Template:StarRatings The Good Things in Life Aren't Easy is the eleventh episode of Survivor: Gabon.
Story
Day 31
Bob and Ken go fishing and catch a huge fish in their net. In a confessional, Ken belittles Bob for just building things and not playing the game, and says he has no problem sending Bob home next.
Prior to the Reward Challenge, Jeff Probst shows everyone a brief message from their loved ones on a Sprint phone. Corinne is not picked for a team and is ineligible to win the challenge. Sugar, Crystal, and Bob are behind during the first leg of the challenge, but Bob manages to assemble the puzzle before Ken, Matty, and Susie's team, letting them advance to face each other in a slide puzzle showdown which Bob quickly completes to win. The reward was time alone to view a longer message from the castaway's loved one, along with a meal. But while watching the video, Bob's wife appears in person. Bob is pleasantly surprised to see his wife Peggy and they enjoy the reward food together.
Bob returns to camp with his wife and, in a twist, he brings everyone else's loved ones with him. While Ken brags to his sister about how well he's doing in the game. Sugar and her sister, Rena, spread some of their father's ashes in Gabon.
Matty surprises his girlfriend, Jamie, with a marriage proposal which she accepts, before the loved ones leave.
Day 32
Day 32 was either not shown or went unlabeled during the loved ones visit.
Day 33
While Bob and Corinne go for Tree Mail, the remaining five agree that Bob is their next target. Meanwhile, Bob tells Corinne that when Marcus threw the Hidden Immunity Idol into the ocean after the fake merge feast, he actually pocketed it and hid it at camp, telling only Bob about it. Since Marcus was blindsided when he was voted out, he did not bring the idol with him, and Bob found it.
Corinne believes Bob and is excited to hear the news, but Bob tells her that he made the whole thing up. But since Corinne believed it, he hopes that some of the other five will believe it too. Bob's plan is to make another fake idol and leak this information to some of the other five and if he or Corinne can win immunity then they just might be able to take out Matty.
Corinne knows this plan will only work if her or Bob wins immunity, which Bob does. He starts to work on the fake idol. The Fang five settle on voting for Corinne, agreeing to vote for Bob if he gives the Immunity Necklace to her at Tribal Council.
Corinne throws a wrench in the five's plan when she tells the lie about the idol to Ken, who believes it 100%. He decides to vote with Corinne and Bob to blindside Matty. They bring Crystal in on the plan and she buys it also, after Bob shows her the idol.
Ken starts scheming, however, and wants to split the vote between Matty and Corinne; in part to eliminate Matty and in part to flush out the idol. Crystal waffles on who she will vote for but in the end she votes for Corinne, who does not play the fake idol and is voted out, becoming the next person to join the jury.
Challenges
Challenge: Now Or Never
The castaways drew rocks to choose captains, and then were split into two teams of three by Schoolyard Pick. The unpicked castaway would be ineligible to win the reward. The teams would be roped together and have to race through a swamp to collect seven sprocket pieces at two different stations. After collecting all the sprockets, the team would have to assemble them on a board in order to turn another sprocket which in turn would raise a flag. The members of the winning team would move on to the final round to individually solve a sliding puzzle. The first castaway to solve the puzzle would win.
Reward: A video from their loved one, pizza, beer, and brownies. Not announced at the challenge was an in-person visit from their loved one.
Winner: Bob Crowley
Challenge: Bombs Away
The castaways would be asked trivia questions about Gabon. For each question answered correctly, the castaway would earn one ball. After four questions are asked, the castaways would throw the balls that they won down a hill at a circular target divided into zones. The castaway who throws their ball into the zone closest to the center of the target would win.
Winner: Bob Crowley
Tribal Council
| Tribal Council 12: Nobag | |
|---|---|
| Voted Against |
Voter |
| File:S17 corinne t.jpg Corinne (4 votes) |
File:S17 crystal t.jpgFile:S17 matty t.jpgFile:S17 sugar t.jpgFile:S17 susie t.jpg Crystal, Matty, Sugar, Susie |
| File:S17 matty t.jpg Matty (3 votes) |
File:S17 bob t.jpgFile:S17 corinne t.jpgFile:S17 ken t.jpg Bob, Corinne, Ken |
| VOTED OFF: File:S17 corinne bw.jpg Corinne Kaplan | |
Voting Confessionals
| “ | (votes for Matty) I'm sorry, I really like you as a person, but you're an individual immunity threat, and I think everyone else realizes that, too. | ” |
| “ | (votes for Matty) Sorry, Matty. I tried. You chose not to come with us. | ” |
—Bob | ||
| “ | (votes for Corinne) You are a nasty, negative, alcoholic, silicone-enhanced golddigger. You should do really well in LA. Good game, but not good enough. | ” |
| “ | (votes for Corinne) Sorry, Corinne. | ” |
| “ | (votes for Corinne) Corinne, I still thought I treated you well in camp, always gave you my extra corn. Had to be you instead of me. Good luck. | ” |
| “ | (votes for Matty) Matty, this is really a strategic move. I need to get Bob and Corinne to trust me. You're a huge powerhouse. Sorry to see you go, bro. | ” |
—Ken | ||
| “ | (votes for Corinne) You only started talking to me within the last 48 hours. My alliance is thicker than you could ever think. Sorry, it was great knowing you, but you gotta go. | ” |
Final Words
| “ | I can't stand Sugar. I'll never be able to stand Sugar, and I plan to never exchange another sentence with that girl for the rest of my life. You know, I really just don't like any of those other people, other than Bob and Kenny. And I really, really, really wish Kenny and Bob all the best. And I hope the rest of them have miserable lives. | ” |
Still in the Running
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Trivia
Behind the Scenes
Life at Ponderosa
Other
- This is the last episode in which a member of the original Kota tribe is voted out.
- Excluding season finales, this is the most recent episode where only one person wins individual reward. Subsequent individual Reward Challenges have involved the winner giving at least one person reward as well.
- This episode title was said by Matty Whitmore about working on things to improve your life.
References
| Survivor: Gabon Episodes |
|---|
| "Want to See the Elephant Dung?" · "She Obviously Is Post-Op!" · "It Was Like Christmas Morning!" · "This Camp Is Cursed" · "He's a Snake, but He's My Snake" · "It All Depends on the Pin-Up Girl" · "Apple in the Garden of Eden" · "The Brains Behind Everything" · "Nothing Tastes Better than Five Hundred Dollars" · "I Was Put on the Planet for This Show" · "The Good Things in Life Aren't Easy" · "The Good Guys Should Win in the End" · "Say Goodbye to Gabon" · "Reunion" |