Survivor 48 — Episode 1 Reaction
Survivor is back! Eighteen new players take over the Fijian beaches as one castaway succeeds with an interestingly flawed strategy.
A Plucky, Passionate Cast Takes on Survivor 48
My first impression of this Survivor 48 cast leaving the premiere episode is defined by their uncensored excitement for being a part of the game of Survivor. It’s, in a word, plucky — the cast showed a strong desire to be on the beach, maybe in a way that was a little too spirited… if it is possible to be a little too jacked up about being on your favorite TV show. From the opening crawl showing castaways freaking out in jubilation during their acceptance meetings over video calls, to Jeff Probst commenting on the amount of energy given to his opening welcome on the mats, to the multiple castaways calling upon their day one fan status or musing about how X Survivor event was the greatest feeling in their lives, Survivor 48’s cast is certainly happy to be here. It works for the first episode because it matches my excitement for the season to start. It also resulted in people not being afraid to start playing the game in the first few days (though one castaway got a little too carried away, we’ll get to Sai later…).
As the season progresses I hope the pluckiness dies down a bit and we find a comfortable medium where castaway personalities shine beyond the general excitement of nerding out over Survivor. For example, I’m gonna need Shauhin to quit waxing poetic about the beauty of the game, unless he’s gonna do it so often that it becomes memeable. The “🤓 marooning challenge 🤓” is an all-time memory in his life so I’m waiting to see what tops that down the line… maybe the birth of a child or perhaps a visit to the Sanctuary, where good things happen.
I’m also going to need some more composure and less pluck from Kevin. Episode one was very Kevin focused, starting with his super mysterious “shoulder injury” and ending with becoming the swing vote on the Vula tribe. He was too starry-eyed this episode, and if he ends up being central to Survivor 48’s story it will annoy the living heck out of me unless he starts growing some chest hairs. While he aspires to be the next Yul Kwon, he feels so far away from the Yul aura… but if he matures like a fine wine over the course of 26 days it could make for a great story.
Alliances Galore from Day One
In one of Jeff’s preseason interviews about the season, he emphasized that Survivor 48 would be a season of duos. Jeff clearly watches his own show, because the formation of two-person alliances dominated episode one. Stephanie and Mary, Kevin and Justin, Kyle and Kamilla, Joe and Eva, and Thomas and Bianca were the obvious ones, with other duos more subliminally introduced in the background. Is this the influence of Charlie and Maria, or is this cast just drawn to the allure of a dynamic pairing?
The standout pair for me was Joe and Eva, by far. Eva putting her trust in Joe and opening about her autism and how it will affect her game made for a touching social moment that felt very authentic. Both castaways feel very honest and grounded and together they make for an incredibly rootable duo.
The Civa duos were a personal favorite for me as well. I don’t care for Kyle and Kamilla as characters separately yet, but together as the Holes-Guyanase alliance I find very fun. While David and Chrissy weren’t called out as a duo, the counterparts of the emerging Civia majority foursome felt like a hilarious new pairing. It felt like a New Era Trish and LJ alliance where Chrissy likes looking at David’s muscles and David knows where his assets can get him.
Another general trend I saw was a quiet comeback of the all-guys alliance. The Lagi tribe saw the formation of the “California Girls” alliance, which shocked Thomas especially given that he did not expect to get along so well with the straight guys on his tribe. The Vula tribe also saw a guys alliance form through Sai. While Sai feels she is in control, she has turned all the power in Vula over to the men who have quietly floated the idea of cutting her out of the game to get the hidden immunity idol recirculated into their own hands.
Sai Storms the Beach — Strategy over Stars
Ultimately, the driving storyline of episode one was the Sai experience. “Bull in a China Shop” has been thrown around in Survivor history, but Sai has put new meaning into the phrase with her episode one performance.
Upon landing at Vula beach, Sai got to work immediately. She quickly determined she did not like the other girls on her tribe, so she walks up to the men and invites/forces them to lock in to her “core four”. Once she deems the alliance established, Sai spends the next two days searching for the beware advantage and then decoding the cypher that unlocks her hidden immunity idol. The irony cannot be overlooked when, in Sai’s jubilant, but silly, emotional breakdown upon unlocking the code, she shouts out all the strong women who raised her… when it took her asking for the help of every man in her tribe to open the cypher. Once the tribe loses immunity, Sai campaigns for Stephanie’s demise over her poor puzzle performance and throws major shade on Stephanie’s gameplay at tribal council before the hippie is sent home.
Imagine if you didn’t watch the episode, and you were told that one castaway was able to single handedly build a majority alliance, find the idol, and vote out their intended target at their first tribal council. You’d assume this person is a strong Survivor player, possibly on the path to being the season’s best strategist. In reality, even though Sai was able to achieve everything she wanted, she was portrayed not as the mastermind but the fool. She bypassed all the social bonding and got right to the gameplay, and while this can be effective on day one when no one wants to be the first boot, this is a strategy doomed to end in burnout. Social bonds do matter because it’s what makes you want to keep your allies for the long haul. Artificial alliances make for artificial relationships, and keeps betrayal open as an easy option down the line, only amplified when you have outed yourself as a gamer. The Vula guys alliance knows the threat Sai poses but is in a spot where Sai is deluding herself of her position in the tribe and can easily be taken advantage of if the guys want to go a different direction. At least for this vote, the threat you know was better than the threat you don’t.
Sidenote, I don’t look at post-episode social media (mainly Reddit) reactions until after I finish writing my posts. I imagine Sai’s first episode was very polarizing for fans given she was a black woman playing a very cocky yet sloppy game, and she was villainous towards another woman in her tribe opting to side with an all-male alliance. I hope she hasn’t received overwhelming online hate and/or she’s handling inevitable social media slander well. She made this first episode eventful and enjoyable and we shouldn’t denigrate people for playing their Survivor game unless it actually crosses a line, which Sai didn’t cross from what I saw. Off my soapbox now.
Stephanie opted to play the exact opposite game to Sai. She wanted to sit on her hands, get to know her fellow tribemates on a deep spiritual level, and let genuine social connections form her alliances. Sai laughed at Stephanie’s strategy and completely boxed her out, and when the tribe lost immunity it meant Stephanie had to scramble to catch up strategically. With Mary, she pleaded to Kevin and Justin to reconsider an alliance with Sai but it was too little too late.
I’m disappointed by the result because I rated Stephanie highly in my preseason rankings. I thought she was a smart player, and if she was on Lagi or Civa I feel Stephanie would have had more success in her slow burn strategy. But she was on Vula, and the scramble started on Vula the moment Sai dismissed Stephanie and Mary and ran to align with the guys. Stephanie probably should have seen that air sign or whatever new age mysticism she believes in and adjusted her game accordingly. Instead her passive strategy combined with a challenge failure makes her the first boot.
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Least Impressive Challenge Performance: Kevin and Kyle in the Supplies Relay
I thought it was diabolical that production did not allow Kevin or Kyle to wash off the mud from the opening challenge before doing the tribe supplies challenge. It put a goofy veneer on their frantic scrambling to get through the weird relay tasks, where neither of them looked particularly coordinated or athletic. And then Kyle makes a lethal mistake of breaking the water jar he was supposed to fill, disqualifying him for winning against Kevin. Kyle should be VERY thankful this challenge was done in seclusion so his tribe didn’t have to see how he lost.
Largest Ego (and Biceps): David
David was exactly how I thought David would be. He’s totally the vain gym bro that throws out how much he loves sappy rom coms because he really wants to be “relatable”… he’s just a regular guy in Superman’s body! He’s only doing pull-ups on the bamboo structure because his tribemates really insist that he pump some out.
To be fair, David’s physique looks to be a huge asset. He will be great for these team challenges that require a ton of physical strength, like in this immunity challenge. However, his lack of Survivor suave is gonna get frustrating down the line combined with his cocky approach to the game. He mused whether he’ll be the hero or the villain: I imagine he will end up thinking he’s the hero while really being the villain.
Biggest Pizza Lover: Justin
Generally Survivor metaphors make me cringe, but if Justin wants to compare everything he does to pizza, or making pizza, or running a pizza place, I am ALL for that. He’s the Pizza Guy now. Jeff, please set him up for pizza metaphors for the rest of time.
Survivor 50 Voting Ballot
Tribe Colors: Red Yellow and Green — I believe these are the tribe colors used for the original All-Stars season, which is why I picked this combination. Don’t have a horse in this race though.
Rice or No Rice: Rice — Survivor took rice away to make 26 days harder. I don’t think it really adds much to the show and I think lack of food contributes to some of the snowballing we see, where one tribe of the three gets decimated before the merge.
Final Four Firemaking: No — There are merits to the twist… It protects top players better because they can defend themselves in a firemaking duel instead of being the obvious vote out. BUT, I think the firemaking is an empty spectacle as it is now and anti-climatic compared to a traditional vote. The politics and strategy in the firemaking final four just straight up sucks compared to traditional voting. So I want the show to revert back to how it was and see what happens.
Los Angeles or Fiji Reunion: Los Angeles — Duh. Fiji reunions are lame. A live studio audience at the reading of the votes is dope.
MVP of the Episode: Joe
Joe came off as very dependable and he has found himself a strong men’s alliance and a number one ally in Eva. He feels like a sure bet for the merge, maybe farther.
Goat of the Episode: Sai
As I said earlier, despite making a successful move Sai was presented as a Survivor fool, not a mastermind. It feels like Sai is being set up for a major blindside very soon.
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PLAYER TIER LIST:
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OUT OF THE GAME
18. Stephanie
BOTTOM OF THE TOTEM POLE
17. Charity
16. Star
These two have clearly been placed at the bottom of their respective tribes, both for early social mishaps — Star’s idol searching, and Charity’s general intimidating presence.
IN AN UNCOMFORTABLE POSITION
15. Mary
14. Sai
While Mary would logically be the next to go on Vula, Sai’s whirlwind of a first episode has placed her in a volatile spot as an unpredictable shield for the Vula guys. I can envision Kevin preferring Mary as an ally and turning the tables with Justin against Sai.
TOO SOON TO SAY
13. Mitch
Really got nothing out of Mitch beyond him being the first person Jeff asked a question to on the opening mats. Maybe he’s in an alliance, maybe he’s not.
12. Bianca
11. Shauhin
10. Eva
Lagi’s hierarchy is still in flux after one episode. While Bianca, Shauhin, and Eva are all in alliances it is unknown which ones have priority over others. IF I had to guess, I think Thomas and Joe pick their desired duo partner and leave Shauhin in limbo.
IN A GOOD SPOT
9. Chrissy
8. David
Aligned in the majority in Civa. We don’t know how Survivor smart either of these castaways are.
7. Cedrek
6. Justin
Safely in Sai’s core four, but can easily throw Sai under the bus if she is a liability.
IN THE DRIVER’S SEAT
5. Kyle
4. Kamilla
Highlighted as a key duo in Civa. I think Kyle and Kamilla quietly drive the direction of their tribe if they go to tribal council.
3. Kevin
Kevin has the most options because he has some sort of connection with Mary. If he takes advantage of that, he can have his way in the next few Vula votes.
2. Thomas
1. Joe
Both Thomas and Joe have two highlighted alliances in Lagi. Without the pressure of a tribal council to force their hand they feel like the safest social bets to go far after a single episode.