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.
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Top 3 Moments
Goodbye, Savvy or Sweat!
Gia: After six seasons of repetitive premieres, Survivor 47 has finally done away with Savvy or Sweat. In its place was a separate journey, where two players from the tribes that lost the first challenge would compete in a separate opportunity to earn supplies for their tribe. Aysha from Lavo and TK from Tuku were selected to face off in a scavenger hunt for four keys. TK was able to edge out a win and provide a little bit of comfort for his team, but Aysha still has a lot of fight in her moving forward.
Idol Hunts Go Wrong
Christine: This premiere also saw a new iteration of the Beware Advantage come into play. What started as a familiar idol hunt — find a clue, find a key, open a box — revealed a Russian doll dilemma where players had the chance to either accept an idol that would last only one Tribal Council or continue their hunt to get a more powerful one. This is a fun mechanic, and it led to some classic New Era idol-hunting madness.
On Tuku, Gabe went for an idol that was good for three tribals but blew his cover when TK walked up on him finding a key. He then nearly blew his cover again when his box tumbled down the rockface. And on Lavo, Rome aroused suspicion among his tribemates when his hunt sent him dangling into the camp’s well. Rome might as well just take the idol that expires after one tribal because he very well might need it right away.
Andy Breaks Down
Gia: Andy is a superfan who has finally gotten a chance of a lifetime to play Survivor. Unfortunately, his paranoia got the best of him in the premiere. He was already worried about being on the bottom of Gata, which only worsened into a full-on breakdown once they lost the immunity challenge. He spilled all his feelings about his tribe to his competitors, even going so far as to admit he was planning to throw Jon under the bus. Luckily, Andy was spared when other tribe members felt Jon was starting to overplay. With Andy being spared after such a public display, I’m excited to see how the other tribes react to this rather unexpected result.
Tribe Breakdown
Tuku
Gia: Tuku was probably the tribe we saw the least in this episode, but there was enough to get a basic understanding of their tribe dynamics. TK is in a solid position with the guys, which Caroline immediately called out. Sue seems to be one of the players everyone wants to work with, and she wants to work with Gabe, but Gabe made quite the spectacle of himself during his idol hunt. The edit left many questions about the direction this tribe is heading, so hopefully the next few episodes will deliver some answers.
Lavo
Christine: Despite not going to tribal council, Lavo still gave us a pretty clear picture of where their tribe dynamics stand after the first episode, and right now, all roads lead to Teeny. Teeny and Kishan connected, as did Teeny and Genevieve. Genevieve came to Teeny eager to lock down a fourth member, but Teeny encouraged her to wait for Aysha’s return in order to give the RHAP podcaster a chance to earn that spot over Sol and Rome. Given Rome’s antics with the advantage hunt and Aysha and Teeny’s immediate bond, our Lavo majority alliance seems to be Kisha, Genevieve, Teeny, and Aysha, with Sol on the outskirts of the group and Rome isolated and halfway down the tribe’s well.
Gata
Gia: Poor Gata has carried on the tradition of their yellow tribe predecessors in the new era by losing the first immunity challenge, which led to them voting out Jon in the season’s first tribal council. However, I think they have the potential to become one of the more entertaining groups of the season. Rachel and Anika are both strong-willed players committed to their personal success (and their success alone). Sam has a plan to become the glue of his alliance, and Andy is just trying to stay afloat. Yes, they lost a member in this episode, but they stood out as the tribe to watch moving forward.
Top 3 Players
Teeny
Christine: In the pre-season, Teeny really emphasized their social gameplay and likeability, and we’re already seeing how dangerous of a player that makes them. Teeny is already at the heart of the Lavo power structure, and it doesn’t appear that anyone is threatened by them, either. Their decision to try to include Aysha in the alliance was a refreshing rejection of the typical instinct to isolate the person separated from camp, with Teeny instead turning Aysha’s absence as a way to bond with her by filling her in on what she missed. I know it’s early in the season, and I don’t want to jinx things, but right now, Teeny is the player with the clearest path to a deep run in the game.
Sam
Christine: Gata’s resident “glue guy” had a stellar start to the season. Sam seems to have the right combination of physical strength, charisma, and strategic thinking to succeed in the game without coming across as overly threatening. When Jon brought him the prospect of an Anika blindside, he had the power to direct the vote and ultimately used this opportunity to take out Jon as a potentially dangerous strategic player. Sam is in a similar position as Teeny: well-liked, in the know, but not on anyone’s radar yet as a threat.
Rachel
Gia: With all of the mess that happened on Gata, it may be easy to forget what a strong presence Rachel brought to the premiere. She solidified herself immediately as one of the core members of her tribe. Her relationships with all of her tribemates were fascinating to watch, especially her ability to separate the personal from the strategic. I think it’s too soon to label her as an ice queen, but I’m incredibly excited to see what’s next for her game.
Fallen Comrades
Jon
Christine: Jon’s presence on the cast had a lot of people talking in the pre-season. Fans of his podcast were eager to tune in and see how he did, and those less familiar with his work were concerned he would take up a lot of screentime or distract from the show. Jon ended up being a perfectly fine Survivor character and an enjoyable narrator, and I would say that his fame didn’t detract from the premiere at all. While he struggled to fit in on his “younger” tribe, Jon’s one real error was pitching anything other than an Andy vote.
I think he was always going to be in a bit of trouble here regardless, but by attempting to present his tribemates with a viable alternative to Andy, he accidentally presented himself as that viable alternative by doing just a little too much. When you’re at the bottom of the tribe, it’s usually not a great idea to stick your neck out for someone who’s also at the bottom, and Jon learned that the hard way.
Gia: Jon’s podcast fame undoubtedly makes him one of the more famous contestants to play the game, but it didn’t protect him from being the first boot of 47. Jeff highlighted Jon pre-season as one of the greatest storytellers the game has ever seen, and I have to admit he had some high-quality confessionals throughout the premiere. I would’ve liked to have seen more of him during the season, but it just wasn’t meant to be.
Jon overplayed at the wrong moment, and while he wanted the chance to save both himself and Andy, his best bet was to throw Andy under the bus. So we say farewell to one of the most famous first boots in Survivor history, but the good news is you can listen to his podcast if you find yourself missing him.
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