The games have begun for the latest season of Survivor. After thirty five seasons (yep, you read that right), CBS dusted off an old chestnut and gave it a new spin for this season’s twist. Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers brought together three tribes of six and divided them according to the occupational perceptions people have of them. Whether they’re doing good in the community, changing someone’s life or doing whatever it takes to be successful…this could lead them to a million dollars. I wish I were so lucky.
I’m not the biggest fan of this Survivor theme. We’ve seen more original and fun concepts executed in the past, like Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X or Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains. This time, on the other hand, it’s almost like they’re trying to shoehorn in a concept to do something different. Let’s face it, we’ve seen this before. Anyone remember Survivor: Beauty vs. Brain vs. Brawn? It’s exactly the same concept, but tweaked to be more about jobs than personality. I’ll hold my final judgment as the season progresses; there’s only been one episode, so anything could happen. However, these titles don’t seem like it could determine someone’s ability to play Survivor or how successful they could be.
Marooning is a tried and true staple of the game. It’s a miracle (and a luxury) if a castaway gets to enter the game by a boat or a van or a calm manner. Being forced into the water and told to grab as many items as possible to survive kicks in the adrenaline – it shows who can the play the game in intense moments. Unfortunately, these castaways did not have a strategy at all.
Was anyone else shocked at how much food was thrown into the water? It wasn’t a sparse few. Boxes upon boxes were thrown overboard and mostly everyone left a bunch of supplies floating in the water when they rowed away. Ryan was lucky to find the secret advantage, but I have to give him credit for being perceptive enough to find it. After all the throwing and jumping overboard, how did no one else see it? That moment must’ve been intense for everyone.
Jeff is getting pretty sassy and sarcastic with his dialogue. During the marooning and the first challenge, he was throwing epic shade at all of the castaways. My favorite of the night might be when he called out the Hustlers tribe for “not knowing what game they’re playing” after losing the marooning challenge. I love a good quip, but as I’ve cautioned in the past, he needs to be careful to not alter the game and give castaways ideas when heading to/at Tribal Council. People listen to him and his words can change a mind.
Idol paranoia was huge during the Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers premiere. I couldn’t believe how quick it struck! Joe became such a bully going after Mike. You have to take someone’s word, even if you’re suspicious of them. It looks bad on Joe and it ruined any potential alliance he could have with Mike. In the case of Alan…that was bad from start to finish. His paranoia took control and he should not have gone after JP and Ashley. I think this was more based on him seeing a power/romantic couple starting in his tribe, and by calling them out, it put the target on them. However, it created doubt in their alliance. I sense trouble is going to happen soon within the Heroes alliance.
The immunity challenge seemed simple enough. Though, why didn’t everyone go for the straight line maze first? With good balancing, it was clearly the easiest maze to get the balls down the line. The fact that the most complex maze was the first one chosen was so shocking. My favorite part of the challenge may have been when the castaways carted down the tracks into a pile of hay. We haven’t seen that in a while and it offered a new layer to the challenge, even if it was a quick moment.
The Heroes tribe was being petty by calling Chrissy and Katrina the “mom alliance.” There was no alliance to begin with – they were forced together since the other four had banded together early on. Survivor has shown older and mature players have a great chance to win, especially since the majority of winners are older. Katrina getting voted out, on the other hand, was the right move to make. It’s a safe option, it didn’t make waves, and since it’s still early on in the season, they need to play challenges as a team and rely on physicality. Katrina was a nice person, but she was one of the weakest within the tribe.
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I’m a little on the fence about Chrissy not using the “super idol” to save Katrina. Sure, it would’ve been shocking to watch the vote come in and Ashley be forced out of the game. However, this is still an early vote and who knows how the tribes will go from here. Chrissy should absolutely use the idol (which no longer has power) to mess with the other players and fake them out. Think about it! Someone plays the fake idol or they split the vote thinking she’ll use it…that would be fun to watch.
The season premiere of Survivor: Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers was a nice and mellow episode. Nothing dramatic really happened except for Alan forcing JP to strip to prove he didn’t have an idol, or Joe accusing Mike of lying. The castaways were marooned, a tribe lost, and the weakest person got voted out in a unanimous vote. Beyond that, this was a fairly “by-the-book” Survivor premiere.
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