Round Two

Round Two is the season premiere of Survivor: Vanuatu.

Day 1
The season begins with shots of an active volcano, with Jeff soon revealed to be scaling up the side as he delivers his opening monologue. Shots also reveal an approaching ship off the shoreline; as the eighteen brand new players sit apprehensively onboard.

The eighteen contestants look upon the nearby beach on which the Vanuatuan tribe are situated. Suddenly, a group of tribesmen begin paddling in canoes towards the ship; chanting as they approach. During the ensuing confusion, Jeff is revealed to be aboard one of the canoes, resulting in relieved cheers from the eighteen players. Jeff climbs aboard the vessel, standing before the new group in order to officially welcome to the season.

Minnie becomes the first individual to climb over the side of the ship, using the cargo net to support herself into the first canoe, where she is soon joined by Max H. and Virginia. Whilst getting in a canoe, Ruth awkwardly steps on the side, capsizing the canoe with both Nargis and Marvin inside, before she too loses her grip from the net; joining the pair in the water. Despite the laughter, all three look somewhat embarrassed by the fiasco. The trio are soon after put in a replacement canoe, joining the others who have already been paddled closer to the shore. Eventually, the six canoes are circled by the boats only containing locals. The tribesmen begin a swirling motion as they join one another in singing. The experience begins to overwhelm some of the contestants; namely Evelyn, who is crying aboard her canoe with Donna and a less sympathetic Craig. The group are ultimately brought to shore, where they are once again swarmed by tribesmen, this time aiming spears at the defenceless group. Several members flinch at the sight, whilst others awkwardly laugh, unsure how to react to such a moment.

The tribesmen relax their aim, beginning to sing once again as they forcibly separate the group into two groups; men and women. The women are ushered over to a small mat on the groups where they are told to kneel, whilst the men are brought over to two rows of logs to sit on, putting them in the centre of the ceremony.

The Chief walks over to the men, gesturing to a nearby bowl containing a murky looking liquid. Raymond hesitantly accepts a cup of the liquid scooped out from the bowl, being told to drink it by the Chief. Raymond obliges, trying his best not to react too strongly to the overwhelming bitter and earthy taste that 'kava' provides.

The ceremony continues into nightfall, as the groups remain seated in their current positions for several hours. Jeff stands to tell the group that the next part of the ceremony may shock/upset them, but that it remains a cultural part of the Vanuatuan ceremony. Tribesmen then walk into the camp, carrying a strung up pig on a large bamboo pole. Several contestants seem to have a sudden change of expression upon realising that the pig is still alive. The Chief begins rubbing some of the pigs blood on his hand, slowly approaching each man to smear some on their cheeks and forehead, telling them that they are now warriors of the land. After the Chief finishes, the entire tribe begins to cheer, signalling Jeff to stand and inform the group as to what the final part of the ceremony will be. Jeff reveals a large rock in his hand, telling the group that in Vanuatu such rocks are regarded as keeping away bad spirits, and as such the rock will act as a 'good luck charm' for the beginning of the game. In keeping with the gender split, both groups will become tribes consisting of solely men/women. The men (as expected) will be given the advantage to try and retrieve the rock by shimmying up a large wooden pole that has been greased with pig fat. If all the men fail to do so, then the women will be gifted the rock by default. A local tribesman shimmies up the pole himself to position the rock at the top, proving to the group that such a task is possible. Max O. stands and rubs dirt over his hands, trying his best to imitate the technique used by the tribesman. After some initial struggling, Max O. is able to scale the pole and retrieve the rock, much to his and everyone's surprise. The men and the locals all cheer for Max O. as he holds the rock up in celebration, hugging his tribemates after coming back to the ground. Amongst the downpour of rain, Jeff pulls out a bag of buffs, passing a set of red ones to the men, who will now be known as the Lopevi tribe, and a set of yellow buffs to the women, who will now be known as Yasur.

Both tribes depart from the ceremony beach in opposite directions, following maps supplied by Jeff. The locals cheer both groups on as they leave, wishing them luck in both locating their camps, and the thirty-nine day adventure ahead of them.

Lopevi
After the ceremony, the men begin their journey to find their camp. Several men appear to be vying to take leadership of the group, likely attributed to the egos and desire to appear 'the most masculine'. The men somewhat bicker as they walk, not agreeing with the direction that each wannabe leader is attempting to take them. Youseph eventually speaks up, asking one individual to take the lead in order to get more clarity as to how they will get to camp. During the latter half of the journey, the men take time to socialise as they walk, getting small talk and introductions out the way as best they can.

Taking forty minutes longer than they should've, the men eventually reach the Lopevi camp to lukewarm celebrations. Todd begins questioning the tribe as to whether or not they should begin constructing a makeshift shelter, only to have the idea shot down by Jonathan and Craig, with the latter calling it "a waste of time". The men eventually agree to sleep out on the beach, knowing they have up to seven hours before sunrise.

Yasur
The women hike throughout the jungle in order to reach their camp, hoping to find it quickly before tiredness sets in. Helene takes on the role of leader during the hike, keeping the women moving and motivated so that they don't lose pace.

After some time passes, the girls do their best to encourage both Ruth and Evelyn to get moving again, which they do with little difficulty. The women continue making good time on their hike, eventually reaching their camp after an hour or so. All nine women celebrate their arrival, but quickly realise that they should soon get some sleep, knowing there is no chance of building a shelter during the middle of the night. During the night, several of the girls struggle due to the dropping temperature on the already wet sand. Donna is unable to stop shivering, only calming down somewhat after being offered Nargis' blazer, which she hesitantly accepts.

Lopevi
Raymond and Marvin are the first two individuals to arise in the early hours of Day 2, looking over the landscape of their new camp to work out where to best place the groups shelter. Both seem confident in a location, somewhat making the decision before the others join them an hour later. The men quickly get to work constructing a durable shelter, taking little time to socialise; instead relying on minute conversations that intermittently take place during the building. Craig in particular appears as a workhorse for the group, but quickly begins raising a few eyebrows by his less than polite approach in directing others.

Todd, Max O. and Charles head off together to cut bamboo for the shelter, leaving the other six men to its construction. During the next hour, several men note Max O. and oldest member Charles being a lot more proficient at bringing back material for the shelter, whilst youngest member Todd moves at a slower pace.

As time passes, Marvin goes to join the material collectors in order to pick up Todd's slack. The four collectors end up together as Marvin decides to mention that a few of the men are questioning Todd's effort, leading to confusion from the twenty-one year old.

Back at the shelter, the remaining five men continue with the construction. Whilst alone, Max H. decides to boldly pitch a pseudo-alliance of sorts to the other men in order to keep Lopevi as strong as possible.

Yasur
Like the men, the women make an effort throughout the day to organise their shelter and additionally try to make fire. After several hours of work, the group separate with some women spending time in the water, and others remaining around the shelter. Amongst those at the shelter are Virginia, Mildred, Nargis and Helene.

Over in the water, the other five girls scrub themselves with sand whilst they socialise. Taking the key early moments of the game to bond as best they can with one another.

Once the twenty minutes passes, Helene politely requests that the ladies in the water make their way up to assist with the building of the shelter. Donna, Minnie and Shirley all return to the others without waiting, whilst Ruth and Evelyn appear less interested in doing so, appearing once again to be the slowest members of the tribe. Mildred becomes somewhat irritated by the less active members of the group, feeling there is no excuse why she at sixty-one years old should be much faster than somebody one third of her age.

As requested, Helene politely asks Evelyn and Ruth to join Nargis is trying to get a fire going. Evelyn appears unconfident that completely such a task would be possible, feeling as though trying to win fire would be easier. Mildred is seen rolling her eyes to Virginia as this occurs, doing her best not to scold those who aren't pulling their weight. Throughout the remainder of the day, the women get their shelter virtually completed, noting that they will finish the final touches over the next few days. Despite Nargis, Ruth and Evelyn's efforts, the girls are unable to get a fire going, and thus go without water for another day. Most of the women appear positive about their chances to win the first challenge, wanting to get their own back on the men after the opening ceremony.

Day 3
At the sight of the first immunity challenge, the eighteen contestants are informed that as well as immunity, they will also be playing for reward in the form of flint. Both tribes note that they have yet to make fire, with Jeff additionally adding that the losing tribe will not take fire back to camp with them.

Immunity Challenge
Reward/Immunity Challenge: Fire Starter

This challenge consists of a commando crawl through a mud pit, three players moving a ball through a table maze, grabbing the ball, climbing a ladder to a balance beam, net slide back to the ground, three other players then using provided materials and matches inside the ball to build a fire in a cauldron to burn through a rope, lowering a torch, lighting the torch, and crossing the finish.

Reward: Flint

Information: For Yasur, Donna causes issues after she bombs the table maze, whilst Ruth also slows the tribe down on the balance beam. However, Virginia and Shirley both take over the table maze and correct Donna's errors. Additionally, Mildred, Minnie and Nargis put in strong performances for the tribe. For Lopevi, Todd and Max O. both equally have a tough time on the table maze, losing what initally was a lead for the tribe. Despite Craig, Marvin, Max H. and Youseph getting across the balance beam extremely quickly, the rest are unable to match the speed and as a result the men lose the first immunity challenge.

Winner: Yasur

Lopevi
The men return to camp, having like the previous all-male tribe just lost the first immunity challenge of the season. The morale in camp appears low, with the men all knowing the severity of handing both immunity and fire to the women. All the men other than Todd, Jonathan and Raymond go into the shallow water together to scrub off the mud after the challenge. The conversation quickly turns to the vote, all wanting to lock in a name with little difficulty.

Up the beach, Todd has already begun to pitch his case to Raymond, who he feels is one of the more open minded members of the tribe. Todd explains that he feels he, Charles, Max O. and Marvin will join him in danger if Craig, Jonathan and Max H. take control of the tribe. Raymond somewhat agrees with Todd's argument, admitting that he is worried he will become "a weak link" soon in their eyes.

Over the next few hours, Todd makes effort to speak to those he thinks are the likely candidates to consider voting Jonathan, whilst the shelter alliance loyalists do their best to keep the group focused on an easy vote against Todd.

Before leaving for tribal council, Raymond spends time talking to Max O. and Marvin individually, wanting to gage whether or not keeping outcast Todd would be a worthwhile move, having felt somewhat moved by his earlier plea.

At tribal council, all nine men light their torches, knowing that for one of them their time in the game will soon come to an end. Jeff begins by cutting straight to questioning the men as to why they lost, bringing up that both Todd and Max O. notably were weak in the table maze. Max H. comes to Max O's defence, stating that he performed well in other areas of the challenge, and that there is no doubt amongst the team that "he will compete to a high level in other challenges". Jeff asks Max H. if he extends that compliment to Todd, with the following silence and awkward looks answering for him. Todd is asked why he thinks this is, causing him to admit that he feels as if his neck is on the line due to Max H., Craig and Jonathan "conspiring" to get him out of the game. Craig interjects, believing the case to be that Todd is targeted for being the weakest in camp life and challenges combined. Jeff asks the group if anybody disagrees that Todd is the weakest, with the only defence coming from Charles and Raymond who mutually agree that Todd is not "weak" but do feel he was the least helpful over the first three days. Todd defends himself by pointing out that Craig in particular has "bad social skills" that make him uncomfortable, and as a result he spent time away from the shelter building. Both Max H. and Craig audibly laugh at this, feelig as though Todd is using "a cop-out". However, when asking the rest of the tribe, both Raymond and Max O. admit that they can see where Todd is coming from in his issues with the way Craig expresses himself. Craig apologises "for any misunderstanding", but maintains that he has not meant to come across rudel, with Todd cutting him off with a final "well, you did". With the tension clear between certain individuals, Jeff signals Youseph to start the voting.

After Charles sits down, Jeff goes to collect the votes for the first time this season.

Todd sighs and nods disappointedly. He chooses to say nothing to his tribe after Jeff snuffs his torch, instead walking away from a group that just unanimously ousted him from the game in eighteenth place. Jeff congratulates the men on their first tribal council being unified, but warns them that with one member less and no fire that they clearly have work to do in order to get back in the race against the women.