Yay! It’s time for a new season of Survivor!
So, here’s the one thing that is almost always true about every episode of Survivor. It’s difficult to really predict anything based on the first two or three episodes. It takes a while to get to know who everyone in the tribe is. There’s always a lot of dead weight that gets cut in the days leading up to the merge and, occasionally, a potential power player will get cut as well. That’s why it always amuses me when Survivors make alliances during their first day on the island. Survivor is a game that changes quickly. It’s not a game where you can make a random alliance and then ride it all the way to the end.
Of course, every season of Survivor has a theme. This season’s theme is David vs. Goliath, which looks like it’s going to just be a replay of the old Brains vs Brawn or Blue Collar vs White Collar themes. The idea is that the David tribe has had to struggle for everything that they have in life while the Goliath Tribe apparently hasn’t. I don’t know. That seems really vague to me. I know that the whole point is that David may have been smaller than Goliath but, as Nick pointed out last night, David eventually became king of Israel. Of course, David was miserable for most of his reign, as his family and friends all proceeded to scheme against him and kill each other. But anyway….
(Plus, what if the Goliath Tribe just totally destroys the David Tribe? That’s not going to be a very good message!)
Since it’s only the first episode, we really don’t know much about the majority of this season’s survivors. Here’s a few of my first impressions.
David Tribe
Pat — Pat was Mr. Blue Collar construction guy. He got on everyone’s nerves while they were making the shelter but he won them over by giving them protection from the rain. It seemed like Pat could really be a leader on the tribe but, as we’ll discuss shortly, that’s not going to happen.
Carl — Carl’s a truck driver from Houston. I liked Carl. If I had to transport something, I’d hire him. He seems to have a good, no-nonsense attitude.
Christian — Christian was rather rudely referred to as being “Big Bang Theory” by the members of the Goliath Tribe. I get the feeling that Christian’s going to be around for a while and we’re all either going to hate him or love him. During last night’s episode, he formed a “nerd alliance” with Gabby.
Bi — Bi seems like she could be a strong player. She didn’t get to do much last night but she’s an MMA fighter so, in theory, she should be enough of a physical asset to make it to the merge without getting voted out.
Elizabeth — Elizabeth’s from Texas and she wears a cowboy hat. She and Lyrsa formed an alliance that I’m predicting will fall apart next episode.
Gabby — Gabby wears glasses and talks a lot. She formed a “nerd alliance” with Christian.
Jessica — Jessica is 19, because Survivor is determined that a teenager will win eventually. She’s telling everyone that she’s 22.
Davie — I like Davie. He’s kinda goofy and seems like he’ll be fun. Of course, being goofy and fun usually works better on The Amazing Race than on Survivor.
Lyrsa — Lyrsa is from Puerto Rico and has purple hair. She formed an alliance with Elizabeth, based on the fact that they have nothing in common. That’s an interesting strategy.
Nick — Nick got a lot of screen time last night so I assume he’s going to be around for a while. I’m going back and forth on Nick. At first, he seemed like a strong player but then he was lazy at camp but then he told a sad story and his tribe felt badly for him. I get the feeling that show is setting Nick up to be a villain but it’s still too early to tell.
Goliath Tribe
Natalia — Natalia made no impression on me. Hopefully, she’ll be voted out soon because her name is way to similar to Natalie’s and that could get confusing.
Natalie — Natalie is the oldest member of the Goliath Tribe and doesn’t seem to be impressed by anyone else on the tribe. Everyone seems to be scared of her so she’ll probably be voted out soon.
Jeremy — Jeremy is an attorney from New York and …. well, that’s all I jotted down about him. Maybe he’ll make more of an impression next episode.
John — I kind of liked John. He’s a professional wrestler and he seemed to have a good sense of humor about himself. I’ll be interested to see what he does for the rest of the season.
Kara — Kara is this season’s flirtatious blonde.
Angelina — Angelina made no impression on me. I didn’t even write anything down about her in my notes. As I said, it’s the first episode and it takes a while for people to make an impression.
Alec — Alec is this season’s hot bartender.
Alison — So far, Alison appears to be the least likable member of the Goliath Tribe. Her smug story about growing up in a “middle to upper middle class” household was torture to sit through.
Dan — Dan is a SWAT team member and he seems like he could do well in the game. He’s personable and in good shape. Plus, he found an immunity idol! He and Kara appear to have a potential showmance going.
Mike — Poor Mike! I remember Mike from his two seasons of The Amazing Race. He never really seemed like a Survivor guy so I’m a little surprised to see him on this season. Unfortunately, Mike alienated his tribe by being too obvious about searching for an immunity idol. Plus, they all seem to think he’s rich because he’s a screenwriter. Speaking as someone who knows a few screenwriters, I have to say that’s hilarious.
As for the episode itself, it was a typical first episode. Shelters were made. There were frequent shots of ominous rain clouds. David won the first reward challenge but then Goliath won the challenge that matters, the immunity challenge. However, the David Tribe still didn’t have to go to tribal because Pat seriously injured his back during the return journey to camp and he was medically evacuated from the show!
(For the record, this is the first season in which the first episode did not end with a tribal council.)
Pat looked like he was in a lot of pain so I was glad to hear that he made a “full recovery” after being evacuated. Still, the David Tribe is going to miss him.
Anyway, I’m definitely excited about not only watching this new season of Survivor but also covering it here at the Reality TV Chat Blog!
To quote Kaycee from Big Brother, Let’s Go!
Lisa Marie
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