The nine pairs of loved ones were marooned separately in Nicaragua, and given only flint to survive the night. The next morning, the castaways gathered at Hero Arena, where they were split up into two tribes: Coyopa and Hunahpu. The tribes were immediately given their first reward challenge, to be completed by one representative per tribe. After winning rock-paper-scissors, Hunahpu earned the right to choose their rep, and Curtis volunteered. Host Jeff Probst revealed that Curtis would be competing against his loved one, his wife JJ.
Curtis won the duel and, as a result, JJ was sent to Exile Island. Curtis also had to choose someone from his tribe to join JJ; he chose Brian. Upon arriving at the Hunahpu camp, Curtis quickly made several separate alliances with the women in his tribe. At Coyopa, Drr, the oldest member of his tribe, struggled to fit in and, during a trip to the well, found and pocketed a mysterious wooden fragment, unsure of whether or not it was a hidden idol. Drr later won favor with his tribe after successfully making fire with his glasses. On Exile Island, JJ and Brian chose urns to see who would get a clue to a hidden immunity idol; JJ picked the correct urn. Back at Coyopa, Outlast correctly identified his tribemate Leos as Leos Rocker, former relief pitcher for the Atlanta Braves baseball team. While Outlast hoped that this would forge an alliance between the two, Leos became wary of Outlast's newfound knowledge, and considered voting him out. At the immunity challenge, Brian and JJ rejoined their tribes.
Despite having an early lead, Coyopa struggled on the puzzle, giving Hunahpu enough time to come from behind and win the challenge. Back at Hunahpu, Curtis apologized to Brian for sending him to Exile Island, and promised to make it up to him. At Coyopa, Drr became wary of Tricks for her cut-throat behavior on The Amazing Race. The tribe was divided by gender lines, with Vic, perceived by Tricks as "one of the girls" for being gay, caught in the middle. He was approached by Matt, who decided to stick with him and not necessarily the other women. The women targeted Drr due to his age, and the men targeted Tricks. At Tribal Council, Vic voted for Matt, while Matt joined the other four men to form a majority to send Tricks out of the game.
