The camera presents an overview of the Ogasawara island group.

Jeff (voice over): Previously on Survivor…the tribes merged and took the name Meiji after the first modern dynasty of Japan. The merge brought about some personality clashes, though.

Paula: So just because you used to be in the Navy means we all have to listen to you?

Charlie: I never said that. I just don’t think we all need to be bossed around by someone that’s going to talk down to us like we’re a bunch of dumb kids.

Jeff (voice-over): The tribe was puzzled with the fact that they didn’t receive food when they all got together.

Paula: We have something for everyone!

Harriet: Is it food?

Paula: I don’t know; we didn’t look.

Jeff (voice-over): When it came time for the immunity challenge, players learned that they would be getting their first taste of good food, if they could earn it.

Jeff: If you’re out first, all you get is a bowl of rice and a glass of water from your lake. If you outlast everyone else? You get steak, chicken, and shrimp.

Jeff (voice-over): Billy’s plan to annoy Jason into losing his concentration worked to perfection; Jason was the first out of the challenge.

Jason: Go f--- yourselves.

Billy: I love you too, sunshine.

Jeff (voice-over): Maria tried a strategy not yet seen in an endurance challenge.

The background shows a partially blurred-out Maria dropping her clothes.

Kevin: I’m a married man; I’m not looking.

Charlie: I’m a divorced man; I’m definitely looking.

Jeff (voice-over): The last two standing were Billy and Charlie. Both of them were offered a deal.

Jeff: This immunity idol will be valid at any Tribal Council except tonight’s; you can even use it at the final three. If you drop now, it’s yours, but again, you can be voted out.

Billy: Good enough for me.

Jeff (voice-over): With Billy taking the deal, Charlie won the first individual immunity challenge. Along with that came a big decision.

Charlie: You shouldn’t enjoy this alone; pick one person to be immune with you.

Jeff (voice-over): Charlie kept Maria safe, but there was more.

Charlie: The person you pick will pick one person to join the two of you and be immune. You, as the immunity winner, will pick one more person after that. The four of you will stay here and not attend Tribal Council.

Jeff (voice-over): Along with Charlie and Maria, Abdullah and Becky stayed at the house and enjoyed food and a comfortable place to sleep while the other six members of Meiji went to Tribal Council. With four members immune, the decision was a little more difficult for some.

Jeff: You can’t vote for him tonight, though.

Paula: I’ll vote for other reasons. I’m going to have to.

Jeff (voice-over): Billy’s ploy to deprive Jason of immunity worked wonders, though, and despite this being the last chance to vote out Billy without the threat of the immunity idol, Jason was voted out.

Jeff (snuffing Jason’s torch): Jason, the tribe has spoken.

Jeff (voice-over): Nine are left. Who will be voted out tonight?

The screen pans to shots of Japanese warriors in fierce battle, spliced with images of great ships and dojos. As pictures of gold coins and logos of “Survivor: Japan,” “Ronin,” and “Geisha,” begin to appear, the Survivor theme begins to play in the background while the castaways are shown in various outdoor images wearing their respective tribal buffs. This time, members of Minamoto are shown first in poses all seen in the first episode; the players appear in alphabetical order. Taira follows immediately, as does Fujiwara; each tribe’s members are shown in alphabetical order. The screen pans finally to a background of waves, ripples, and islands with the “Survivor: Japan” insignia superimposed over it.

At this point, the screen cuts to commercial.

Back from commercial.

Meiji, Night 21. Five of the remaining nine tribe members are returning from Tribal Council; Charlie, Becky, Abdullah, and Maria are still not with them.

Billy: I don’t care if I was on his tribe; I could take living with him any longer.

Harriet: Just do us one favor, though.

Billy: Oh yeah?

Harriet: Don’t sing at challenges anymore. You’re almost as bad as me.

Billy: What makes you think I don’t know this?

Harriet: Is that why you did it?

Billy: It worked, didn’t it?

(confessional) Billy: At the last challenge, I wanted to get under Jason’s skin as much as I could. I wanted to keep immunity out of his hands. It worked better than I could have hoped; he ended up with the worst meal and he got voted out. I’d say my work here is done, but there are eight other people left in the game.

Loretta: Hey, guys; there are still four of us in the game left. Are we still a tribe or what’s going on with that?

Harriet: I’m good with the two of you. I don’t know at this point where Abdullah stands.

Billy: Be careful; Charlie might be working on him.

Harriet: What if we get Kevin and Paula on our side and go against Charlie’s guys?

Loretta: You mean, if Abdullah’s with them.

Harriet: We start with Charlie, then Becky, then Maria. We can work with Abdullah.

(confessional) Loretta: We don’t know what Charlie and Becky are saying to Abdullah. I don’t know if Charlie’s in cahoots with Abdullah now or if he’ll come back to us. Charlie said he wants his new alliance as well as his old one; clearly, taking Becky was a game move.

The camera switches to Kevin and Paula talking.

Kevin: Hey, I lived with Charlie for some time, and I know he’s a bit of a strong personality.

Paula: That’s an understatement. He listens to no one, and he thinks he’s funnier than he is.

Kevin: I heard your little spat with him.

Paula: Oh, that. I hate it when people try to tell me their life experiences are the same as mine. His wife didn’t abandon him to take care of four kids on his own.

Kevin: Well, actually…I hate to break it to you, but she kind of did.

Paula: What the hell are you talking about?

Kevin: He doesn’t have four kids, but he told me his wife left him ten years ago and hasn’t seen him or his son since then.

(confessional) Paula: Holy crap. At that point, all I could do was mutter to myself, ‘What have I done?’ I thought Charlie didn’t like me because he just clashed with me. I didn’t realize I’d given him a reason not to like me.

Paula (to Kevin): So he was in the Navy with a son? Who watched his son?

Kevin: I never asked. His son’s in college now; Charlie says they’re best friends.

Paula: Wow. And I said all those things to him. What am I going to do now?

(confessional) Kevin: I hated to tell Paula about her major faux pas, but who else was going to? I didn’t want someone I spent some time with on my old tribe to go down like this, especially when I knew what she said wasn’t true.

The camera switches back to Nishino Shima, Day 22. The four immunity winners are enjoying breakfast, mainly consisting of pancakes, biscuits and gravy, bacon, sausage, and a juice bar.

Becky: This is first class. This more than makes up for not getting any food for the first 20 days.

Charlie: I agree. It’s a lot nicer for me to enjoy this with some good people and know that we’re eating like royalty and Paula isn’t.

(confessional) Charlie: I didn’t really make a big deal about what Paula said to me, but in the Navy, we might have said she was full of s---. People should get their facts straight before they pass judgment, and Paula may hopefully learn that one day.

Maria (still unclothed): I hope you guys don’t mind; I didn’t feel like getting dressed.

Charlie: Are you kidding? Why the hell would I mind?

Becky: I’m a basketball player; I see far more than my share of nudity.

(confessional) Becky: I was with Maria on Minamoto for a while, and I got used to her being naked. Most people have been cool about it; I just told Maria that I probably wouldn’t try it, and she understood. I’m still trying to talk her into a game of one-on-one, though; she hasn’t been up to it yet.

Abdullah: We have a reward coming after this, too. Hopefully it’s more food; I could get used to this.

Charlie: It’s a shame you don’t eat pork; there’s a lot of good stuff here.

Abdullah: It’s more for you, Charlie; enjoy. That just means I get more into the pancakes.

Charlie: It’s like eating with a vegetarian or something.

Abdullah: I wish people ate chicken with breakfast.

Charlie: I’d eat chicken with breakfast.

Abdullah: You’d eat anything with breakfast.

Charlie: Yeah, you’re right.

The camera switches to the four immunity winners walking out of the house to meet the rest of their tribe for the reward challenge on Nishino Shima.

Jeff: Come on in, guys!

All nine members come together on a tribe mat.

Jeff: The four immunity winners getting their first look at the new Meiji tribe. Jason voted out at the last Tribal Council. Let’s get to today’s challenge. For this challenge, you will be split into teams of three and start out on platforms in the middle of the water. By your platforms underwater, there is a boat for each tribe that is tied down and weighed down with rocks. On my go, you will try to bring the boat up to the surface, and with it, you can get back to shore with the paddles you start with. You have an alternative, however; you can swim it. Only one person has to get back to shore in order to start working on the puzzle. When it’s put together correctly, the puzzle will have four Japanese words and phrases; the first to translate them will win reward. Wanna know what you’re playing for?

All nine anxiously await the reward.

Jeff: For the winner, you will stay here on this island for the afternoon and enjoy some camaraderie over nachos, Buffalo wings, French fries, and Pepsi. You will get to go over to a waterfall and enjoy that as well. If you finish second, all is not lost; you will head back to camp with chips and salsa, and each team member will get a bottle of cold Gatorade. This should be enough to want to stay out of last place, but there’s one more thing.

All nine Survivors stand anxiously awaiting potential bad news.

Jeff: For the team that loses, every member will be exiled separately. Two members will go to the presently unused camps of Minamoto and Taira. You will have flint, a cooking pot, and a water supply; it will be like living at the old camp, but no one else will be there. For the unlucky third person? You will be exiled to Kita Iojima, the same island used for Tribal Council. You will be restricted to a remote beach with no flint, one machete, one pot, and a barrel of water you cannot drink without boiling. Those who are exiled will spend tonight and tomorrow night in exile. Now, before we start, I want everyone to draw for teams and take a spot on the appropriate platform.

On the orange mat are Abdullah, Charlie, and Kevin. On the blue mat are Billy, Harriet, and Maria. On the silver mat are Becky, Loretta, and Paula. All nine Survivors are escorted to the platforms by a motorboat.

Jeff: Remember, last place goes into exile for two nights. Survivors ready?

All nine raise a hand.

Jeff: GO!

Everyone dives down except for Becky, who starts swimming to shore.

Jeff: Becky has a different strategy! Remember, only one person has to be at the puzzle to start working on it! Use the reference information to translate the phrases!

Charlie is the only orange player not to come up for air right away; both Harriet and Maria are struggling with getting and staying underwater.

Jeff: The trick here is to stay down for as long as you can!

Paula and Loretta are working on the boat at a pace slightly behind the other teams; by now; the camera shows Becky getting to shore.

Jeff: Becky’s already on the beach! Start on that puzzle!

Abdullah, Charlie, and Kevin get their boat up to the surface; it’s still upside-down.

Jeff: The guys have their boat! Flip that thing over and start rowing!

Harriet (to her teammates): The hell with this; I’m swimming it.

Billy: Good luck.

Jeff: Harriet’s trying something different! Can she take it? You have a lot of catching up to Becky to do!

Becky is sorting out her puzzle, which has all silver pieces; some character sequences are seen.

Jeff: Come on, boat people; get going!

The orange team flips their boat and gets in; they row at a pace a little faster than Harriet can swim, but due to Harriet’s head start, they look to arrive at about the same time.

Jeff: Harriet, you have your work cut out for you! Three guys against just you!

Both the other tribes get their boats flipped at about the same time; Loretta and Paula have a slight lead.

Jeff: All four of you have some catching up to do! Becky’s way out in front!

The three guys and Harriet are all working on their puzzles; the three guys have a bit of a lead but are far short of Becky.

Jeff: Becky has her pieces together! Once you get that done, start translating it! Write down your translations and show them to me!

Becky starts thumbing through a manual of Japanese phrases.

Becky: OK, the first one means water. What so we have for the second one?

Jeff: Becky has a word already!

Charlie: Come on, people; we need to get the edges together! Put these up at the top!

Jeff: Charlie’s leading his team! Harriet still has some catching up to do!

Billy and Maria arrive at the beach slightly ahead of Loretta and Paula; both rush to their teammates’ aid.

Jeff: Everyone’s working now! It’s going to be a close race for second, but you have a lot of work to catch up to Becky’s team!

Becky: Take this down, guys; the third one means emperor.

Jeff: You almost have it, ladies!

Billy: There, now who wants to translate?

Harriet: Give that here.

Maria: I’ll write.

Jeff: The blue team getting a system down!

Paula writes down a word on her team’s tablet.

Paula: Jeff, get over here! We have it!

Jeff: Becky, Loretta, and Paula think they have it.

Jeff takes their tablet and looks it over, giving a quick nod of approval in the middle.

Jeff: Becky, Loretta, and Paula win reward! Everyone else, don’t lose focus; second place is still up for grabs!

The camera switches to both teams writing.

Abdullah: I think we have it!

Jeff runs over and looks at the guys’ tablet, studying it closely.

Jeff: This second one is wrong. All the others are right.

Harriet: Come on over here, Jeff; we have it!

Jeff takes a look at Harriet’s tablet.

He studies it closely, nodding and holding his chin.

Jeff: Billy, Harriet, and Maria win second place!

Abdullah drops his tablet and walks over to the middle.

Jeff: For the ladies’ team, you will be taken over to a waterfall to enjoy snacks and Pepsi.

Paula: There’s something you need to do for me, Jeff.

Jeff: What’s that?

Paula: I want to take Charlie’s place in exile and let him have the reward.

Jeff: Say what?

Paula: I want Charlie to have this reward and let me go to exile in his place.

Jeff: Is there any reason for this?

Paula: When we merged, I said some things to Charlie that were untrue and hurtful, and I realize I’ve done wrong. I never got the chance to apologize to him, but even if I did, I don’t think that would be enough. Charlie, I have all the respect for you in the world as a leader, as a Navy man, and as a father. If you’re half as good of a Navy man and father as you are a Survivor, your crew and your son are blessed.

Jeff: Wow. Well, Paula, normally the reward would be yours outright, but who am I to argue that you shouldn’t be able to hand it over to Charlie here? I just want to make sure you understand that you will be spending the next two nights in exile away from the game.

Paula: I would rather spend the next two nights in exile with the most miserable weather God can create than take this reward I really can’t enjoy.

Jeff: Well, that’s good enough for me. Paula, you, Abdullah, and Kevin will be drawing for exile locations. If you get the red stone, you will go to Minamoto’s campsite; if you get the gold stone, you go to Taira’s campsite. If you get the black stone, you’re off to Kita Iojima. The three of you need to pick now.

All three reach their hands in the bag with the stones.

Jeff: Reveal your sites.

Abdullah gets Minamoto’s site; Kevin gets Taira’s.

Jeff: Paula, you get the hardest exile site.

Paula: I’ll be fine.

Charlie: Paula, you know you didn’t really have to do this, but the fact that you would give up a first-class reward to make up for what you said to me shows me that you’re a woman who takes responsibility for her actions. I really respect that. I know we had our differences, but I don’t want that anymore.

Paula: I don’t either. I’m tired of fighting.

Jeff: Becky, Loretta, and Charlie; you had a big decision on how the tribes looked earlier in the game, and all three will be enjoying this reward. Billy, Harriet, and Maria, your chips, salsa, and Gatorade will be waiting for you at camp. Abdullah, Kevin, and Paula, you will be dropped off at your exile sites soon.

Images from the challenge’s final scenes along with Charlie and Paula’s speeches dominate the closing scenes before the screen cuts to commercial.

Back from commercial.

Nishino Shima, Day 22. Becky, Charlie, and Loretta arrive at the waterfall, where cold Pepsi products, nachos, French fries, and chicken wings wait for them in large quantities.

Becky: We just got lots of food; it’s a good thing I’m still hungry.

Loretta: I didn’t get any food; this is my first taste of anything.

Becky: Well, we did get some food yesterday.

Loretta: This is way better than a ham and cheese sandwich, even if it did come with chips.

(confessional) Charlie: Paula was supposed to be here instead of me, but she wanted to give me her reward. It was a hell of a nice gesture, and I know it wasn’t just a game move for her. I saw a side of Paula that she doesn’t seem to show to a lot of people, judging by what Becky told me about her.

Becky: I never would have seen Paula doing anything like this. She always struck me as a hard-##### who didn’t expect anything from anyone. She was never afraid to shut someone down, even if she was wrong. I’ve never seen her admit a mistake.

Charlie: So I guess I’m special then.

Loretta: You’re a tough guy, from what I can tell.

Charlie: I hold my own.

(confessional) Loretta: I haven’t spent a whole lot of time with Paula, but she’s a force to be reckoned with. She rarely admits fault, and she doesn’t let other people speak for her. When she comes out and says she’s wrong, she’s definitely wrong.

Becky: Look at all this. There must be eight different kinds of sauce here.

Charlie: Who the hell wants to dip chicken wings in ketchup?

Loretta: Those are for the fries, goofball.

Charlie: Well, what the hell’s wrong with barbecue sauce for those?

Loretta: Well, have at it; there’s plenty.

Charlie: Believe me, I will.

The camera switches back to Meiji, Day 25. Billy, Harriet, and Maria all arrive at camp, where two bags of tortilla chips, a large jar of salsa, and three bottles of Gatorade wait for them.

Harriet: This beats the hell out of noodles; I’ll tell you that.

Maria: I’ll take it, and I just came from the house and all that food.

Harriet: Lucky son of a #####.

(confessional) Maria: It’s a little like a two-day buffet for me. Yesterday I got lasagna, and Charlie shared his steak with us. I got a big sundae, a wet bar, and breakfast this morning. This is a bit of a downgrade, but I can’t complain; it’s nice to have lots of food after having none for a long time.

Billy: If we lost, I might have had to eat my immunity idol.

Harriet: Well, damn; we were this close to getting that thing out of the game.

Maria: I was wondering what that thing might taste like.

Billy: It’s probably not too bad if I smear some dirt on it.

Harriet: Well, you go enjoy that idol while the rest of us eat these chips.

Billy: You don’t really think I’d let you get away with that, do you?

(confessional) Harriet: We didn’t win the reward, and I haven’t won one since the first reward challenge. At least we didn’t get sent to exile or anything and we got a little something for it.

The camera switches to Kita Iojima, Day 25, where Paula is in the early stages of exile.

Paula: So we have a knife, a pot, and a bunch of useless water. I guess this is the price I pay for firing my mouth off.

(confessional) Paula: I’m here in exile because I let Charlie have my reward. I couldn’t take the reward knowing Charlie would be here and I would be eating junk food. When Kevin told me about Charlie’s wife leaving him, I wished I’d known about it before. I wouldn’t have said all those things about him not knowing what it’s like to be abandoned. It just tells me that I need to think a little bit before I judge people. I can’t just shoot first and ask questions later.

Paula is trying to make fire with some wood that’s lying around; she doesn’t appear to have much success.

(confessional) Paula: I think I would have lost my core alliance if not for this move, too. Charlie would have rallied against me, and I probably would be gone the first chance they got. I think I have a chance now.

The camera goes back to Meiji, Night 22. Becky, Charlie, and Loretta arrive back at camp; they are not carrying any food, but Loretta has something with her.

Loretta: We’re back!

Billy: Any food?

Becky: We didn’t get the chance to bring any back; they told us that the chips and salsa were your food, so the junk food was all for us.

Harriet: Well, then it’s a good thing we ate all the chips.

Charlie: And I bet you enjoyed them.

Harriet: They were delectable.

(confessional) Billy: They didn’t bring us back any food, which was all right; we didn’t give them any of ours, so we’re even.

Loretta: I also got something more for us to do here.

Maria: What’s that?

Loretta: It’s my marble chess set. I play back home. I’m actually rated.

Maria: Great, so that’s another thing I can never hope to win.

(confessional) Loretta: I brought a chess set as my luxury item. Charlie, Becky, and Paula all have theirs already, so their reward wins don’t matter. Becky has her basketball, Charlie has his flag, and Maria has…well, whatever Maria has. I have a chess set. Hopefully, it can pass the time, and maybe one of us can beat Becky at something.

Charlie: Say Maria, what are you doing with your clothes still on?

Maria: That’s none of your damn business.

Charlie: Don’t tell me you’re going to do this all the time.

Maria: Just for you, I will.

(confessional) Charlie: Maria and I kid each other all the time. I get on her case for going naked; she gets on me for borrowing her suntan lotion. I never said she couldn’t borrow my flag.

Harriet: So wait, that getting naked is an all-the-time thing for you?

Maria: I didn’t put my clothes on until the challenge today.

(confessional) Harriet: It looks like we have a nudist on our hands. I don’t know how I feel about this. I love Maria to death, but I can’t imagine having her going around the camp buttnaked all the time.

The closing scene shows Maria sunbathing face-down unclothed as the screen cuts to commercial.

Back from commercial.

Minamoto’s campsite, Day 23. Abdullah’s alone on the campsite in exile. The scene shows him with a fire and not much else.

(confessional) Abdullah: The hardest thing for me is being away from the game. If all I had to do was this for 39 days, I could probably do it, but since there’s a vote involved, I feel left out.

Abdullah is chopping fruit and preparing it.

Abdullah: One day down, one more day to go, and then maybe I can win immunity.

(confessional) Abdullah: Hopefully, this exile gives me a little peace so I can go into tomorrow’s challenge and win going away.

Abdullah: At least I got lots of food at the house.

The camera switches to Taira’s camp, Night 23. Kevin has a fire burning, but he appears to be largely inactive.

Kevin: It’s not exciting here...just me…kind of boring…

(confessional) Kevin: I just had to lose the challenge, and I just had to be stuck here. It’s better than Paula’s situation, but I could have tasted those French fries. All I got was a bowl of clam chowder, and I’m probably hungrier than anyone else.

Kevin is seen boiling water and eating some fruit he found; there is no rice to be found.

(confessional) Kevin: I’m used to being in a group, where people play to their strengths. I’m alone here, and I have to do it all. Frankly, I can’t wait to be out of here and back to the game.

The camera switches to Meiji, Day 24. Billy is walking back from the woods with something in his hands.

Billy: We got Tree Mail again, people! Gather ‘round!

All six Survivors who are there gather around Billy’s Tree Mail.

Billy (from Tree Mail): Keep your balance, keep your speed, keep your head,

Maria (from Tree Mail): The winners will be the ones who are well fed.

Charlie (from Tree Mail): The numbers will tell if one will win big,

Loretta (from Tree Mail): Give you all or risk being tossed in the brig.

Harriet: I can’t follow this, but if it’s about being well-fed, I’m out.

The camera switches to Nishino Shima, Day 27, and the six non-exiled Meiji members row in.

Jeff: Come on in, guys!

All six Survivors take their spots.

Jeff: We will now bring in Abdullah, Kevin, and Paula, who have spent the last two nights in exile. How was it, guys?

Paula: Terrible. I couldn’t get the fire to stay lit.

Jeff: Going into exile was your decision, though.

Paula: I know, but I would have had better luck on one of the other two islands.

Jeff: Kevin, what about you?

Kevin: I held up all right, but I missed my tribemates.

Jeff: Abdullah, is that a pretty good assessment?

Abdullah: I like seeing everyone again.

Jeff: Well, we’ll see if the full stomachs or the starvation of exile will prevail here. Let’s get to today’s challenge. First thing’s first – Charlie, give it up.

Charlie hands over his immunity necklace.

Jeff: Immunity, back up for grabs. For today’s challenge, the nine of you will cross two 25-foot balance beams as fast as you can. If you fall off the first balance beam, you go back to the beginning; if you fall off the second balance beam, you go back to the start of that one. Only the first four to cross both beams will move on to the next round; everyone else will be eliminated. After that, each player’s stomach will be tested. You will have to eat sashimi in order to proceed. Sashimi is raw fish; I know that’s new to a lot of you.

Players look at Jeff with varying degrees of disgust.

Jeff: Only those who eat six pieces of sashimi will go on; if you refuse or you can’t get it down, you are out. After that, I will ask one question; the answer will be a number. You will write down an answer, and whoever is closes without going over wins immunity. I should remind you that, if everyone goes over, no one will win immunity. If there’s a tie, the first to clear one beam without falling off will be the immunity winner. Everyone take your spots and wait for my go.

Players line up behind the first set of beams.

Jeff: Survivors ready?

All nine raise a hand.

Jeff: GO!

All nine Survivors start off quickly, but as soon as they start, Kevin and Loretta fall off right away.

Jeff: Kevin and Loretta have a little trouble getting started!

Becky and Maria are out in front; Abdullah makes it halfway and falls off.

Jeff: Abdullah, go back to the start! Loretta, you need to gain your balance!

The first to cross the first beam is Becky; she runs across the second beam with no trouble.

Jeff: Becky moving on to the next round!

Charlie works slowly on the beam but doesn’t appear to be falling off; he’s behind Maria but ahead of a struggling Billy.

Jeff: Maria makes it across! Charlie’s on her heels!

Harriet stands halfway between the beginning and between the beams; she walks slowly and deliberately like Charlie, but Charlie’s a bit faster.

Jeff: Charlie’s in third place! Everyone’s playing for fourth, it looks like!

Billy and Harriet make it across the first beam neck and neck but appear to be lagging behind Charlie.

Jeff: Four people plus Becky across the first beam! There are three spots left!

Maria crosses the second beam, and Charlie’s most of the way across.

Jeff: Maria moving on to the next round! Charlie’s close behind! Charlie makes it through to the next round! One more spot remains!

Billy and Harriet are neck and neck; right behind them is Abdullah.

Jeff: Abdullah’s catching up! Kevin, Loretta, and Paula, don’t give up!

A pair of feet drop to the end of the balance beam. The camera points up to Abdullah, who finishes.

Jeff: Abdullah gets the last spot! We have our four; everyone else, take a seat.

Becky, Maria, Charlie, and Abdullah take their spots in front of the plates of sashimi.

Jeff: There are six pieces of sashimi in front of each of you; if you can’t get all six of them down, you’re out. Survivors ready? GO!

Charlie puts two pieces in his mouth at once; Becky takes it a bit more slowly but appears to have no trouble.

Jeff: Charlie wasting mo time with the sashimi!

Abdullah just looks at the sashimi without picking it up.

Abdullah: I’m out.

Jeff: Abdullah says he’s out. Are you sure?

Abdullah: I’m sure.

Jeff: Abdullah, take a seat on the sideline. Everyone else, keep eating.

Charlie polishes off his sashimi far more quickly than anyone else; Becky and Maria are working at about the same pace.

Jeff: Charlie’s moving on! Becky and Maria are still working!

Becky swallows her last piece of sashimi; she opens her mouth, showing that it’s empty.

Jeff: Becky’s moving on! Maria, you’re almost there!

Maria begins to choke on her sashimi a bit, but she looks to get it down.

Jeff: Maria has a little trouble, but she has it! Three people get the sashimi down! All three of you need to grab your tablets.

All three sit on stumps with tablets in front of them.

Jeff: Remember, you need to be the closest without going over. If you all go over, no one gets immunity. The answer is a number greater than zero. Here goes.

The Survivors prepare to write.

Jeff: Japan’s first known currency was called the half tael and was made of bronze. How many years ago was it first seen?

All three Survivors start writing furiously.

Jeff: Reveal.

Becky’s answer is 1564. Charlie’s answer is 2001. Maria’s answer is 2580.

Jeff: We have three different answers. All three of you have a shot. The correct answer…

The camera shows all three Survivors in succession.

Jeff: …is 2228. Charlie, you’re the closest without going over. Charlie wins immunity!

Jeff walks over and puts the immunity necklace back on Charlie’s neck.

Jeff: For the second straight time, Charlie is safe from the vote. Unlike last time, you don’t get to protect anyone. Head on back to camp; I’ll see you at Tribal tonight.

Some of Charlie’s close allies are seen congratulating Charlie as the screen cuts to commercial.

Back from commercial.

Meiji, Day 24. All nine members arrive at camp at the same time, and Charlie still has his necklace on.

Paula: If I never have to walk another balance beam again, it’ll be too soon.

Kevin: No argument here. The two nights in exile didn’t help things either.

(confessional) Paula: Charlie and I made up already, but this is the first time we’ve had to talk since our spat. I’m actually thinking of talking to him about changing the game up. I know where people stand with him, and I know he needs a fifth.

Paula (to Charlie): So who’s on your list to get out?

Charlie: The old Taira members are a little too close for me. Loretta, Billy, and Harriet. I don’t trust any of them.

Paula: What about that idol?

Charlie: I wasn’t thinking about getting Billy out tonight.

Paula: So who goes?

Charlie: Loretta’s too much of a threat.

Paula: Is that your plan?

Charlie: Maria, Becky, and I are all interested; Becky wants to take her out.

(confessional) Charlie: It’s nothing personal against Loretta; it never is. She’s part of an alliance, and I want to show her that there isn’t enough room for both of us here.

Harriet (to Loretta): If you had to vote someone out…

Loretta: Becky’s tough.

Harriet: What about Maria?

Loretta: She’s tough too, but Becky’s unbeatable.

Harriet: Except for Charlie.

Loretta: Have you talked to Abdullah? We need him.

Harriet: We need the three of us, and we need Abdullah, Kevin, and Paula. We can afford to lose one of those three.

Loretta: I think we can get Paula to go against Becky.

(confessional) Harriet: We’re going to try to get Becky out. I think Paula will go for it.

Harriet (to Paula): Would you vote against Becky?

Paula: I’ve entertained the idea.

Harriet: How close is Abdullah to Charlie’s alliance?

Paula: He seems to be pretty tight with them.

Harriet: So the five would be you, me, Billy, Loretta, and Kevin?

Paula: I could make Kevin go against Charlie’s folks.

(confessional) Paula: I could definitely go along with getting Becky out. It’s one less threat for me in the game, and Charlie’s bound to lose sooner or later.

The camera switches to Tribal Council, including a night sky and nine people walking in single-file.

Jeff: Welcome to Tribal Council. This is the first time all nine of you have been here at once.

Charlie: I miss being able to get drunk and talk instead of coming here.

Jeff: It’s OK for you, though; you have immunity.

Charlie: I just guessed something that I thought made sense, and it worked.

Jeff: Abdullah, you couldn’t put away the sashimi. What happened?

Abdullah: I just gagged. I couldn’t have imagined putting down raw fish.

Jeff: If it were cooked, would you have done it?

Abdullah: Of course. I know this is considered a delicacy in Japan, but to me, it’s too weird.

Jeff: You know, it’s because you consider it weird that you didn’t win immunity.

Abdullah: I know. It’s because I couldn’t hold my arm up for a long time that I didn’t win it the last time. I will get something geared toward my strength soon.

Jeff: That is, if you last. Billy, you still have the idol; have you thought about using it?

Billy: It’s always an option.

Jeff: The way it will work is as follows. Billy, if you think you’re in danger, once you vote, put your idol in the urn’s side pocket, and if you’re voted out, I will check that pocket. If the idol’s there, then Billy can vote out anyone who voted against him. If you’re not voted out and you use the idol, then it’s wasted. If you’re voted out and you don’t use the idol, it’s wasted. If you don’t use the idol and you’re not voted out, nothing happens.

Billy: Well, OK then.

Jeff: With that, it is time to vote. Charlie, you’re up first.

Charlie gets up to vote; his vote is not shown.

After Charlie, Abdullah votes; his vote is also not shown.

Next to vote is Loretta; she votes for Becky.

Loretta (into vote camera): You’re too tough, and you’re going to be hard to beat. You need to go now.

After that, Harriet votes; she also votes for Becky.

Harriet (into vote camera): You’re just too strong; it’s a business decision.

Next to vote is Maria, whose vote is not shown.

After Maria, Kevin votes; his vote is not shown, but his speech is heard.

Kevin (into vote camera): If there’s an alliance around here I’m not a part of, I have to help break it up. It’s that simple.

Following Kevin in line is Paula; she votes, but it is not shown.

Becky votes next; her vote is for Loretta.

Becky (into vote camera): I’m a target; I respect that. You’re a target, too. You have too much control here.

The last to vote is Billy; his vote and decision whether to play the idol are not shown.

Jeff: I’ll go tally the votes.

Jeff takes the urn and the screen pans to the contestants.

Jeff: Once the votes are read, the decision is final; the person voted out will be asked to leave the Tribal Council area immediately. I’ll read the votes.

Jeff opens the urn.

Jeff: First vote…Becky.

Becky shows little reaction to the vote.

Jeff: …Becky. Two votes Becky.

Becky: Wow.

Jeff: …Loretta.

Loretta: What did I do?

Jeff: …Loretta. Two votes Loretta, two votes Becky.

Jeff takes out the next vote.

Jeff: …Becky. That’s three votes for Becky.

The screen shows Becky and Loretta sitting anxiously.

Jeff: …Loretta. That’s three votes Loretta, three votes Becky.

Jeff picks out another vote.

Jeff: …Loretta. There are two votes left.

Jeff pulls out the eighth vote.

The screen switches to the contestants quickly.

Jeff: …the tenth person voted out of Survivor: Japan, and the first member of the jury…Loretta. That’s five votes; that’s enough. You need to bring me your torch.

Loretta takes her torch and walks slowly to the holder, putting her torch in.

Jeff: Loretta, the tribe has spoken.

Jeff snuffs Loretta’s torch.

Jeff: Loretta will serve as the first member of the jury; the jury will ultimately decide who will be the Sole Survivor. Remember this, though; six of you will be joining her. Grab your torches; head back to camp. Goodnight.

The eight remaining Meiji are shown walking out with lit torches; at this point, the screen credits begin to roll.

Cut to commercial and input from corporate sponsors.

Back from commercial.

Jeff (voice-over): Next time on Survivor…the opportunity to eat turns Survivors against each other.

Billy (shouting): I don’t see what the deal is! I earned this! Back the hell off!

Jeff (voice-over): And the Survivors are thrown into a real survival situation, and it’s a matter of life and death.

(confessional) Paula: I really don’t know what happened, but I know it’s bad news. I know that our experience here has changed completely.

The camera pans to some of Survivor’s sponsors before switching to Loretta.

Loretta (final words): The best laid plans of mice and men don’t amount to diddly squat in the game of Survivor. I thought I had something, but it fell through. Billy and Harriet, it looks like you guys are on your own out there. I’m happy, though; I made the jury, and I have a hand in picking the winner. If I can’t be the winner, at least I can pick the winner.

6 votes Loretta: Abdullah, Becky, Charlie, Kevin, Maria, Paula

3 votes Becky: Billy, Harriet, Loretta