Zen Alliance

**Highest Placing Member**: Fawn (Joint Runner-Up/20)

The Zen Alliance (previously referred to as the 'Zen Men') was an alliance from Survivor: Blood vs. Water.

Originally created by the relatives of *Survivor* veterans, the alliance continued to grow in numbers during the pre-merge. Bringing in their loved ones however, proved to be their demise because the original harmony of the Zen Alliance was lost.

## History

### Origins

On Day 1 of *Survivor: Blood vs. Water*, both the red Tadhana (primarily comprised of new players) and rival Galang (with veterans who were loved ones of the Tadhana castaways) tribes had to each eliminate a castaway as part of the First Impressions Twist. Dane, Neal and Tucker quietly created an alliance as the tribes were each voting someone out. They managed to gather Alistair, Gabriella, Jett and Mallory to become the majority and Cassidy was sent to Redemption Island.

Over the next couple of days at the Tadhana camp, Dane, Neal and Tucker continued to bond over the yoga and meditation they frequently participated in. Tucker found the Tadhana Hidden Immunity Idol, but decided to keep this information to himself in case his trio turned after each other. Outside of this tight group of men, Lana became a valued ally because she was a qualified yoga instructor. After losing immunity on both Days 3 and 6, the 'Zen Men' sought out the rest of the tribe for numbers which led to both Alistair and Jett going to Redemption Island.

### The Switch: Galang

After Neal's cousin Mandy return from Redemption Island on Day 12, the remaining fifteen castaways were shuffled during a tribe switch. Dane, Neal and Tucker were all switched to Galang, whilst being joined by Redemption Island returnee Mandy and original Galang members Charlie, Cody, Fawn and Ryder. The core trio of Zen Men brought in Dane and Neal's loved ones Fawn and Mandy respectively. Tucker was glad the Zen Men now became the majority alliance, but felt like he was on the bottom because he wasn't in the alliance with his loved one. When Galang lost on Day 12, the Zen Alliance voted for Ryder but Tucker voted for Fawn. This didn't matter because Fawn played her idol and Ryder was still eliminated with the majority of votes.

There was tension between the Zen Alliance when the Galang tribe returned back to camp. Dane understood when Tucker explained his feelings of isolation to him and Fawn, though Mandy and Neal were less than accepting. When Galang lost their second immunity challenge in a row, Dane, Fawn and Tucker had the numbers and decided to blindside Neal. With some clever convincing from Mandy, Dane and Fawn then turned on Tucker whilst also creating a secret coalition to go after Dane. When both Dane and Tucker played idols, Tucker's sole vote was responsible for eliminating Cody.

### The Merge

Following Neal's return from Redemption Island, the two tribes merged on Day 20. After still being insecure about being the only single in his alliance, Tucker flipped to work with his sister Karleigh and her allies. Dane reunited with his original ally Lana, and with both Fawn and Charlie, they voted against Tucker. However, they didn't have the numbers and Mandy became the first member of the jury. The alliance voted for Tucker once again, but Lana flipped and Adelaide was voted out. Now firmly in the minority of the tribe, Dane, Neal and Charlie were voted out in quick succession over the next five days.

At the Final Six, Fawn and Lana were the only castaways remaining against the Galang Alliance of Domenic, Gabriella, Karleigh and Tucker. The girls, especially Fawn, felt like they had a good relationship with Karleigh. They argued that it was dangerous to keep both pairs left in the game going into the Final Four because it could cause a deadlocked vote. They agreed, and this new group of four voted for Gabriella at tribal. However, she played her idol and Tucker was voted out with the second highest number of votes. Unfortunately for Domenic and Gabriella, they were still left in the minority and Domenic was voted out at the next tribal council. At the Final Four, Karleigh voted with Gabriella to force a tie but then switched her vote at the revote to make her the eighth and final member of the jury. At the Final Tribal Council, Lana won Gabriella's jury vote and Dane voted for Fawn, but they both lost to Karleigh.

## Trivia

* The highest and lowest ranking members of this alliance are a pair of loved ones.