The Double Tribal Council is a Survivor twist where two tribes each vote out a member one after the other, on the same night. Oftentimes, individual immunity is offered to contestants. Additionally, tribal reward is sometimes offered, and the winning tribe may be allowed to sit in on the losing tribe's Tribal Council, while eating food.
It is not to be confused with a Double Elimination, where one tribe votes out two members, nor with a Joint Tribal Council, where two tribes attend Tribal Council together as one group.
Some versions of the show, especially Supervivientes, have Double Tribal Council de rigeur, where both tribes will nominate members for a combined public vote.
History[]
The twist originated in Survivor: Pearl Islands, in the shadow of the Outcast twist. Before The Outcasts could vote two members back into the game, both Drake and Morgan had to vote out one member each from their tribes, because they both lost to The Outcasts in the Immunity Challenge.
The twist took its more familiar form in Survivor: Vanuatu. Both tribes may compete for reward and/or individual immunity, and will attend Tribal Council afterward.
Appearances[]
In Pearl Islands, after both Morgan and Drake lost to The Outcasts, Drake voted out Shawn Cohen first, followed by Morgan's Tribal Council, where Osten Taylor quit the game.
In Vanuatu, both tribes competed for reward: fishing gear and the chance to vie for individual immunity. Lopevi won reward, and John Kenney won individual immunity. Afterwards, John K. spent the day at the Yasur camp. After Lopevi voted out John Palyok, John K. stayed around to watch the Yasur Tribal Council. Before the vote, John K. was instructed to give immunity to one member of the Yasur tribe; he chose Ami Cusack, and Yasur voted out Mia Galeotalanza.
In Palau, both tribes competed for reward: beef stew to be enjoyed while watching the other tribe's Tribal Council and the opportunity to vote for immunity for one member of the losing tribe. Koror won reward, voted out Willard Smith, and voted to give Ibrehem Rahman immunity. As a result, Angie Jakusz was voted out of Ulong.
In Guatemala, tribes competed for food items, and the opportunity to compete for individual immunity. Nakúm won reward, and Rafe Judkins won individual immunity. Nakúm voted out Margaret Bobonich, and Rafe stayed to watch Yaxhá's Tribal Council. Rafe then had to secretly give individual immunity to one member of the opposing tribe that would be revealed after the vote, and he chose Gary Hogeboom. Brian Corridan received the majority of the vote, and was subsequently eliminated.
In Cook Islands, tribes competed for food, and the opportunity to watch the other tribe's Tribal Council. Aitutaki won reward, and voted out Cao Boi Bui. They were then asked to kidnap one member of Rarotonga who would eat with them, not vote in Tribal Council, and live with their tribe until they compete together in the next Reward Challenge; they chose Nate Gonzalez, and Rarotonga voted out Cristina Coria.
In Gabon, the castaways competed for individual immunity. The winner, Marcus Lehman, was then given the opportunity to give individual immunity to one member of the opposing tribe; he chose Sugar Kiper. Fang then voted out Ace Gordon, and Kota voted out Dan Kay.
In Samoa, a Double Tribal Council was originally planned on Day 15, but was canceled when Russell Swan was medically evacuated at the Reward Challenge. Both Foa Foa and Galu instead went to the first ever Joint Tribal Council, although no one was voted out.
In Heroes vs. Villains, both tribes competed separately for individual immunity, such that one member of each tribe would win immunity. Then the winners, Candice Woodcock and Rob Mariano, would compete for tribal reward. The Villains won reward, Tyson Apostol was blindsided by a Hidden Immunity Idol, and they enjoyed hot dogs while attending the Heroes' Tribal Council. The Heroes then voted out James Clement.
In Nicaragua, both tribes competed separately for individual immunity, such that one member of each tribe won individual immunity. Then the winners, Jill Behm and Holly Hoffman, competed for tribal reward: food to enjoy during the other tribe's Tribal Council. La Flor won reward, voted out Kelly Bruno, and listened in on Espada's Tribal Council, where they voted out Yve Rojas.
In Winners at War, three tribes competed for only one tribal immunity; each of the losing tribes would have to vote one of their own out. With Yara winning, Parvati Shallow from Sele and Sandra Diaz-Twine from Dakal were voted out.
In Survivor 41, three tribes competed for only one tribal immunity, identical to the Winners at War format. The challenge was won by Luvu, sending both Yase and Ua to Tribal Council, where the former tribe voted out Eric Abraham and the latter tribe voted out Sara Wilson.
Summary[]
| Season | Episode | Immunity | First Tribe | Second Tribe | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pearl Islands | 7 | The Outcasts |  Shawn Cohen |
 Osten Taylor |
The Outcasts won tribal immunity. Drake went to Tribal Council first and voted out Shawn. At Morgan's Tribal Council, Osten quit the game. | |
| Vanuatu | 3 |  John Kenney |
 Ami Cusack |
 John Palyok |
 Mia Galeotalanza |
Lopevi went to Tribal Council first after winning reward and voted out John P. At Yasur's Tribal Council, John K. gave Ami immunity, and Mia was voted out. |
| Palau | 5 |  Ibrehem Rahman |
 Willard Smith |
 Angie Jakusz |
Koror went to Tribal Council first after winning reward, and voted out Willard. At Ulong's Tribal Council, Koror gave immunity to Ibrehem. The vote initially ended with a tie between Angie and Bobby Jon Drinkard. Angie was voted out at the revote. | |
| Guatemala | 6 |  Rafe Judkins |
 Gary Hogeboom |
 Margaret Bobonich |
 Brian Corridan |
Nakúm went to Tribal Council first and voted out Margaret. At Yaxhá's Tribal Council, Rafe gave Gary immunity, and Brian was voted out. |
| Cook Islands | 6 |  Nate Gonzalez |
 Cao Boi Bui |
 Cristina Coria |
Aitutaki went to Tribal Council first after winning reward, and voted out Cao Boi. At Rarotonga's Tribal Council, Aitutaki kidnapped Nate, allowing him to skip the vote, and Cristina was voted out. | |
| Gabon | 7 |  Marcus Lehman |
 Sugar Kiper |
 Ace Gordon |
 Dan Kay |
Marcus gave Sugar immunity. Fang went to Tribal Council first and voted out Ace. At Kota's Tribal Council, Dan was voted out. |
| Samoa | 6 | None | Canceled | After Russell Swan was evacuated at the Reward Challenge, the twist was canceled. Foa Foa and Galu attended a Joint Tribal Council, though no one was voted out. | ||
| Heroes vs. Villains | 6 |  Rob Mariano |
 Candice Woodcock |
 Tyson Apostol |
 James Clement |
The Villains went to Tribal Council first after winning reward, and voted out Tyson. At the Heroes' Tribal Council, James was voted out. |
| Nicaragua | 6 |  Jill Behm |
 Holly Hoffman |
 Kelly Bruno |
 Yve Rojas |
La Flor went to Tribal Council first after winning reward, and voted out Kelly B. At Espada's Tribal Council, Yve was voted out. |
| Winners at War | 6 | Yara |  Sandra Diaz-Twine |
 Parvati Shallow |
Yara won tribal immunity. Dakal went to Tribal Council first and voted out Sandra. At Sele's Tribal Council, Parvati was voted out. Both were sent to the Edge of Extinction. | |
| Survivor 41 | 1 | Luvu |  Eric Abraham |
 Sara Wilson |
Luvu won tribal immunity. Yase went to Tribal Council first and voted out Abraham. At Ua's Tribal Council, Sara was voted out. | |
Trivia[]
The following excludes the cancelled Double Tribal Council in Samoa unless otherwise stated.
- Cook Islands and Survivor 41 are the only seasons to have multiple Tribal Council-related twists.
- According to some accounts, Micronesia was originally planned to have a Double Tribal Council on Day 21, but it was rendered unnecessary when Jonathan Penner was evacuated and Kathy Sleckman quit the game.[citation needed]
- In lieu of a Double Tribal Council, Blood vs. Water instead used the First Impressions twist and had both tribes vote out a member outside the Tribal Council area.
- Tyson Apostol is the only castaway to be voted out in a Double Tribal Council and return for a future season.
- Winners at War is the first season to have a non-conditional Double Tribal Council occur with three tribes in the game.
References[]