Each week, Christine Pallon and Gia Worthy will round up the previous week of Survivor 46 as they list their top moments in various important categories. This includes the most essential information, the stand-out castaways, and the key moments from the week.
Here, Christine and Gia break down all the action from the season premiere.
Become a Patron
Get exclusive content and features by supporting Inside Survivor on Patreon.
Top 3 Moments
No Savvy, No Sweat
Gia: Savvy and Sweat were both back in the premiere, and things were more or less the same. This time, the tribe that came in second at the reward challenge got to choose whether to compete in Savvy or Sweat, leaving the losing tribe with whatever’s left. Siga chose Savvy, but Ben and Charlie were unable to solve the puzzle that would give them their starting supplies. Meanwhile, Jelinsky quit less than halfway into their 4-hour excursion, leaving behind a broken hourglass and a frustrated Q.
All in all, the segments were entertaining because the cast itself is entertaining. That being said, the time that was spent on this repetitive challenge could’ve been used for us to get to know the tribe dynamics as a whole, something I personally would’ve preferred. Hopefully 47 will bring a Savvy and Sweat-less premiere (the 2-hour run time can stay though).
Advantage Journey
Gia: The Advantage Journey is back with a new game to play! This time, Tevin, Maria, and Jelinsky were chosen to represent their respective tribes in the latest task. Each player drew a card with either a torch, a ballot, or a skull printed on it. Two players then had to convince the person with the torch card that they had the one with the ballot on it.
Maria drew the torch card and made it very clear that she would let her tribe know who screwed her over if the person with the skull lied to her. Jelinsky, who had the skull card, relented after this ultimatum was made. As a result, Tevin and Maria both earned extra votes, while Jelinsky earned the ire of his tribe after telling them the entire truth.
Tiffany Finds an Idol
Christine: On Yanu, Tiffany found the first idol of the season with her partner-in-crime, Kenzie. The “beware” feature of the idol is back, causing Tiffany to lose her vote until the idol was found. This season, she had to wait until her tribe lost immunity in order to proceed with her idol hunt. Luckily for her, Yanu lost immediately, and she was able to secure the idol (and her vote) after some searching and a bit of decoding. Kenzie being aware of her idol has no doubt brought the duo closer and given them a lot of power, but only if they can keep it concealed from the rest of the players in their tribe.
Tribe Breakdown
Nami
Gia: Nami was probably the tribe we saw the least of in the premiere, but that doesn’t mean they didn’t leave us any memorable moments. The budding alliance between Soda and Venus is one to watch out for, while Randen and Liz may need to do a little more work to assure their safety. But the real stars of Nami in the first episode were Tevin and Hunter, who formed the Andy Griffith alliance as one of the most unlikely duos in the show’s history. The premiere felt like a brief introduction to the inner workings of Nami, so hopefully, we will get a better idea of their standings next week.
Siga
Christine: Siga is the self-proclaimed “vibe” tribe this season, but they’re already gaming pretty hard. Jem and Moriah instantly connected and are looking to pull in Charlie and Maria for a majority. Now that Maria has an extra vote, though, the women could secure that majority even without Charlie’s help. We also got a hint of Maria and Tim connecting over being parents, which could potentially turn into a working relationship down the line.
Yanu
Christine: When we did the Bitter Jurors cast assessment this season, we pinned this tribe as both the most likely to lose challenges early on and the tribe most likely to be a bit of a trainwreck due to all the potential “characters” on it. Turns out we were right on both accounts! Kenzie and Tiffany clearly have a lot of power with their idol and social positioning. But Q ended up being the bigger deciding factor in how this vote went when he convinced his tribemates to shift the vote off Jess and onto Jelinsky. It’s hard to imagine Jess recovering after this week, so she’s likely to be the next out if Yanu goes again.
Top 3 Contestants
Tevin
Christine: How could we not include our intro narrator? Tevin is one of the standout characters of the episode between his monologue, his participation in the journey card game, and his immediate success socially on his tribe, particularly his Andy Griffith alliance with Hunter. Tevin is clearly a force to be reckoned with this season, and the editors are making sure we know it early and often.
Maria
Gia: Maria is included because she was at the center of Siga’s power structure throughout the premiere. As if that wasn’t enough, she proved she is a force to be reckoned with during the Advantage Journey. Survivor has had many iconic mothers in its extensive history, but Maria is determined to break the stereotypes that come with playing the game in such a role. I, for one, can’t wait to see what her next big move will be.
Q
Gia: With the number of big personalities we got to know in the pre-season, Q fell under the radar for many. However, he proved us all wrong and shined in the premiere episode. While things started off on a bad note with failing the Sweat Challenge, he was still able to acclimate well on Yanu. He was even able to secure himself a spot in the majority alliance. When the first vote of the season came down to Jess vs. Jelinsky, Q was the one who put his foot down about keeping Jess. He ended up winning out over Kenzie, and it’ll be interesting to see what the fallout from the night will be for all sides.
Fallen Comrades
Jelinsky
Christine: Oh, Jelinsky…what is there to say? He had about as bad of a run as you can have on Survivor. Quitting truly was his biggest problem out there. If you’re going to volunteer to do a challenge, don’t quit it. If you’re going to lie during the card challenge, stick with the lie. If you’re going to defend yourself at tribal, don’t concede a few seconds later. He seems like a genuinely nice guy, but he simply wasn’t cut out for the kind of high-stakes decision-making Survivor requires.
Gia: Jelinsky was certainly one of the more memorable first boots we have seen in a while. I know he did a lot wrong during his time on the show, but he was all the more entertaining for it. He brought some humor to the repetitiveness of the Advantage Journey and Savvy vs. Sweat, and that alone is reason enough to give him his flowers. Yes, his run in the game was short, but it was a fun ride while it was happening.
Written by