Blood Is Thicker than Anything

Blood Is Thicker than Anything is the season premiere of .
==Story==
===Day 0===
As night began to fall in the , ten pairs of contestants, comprised of a returning player and a loved one, were each taken to a remote corner of the island and abandoned. Jeff Probst introduced each pair, beginning with Gervase Peterson (of ) and his niece Marissa Peterson, who was only nine years old when her uncle competed on the first season of the show. Kat Edorsson (of ) lost the game due to her instability, and she returned to the game with her boyfriend Hayden Moss, winner of Big Brother 12. Laura Morett (of ) played the mother role on her original tribe, but for her second attempt at the game, she brought her daughter Ciera Eastin. Four-time contestant Rupert Boneham (of , , and ) had one hundred days playing the game, and his wife Laura Boneham hoped to carve out her own place in the game. Controversial contestant Colton Cumbie (of ) was medically evacuated in his last game, but left a negative impression, and his fiancée Caleb Bankston hoped to amend his partner's reputation. Candice Cody (of and ) returned to the game with her husband John Cody, both successful in their lives as doctors and both hoping to take home the game. Monica Culpepper (of ) returned to the game with her famous football-player husband Brad Culpepper, and the two were eager to take the game by storm. Tina Wesson was the first female winner in (and played again in ) returned with her daughter Katie Collins, who admitted to hoping to outlast her mother. Tyson Apostol (of and ) was renowned for his past missteps in the game, and his girlfriend Rachel Foulger hoped to be a grounding force. Lastly, Aras Baskauskas, the likable winner of returned to the game with his older brother Vytas Baskauskas who had a much darker past of drug abuse and imprisonment.
Each couple received a note informing them that they would spend the night alone together with no supplies, forcing them to rely on each other for protection, comfort, and survival. The news shocked Hayden and Kat, and the couples all began to prepare for the adventure as night closed in. Marissa was taken aback when veteran Gervase asked her what they should do, whilst Kat doled out advice from her past experience. Caleb took charge, rejecting Colton's reluctant offer to help. As lightning shot across the sky during the night, the couples kept close, but many expressed their readiness to compete against their loved ones and beat them at all costs.
===Day 1===
As dawn broke over the island, the ten couples assembled on the beach and were greeted by Jeff Probst, who welcomed them to the twenty-seventh season of Survivor. Jeff asked Hayden how his first hours in the game compared to Big Brother, and he answered that it was difficult to compare the comforts of a house to the lush wilderness. Jeff then announced that although the contestants would be experiencing the game with their loved ones, they would not be playing with them, and asked for a show of hands of who was excited to compete against their loved ones. Several pairs, including Monica and Brad, Candice and John, Gervase and Marissa, and Aras and Vytas raised their hands together, but there was some surprising disunity with Kat and Katie raising their hands when their loved ones did not.
Jeff asked Katie why she wanted to take on Tina in the game her mother had already won. Katie laughed it off, saying she'd expected Tina to also raise her hand. Tina laughed, too, but noted that the game would be the hardest thing many of them had ever done once people's loved ones began to be voted out. Jeff turned to Brad how he would feel if Monica were voted out, and he answered that although he wanted to beat her in every challenge, there was part of him that would consider throwing a challenge if it would help his wife. Marissa gasped at the suggestion, exclaiming, "You'd better not be on my team saying that!"
The teams were then split into two tribes: returning players on the yellow tribe Galang, and the new contestants on the red tribe Tadhana. The pairs said their goodbyes and assembled in their new tribes.
Before anybody had even settled, Jeff complicated the game further by announcing that each tribe would immediately vote somebody out. Everybody was shocked by the twist, and Hayden lamented that it was so early to be making decisions on first impressions.
The vote began with Tadhana, with Vytas, Brad, and Hayden revealing votes for Laura B. Laura B. and Rupert both were shocked that they were being targeted so early. Laura B. then revealed her vote for "Jarvis' loved one," Marissa. Caleb and Ciera both revealed their votes for Laura B., making a majority to vote Laura B. out of Tadhana. As Laura B. took a place beside Jeff, Rupert voiced his disappointment that they wouldn't be playing the game together.
Candice began Galang's vote, casting her vote for Laura M., claiming that it was simply because she didn't know much about her. Tyson also voted for Laura M., but Tina cast a vote against Candice, citing the same reasoning of knowing little about her. Kat and Colton followed with votes for Candice, and Rupert voted for Laura M., tying them at three votes each. Monica voted for Candice, and Aras cast a vote for Gervase, saying "I'm a Redskins fan" (in reference to Gervase's Philadelphia Eagles T-shirt). Laura M. put the nail in the coffin with a fifth vote for Candice, apologizing and offering to "get a cup of coffee some day." Her husband John grimaced in frustration as Candice left Galang and took her place beside Laura B.
The twists kept coming as Jeff revealed that despite being voted out of their tribes, Candice and Laura B. were not out of the game as was in play. Before sending the two women to Redemption Island, Jeff turned to Rupert and offered him the chance to take his wife's place. Before Jeff had finished, Rupert left the Galang mat. Jeff stopped him to explain the consequences, establishing that swapping places would send Laura B. back to Galang in his place and put him at risk of elimination if he lost a Duel. Tina urged Rupert not to swap, but after a very brief consultation with Laura B., he chose to take her place, vowing to win every Duel. Laura was welcomed into Galang, but the tribe hid their disappointment regarding Rupert's decision.
Jeff turned to John and offered him the same choice. John took a moment to quietly consult with Candice. She told him that although she thought she could beat Rupert, the choice was his. John agreed that she had a better chance than he did, and decided not to take her place, claiming that she had what it took to win. He rejoined Tadhana as Candice returned to her place. Jeff then sent Candice and Rupert to Redemption Island, giving them one last chance to say goodbye to their loved ones.
Galang arrived at their beach and welcomed each other with a group hug. The tribe found a box of tools waiting for them, and although it contained no flint, Tyson said he'd learned how to make fire on from Rob Mariano using only bamboo and was confident he could do it again. As the tribe set to work constructing their camp, Laura B. expressed an eagerness to be a part of the group, but felt out of place amongst the veterans. She began by learning how to chop coconuts under the tutelage of Aras. However, Gervase's frustration at her being swapped in instead of Rupert (expressed in a confessional) and Aras' unintentionally hurtful remark that he wished Rupert were with them served to underscore Laura B.'s outsider status.
Tyson quickly got a fire started, allowing the tribe to begin boiling water and cooking meals as they worked on the shelter construction, giving them an early advantage that Laura M. remarked on in a confessional. But all was not pitch-perfect, as Monica lamented being trapped in the game once more with Colton, who had betrayed her in their first season. She pulled Colton aside to bury the hatchet and put the past behind them. She asked him if she could trust him or if he would backstab her once again, and he assured her that he could be trusted, promising to talk more at a later time.
Meanwhile, at Tadhana, the new players were getting to work with the construction of their shelter and trying to work from their recollections of advice from their loved ones. Feeling jeopardized by his comment about considering throwing challenges back at the tribe division, Brad called a tribe meeting to put the matter to rest. He informed them that he bled Tadhana red, and that if he ever didn't give a hundred percent in the challenge, they had his blessing to vote him out. Although the tribe as a whole seemed receptive, with Vytas joking that they'd "ride [his] back to the finish," Marissa remained cautious about Brad's loyalties.
Later, Brad and John explored their surroundings and discovered a waterfall. Having taken on board his wife's advice to establish an alliance quickly, Brad proposed a five-strong alliance between the men of Tadhana. John was receptive to the idea and agreed to the alliance, and was glad to have somebody else take the leadership role. Brad continued to assemble his alliance by pulling in Hayden and Caleb. He offered Caleb a "number one" position in the alliance, though in a confessional, Caleb revealed that he didn't trust Brad as an alliance-mate in the long term. Lastly, he approached Vytas, who responded positively by saying that it was "mutually beneficial" and would keep the tribe strong. Brad agreed, and noted that the "John Cochrans and the weaker women," who could dominate the strategic game but were less physically valuable, were the biggest threats in modern-day Survivor.
At dusk, the shelter was coming together, but Brad, Ciera, and Vytas struggled to get a fire started using only bamboo. As they worked, they got to know each other. Vytas asked Ciera how long she'd been with her man, and she revealed that they had gotten married fairly quickly after starting to date and had been married for three years. She added that he was the father of her second child, but her first had been born whilst she was still in high school. Brad and Ciera discussed the effect of teenage pregnancy on family, with Ciera revealing that she'd initially hid her pregnancy from her mother and that she had found out. However, Ciera noted that it had worked out well in the end, as she had two beautiful children and Laura M. was happy to be a grandmother of two. Vytas then revealed that he had been a heroin addict as a teenager and at nineteen, had spent a year in prison after being arrested for trying to rob a woman on the street. He added that his arrest had saved his life, as he had overdosed several times on a downward spiral.
Back at Galang, the tribe sat around the fire. Colton remarked that his tribemates helped to make the time feel less like a cutthroat game and more like a "crazy, hellacious camping trip." Later, he shared the scars of his past regarding the difficulties he faced in his community and within his own family due to his homosexuality. He broke down in tears and was comforted by the mothers of the tribe. Monica calmed him by noting that his fiancée was "under the same stars" and that he'd see him soon.
===Day 2===
At Redemption Island, Candice cut open coconuts whilst reciting the names of the people who had voted her out. As Candice worked, Rupert lounged on the flatboards in the shelter, napping, or waded in the ocean. Rupert's complete lack of effort irritated Candice, who was pulling all the weight around camp. Rupert revealed his laziness to be a strategy to conserve his energy for the first Duel.
===Day 3===
At Tadhana, Brad and Rachel collected the tribe's first Tree Mail, including the tribe's challenge flag. At Galang, Colton and Tina returned with the Tree Mail. Both tribes read the note which established that the challenge would involve a physical component and a puzzle. Ciera and Katie suspected that their mothers would compete in the puzzle component, but asserted that they were better than their mothers. As they celebrated the idea of beating their mothers in the puzzle, Laura M. and Tina thought they would be able to school their daughters, setting the stage for a mother-daughter showdown.
At the Immunity Challenge, Jeff welcomed in the tribes. First, he gave Laura B. her Galang buff. Jeff asked Colton how the Galang tribe was faring, and he revealed that they had already made fire thanks to Tyson. Brad speculated that Galang could be bluffing about having fire, and then lied, saying that Tadhana had also managed to make fire. In a later confessional, Hayden scoffed at his tribe's bluff, theorizing that the veterans did have fire thanks to their experience.
Jeff then revealed the challenge: Blue Lagoon Bustle. Six members of the tribe would race out into the water and traverse a series of obstacles: a net, a rolling log, and a crate staircase. They would then reach a boat, untie it and row it back to shore. In the boat would be a chest containing three bags of puzzle pieces. The three remaining tribe members would then solve a puzzle in the shape of a ship wheel. The first tribe to assemble the wheel, attach it a crank, and spin it to raise the tribe flag would win immunity, and fire in the form of flint.
Tadhana edged an early lead at the net, using teamwork to help each other through the obstacles. Meanwhile, Galang moved slowly and separated out, which became particularly evident when Aras was abandoned at the rolling log, making it difficult for him to get over on his own. Tadhana quickly got over the crates, but Galang fell further behind as Gervase struggled to swim and then stopped to catch his breath at the staircase. Belly-flopping into the water, Gervase then had to ask Aras to help him swim the last distance to the boat. Tadhana struggled with the knots to untie their boat, allowing Galang to make up some ground. However, whilst both boats were untied at roughly the same time, Galang floundered as they tried to get control of paddling their boat. Tadhana effortlessly rowed down the center of the course to the beach as Galang found themselves paddling in circles, with Colton and Kat growing more and more frustrated at each other, with Colton threatening to hit Kat with the paddle if she didn't stop scolding him.
As Caleb, Ciera, and Katie began work on Tadhana's puzzle, Galang found themselves rowing backwards to shore. Once finally landing, Laura M., Monica, and Tina rapidly figured out the trick to the first part of the puzzle, allowing them to quickly catch up to Tadhana. As Katie struggled to keep on top of the puzzle, finding herself with several pieces that didn't fit, Galang passed Tadhana to claim the lead. The three women of Galang flew through their second and third bags of puzzle pieces before Tadhana even completed their first. Finishing their ship wheel, Galang raised their tribe flag to claim immunity and reward.
As Galang celebrated, Gervase began to shout, "Don't let that fool you!" His taunting of the losing Tadhana tribe visibly irritated the red tribe, with even Marissa giving him the hand. As Jeff handed Galang the Immunity Idol, Colton broke down in tears, and when asked why, he couldn't explain. Laura M. suggested the victory was bittersweet as, despite their victory, they had put their loved ones in jeopardy.
The defeated Tadhana returned to camp, and tried to look for the silver lining. Brad claimed that everybody had given one hundred percent, and John added that the returning players' experience gave them a strong advantage in the puzzle. Despite the tribes' assurances, Katie was worried that the poor performance of the puzzle solvers could put a target on her back. When the conversation turned to Gervase, Marissa adamantly argued that her uncle's behavior was unexpected and uncalled for, particularly given his poor challenge performance, but in a confessional, feared that his bad sportsmanship could reflect badly on her. Brad urged Tadhana to be gracious should they win a challenge, and Marissa added, "The lion does not roar after it kills its prey."
Later, Brad, Caleb, Hayden, John, and Vytas met to discuss the plan for the vote. Vytas noted that "people would kill to be on the side of the numbers" in many seasons, and it made sense for the five men to stick together. He added that they needed to figure out who their target would be, keeping in mind that whoever went home would be "stabbing someone in the heart" over at Galang. Later, at the well, Brad told Caleb and John that Gervase's gloating had given him cause to consider voting out Marissa. Caleb countered that Katie was a third wheel during the challenge, and John agreed that she had choked on the puzzle. Meanwhile, Vytas worked to keep his ties with the women strong, by informing them about which way the vote was tipping, including telling Rachel that the target was Marissa, but telling Marissa that it was Katie's night. As night began to fall, the tribe departed for Tribal Council.
At Tribal Council, Jeff first instructed each member of the tribe to take a torch and light it, as a representation of their life in the game. Jeff began by asking Hayden what the most difficult part of the first three days was. He answered that the struggle to make fire was the worst part, revealing their bluff at the Immunity Challenge. Ciera added that despite what her mother had told her about the game, experiencing it was something entirely different. She particularly noted the hunger, saying, "Somebody is just trying to get out of my stomach right now, like clawing at my insides." Brad agreed that a lack of fire fuelled their hunger as it prevented them from having the energy required for a challenge.
Jeff turned the conversation to the twist, and Caleb said that it was difficult not knowing what Colton was up to – just as he had no idea about the workings of Tadhana – but they just had to trust that each other would be doing the best thing. John was then asked about Candice's vote-out, and his subsequent decision not to take her place. He said that he was wracked with guilt, and beginning to cry, added that he worried that Candice, trapped on Redemption Island, was feeling as though he had abandoned her. Asked if his vote would be influenced by Candice's presence at Redemption Island, John answered that his primary focus was keeping Tadhana strong in order to take on the veterans, but if there was an added bonus to voting out someone that would be easy for Candice to beat, he was all for it.
Brad was asked about the long term effects of having loved ones in the game, and he brought up the matter of Galang's poor sportsmanship in the face of losing one of their family. Brad singled out Gervase, and Marissa agreed. She said she was upset by the returning players' immaturity and lack of grace. Vytas then pointed out that gloating rubbed salt in the wound, which could harm the gloaters' loved ones. He stated that the twist was unlike any other as "in any other season, no team who wins immunity is worrying about the other team who goes to Tribal Council." Marissa said she was worried by Vytas' comment, as she was "guilty by association" with Gervase, but pleaded for her tribe to judge her on her own merits, and not by her uncle's actions.
Katie was asked about the impending vote, and said that it was difficult to decide what to base a vote on. As such, the puzzle solvers' failure at the challenge gave a reason for any of the three to be targeted. She added that she wouldn't be surprised if she was voted out because of a poor performance in her first challenge. Brad countered that the vote wasn't necessarily based solely on the puzzle makers' performance.
With that, it was time to vote. Caleb, Ciera, and Vytas led the procedure, with Katie then casting a vote against Marissa. Rachel and John followed, with Marissa then returning a vote in Katie's direction. Hayden and Brad finished off the votes, and Jeff tallied them.
The first vote came up for Katie, but in a unanimous decision, Marissa became the third person voted out of . Furious, she quietly took her torch to Jeff and after it was snuffed, cast a cold look back over her shoulder to her tribe, who all avoided eye contact. Marissa took her torch and headed to Redemption Island. Before departing home, Jeff gave the tribe flint.
Marissa arrived at Redemption Island and was greeted warmly by Candice and Rupert. She told them that she had been blindsided, and Rupert tried to lift her spirits by commiserating, "Welcome here, a bunch of people sitting pissed off!"
==Challenges==
Reward/Immunity Challenge: Blue Lagoon BustleTribes start out on the beach, with first 6 players from each tribe running into the ocean, swimming out to a net obstacle, climbing over, go over a barrel roll, swimming to a crate staircase and jumping off, swimming to the tribe boat, diving down and untying a series of knots, paddling back to shore, carrying a chest to the puzzle station. The three players from each tribe then solve their tribe's puzzle in the form of a captain's wheel. The first tribe to extend the flag using the wheel wins.Reward: FlintWinner: 
==Tribal Council==
===Day 1===
As four votes from Tadhana and one vote from Galang were not revealed during the episode, it is not 100% confirmed whom those five people voted for. The vote results here are correct to the best of this Wiki's knowledge.
====Tadhana====
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VotedAgainst	Voter
 	
 	
 	
 	
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*Note: Although not shown in the episode, Katie, Marissa, and Rachel's votes have been revealed elsewhere. Gordon Holmes identified Marissa's vote for Brad, as can also be seen in a screencap showing Katie's vote.https://pbs.twimg.com/media/BUoFdBXCQAAkaae.jpg:large Rachel revealed in an exit interview that she had voted for Katie.
====Galang====
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VotedAgainst	Voter
 	
 	
 	
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===Day 3===
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VotedAgainst	Voter
 	
 	
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====Voting Confessionals====
===Still in the Running===
									
									
==Trivia==
===Secret Scenes===
A deleted scene from EW.com showed John Cody, Katie Collins, and Rachel Foulger discovering the Tadhana tribe's well, and John's emotional distress due to Candice Cody's elimination from Galang, in which he said, "Fifteen minutes into the game, my number one ally, my rock, is gone. You know, it's really hard. I think I have quite the hardest start of anybody and now, thanks to everybody on her tribe, I don't trust anybody out here."
===Behind the Scenes===
===Other===
* Rupert switching places with Laura marks the first time a contestant is sent to without getting voted out.
* This was the first time a tribe of returning players won the first Immunity Challenge against a tribe of new players, as  and  had the tribe of new contestants win the first Immunity Challenge.
** However, new player Laura B. was on the tribe of returning players due to having switched with Rupert.
* With this episode, Candice becomes the second castaway overall to experience being sent to and Redemption Island, following Ozzy Lusth.
* At the First Impressions vote, Aras said he voted against Gervase because he was a Washington Redskins fan, and Gervase was wearing a Philadelphia Eagles shirt. The Redskins and Eagles are members of the same division of the NFL. It is rumored that Aras's vote for Gervase was a throwaway vote as the two were both already close in the first episode.
** Also, it can be noticed that Aras initially voted for Candice but scribbled it out. This was pointed out in a post on Rob Has a Website.http://robhasawebsite.com/individual-games-alls-fair-in-love-and-survivor-s27e01-recap-sarah-freeman/
* This marks the only time in the game that Laura B. voted as a member of the Tadhana tribe as, for the rest of the game, she would be a member of the Galang tribe.
* This is the fourth premiere episode to not include the opening title sequence, following (), (), and ().
* This episode marks the first time that in the retooled Redemption Island format, the pairs switched places.
** This was also the earliest time where a player switched tribes in any case.
* The three castaways who voted for Laura M. during the First Impression vote all played together on .
** Similarly, the three returnees from all voted for Candice during this vote.
**Also, both members of Tadhana who had previously appeared on the show as their partners' loved ones (Katie and Laura B.) voted against Marissa.
* In this episode, Rupert incorrectly stated that he had never won an individual Immunity Challenge; he did so in .
* This is the second instance where a contestant is voted out because of being associated with Gervase and in retaliation towards something Gervase said, the first instance being Joel Klug in .
==References==
Category:Episodes
Category:Survivor (U.S.)
2701
Category:Survivor: Blood vs. Water
01
Category:Season Premieres