Reality TV Thoughts

Survivor 50, the most anticipated Survivor season possibly ever, is off to a fantastic start. There is something for almost every Survivor fan in this premiere. A beautiful montage at the start of the episode recapping the history of the entire show, players from different eras of the show interacting with each other, and perhaps most importantly, the return of the Ozzy vs Coach rivalry! Everything was amazing from start to finish, and even with two devastating eliminations, this season has potential to be one of the best ever..

The marooning challenge was nothing special. Honestly, the whole time I was just in awe that I was finally watching this season after two years of anticipation. The magenta Vatu tribe does pull out the victory though, shocking considering how many people had predicted they would be the disaster tribe. After the marooning is when the true magic starts though…

The Kalo Tribe

Kalo unfortunately got the least amount of focus in the premiere due to their tribe being the only one not to lose a member, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t have any amazing moments. First of all, as mentioned before, it is just amazing watching all of these players from across the show’s history interacting with one another. One of the most memorable was Coach honoring Charlie by allowing him to wear his toe ring for a couple seconds. It’s these character moments that really make the show, and it’s clear Coach has not lost a step since his last appearance on South Pacific. Also, a New Era women’s alliance seems to be forming between Kamilla, Dee, and Tiffany. These three women are all fierce strategic forces and could be a deadly alliance. I am especially excited to see Kamilla finally get to play a more strategic cutthroat game after having her gameplay neutered on 48. That dig at honesty and integrity is well appreciated, by the way! It was somewhat shocking to see Dee be a big target right off the bat for Chrissy and Jonathan, but this could be her chance to showcase her skillset and ability to adapt. One last thing, Mike White has abs! Who would’ve known?

The Cila Tribe

The surprise disaster tribe seemingly, Cila was a beautiful mess to watch from start to finish. First of all, a bromance between Christian and Devens starts almost immediately. Two strategic stars from the late 30s of Survivor teaming up feels so perfect. They’re seemingly at the core of their tribe too, forming the majority alliance with Emily, Joe and Savannah. We also have Jenna’s glorious flame out, going after Cirie almost right out of the gate. She tries getting everyone on board to vote out Cirie before the first immunity challenge even begins! Unfortunately for Jenna, Devens rats her out to Cirie almost immediately, starting their one episode rivalry. Speaking of Cirie, she is in general is such a star in this episode. Her beautiful mat chat at the marooning, tight partnership with Ozzy, and somehow surviving the first vote even after her horrific challenge fumble. Jenna aimed at the queen and missed.

Also, I was so wrong about Ozzy. I was initially disappointed that he was on the cast, but he stuck true to his preseason words about wanting to play a different game this time around. He was such an integral part to making this episode great. His rivalry with Coach is something I’ll save for later, but he provided so much entertainment. First of all, convincing Q to practically give him his vote at Exile Island proves he has a much stronger strategic mind this time around. Even if he is currently on the bottom, he can pull himself out with the extra vote and idol gifted by Genevieve. Also, his partnership with Cirie is so nice to see and I can’t wait to see how it plays out. The two have had a complicated history. Cirie was a big part in orchestrating Ozzy’s blindside on Micronesia but was blindsided alongside him when he was voted off of Game Changers. Now, on their third season together, the two are in lockstep. He deserves his spot on this season.

The Vatu Tribe

Vatu had so many interesting dynamics and a complete shake up to those dynamics at the end of the episode with Kyle’s medical evacuation. First, of all, Colby and Rizo’s dynamic is everything. At first, Colby is put off by Rizo and sees him as annoying, only to grow a soft spot for him minutes later. The two’s heart to heart was heartwarming and I hope they both make it deep together. Seeing Rizo on this season in general is great. He is such a superfan and seeing him react to being able to play with all of these legends is amazing. Genevieve, despite being one of the biggest targets in the preseason, is in the majority alliance and even finds the highly anticipated Billie Eilish Boomerang Idol. Speaking of which, thank goodness the celebrities aren’t playing a major role for the most part. This idol is interesting, as Genevieve can’t keep the idol for herself and must send it to someone on another tribe. Only if they get voted off does she get the idol. Not as powerful as imagined, but still has a lot of intrigue. She was in such a great spot, it sucks that by the end of the episode two of her allies have lost their votes and one is pulled from the game. That confessional after Kyle’s med evac gutted me. On a more positive note, her ‘Girl, so confusing’ moment with Rachel from 47 is recreated day 1 with Aubry. I’m excited to see how this potential rivalry will play out.

The Journey

There can’t be a modern Survivor premiere without a journey, and Survivor 50 follows that rule. On day 4, each tribe must send one tribe member on the journey. Mike White, Savannah, and Colby are all selected. Colby being selected for the journey was everything I could have asked for. Going into 50, one of the things I was most excited about was the potential of Colby going on a journey and being confused the whole time. This journey was one of the better ones. After arriving, it is revealed that only two people will participate in the journey challenge. And Mike White, ironically the one who was most excited about going on the journey, is immediately sent back to camp. Not before Savannah tells him what Ozzy said about Coach though…

Savannah and Colby must compete in a Jenga-like game to determine who keeps their vote and who loses it. Unfortunately for Colby, who was initially unenthused about the journey, he loses the game and his vote. After Colby’s boat leaves, Savannah receives an envelope that reveals she’s earned a block-a-vote and that fans voted for dynamic advantages (which fans?). Although she wants to hide this, once she returns to camp, Devens is convinced she must have some kind of advantage. After seemingly being in a decent spot, this journey could be what sinks Savannah’s game.

The Return of Ozzy vs Coach

On Survivor South Pacific, Ozzy and Coach were pitted against each other from day 1, being the two returning captains on the season. After Coach’s tribe gained the numbers at the merge due to Cochran’s flip, Ozzy’s side was Pagonged. Ozzy fights his way back from Redemption Island though and Coach tells him he wants to go to the end together. However, after Ozzy loses final immunity, Coach goes back on his word and votes him out. Then, Ozzy doesn’t vote for him to win at final tribal council and Coach thinks he poisoned the jury against him. Now, the two are on 50 together and want to turn over a new leaf. They have that chance when, alongside Q, both are selected to do a challenge for supplies by their tribes. Once they arrive on the island, they indeed make up… For 3 minutes maybe. After the challenge begins, Ozzy gains a huge head-start over Coach and Q. For the final part of the challenge, each player must build a stick long enough to reach and retrieve a key from behind a bamboo wall. This is something Ozzy has done before, but this time, he’s struggling, allowing Coach and Q to catch up. The three try and fail to retrieve the key for nearly an hour. Ozzy eventually tells Coach and Q he promises not to steal the key from whoever knocks it off, but neither say anything. Ozzy then knocks off the key, only for Coach to steal it to Ozzy’s dismay. Ozzy is pissed and thinks that Coach broke his honor and went against everything they had talked about before. After Coach leaves, Ozzy and Q find out that they are stuck on Exile Island for the night. Once Ozzy finally returns to camp, he tells everyone about what Coach did, which Savannah reveals to Mike on the journey and Mike then reveals to Coach, who is now pissed as well. Their rivalry is back in full swing and Coach will seemingly call out Ozzy at the next immunity challenge based off the preview. Survivor has never been more back!

The Two Boots

In the premiere, we lost both Jenna and Kyle. Jenna, one of the original 16 castaways, has been a fierce and aggressive player since All Stars. While on that season, she successfully led the charge against all of the winners and almost won the game, on 50, that gameplay style was her demise. It sucks that she’s the first boot, knowing she’s been itching to play again for over 20 years, but her vote off was almost entirely self-inflicted. She came out swinging, gunning for Cirie but not putting much effort into actually forming bonds with the rest of her team. The result? None of them really trusted her and they all voted her out even after Cirie’s poor challenge performance was the reason they lost.

In a way, Kyle and Jenna parallel each other. While Jenna aggressively targeted who she perceived to be threats right off the bat without forming any bonds, Kyle made sure he was well insulated in the game by forming bonds before trying to make any moves. Despite only lasting one episode, he proves himself to be maybe the best player of the new era. He’s at the center of the majority alliance with Stephenie, Colby, Genevieve, and Q. Within that alliance, he’s good with Colby and Stephenie and separately tightly aligned with Genevieve and Q. Even outside the alliance, he’s in a trio with Angelina and Aubry, something that was not shown in the episode. This is despite everyone having just watched him win days before they flew out to Fiji. Without that torn Achilles, he very well could have been the third two-time winner. Even with it, he was determined to stay in the game despite the risks and it seemed his tribe would have kept him around despite his injury. The silver lining is he is now one of only 3 winners to play multiple times and never get their torch snuffed. Kyle for the next all star season?

A 10/10 Premiere?

The Survivor 50 premiere was a captivating watch throughout all of its three hour runtime. It sets a strong tone for the rest of the season and I have very little gripes with it. If the rest of the season is as good as the premiere, Survivor 50 has potential to enter the upper echelon of Survivor seasons. Let’s hope Jeff Probst was right about calling this season one of the best of all time…