Survivor: Samoa Episode 1 – The Puppet Master
Marisa Voted Out At Foa Foa’s First Tribal Council
Sep 17, 2009
The game began with the castaways paddling to shore and already divided into two tribes. The Foa Foa tribe consists of Ashley Trainer, Ben Browning, Betsy Bolan, Liz Kim, Jaison Robinson, Marisa Calihan, Mick Trimming, Mike Borassi, Natalie White, and Russell Hantz. The Galu tribe consists of Brett Clouser, Dave Ball, Erik Cardona, John Fincher, Kelly Sharbaugh, Laura Morett, Monica Padilla, Russ Swan, Shannon “Shambo” Waters, and Yasmin Giles.
Tribal Chiefs
Immediately after landing on the beach, the tribes were instructed to elect a chief who would be responsible for making important decisions. A blind vote was held based only on first impressions. With four votes, Foa Foa selected Mick, the 33 year-old anesthesiologist. Galu selected Russ, the 42 year-old environmental lawyer, with five out of ten votes.
The First Reward Challenge
The chiefs were then instructed to choose four castaways (their best swimmer, their strongest, their most agile, and their smartest) to compete in a Reward Challenge for fire in the form of flint. Jaison, Russell H., Marisa, and Liz participated for Foa Foa. For Galu, John, Erik, Yasmin, and “Shambo” participated.
While Liz believed she was selected as Foa Foa’s smartest due to Asian stereotypes, Jaison broke a stereotype when he proved to be a strong swimmer. John, on the other hand, struggled for Galu, costing his tribe valuable time and earning his tribemates’ scorn. Erik also had a hard time carrying the heavy bundle of logs but was praised for his effort. Marisa and Yasmin both performed well, and it came down to the puzzle leg. It was a close battle between Liz and “Shambo,” but in the end, Foa Foa edged out Galu to win Reward.
The “Dumbass Girl” Alliance
At Foa Foa, Ben, the self-proclaimed “hillbilly” stepped up to help his tribe build shelter. Russell H. immediately formed secret alliances with Ashley, Natalie, and Marisa, and promised all of three women that he would go to the end with them. In confessional, he referred to them as his “Dumbass Girl” alliance. He then formed a separate alliance with Betsy, the police officer, who later revealed that she didn’t trust him.
At Galu, Russell S. continued his leadership role when he gave instructions on building shelter. However, John began to disrupt the tribe by “running his mouth” and offering other ideas to consider about how and where the shelter should be built. This annoyed Shannon, who claimed that John was “all talk and no business.” As the tribe took a break from working, Shannon assessed her tribemates and vented her frustrations with the tribe’s leadership.
Russell Lies to His Tribe
On the first night, Russell H. told a false story about being in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina and losing his pet German Shepherd during the storm. The story garnered his tribemates’ sympathy, while Russell later laughed about breaking their hearts by telling them a lie. He then put his plan of sabotaging the tribe into action by dumping out his tribemates’ water canteens and burning Jaison's socks.
Is Russell H. Running The Show?
The next morning, Foa Foa discovered that their water canteens were empty, which stirred the pot and caused conflict between Ben and Marisa when Ben tried to hurry the tribe along to refill their canteens. Russell commented that his strategy was working like a dream and he was running the whole show without anyone in his tribe knowing it.
Immunity Challenge: Yank Your Hank
The Immunity Challenge consisted of three parts: (1) Six tribe members carried ropes over three increasingly steep wooden barriers; (2) They then pulled a heavy crate up onto the final platform, where the four remaining tribe members were waiting; (3) Those four then disassembled the crate and used the planks to solve a puzzle. The first tribe to correctly solve the puzzle won Immunity and was safe for another three days.
Galu got off to an early lead and used quick-thinking to help them get over the steepest wall by building a human pyramid, but Foa Foa soon caught up. Both tribes pulled their crates to the final platform and it was another close challenge that came down entirely to the puzzle portion. Both tribes made some progress, but it was Galu who ultimately won the first Immunity, sending Foa Foa to the dreaded Tribal Council.
The Weakest Link?
After arriving back to camp, Mike felt vulnerable and immediately targeted Ashley as the weakest link to keep himself safe. Marisa confessed to Russell H. that she was beginning to feel wary of him because he was talking to so many different people. This angered Russell and he decided that Marisa had to be the first to go so he turned his tribemates against her. Betsy was most skeptical of him and tried to convince Natalie that Russell couldn’t be trusted. Mick also agreed with Betsy and Mike that Ashley was the weakest link.
Foa Foa Goes to Tribal Council
At the first Tribal Council, the reality of the game sunk in as Ashley reminded her tribe they were playing a game and Mike suggested that Galu got lucky by winning the puzzle. Betsy then named Ashley as the weakest link, before an argument erupted between Marisa and Ben when Marisa dodged one of Jeff’s questions. Just before the vote, Russell brought up his dislike for Marisa due to the comments that she made about being wary of him.
In a split 7-3 decision, Russell got his way when Marisa Calihan, the 26 year-old college student from Cincinnati, Ohio, became the first person voted out of Survivor: Samoa.
When to Watch
Survivor: Samoa airs Thursdays at 8 p.m. EST on CBS. For more information on the new season, see the show’s official Web site at CBS.com.
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