The premiere of Survivor 46 presented many different eye-opening challenges and player personalities. It highlighted how players responded to pressure, how fatigue makes it difficult to communicate, and that confidence does not always equate to positive outcomes. So, that’s pretty on par with what to expect with our favorite reality TV show. However, Survivor 46 episode 1 also delivered a few surprising admissions along the way – even if they’re head-scratchers.
It’s safe to say the opening sequence of Survivor was a little different from past seasons. There was rain and gray clouds – when is the last time that happened? Maybe it’s more recent than I remember, but the castaways shined in their initial efforts. In an opening challenge where players had to crawl through a muddy net, dig under the sand, and then carry HEAVY puzzle blocks, it’s pretty clear these players came to play. This was especially clear (and great to see) when Hunter rushed back to help Venus with her massive block.
He wasn’t alone though. Several players helped each other with these enormous puzzle pieces, while others like Tiffany and Maria were able to carry these massive pieces on their own; I call that rock star status. These building blocks have never looked light, or easy to carry in former seasons, so it’s incredible to see this kind of strength and teamwork early in the Survivor 46 season.
How Do the Tribes Look Early On?
There are three tribes; Nami (orange), Siga (green), and Yanu (purple). Of these tribes, Nami seems like the most dominant. They won the opening challenge where they won a pot, machete, and flint. Siga finished in second, which meant they could choose the type of challenge (sweat or savvy) to earn supplies, but neither they nor the Yanu tribe succeeded.
On top of that, Nami was also the first team to win the immunity challenge. Their team of Hunter, Tevin, Soda, Venus, Randen, and Liz seems like a force to reckon with early on. Siga is next, earning a solid second place in the immunity challenge with Maria, Jem, Moriah, Charlie, Tim, and Ben having enough cohesiveness to avoid tribal council. This challenge was not easy as they had to navigate carrying “500 pounds of Survivor gecko” through an obstacle course, but one group clearly fell behind.
Yanu seemed destined to earn the first bid to tribal council with Tiffany, Kenzie, Bhanu, Q, Jess, and Jelinsky unable to make things work in any of the challenges. On top of that, it did seem like two players were highlighted as the “weaker” links of the tribe. Although, I wouldn’t categorize them both as weaker links based off what was shown.
Is there an Easy Decision in Survivor 46 episode 1?
Yanu did highlight some unity within the group. Tiffany and Kenzie seem like tag team partners; Tiffany found a “beware advantage,” but seemed to make quick work of deciphering the hidden message to find a key that led to unlocking a box with a hidden immunity idol within. That seems like a lot to unpack within a premiere episode of a Survivor season, but Tiffany handled that business with ease, while Kenzie seemingly had her back the whole way.
On the flip side of things, Jelinsky offered to help with the sweat challenge to earn their supplies and quit after an hour or two. He also went on a Survivor journey (that he volunteered for) where he made a choice to ultimately give up his ability to vote at tribal council so other players could gain an extra vote. In the same episode, Jelinsky mentions in confessional of his “legendary status” based off the moves he’s made. If it wasn’t clear, the Survivor 46 premiere seemed to highlight Jelinsky’s confidence, and the only question left after it was clear his tribe was going to the first tribal council was, would he make it to see another day on the islands of Fiji?
If it hasn’t been made clear yet, there are a lot of fun castaways to watch this season. It looks like it’s going to be an incredibly engaging season with solid gameplay and competitive challenges, but the first episode of Survivor 46 seemed to highlight two players as the potential “first boot:” Jelinsky and Jess.
Was the First Vote Even Close?
The reasons behind mentioning Jess in the first episode seemed to revolve around her inability to form bonds and communicate. What’s distressing about that fact is how she hadn’t been able to sleep at all before tribal council. I can’t imagine not getting any sleep for days, but that’s what it appears Jess had been struggling with up until that first vote out.
Lack of sleep clearly hindered her ability to communicate at tribal council, while she admitted to her recent ADHD diagnosis where she described not being able to keep track of things like her water bottle. That seems like a major problem when you’re on a reality TV show where water and very little food are the only sources of energy.
Fortunately for Jess, Jelinsky could not keep his threat (or reliability) level low enough for his teammates to keep him around. After deciding to quit, he literally threw and broke the hourglass timer during their challenge to earn supplies. Then, he chose to not lie during the journey with other tribe members, which lost his vote for tribal council. On top of that, he seemed unwilling to highlight his own failings at tribal council, which Jeff Probst seemed to highlight for him.
The 2-hour opener of Survivor 46 seemed to come and go pretty quickly, but the focus of this particular episode seemed to highlight Jelinsky’s exit from the show (with all of the votes). I’m not sure if that was the show’s intention, but his behavior in the opening episode made it quite understandable for the others to vote him out.
What did you think of the Survivor 46 premiere episode? Are you ready to see if Yanu can turn it around or do you hope to see their tribe decimated even more?
There is another 2-hour episode next week, so I can’t wait to see what happens next! Oh, I didn’t even make a winner pick this year. Even though I have the benefit of seeing an episode, I’ll go with Maria. She seems like she’s in a good spot early. I also like Tiffany, but I wonder if sharing information about the advantage that led to her idol will come back to hurt her.
Okay, I’m ready for episode 2!