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Episode 1 - Undisclosed Title

Stranded in the Brazilian Highlands

Sixteen Americans from different walks of life sit on the back of a flatbed truck, unaware of the adventure and surprises that lie ahead, as it roars through a rugged and unfamiliar land. They are in one of the most desolate and unforgiving places in Brazil: Tocantins. Located deep within the central highlands of the country, Tocantins has one of the harshest climates with temperatures topping 120°. Sudden storms are known to ignite dangerous wildfires in an instant, and wildlife such as vipers, crocodiles, and pumas lurk in the shadows of this vast region. The only sources of water are rivers, such as the Rio Novo, which are hidden throughout the land and have to be shared with every other wild animal trying to survive.

Although none of the castaways have exchanged a single word yet, they are already sizing each other up. Tyson Apostol, the 29 year-old professional cyclist from Lindon, Utah, sees no competition for himself and confidently declares "These people, I think, are putty in my hands and between my fingers. I mean, yeah, I think I won the game pretty much before it even started."

The Game Is On

As the truck comes to a halt in the middle of nowhere, host Jeff Probst greets the castaways and asks them to introduce themselves. Upon revealing their name and occupation, one of the castaways, Brendan Synnott, the 30 year-old entrepreneur from New York City, reveals his philosophy about playing games and winning: "Being an entrepreneur and, uh, making money in business, I think a lot of those skills are gonna help me on Survivor. Business to me is a big game, and Survivor is like the ultimate game to go play." Jerry Sims, the 49 year-old U.S. Army Sergeant from Rock Hill, South Carolina, tells everyone that he works at a nuclear power plant, but neglects to mention his military background: "Even though I'm a First Sergeant in the South Carolina Army National Guard, uh, I'm not sure I want to share that with the rest of my tribe just yet cause I don't want to be seen as one of the leaders." Another castaway, Taj Johnson-George, the 37 year-old former pop star and NFL wife from Nashville, Tennessee, also decides to withhold details about her life. "I don't want them to judge me based on how much money I have or who my husband is. I want them to judge me because of who I am and what I personally can bring to the tribe," she says. Sandy Burgin, the 53 year-old bus driver from Louisville, Kentucky, expresses her concerns about being the oldest castaway, while Spencer Duhm, the 19 year-old student from Lakeland, Florida, is worried about being seen as just a "kid who can't help out at all."

Picking Tribes

Jeff asks for one man and one woman to step forward and act as leaders. The men immediately choose Coach Wade, the 37 year-old soccer coach and symphony conductor from Bolivar, Missouri, who is more than happy to take on the role: "Well, of course I'm the leader," he asserts. "I love to be the leader in any situation, so there was really no choice. It was a no-brainer that it was gonna be me." The women have a more difficult decision. Carolina Eastwood, the 26 year-old bartender from West Hollywood, California, is eager to toss her name into the hat, but Taj isn't sure of her abilities. "What leadership skills does she bring that are gonna help us?!" Taj later asks the camera. "Debbie is a principal, so I mean, she just seemed like the best choice." The other women agree and Debbie Beebe, the 46 year-old middle school principal is chosen to join Coach as a tribe leader. Going off very little information, they are forced to choose whoever they want on their respective tribes after picking a colored mat to stand on. Coach chooses the black mat, and Debbie chooses the red mat. Coach becomes the first member of Timbira, while Debbie is the first of the Jalapao tribe.

Debbie decides to let Coach pick first. He chooses Candace Smith, the 31 year-old lawyer from Dayton, Ohio, first. Confident in his decision, he declares that "There's just something about her that tells me she's strong, that she's gonna be around for a while, and I could see it in her eyes that she wants to be on my team." He later adds that "coaches know these things." Debbie is also confident about her choice of J.T. Thomas, the 24 year-old cattle rancher from Samson, Alabama, who she feels an instant connection with. Debbie believes that she has a huge advantage as a middle school principal: "One of the skills that I have is being able to read people really well and make a split-second decision."

Candace then chooses Tyson, who she calls the "fine-looking dude with blonde hair." The rest of the Timbira tribe, in order, is Erinn, Jerry, Carolina, Stephen, and Taj. For Jalapao, J.T. chooses Sydney, who is followed by Joe, Sierra, Brendan, Sandy, and Spencer. Joe Dowdle, the 26 year-old real estate broker from Houston, Texas, is thrilled to be selected by the attractive Sydney. "This couldn't be any better right now. Syd's gorgeous," he observes, "I mean, obviously, my number one goal in this is to win a million dollars, but if I have to use my southern charm a little as part of my strategy, I'm all for it."

Not everyone is pleased with how the pick'em turns out, however. Taj is surprised to be the last woman chosen to be on a tribe: "I'm a little bigger than most of these other girls," she admits, "But I'm not fat. I got muscle under this fat, so I'm gonna have to overwhelm 'em with my strength." Spencer confesses that it doesn't feel good to be the last picked, but he understands the decision and takes it in stride, noting that he'll "be alright."

Jeff tosses the tribes their buffs and gives them a minute to salvage whatever supplies they can before sending them off on a difficult four-mile hike to their camps. Frantically, both tribes spring into action, assessing what supplies are most essential and what creature comforts are available to take with them to the camps.

The Trek to Camp

Left with the painstaking first task of transporting supplies to their new camps, the castaways split off and head for what will be their home for the next thirty-nine days. Bunches of bananas, watermelons, clay pots, heavy bags of rice and beans, thick rope, and awkward tribe flags are only a few of the items the castaways must haul.

As the Jalapao tribe sets off on their hike, the younger members of the tribe quickly begin to bond, especially J.T., Joe, Sydney, and Spencer, who find they have a lot in common. While Joe and J.T. lead their tribe through the highlands, Brendan narrates and trek and Sandy follows along at the back of the pack, eager to prove to her tribe that she can keep up: "It was definitely very difficult, you know, hiking through the jungle or whatever, uh, with all our supplies and stuff that we had to carry, but I will hurt myself before I will ever quit," Sandy admits, "I believe I'm gonna surprise a couple people in this game real good." "All I want is to get ourselves to camp," she says, and her tribe agrees.

In another remote area of Tocantins, the Timbira tribe struggles to make their way to camp, bogged down by the weight of their supplies. Carolina rubs her tribe the wrong way with her suggestion that they abandon some of the items they salvaged: "Don't you think it's too much to carry?" she asks, "Like, this is slowing us down and I want to get there before dark." Coach rejects the idea and pushes his tribe to keep moving forward because "the more we stop and complain, the longer it'll take to reach camp." Coach is growing impatient and frustrated, but also relishes the opportunity to size up his tribe: "It tells me exactly who's cut out for this and who's not, and my strategy is absolutely to take the strongest to the end. I want to change this game; I want to make it back to being about survival, and the weak people gotta go. It's as simple as that."

Money Talks

Arriving at their new home after a difficult trek, the Jalapao tribe immediately begins the task of building a shelter before nightfall. Brendan expresses his enthusiasm to be a part of the game and to be putting together a camp, but his worst fears quickly come true when his tribemates recognize him as the founder of a company that sold for over $120 million. As Joe, J.T., and Brendan work on erecting the structure, Joe and J.T. prod him about being an entrepreneur: "I definitely respect working hard and becoming successful because of it, but in this game, as far as I'm concerned, uh, it's about winning the million dollars and he's already got more money in his bank account than everybody else combined," Joe explains. J.T. echoes his friend's thoughts and later confesses that it would be easiest to vote Brendan out simply because he doesn't need the money.

All Work and No Play

With little sunlight remaining in the day, the Timbira tribe arrives at camp and gets to work under the leadership of Coach, who immediately makes himself the strongest presence at the Timbira camp. "We didn't get to camp in time to build a proper shelter," he explains, "But everybody knows there's certain things that need to be done, and they need to be done fast and they need to be done right." He then tells his tribe, "It's fire, water, and food." A resistant Carolina clashes with Coach about the importance of splitting up and looking for food so close to sunset: "I don't want to go trekking around in the middle of nowhere when it could be dark in, like, an hour," she quips. Coach feels he has the most survival experience and the tribe would be best served following his orders: "Well, then you're gonna be hungry and dehydrated come midnight," he tells Carolina. "I'm already hungry!" she laughs. Though obviously annoyed by Coach's condescending style of communication, she decides not to provoke the situation. All she can do is roll her eyes until it's time for her confessional, where she vents her frustrations: "I'm pissed off, to be completely honest. It's like he thinks we're his soccer team, but I didn't come out here to be bossed around by someone who thinks he knows everything, so I'm gonna have to watch my mouth, but we'll see how much longer I can go before I confront him."

Man in the Middle

The next morning, Sydney describes the state of affairs in the Jalapao tribe. While the other men continue to work on the shelter, Spencer, a strategist and SURVIVOR fan, takes the opportunity to bond with the women of his tribe, who are busy weaving palm leaves for the roof. Spencer reveals to the camera that he's gay. "I am gay, so I relate a little more to girls but at the same time, I've been on teams all my life in sports, so I've been around guys enough in the locker room to know how to get along with them." Although he has no plans of divulging this information, Spencer hopes his sexuality will play to his advantage: "I'll be able to get along really well with the girls and I won't be as much of a threat to the guys, and that's really important cause you want to kindof have a link to everybody, or something to offer everybody, so I'm hoping that'll work for me and buy me a little extra time."

Tyson's Admirers

Back at Timbira, the tribe continues to set up camp and finally begins work on their shelter after sleeping out by the river on their first night. As the workday carries on, Candace tries to stay one step ahead of the game by feeling out the competition and proposing an alliance to Tyson, which he accepts. "With his athleticism and my brains, I think we can be a real deadly combination," Candace explains, "But, I mean, I'm athletic too. I'm strong too. You know, it's not like I need him." Never one to be modest, Tyson speculates "I think Candace is attracted to me. I mean, if I was the opposite sex I would be too, you know? So, I'm used to it." As Tyson attempts to make fire, Candace admires his physique, while Carolina and Erinn also watch from the sidelines. Aware of the attention he's receiving, Tyson later reveals his strategy to the camera: "I'll disarm them with my fantastic looks and my charming personality. If everybody's looking at this beautiful smile, they're not gonna see this knife I've got in my hand waiting to stab them in the back." He then adds, "But, if Candace wants to have an alliance with me, I mean, I'll be loyal to her. At this point, why not?"

Treemail Arrives

Brendan and Sierra retrieve Jalapao's first treemail and form a bond on their walk back to camp. After reading the message to his tribe, Brendan explains the importance of winning the first challenge: "There's only two outcomes: um, either we win today or we lose, and obviously we want to take this one to show Timbira that we're just as strong a tribe."

Reward / Immunity Challenge - A River, Run Through It

Jalapao and Timbira arrive on their respective colored mats as host Jeff Probst explains the rules of the first Immunity Challenge. Six members of each tribe will race across a series of sand mounds and into the river where they must retrieve a raft loaded with puzzle planks. Once they have the raft back to shore, they will release the puzzle planks by untying the ropes that secure them to the raft. They will then race those puzzle planks back to the start where the two remaining tribe members will use those puzzle planks to build a staircase. Each puzzle plank is different and will only fit into the staircase one way. Once all tribe members make it to the top of the staircase, any two tribe members must work together to navigate a peg through a table maze allowing them to release their tribe flag. The first tribe to raise their flag wins fire, in the form of flint, and Immunity.

Building the staircase for Jalapao are Sierra and Sandy and, for Timbira, Taj and Erinn. Everybody else is running to retrieve puzzle planks from the river. As Jeff shouts "Go," the castaways are off to a fast start, with J.T. and Tyson at the front of the pack. Jalapao has a slight lead as both tribes carry their rafts with puzzle planks through the water and to the shore. The tribes untie their puzzle planks and struggle to carry the heavy pieces across steep sand mounds. Jeff reminds the tribes that the current temperature is a scorching 120°, as the four men on Jalapao carry the majority of the tribe's planks.

Sandy and Sierra, two of Jalapao's perceived weak links, then take over the challenge as they begin to complete the staircase puzzle. Soon, Timbira is caught up and Taj and Erinn quickly make up lost time on the staircase puzzle. The challenge comes down to a showdown on the table maze between Stephen and Candace for Timbira and Sydney and Spencer for Jalapao. Feeling vulnerable in his tribe because he hasn't formed any strong relationships, Stephen knows he has no choice but to pull through. He keeps calm under pressure and works well with Candace, while Sydney and an antsy Spencer struggle to complete the maze. Stephen and Candace can hardly contain their excitement as they reach the end of the maze and Timbira's flag raises into the air. With this, Timbira wins Immunity and fire, in the form of flint, sending Jalapao to their first Tribal Council.

The Oldest or the Most Successful?

The Jalapao tribe returns to camp and Debbie expresses her disappointment in being the first tribe to lose a member. The discussion then turns to the impending Tribal Council and the decision that must be made. Joe and J.T. propose voting for Brendan due to his wealth outside of the game. Meanwhile, Brendan targets the tribe's oldest member, Sandy, pointing out that her wacky personality makes it difficult for her to gel with the group and that she's the tribe's weakest link. He suggests that the four men stick together in order to keep the tribe physically strong. While the other men agree to Brendan's alliance to his face, they obviously aren't convinced: "I don't know what I'm gonna do," J.T. agonizes as he weighs his options for the upcoming vote, "Brendan's got a lot of money, but he's a lot stronger in the challenges than Sandy would be, so I'm gonna have to think long and hard about this one."

Tribal Council #1 - Jalapao Tribe

At Tribal Council, Jeff questions the Jalapao members about the first 3 days. Spencer states that he feels he's overcome being the last one picked: "Maybe they thought I didn't have as much experience as some of the older people," he speculates, "but I feel I overcame it. I found some people right away that I connected with, so I'm not too worried about tonight." Jeff points out that Sandy wasn't picked much sooner than Spencer, and Sandy explains that she's always going to be vulnerable as the "old woman." Sydney then reveals that most of the discussion in the tribe has revolved around Sandy and Brendan. Brendan is shocked to learn that he is one of the first on the chopping block, but knows that it is only because of his success in business: "We're here to play and win a game, and you don't knock off your stronger people at the first Council," he insists.

Both Brendan and Sandy plead their cases. Brendan claims that Sandy has to be voted off because of her lack of strength. Sandy is upset to be called the weak link: "I never fell once at the challenge. You know, did I not do my part and keep up with you guys?! I pulled my weight the whole way there!" Brendan admits that perhaps it is age, not strength that makes Sandy an easy target: "In this type of group where no one really deserves to go, who is it gonna be? It's gonna be the oldest or it's gonna be the most successful," he reasons. Sierra believes that Brendan is an asset to the tribe who is being unfairly targeted and she announces that she won't vote for him. Spencer seems to be most annoyed by her comment.

Brendan makes one last attempt to stay by cautioning that the women on Timbira are stronger than those on Jalapao, and if he is voted out, his tribe will continue to lose Immunity. Sandy counters by saying she's proven herself at camp and in the challenges. Just before the vote, Joe sums up the feelings of his tribe: "It is a hard decision and it's one that we're all gonna have to make in the next however many minutes," he says. "It sucks for [Brendan and Sandy], obviously, but the game's not fair." With this in mind, the tribe members cast their votes.

Jeff then tallies the votes, and reveals them one at a time to the castaways:

SANDY.

SANDY.

BRENDAN.

BRENDAN.

BRENDAN.

BRENDAN.

BRENDAN.

In the end, with six out of the eight votes cast against him, Brendan Synnott, the 30 year-old entrepreneur from New York City, becomes the first person voted out of Survivor: Tocantins - The Brazilian Highlands. Only Sierra Reed, the 23 year-old model from Los Angeles, sides with him and casts a vote against Sandy.

Brendan's Final Words

A disappointed Brendan walks out of the game with a smile on his face and leaves behind his final words: "I don't think anybody was getting into the game the way I was and was able to understand the strategy behind what I was doing. I was thinking not only to keep myself in the game individually, but for the team and they were only thinking individually. Um, my last-ditch effort to vote out Sandy, I thought it was a pretty solid move but it didn't end up swaying anyone. Yeah, I was voted off first, but you know, other than that, doing Survivor, it was better than not doing it, so it's all good."

Episode 2 - "I'll Be The Outcast"

At Jalapao, Sierra's on the outs for voting against her tribe. Will she be able to change her fate?

At Timbira, the alliance game begins, as separate factions vie for the majority and Coach singles out two of his tribemates as the weakest, leading to tension at camp. How will these two tribe members react to being thrust onto the chopping block?

The tribes square off in a heated physical combat for Reward and Immunity. Which tribe will come out on top?

An unexpected confrontation erupts at Tribal Council, as one emotional castaway lashes out at another over hurt feelings.