CLICK HERE if you are having trouble viewing these photos on a mobile device
OK, so we’re back with the 38th season of “Survivor.” Who knew it would last? We didn’t, but we’re happy to be wrong.
Tonight’s episode offers a chance to meet the cast and size up the future victims of snuff torching.
Reem from Manu tribe sets herself up to be the first voted off when she can’t keep her hands to herself, but not in a #MeToo way. Instead, she’s moving people’s clothes around, taking them off the trees where they’d been hung and laying them out on the beach, reorganizing their shoes, and reminding them to drink water. In other words, your mom is playing “Survivor” and most of her tribe is not happy about it.
On Kama tribe, returning god Joe is trying to put “Joey Amazing” to rest, but he just can’t help being amazing, showing his tribe how to build the shelter, start a fire and rock the jaunty pirate look.
He and Eric, our Livermore firefighter, seem cut from the same cloth. Eric, however, doesn’t want Joe and the tribe’s other returning player, Aubrey, doing everything. He wants to figure it out for himself, so his plan is to get rid of Aubrey and keep Joe around as a shield to hide behind for a while.
Fortunately, Eric doesn’t have to make any moves against Aubrey just yet, because he, Joe and Aubrey win a very challenging Immunity Challenge practically by themselves and Kama takes the first Immunity Idol.
At Tribal Council, Reem can’t hide her anger that she’s being considered for torch snuffing. She’s voted out and sent down the path, mumbling bitterly to herself, when she comes upon a dramatic scene.
There are two signs. One says — rather ominously, we thought — that if she didn’t want to play the game anymore, she could take the path on the right and her adventure would end. But if she wanted to continue, she was instructed to pick up the torch and get on the boat. Heck yeah, she’s going to play on.
The nighttime boat trip ends on a desolate beach — cue the spooky music and rain — where she wanders around looking for something. Anything. And that’s how the first episode ends. Next week, the returning players all seem to be targets, and a miserable Reem learns what Extinction Island is all about.
Here are some of the highlights:
- Two players made rather odd clothing choices, considering they were being dropped on a tropical island for possibly 39 days. News Anchor Rick and Educator Ron wore dress shirts and ties. And pants, of course.
- In the category of unexpected personal reveals, we learn that Wendy has Tourette syndrome, but not the kind that makes her curse and swear. Instead she makes odd noises, squeaks and bird trills, and sometimes strange hand gestures. Also, Gavin likes to eat fried pickles.
- There is always at least one person who is head and shoulders below the norm and lacks any survival skills. This season we have two, Toymaker Julie and Pre-med Keith, who appears to have only recently learned how to swim.
- The first “dang, that hurt” injury goes to returning player Kelley, who slipped off a three-tier balance beam in the Immunity Challenge and whacked her head.
- The episode’s newest twist was found by tie-wearing Educator Ron, who has been awarded not just a secret advantage but a Secret Advantage Menu (patent pending). If his tribe loses a challenge, he can steal the reward for his tribe, he can steal a vote from one of his own tribe at Tribal Council, or he can use it as a hidden immunity idol, but it’s only good through three Tribal Councils.
