Survivor: Pearl Islands

Survivor: Pearl Islands, initially dubbed as Survivor: Pearl Islands — Panama at the live Reunion Show where it was officially announced, is the seventh installment of the United States version of the reality show . The season was won by Sandra Diaz-Twine by a landslide in a 6-1 jury vote margin against Lillian Morris. It would ultimately feature one quit (the first in the series), and has to date produced four returning players (Andrew Savage, Jon Dalton, Rupert Boneham, and Sandra Diaz-Twine) for subsequent seasons. 
==Production==
The season was filmed on the Pearl Islands, off the coast of Panama, and had a pirate culture theme. The complete season, including the live Reunion Show, was released on DVD on February 7, 2006.
==Twists/Changes==
* Tribe Composition: The sixteen castaways were divided into two tribes of eight.
* Unexpected Start: The contestants were made to believe that they will be shooting their cast photos, only to be informed that the game had already begun. With only the clothes on their backs, the tribes were given $100 to buy supplies with.
* Camps: The tribe camps were situated several nautical miles off each other.
* Looting: The castaways experienced pirate life with one member from the winning tribe from the Reward Challenge being sent to the other tribe to steal one item from their camp.
* Buried Treasure: Another advantage of winning a Reward Challenge was one of three clues to a treasure chest buried somewhere at camp. Inside the treasure were additional creature comforts such as food rations and blankets.
* Kidnapping: The Morgan tribe was given the right to kidnap one member from the rival Drake tribe after winning the Day 12 Immunity Challenge. Their chosen victim was also given immunity, skipping Tribal Council. Rupert was also forced to compete for Morgan at the following Reward Challenge.
* Outcast Twist: On Day 19, the ten remaining castaways faced a third tribe comprised of the first six departed castaways in a three-way special challenge. If The Outcasts win, both Drake and Morgan will go to separate Tribal Council sessions and will vote out one of their own. The Outcasts will vote two of their own back into the game, with the remaining four being eliminated for good. The two returning castaways will be granted immunity at their first visit to Tribal Council. If The Outcasts finish second, only one of them will be voted back in the game, and only the losing tribe will vote somebody out. If The Outcasts lose to both tribes, they are all eliminated from the game, and Drake and Morgan merge without voting anybody out.
* Double Tribal Council: Due to their loss to The Outcasts, both Drake and Morgan had to vote someone out, though Morgan did not need to vote due to one player quitting the game.
* Merged Tribe Composition: The merged tribe was composed of ten members.
* Immunity-Free Tribal Council: The final four castaways competed for individual immunity against the jury, who participated in the challenge as a group. The jury won, denying immunity to the remaining castaways.
* Final Tribal Council Format: Two finalists faced a jury of seven. The jurors individually addressed the finalists.
==Castaways==
Contestant	Contestant 	Tribe Affiliation	Tribe Affiliation	Tribe Affiliation	Tribe Affiliation	Finish	VotesAgainst
Contestant	Contestant 	Original Tribe 	Outcast Twist 	Post-Outcast 	Merged Tribe 	Finish	VotesAgainst
 	Nicole Delma24, Hermosa Beach, CAMassage Therapist 	 	 	 	 	 	7
 	Ryan Shoulders23, Clarksville, TNProduce Clerk 	 	 	 	 	 	6
 	Michelle Tesauro22, Washington, DCStudent 	 	 	 	 	 	6
 	Trish Dunn42, Annapolis, MDSales Executive 	 	 	 	 	 	4
 	Shawn Cohen28, Los Angeles, CAAdvertising Salesman 	 	 	 	 	 	5
 	Osten Taylor27, Boston, MAEquity Trade Manager 	 	 	 	 	 	2
 	Andrew Savage39, Chicago, ILAttorney 	 	 	 	rowspan="12" 	 	6
 	Ryan Opray30, Los Gatos, CAElectrician 	 	 	 	 	8 	
 	Rupert Boneham39, Indianapolis, INTroubled Teens Mentor 	 	 	 	 	7 	
 	Tijuana Bradley26, St. Louis, MOPharmaceutical Saleswoman	 	 	 	 	5 	
 	Christa Hastie24, Los Angeles, CAComputer Programmer 	 	 	 	 	7 	
 	Burton Roberts31, San Francisco, CAMarketing Executive 	 	 	 	 	10 	
 	Darrah Johnson22, Liberty, MSMortician 	 	 	 	 	6 	
 	Jon Dalton29, Los Angeles, CAArt Consultant 	 	 	 	 	7 	
 	Lillian Morris51, Loveland, OHScoutmaster 	 	 	 	 	10 	
 	Sandra Diaz-Twine29, Fort Lewis, WAOffice Assistant 	 	 	 	Sole Survivor 	0 	
==Season Summary==
The game began with the castaways made to believe that they were shooting their cast photos, but were later informed that the game had already begun. The two tribes, Drake and Morgan, were given some money and sent to a small village to barter and buy supplies for their camps in lieu of being given them as in seasons past. Drake secured a sizable amount of supplies, while Morgan flustered and bought little. Drake's unity allowed them to earn a six-challenge winning streak, quickly decimating Morgan to five members.
With Drake still a full tribe at eight, Burton conspired to throw an Immunity Challenge to eliminate some of Drake's weaker players. The reluctant Drake tribe did so, but Burton was voted out for his cunning. After winning their first challenge, Morgan, led by Andrew, experienced a renewal, while Drake began to splinter due to frequent in-fighting between its members. Morgan's newfound momentum led them to win two more Immunity Challenges, leaving both tribes with five players each.
On Day 19, the tribes were shaken by the return of the first six eliminated castaways, now together as a third "Outcast" tribe in a challenge that if the Outcasts won, would allow at least one of them to return to the game. The Outcasts placed first, forcing both Drake and Morgan to vote out one of their own. Shawn was replaced by Burton at Drake, while Lillian replaced Osten, who quit the game, at Morgan.
The tribes merged as the Balboa tribe, and while Burton made amends with his former tribe, Lillian's return was still resented by hers. Because of this, Burton convinced Lillian to swerve the vote in favor of the Drakes, eliminating Andrew. With the Drakes having the upper hand, Rupert, the most likable yet also the biggest physical threat on Drake, was blindsided by the trio of Burton, Lillian, and Jon, allowing inter-tribal scheming, and later them becoming the majority alliance in the final five. During the days-long chaos, Sandra, a loyal ally of Rupert's, swore revenge on Jon for turning on Drake.
Sandra finally collected her revenge on Burton and Jon by swaying the two remaining women, Lillian and Darrah to break up the duo of Burton and Jon, with Burton blindsided for a second time. Darrah was sent home next however due to her sudden winning streak after an immunity-free Tribal Council. Fed up by Jon's lies, Lillian, who won the Final Immunity Challenge, axed him, taking Sandra with her to the end.
At the Final Tribal Council, Lillian was praised by the jury for controlling the vote since her return, but also earned their ire for her multiple betrayals. Sandra on the other hand was accused of riding the coattails of stronger players, but argued that since Rupert's elimination, she managed to pit people against each other and not be seen as a target. In the end, Sandra's candid but stealthy game won her the title of Sole Survivor in a 6-1 vote.
==Voting History==
==Trivia==
* Pearl Islands is the first season to have the castaways start the game with the clothes on their back and not bring anything else, except for another pair of shoes.
* Pearl Islands is the first season to have tribe names derived from the English language.
* Pearl Islands is the first season to have two castaways with the same first name originally placed on the same tribe.
* Pearl Islands is the first season to have multiple castaways born in the 1980s.
* The Drake tribe won the first six challenges in a row, setting the record for most consecutive tribal challenges won. This record stood until the Moto tribe in topped this feat by winning the first nine challenges in a row.
* Pearl Islands is the first season where contestants were given a second chance to play the game after being voted out, and the only time outside of seasons that featured or the .
* Pearl Islands is the first season to have an episode end with a cliffhanger.
* Pearl Islands is the first season in which votes were cast for (and not against) players in a vote other than the Final Tribal Council. It would be followed by and .
* Pearl Islands is the only season where the winner of an individual Immunity Challenge does not wear a necklace. Instead, the winner wears a cutlass in a scabbard on his or her shoulder.
* Pearl Islands marks the only time that nobody won individual immunity at an Immunity Challenge. The Day 37 Immunity Challenge involved the jury, who defeated the castaways - another first.
* Pearl Islands is the first season where all castaways won at least one challenge.
* Sandra Diaz-Twine is the first Hispanic-American player to win Survivor. She would be later followed by Chris Underwood in and Yam Yam Arocho in .
* Pearl Islands ended the pattern of Sole Survivors of alternating genders that held in the first six seasons.
* Pearl Islands season ties with and for being represented in the most seasons with returning players, with 7.
** Pearl Islands is also the only pre- season to be represented in . Jon Dalton returned for the latter season, where he placed 20th.
**Pearl Islands and The Australian Outback are the only seasons to be represented in every all-returning player season.
* Excluding seasons which featured their entire cast on the DVD cover, Pearl Islands is the only season where the winner is not situated in the center of the top row of the cover. Rupert Boneham was featured instead of Sandra in this position.
==References==
07
Category:Survivor (U.S.)
Category:Survivor: Pearl Islands