The newest season of “Survivor” premiered on Sep. 18 and I can already tell we are in for a good one. Keep reading for an in-depth recap of episode one.
If you do not know what “Survivor” is, let me be the first to tell you. “Survivor” is the longest running reality TV show of all time, and it is hosted by the one and only Jeff Probst.
A group of contestants get stranded on a Fijian island and have to work together with their tribe to compete in challenges and win rewards. However, if they lose a challenge, tribe mates are forced to turn on each and vote out one of their own at tribal council.
There are also advantages hidden around the island called immunity idols. If one is found, it can save a contestant from going home. Of course, Probst needs to keep it interesting, so tasks must be completed before a player gets their hands on the idol.
In the 47th season of “Survivor,” or should I say “forty-several,” there are three different tribes with a total of 18 castaways. Tuku is dressed in blue, Lavo in red, and finally Gata in yellow.
Now, into the recap for episode one — spoilers ahead.
All three tribes arrived by boat and got their first look at their tribe mates and competitors. After briefly meeting, Probst brought them to the very first challenge of the season.
In the first challenge, the tribes were fighting for a pot, machete and flint. These may seem small, but they could be the difference between struggling and surviving on the island.
Tribes ran in pairs deep into the jungle to retrieve two large puzzle pieces and bring them back to the mat. When a tribe has all six puzzle pieces on their mat, they can start working on their puzzle.
In the beginning of this challenge, Lavo and Tuku were doing extremely well, and Gata quickly fell behind. However, when it came time for the puzzle, Gata was able to pull through for the win.
In previous seasons, the two losing tribes battled it out in a “sweat vs savvy” competition in order to gain their tribe supplies through a second chance. Probst switched it up this year.
Lavo and Tuku selected one member of their tribe to attempt to win the reward. Aysha from Lavo and TK from Tuku were selected, and they made their journey on a boat to a secluded island.
When the two players got there, there was a chest and two clues waiting for them. They had to follow the clue into the jungle to find a key. Each player has to find three keys, and then battle for the fourth. Whoever gets the final key brings home the reward to their tribe.
When watching the challenge, it seemed pretty obvious who is going to win (Aysha), until they found out that the final key is in the middle of the ocean and Aysha couldn’t find her way out of the jungle. This bought TK some time, and he ended up winning the supplies for his team.
Back at the Tuku camp, Gabe and TK are collecting wood for their shelter when Gabe spots a tiny little note wrapped in twine. On the outside in big red letters, it clearly states that it is a “Beware Advantage.”
A Beware Advantage is where you have to complete tasks before you are able to get your hands on the idol. But, if you accept the Beware Advantage, you lose your vote at tribal council until you are able to complete the tasks and find the idol.
No one ever listens to the “beware” part of the advantage, so of course Gabe rips open the note and starts searching. The note says he has to dig for the a box with a lock, and when he finds it, there will be another clue that leads him to the key.
However, when Gabe finds the key, TK walks up and sees exactly what he is doing. Gabe tries to play dumb and act like he found a random key in the middle of the jungle, but TK knows something is up.
Gabe has to rally one of his other tribe mates, Sue, in order to keep a look out while he tries to unlock the box.
Long story short, Gabe opens the box, finds another box, which he opens, and then there’s a third box. We have never seen a Beware Advantage this complex before. Thanks a lot, Probst.
Over at the Lato camp, Rome is off searching for idols as well. What is wrong with these new players? For those of you unfamiliar, looking for an idol on the first day is a sure way to put a target on their back.
Rome finds the Beware Advantage as well. Want to know what he did with it?
Opened it, of course.
The entire tribe sees Rome searching for the idol and try to sneak up on him, but they don’t see any evidence.
Neither Rome nor Gabe gets to the final idol yet, so they better hope they can find it before they head to tribal council. Their vote is their life in this game, and if they don’t have it, they are even more vulnerable than they already were.
Now let’s talk about the Gata tribe. Where do I begin with this one? Every season there is always a problematic player, for lack of nicer words. Early on we find out that the problematic player of the season is Andy.
Andy has one friend on the tribe, Jon, but of course he is paranoid about being on the bottom and getting voted out, so he decides he wants to chat with Rachel.
Rachel sees right through him. She claims that he is not a strategic player and is too eager to make friendships. Rachel almost loses her mind when Andy wakes her up in the middle of the night to talk.
Granted, Andy couldn’t sleep and needed a friend at the moment, but, one of the number one rules on “Survivor” is don’t let people see you walk away to talk. They always think you are talking strategy.
Rachel is livid. But I promise, this isn’t even the worst of Andy.
Enough about camp life, let’s get into the first immunity challenge of the season. During challenges, the first two tribes to win get immunity and are safe from being voted out. The last team has to go to tribal council that night and vote off one of their tribe mates.
This is also a reward challenge. The first team to finish receives a huge building kit in order to improve their shelter back at camp. The second team to finish receives a small tool kit, and the losing team has to give their flint back to Probst and are forced to sleep in the cold until they win a challenge.
In this challenge, all players started on a platform in the ocean and had to swim out to a boat. Once every player on their tribe is in the boat, they have to paddle and collect three heavy chests to bring to shore.
To say this was difficult to watch would be an understatement. Probst even said, “This is the worst start I have seen in 47 seasons.”
Gata was off to a rough start. They couldn’t even make it to the chest because they paddled in the wrong direction. Tuku and Gata both flipped their boats and had to attempt to get everyone back on, giving Lato a huge lead.
Once they collected their chests and got back on land, each team had to drag their boat and chests to a mat where they retrieve keys to unlock their puzzle pieces. Each team had to attempt to put together a massive “Survivor” logo puzzle.
When all three tribes got to the puzzle, Andy collapsed on the ground and medical had to come check him out.
Don’t worry, he ended up being fine, just a little overheated. However, when Probst asked him how he was doing in front of the entire cast, he couldn’t help from oversharing and throwing his tribe mates under the bus.
He told Probst that he knew he was on the bottom of the tribe and that no one liked him (which is just not true), and he told everyone his plan to throw his best friend, Jon, under the bus in order to save himself.
I don’t think a single cast member wasn’t absolutely dumfounded by what Andy had just said.
Anyway, Lavo won the challenge by a landslide and Tuku came in second, sending Gata to tribal council.
Tensions were high when they got back to Gata camp. Andy attempted to apologize for throwing Jon under the bus, but the other players did not listen.
Everyone agreed that the tribe needed to stay strong, so unfortunately, Jon got voted out. I am sad to see him go so early, I think he could have been a strong strategic player.
That was a lot to unpack. That’s a wrap on “Survivor” 47 episode one. I know this season is going to be filled with twists and turns that none of us will see coming.
I am placing my bets on Sue, Sierra and Teeny to go far in this game based on their strategies I have observed so far. I think Gabe, TK and Rome will act too arrogant, which will end their journey.
And of course, there is Andy. We all know what is going to happen with him.
Tune in every Wednesday at 8 p.m. to watch, or on Thursdays for free on CBS. Happy watching!