Kriti Mehrotra
If there’s one thing absolutely no one can deny, it’s that ‘Survivor’ is one of the most iconic reality competition series’ to ever come into existence. With 48 seasons across the franchise, countless incredible adventures, and 18 diverse individuals every installment as they fight for a life-changing grand prize, it truly transcends the way we see physical, mental, and emotional strengths. Therefore, of course, its latest season – ‘Survivor 48’ – is no different, and its premiere episode – ‘The Get to Know You Game’ – is proof of the same.
18 Castaways Began a Brand New Adventure
While everyone knows being a part of ‘Survivor’ is a big deal to everyone who applies for it, we get a glimpse of precisely how much right at the beginning of episode 1. After all, it begins with video reactions of this chapter’s participants as they are told that they have actually made it all the way to the end of the auditions and have actually been cast for season 48. So, we have Joe Hunter, Eva Erickson, Shauhin Davari, Thomas Krottinger, Bianca Roses, Star Toomey, Mitch Guerra, Chrissy Sarnowsky, Kyle Fraser, David Kinne, Kamilla Karthigesu, Charity Nelms, Saiounia “Sai” Hughley, Cedrek McFadden, Kevin Leung, Mary Zheng, Justin Pioppi, and Stephanie Berger.
These 18 are actually divided into three tribes of 6, with the former belonging to Lagi (representing the sky), the next half dozen being a part of Civa (representing the sun), and the latter belonging to Vula (representing the moon). Taking us to the Mamanuca Islands in Fiji for the sixteenth consecutive time, this installment begins with the cast being introduced to us in various ways. They either told us why they wanted to be a part of the show, their background, their strategies, or all of it combined, making us pumped up for everything to come.
Then came the infamous Marooning Challenge for basic camp supplies like a machete, a pot, and flint, giving them a way to kickstart their time in their respective camps. This time around, the tribes were initially required to form 3 pairs, crawl through a cargo net-covered mud pit, and retrieve a heavy chest one duo at a time before three players could retrieve the keys to open them. Then, the remaining three players would have to toss their sandbags to high platforms, and the first tribe to secure all three would win. Lagi truly dominated at every step of the way, making them the tribe to watch out for.
Interpersonal Connections Became Significant in the First Few Days Itself
While Lagi was almost immediately given the map to their camp and allowed to set it up per their liking, Civa and Vula were given another chance to compete for supplies, but in a much different manner. One member of each tribe was selected – Kyle from Civa and Kevin from Vula – and sent on a treasure hunt of sorts to secure the necessary reserves. Despite the fact Kevin had hurt his shoulder in the Marooning Challenge, he actually succeeded here by going slow and steady, especially as Kyle sadly ended up getting disqualified once he broke a jar while trying to secure the flint. But then, he showed he was a stand-up guy by helping Kevin complete the task at hand.
While this was happening, all the tribes were getting settled into their respective camps and getting to know one another, with it being obvious from the get-go that there was great chemistry at Lagi. Despite the fact they all come from different walks of life, they were able to communicate openly, share personal anecdotes, and connect at a very authentic level from the get-go. The only person among them who was not able to blend into the group properly was Star, especially as she went away from them for hours on end in the hopes of looking for the immunity idol all by herself.
Things at Civa and Vula were different, though. Civa was slow to really form authentic connections, but they genuinely seemed to trust one another owing to the way they were working. In fact, once Kyle returned from the Supply Challenge empty-handed, they actually consoled him and believed his recounting of events before simply moving forward with what they had to do. Vula, however, was on an entirely different level. While some of them focused on building authentic connections, like Stephanie and Mary, Sai focused on playing an aggressive strategic game from the get-go.
The Idea of Core Four Took Hold Within Three Days
Since Sai was determined to play the game from the very first day, she had a clear idea of what kind of alliances she wanted, and she didn’t waste any time before securing them. She actually talked to Cedrek and Justin while Kevin was still doing the Supply Challenge on Day 1 about them four being the ones they should focus on, and the men agreed with her. They might have felt uneasy about her coming on so strong so quickly, but all of it went away when she actually secured the Immunity Idol and shared the news with them. As if that’s not enough, she even asked for their help in solving the cryptogram before securing that immunity.
On the flip side, at Civa, David was the one to notice different animals at every step of the way and didn’t hesitate to share it with the group despite Chrissy thinking she would have kept that information for herself. A few of them really connected here, but things changed as Charity began talking about Kyle possibly being a weak link owing to his failure in the Supply Challenge and Kamille taking advantage of it. She told Kyle about what Charity thought, and then she, him, Chrissy, and David essentially became the core alliance, owing to the fact that they all trusted one another despite it being so early on in the game.
As for Lagi, they truly were riding a high. Despite the fact Star was often missing from camp for hours at a time, all by herself in the hopes of securing an advantage, the others were bonding. In fact, the three guys deemed themselves the California Girls, owing to all of them hailing from The Golden State. Thomas became chummy with Bianca, and Eva and Joe built a true bond. The fact Eva trusted Joe enough to share that she has autism also brought them closer together, following which the latter decided he would truly have her back every step of the way. They didn’t have a core four, but they honestly didn’t seem to mind it.
Following Lagi’s Domination, The First Contestant Was Eliminated
After a day of getting to know one another, Day 3 brought on the Immunity Challenge for the tribes, wherein they had to go under a net tunnel, smash a mask to release keys, secure a sled, and then head to a massive ramp. Upon climbing it, the tribes were then required to use the pieces inside the sled to assemble a Survivor logo puzzle, with the first two teams being granted immunity alongside varying additional supplies. The team that fails would lose their flint until the next challenge and head to the tribal council. As expected, Lagi dominated the challenge, but Civa was not far behind them.
In other words, Vula lost the challenge, and despite Stephanie taking responsibility for her since she had volunteered to do this part of the challenge, things were tense at their camp. While Stephanie and Mary wanted Sai to be the one to go owing to the way she was being so strategic, the latter wanted Stephanie to be eliminated owing to the fact she thought of her as the weak link. Kevin and Justin were actually in the middle of it all, as the former girls considered them to be a part of their alliance, too, but to no avail.
During the Tribal Council, Sai and Stephanie really did clash as neither held back what they thought of one another or their different approaches towards the game, leading to some tense moments before the voting. In the end, instead of voting, Stephanie played her Shot in the Dark card in the hopes of being saved from elimination, but it read “Not Safe,” so all votes against her would have been counted. It turns out the rest of her team, apart from possibly Mary, realized that Sai was a powerful player, so they stuck with her alliance. In other words, with three votes against her, she became the first individual to be eliminated from ‘Survivor 48.’
Read More: Select Survivor 47 Cast: Where Are the Contestants Now?
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