TDT.com | S10 : Survivor Palau Spoilers

Episode 9

"I Will Not Give Up"

Filmed November 22-24, 2004
Airdate: April 14, 2005

Click below for:

RC speculation

IC speculation

Boot speculation

Video resources

CBS Ep9 vidcaps

CBS Ep9 web promo

Episode descriptions

CBS: "-One Survivor struggles to endure a hard night as life on the island becomes tougher this deep into the game.
-After being excluded from a tribal excursion, one Survivor throws a tantrum.
-One tribe enjoys a memorable evening, especially for the member who overindulges a bit."

REWARD CHALLENGE/ No RC - Koror gets feast, rum and Stephenie

There's no evidence of a Reward Challenge, as such, in any of the previews. It's possible there's another tribal challenge, which Stephenie loses. Or it's possible that there's just no challenge at all, and (while there's no new merged tribe), it's foregone in favor of a "merge" with the usual feast, liquor, and other fesitivities. We do see two natives coming to Koror camp in a canoe laden with what could be feast-like items. Tom is also shown leading them along the beach.

Stephenie also joins Koror in some capacity, whether as a captured player, or an absorbed one (as symbolized by the big fish swallowing the smaller one in the web promo). As ILUVJanuTornell points out, we also see Ashlee's green sweater on Janu (as we do Ulong's big blue canoe) at what looks like Koror's camp. Presumably piloted by Stephenie, who we see rowing away from Ulong beach in a canoe filled with the Home Depot toolbox and other items (despite the melodramatic themes of isolation in the web promo).

There are also numerous shots of Koror tribe members looking happy around camp. Mersaydeez also stated that Tom would drink a little more rum than necessary, and that this would occur in this episode. This fits with the CBS clue: "One tribe enjoys a memorable evening, especially for the member who overindulges a bit."

(POST-/NON-) REWARD CHALLENGE pictures/ Click on thumbnails below for larger version

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE/ Pole Standing - Tom wins

Not a lot that makes for exciting vidcaps here. It looks like, as is the custom, the first individual IC will be a test of who wants it the most, probably standing on poles, or some variant thereof. We see the entire Koror tribe (plus, as Biancaxxx points out, Stephenie) in the Koror canoe, rowing to the challenge. There are also action-packed shots of Janu bending down (in daylight), and Caryn and Tom in the dark, with similarbackgrounds behind them. There is also a night shot of Jenn, Gregg and Janu (wearing her buff as in the rowing and bending over pics) looking on, while seated. Finally, Tom is shown looking victorious. Looks like Tom wanted it the most: Tom wins.

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE pictures/ Click on thumbnails below for larger version

BOOT/ Coby

From Mersaydeez's mega-spoiler, the two options for boot here are Coby and Janu. From the episode title, either is possible (Coby mentioned as much in the previous episode, and Janu has repeatedly been shown wanting to quit). But we feel the title more accurately refers to Coby and Stephenie, whose struggles against ostracism and isolation will be the highlights of this episode. Also, as several spoilers at MeSS, Blows and SAddicts have noted from next week's TV Guide, Janu is still there for the Ep10 RC.

Tom and Ian want Stephenie on their side, so she's unlikely to be the boot. Coby, on the other hand, has a fresh conflict with Tom in this episode, is outside of the majority alliance, is competitive in physical challenges, and has just won two straight puzzle challenges for Koror. Willard was booted for the mere suspicion of puzzle-solving ability, so Coby (who was looking forward to actually getting to play the backstabbing game) looks like this week's victim. As further evidence, we point to the VolcanicGlass Theory, expounded long ago at the now-defunct Survivor Phoenix board, which posits that boots are often shown in video that changes color in the promos. Coby is shown in color, then black-and-white, in the same sequences (above, right). Good enough for us. So long, Coby.