri, and eliminated Jerri at their final vote. At the final tribal council, the jury showed little respect for Russell's gameplay; he would go on to receive no votes. While Parvati argued for her mastery of the physical and social nature of her game to win the jury's favor, Sandra was able to win over the Heroes' votes by pointing out that she tried to help them vote out the Villains and remained the last of her original alliance with Rob. Along with Courtney's vote, Sandra won the title of Sole Survivor over Parvati and Russell, 6-3-0 respectively, and became the first two-time Survivor winner.

Contestants

Contestant	Original Tribe	Merged Tribe	Finish	Total Votes
Jessica "Sugar" Kiper 30, Los Angeles, CA Gabon	Chaboga Mogo		1st Voted Out Day 3	9
Stephenie LaGrossa 29, Briarcliff, Glenolden, PA Palau & Guatemala	Rotu		2nd Voted Out Day 6	6
Randy Bailey 50, Austin, TX Gabon	Foa Foa		3rd Voted Out Day 8	9
Cirie Fields 39, Jersey City, NJ Panama & Micronesia	Ulong		4th Voted Out Day 11	3
Tom Westman 45, Long Island, NY Palau	Sook Jai		5th Voted Out Day 14	51
Tyson Apostol 30, Lindon, UT Tocantins	Saboga		6th Voted Out Day 15	3
James Clement 32, Lafayette, LA China & Micronesia	Alinta		7th Voted Out Day 15	7
Rob "Boston Rob" Mariano 33, Boston, MA Marquesas & All-Stars	Barramundi		8th Voted Out Day 18	5
Benjamin "Coach" Wade 37, Susanville, CA Tocantins	Mogo Mogo		9th Voted Out 1st Jury Member Day 21	4
Courtney Yates 28, Boston, MA China	Drake		10th Voted Out 2nd Jury Member Day 24	9
James "J.T." Thomas, Jr. 25, Samson, AL Tocantins	Soliantu	Nobag	11th Voted Out 3rd Jury Member Day 27	5
Amanda Kimmel 25, Kalispell, MT China & Micronesia	The Outcasts		12th Voted Out 4th Jury Member Day 30	10
Candice Woodcock 26, Fayetteville, NC Cook Islands	Ogakor		13th Voted Out 5th Jury Member Day 31	5
Danielle DiLorenzo 28, Boston, MA Panama	Maraamu		14th Voted Out 6th Jury Member Day 33	4
Rupert Boneham 45, Indianapolis, IN Pearl Islands & All-Stars	Aiga		15th Voted Out 7th Jury Member Day 36	10
Colby Donaldson 35, Christoval, TX The Australian Outback & All-Stars	Koror		16th Voted Out 8th Jury Member Day 37	7
Jerri Manthey 38, Los Angeles, CA The Australian Outback & All-Stars	Kucha		17th Voted Out 9th Jury Member Day 38	42
Russell Hantz 35, Dayton, TX Samoa	Galu		2nd Runner-Up	53
Parvati Shallow 26, Atlanta, GA Cook Islands & Micronesia	Yasur		Runner-Up	44
Sandra Diaz-Twine 36, Stamford, CT Pearl Islands	Rattana		Sole Survivor	15

The Total Votes is the number of votes a castaway has received during Tribal Councils where the castaway is eligible to be voted out of the game. It does not include the votes received during the final Tribal Council.

^1 Because Tom played the Hidden Immunity Idol, three votes against him did not count.

^2 Because Jerri played the Hidden Immunity Idol, five votes against her did not count.

^3 While Sandra played the Hidden Immunity Idol, no votes against her were cast.

^4 Because Parvati played the Hidden Immunity Idol, four votes against her did not count.

^5 Because Russell played the Hidden Immunity Idol, two votes against him did not count.

The game

Episode Titles	First air date	Challenges		Eliminated	Vote	Finish
		Reward	Immunity
"Slay Everyone, Trust No One"	February 11, 2010	Chapera	Saboga	Sugar	9–1	1st Voted Out Day 3
"It's Getting the Best of Me"	February 18, 2010	Tagi6		Stephenie	6–3	2nd Voted Out Day 6
"That Girl is Like a Virus"	February 25, 2010	Ulong6		Randy	9–1	3rd Voted Out Day 8
"Tonight, We Make Our Move"	March 4, 2010	Samburu	Jaburu	Cirie	3–2–01	4th Voted Out Day 11
"Knights of the Round Table"	March 11, 2010	Moto	Puka Puka	Tom	5–2	5th Voted Out Day 14
"Banana Etiquette"	March 24, 2010	Boran7	Rob	Tyson	3–2–04	6th Voted Out Day 15
			Candice	James	5–1	7th Voted Out Day 15
"I'm Not a Good Villain"	April 1, 2010	Lopevi	Balboa	Rob	4–3–1	8th Voted Out Day 18
"Expectations"	April 8, 2010	Rarotonga	Bula Bula	Coach	4–3	9th Voted Out 1st Jury Member Day 21
"Survivor History"	April 15, 2010	Lopevi	Ulong	Courtney	5–1	10th Voted Out 2nd Jury Member Day 24
"Going Down in Flames"	April 22, 2010	None8	Danielle	J.T.	5–02	11th Voted Out 3rd Jury Member Day 27
"Jumping Ship"	April 29, 2010	Amanda, Colby, Danielle	Jerri	Amanda	6–3	12th Voted Out 4th Jury Member Day 30
"A Sinking Ship"	May 6, 2010	None	Parvati	Candice	5–3	13th Voted Out 5th Jury Member Day 31
			Russell	Danielle	4–3	14th Voted Out 6th Jury Member Day 33
"Loose Lips Sink Ships"	May 13, 2010	Jerri, [Parvati, Sandra]	Parvati	Rupert	4–05	15th Voted Out 7th Jury Member Day 36
"Anything Could Happen"	May 16, 2010	None	Parvati	Colby	4–1	16th Voted Out 8th Jury Member Day 37
			Russell	Jerri	3–1	17th Voted Out 9th Jury Member Day 38
"Reunion"	May 16, 2010	Jury Vote		Sandra	6–3–0	2nd Runner-up
				Parvati		Runner-up
				Russell		Sole Survivor

In the case of multiple tribes or castaways who win reward or immunity, they are listed in order of finish, or alphabetically where it was a team effort; where one castaway won and invited others, the invitees are in brackets.

^6 Combined Reward and Immunity Challenge.

^7 Each tribe competed separately for Individual Immunity. The two winners, Rob and Candice, moved on to the final round, where the winner would win reward for their tribe. Rob won the final round, winning reward for the Villains.

^8 There was no Reward Challenge due to the tribal merge.

Episode 1: "Slay Everyone, Trust No One"

• Reward Challenge: The tribes would face off in pairs. The four castaways would race along the beach to dig up a single bag in a designated lane. The castaways would then have to race back to their respective finish mat. The first person to be touching the bag and their finish mat would score a point for their tribe. The first tribe to score three points would win. Challenge from Survivor: Panama.
  • Reward: Flint
• Immunity Challenge: Six members from each tribe would race to assemble a boat from seven pieces and seven planks and then paddle the boat out into the ocean to light their torch from the raft. Once the six members return with the fire and the seven planks, the remaining four tribe members would assemble a puzzle. The seven planks from the boat would then be used to assemble a ladder to the top of a platform and place the completed puzzle in a slot halfway up. The first tribe to have their whole tribe at the top of the platform and light their fire barrel would win. Should the Villains tribe win the challenge, they would receive flint. Challenge from Survivor: Cook Islands.

The returning castaways arrived on board four Royal New Zealand Air Force UH-1 Iroquois helicopters. Immediately, the teams participated in the aggressive Reward challenge, resulting in the temporary dislocation of Stephenie's shoulder and the breaking of Rupert's toe. The Heroes won the challenge, obtaining flint. At both camps, the castaways found fishing gear. Russell made "top two" alliances with both Danielle and Parvati; still, they both questioned his loyalty. Rob was quick to organize the Villains camp and helped them to create fire using a fire saw. At the Heroes camp, Rupert failed to start a fire while wasting much of the flint's magnesium, but Colby, J.T., and Stephenie were successful. Tom also found four wild chickens that he and his tribemates captured to use as food. Loose alliances between castaways that were previously on the same season were made, while Coach and Jerri formed a separate alliance and J.T. formed pacts with James and Tom. During the night, Sugar disrupted her tribemates' sleep with her chatting. At the Immunity challenge, the Heroes lost a significant lead due to their conflicting puzzle strategies, and the Villains won, earning their flint. Back at the Heroes camp, Sugar targeted Amanda for elimination, but the rest of the tribe wanted Sugar out. Tom brought up voting for Cirie for strategic reasons. Amanda, Candice, and Cirie talked about voting for Stephenie or Tom to break up a potential alliance that rooted from Survivor: Palau. At Tribal Council, the vote went against Sugar, and she was voted out 9–1.

Episode 2: "It's Getting the Best of Me"

• Reward/Immunity Challenge: In pairs, the castaways would race across a field to retrieve six large crates painted in their tribe's colors. Once all six crates were retrieved, the tribes would have to stack the crates into a staircase with the name of their tribe properly aligned along the sides. The first tribe to complete the staircase and get all of their members up the staircase to the top of a platform would win. Challenge from Survivor: Tocantins.
  • Reward: Tribal Immunity and a tarp.

Frustrated from his tribe's lack of work ethic and cooperation regarding their shelter, Rob wandered off into the jungle. Jerri found him collapsed on the jungle floor and called in the Survivor Medical Team, who, as they found nothing to concern them, cleared Rob to continue. During the combined Reward and Immunity Challenge, the Heroes initially gained a healthy lead but, again, ended up stumbling as they solved the puzzle staircase. Russell felt threatened by Rob's rise in power amongst the Villains tribe and tried to demonstrate his own power by catching a chicken with a spear. James vented to his tribe about their lack of cooperation during the challenge and not following J.T., who had performed the challenge in Survivor: Tocantins; having mostly stormed on Stephenie for the loss, he pointed that her doings might have contributed to Ulong's losing streak in Survivor: Palau. Meanwhile, the trio of Colby, Stephenie, and Tom tried to convince Candice and Cirie to join them in voting out Amanda, who had previously played with Cirie, Courtney, James, and Parvati during her tenure as a contestant. After a heated Tribal Council, Candice and Cirie decided to join Amanda, James, J.T., and Rupert in voting out Stephenie with a 6–3 vote.

Episode 3: "That Girl is Like a Virus"

• Reward/Immunity Challenge: The tribes would face off in a series of one-on-one sumo-style battles. The castaways would use padded duffel bags to knock their adversaries out of a ring and into the mud. The first tribe to win eight bouts would take Immunity. Challenge originally from Survivor: Palau, version used was the adaptation from Survivor: Fiji.
  • Reward: Tribal Immunity plus coffee, sugar, rice for one week, and a luxury item for each castaway.

James apologized to his tribemates for his behavior at the previous Tribal Council. The next day, the men of the Heroes tribe "bonded" over recapturing two chickens that had escaped. Meanwhile, at the Villains camp, Coach and Rob warned Russell about his alliance with Parvati. In retaliation, Russell decided to show the two who was in control by hiding the tribe's machete during the night. Randy became frustrated when he seemed to be the only one providing food for his tribe, thrusting the role of the tribe's main provider on him and Rob. J.T. planted some distrust in Candice and Cirie's alliance by fabricating a story to Cirie that the former didn't trust her. At the combined Reward and Immunity Challenge, the Heroes destroyed the Villains in an 8–0 blowout win. Discussions over who to vote out focused on Parvati and Randy: Parvati for being a social threat and having a potential alliance of four on the Heroes tribe, and Randy because he was one of the weaker competitors. At Tribal Council, the vote went against Randy, and he was sent home by a vote of 9–1.

Episode 4: "Tonight, We Make Our Move"

• Reward Challenge: A member from each tribe would slide across a slippery surface and grab a ball with a certain color and number suspended above them. They would have to toss it into a basket to score a point. First tribe to score four points would win. Challenge from Survivor: Fiji.
  • Reward: Two selected items from a Sears catalog. The Heroes tribe chose cooking equipment and additional fishing gear. The Villains tribe chose additional materials to set up camp and a tool kit.
• Immunity Challenge: 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. Challenge from Survivor: Samoa.

Coach vented his disappointment to Tyson about being singled out by Sandra at the previous Tribal Council. He considered quitting the game, but Rob assured Coach that his position in the tribe was secure. After winning the Reward Challenge, the Villains selected tools, twine, and a tarp from the catalog. While unpacking their reward, Russell accidentally discovered a clue to a Hidden Immunity Idol. After Rob read the clue out loud, Sandra made the point that whoever found it would be voted out next to flush out the idol. The rest of the tribe agreed and decided not to go look for the idol. Despite this warning, Russell went out to search, much to the anger of his tribe. At the Heroes camp, Tom discovered their clue in the jar of coffee beans. J.T. read the clue out loud, and several members of the Heroes tribe went looking for the idol. Tom succeeded in finding the idol and slipped it in his shoe. Amanda saw this and notified the others that it was in his possession. When the Heroes lost the Immunity Challenge, the majority alliance decided to split their votes between Colby and Tom, thus flushing the idol and sending Colby home. Tom reached an agreement with Amanda, James, and J.T. to vote out Candice after offering to give up the idol, but Cirie disagreed and convinced the majority to follow through with the plan to split the vote and flush the idol. J.T. was torn between going with the majority alliance and joining Colby and Tom in voting out Cirie. At Tribal Council, Tom played the Hidden Immunity Idol; therefore, the three votes against him were negated. In the end, J.T. turned on the majority alliance, and Cirie was voted out 3–2–0.

Episode 5: "Knights of the Round Table"

• Reward Challenge: In a walled off arena, three members of each tribe would battle for control of three balls. Once a castaway gets control of a ball, they would pass the ball to three other tribe members standing on a platform who would attempt to throw the ball through the opposing tribe's basket at the other end of the arena. One point would be scored when a ball is made in the basket. After every point, the tribes would change who was in the arena and on the platform. The first tribe to score two points would win. Challenge from Survivor: Samoa; as this challenge, called "Schmergen Brawl", caused both the injury to James's knee and the medical evacuation of a contestant on Survivor: Samoa, CBS has deemed it too dangerous to be used again.
  • Reward: A trip to a swimming hole and a feast of chocolate bars, chocolate cake, chocolate chip cookies, and chocolate milk.
• Immunity Challenge: One castaway from each tribe would work as a caller to direct their tribemates, who would be blindfolded and teamed up in pairs, in collecting ten large puzzle pieces from a field. Once all of the puzzle pieces were collected, the entire tribe would work together to assemble the puzzle. The first tribe to complete their puzzle would win. Challenge from Survivor: All-Stars.

When the Heroes returned to camp after Tribal Council, J.T. explained that his vote against Cirie was for the tribe and not for "personal reasons". However, Amanda and Rupert still questioned J.T.'s loyalties. At the Villains campsite, Russell continued his lone search for the Hidden Immunity Idol and soon found what he was looking for. Shortly into the Reward Challenge, James went down with an injury to his left knee. After the Villains won the challenge by a score of 2–1, James's knee was braced by the Survivor Medical Team, and he was cleared to continue in the game. While on their reward trip, Russell told both Coach and Parvati that the Hidden Immunity Idol was in his possession, and a potential alliance brewed. The Villains won their fourth Immunity Challenge when the Heroes, again, lost their lead in the puzzle assembly stage. Before Tribal Council, Rupert gunned for Candice for being the weakest, while Candice wanted to vote out James due his injury. Meanwhile, J.T. vacillated between voting for James or Tom. At Tribal Council, Candice and J.T. voted against Tom, and he was sent home by a 5–2 vote.

Episode 6: "Banana Etiquette"

• Reward/Individual Immunity Challenge: The tribes would compete separately for individual immunity. The castaways would be attached to a rope threaded through obstacles which they would have to climb under, over, or around. The first Hero and the first Villain to win will be immune from the vote. Then the two winners will be competing in the final round. The final round's challenge would be the same, but with a single obstacle three levels high. The first castaway to complete the obstacle would win reward for their tribe. Challenge originally from Survivor: Guatemala, version used was the adaptation from Survivor: Tocantins.
  • Reward: Hot dogs and soft drinks to be enjoyed at the opposing tribe's Tribal Council.

Both tribes were surprised when Jeff announced at the challenge that the castaways would be competing for Individual Immunity within the tribes, and that both tribes would be going to Tribal Council. Jeff explained that the winners of the first round from each tribe would be immune at Tribal Council and also square off against each other for reward. When Candice and Rob, the victors, battled it out, Rob ultimately won the reward for his tribe. Upon arriving at the Heroes' camp, Colby believed it was his time to go; however, the rest of the tribe members talked about voting out James instead of Colby to keep the tribe stronger. At the Villains' camp, Rob, assuming that Russell possessed the Hidden Immunity Idol, organized his alliance members to split their votes between Russell and Parvati, so that they would hopefully flush out the idol and remove one of the two. As a strategy to put the numbers against Tyson and not himself, Russell approached Tyson and convinced him to vote for Parvati. Tyson, believing Russell would also vote Parvati, opted to switch his vote to her as well, when, in reality, Russell would be voting for Tyson. At their Tribal Council, Russell presented the Hidden Immunity Idol to Jeff and gave it to Parvati. When she played the idol, the four votes cast against her were negated, thus eliminating Tyson by a vote of 3–2–0. Afterwards, the Villains enjoyed their reward at the Heroes' Tribal Council, where the tribe ultimately agreed that James's knee injury was too obvious to ignore. He was next to go in a 5–1 decision.

Episode 7: "I'm Not a Good Villain"

• Reward Challenge: Competing in rounds, the tribes would face off three to a side in the ocean to get control of a ball and shoot it into their basket to score a point. The first tribe to score three points would win. Challenge from Survivor: Tocantins.
  • Reward: A trip to a waterfall with a feast.
• Immunity Challenge: One at a time, three castaways from each tribe would race across a platform and a rope net and then climb up a rope web to retrieve six bags of puzzle pieces. Once all six bags were retrieved, two other castaways from each tribe would assemble the puzzle. The first tribe to assemble their puzzle would win. Challenge based upon one used in Survivor: Africa, with the puzzle part inspired from a challenge from Survivor: Cook Islands.

Rob was stunned by the results of previous Tribal Council and was suspicious of his alliance's loyalties. With Jerri wavering about her alliance with Rob, Parvati promised Jerri that she would go to the final four with Danielle and Russell. Sensing that he needed to step up at the challenges to prove to his tribe that voting James off was not a mistake, Colby led the Heroes to a 3–0 win at the Reward Challenge. When the Heroes arrived at the waterfall for their reward, they received a note that there was another Hidden Immunity Idol at their beach. The five Heroes agreed that they would find the idol together and use it against the Villains instead of against each other. At the Villains' camp, Russell told Coach and Jerri that he wanted to take them to the final three. Jerri accepted the offer and aligned herself with Russell, while Coach was skeptical of Russell's promises. Coach was hurt by Jerri's equal loyalties to himself and Russell as he thought he had a greater level of trust and loyalty from Jerri. At the Immunity Challenge, the Heroes finally won a challenge with a puzzle component. Back at camp, Russell told Rob that either Courtney or Sandra, both of whom were sitting right beside, had to go home next. Rob tried to convince Coach to vote for Russell by appealing to his respect for loyalty, and Coach gave him his word. Russell devised a plan to blindside Rob while talking with Coach, Danielle, and Jerri, and although Coach disagreed, he eventually stated that he was with them 100%. Coach was torn because he didn't want to betray his promise to either Rob or Russell. At the Villains' Tribal Council, the votes were cast; while Coach tried to sit in the middle by voting for Courtney, Jerri joined Russell's alliance to send Rob home by a 4–3–1 vote.

Episode 8: "Expectations"

• Reward Challenge: The castaways would be compete in a bowling tournament. Each castaway would be matched against another castaway and given two rolls. The castaway who knocked down the most pins won the round for their tribe and scored one point. The first tribe to score three points won. Challenge from Survivor: Samoa.
  • Reward: A feast of pizza, garlic bread, brownies, and drinks
• Immunity Challenge: Competing in rounds, two castaways from each tribe would be belted together and would have to race across a mud pit and over obstacles to retrieve a flag to score a point for their tribe. The second round would be a one-on-one competition, while the third round would be back to two-on-two. The first tribe to score two points would win. Challenge from Survivor: Guatemala.

At the Heroes campsite, J.T. went off looking for the Hidden Immunity Idol by himself in his own self-interest, even though the tribe had promised earlier to look for it together. Just after he found the idol, Amanda came across him before he could hide it, putting J.T. into a position in which he had to tell the whole tribe about the idol in order to sustain trust. Before the Reward Challenge, the Villains misinterpreted the day's treemail as a hint to an impending merge. In response, they brought all of their equipment to the challenge, only to have Jeff announce that the tribes were not merging. After seeing Rob voted out, the Heroes assumed an all-girl alliance in control—the true power being with Danielle, Parvati, and Russell. The Heroes continued their winning streak by defeating the Villains at the Reward Challenge. Feeling that they were on the outs with their tribe, Sandra plotted to trick Russell into believing that Coach was gunning for him, in order to save Courtney. Russell, who seemed immediately convinced, conspired with Parvati to vote out Coach, a move they hoped would further strengthen the misconception of an all-girl alliance. The Heroes extended their winning streak to four at the Immunity Challenge. Russell and Danielle had a heated discussion over whether they should vote out Coach or Courtney, with Russell ultimately voting for Courtney. At Tribal Council, Sandra and Courtney's plan came to fruition, and Coach was voted out 4–3.

Episode 9: "Survivor History"

• Reward Challenge: The castaways would compete in an endurance contest in which castaways were ranked strongest to weakest in their tribes. These rankings would be used to determine the matchups between each tribe. Each castaway would stand on footholds. After ten minutes, the castaways would move to smaller footholds. After another ten minutes, they would move to the smallest footholds and stay there until the challenge was over. A castaway would score a point for their tribe by outlasting their opponent. The first tribe to score three points would win. Challenge from Survivor: Fiji and Survivor: Tocantins.
  • Reward: An all-you-can-eat feast courtesy of Outback Steakhouse
• Immunity Challenge: One at a time, five castaways from each tribe would maneuver a bag of puzzle pieces attached to a rope through an obstacle course in the ocean. The first tribe to retrieve all five bags and assemble the puzzle would win. Challenge from Survivor: Vanuatu.

At the reward challenge, the Heroes continued to believe there was a women's alliance on the Villains tribe due to the departure of Coach and silent signals that Russell made to J.T. The Villains would go on to win the Reward Challenge. During the feast, Parvati discovered a clue to another Hidden Immunity Idol tucked into her napkin at the dining table. Parvati secretly showed the clue to Danielle in order to strengthen her loyalty to Parvati versus Russell; they successfully found the idol the next morning and kept it secret from the rest of the tribe. Over at the Heroes camp, J.T. shared his plan to give Russell their tribe's Hidden Immunity Idol at the next Immunity Challenge in order to protect him from the next vote and gain his loyalty post-merger, hoping he would use it to eliminate Parvati; Amanda and Candice thought this would be a bad idea but would also keep the idol out of J.T.'s hands and agreed to it. At the Immunity Challenge, the Heroes dominated throughout and won the challenge. J.T., with Colby's help, successfully gave the idol, wrapped in a letter to explain his reasoning, to Russell during the post-challenge congratulations. Back at the Villains camp, Russell shared the letter and his possession of the idol with Parvati, Danielle, and Jerri, acknowledging the Heroes fell for the woman's alliance plan. Courtney, knowing she was likely to be voted out, attempted to pledge her loyalty to Parvati in an effort to stay in the game; Parvati lobbied her alliance to keep Courtney in the game, but they opted to eliminate her anyway, and Courtney was voted out 5–1.

Episode 10: "Going Down in Flames"

• Immunity Challenge: The castaways would hang onto a pole as long as they can. The last person left hanging without touching the ground would win. Challenge from Survivor: Vanuatu, Survivor: Cook Islands, and Survivor: Tocantins.

The tree mail on day 25 announced the merge of the tribes, with the Villains moving to the Heroes campsite and enjoying the traditional feast, eventually naming themselves "Yin Yang" in keeping with the theme of "good vs evil". Russell, Parvati, and Danielle conspired to share the same false story to explain Parvati's survival of the previous Tribal Council; that both Russell and Parvarti played opposing hidden immunity idols. Russell maintained the trust the Heroes had with him to eliminate the supposed Villains' "woman's alliance" through its leader, Parvati. However, Sandra was able to pull aside Rupert and explain the truth of the former Tribal Council; Rupert reported this to the other Heroes, and together they decided to test Russell's loyalty by informing him they were voting for Parvati while they would vote off someone else. Parvati secretly told Amanda about her Hidden Immunity Idol in order to get information on who the Heroes were going to vote out. Danielle won individual immunity after Parvati, the second-last player remaining, agreed to step down, knowing she still had her Hidden Immunity Idol. Following the challenge, Russell gave Parvati his Hidden Immunity Idol, believing her to be in trouble at the vote. The Heroes decided to make Jerri their target, believing the possibility of Parvati having an idol and would use it if she felt vulnerable. Amanda, following up on her previous conversation with Parvati, told Parvati she would be the target, but Parvati distrusted her statement. At Tribal Council, the Heroes voted for Jerri and the Villians voted for J.T as planned. Before the votes were read, Parvati surprised the whole tribe by giving a Hidden Immunity Idol to both Jerri and Sandra. They both played the idols, negating the Heroes votes against Jerri. J.T. was eliminated by a vote of 5–0.

Episode 11: "Jumping Ship"

• Reward Challenge: The castaways would be split into teams of three and would play a version of shuffleboard. Each castaway would be given two pucks which they would try to slide closest to the target. The team whose puck ends up closest to the target would win. Challenge originally from Survivor: The Amazon also used in Survivor: Vanuatu and Survivor: Tocantins.
  • Reward: An overnight trip to the former home of Robert Louis Stevenson and a screening of 1934 version of Treasure Island
• Immunity Challenge: The castaways would attempt to build a tower out of 150 wooden tiles to a height of 10 feet (3.0 m). Challenge from Survivor: Gabon.

Russell worked on getting Candice to join his alliance as he thought Sandra would flip to the Heroes alliance. The Reward Challenge was won by the team of Amanda, Colby, and Danielle. While on the reward, Danielle found a clue to a Hidden Immunity Idol in a bowl of popcorn. Amanda grabbed the clue after Danielle tried to hide it. The two women fought over who should have the clue until Colby intervened and said that Danielle should have it since she found it. When the trio returned to camp the next day, Danielle related the story of the fight for the idol clue to her alliance and they set off to find it. Russell found the Hidden Immunity Idol without the girls noticing and hid his discovery from them. In order to secure her loyalty, Russell showed the idol to Candice and told her that they would go to the final three together. Sandra discussed flipping to the Heroes alliance with Colby and Rupert in order to get rid of Russell. Russell told Sandra that one of the Heroes had already flipped to the Villains alliance and warned her about flipping to Heroes alliance. The Immunity Challenge was won by Jerri. Russell wanted to vote out Amanda and he told Candice to vote for Amanda, which she agreed to. She then told Russell that the Heroes along with Sandra were planning to vote him out. Russell confronted Sandra about what Candice told him, but Sandra denied any switch in alliances. Sandra then confronted Candice about her telling Russell about the Heroes plan and that they had to stick to the plan in order to vote out Russell. The Heroes agreed to vote for Parvati in case Danielle or Russell played a Hidden Immunity Idol. At Tribal Council, Russell played his Hidden Immunity Idol, but no votes against him were cast. Candice flipped to the Villains alliance and Sandra stuck with the Villains, sending Amanda home by a vote of 6–3.

Episode 12: "A Sinking Ship"

• Immunity Challenge: The castaways would stand on a perch, one arm above their head with their wrist tethered to a bucket of water on top of a platform. The castaway who could stand there the longest without tipping the bucket would win. During the challenge, Jeff would tempt the castaways to quit with offerings of cookies and milk; donuts and iced coffee; peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chips, candy, and milk. Challenge from Survivor: Africa, Survivor: All-Stars and Survivor: Micronesia.

Back at camp after Tribal Council, Colby and Rupert were upset about Candice's flip to the Villains side, while Jerri was ready to vote her out now that her vote was no longer needed and was worried she would flip back to the Heroes side. Rupert and Russell confronted each other in front of the entire tribe, which made Russell target Rupert for the next Tribal Council. When the castaways arrived for the challenge, Jeff announced that they would be playing for immunity instead of reward. After explaining the challenge, Jeff stated that there would be a twist at the end. Just as she had done when she last played this challenge during Survivor: Micronesia, Parvati outlasted everybody to win Individual Immunity. The twist was that Jeff read a clue to a Hidden Immunity Idol to the entire tribe. When the castaways returned to camp, everybody went looking for the Hidden Immunity Idol. Sandra found it and hid it from the others. Rupert stuck a rock in his pocket to feign finding the idol. Russell fell for the deception and his alliance plotted a way to get Rupert to play the idol by splitting the vote at the next Tribal Council. Colby and Rupert knew that the Villains alliance would split their vote between Rupert and Colby or Candice, so they agreed to vote for Candice, hoping the Villains would pick her for the split. At Tribal Council, the Villains ultimately chose Candice and split their votes between her and Rupert. Rupert and Colby voted according to their plan, and Candice was sent to the jury by a vote of 5–3.

• Immunity Challenge: In the first round, the castaways would dig up a wooden peg and then guide the peg through a table maze. The first five to finish would move on to the next round. In the second round, the castaways would use four pegs to climb a wall. The first three to reach the top of the wall would move to the final round. The final round would be a sliding puzzle. The first castaway to finish their puzzle would win. Challenge from Survivor: Panama

When the tribe returned to camp, Russell criticized the girls in his alliance that they should have split their votes between Colby and Rupert instead of focusing on Candice. At the Immunity Challenge, Rupert, Sandra, Russell, Parvati, and Danielle moved on from the first round. Russell, Parvati, and Rupert moved on to the final round. Russell finished his puzzle first to win Individual Immunity. Parvati wanted to vote out Rupert. Russell was concerned that Parvati was more loyal to Danielle than Parvati was to Russell, so he decided to break them up by discussing voting out Parvati with Danielle and telling Parvati that Danielle wanted to vote her out when it came down to five or six remaining. Danielle and Parvati discussed Russell's stories to them and they figured out that Russell was trying to break them up. The two begged Jerri to vote for Rupert to foil Russell's plan. Meanwhile, Russell decided to get Danielle out of the game so that Parvati would stay loyal to him by telling Colby and Rupert that Danielle needed to go out next. Russell threatened Jerri to vote out Danielle by telling Jerri she would be voted out next if Danielle didn't go. At Tribal Council, Danielle and Russell argued over what the other had said to each other. Danielle broke into tears and unintentionally revealed that Jerri was not included in the Final 3 alliance of herself, Parvati and Russell. Russell's plan came together when Jerri switched her vote and Danielle was voted out 4–3.

Episode 13: "Loose Lips Sink Ships"

• Reward Challenge: The castaways would use a bucket to scoop water from the ocean and then toss the water to their loved one who would use another bucket to catch the water. The loved one would then pour the water into a bucket hanging from a see saw. The first pair to fill their bucket with enough water to tip their see saw would win. Challenge from Survivor: Cook Islands.
  • Reward: A plane trip with their loved one to see the Alofaaga Blowholes along with a meal of hamburgers, soft drinks, cookies, and donuts.
• Immunity Challenge: The castaways would hold two poles on the tops of their hands up against a board over their heads. Any movement in their hands would cause the poles to drop to the ground. The last person who does not drop their poles would win immunity. Challenge from Survivor: Gabon.

The tree mail on day 34 was a Sprint Palm Pre loaded with videos from family members announcing that they had arrived on the island and were looking forward to reuniting with the castaways at the next challenge. After emotional introductions to the castaway's loved ones, the challenge was won by the team of Jerri and her sister. After winning the challenge, Jeff told Jerri that she could pick another castaway and their loved one to go along with them. Jerri chose Parvati and her father. Jerri then asked Jeff if she could take one more pair. Jeff agreed and Jerri picked Sandra and her uncle. Russell was angry that Jerri did not pick him and his wife to join them on the trip. During the trip, Jerri voiced concerned that Russell would seek revenge on her for not selecting him for the trip. Parvati and Sandra said they would protect her from any retaliation and that Russell had to vote out either Colby or Rupert in order to stay in the game. Back at camp, Russell was indeed plotting to seek revenge by making an agreement with Colby and Rupert to go to the final three with them. Russell thought he could swing Jerri over to this new alliance and vote out Parvati if she did not win the next Immunity Challenge. During the night of day 35 after the three women returned from their reward, Rupert angered Jerri by making a racket while the rest of the tribe was trying to sleep and she wanted to vote him out next. Russell's new alliance's plan was spoiled when Parvati won the Immunity Challenge. With his plan spoiled, Russell decided he had to flip back to his original girls alliance and vote out Rupert. Sandra told Rupert that she wanted to vote out Russell. Rupert told this to Russell, and Russell then confronted Sandra in front of Parvati asking if she was with him or against him. Sandra replied that she was against him and then yelled out to Rupert about revealing her plan to Russell. Russell scolded Parvati and Sandra about being dumb when they made fun of him and changed his mind yet again to vote out Sandra. At Tribal Council, the argument between Russell and Sandra was discussed. Though Sandra thought she was safe going in and wouldn't need to play her Hidden Immunity Idol, she decided to play it since she had mixed feelings after the discussion. Two votes against Sandra were not counted. The rest were all cast against Rupert and he was sent to the jury by a vote of 4–0.

Episode 14: "Anything Could Happen"

• Immunity Challenge: The castaways would balance ceramic dishes on the end of a balancing arm. As the challenge progresses, Jeff calls out different dishwares that the castaways would stack on the far end of the balance. Should any part of a castaways's stack fall, that castaway would be out of the challenge. The last castaway in the challenge would win. Challenge from Survivor: China.

Back at camp after Tribal Council, Russell was upset at Sandra's use of the Hidden Immunity Idol and accused Parvati and Sandra of lying to him about Sandra having a Hidden Immunity Idol. Parvati won the Immunity Challenge by outlasting Colby. After returning from the challenge, Colby gave his "surrender speech" to the Villains and told them they should just enjoy the day and he would not scramble to stay in the game. However, Colby made one final attempt to stay in the game by approaching Russell about voting out Sandra in an effort to defeat Parvati at the next Immunity Challenge. At Tribal Council, the Villains voted out the last of the Heroes, sending Colby to the jury by a vote of 4–1.

• Immunity Challenge: The castaways would have to navigate through a maze blindfolded. The first castaway to retrieve four necklaces at stations within the maze and then find the immunity necklace would win. Challenge from Survivor: The Amazon and Survivor: The Australian Outback.

The final four received treemail announcing that they would take the traditional journey honoring the castaways voted out before heading to their final Immunity Challenge. Russell won the final Immunity Challenge by edging out Parvati and Jerri by mere inches. After the challenge, Russell told Sandra that he was going to take her to the final three as he thought he could beat her at the final vote as she would get maybe only one vote. Parvati disagreed and told Russell that getting rid of Sandra would be best as she would get votes from the jury. At Tribal Council, Jerri became the final member of the jury by a vote of 3–1.

Parvati, Russell, and Sandra celebrated with the traditional Day 39 breakfast. Sandra tossed Russell's hat into the camp fire in payback for all of the things he had done to her in the game. The three burned down the camp and set off for the final Tribal Council.

At the final Tribal Council, the jury questioned and lectured the final three on their strategic plays, their perceptions among the jury, what they would have done differently during the game, their loyalties, and how they played the game. The members of the jury made their dislike of Russell and his unlikelihood of receiving votes very clear; the other two finalists used this in their attempts to sway the jury. Parvati mentioned that she used Russell and "kept him as her pet" while Sandra said that she lobbied for Russell's removal since day one. The jury voted 6–3–0 for Sandra over Parvati and Russell to give Sandra her second Sole Survivor title.

Voting history

	Original Tribes										Merged Tribe
Episode #:	1	2	3	4	5	6		7	8	9	10	11	12		13	14
Eliminated:	Sugar 9/10 votes	Stephenie 6/9 votes	Randy 9/10 votes	Cirie 3/5 votes1	Tom 5/7 votes	Tyson 3/5 votes4	James 5/6 votes	Rob 4/8 votes	Coach 4/7 votes	Courtney 5/6 votes	J.T. 5/5 votes2	Amanda 6/9 votes	Candice 5/8 votes	Danielle 4/7 votes	Rupert 4/4 votes5	Colby 4/5 votes	Jerri 3/4 votes
Voter	Vote
Sandra			Randy			Russell		Russell	Coach	Courtney	J.T.	Amanda	Candice	Rupert	Rupert	Colby	Jerri
Parvati			Randy			Tyson		Rob	Coach	Courtney	J.T.	Amanda	Rupert	Rupert	Rupert	Colby	Jerri
Russell			Randy			Tyson		Rob	Courtney	Courtney	J.T.	Amanda	Candice	Danielle	Rupert	Colby	Jerri
Jerri			Randy			Parvati		Rob	Courtney	Courtney	J.T.	Amanda	Candice	Danielle	Rupert	Colby	Parvati
Colby	Sugar	Amanda		Cirie	James		James				Jerri	Parvati	Candice	Danielle	Sandra	Sandra
Rupert	Sugar	Stephenie		Colby	Tom		James				Jerri	Parvati	Candice	Danielle	Sandra
Danielle			Randy			Tyson		Rob	Coach	Courtney	J.T.	Amanda	Rupert	Rupert
Candice	Sugar	Stephenie		Tom	Tom		James				Jerri	Amanda	Rupert
Amanda	Sugar	Stephenie		Tom	Tom		James				Jerri	Parvati
J.T.	Sugar	Stephenie		Cirie	Tom		James				Jerri
Courtney			Randy			Parvati		Russell	Coach	Jerri
Coach			Randy			Parvati		Courtney	Courtney
Rob			Randy			Russell		Russell
James	Sugar	Stephenie		Colby	Tom		Colby
Tyson			Randy			Parvati
Tom	Sugar	Amanda		Cirie	James
Cirie	Sugar	Stephenie		Tom
Randy			Rob
Stephenie	Sugar	Amanda
Sugar	Amanda

Jury Vote
Finalist:	Russell 0/9 votes	Parvati 3/9 votes	Sandra 6/9 votes
Juror	Vote
Jerri		Parvati
Colby			Sandra
Rupert			Sandra
Danielle		Parvati
Candice			Sandra
Amanda			Sandra
J.T.			Sandra
Courtney			Sandra
Coach		Parvati

Ratings

U.S. Nielsen ratings

Episode	Rating	Share	Rating/Share (18–49)	Viewers (millions)	Weekly Rank
"Slay Everyone, Trust No One"	8.1	13	4.5/12	14.15	#14
"It's Getting the Best of Me"	6.9	11	3.9/11	11.94	#11
"That Girl is Like a Virus"	6.7	10	3.7/10	11.60	#14
"Tonight, We Make Our Move"	7.2	12	3.8/11	12.72	#17
"Knights of the Round Table"	7.0	11	3.6/11	12.17	#14
"Banana Etiquette"	6.6	11	3.4/11	11.15	#15
"I'm Not a Good Villain"	6.7	12	3.5/13	11.26	#11
"Expectations"	7.3	12	3.8/12	12.38	#13
"Survivor History"	7.1	13	3.8/12	12.31	#12
"Going Down in Flames"	7.0	12	3.6/11	11.89	#8
"Jumping Ship"	7.6	13	4.1/13	12.74	#9
"A Sinking Ship"	7.7	14	4.1/14	13.06	#8
"Loose Lips Sink Ships"	7.7	13	4.1/13	13.28	#11
"Anything Could Happen"	7.2	12	4.2/11	13.46	#9
"The Reunion"	5.9	10	3.6/10	10.65	#22

External links

• Official CBS Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains Website