Plot

Medically evacuated veterans Michael Skupin, Jonathan Penner and Russell Swan return to battle for the title of Sole Survivor.

The 25th season of "Survivor" hits the Philippines and there are not one, but two gimmicks awaiting. Former Major League Baseball player Jeff Kent and former "Facts of Life" star Lisa Whelchel are among the castaways. Host Jeff Probst reminds us that over 24 seasons, many players have been pulled from the game due to illness or injury. Three of those players are returning for a second chance to finish what they started.

Russell from "Survivor: Samoa" admits the game smacked him in the chops last time but he's back to prove he can overcome. Jonathan from "Survivor: Fans vs. Favorites" was crushed when an infection sent him home. He predicts "39 days from now, I'll make a million dollars." Michael from "Survivor: The Australian Outback" recalls falling into the fire and severely burning his hands and the producers don't pass up the opportunity to show that grueling footage again.

This season, the players are split into three tribes. Jeff meets the tribes and Zane says he's happy there are three tribes, "as long as there ain't celebrities." Lisa tells us she's hoping to keep her celebrity a secret. Jeff asks Roxy about the worst thing she's seen happen to a player on the show, and she tells the story of Russell passing out in his challenge and not wanting to leave.

Dawson calls herself a huge fan of the show and can't believe who she's seeing in front of her as Jeff introduces Russell, Jonathan and Michael. Jeff says all three players were leaders on their tribes and have the experience that none of the others have.

Russell is assigned to blue tribe, Matsing. Jonathan is on the red tribe, Kalabaw. Michael is on the yellow tribe, Tandang. He tells us he instantly recognized Lisa. He says her show name, Blair, almost came out of his mouth.

Jeff tells everyone that hidden immunity idols are in play. The boat is loaded with supplies to make life easier and the players have 60 seconds to gather as many as they can, get their rafts and get off the boat.

Chaos ensues as everyone jumps overboard to get on their rickety rafts. Jeff falls awkwardly off the boat and twists his knee. He's worried he's injured and that his teammates will kick him out if they smell blood in the water.

Russell says "this time the whole leadership isn't happening." He tells us he's not going to be that again, no matter what. Malcolm and Angie quickly realize that Russell is kind of telling them all what to do. Malcolm tells Russell he lived in Micronesia for a year and can help start the fire. Malcolm and Russell work together to get it done. Malcolm says that works out because Russell "wants to be the leader so bad." Malcolm tells Angie that "right now the game is 'be nice to Russell'" so he can be happy.

The Kalabaw tribe gets to their beach and Jeff tells us he thinks he left his knee is seriously hurt. Jonathan says he's "looking forward to really kicking some ass" with his new team. Jeff pulls the group aside and says Jonathan is a nice guy, but the winner should be one of them, not a veteran. They all seem to agree. Dana tells us in no uncertain terms that Jonathan "is out as soon as we can get him out."

Tandang hits their beach and Michael says his tribe has a good mix of brains and braun. RC and Abi-Maria go off to a side and make friends. RC is a banker, but is telling everyone, including Abi, that she's an executive assistant. Abi talks up her Brazilian roots and says she's going to use her accent and other persuasions as a flirtatious advantage. Pete notices Abi and says she's "pretty hot" and could also be dangerous. We next see RC, Pete and Abi get together, and RC says it should be the three of them and Skupin (Michael). She also says, "I don't trust the older lady," referring to Lisa.

Kalabaw: Jeff tells his group about his Texas ranch, and Dana digs it. She's looking to bond over their Southern roots (she's from North Carolina). Jeff tells us that being a former pro baseball player could be a disadvantage because people will think he doesn't need the money. He admits he doesn't need the money, but the game "is about being the sole Survivor." Jeff is telling a nice little tale about how he auditioned for the show on a dare, and that he's a motocross rider. Dawson tells us she dated a guy who was really into baseball and she knows who Jeff Kent is. She's going to tell him she knows eventually, but not right away.

Tandang: Lisa is shy about taking her pants off in the water. She tells RC and Abi about the ministry she runs for young mothers in Texas. She tells us she's lost all of her money from "The Facts of Life." She says she's hoping her experience on "Survivor" will show her more about who she is and what's going to change inside her. The whole group leaves and Lisa stays back to try to start a fire. RC tells us it's hard to trust Lisa and easy to make her a scapegoat because she doesn't hang around with anyone.

RC tells Michael how she feels about Lisa and he doesn't say much. He tells us he knows that Lisa is "worldwide famous, like, her show was on every day for years and years and years, and she should be playing that trump card." He doesn't know her strategy for not revealing who she is, but he wants to. That night, he talks to her.

He tells her he recognized her instantly, and she says she's trying to keep it quiet as long as she can. He tells her he thinks it could be helpful, but she says it could be hurtful and she's been very honest about what she's doing now. Michael tells us he'd love for Lisa to stay. He says he's waiting for her to start playing and start bonding, but he's got to "go with the game" even if it means leaving Lisa behind.

Matsing: Denise, a licensed sex therapist, takes an interest in Zane because she can tell there's something deeper going on with him. She's examined his tattoos and sees that he's lost someone close to him (there's a death date on his arm), and he has the serenity prayer on his hands. Zane likes Denise and they start talking alliances. He also goes to Roxy and asks her to be in his corner. Roxy thinks Zane could just be a good people person. We next see him talking to Angie and asking her to connect with him Roxy seems to catch this. Zane goes to Russell and Malcolm and tells them he thinks the three of them should be aligned. He tells them he's also connected with each of the girls and can bring any one of them with him.

Malcolm goes to Denise and tells her about Zane's alliance talk. They're working on an alliance of their own.

Tandang: Michael decides to take a strong leadership role and work on a roof. He picks up some blisters and cuts along the way, which worries RC a bit. He gets a big gash on his foot, and follows that up with another cut on his finger. Pete says it's not funny that Michael is getting hurt, but it is a little funny that it seems to happen a lot. He says there haven't been real opportunities for Michael to seriously injure himself, "but we'll see when we have a fire, what happens."

Kalabaw: Jonathan is out looking for a hidden idol while the rest of the group camps out in a cave. Katie says she doesn't like "the shady stuff" that Jonathan is doing. He finds a clue to the idol's location hidden in the rice. The clue that says "it could be that salvation is right under your nose," and the camera zooms in on a curious-looking carving on the top of the rice basket itself.

Matsing: Russell is cooking some rice when he notices the clue inside it. He tucks it away to read it later. On the beach, Zane is in the water when he looks over and sees Russell tucking something back into his waistband. Zane tells us he doesn't trust Russell, and Russell, having noticed Zane's look, mutters to himself that Zane is "on my case." Back at their camp, Zane asks Russell if he's been looking for the idol, and Russell says he not only hasn't been looking for it, but if he sees someone else looking for it, he'll vote them out. Zane tells us that's the plan for Russell.

Immunity challenge: The three tribes show up for their first immunity challenge all painted up. Jeff explains each tribe will be split into pairs. The first pair will be chained together and have to run into the jungle and up a cargo net to release two paddles. The next pair will use the paddles to row a boat to a buoy. They will dive down, release a chest and swim is back to shore. The final pair will open the chest and use the pieces inside to solve a puzzle. The first and second tribes to finish will win immunity. The last tribe will head to Tribal Council.

There's also reward: A complete fire-making kit for the winning tribe, and flint for the second-place team.

Before they start, Russell all but closes Roxy's mouth when she tries to talk strategy.

RC and Artis are first back with the paddles for Tandang, followed by Russell and Zane from Matsing all while Russell is shouting at Zane to run faster as he struggles to keep up. Way behind are Dana and Katie from Kalabaw.

Skupin and Pete get the chest unleashed first for Tandang. Carter and Jeff make up a lot of time on the rowing for Kalabaw and release their chest before Matsing's Malcolm and Denise. All three tribes head back and Tandang gets back to shore first. Kalabaw gets back second, followed by Matsing.

Tandang extends its lead, but Kalabaw catches up while Matsing falls further behind. Kalabaw pulls off the come-from-behind win, and Lisa snaps the last puzzle piece into place for Tandang to take second. Matsing is last and Angie snaps at Russell, telling him, "I told you I wasn't good at puzzles."

Jeff asks Matsing what happened and Russell says he made the call on who did what, so he's partly to blame. Malcolm tells us that Russell just took over and "didn't listen to a single word anybody said."

Back at Matsing: Russell tries to give the group a pep talk and Zane jumps in to say that the challenges are so tough, "you've got to pull the fire out of your stomach and decide that's what you're going to throw down." He looks at Russell and admits that Russell had to pull him, and Zane adds, "I ain't built for it."

Russell tells us he can't believe Zane is throwing himself under the bus, adding that it made the decision "pretty damn easy" for who's going home that night. Zane, meanwhile, tells us that this speech is a strategy to fell out his tribe mates and get a sense of how they're going to be played.

Angie and Roxy go off and talk about how annoyed they are with Russell and how he's trying to run everything. Angie doesn't want to vote out Zane and goes and tells him not to quit. She asks him to vote Russell. Zane decides his move is something we've never seen in "Survivor" history. Malcolm comes over and asks Zane if he's really throwing in the towel, and Zane says he'll stay and give 100 percent, and they start talking about blindsiding Russell. The only problem is that they all think Russell had an idol.

Russell admits to us that he "made a mistake" and "went right into 'chief mode.'" He says "leadership kills," and he couldn't help himself.

Tribal Council: Denise says that having a former player in the game changes things, but is also something of a gift. Zane struggles through an "onion" metaphor to describe what it's like playing with someone who is so much more experienced. Russell admits to the group that made a mistake and went into a "dictator" kind of role. Asked if he agrees, Malcolm says Russell came on very strong before the challenge.

Roxy also agrees that Russell came on strong. Angie says Russell didn't let her run, even though she ran track in high school, and says he told her that if they lost the challenge it'd be her fault. Russell again takes the blame.

The vote: Russell writes down Zane's name, and Zane returns the favor, whispering about Russell, "If you ain't first, you're last."

Jeff reads the votes: Zane, Russell, Zane, Zane and the first person voted out is Zane.

Zane's last words: "I honestly thought that i had this whole game figured out. I thought that I had my whole tribe in control, and I thought that I was allowing them to pull the strings instead of me being in charge. It just backfired on me."