Survivor 49 | Ep. 1
SURVIVOR IS BACK! WEDNESDAY NIGHTS ARE BACK! THE BLOG IS BACK!
Survivor 49 is here and despite the inevitably large looming season 50 hanging over 49, personally, I am THRILLED to go on the journey of 49 first. Survivor 50, all the hoopla, and all the returning players both old and new era for the first time in a dog’s age, can wait.
Tonight, the present, is for the 49ers!
HOT TAKES AND BURNING THOUGHTS ENTERING SURVIVOR 49
Who will be the 49ers on 50?
Despite everything I just said, the mystery of “who will be the 49ers on 50?” is definitely a question on every Survivor fan’s mind. Even though it’s probably common knowledge, I am going to do my darndest to avoid knowing for certain and allow the mystery to burn brightly all season long.
What needs to happen for 49 to be outdo, outshine, outentertain 48?
Season 48 is a tough act to follow. It was my kind of season - built on relationships, partnerships in the game, and emotional connection, the likes we’ve arguably never seen before (e.g. Joe and Eva’s bond).
To top it, 49 needs to have BIG moves, advantages that hit the nail on the head, and have the best players rise to the top and fight it out in the end like a heavyweight prize fight. I’m ready for it!
49 will stand alone and not be outshined by 50 looming!
I know this is a steep uphill climb of a take but that’s why I’m making it. These players were cast for a reason and it wasn’t to “get a spot on 50”. Each season of the new era has stood alone on its own and 49 will be no different. I can’t wait to see the story unfold.
OPENING SEQUENCE
IT’S SO GOOD! IT’S SO GOOD! IT’S SO GOOD! I realize if you’re reading this, chances are you watched the show too and you know, but it needed to be said.
The opening voiceover comparing Survivor to a horror movie (by Jawan?) was fantastic, a great metaphor. The music, the tones, it all just…works!
We meet Nate (Capitol Hill), Savannah (Reporter), Jake (Aussie Chippendales), Jeremiah (5 star hotel guy with no outdoor experience), and a scrappy guy who refers to himself as a GOD. Wow, lots of personalities, lots of people who know how to sell themselves are about to collide.
MAROONING
The key word is ENERGY!!! Kristina kicks off the fireworks show with pure adrenaline, love it!!! Then we meet the guy “in the front left” aka Jason who immediately divulges that he was the alternate and only got told the previous night. He’s already had a unique experience and he is willing to pull back the curtain from the jump? I actually don’t think that will have any effect on how others perceive him.
Sage introduces herself and the first word that comes to mind is awkward, but in a Carolyn kind of way, which I love. She gets a laugh and I’m glad
Then, we get our token muscle guy and former Aussie exotic dancer who is going to talk about “keeping the tribe strong”, but that’s not at all what he shares. Instead, Jake delivers the first emotional/heart felt moment revealing that he is playing Survivor for his Dad who will, because of medical condition, lose the ability to see, so 49 will be the final season he watches, and it will be with his son.
Are you crying already?…I am.
Next up, Steven who talks about getting outside your comfort zone, making yourself vulnerable and being “jam-packed” with new experiences. Amen Steven. That’s what’s up.
JEFF SETS THE STAGE
He’s just the best host that television has ever seen. He understands why Survivor is great, how it got here, and what these players do will be up to them. Once Jeff begins this speech, the energy has shifted, the game has begun. Though we too are about to begin the 49th version of the game, we too need Jeff to set the stage for us the viewer because our love for Survivor is about to expand with this cast and as the leader of the show, this moment needs to be there.
Thank you Jeff!
TRIBES
HINA - Yellow
ULI - Red
KELE - Blue
MAROONING CHALLENGE
REWARD - 1st place wins pot, machete, flint
First leg, Jake and Annie (KELE), MC and Matt (Hina), and Rizo and Jawan (ULI) retrieve the crates from the beach and the jungle. Jake’s strength is on main display but don’t overlook MC’s strength. She was right there with Jake.
Second leg, Shannon and Savannah (ULI) take a lead retrieving the boat of puzzle pieces with HINA being close behind and KELE being clear last.
Final leg, Jason and Kristina (HINA), Nate and Sage (ULI), and Sophi and Nicole (KELE) are tasked with making the cube out of the wood crates. Jason and Kristina get the puzzle together first and MC makes it look easy retrieving the mallet and ringing the bell to win the supplies. The MVP, the alternate guy in the front left, aka Jason.
HINA - DAY 1
The winning tribe is all smiles and ready to get to know one another. Steven is first, he has hearing aids and is happy to talk about it. Kristina is adventurous, but like a fish out of water in this setting. Again, the key word is energy, and the energy is high at HINA after a win.
KELE - DAY 1
Jeremiah is ready to put himself out there, play the role of the ditz, and be LOUD AND BIG SMILES. Nicole immediately identifies the “colorfulness” of the tribe and says to Jeremiah that she’s happy there’s “someone else that is gay on the tribe. Sophi is happy to have her meat shield in Jake, but Jake is already bringing Alex into the fold, even though he’s literally never spoken to him. Jake is probably more comfortable with an Alex than a Jeremiah. The scheming and connecting has already begun at the blue tribe and I think Nicole’s early assessment is right, this tribe is going to produce fireworks.
ULI - DAY 1
Savannah is immediately fake. She says she’s in marketing, not a reporter. She is SUPER CONFIDENT. Nate is a stay at home dad and works in film. Savannah’s follow up question about what film Nate has worked on threatens his “keep my profession on the down low” and he reveals he worked as a PA on Spider-Man 2 and cue big reaction. Nate is going to struggle to keep that a secret.
My early read on Savannah is she’s going to not be able to hide the inner reporter in her. When she asks Nate that question, she can say it’s to “get to know him and build relationships” but it reads as “I’m trying to get information out of you”. If the people at ULI are savvy, they’ll suss her out.
Next up, Sage reveals she’s feeling “soul sister vibes” with Shannon and that she burps lol. The vibes are really Carolyn from 44 like but not as great. (I loved Carolyn and still do)
Onto Shanno, the Boston gal with no accent but also a spiritual gal thanking the ocean. To me, she feels like the biggest threat at ULI (except maybe Rizo). She will be harder to figure out because she is more down to earth than Savannah but not “the earth” like Sage.
FIGHT FOR SUPPLIES
The losing tribes have a one on one challenge to compete for supplies. Rizo (ULI) vs. Alex (KELE). This is the first twist and clearly many people wanted to avoid being too eager or revealing anything. Both Alex and Rizo shrug it off and “step up” if nobody else will and so they go.
I like the idea of the two of them competing for supplies and the possibility of them having to forgo supplies for some individual advantage in the game. What I like even more is Rizo’s athlete mindset to “give me the ball, I want the last shot, and I want to prove myself”. I just get it. I connect with it. It would be hard to forgo the opportunity.
Alex crushes Rizo in retrieving the coconuts and takes a massive lead when he puts the puzzle together. It looks bleak for Rizo. Alex is going to find the wheel and defeat Rizo and be the hero early in the game. Then, Rizo uses his strategic brain. He wanders over to Alex’s puzzle and steals all the information.
He literally matches the pieces of his puzzle to Alex’s, but hits a snag. He’s missing pieces, and luckily, kicks over the one unopened coconut to find the missing pieces to finish up the puzzle. But, at this point, a now gassed out from unsuccessfully digging up the ship wheel Alex, comes back to his puzzle to recalibrate and stop Rizo from seeing how to finish the puzzle.
Ultimately, at this point, Alex was in a panic, was exhausted, and lost the mental part of the challenge. Rizo on the other hand, was like the tortoise passing the hare in the fable. He moseyed his way out to the X, used everything he had to dig, and found the wheel and won the challenge. And after an emotional release of how proud he was of himself and thinking about how proud his parents would be back home, and Albania being proud too, he returns to ULI with supplies. Alex, on the other hand, is the first person on 49 to get slapped in the face by the game and we are going to find out how much his Capitol Hill training can serve him in the game.
ULI - DAY 1
Sage has poop on her mind and is happy to reveal she wants to know all about people’s aqua dumps. Hahahahaha, oh this is our Carolyn for sure.
Rizo is getting “his iconic Survivor moment on Day 1” and to me, he is this season’s Shauhin. As long as RizGOD is in the game, he is going to be driving the story. He’s entertaining, he’s got underdog qualities and physical characteristics, yet a Herculean confidence. He is the son of Albanian immigrants who clean a high school and hotel so that he can live his American dream. He’s scrappy as hell as seen in the copy Alex’s finished puzzle moment and he’s got an emotional side in his connection to his family and the sacrifices they’ve made for him to live this life.
I’m in on RIZGOD!
KELE - DAY 1
Alex comes into camp, shares his failure, but gets greeted with open arms by Jake with as much of a red carpet as he can. Despite Alex’s greatest fears of facing the tribe, little did he know, he was going to be met by Jake and Sophi who have an offer of an alliance.
However, Jake offers a bit more. He grabs a payloader and begins digging deep through the surface level to reveal that he and his wife tried for 4.5 years to have a baby and now they are expecting a baby boy any day.
Wow.
So Jake is here for his father who is losing his sight to make him proud, for his wife to provide, and for his soon to be born son. Powerful stuff from Jake. It moves Alex and Sophi to tears. I think they have may have something here. My guess is that Sophie wanted a meat shield but will have never guessed that this meat would be awfully tender.
HINA - DAY 1
Jason is a professional gamer, specifically Super Smash Bros. Matt is clearly the old guy, the dad, and a background in boy scouts. He doesn’t fit in but he’s going to have to watch his "Uncle Bruce”. Steven is perceptive enough to call out to Matt and us the viewer that Matt is going to be the provider at camp and with the outdoors.
My early read is that Steven will be the one in the middle, the swing vote, and the straw that stirs the drink that is HINA.
KELE - DAY 2
Annie is the lead singer of a band in real life and is ready to be be the front man on the KELE tribe, bt her failure at Survivor 101 gives some at KELE reason to be suspicious (Nicole, Jeremiah, Jake, Sophi) and an opportunity for another (Alex).
Alex sees the opportunity that Annie, the older woman/mother presents to him like Gabe did with Sue in 47. I think Alex is positioning himself nicely at KELE by using his communications background to get to know all of his constituents.
ULI - DAY 2
Shannon is leading the tribe through a morning meditation and Savannah isn’t buying it. Neither am I. The yogi thing isn’t going to last. People want to play and they can only oblige this kind of tribal activity for so long.
Jawan is holding open casting for his alliance of four at ULI. He is feeling the “vibes” with Shannon and Savannah and that leaves a fourth spot open to Sage, Nate and Rizo. If this alliance really has legs, they should probably make the fourth Nate, but who will it be, my guess is Rizo.
HINA - DAY 2
HINA is the quintessential tribe who won first. Everything is kumbaya. Steven is playing hard by courting Matt, then Jason, and MC.
Then, Steven reveals his inner Andy from 47, and the social anxiety and sense of not belonging takes center stage and everyone at home watching has now shifted their thoughts on Steven. We were thinking here is this confident guy who is perceptive and aware, but now, here is this guy who just told me he suffers from “imposter syndrome”, was bullied, and never fit in. I hope he can have a Andy like turnaround and feel that sense of acceptance that has alluded him.
KELE - DAY 2
The bromance between Jake and Alex has Sophi feeling anxious and left behind and me feeling confused as to what exactly happened to make this bond so strong so quickly. The ripple effects are Jeremiah, the non-threatening Canadian gay guy who would never otherwise connect with his fellow maple leaf Jake, but he sees Jake as the meat shield like Sophi and so the Jake, Alex, Sophi alliance is now a four with Jeremiah.
ULI - DAY 2
Next up, Nate is from LA and seeing the tribe from an Avenger point of view, but people are perceiving him on the surface as the dad. Nate is ready to play and so is Savannah. The whole “good vibes” schtick will work with some but not for all. I think Nate addressing that to Savannah was like an inside source revealing confidential information. Add in Jawan’s emotional response to failing to make fire, and all of a sudden, the alliances at ULI may be shifting.
IMMUNITY CHALLENGE - DAY 3
REWARD - 1st Place - Large Tool Kit, 2nd Place - Basic Tools
The first Immunity Challenge is always an adrenaline rush and this was no different. Each tribe had to retrieve three giant, heavy, and awkward serpents through obstacles and the Survivor mud that was absent from the marooning challenge.
The mud is an element of the challenge that some consider and others don’t. I don’t understand why some will just dive in face first and blind themselves. Plus, navigating the ball through the wood serpent table maze is a heck of a lot easier with clear vision and a mudless face.
HINA gets to the final stage first and wins immunity and the large tool kit with Sophie, Jason and Matt guiding the ball around the obstacles and into first place. They stayed calm and communicated effectively. The happy go lucky vibes will continue for HINA with all their early successes.
ULI and KELE are left in a battle for immunity and avoiding Tribal Council. Nate, Rizo, and Sage use their length and height to their advantage but the key difference to them versus KELE was their calm, cool, and confident approach and communication. That’s why ULI beats out KELE and sends them to Tribal.
KELE was a hot mess just as Nicole predicted. Nicole, Annie and Alex were ineffective communicators and it prevented them from navigating the ball to immunity. No surprise from this result. They still have no flint, they’ve won nothing, and someone is about to be the scapegoat to blame. To me, Annie or Nicole have first boot written all over them.
KELE - DAY 3
It comes as no surprise that Jake is ready to “write down someone weak” and that Nicole and Annie are the likely candidates. Nicole throwing up in her hand and in the jungle doesn’t bode well for her in game poker face, but it does bode well for my sense of humor. hahahaha.
As we enter the first tribal of the season it seems like the target is easily Nicole but her threat level is far less than Annie’s strategically. As much as Jake wants to cut the weak and everyone wants the “easy vote”, it feels like the best vote is Annie.
PREDICTION: Nicole still goes home. Her weakness in challenges is too obvious and the bromance alliance and failure of the tribe to win anything has physical strength as a higher priority over early strategic threats. Nicole goes home.
TRIBAL COUNCIL - NIGHT 3
WOW!!!! Tribal is sick!!!! The sunken pirate ship we saw at the opening is the theme of the set at Tribal. Tribal literally set in the wreckage of ships. Love it.
Nicole gives the assessment of everyone at KELE and seems to me to be the glue holding the “vibes” together but she is going to be a target for elimination.
Sophi is emerging to me as the leading threat at KELE with her communication along with Alex while I think Jeremiah and Annie aren’t the best communicators.
My sense from Tribal is that everyone at KELE likes Nicole the person but doesn’t see a world in which they will hitch their game to her long term.
VOTES
NICOLE - 5
ANNIE - 1
No surprise here. Nicole didn’t stand a chance in this game on this tribe with these people. Even if KELE would have won a challenge or Alex won the supplies I still can’t imagine a world in which she isn’t the first or second one to go. Her personality is not an alpha and her physical limitations ultimately make her an easy target.
The blog has spoken!!!
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