Survivor: Palau (Courtesy Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

Survivor: Palau is the tenth season of the United States reality show Survivor. Its preview appeared during the final episode of Survivor: Vanuatu. Survivor: Palau premiered on February 17, 2005. The complete season, including the Live Reunion Show, was released on DVD by CBS Home Video on August 29, 2006.

Applications were due on June 22, 2004. Around 800 applicants were selected for an interview between the latter part of July and August 2004. Out of these 800, 48 were chosen as semi-finalists for an interview in Los Angeles during September 2004. From these semi-finalists, 20 were chosen to participate in the show between October to December 2004.

It began with twenty contestants. Each one arrived, as instructed by the producers, dressed in street clothes typical of one's career "? ostensibly for publicity photos "? but this was the only clothing for all of the game. Tom Westman's wife told him to wear swim trunks as underwear, for she remembered the Pearl Islands contestants, tricked into street clothes for all of that game. For the second time in Survivor history, the contestants, not the producers, selected the tribes. On the second day of the first episode, that self-selection into two tribes of nine left two not chosen "? and gone from the game on the spot. The two tribes were Ulong (named after Ulong Island, one of Palau's tourist spots) and Koror (named after the capital city of Palau at the time). Koror dominated from the very beginning, winning all but three reward challenges and every Immunity Challenge. Having survived alone at Ulong, Stephenie LaGrossa received a map to Koror. Upon her arrival, she received its brown buff. While the players at the finale spoke of this as a merger, the producers have described Palau as the only season without a merge.

In the end, fire lieutenant Tom Westman defeated advertising executive Katie Gallagher in a 6-1 vote.

This season got Survivor a Primetime Emmy Award nomination in 2005.

In addition to Jeff Probst naming this as one of his favorite seasons, he also stated that the final immunity challenge was his favorite immunity challenge from any season. He also said Palau was his favorite filming location.

Stephenie LaGrossa and Bobby Jon Drinkard competed once again in Survivor: Guatemala where they placed 2nd and 9th respectively. LaGrossa again competed on Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains alongside Tom Westman who returned for the first time. They were both on the Heroes Tribe where they placed 19th and 16th respectively.

Jolanda Jones, who was the first one voted off, campaigned for the Houston City Council in 2007 where she won in a runoff election. She campaigned for re-election in 2009 although her tenure during her second term was marred by controversy in response to a City of Houston ethics investigation. Jones lost a runoff election in December 2011 receiving 46% of the total vote - her opponent, chiropractor Jack Christie, received a campaign endorsement from former Houston Mayor Bill White. She has hosted the Houston Survivor Challenge (now the Houston Reality Challenge) with the backing of the City of Houston and the local CBS affiliate KHOU 11 during her first term in office.

On January 19, 2010, Jennifer Lyon died at the age of 37 after a 5-year battle with breast cancer, becoming the first former Survivor castaway to pass away.

Gameplay

The twenty players for Palau began the game by rowing a boat to shore, with the first player of each gender to reach shore to win immunity. However, once ashore, they received no additional instructions nor tribal divisions, and began to work on a common shelter. The next day, Jeff Probst announced that they would now pick tribes via a schoolyard pick, with those who had won immunity getting first pick. In addition, the last male and female remaining would immediately leave the game. The two tribes, Koror and Ulong, then participated in the first reward/immunity challenge, with the winner, Koror, deciding to leave their present beach to another one they had not seen.

As the challenges continued, it quickly became apparent that Ulong was the weaker tribe, while strong leadership by Tom and Ian at Koror kept the tribe intact. Ulong would win no immunity challenges and few reward challenges. Koror only had to attend tribal council and vote for one of their own once during the first 21 days as part of a double-elimination challenge. Unlike in several previous seasons, there was no tribal swap and Ulong's numbers continued to dwindle. With only two members left, Stephenie and Bobby Jon, going into tribal council, the two faced off in a fire-making challenge, with Stephenie emerging victorious. After spending the night alone, she was instructed to travel to Koror, and was given a Koror buff instead of a typical tribal merge.

Koror developed a core group of five: Tom, Ian, Gregg, Jenn, and Katie, and those on the outside saw them as a threat but were not able to break them. Despite making an immediate strong impression on her new tribe, Stephenie was immediately identified as a target due to her strength and for being the outsider. In a twist that would eventually lead to its use in later seasons, one individual immunity challenge required the first player to drop out to spend a night alone on an isolated island. Janu, the one affected, felt the experience liberating, and chose to quit the game at the next tribal council, effectively sparing Stephenie from being voted out. It would last for only one more round, and Stephenie was subsequently sent home after not winning immunity or being able to break Koror's bond.

When Koror was down to six, Tom and Ian worried that they would fall against a potential immunity threat, Gregg, and his close ally Jenn, and plotted with Caryn and Katie to vote out Gregg when they had the chance. Katie, feeling betrayed by Ian, became even more distraught when Ian took Tom with him on a reward instead of her as he had promised. Ian attempted to make amends but Katie still held bad feelings towards him. The final four: Tom, Ian, Katie, and Jenn, opted to allow the next vote to end in a tie between Jenn and Ian, and Ian won in the subsequent fire-making challenge.

The final immunity challenge required players to stand on buoys for as long as possible; Katie dropped out early, but both Tom and Ian remained for nearly 12 hours. Ian opted to quit the challenge, conceding immunity to Tom, after Tom played on his remorse for hurting Katie's feelings and breaking his promises to her, and Ian felt that dropping out would make up for the emotional damage he had done. Foregoing the usual tribal council, Tom voted Ian out of the game on the spot. At the final tribal council, Tom's leadership and physical ability against Katie's apparent riding-of-coattails, led the jury to vote Tom as the Sole Survivor, 6"1.

Contestants

Contestant	Original Tribe	Absorbed Tribe	Finish	Total Votes
Jonathan Libby 23, Dallas, TX	rowspan=2

} | 0 |- |align="left"|Wanda Shirk
55, Ulysses, PA |bgcolor="darkgray"| |}} | 0 |- |align="left"|Jolanda Jones
38, Houston, TX | |bgcolor="darkgray"| | | 6 |- |align="left"|Ashlee Ashby
22, Columbia, SC | |bgcolor="darkgray"| | | 6 |- |align="left"|Jeff Wilson
21, Fresno, CA | |bgcolor="darkgray"| | | 5 |- |align="left"|Kimberly "Kim" Mullen
25, Huber Heights, OH | |bgcolor="darkgray"| | | 8 |- |align="left"|Willard Smith
56, Bellevue, WA | |bgcolor="darkgray"| | | 8 |- |align="left"|Angie Jakusz
24, New Orleans, LA | |bgcolor="darkgray"| | | 5 |- |align="left"|James Miller
33, Winfield, AL | |bgcolor="darkgray"| | | 6 |- |align="left"|Ibrehem Rahman
27, Birmingham, AL | |bgcolor="darkgray"| | | 4 |- |align="left"|Bobby Jon Drinkard
27, Troy, AL | |bgcolor="darkgray"| |
Day 21}} | 2 |- |align="left"|Coby Archa
32, Dallas, TX | | rowspan=9 | | 7 |- |align="left"|Janu Tornell
39, Las Vegas, NV | | | 1 |- |align="left"|Stephenie LaGrossa
24, Philadelphia, PA | | | 8 |- |align="left"|Gregg Carey
27, Chicago, IL | | | 4 |- |align="left"|Caryn Groedel
46, Solon, OH | | | 7 |- |align="left"|Jennifer "Jenn" Lyon?
32, Encino, CA | |
6th Jury Member
Day 37}} | 2 |- |align="left"|Ian Rosenberger
23, Key West, FL | | | 4 |- |align="left"|Katie Gallagher
29, San Diego, CA | | | 1 |- |align="left"|Tom Westman
40, Sayville, NY | | | 0 |}

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.

Having survived alone at Ulong, Stephenie LaGrossa received a map to Koror. Upon her arrival, she received its brown buff. While the players at the finale spoke of this as a merger, the producers have described Palau as the only season without a merge.

The game

Episode title	Air date	Challenges		Eliminated	Vote	Finish
		Reward	Immunity
"This Has Never Happened Before!"	February 17, 2005	None	Ian		No Vote	Eliminated Day 2
			Jolanda
		colspan=2 }}		6-3	1st Voted Out Day 3
"Love is in the Air, Rats Are Everywhere"	February 24, 2005				6-1-1	2nd Voted Out Day 6
"Dangerous Creatures and Horrible Setbacks"	March 3, 2005				4-2-1	3rd Voted Out Day 8
"Sumo at Sea"	March 10, 2005				5-1	4th Voted Out Day 11
"The Best and Worst Reward Ever"	March 16, 2005	rowspan=2	rowspan=2		8-1	5th Voted Out Day 12
			2-2-1 3-0	6th Voted Out Day 12
"Jellyfish 'N Chips"	March 23, 2005				2-2 2-0	7th Voted Out Day 15
"The Great White Shark Hunter"	March 31, 2005				2-1	8th Voted Out Day 18
"Neanderthal Man"	April 7, 2005				No vote	Eliminated Day 21
"I Will Not Give Up"	April 14, 2005	None			7-1-1	9th Voted Out 1st Jury Member Day 24
"Exile Island"	April 21, 2005				No vote	Quit 2nd Jury Member Day 27
"I'll Show You How Threatening I Am"	April 28, 2005	Survivor Auction			6-1	10th Voted Out 3rd Jury Member Day 30
"We'll Make You Pay"	May 5, 2005				4-2	11th Voted Out 4th Jury Member Day 33
"It Could All Backfire"	May 12, 2005				4-1	12th Voted Out 5th Jury Member Day 36
"The Ultimate Shock"	May 15, 2005	None			2-2	13th Voted Out 6th Jury Member Day 37
					1-0	14th Voted Out 7th Jury Member Day 38
"The Reunion"	May 15, 2005	Jury Vote			6-1	Runner-Up
						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.

^ The contestants were told that there were two immunity necklaces on the beach: one for the first man to claim, and one for the first woman to claim. On day 2, the castaways were told they would divide into two tribes of 9 members each, with the two immunity holders making the first picks for their new tribes. Ian's tribe became Koror, while Jolanda's tribe became Ulong. Because one man and one women would not be chosen due to the numbers, the two that went unselected would be eliminated. Jonathan and Wanda were the two that were eliminated immediately. Once this process was completed, the power of the immunity necklaces was over.
^ Combined Reward and Immunity Challenge.
^ On Day 12, both tribes went to Tribal Council. Koror, by winning the reward challenge prior to Tribal Council, won the opportunity to vote first, then eat a reward dinner as Ulong spoke with Jeff Probst. Before Ulong voted, Koror voted to give individual immunity to a member of Ulong. Ibrehem was given Immunity in a 3-2-2-1 decision (Bobby Jon and Stephenie each received 2 votes, Angie received 1).
^ No vote: Ulong had only 2 members, a fire-making challenge instead of a vote determined the outcome at Tribal Council, and Stephenie won, thus sending Bobby Jon home.
^ There was no reward challenge due to the fact that Stephenie became a member of Koror.
^ Jenn and Ian competed in a fire-making challenge similar to that of Stephenie and Bobby Jon's. Ian won this challenge, thus sending Jenn home.

Episode 1: "This Has Never Happened Before!"

• Individual Immunity Challenge: The newly marooned castaways must jump off their boat, swim across the sea and reach the drop-off beach where two individual Immunity Necklaces (one for each gender) are waiting. The first man and first woman to wear the necklaces gets the chance to initiate the tribe selection process the next day wherein the last man and woman that is not picked into a tribe will automatically be eliminated.

Host Jeff Probst surprised the new castaways that there will be an impromptu individual Immunity Challenge as two necklaces are waiting at shore. Though shocked by the twist as they were not divided into tribes yet, the survivors raced to the shoreline. Jonathan and Stephenie made a crucial mistake by jumping off the boat and trying to outswim it, but the boat went far ahead of them. In the end, Ian and Jolanda each won individual Immunity. On Day 2, Probst appeared again and informed the castaways that Ian's and Jolanda's necklaces will soon be gone as they will initiate the schoolyard-style tribe selection process. It was also revealed that the wearers of the necklaces will be ensured that they will have a tribe; because the last man and woman that wasn't picked to join any tribe will automatically go home. Wanda, the last woman, was not picked for she was deemed the weakest among the castaways and for being annoying with her singing. Jonathan, the last man, was not picked for he was seemingly unfriendly in an early conversation, while Coby and Caryn campaigned for his exit in case of a 20-person Tribal Council. After Jonathan and Wanda left, Jeff Probst began distributing buffs. Then the blue Ulong (Jolanda's team) and the brown Koror (Ian's team) tribes were born. After the tribe selection process, the tribes continued living on the same beach.

• Reward/Immunity Challenge: Castaways will be on an obstacle course involving a jungle race, a cargo net crawl and a tire run. The tribe members would then arrive at a supply dump, where they would gather valuable supplies. The tribes would choose which items they want to race with. The next obstacle was a wall that the Survivors would need to get themselves and their supplies over. They would then wade through a waist-deep swamp before dropping the supplies on beach mats. The final leg would be an outrigger race on the water to retrieve their tribe flag. The first tribe to cross the finish line with their tribe flag wins.
  • Reward: All supplies they chose from the supply dump as well as Immunity

In the first Immunity Challenge, the younger Ulong struggled as Jolanda insisted to take everything in the supply dump, leaving the elderly Koror (who only took the flint) with the lead and eventually win the challenge. Koror was also given the chance to stay into their old camp or to start fresh, and they chose a new one-leaving the old camp solely to Ulong. Though having won the flint as well as Immunity, Koror had a mishap as their outrigger capsized and their newly acquired crate full of fire-making essentials sank in deep water. While in Ulong, Jolanda and Angie were to blame for the loss (Angie deemed as a weak link and Jolanda insisting to take all the supplies). But in the end, despite being a strong competitor, Jolanda's overly domineering attitude sealed her fate in a 6-3 vote.

Episode 2: "Love is in the Air, Rats Are Everywhere"

• Reward Challenge: Castaways were to run through a "gauntlet" bridge, requiring them to cross several floating obstacles over water in order to collect flags on the other side. As they were crossing, two opposing tribemembers would be hurling swinging bags of sand at them all the while. If knocked off, the player would be forced to go back to the beginning. The first tribe to collect all 10 of their flags wins.
  • Reward: Fishing spear, and a snorkeling set; if Ulong wins, they will receive flint
• Immunity Challenge: Two heavy foot lockers, filled with mess kits, were resting on the ocean floor. Each tribe must swim out to a marker buoy, dive down, find a rope attached to the foot locker, then pull it across the ocean floor. Once the foot locker reaches the start point, the tribes must unlatch the lockers, thus releasing the mess kits. Each tribe member would retrieve one mess kit, then swim back to the beach. Each mess kit had a Morse code letter inscribed on it. The first tribe to decipher the Morse code and spell out the mystery word ("immunity") wins Immunity.

Now living at their new campsite, Koror's new home proved terrible when they learned that their camp is infested with rats. To make things worse, their flint is still underwater after their boat capsized while paddling to their new beach. At Ulong, Angie still felt isolation after deemed as a weak link from last challenge but quickly gained the respect of her teammates by singlehandedly winning the Reward Challenge for Ulong. While Ulong chowed down a handful of fish, Koror had to get the hard-earned flint that was still lying underwater. Despite the angry tides, Ian became victorious as he brought the flint back at camp. In both camps, romances emerged at Koror (Jenn and Gregg) and Ulong (Kim and Jeff Wilson). During the Immunity Challenge, Kim performed very badly and it seemed that she was throwing the challenge, while Koror's "buddy system" brought them to another Immunity win. Facing another Tribal Council, Ulong discussed voting out Ashlee, who had a questionable desire to stay and was plagued with sickness, while Kim's laziness as well as her weak performance in challenges also put her on the chopping block. But in the end, ailing Ashlee paid the price in a 6-1-1 vote.

Episode 3: "Dangerous Creatures and Horrible Setbacks"

• Reward Challenge: Members from each tribe would race into the water to retrieve a safety ring. The first tribe member to fight off the opposition and swim the ring to their designated buoy would get a point. The battles would be one-on-one as well as two-on-two. The first tribe to score three wins.
  • Reward: A Sewing kit
• Immunity Challenge: The tribes would partake in a beach run, clipped to each other by a rope and carrying backpacks with 20 pounds of sandbag weight. The tribes would begin at opposite sides of an oval course. After Jeff Probst's go-signal, the tribes would race to catch up to one another. Any tribe members who fell behind could unclip from the rope and drop out of the race, but they would be forced to pass their sandbag to another player, who must carry the extra weight. The first tribe to catch up to the other tribe and tag them would gain Immunity. A variation on this challenge was used in Survivor: Cook Islands.

At Ulong, James became suspicious of Jeff Wilson and Kim's undeniable closeness and saw it as distraction, especially when Ulong needed to win immunity. Meanwhile, the still complete Koror started to get tired of each other, as Caryn and Katie bickered when they repair their shelter. At the Reward Challenge, Ulong mismatched Koror in another reward challenge blow-out; giving Ulong a sewing kit. In an attempt to feed their hungry teammates, Ian and Tom killed a snake and tried to use its blood as bait for sharks, but failed. At Ulong, Jeff Wilson twisted his ankle when he accidentally stepped into a stray coconut. At the Immunity Challenge, Jeff Wilson's broken ankle was to much to bear as he bailed himself out from the challenge. Koror won Immunity again, and Ulong faced their third successive Tribal Council. Jeff Wilson confessed that his ankle was too much torture for him and asked his team to vote him out. Although, Bobby Jon and James still insisted they oust lazy Kim. At Tribal Council, the others decided to grant Jeff Wilson's wish to leave the competition in a 4-2-1 vote.

Episode 4: "Sumo at Sea"

• Reward Challenge: Tribes will be given a crate full of tools (courtesy of Home Depot) and will be tasked to create a bathroom for their camp. Host Jeff Probst and Survivor production designer Jesse will then judge both bathrooms. The tribe that has the best bathroom wins reward.
  • Reward: The Survivor production team will construct a new shelter, picnic table and a patio
• Immunity Challenge: Tribes would face off in a series of one-on-one sumo-style battles. The Survivors would use padded duffel bags to knock their adversaries out of a ring and into the sea. The first tribe to win six bouts would take Immunity. A rendition of this challenge later appeared in Survivor: Fiji and Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains.

Ulong returned to camp from Tribal Council, with Stephenie's spirits going an all-time low and James angry and sarcastic about losing Immunity Challenges. The next morning, teams are to assign a representative for their tribe and were met by Jeff Probst at their camps, bringing a crate full of tools from Home Depot for they will construct a working bathroom for the challenge and to be judged by Survivor production designer Jesse later. Koror chose Ian to be the leader of the project, and Ulong chose James. When both projects were judged, it was Koror who won a deluxe shelter; which further frustrated James, who is a steelworker. In the Immunity Challenge, Koror had an early lead, but Ulong made a slight comeback. However, in the final winner-takes-all round, James was defeated by Coby; thus another victory for Koror. With another Tribal Council coming, Kim was still perceived as a weak link as well as lazy at camp, but she tried to shake things up when she tried to pull the other Ulong girls to an alliance. In the end, though worried of gender imbalance afterwards, Angie and Stephenie joined the guys in voting out Kim in a 5-1 vote.

Episode 5: "The Best and Worst Reward Ever"

• Reward Challenge: The tribes will race to salvage sake bottles from a shipwreck. One player at a time would be pulled to the shipwreck on a raft by their tribemates. Once the player arrived, they must dive down to retrieve a sake bottle. The first tribe to bring back six bottles wins.
  • Reward: Beef stew and root beer, but to be eaten while watching the losing team's Tribal Council. However, one member will be voted out from the winning tribe before the reward is distributed.

After another Tribal Council, things got worse for Ulong as they got lost in the dark on their way back to camp. While having not to visit Tribal Council for winning all the immunity challenges, Gregg and Tom complained about Willard's poor work ethic and how he seemed to enjoy having a "free ride" as his tribe continue to win challenges while he sat out most of the time. As the tribes arrived for the Reward Challenge, Jeff Probst shocked them, saying that whoever wins, both tribes would go to Tribal Council to vote someone out. Though Ulong had an early lead, Ibrehem had difficulty in swimming, thus giving another win for Koror. Later at Koror's first Tribal Council, Willard was perceived as weak and a freeloader and was voted out 8-1. While watching Ulong's fifth straight Tribal Council, it was revealed that Koror will vote again; this time to give immunity to one of the Ulong and deny the Ulong the right to vote for that player. Knowing Ibrehem was Ulong's worst performer in the Reward Challenge, Koror granted Ibrehem individual immunity in a 3-2-2-1 vote (with Bobby Jon and Stephenie both have 2 votes and Angie with 1). Ulong's vote was originally a tie (first time since Marquesas) as Angie and Stephenie voted against Bobby Jon, Bobby Jon and James voted against Angie, while Ibrehem's vote was against James, causing a revote. In the end, Ibrehem and Stephenie changed their votes to Angie and she was voted out unanimously. She left in good spirits, saying she was glad she was not the first person voted out (she was the last woman to be called onto a tribe, and she barely survived the first Tribal Council against Jolanda).

Episode 6: "Jellyfish 'N Chips"

• Reward Challenge: Using an old authentic machine gun, tribe members would take turns shooting tribe-colored tiles. The first tribe to take out eight of their targets would win the Challenge. This challenge was later used as an individual challenge in Survivor: Micronesia
  • Reward: An excursion to a stinger-free jellyfish lake with a feast of Pringles and Mai Tai
• Immunity Challenge: Tribes will be given wood and rope and 20 minutes to construct an impenetrable fortress to protect the already-bound foot locker. After 20 minutes, the tribes would race to break into the fortress constructed by the opposing tribe and rescue their flag. The first tribe to capture their flag and hoist it up a flagpole wins Immunity.

At Ulong, everyone was upset about Ibrehem being voted by Koror for Immunity last Tribal Council. At Koror, things are lively as the yet impenetrable team had to do some chores around camp. In a closely fought Reward Challenge, both teams seized seven targets, but Stephenie gave the final blow. Caryn then failed to hit the eighth target for Koror, Ulong had won a Pringles and Mai Tai feast while swimming in a stinging-free jellyfish lake. Back in Koror, Janu's severe shivering (due to a storm days ago) annoyed some tribe members, particularly Tom. At the Immunity Challenge, Ulong again took the lead, but Koror's Janu worked though her fragile state and managed to give her team another Immunity win. With their sixth successive Tribal Council looming, Bobby Jon and Stephenie made an alliance and pointed out James's strength was weakening and Ibrehem was weak all throughout and his anomalous Immunity last Tribal Council. But in Tribal Council, Bobby Jon and Stephenie cast separate votes. (Bobby Jon and Ibrehem voted against James, and Stephenie and James voted against Ibrehem.) But in a revote, Stephenie changed her vote to James, thus sending him home.

Episode 7: "The Great White Shark Hunter"

• Reward Challenge: Tribes must construct an SOS signal. The most creative yet recognizable signal wins.
  • Reward: A plane will airdrop a crate full of additional camping supplies, some food and sewing supplies.
• Immunity Challenge: Two tribemates must manipulate a giant sliding puzzle while the last tribe member will act as their caller. The first team to finish their puzzle (a sea star) wins Immunity.

With their roster down with only three members, camaraderie in Ulong became even closer; but Bobby Jon and Stephenie reaffirmed their alliance. At Koror, Ian and Tom competed against each other in a fishing contest. Ian brought a giant clam; but not to be outdone, Tom slayed a giant shark, dazzling his tribemates. In the SOS Reward Challenge, Ulong dismantled their shelter and spelled out their tribe name, while Koror's more comical "Got Food?" signal won and gave them additional camping supplies. After days of starvation, Bobby Jon brought a giant clam for his tribe; hoping that it would help them win the next Immunity Challenge. In the Immunity Challenge, Ulong struggled again as Bobby Jon gave up as their caller and gave the job to Stephenie. Though Stephenie made Ulong's work progress, Coby's puzzle prowess gave Koror another win; sending the Ulong trio back to Tribal Council. Back in Ulong, Stephenie was unsure if Bobby Jon is still committed to his pact with her and made a back-up alliance with Ibrehem, but the latter was non-committal. In the end, Bobby Jon was true to his word and Ibrehem was voted out 2-1.

Episode 8: "Neanderthal Man"

• Reward Challenge: The participating contestants would partake in a balut eating competition. There would be four rounds, starting with 1 balut, with each round adding an additional one. It was not a race, and the contestants would switch off each round. In the case of tie, the two strongest eaters would go head-to-head to eat 5 balut. The tribe to finish their balut first would win.
  • Reward: Bath essentials and a portable shower containing 55 gallons of potable water.
• Immunity Challenge: The tribes must race out to a series of floating platforms, swim under them in order to collect puzzle pieces, swim back to shore, and drop off the puzzle pieces on the beach. Once they have collected all the pieces, the tribes must assemble the puzzle and solve a word jumble using the pieces. The first tribe to correctly unscramble the mystery word ("victory at sea") wins Immunity.
• Ulong's Elimination Challenge: At Tribal Council, the two remaining members of Ulong must create a fire high enough to light their elevated torch. The loser will be eliminated from the game.

Now only a duo, Bobby Jon and Stephenie felt discomfort in losing challenges but are still eager to win. In Koror, Coby became infuriated about his female tribemates' laziness. In the Reward Challenge, Bobby Jon struggled to swallow as he put all his servings in his mouth, but Tom strategically ate one egg at a time, thus granting Koror another victory. Back at Koror, their reward became a controversy; as tribe leader Tom insisted to use the portable shower (containing drinkable water) for drinking purposes only. At Ulong, Bobby Jon became angry and blamed himself about the loss, which scared Stephenie. At Koror, Tom revealed to Ian that he has a secret alliance with Stephenie way before the tribes were created. At the Immunity Challenge, it was a close race, but Coby and Gregg solved their puzzle first, Koror prevailed once more. With only two members remaining it was impossible to vote either Ulong member off, so Bobby Jon and Stephenie competed in an elimination Challenge at Tribal Council, where they confessed that they were uncomfortable with the idea of them being adversaries. In their special challenge, though skeptical about her fire-making abilities, Stephenie narrowly defeated Bobby Jon, securing her place in the game and Bobby Jon is eliminated. Stephenie will have to go back to Ulong camp alone.

Episode 9: "I Will Not Give Up"

• Immunity Challenge: The Survivors must stand on a perch under the changing weather conditions for as long as they can. Meanwhile, Jeff will occasionally tempt players with food. The last person standing will win Individual Immunity.

At Koror, Coby constantly complained about the others being dysfunctional, such as Janu's drama, Jenn and Katie's inactivity, and Tom's machismo. At Ulong, with all her tribemates gone, Stephenie tearfully struggles to fend for herself. But after receiving a sealed canister in the Tree Mail, she was instructed to go to the Koror camp and gleefully left her now desolate campsite. It was revealed that the canister holds a brown buff and she officially joins Koror, while the challenges from there on out will be individual. Tired of each other, Stephenie was welcomed by Koror with open arms, but most of the tribe agreed that she was a major threat after seeing her confidence and strength. Then, two Palauan natives, Edwin and Joe, taught Koror how to fish, gave them additional fishing equipment, and held a feast. Meanwhile, Coby got fed up with everyone for leaving him out of the "fun" (Gregg, Ian, and Tom were chosen to go fishing instead of him) and openly told Stephenie about the others' strategies and alliances, angering most of his tribemates. At the first Individual Immunity Challenge, Coby for the second time, revealed Koror's secrets. With the others (including the obviously vulnerable Stephenie) bailed out for various food items, Tom was the last man standing and won Immunity. At Tribal Council, Coby again openly spilled all strategies and problems of his tribe; which prompted everyone to vote against him instead of major threat Stephenie. In the end, Coby's jealousy of Ian and Tom's leadership, constant complaining and revealing too much of the tribe dynamics to Stephenie, gave him the boot and the first seat in the Jury in a 7-1-1 vote.

^According to producers, there was no official merge because of the fact that Koror essentially conquered Ulong.

Episode 10: "Exile Island"

• Reward Challenge: Koror will be split into two teams of 4. The teams must race into the water to erect a custom tower using scaffolding. The first team to construct their tower, climb it, retrieve a flag and race the flag back to the beach wins.
  • Reward: An authentic Palauan Feast
• Immunity Challenge: A steel cage would be set up in the water at low tide, with the castaways huddled inside under a steel tier. With the rising tide, the Survivors must fight for air, and the last player to stay under the cage would win Immunity. In a twist, the first castaway to bail out from the challenge will be sent to an untouched beach.

Janu clashed with Gregg and Katie because of the former's work ethic and her dramatic demeanor. In the Reward Challenge, the heavy scaffolding proved stress for the survivors, but the worn out team of Caryn, Gregg, Janu, and Tom won a Palauan feast. At the feast, Janu vomited, angering her fellow winners. Returning from the feast, Gregg gave Ian's team some leftovers from the feast, but Janu and Caryn impolitely ate some of it, annoying Katie. In the Immunity Challenge, Janu was the first who gave up and was sent to an uninhabited island and Tom won Immunity. In seclusion, Janu became happy as she was away from the others that alienated her. After many hours, Janu created fire and danced joyously. Back at Koror camp, the tribe was torn between Janu, who no one liked but several people (especially Gregg) wanted to keep around because she was not a threat and could be gotten rid of whenever the stronger players wanted, and Stephenie who was popular and a fierce competitor but also a huge threat to win if she could reach the final Tribal Council. In a heated Tribal Council, Janu revealed that she was fed up with the others and the game so she decided to "throw a wrench" to the probable plan of voting out Stephenie and voluntarily left the competition.

Episode 11: "I'll Show You How Threatening I Am"

• Survivor Auction: Each contestant will be given US$500. The items available in the auction will be remained covered after someone takes them. Players may share money and the item. Auction will end without further notice.

• Reward: What the castaways won from the auction:

Contestant	Item(s)
	A double-cheeseburger, fries, and a soft drink (Mystery Item; shared with Stephenie), and a letter from home
	Spaghetti with meatballs and garlic bread (Mystery Item; shared with Ian), and a letter from home
	Spaghetti with meatballs and garlic bread (Mystery Item; shared with Gregg), and a bottle of beer
	An ice cream sundae (Mystery Item)
	A letter from home
	A double-cheeseburger, fries, and a soft drink (Mystery Item; shared with Caryn), and a letter from home
	A letter from home

• Immunity Challenge: Players must stand behind a line in front of 35 multicolored ceramic tiles, each color representing a different Survivor. The Survivors must toss coconuts at their tiles, trying to smash them. If a castaway smashed an opponent's tile by accident, the opponent would get the benefit. The first Survivor to smash (or to have smashed by others) all five of their tiles would win Immunity.

After another lucky reprieve, Stephenie tried to shake things in Koror as she conspired with the women to get rid of the males (Tom, Ian and Gregg) and take advantage of their gender majority. Instead of a Reward Challenge, a Survivor Auction was held. After a series of food items, Jeff then revealed letters from home in which the tribe (except Ian and Jenn) bought and declared the auction closed after. Back at camp, the castaways temporarily put the game aside and took a moment from themselves as they read their letters. In the Immunity Challenge, Tom accidentally hit one of Ian's colored tiles, which gave Ian Immunity. Back at camp, Stephenie tried to pull the Koror girls into a female alliance, but Caryn spilled the plot to the men. In the end, despite strong lobbying, the six original Koror members ultimately turned on Stephenie, being the last Ulong standing, and she was voted out 6-1.

Episode 12: "We'll Make You Pay"

• Reward Challenge: Each player would be assigned a fire wok suspended over the water. Each time a Survivor correctly answers a question about Palauan culture/history, they may lower an opponent's wok. The last person with their flame still burning would win.
  • Reward: A yacht trip with two companions and their loved ones in tow.
• Immunity Challenge: Players will compete through a series of obstacles they have already seen in previous Challenges: navigating a net maze, solving a miniature version of the sea star puzzle, eating balut, unleashing lock-boxes and target shooting. One player would be eliminated at each round, and the last castaway standing wins Immunity.

With Ulong completely obliterated, the six remaining Koror members started to scramble as Tom, a physical threat, and Caryn, being on the outs, talked about their voting options and future schemes. In the quiz-type Reward Challenge where Gregg won, he unleashed his true colors as he selected Jenn and Katie over Caryn, Ian, and Tom on a luxury yacht trip, angering the trio. Back at camp, knowing she was next to go, Caryn agreed to be a new wheel with Tom and Ian for dismantling their five-person alliance with Gregg, Jenn, and Katie. At the yacht trip, Gregg, Jenn, and Katie were enjoying their massage therapy, their loved ones (Gregg's best friend, Jenn's sister, and Katie's brother-in-law) appeared as an additional reward. At the Immunity Challenge, Ian and Tom were on even ground, up until the final round, where Ian successfully hit his three targets and retain Immunity in his possession. Back at camp, Ian approached Katie about blindsiding Gregg to prevent a possible tie, much to Katie's shock. In the end, Katie avoided the possible tie and joined Caryn, Ian, and Tom in blindsiding Gregg 4-2.

Episode 13: "It Could All Backfire"

• Reward Challenge: Survivors would race into the lagoon on bamboo rafts and collect a series of mileage markers. Once all the markers were collected, they must be placed under the sign marker designating the distance from Palau to various big cities. The first player to place all the markers correctly would win.
  • Reward: A Chevrolet Corvette, and an overnight stay in a hillside Palauan mansion where he will feast together with a companion of his choice.
• Immunity Challenge: Survivor must traverse a watercourse to get reference to an arrangement of various icons on a puzzle grid. Next, they must make their way back to the start to rearrange their own icons on a blank grid to match what they had seen on the course. The players must repeat the watercourse until one of them replicated their grid exactly in order to win Immunity.

After Koror disposed Gregg, his sweetheart Jenn was shocked yet kept calm after the predicament. Meanwhile, Tom talked to Caryn about his distrust with Katie. Ian promised Katie that if he wins the Reward Challenge, he will take her. But when Ian won the Reward Challenge, Katie was offended as Ian took Tom with him instead of her. Angered by the move and with the absence of the boys, Katie approached the other remaining girls, plotting of another women's alliance. After their reward, Ian confronted Katie of his deception, but Katie got emotional and deemed him untrustworthy. Ian then begged for forgiveness, in which Katie eventually accepted. At the Immunity Challenge, Tom was not on his prime, keeping to forget the appearance of his grid and constantly stumbling throughout the course. But in the end, Tom won and secured his spot in the final four. Back at camp, Ian and Tom speculated that while they were gone for the Reward, the women may have made an alliance. Ian reaffirmed his alliance with Katie and insisted to vote out Caryn. At Tribal Council, Caryn spilled out everyone's strategies and alliances, hurting Ian, Jenn, Katie, and Tom. They turned on her and Caryn was voted out 4-1.

Episode 14: "The Ultimate Shock"

• Final 4 Immunity Challenge: Survivors must race along a tire crawl, then navigate through a series of vertical escape hatches to reach the top of a three-story tower. Once at the top of the tower, the Survivors must use grappling hooks to retrieve keys that unlock a hatch covering a flag, which they must raise. The first two players to finish would race down a flying fox into the ocean and retrieve a combination lock box containing another flag. After figuring out the box's combination, the Survivors must retrieve the flag and raise it. The first to raise this final flag wins Immunity.
• Tiebreaker Challenge: At Tribal Council, Ian and Jenn must create a fire high enough to burn through an elevated rope which will raise a flag. The loser will be eliminated from the game.

After a series of prickly vote-outs, the four remaining members of Koror contemplated that amidst the game-playing, unpredictable weather and intense challenges, all agreed that their closeness are unmatched. In a conversation with Jenn and Katie, Ian said that, should Tom lose the Immunity Challenge, he would break his deal with Tom and vote him out in order to maximize his chances of making the final two. In the Final Four Immunity Challenge, Tom and Ian are once again even, but Tom became triumphant for the fourth collective time. Back at camp, the four agreed publicly that Jenn was going home, Tom telling her that he had to stay loyal to the final three pact he had made with Ian on day two. That night, Ian let slip to Tom that he was happy Tom won Immunity, because it would have been a hard decision for Ian if he had won. Tom was baffled by the fact that his longtime ally would have had a "hard decision," so he talked to Jenn, who informed him that Ian had indeed said he would turn on Tom. At a late-night Tribal Council, all of the controversy came out in the open, with Tom and Katie hurt by Ian's lies. Katie and Ian stuck to the final three pact and voted against Jenn, but Jenn and Tom - realizing that Ian wouldn't have been true to him - voted against Ian, leaving a 2-2 tie. They were still deadlocked 1-1 after Tom and Katie re-voted. It was revealed that the Purple Rock tiebreaker (that generated much controversy in Marquesas) would not commence and a tie-breaker challenge similar to Ulong's would take place. Though the challenge started on even ground, Ian was the first to get the fire high enough to burn through a rope and raise a red flag, and Jenn was eliminated from the game.

• Final 3 Immunity Challenge: The Survivors must each grab onto a navigational buoy and hang on while the buoy swayed from side-to-side. The last player left hanging on would win Final Immunity.

Back at camp, Tom and Katie accused Ian of being two-faced for not honoring their alliance, while the latter exclaimed that they are in a competition. After a tribute to their fallen castaways, the three remaining contestants took part in the final Immunity Challenge. Katie stepped down after 5 hours. With the challenge running for 12 hours, Ian and Tom are still fighting for Immunity. But with the feeling of guilt after Tom and Katie's accusations against him, Ian stepped down and asked the now-immune Tom to vote him out as a sign of integrity. Since the challenge ended at late night and it was too late to conduct a Tribal Council, Ian became the first person in Survivor to be voted out outside Tribal Council after being verbally voted by Tom. The next day, Katie and Tom ceremoniously burned their shelter and everything that helped them survive the past 39 days. In the Final Tribal Council, Tom was commended for his dominance in challenges and leadership skills; but was berated for being overbearing and a sexist. Katie on the other hand praised for her honesty, but was lambasted for being two-faced, weak in challenges and riding on Ian and Tom's coattails. When Jury member Janu asked Katie a long-winded question, Katie simply told Janu she was not going to answer her, regardless of whether or not Janu might have voted for her. Katie also responded sharply to a critical question from Caryn. The Jury deliberated and with six votes to one, Tom was declared the tenth Sole Survivor.

Voting history

	Original Tribes											Jury Phase
Episode #:	1	2	3	4	5			6		7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14
Eliminated:											No vote}}

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Jury vote
Finalist:
Juror	Vote
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^ The vote was initially tied 2"2 between Angie and Bobby Jon, but after a revote, Angie was unanimously eliminated.
^ Bobby Jon and Angie were not eligible to vote in the second Tribal Council vote.
^ Stephenie originally voted for Ibrehem, causing a tie; however, in a revote, Stephenie changed her vote and voted for James, sending him home.
^ Ibrehem and James were not eligible to vote in the second Tribal Council vote.
^ No vote: Ulong had only 2 members, a fire-making challenge instead of a vote determined the outcome at Tribal Council, and Stephenie won, thus sending Bobby Jon home.
^ No vote: Janu wanted to voluntarily leave the game, therefore the vote was invalidated for the game.
^ Ian and Jenn were not eligible to vote in the second Tribal Council vote.
^ Jenn and Ian competed in a fire-making challenge similar to that of Stephenie and Bobby Jon's. Ian won this challenge, thus sending Jenn home.
^ Because the Final Immunity Challenge ended too late to conduct tribal council, Ian was voted out outside Tribal Council by being verbally eliminated by Tom.

Ratings

U.S. Nielsen ratings

Episode	Air date	rating/Share 18"49	Viewers (millions)
"This Has Never Happened Before!"	February 17, 2005	9.1/23	23.66
"Love is in the Air, Rats Are Everywhere"	February 24, 2005	7.9/20	21.64
"Dangerous Creatures and Horrible Setbacks"	March 3, 2005	8.5	21.80
"Sumo at Sea"	March 10, 2005	8.1/22	21.80
"The Best and Worst Reward Ever"	March 16, 2005	6.9/19	18.42
"Jellyfish 'N Chips"	March 23, 2005	7.3/19	19.15
"The Great White Shark Hunter"	March 31, 2005	7.7/21	20.89
"Neanderthal Man"	April 7, 2005	7.0/20	19.75
"I Will Not Give Up"	April 14, 2005	7.1	20.00
"Exile Island"	April 21, 2005	6.4	18.66
"I'll Show You How Threatening I Am"	April 28, 2005	-	-
"We'll Make You Pay"	May 5, 2005	7.1/21	20.07
"It Could All Backfire"	May 12, 2005	6.9	19.30
"The Ultimate Shock"	May 15, 2005	7.8/18	20.80
"Winner Revealed"	May 15, 2005	8.3/18	21.70

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Survivor: Palau". Reality TV World is not responsible for any errors or omissions this article may contain.