Transcripts by James Barber

Secret Scene: Sugar

Sugar struggles to find her place as she attempts to help contribute to her tribe 

(day 2; Sugar watches as various tribemates build the shelter and chop coconuts)

Sugar (solo): The way I am, normally I let all the guys do the work, or the hard work. I pitch in as much as I can for the stuff I can do. I can't chop wood, and build a shelter, (cut to a scene of Sugar trying to chop a coconut, and gathering firewood) as much as I can find new things or gather things or find things to help them build the shelter, and to be a good cheerleader for them. (laughs)"

(most of the women try to weave palm fronds)

Sugar: I already messed it up. Something is wrong with it. (Candice asks if she needs help; Cirie looks annoyed) Why is this so difficult for my brain to grasp? Dude, my thing sucks! I can't do this.

Amanda: But you're doing it!

Sugar (pouting): I'm not doing it.

Amanda: You're doing it.

Sugar: I'm running out of all my stuff. I'm gonna freak out here!

Cirie (solo): Sugar, I know she's a pin-up girl, and she's cute and everything, but I see a lot of talking going on and nothing being done.

(as Candice finishes, JT asks Sugar if it's difficult)

Sugar: I have no idea what we're doing.

Cirie (solo): I see these people, and they're working. They're not just sitting around doing nothing. So Sugar has rubbed a few people the wrong way.

(Sugar and Candice try to move a log they find in the woods)

Sugar: You think you can lift this?

Candice: Yeah. Watch out, watch out. (Sugar runs away) You don't have to touch it if you don't want. (Sugar seems hesitant) We can roll it. You wanna roll it?

Sugar: There's so many on there. Are you sure?

Candice: They're just worms. We'll do it with our foot.

(Candice and Sugar roll/kick the log with their feet)

Sugar: I'm just trying to keep busy. Make myself useful, and find out what needs to be done and try and get it done, or think of things to get done so I'm not driving myself crazy thinking of who's talking to who, or whatever. (Sugar tries to work on the shelter but something gets in her eyes and she's flustered; Tom looks bemused) Hopefully I can remain busy and keep the group thinking I'm doing good and want to hang out with me longer.

Tribal Council Voting

Find out what each member of the Heroes tribe had to say as they cast their votes

Candice (Sugar with hearts bracketing her name): Sugar, I'm voting for you because that's what everyone else is doing. I didn't want it to be you, and I'm sorry. I think you're great.

Colby (Sugar): Really, one of the main things is, with you gone, Sugar, I really don't know if we lose that much. Another thing, day 2, yesterday, and you're already breaking down emotionally. I really don't know that you're cut out for this game. Good luck.

Cirie (Sugar with a heart at the end): I don't know if this is the smartest vote but I have to go with the tribe right now.

Rupert (Sugar): I am so sorry I couldn't trade...couldn't change the guys' votes. I'm sorry, Sugar.

Stephenie (Sugar): Sugar, you are as sweet as pie, you really are, but right now we feel like you're not one of the stronger people that's gonna help us in the game. I'm really sorry. Good luck to you.

Tom (Sugar): Sugar, so sad it's you, you're a talented and sensitive person, loved having you around camp, you're a lot of fun.

Amanda (Sugar): I'm voting for you tonight because you're one of the weakest players on the team.

James (Sugar): I'm voting for you cause we need to keep the team strong.

Sugar (Amanda): I think you're kind of fake and I'd like to keep everyone that's totally real on as long as possible. So...

JT (Sugar):  This is strictly because you were really starting to scare me and I can't trust you at all. Sorry.

Sugar's Final Words

Sugar reacts to having just been voted out by her tribemates

"This is obviously not my game. I couldn't be happier to leave, actually, because this might be happening for 36 more days where it rains like this. I really like those guys but I can't wait to get some cookies and clothes on. (laughs)"

(cut)

"It's not a great feeling to be the first person voted off, but last time I lasted to the end and I couldn't fathom that to begin with. If I was ever gonna leave any game (laughs), right now this game would be OK to leave, because it's raining cats and dogs, and that's not my game."

(cut)

"I was crying today because I'm dramatic and I felt like I lost the game. Not that it's just me that lost the game, it was everybody, but I was part of it."

(cut)

"I think they probably did make the right decision in voting me off, because I am, I'd say, the weakest link, although I gave it my all. I don't think my being around is gonna help them much in winning immunities or anything."

Boston Rob's New Playbook

Boston Rob is back, and he has a few new tricks up his sleeve

"A lot has happened in the last 5 years since the last time I played Survivor. I've been married 5 years, I learned how to compromise. I just had a brand new baby girl 5 weeks ago, which has started to teach me unbelievable patience. Two things I may not have had that high up on my priority list before."

(cut)

"In the 5 years since I played Survivor last,  I'm probably still the same person at my core, but there are some things that have changed. I'm a family man now. I'm a husband and a father. We'll have to see how that plays into my whole gameplan."

(cut)

"The thing about this game, the way I played from day 1, you don't go into the game with a specified gameplan. You have to be able to adapt to a situation, whatever that situation is. You have to react, assess what's going on, and make good, informed decisions. That's the way I've always been, it's worked for me in the past, and that's what I'm going to do this time."

(cut)

"You know what's different this time around though? It's not as much about the money for me. It's about my competitiveness, and my want and desire to win. I may not be the fastest of anyone out here anymore, I may not be the most strategic, but I guarantee I got the most heart out of anybody. I want this more than anybody."

(cut)

"Some of these players have probably seen me play before. They know my playbook. But that was my old playbook, that was my playbook from 5 years ago. It would be pretty naive of me at a new game 5 years later with the same playbook, so they're not gonna be prepared for what I've got in store for them this time."

(cut)

"I know this game better than anybody else. I know how this game is supposed to be played, and I know how to play it. The one thing that killed me last time was I maybe could have been a little bit nicer when I kicked their asses off and sent them home. I could have done it with a smile. (puts on a smile) I'll do that this time."

(cut)

"Some people will perceive me the way they want to perceive me. I don't really care about that. I'm here to play Survivor. That's what I'm here for. Bring on Survivor. Bring on the rain, the suffering. I know I'm smiling now, but I'll be ready for it. That's my favorite part of the game. Those first couple days when you see some people mentally check out. They're gone. You know it's only a matter of time. This game's not easy; it's hard. It's really hard."

Best of the Best

Colby prepares for the ultimate battle as the game begins

"Any time you put together a group of returning players, who've been down this road and been through this journey once, clearly you're gonna get a group that's incredibly savvy. What's so cool about seeing the 20 that are here is there's some dominating people, both men and women. When you look at people, like who's my biggest competition, in a situation like this, it's the one you're not paying attention to. There's so many standouts, so many to keep your eye on, so many you know are going to be solid in the competitions, you know are gonna bring their A-game in terms of strategy and being conniving, you sometimes forgot about those players who may have won their season, or made it to the final 2 or 3, which clearly means they're cut out for this game, but you're so distracted by some of the other dominant players, you lose sight of those. Those to me are the biggest threats. They're the ones nobody's paying attention to. It's not because they're not good, it's just you can't keep your eye on everybody."

(cut)

"Boston Rob. That dude, I love competing with that guy more than anyone, but I would never trust him. The thing is, we're buddies now. I never see him, I haven't spoken to him since Survivor All Star, but we're buddies. It's kind of a fraternity. We've been down this road, plus we shared that season together, we get along really well. Plus we're both  toe-to-toe competitors. My gut tells me, I don't even care if we're on the same tribe, I don't know that I'll ever be able to trust Rob. That man is out for himself always, all the way. Jerri's another one. I wish I could believe Jerri buried the hatched last time. She harbored a lot of ill feelings and was out for revenge in Panama, and had a huge impact on me getting voted out. We should be even at this point. No way. Jerri would get rid of me in day 1 in a heartbeat if she could. Jerri would love to see an all-female jury and two females sitting in the final two seats if she had her way. People like that are dangerous. I think in this season the men are so dominant. You've got strong, fast, unbelievable players. Fast-thinking, let alone physically fast. But the women are the ones that bring the mental aspect of it. These women worry me, to be honest with you. The guys, I think there's a pretty good handful of guys. JT, James, Tom, Rupert, Coach, that'll play straight up. If you want to, if we have an opportunity to talk about it, we all go toe-to-toe, alright let's do it, and may the best man win. The women? No way. No way. They're the ones that are bringing their A-game mentally, and they're the ones that are gonna be the biggest threats."

Forgetting the Pain

Rupert returns for his third time around, but finds it difficult to prepare his body for the pain it will soon endure

"You know, the main reason I'm going into Survivor 20 is all for myself. I do have a lot of people still who come up to me and tell me they love me or they voted for me. I'll never get tired of that. I like to skill test myself. I'm still that adventure guy, I'm still that guy who wants to prove, I'm still here."

(cut)

"I love the idea of doing Survivor a THIRD TIME. When I got out of All Stars, I even wanted to be a prize on Vanuatu. It is the ultimate test of body, mind, and soul, and it will test you to your core. Now I'm 45, I'm 5 years older than when I went into the first game. I gotta show I'm still tough."

(cut)

"I think it is an advantage going through the game more than once. Having that chance where I went back-to-back, and I saw all the other All-Stars forgetting about the pain. Whining and crying. These guys I thought were so tough. I remember the pain. A lot of these people are gonna forget that pain."

(cut)

"I do sometimes have to remember. That's why I go back and watch the old episodes of me on Pearl Islands and All Stars and see those legs of mine that were so swollen, see those bug  bites, see that skin infection that was so bad it was killing me. I have to say I am asking Mama Earth to ask for some strength inside of me. I am a little older and not (grits teeth) as tough, but I'm still pretty tough."

(cut)

"Out here in Survivor, I think young and strong and tough is not always an advantage. I think older and school of hard knocks is a little more of an advantage. When I get to go up against some of those tough ones, like JT who tied my record in the strength challenge, or James whose arms are the size of my legs, it'll be kind of cool to go head-to-head with some of those guys."

(cut)

"If I go out and play Survivor 20 and people don't see the same thing they saw, I will be very surprised, because I went out there and played me. I was me. As long I can remember I'm OK inside, and it counts how you play the game, I'll be fine."

(cut)

"Both times when I was put out of the game, both times were very hard. I still remember those emotions like it was yesterday. I still sometimes when I get really stressed out, dream about those days and think about what I could have done differently, what I could have changed. I don't know if I will ever totally forget those emotions that somebody tells you you're out. That's a tough one."

(cut)

"I would love to go out there and win this one. I want to say I won All-Stars. I won the vote. I won the All-American Tribal Council. I didn't win the game. I still want to win the game."

Honor Amongst Friends

Jerri reflects on her past experience in Survivor: All-Stars

"I remember on All Stars, I felt more alone than I had ever felt in my whole life. I was surrounded by people who were my friends, which was also bizarre in this situation. This is definitely a game better played with total strangers. I remember my tribe lost all the time. Please don't let me  end up on the losing tribe again this time, please. That sucks. We kept losing everything and our morale was so low and our shelter collapsed. We merged with the other two tribes and I remember looking at Lex and thinking, 'Thank God, I have a friend on this tribe. Thank God.' I was so excited. I was so happy. I literally cried a lot, talking to Lex. I started tearing up, because I was so happy. It was completely ironic that the person who ended up voting for me getting thrown off the tribe was Lex. Double irony that the person he was saving was Amber, who from Australia was my best friend. There was a lot of, I was angry, I was confused, frustrated. I remember telling Lex, 'What the hell are you doing, helping out Boston Rob? You're gonna trust him over me. Give me a break.' It didn't even make sense to me. I couldn't fathom it. I tried so hard to get him to wake up. They got rid of me. It was in one way totally devastating, but I was so ready to get out of that situation. I knew it was gonna get worse. I knew things were about to get really ugly."

(cut)

"I'm gonna win this time. There's no other option for me. I will not settle for less. With that attitude, I think envisioning it and always keeping my eye on that long-term goal, I think hell yeah, I've got a great chance of winning. I feel stronger now than I've ever felt in my life. I'm ready. I'm ready to do this thing."

James' Aggressive Gameplay

If you think James' physical stature is intimidating, wait until you here what he has in store for his opponents!

"These people over here are the best of the best. We have some of the best competitors to ever play the game. Amanda, Colby, and Tom. They're the best ones. Nobody's ever won as many challenges as that group, except for maybe Ozzy, but I'm known as one of the more (air quotes) intimidating and threatening ones. I really haven't had a challenge per se, on land, in challenges. I would love to see how it's going to go in the challenges. I want to compete against the best. I really haven't had my opportunity, so now I do. I'm excited and ready to go. The girls, ya'll have some of the most cunning girls on the planet over here. I'm gonna have to suck it up and figure out a way to do my thing and make it happen."

(cut)

"Kicking people's ass in these challenges will pretty much be the only way for me to get out my aggression. The only way to keep me sane. I'm gonna have to suck up a lot, and go without myself in this show if I want to make it as long as I want to. I want to make it to the end. The challenges are gonna be by far the best way for me to relieve myself. Make myself tired or exhausted to where I don't have snappy comebacks for people, I stay on the side and stay good in my alliance. Not having the challenges, it wouldn't work. I'd be too amped up all the time, I couldn't take it. Hopefully I'll work hard, do the challenges really good, exhaust myself, make myself more calm, focus on what I need to do, the other aspect of the game, the social part."

(cut)

"I'm kind of like a caveman sometimes, bashing people. It's fun. It's exciting. I love hand-on-hand...I just love it. I can't even talk about it enough because I love the challenges. It's the only time you get to be a kid. You have fun, you exert yourself, you compete against others. With this group here, there's gonna be some good challenges, there's gonna be some great competition. I can't wait."

Russell's New Game

Russell tries to refrain from becoming starstruck around the returning castaways and devises another sinister plan to rule the game

"Season 19 I dominated. It wasn't even fun at the end. When I had 8 people left I started preparing my speech for a million dollars. It started getting a little boring at the end. I knew I was in control. I was never uncomfortable. Now I believe I'm gonna have to stay on my toes here. Stay on my toes with these fellas. I'm ready for it. I'm ready for the challenge."

(cut)

"I'm aligned with Rob. He's a strategic player. If I don't align with him, I'll be gone. I better get my ass right behind him. He can control his game and I can control this game. If we get to the merge, it's all over. I will get to the final 2. If we get to the merge I'll take control of the game."

(cut)

"Last time I had to do everything. I had to do all the strategic moves. Now I might actually get to sit there, somebody will come up with something and come to me with it. I'll say, yeah, that sounds like a good plan. It doesn't look like I'm the one that's stabbing everyone in the back. Everyone's stabbing each other in the back."

(cut)

"I'm gonna play similar to the same game. I'm gonna use the mind game, the Russell seed. That's still gonna be in play. But I'm not gonna be as aggressive. I was way aggressive in season 19, but you see, it worked for me, because of the dumbasses  I worked with out there. It was easy. I already know. I can see it in their eyes. It's not gonna be easy this time to dominate and be so aggressive."

(cut)

"They're gonna trust me. I know they're gonna trust me. I'm the good old boy from the South. JT, move over JT, here's the good old villain from the South. (laughs)"

Return of the Dragon Slayer

Coach reveals his reasons for returning to the ultimate competition

"I couldn't get enough the first time. That's why I'm back. You get addicted to it. It's the ultimate adventure. You can't recreate this. Anybody can go kayak down the Amazon, or at least try to. You can't come out here and get an adventure like this. Nobody has enough money to do it. It's just a one of a kind thing, a one in a million chance you get to play it, one in a hundred million chance you get to play it twice. I feel blessed and honored to be out here."

(cut)

"Last time I was in a military chopper was in 1998 when I solo kayaked down the Amazon River. That was an epic journey full of adventurous tales and self-discovery. I know for a fact this is going to be even more memorable than that."

(cut)

"I don't think I have anything to prove, per se. I think my first game was incredible. I think I set the bar high on a lot of different levels. Everyday life, doing the meditation, opening shots with me doing that were pretty epic. Put my stamp on Exile, put my stamp on Tribal. Putting feathers in my hair and my ears. My father always says what are you gonna do for an encore. It's gotta be bigger and better. Once you do great things you gotta elevate the bar. Personally I think I'm out here because the first time was all about honor and integrity. This time it will be about honor and integrity, but as Cicero says, great men go for great glory, and this time it's gonna be all about the glory for me."

(cut)

"The Dragon Slayer, having been slain this time, is gonna come back with more fire and more vengeance than last time. Not only am I gonna play for myself a little bit more, not necessarily play for the honor of the game, but I'm also gonna take the Dragon Slayer and build on that character, and take a historical figure whose philosophy of chivalry and knighthood will weave its way through the entire game. My weakness in the first game was a little bit in the challenges, but my weakness was also that I was not chivalrous to the ladies at all times. When Sierra didn't do work in camp, 'You're not doing the job.'  When somebody would back down, I didn't temper that bloodlust and that desire to be changing the game with a sweeter side. You didn't see the sweeter side as much."

(cut)

"I want to have the nice Coach come out. Playing honorably and having integrity but also giving aid to a damsel in distress, helping the weak when they're downtrodden. I think that will balance out my temperament in the game a little bit."

Storytime with Coach

Coach shares a memorable and unbelievable tale of adventure and international intrigue with his fellow tribemates

(everyone sits around the fire on night 1, and Rob encourages Coach to tell a story)

Coach: So the story that comes to mind for some reason, and I don't know if it's because of the Pacific Ocean and thinking I was in Mexico, but in 1996, September 13, I left San Felipe, Baja, California, in a one-man kayak. I'd never ocean-kayaked before. I came up with this idea to set the world's record for the longest solo kayak trip.

Rob (solo): Yeah, I'm a big fan of Coach, let me tell you about him. (grins) I just wanted to make Coach feel at home, that's why I suggested he tell his story.

Coach: Many, many adventures. Hurricane. Shark attacks along the way.

Rob (solo): The actual content of the story didn't mean anything to me. I'm not really buying what Coach is selling.

Coach: I wake up to find the Mexican Federales standing over me. They grab me, they force me on my knees, and they put an AK-47 to my head.

Rob (solo): It was awesome. Everybody was really quiet and I could actually close my eyes and catch a couple of Z's.

Coach: I had no idea what was going to happen. If you screw up, you're dead.

Coach (solo): We were all sitting out on the beach, I told a great little story about how I was homeless in Mexico. Everybody was receptive to the story. It was cool, really cool.

The Hunt for Giant Clams

The Villains set off on an afternoon hunt for giant clams

(Parvati holds the basket while Sandra uses a snorkel to find a clam)

Sandra (solo): Me and Parvati are starving. We're not gonna wait on nobody to feed us. We're gonna take matters into our own hands.

(Parvati puts on the snorkel and finds a clam)

Sandra (yelling to the tribemates on shore): Hey, we got meat!

Courtney: How are we gonna open it?

Parvati: With a machete.

Sandra: We'll figure that out later. We're gonna eat!

Sandra (solo): We've gotten the first protein. If they don't wanna eat it, I don't care, more for me. There's no fire, there's nothing. What else are we gonna eat?

Sandra: Courtney, do you know what's in this conch? We can eat this raw, right?

Courtney: We can fry it.

Sandra: We can't fry it.

(Sandra asks Russell to help them break the conch; they all struggle to break it, until finally Rob does by dropping a big rock on it)

Courtney (solo): The best part of being on the villain team is everybody has the same sense of humor (everyone eats and laughs). It's hilarious and it gets us through the tough times. I don't imagine they're laughing very much on  the other side. Those are a bunch of duds. They get a bunch of guys who think they're God's gift to everything.

(Randy is asked how the meat is)

Randy: It's good. (makes a face)

Courtney (solo): Our guys know they're useless, except for Coach, he seems to think he's amazing.

Coach: (eating his food) Hell yeah, man!

Courtney (solo): I don't know where he got that idea.

Coach: It's delicious.

Jerri: That? (laughs)

Coach: Yeah!

(Parvati asks Russell to chop something in her hands, then stops when she realizes he's going to use the machete)

Tyson: That's the conch meat. It's open?

Courtney: Yeah. Rob threw a rock at it. Like most things it can be fixed by whipping a rock at it.

Courtney (solo): I'm honored by the title "Villain." We're probably gonna lose a lot, but if we're gonna lose, we might as well have a good time. Who cares? It's great.

The Triple Threat

Parvati worries that how she is perceived from her past experiences in the game will hinder her progress this time around

"Being a flirt was enough the first time to make me so threatening that there was a group trying to vote me out on the first day. Now being a winner, a flirt, and a threat, I might as well go drown myself right now. I'll have to work so hard to not get voted out on the first night. "

(cut)

"I worked so hard last time. I expelled every ounce of energy, of life force, I had in my body to win that game last time. I came home and I stayed in my family's home in Georgia and I just ate Smore after Smore. I ate Smores for 20 days. It took so much out of me. But I won, so it was worth it."

(cut)

"This is how I deal with bad things, things that are negative or upsetting. I erase them from my mind. All the bad stuff that happened in Cook Islands and Micronesia, it's gone, I don't know what happened to it. It's not a part of me anymore. I block it and repress those bad memories. I'm guns blazing, ready to play this game as I've never played before. Which I think is probably a good idea, because I'm not going on with an attitude of fear, I'm not horrified that I'm going to die. It's good, because the paranoia can overwhelm you in the beginning of this game."

(cut)

"The way I play is very social. A lot of people will probably think I'm manipulating them even when I'm not. I'm gonna have to combat that probably right off the bat and hopefully make some tight bonds and have people trust me. I'm gonna have to work on getting people to trust me in the beginning."

(cut)

"Getting this group of people to trust you is going to be death-defying. They don't trust themselves, they don't trust anyone. They probably don't trust their own mother, their own grandmother. If they give them an apple pie they probably think it's laced with poison to try to take their inheritance money, I don't know. Everyone's definitely going to be on guard."

(cut)

"Just being out here is exciting for me, it's thrilling, it's an adventure. Playing the game of Survivor is not reality television, it's a real life game, Monopoly on the grandest scale you can play. I'm so competitive, I love to play and I love to win."

(cut)

"I feel like I've grown up playing Survivor. Is that weird? I feel like I was a baby when I played in Cook Islands. It's been 3 years since I played the first time. I'm a different person. Everytime I come out here I learn so much that it ages me 5, 10 years. I have grey hairs popping out of my head, grey little squiggles. My body is so mad at me for playing this game, but I can't stop. I'm crazy."

The Young Rookie

Tom's Second Time Around

EW Deleted Scene

Cirie

"Fourth place, it was my first time, so I was thrilled just to have stayed that long. I never thought I'd make it that far. It still hurts to not win after you go so far, but the first time it wasn't as devastating to come in third, especially since the past two seasons had been final three, which was basically my fault. I had the mindset of make it to the three, make it to the three, then you get to the three, and it's a two. Devastating. To go so far and go long and play so hard, because I played really hard in Micronesia. It wasn't like I think this is gonna be but it wasn't like the first time either. So it was pretty hard to come in third."

(cut)

"I can't stop until I win. I have to come back. As long as they invite me, if I don't win, I'm gonna be back."

(cut)

"This game is like, I don't know for other people, but for me, it is addictive. It's like watching a trainwreck. You don't want to, you cringe at it, but you can't not watch. I can't not play. It's kind of strange."

(cut)

"They pulled out all the stops for this one. You got your Tom Westman, you got your Boston Rob, Stephenie LaGrossa, Colby."

(cut)

"You got all your hardcore physical players. Boston Rob, he was physical, but he was kind of grimy too, I thought. These people know what's going on. It's not like a free ride. It's gonna be hard. There's no hiding in this one."

(cut)

"It is what it is. I came back to play. I came back to win. If I have to come out blazing, I'll come out blazing. If I don't have to shoot anybody the first day, I won't. We'll see."