The Importance of Being Eldest

The Importance of Being Eldest is the season premiere of .
==Story==
===Day 1===
Sixteen strangers were sent to a local fishing village in Thailand. The contestants were separated into two motor boats, each holding eight people of the same gender. Once the boats were docked at a beach, the groups convened in front of host Jeff Probst, who welcomed them. The host separated the group into two smaller ones according to their gender.
After a series of introductions, Jeff called the oldest male and female contestants Jake Billingsley and Jan Gentry respectively to pick the tribe mates they want and which beach their tribes will be living on, with Jeff only hinting that one camp had a nearby water source but building shelter will be a challenge, while the other camp had a much further water source, but shelter is a non-issue. Jake chose the purple buff for the tribe called Sook Jai, while Jan chose the orange buff for the tribe called Chuay Gahn.
With the group divided according to gender, the castaways had assumed that the groups they were on will be their tribes. Jeff dispelled all speculations by tasking Jake and Jan to select their tribemates, paying homage to Thai culture, where elders were given utmost respect. Thinking that they will be divided into tribes according to gender, Jeff revealed that the two of them will select their tribemates.
During the picks, Jan made curious choices right from her first pick, as she chose older contestants (with Tanya being the only Chuay Gahn member in her twenties), while Jake seized the opportunity by picking the younger, more athletic contestants, and many castaways showed preference for the Sook Jai tribe during selection. After the formation of the tribes, the castaways boarded on tribe-colored boats, each with identical number of supplies, and paddled their way to their camps. The selected tribes (according to order of selection) were:
							
							
While paddling to their camp, Sook Jai realized they were rowing with the stern in the front. Upon reaching shore, the over-enthusiastic tribe scattered around the beach, with some looking for other food sources, while others fooled around.
When the Chuay Gahn tribe reached their camp, they were delighted to see numerous caves, making shelter a non-issue, especially during Thailand's monsoon season. With this, the orange tribe decided to forage for food sources. By nightfall, their food containers were filled with clams, oysters, and crabs.
===Day 2===
At Chuay Gahn, the tribe realized they have to find their water source. Confused of where their water might be, the tribe split themselves up to search for it, with John, Helen, and Tanya venturing the other side of the island, in which they became successful. While the other five members were approaching, John tricked them by making them believe that their water source would be the pool of dirty water he found meters from the actual water hole. Ghandia was upset by the joke.
At Sook Jai's camp, the purple tribe noticed their water source almost in an instant. But unlike Chuay Ghan, there was no cave to protect them from rainfall. The tribe squabbled over tasks. Jed tried to fish, but he eventually failed. Robb, started to complain about cutting wood for their shelter for hours. He vented his frustrations on Shii Ann, who walked him over.
 
===Day 3===
After the tribes received Tree Mail, they met Jeff Probst for their first Immunity Challenge.
Chuay Gahn took an early lead when Jan finished the maze faster than Penny. Brian extended the lead by unhooking their second flag underwater quickly before Sook Jai even reached the station. Chuay Gahn's lead evaporated when they reached the last station, where Ghandia panicked and struggled at the slide puzzle to the point the rival Sook Jai caught up with them. Jed from Sook Jai got past Ghandia by solving the slide puzzle first, giving Sook Jai the lead. Moments later, Ghandia finally completed the puzzle, but it was too little, too late as Sook Jai made a comeback victory, sending the defeated Chuay Gahn tribe to Tribal Council.
Chuay Gahn returned to camp with Ghandia sobbing, blaming herself for the loss. The tribe made a group hug to console her, though Ghandia was still worried she might be the first to go. Meanwhile, Tanya also felt vulnerable because of her frequent vomiting.
Jeff asked Ghandia what went wrong at the Immunity Challenge. She explained her anxiety struck in when Jed arrived. Clay then explained it was hard to deal with strangers, let alone in a harsh environment, which indirectly brought up John's controversial joke about the water source being a swamp. In the end, the joke was on John, as he received six out of eight votes, sending him home.
==Challenges==
Immunity Challenge: Flying Your FlagThe Survivors had to race around a small island by paddling a boat. Along the way they would have to visit several stations, where they would have to complete certain tasks or puzzles in order to receive a tribal flag. However, only one person from each tribe would be allowed to compete at each station. The first tribe to have successfully completed each puzzle, gather their flags and race back to the floating dock, would win immunity.Winner: 
==Tribal Council==
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VotedAgainst	Voter
 	
 	
 	
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===Voting Confessionals===
===Final Words===
===Still in the Running===
							
							
==Trivia==
===Behind The Scenes===
* In an interview, John revealed that he kept himself busy by scuba diving, elephant riding, and mountain climbing while being sequestered.http://resources.survivorphoenix.com/postnuke/html/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=120&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0
===Other===
* This is the first time that the contestants were not divided into tribes by production. Instead, the contestants chose the tribes through a Schoolyard Pick.
* This is also the first time where the first challenge of the season was not Quest for Fire.
==References==
Category:Episodes
Category:Thailand Episodes
Category:Season Premieres
Category:Survivor (U.S.)
Category:Survivor (U.S.) Episodes
Category:Survivor: Thailand