Hello Survivor Fans, I was just going to add this to the Live chat but then.... I had this blank page just sitting here waiting for something to happen. So here we are! The FIRST episode of Survivor 39, Island of the Idols. The first episode title was a Sandra Quote.... so I decided to change it to an Elaine quote instead. Because I thought it was the most memorable one of the episode. Earlier I posed a few questions to be answered after the premiere. After my short recap, I’ll give MY perception of the answers to these questions. You can all then tell me if you agree or disagree. First, I missed the marooning. And the scramble for supplies that always happens right at the start. I missed Jeff welcoming them all to Survivor. Shame they left all of the traditional opening moments out of the start of the show. I thought at first it was just for the sake of time but as it turns out… the cast did not get to enter the game of Survivor in the usual way. We did get Probst giving us an overview of the theme… and we DID get the traditional “20 people, 39 days, one Survivor” opening. But these twenty people were dropped off on the beach without the benefit of a Probst greeting. So here is what happened. We first visit the Lairo Tribe which consists of Missy, Dean, Ronnie, Karishma, Aaron, Vince, Chelsea, Tom, Elaine and Elizabeth First confessional comes from Karishma who is excited to be there but knows she has to calm down when they hit the beach. We also meet Chelsea who is lamenting over the missed marooning. And wondering what the heck Island of the Idols means. Sidenote: Fun Fact about Chelsea..... She's the one who is a super fan who has been trying to get on the show for a while. She spotted Probst from across the room in a restaurant, asked a waiter to find out what he was drinking, bought him a drink with a note to introduce herself then bolted. It took him a couple of seasons to actually cast her after that. We watch along as the Lairo tribe gets to know each other... building a shelter, etc. etc. A quick connection between Elizabeth and Missy seems promising. One an Olympic Swimmer, the other an Air Force Veteran at the age of 23. Both retired very young for different reasons and both very excited to play Survivor. We will meet the rest of Lairo later... Moving on to Volkai which consists of Tommy, Jack, Lauren, Molly, Jamal, Kelley, Noura, Janet, Jason, and Dan. Same confusion for Volkai to show up on a beach with no Jeff and a basket of purple buffs on the ground. No Jeff. No Marooning. And what the heck does "Island of the Idols" mean? One thing to note here is ... Janet. The older woman player that I had taken a personal liking to after hearing her interview. What I loved is she jumped right in there and got them a fire started, with NO flint, right away proving her value to the tribe. What a way to kick off your game, Janet! Moving back to Lairo, we continue getting to know them. Tom finds a bit of a connection with Elaine and Vince. However, the fact that the three of them took off alone leaving the other seven behind caused a stir and caused Ronnie to immediately want to target them all. Oh Ronnie... in hindsight, maybe you should have lightened up a little. Jumping back to Volkai, they are all proud of how well they are doing. But then Jason has to go off all by himself to Idol Hunt immediately making himself a target. It's Dan who calls the rest together to make Jason a target right off the bat. "Someone has to be a target and I'd rather it not be ME." is his justification. Sidenote: Which, of course we all knew would not mean anything 20 minutes into an episode. Too early to be telegraphing the first boot but Jason should watch himself. Jack and Tommy find a connection. Jack, a professed "fun guy" and Tommy the 4th Grade Teacher. This might be a partnership to watch. Naura overhears a few of them talking about Jason... "Jason's the target". So, of course she runs to Jason... "Dude, they think you have an idol. Why do they think that?" Jason wonders why? "We've been here like .. an hour." I guess Naura missed it when he went hunting around for one a few minutes ago. More drama from Volkai revolves around Dan being a bit too "touchy" causing some discomfort with Kellee in particular, a confessed germiphobe. This issue does seem to resolve itself quickly though. A quick jump back to Lairo finds the ladies trying to construct an all women's alliance. Too early, ladies. Too early. Enough of all this... lets jump to the first Immunity Challenge and our first look at Jeff Probst, who seems to be wanting a bit of a vacation this season. The Challenge is a difficult one involving much teamwork. Race up and down an obstacle, drop a bridge and climb to the top of a tower where they must solve a massive village puzzle. Let me just provide a couple of good pics... thanks CBS. It is Volkai who wins immunity in a bit of a blowout sending Lairo to Tribal Council, but there is more. The losing tribe must draw a name out of a bag and the name drawn will be the first one to head to the Island of the Idols. Now, they assume they will be alone... but we knew better. It is Olympic Swimmer Elizabeth who gets sent and she takes it well. But when she gets there, she finds out the secret. She is very excited to see Boston Rob and Sandra waiting for her there. This was no surprise to us.. but to HER it was big news. Her training has to do with the right way to build fire. Now, how awesome to have this bit of training so early in the game from two people who know how to do it right and have done it hundreds of times. When she is told of the choice that is hers to make: go up against Boston Rob in a head to head challenge. Win and get an idol that she must use within the next two tribal council. Lose and she loses her vote at TC that night. Elizabeth unwisely chose to risk it.. oh Elizabeth. Probably wasn't smart. But, it is a lesson learned for her. Just because it seems like a good thing to do, doesn't mean it is. Heading back to camp, she realizes that she must not tell the others the truth about what happened. So she makes up a .. bad lie. But they all seemed to buy it so I guess it wasn't THAT bad. No one questioned her. At camp, we have Ronnie the Poker Player trying his best to convince a majority to vote out Elaine. I mean... she's personable and fun. Very friendly. Very social. Who would vote against her at the end? Right? But, some didn't see it quite his way and, in fact, were quite put off by his way of speaking. As were most of us, I think. Elaine gets wind of this and is able to plead her case to both Ronnie and Aaron. Vince is the other candidate. He, too, is disappointed at being a first target. I mean.. who wouldn't be. At Tribal Council, with BR and Sandra hiding out of sight, Elaine explains that she is in trouble because she is Soooo likable. Seems so wrong. And Elaine pleads her case well. "It's Day 3. Why now? Why shoot me down now just because I'm good people?" Her plea about how devastating it would be for her to go out first considering how long she has dreamed of this moment was emotional. Ronnie is next and goes on and on and on about everything he's done... **the Debbie reference. Get it now, whoever it was who said that in the chat. Vince also pleads his case with a lot of emotion. Rob to Sandra. "Was this that hard for you?" Sandra. "Nope. I vote you out and that's it". Amused. Vote happens: And it comes down between Vince and Ronnie. In the end, it is Ronnie the Poker Player who gets the honor of being the first boot. I'm not unhappy about that. You? Now, MY picks in answer to my questions: 1. Standout Female Contestant for Episode 1. For me it's kind of a tie between Janet, who impressed everyone by making fire without flint very quickly and performing so well at the challenge. And Elaine, whose likable personality seems both a blessing and a curse for her. But her ability to plead her case well saved her from even getting a single vote. 2. Standout Male Contestant for Episode 1. I'm going to give this one to Jack just for being a fun guy who performed well in the challenge too. Honestly, did any of the guys really stand out right off the bat? 3. Player most likely to be universally hated. Well, my choice for that even before the show began was Ronnie and he proved me right. Now that he's gone... I'll say Jason. 4. Player most likely to be a Fan Favorite. Elaine, for sure. So what do you all think? Who impressed you this episode? I know... short recap? From ME? Impossible.
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