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It’s a tall tree, sticking out way above the rest of the forest, but Erik thinks he can climb it. “That’s too tall,” nay-says Dawn. “It’s pretty high, yeah,” says Erik, before an interview where he says he thinks about falling from the tree, breaking a leg and leaving the game, and no one would blame him or call him a quitter and he could have get all the coconuts he wants. Erik is scared by these self-defeating, self-harming thoughts. “I just want food!” he wails from the tree.

After the credits, Brenda, Dawn and Sherri are watching Erik return to earth. They all applaud when Erik touches ground.

Everyone is back at camp when Eddie comes running in and cheering “Look at this!” He’s holding a boring wooden box, but Dawn recognizes the product-placed logo on the side and jumps on Eddie. Inside is the product-placed phone, with video messages from all of the loved ones.

There’s Brenda’s father Raymond, and Brenda thanks him in interview for his advice in the game “to be humble." And Dawn’s husband Dave, and it happens to be their 21st anniversary today. And Sherri’s husband Jarred, and Cochran’s mother, who hopes that Cochran has “been using lots of sunscreen." Yep, she’s Cochran’s mother all right. And when she sees her son’s beet-colored nose she is going to be so disappointed in him.

Eddie’s father is named Edward and calls Eddie “Superman” and Erik’s brother is Richard, and Erik interviews about how the footage on the phone reinvigorated him. The six castaways top things off with a goofy photo taken on the product-placed phone, presumably at the suggestion of some production assistant who just feels dirty now.

Probst sighting! Reward challenge! Probst plugs the product-placed phone again, about how they were “authentic video messages from your loved ones”. Wow, phones can take video now? Is it 2007 already? But the loved ones are here in real life as well! And here they come!

Brenda hugs her father, “You gave me the best advice,” she says “You told me to be humble. And I’ve been so humble thanks to you, so humble." So humble that we’ve hardly seen Brenda until this late stage of the game. Probst actually sheds a tear at this. First time after 26 seasons. Pretty weak, Probst. Erik’s brother Richard comes in and they give each other manly hugs before jostling with each other. Richard is so much bigger than Erik now, so if Erik wins the challenge he’ll be in for some noogies.

Sherri and Jarred have a tearful hug, and Cochran apologizes to his mother Arlene for smelling so bad. Then it’s Eddie's father, a Tom Bosley type who calls Eddie “the hairiest man alive” and actually picks him up like Eddie’s a toddler. “Good job, good job” the father tells the son before things get too emotional. Probst has kept Dawn hanging all this time because she’d probably give the biggest reaction for the camera, but while she’s crying it’s probably no more than anyone else for once.

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