Greatest of the Greats

Greatest of the Greats is the season premiere of .
==Story==
===Day 1===
Twenty previous Sole Survivors arrive in Fiji on two boats, with one boat containing ten men and the other ten women.
Tony Vlachos () says he that is impressed with the competition. Parvati Shallow () says that she has not been able to be her old diabolical self since the last time she played the game because she is now raising a family. Ethan Zohn () explains his battle with cancer and how it is a miracle that he is back on Survivor. Amber Mariano () says that she never imagined meeting her husband on the show and winning the game. She also says that she is here to win a second time. Michele Fitzgerald () says "everybody is going to be laying it all on the line". Sarah Lacina () says "it's gonna be a bloodbath". Jeremy Collins () says "it's gonna be a war". Adam Klein () proclaims "let the fireworks begin".
After arriving on the beach, two-time winner Sandra Diaz-Twine ( and ) is shocked to see that Rob Mariano () is playing alongside Amber, because Rob never told her that he was coming back despite the two spending thirty-six days together on the . Sandra says that she feels betrayed by Rob for not telling her that he was coming back.
Host Jeff Probst greets everyone on the beach. He first reminds Wendell Holland () how many times he applied to be on the show and that he fulfilled his dream by winning. He then asks him how he feels. Wendell says that it is the greatest feeling to be here with so many legends. Jeff asks Yul Kwon () if he sees the game differently due to a long having passed since he last played. Yul talks about how he has to change like Survivor, people, and the world. Jeff asks Amber what it means to her to be back this time as she is a different woman than when she first played in . Amber says that she is excited to be a part of season 40 and that she could not pass up the opportunity.
Jeff gives everyone champagne and toasts to season 40. After the toast, he announces the theme: Winners at War. Jeff then hands them all buffs, much to the surprise of Natalie Anderson (), who expected it to be men versus women. The red buffs are the Dakal tribe, while the blue buffs are the Sele tribe.
Dakal consists of Amber, Sandra, Sarah, Tony, Wendell, Yul, Kim Spradlin-Wolfe (), Nick Wilson (), Sophie Clarke (), and Tyson Apostol (). 
Sele consists of Adam, Ethan, Jeremy, Michele, Natalie, Parvati, Rob, Ben Driebergen (), Danni Boatwright (), and Denise Stapley ().
After the tribes have been revealed, Jeff asks Tony how he feels about his tribe. Tony says that he likes the people that he is playing with, briefly recounting his history with Sarah and Sandra in particular. Jeff tells the players what they need to know about the season. He first tells them about Fire Tokens, a new twist where everyone starts with one token each. He explains that Fire Tokens have value, but the players would have to will their Fire Tokens to another player if they are voted out. He then tells them about the return of the , and the grand prize being doubled to $2,000,000.
The two tribes then immediately compete in a combined Reward/Immunity Challenge: By Any Means Necessary. In the first round, Tyson and Yul beat Ethan and Jeremy to score a point for Dakal. In the second round, a hotly contested battle ends with Kim and Sarah defeating Natalie and Parvati to give Dakal a 2-0 lead. In the next round, Ben and Rob beat Tony and Wendell to give Sele their first point. In the fourth round, Amber and Sarah defeat Denise and Natalie to win a reward of flint and rice for Dakal, as well as immunity.
After the challenge, Jeff hands the tribes the maps to their camps. He informs Sele that they must go to Tribal Council the next night and will not have flint or rice until then. He then sends the tribes off to their camps to build their shelters.
After Dakal arrives at their camp, they find a Fire Token menu, which allows them to buy food and advantages for challenges. Wendell does not want to be busy with building the shelter, but the rest of his tribe is aware that he is a furniture designer by profession, leaving him to take on the role of leading the shelter-building. Tyson gets emotional when he talks about his kids. Sandra talks about her time in Game Changers, and says she wants to prove that she is the queen and that everyone wants her crown.
At Sele, Jeremy and Parvati bond over being parents who have young children back at home. Parvati talks about how much she has changed since he has become a mom, and gets emotional when she mentions that she had to leave her ten-month-old baby back at home. Ethan talks about his struggle with cancer and excitement of coming back to Survivor. He then bonds with Danni over being old school players who never played with Hidden Immunity Idols. Adam and Denise bond over Denise's desire not to visit every Tribal Council this time while looking for the water well, but the rest of the tribe notices their absence, making them concerned, with Jeremy pointing out that Adam and Denise are making a rookie mistake.
Back at Dakal, Tony is keen on running out to look for a Hidden Immunity Idol, but restrains himself, as he does not want to repeat the same mistake he made on Game Changers. Amber attempts to look for an idol, and talks about how she has to keep up with the game. Yul talks to Sophie about working together. They discuss Rob and Tyson having previously played poker with Kim and Jeremy in 2018 where Tyson remarked how the four of them would be an alliance if they ever played the game together.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxsTkHDGc2Y
Back at Sele, Parvati and Rob discuss their past together in Heroes vs. Villains, and agree to work together this time. Danni talks to Adam, Ben, and Ethan about targeting Rob due to him playing so many times and having a lot of connections. Ben, however, reveals this to Rob rather easily in response to his interrogation. Rob then confronts Danni, who comes clean. Feeling like he can trust her due to her telling him the truth, he talks to her about working together and forming an old-school alliance with him, Ethan, and Parvati, which she seems open to.
===Day 2===
In the morning, Sele is scrambling in preparation for Tribal Council. Adam and Denise are on the chopping block for going off alone together the previous day. Ben, wanting to keep Adam because he thinks that his knowledge of Survivor can help him in the game, warns him about what is going on, infuriating Adam. Adam then talks to both Ben and Ethan about splitting up Jeremy and Natalie due to their previous relationship on San Juan del Sur. Ethan relays Adam's plan to Parvati and Rob, which they seem open to, with Rob considering himself as the swing vote. When Ben, Danni, Jeremy, Natalie, and Parvati try to discuss which of Adam or Denise should be the target, nobody is willing to give a straight answer. Meanwhile, Parvati and Rob are shocked that they are in power despite how dangerous they are.
At Tribal Council, Adam argues that there are more dangerous relationships to be worried about, and that everyone twists other people's words, causing Jeremy to wonder if Parvati and Rob have something planned. When the votes are revealed, Natalie is the first person voted out of Survivor: Winners at War by a 7-2-1 vote, leaving Jeremy and Michele out of the loop. After leaving Tribal Council, she gives her Fire Token to Jeremy and heads to the Edge of Extinction.
===Day 3===
At Dakal, Sandra voices her frustration about Rob lying to her about not coming back to Sarah and Yul, and even talks about taking Amber out first as revenge, while Yul talks to Sandra and Sarah about rallying the one time and disconnected players against the "poker alliance". Yul then talks to Nick and Wendell about working with him and Sophie, since they are all fairly disconnected from the Survivor community. Wendell suggests getting Amber and Rob out as soon as possible.
At Sele, Michele, upset about being left out of the vote and wanting to prove that she is a deserving winner, talks to Ben about Parvati and Rob being in control. The two decide to target an old-schooler next. Jeremy is upset about losing Natalie, but happy when he finds out that Natalie willed her Fire Token to him.
During her first day on the Edge of Extinction, Natalie receives an advantage and luxury item menu and is informed of finding ways to earn new Fire Tokens. Following a clue left by the mast, she discovers an idol that works for the next three Tribal Councils, which she can sell to anyone on the tribe that loses the next Immunity Challenge for one Fire Token.
The tribes then gather for the next Immunity Challenge, Blue Lagoon Bustle. Dakal takes the lead when Sele struggles to get its members over the barrel roll. Rob takes it upon himself to help his tribe, launching members over the barrel roll. However, Dakal's struggle in the ring tossing part allows Sele to catch up. Jeremy's accurate tossing wins the challenge for Sele, sending Dakal to Tribal Council.
Back at Dakal's camp, several names are thrown out, including Amber, Nick, Sandra, Tony, and Tyson. Sandra decides to spread some lies. She tells Nick that Amber and Kim want him out for being shady and the most recent winner in the game. Sandra then goes off and reaches in her bag and finds an idol good for her next three Tribal Councils. She believes that the idol was sent to her by Natalie from the Edge of Extinction and does not hesitate to purchase it with her Fire Token. After finding out from Tyson that he wants Tony out, she tells Tony, who then campaigns for Tyson's elimination as a more pressing threat than Amber. Yul tells Tyson that everyone is worried about the "poker alliance". Realizing that he is in trouble, Tyson decides to abandon Amber and Kim to save himself. Kim starts to think that she is the target as nobody is talking to her and gets emotional. Yul tells Tony that Tyson will vote for Amber or Kim, but Tony does not believe that.
At Tribal Council, Amber, Kim, and Tyson try to convince the tribe that there is no "poker alliance" in the game, with Amber and Kim trying to convince others to take out Nick for being the most recent winner. When the votes are revealed however, the majority split their votes between Amber and Kim. Amber is the second person voted out of Survivor: Winners at War by a 6-3-1 vote. After leaving Tribal Council, Amber gives her Fire Token to Rob. She then goes to the Edge of Extinction, where she meets Natalie.
==Challenges==
<tabber>Reward/Immunity=Challenge: MarooningTwo members from each tribe would battle for a life ring. The tribe that gets one of their members to have a hand on the ring and one on their tribe's flagpole scores a point. The first tribe that scores five points wins.Reward: Flint and rice.Winner: 
|-|Immunity=Challenge: Blue Lagoon BustleTribes must paddle out and retrieve a bag of numbers before making their way back to shore by crossing a series of obstacles. One member of each tribe must then use the numbers in the bag to solve a number combination to unlock three rings, which two members must then throw at three targets. The first tribe to hit all three of their targets wins.Winner: 
</tabber>
==Tribal Council==
===Day 2===
colspan="2" 	
VotedAgainst	Voter
 	
 	
 	
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====Voting Confessionals====
No voting confessionals were aired in the episode, though Ethan's last line in his was shown. A transcript of the confessionals was published on EW.com.
===Day 3===
colspan="2" 	
VotedAgainst	Voter
 	
 	
 	
colspan="2" 	
====Voting Confessionals====
No voting confessionals were aired in the episode. A transcript of the confessionals was published on EW.com. Tony did not say anything when he voted.
===Still in the Running===
									
									
==Trivia==
===Secret Scenes===
* "The Breadfruit Challenge" (Day 2)
* "Natalie the Castaway" (Day 3)
* "Embrace the Suck" (Day 3)
* "Treemail at Sele" (Day 3)
* "Mama Bird" (Day 3)
===Behind the Scenes===
===Other===
* The opening Reward/Immunity Challenge actually required tribes to score five points, but was edited down to three due to a lopsided victory by Dakal. The two unaired matches were:
** Sandra Diaz-Twine and Sophie Clarke defeating Danni Boatwright and Michele Fitzgerald; and
** Nick Wilson and Yul Kwon defeating Adam Klein and Ethan Zohn.
* The only two players going into this season without any votes against them in their careers, Nick Wilson and Natalie Anderson, have received their first elimination votes in this episode.
* This episode's first Tribal Council marks the first time that Michele attended a pre-merge Tribal Council.
* This episode's second Tribal Council marks the first time that Denise Stapley was immune from a pre-merge Tribal Council, and the first time that Yul has entered Tribal Council at risk of being voted out.
** This episode also marks the first time that Denise has won a tribal Immunity Challenge and the first time that Michele has lost a tribal Immunity Challenge.
* This episode marks the first Tribal Council held on Day 2, which is also the earliest Tribal Council held in Survivor history.
* With Sele winning the second Immunity Challenge, this is the first season in Survivor history comprised entirely of returning players where the tribe that lost the first Immunity Challenge won the second.
* The title of this episode is said by Ben Driebergen.
==References==
Category:Survivor (U.S.)
Category:Episodes
Category:Survivor (U.S.) Episodes
Category:Season Premieres
Category:Survivor: Winners at War
Category:Winners at War Episodes