We’re going to kick off our Survivor 48 coverage by…talking about Survivor 50. As you likely have heard by now, Jeff Probst and co are putting some of the production decisions for the hugely anticipated 50th season in the hands of the fans.
While a return to 39 days is not on the table – much to many fans’ chagrin – other key aspects are being left up to fan votes. And that started tonight, with four items on the ballot, along with my votes:
- Tribe Colors – Orange, Teal (?), Purple
- Rice or No Rice – Rice
- Final 4 Firemaking – No
- Live Reunion in LA or Fiji After Show – Live Reunion
With how successful the fan vote was for the Second Chance season back in 2015, it’s not surprising the show went back to that well. And it actually showed incredible restraint patiently waiting until they had the right moment to do it again.
I like this a lot. And it gives us, the fans, a chance to finally put our money where our mouths are. So many, yours truly included, have railed against certain changes, particularly Final 4 Firemaking and getting rid of the live reunion show. If we can’t take this opportunity to get rid of Final 4 Fire and bring back the live reunion, even if it’s just for one season, we deserve every terrible twist and production choice the show gives us going forward.
We’ll be covering the voting throughout the season as it comes up. But for now, let’s get to the main course.
Marooning
Survivor 47 was one of the better-received seasons of the new era; it’s my personal favorite. So expectations were high coming into this premiere.
Let’s see who we have on the island this season:
Civa (Orange)
- Charity Nelms, 33, Flight Attendant
- Chrissy Sarnowsky, 54, Fire Lieutenant
- David Kinne, 38, Stunt Performer
- Kamilla Karthigesu, 30, Software Engineer
- Kyle Fraser, 30, Attorney
- Mitch Guerra, 34, P.E. Coach
Lagi (Purple)
- Bianca Roses, 32, PR Consultant
- Eva Erickson, 23, PhD Candidate
- Joe Hunter, 45, Fire Captain
- Shauhin Davari, 37, Debate Professor
- Star Toomey, 27, Sales Expert
- Thomas Krottinger, 34, Music Executive
Vula (Green)
- Cedrek McFadden, 45, Surgeon
- Justin Pioppi, 29, Pizzeria Manager
- Kevin Leung, 33, Finance Manager
- Mary Zheng, 30, Substance Abuse Coordinator
- Sal Hughley, 29, Marketing Professional
- Stephanie Berger, 37, Tech Product Lead
Probst starts off with some usual casual mat chat. And it’s pretty boring and uninteresting. I know it means a lot to the contestants, and I’m glad they’re getting their moment. But as television? Nah, let’s get to the game!
First Challenge
Thankfully the show doesn’t waste much time, and we get to the first challenge, of starting supplies.
In groups of two the tribes race down the beach and crawl under a muddy net to retrieve a heavy chest and bring it back to their mat. Once they have all three chests, three climb up a steep ramp to retrieve a key to unlock the chests, each containing a sandbag. The remaining three tribe members throw the bags to land on three different targets.
The first tribe to finish receives their pot, machete, and flint. The other two get nothing and will have to take on a new challenge later on.
Lagi wins, winning their starting supplies and physical, and possibly mental, edge to start the game.
Vula and Civa each pick one person to represent their tribe for their chance to earn their supplies. They will leave the beach and travel together to this next challenge. Kevin (Vula) and Kyle (Civa) are chosen to go.
Lagi (Purple)
Spirits are obviously high at Lagi. Thomas is keeping a close on the immediate tribe dynamics. And he comes off as a very likable, personable guy, and he’s finding ways to connect with everyone. He’s not playing too hard, but he’s making sure he’s not getting left behind.
Civa (Orange)
Even after losing the first challenge, Civa is also riding high, clearly running off the adrenaline of, you know, being on Survivor. David, as a clear physical asset (or threat, depending on how you view it) is trying to play up his charm, to downplay the clear physical strength. He comes off as a bit of a clown but in a potentially incredibly entertaining way. I hope he sticks around for a long time, but I don’t think we have to consider him as a serious winner threat.
Vula (Green)
Sai comes in HOT, asking Cedrek and Justin if they want to lock in as a three within about the first five minutes of getting to camp. There’s no point! No player worth their salt is going to stick to a minute-one alliance just because they said yes at the moment.
Second Chance Challenge
Kyle and Kevin arrive at their new challenge. They are competing against each other, and only one will return to their camp with supplies. They each pick a path and follow their rope to a machete. After getting their machete, they each have a pot to retrieve from the top of a tall branch. Then back on the main beach, there is a single flint locked in between two empty water jugs. They race to fill their jug to free their key to unlock the flint.
Kyle accidentally breaks his water jug, ending his challenge. But Kevin still has to finish the steps, and Kyle decides to step in and help him finish filling his jug. It’s a simple gesture that Kevin could very well keep in mind come to a swap or merge.
Vula (Green)
Vula gets their fire going immediately, thanks to Mary. She’s glad everyone saw her get the fire started, but she also realizes that in the new era, it kind of seems like “nobody gives a f*ck about that.” Incredible, I love it.
Sai brings Kevin into her super-solid-never-going-to-break Day One alliance. But Kevin loves it. He’s thrilled to have a solid four-person alliance, plus the start of a twosome with Mary.
Stephanie sees Sai, not that it’s hard to see. Sai gets her group of four to go idol hunting, to keep it out of Stephanie and Mary’s hands by any means necessary. Mary and Stephanie are back at camp working and seem to already be planning on how to vote Sai out first.
But while out with Justin, Sai does find the Beware Advantage. It’s a cryptex, holding an idol. As usual, no vote until she takes possession of the idol. I wonder if the show would let her employ the Ron Swanson strategy.
Sai keeps working on the puzzle. The numbers on the code are colored, and it suddenly hits her that the various symbols around camp are the keys to the code. She deciphers the letters, and the group gets to work unscrambling the letters. After she and Justin struggle with it, Cedrek solves it in about 5 seconds, and Sai has the first idol of the season.
Civa (Orange)
David and Mitch notice an eagle painted on a tree, which of course gets them thinking. They also find a black string, and unwinding it reveals an “S” on a tree branch. But before they can make any more progress, Kyle returns to camp. Kyle, a lawyer, lies and says he’s a high school English teacher. Other than that, he tells them he lost the challenge, and they all seem pretty accepting.
Then David tells the rest of the tribe about the Eagle and “S” he saw. Now that everyone knows, they see other symbols around camp, all revealing other letters. They decide to shirk all other responsibilities and go on a little scavenger hunt. Mitch, rightfully so, has a confessional bemoaning this new course of action. Even without their supplies, there is still plenty to do. Sure, making a shelter might be harder without a machete, but you can do it. Could Civa be Survivor 48’s hot mess tribe? There’s always one.
David gets the bonding going by asking his three key questions:
- What kind of car do you drive?
- What is your favorite movie?
- How do you like your steak done?
Incredible. However, he might be onto something. Kamilla says she doesn’t really watch movies, and I simply can’t support that. The main point, though, is that David is going to be TV gold for however long he manages to stick around.
Lagi (Purple)
On Lagi, Star gets the idol search started, except she’s doing it on her own. Thomas and Shauhin continue their strong bond, along with Joe. They seem to have naturally found a bond and now get to work finding a fourth to secure their majority.
Eva takes Joe aside and tells him she has autism. She feels closest to him and wants to make sure he knows this important part about their partnership. She clues him in on what she may struggle with, and what he can do to help during her episodes.
Joe, a firefighter, is really just a big softie. He immediately imagines what he would want to see happen if this were his daughter in the same situation. And from this instant, Joe is locked in on Eva. Now, this is still Survivor, so we have to take everything with at least a small grain of salt. But even still, this feels about as solid as any bond formed this early in the game can feel.
Immunity Challenge
In our first Immunity Challenge of the season, the tribes are being put through the wringer. They race over a massive ramp and through a net tunnel. One player smashes a mask to release a key which unlocks a large, heavy sled. The entire tribe moves the sled down a track, over sandbags, and to the top of a tall platform. Once there, two from each tribe – what else? – solve a puzzle.
In addition to immunity, they’re playing for reward. The first tribe to finish wins a large tool kit, with the second place getting a smaller tool kit.
Lagi wins fairly easily, never struggling at any point during the challenge. Civa takes second, also earning their flint in the process.
Pre-Tribal
Being on the puzzle, Stephanie immediately apologizes once they get back to camp. She’s hoping it will earn her accountability points. But Sai isn’t having it. Kevin was also on the puzzle, but he’s avoiding any of the blame. Sure, Stephanie volunteered for the puzzle, but it still takes two people. Stephanie is presenting as the easy vote.
But Mary has her eyes set on Sai and approaches Stephanie and Justin with the idea. Justin has been working with Sai and appreciates that she’s been so upfront with him. But on the other hand, he sees how hard she’s playing, and that could be worrisome this early in the game.
Stephanie and Mary also try to bring Kevin in. He feels very comfortable with Mary but likes the group of four they’ve found. He and Justin talk, both realizing they’re in a valuable middle position. And then there’s the idol.
They like that it’s within their group. But still, a group idol is only a group idol as much as the actual owner of the idol wants it to be. They both agree that it wouldn’t be the worst thing if Sai were to be voted out first.
Tribal Council
We get a little drama with Sai and Stephanie going after each other, but overall it was mostly the usual first Tribal Council nothingness.
Stephanie played her Shot in the Dark, but it came up Not Safe. Sai does not play her idol, and Stephanie is voted out 4-1, with Mary’s vote going to Sai. Mary is now immediately in a tough spot, which sucks because I like her a lot. But Sai also has to be thinking things through here. Even if it was just Stephanie and Mary, Sai is still who they settled on. Her name was out there. Will she take that warning and adjust her sails? Or will she double down and play even harder?
Winner Pick
This is always tough, but I am struggling here. I think our winner will come from Lagi or Civa, and I like what we saw from a handful of players. I can’t explain why, but let’s go with Shauhin.
You can catch new episodes of Survivor 48 every Wednesday at 8pm ET/7pm CT on CBS, and new episodes are also available to stream on Thursdays on Paramount+. You can vote in the Survivor 50 polls here.
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