Survivor 50 Premiere Recap!
In the hands of the fans... including Billie Eilish!
What a premiere! Old rivalries reigniting, new connections blossoming, and not one but TWO eliminations! And here to take you through it all is your Survivor correspondent Breanna Pratley. SPOILERS AHEAD!!
Episode Highlights
25 years of the greatest reality competition show was summed up flawlessly in the opening montage. If you watch anything from this episode, honestly, it should be this edit. Survivor takes us lovingly down memory lane and reminds us how much this show has both shaped and reflected society over the last quarter century.
Then we’re dropped onto the Survivor 50 beach with 24 of the show’s most iconic contestants. Given where this episode goes, I’m really glad they gave Jenna Lewis some great marooning mat chat moments. I can’t be the only one who teared up a little when she said “we started this” to Jeff! And speaking of tears, we get to see the MASTERFUL Cirie Fields at work before the game even starts; this isn’t to say that I think Cirie’s tears weren’t earnest, rather that she was doing what she does best: strategically utilizing her genuine and sincere emotions to lower her threat level and win hearts.
But the reveal that the fans voted to not give the contestants rice??? Who voted for that?! I just wanna talk.😡
The marooning challenge was full of iconic challenge pieces - but my biggest takeaway was the Vatu tribe’s victory! In the preseason, I predicted that Vatu would be the “disaster tribe” of the season, given Cila’s Joe and Savannah and Kalo’s Jonathan and Dee, but Vatu surprised me! I’m impressed and excited for them.
Then we get the challenge to earn the tribe supplies… and an Ozzy-Coach reunion that no one could ever write! THIS is why we love reality TV! Two bitter rivals with beef dating back fifteen years, making up and showing personal growth… and then IMMEDIATELY fighting again? As RizGod would say:
Meanwhile, Canadian queen Genevieve finds the Billie Eilish Boomerang Idol! This advantage requires her to send the idol anonymously to someone on another tribe, and if they get voted out with it, it boomerangs back to Genevieve’s possession!
And then we get to the immunity challenge, which came with its own iconic moments:
But the important outcomes of the challenge are that Cila is the losing tribe, due almost entirely to Cirie taking forever to complete the monkey’s fist portion (though I can’t criticize, she did way better than I could!), and Kyle getting a pretty nasty ankle injury. Kyle’s ankle looks okay… for now………
When we get back to camp, Jenna pushes too hard for Cirie, ultimately resulting in the first eliminated contestant being Jenna. First season to first boot! But wait! Why is there still half an hour of episode left?
Oh no…
Kyle!
That’s right, his ankle is actually not okay… In the immunity challenge, he snapped his Achilles tendon and gets medically evacuated from the game. He had been so well set up socially too! But the good news is he’s since had surgery and is well on his way to recovery!
Strategy Breakdown
Premiere episodes typically don’t have too much strategy to break down because they’re really about laying the groundwork for future episodes. However, being a returning player season, we did get more strategy than usual! Here are the standout points from my perspective:
First player eliminated, Jenna Lewis, was clearly playing too hard to fast; but I don’t blame her for that! It was clear she was excited about the game, and she was correct in assessing Cirie’s threat level. I also think there may have been an element of wanting to prove that an original old school player can play hard in the new era. All of which is understandable!
Mike White, creator of The White Lotus, brilliantly lowered his threat level by playing up his humour and lack of survival skills, despite debuting a six pack!
Joe Hunter is extremely well situated in his tribe; I had expected him to be in a good spot because of his reputation for loyalty and his physical prowess, but he really seems to be gelling well socially with this group.
Unfortunately, I was ready to write about how Kyle Fraser was in the best position in the game… but he’s no longer there due to the ankle injury!
Ozzy Lusth, or should I say Oscar, is really impressing me with his strategic growth! I’m not sure that he’s up there with the masterminds yet, but I look forward to seeing how he maneuvers this season.
Q Burdette is another one to watch. In the preseason, I was concerned about the chaos he brought to Survivor 46, but he’s bringing a mature version of that chaotic attitude and I am LIVING for it! He seems quite well set up within his tribe, and I look forward to seeing how he socially maneuvers going forward.
Best Move of the Episode
The one and only Cirie Fields managed to FLOP in the challenge, have one of the HIGHEST pregame threat levels, have KNOWN existing relationships throughout the cast, have her name brought up as a contender for elimination on DAY ONE… and STILL managed to work her social magic and flip the vote on Jenna. Masterful. Unrivalled. Truly the greatest to have never won (YET!).
Honourable Mention: Since Colby and Savannah got some alone time during the journey challenge, and according to Survivor journalist Dalton Ross’ article about Everything You Didn’t See On TV, they talked a little about Rizo. I can’t help but wonder how much Savannah’s praise helped improve Colby’s perceptions of Rizo!
Who is in the best position going into next week’s episode?
We still have 22 contestants left, so lots of them are set up well. But those that stick out to me as being particularly well situated are the group of three of Emily Flippen, Dr. Christian Hubicki, and Rick Devens. They are locked in pretty firmly with each other and each have solid relationships with other tribemates, which will help keep their group safe. I also think Mike White is well positioned because he lowered his threat level so expertly.
Going into next week’s episode I’m most interested in the fate of the Vatu tribe… Early in this episode, they looked strategically well set up, with a tight five alliance of Genevieve, Stephenie, Colby, Kyle, and Q. But now Kyle is gone, and both Q and Colby have lost their votes. It’ll be interesting to see how that plays out!