The Outcasts is the "ghost" tribe from Survivor: Pearl Islands. Their tribe color is purple.
Comprised of the first six eliminated castaways, they returned to compete against the Drake and Morgan tribes in a special Immunity Challenge in an attempt to continue their pursuit of the million dollar prize and the title of Sole Survivor.
Members[]
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Tribe History[]
Initially, Drake and Morgan believed that they would be competing in a regular Immunity Challenge. However, Jeff Probst announced that, fitting with the pirate motif of the season, their past had come back to haunt them. Comprised of the first six eliminated castaways, The Outcasts then surprised the two tribes by emerging from the foliage as a third tribe who would compete in a high-stakes challenge. If the Outcasts finished first, both Drake and Morgan would go to separate Tribal Councils to vote someone out while The Outcasts would vote two of their own to return to the game. If The Outcasts finished second, whichever from Drake or Morgan finished last would vote a member off, while The Outcasts would vote only one to return to the game. If The Outcasts finished last, then their chance to return would be forfeited altogether while the tribe that finished second would vote off one member.
Fueled by their desire in collecting revenge, The Outcasts managed to edge out Drake for a first-place finish, ensuring that two of them would re-enter the game. That night, Shawn Cohen was voted out at Drake's Tribal Council and Osten Taylor quit at Morgan's. The Outcasts then went to their own Tribal Council, where Jeff Probst noted that for the first time since the show began, a tribe was excited to go to Tribal Council. Jeff gave the eliminated players a chance to plead their case as to why each of them deserved to return in the game, after which the tribe would vote two people back into the game, casting two votes each and being unable to vote for themselves. In a 3-3-2-2-1-1 vote, Burton and Lillian both re-entered the game. With Burton and Lillian's torches lit once again, the eliminated Outcasts said their goodbyes.
With two Outcasts back in the game, a draw of Buffs sent Burton and Lillian back to their former tribes in which they reacted differently to: Burton was ready to bury the hatchet with Drake, while Lillian was disappointed to return to Morgan. With the Outcasts fulfilled their purpose in the game, the Outcasts tribe was effectively disbanded.
| Episode | Challenge | Challenge Type | Sit-Out | Result | Returned (Vote) |
Finish | |
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| 7 | Pirate Prison Break | Immunity | None | Won1 | |||
| 8 | Burton (3-3-2-2-1-1) |
Returned Day 19 | |||||
| Lillian (3-3-2-2-1-1) | |||||||
| Tribe Disbanded, Day 19 | |||||||
| Notes: ^1 The Outcast arc spanned over two episodes, with the Immunity Challenge being shown on Part 1, and Tribal Council on Part 2.
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| Outcasts Twist | ||||
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| Episode | 8 | |||
| Voted In |   Burton, Lillian |
Tribe Disbanded | ||
| Vote | 3-3-2-2-1-11 | |||
| ►►► | Lillian | Ryan S. | ||
| Trish | ||||
| ►►► | Burton | Michelle | ||
| Nicole | ||||
| ► | Trish | Burton | Eliminated | |
| Lillian | ||||
| ► | Michelle | Burton | Eliminated | |
| Nicole | ||||
| ► | Ryan S. | Burton | Eliminated | |
| Lillian | ||||
| ► | Nicole | Lillian | Eliminated | |
| Ryan S. | ||||
| Notes: ^1 Unlike the standard Tribal Council vote where the survivors voted each other out, each Outcast vote two of their own back in the game where in they cannot vote for themselves. Burton and Lillian received the most votes to return to the game. The rest of the Outcasts were eliminated from the game for good.
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Reception[]
The Outcasts twist has received mixed reception from both the castaways and fans alike. As implied by cast members Andrew Savage and Osten Taylor, they showed complete distaste for the twist. Fans also criticized the twist, stating that it completely hurt the show's integrity by deviating its premise. Survivor host Jeff Probst revealed that he also hated the twist, but was overruled by Executive Producer Mark Burnett.
How the eliminated contestants were sequestered was not fully explained at the time, with speculations circulating that they were actually living comfortably in a hotel well-fed and sheltered until the day they actually reveal themselves to the tribes, giving them an unfair advantage. Upon introducing The Outcasts, Probst claimed that The Outcasts were deprived of nutrition just as the tribes were,[1] but later recanted the statement in a 2020 interview, saying The Outcasts, "went to a hotel, ate, and had a shower."[2]
With the introduction of other similar twists in later seasons, however, The Outcasts twist has since been viewed more positively. When the concept of "resurrecting" eliminated castaways was revisited via Survivor: Redemption Island's titular Redemption Island, the twist was compared negatively to The Outcasts, as the latter gave all those eliminated an equal opportunity to come back as opposed to what some would deem "unfair" duels. The former twist was also critiqued for continuing past the merge and creating "dead airtime" by focusing on the happenings at the Redemption Island camp. Similar comparisons would eventually be made to a greater extent towards the Edge of Extinction twist introduced in its titular season.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The Outcasts tribe is the first tribe to be created in-game which was not a merged tribe. Although not shown onscreen, The Outcasts were implied to be formed on Day 3 following Nicole's elimination.
- The Outcasts competed in only one challenge, the least of any tribe.
- The Outcasts are the only tribe in Survivor not to have an official Buff. This was substituted by purple cloth and bandanas personally painted by the eliminated players.
- Ryan Shoulders wrote "Die, Jerks" on his bandana.
- The Outcasts tribe is the only tribe in Survivor where every member casted two ballots at a time.
- The Outcasts is the first tribe to have an uneven gender ratio.
References[]