Survivor Season 41 Episode 1 Review: A New Era
Mary Littlejohn
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We made it, Survivor fans. The latest season is finally upon us.
Survivor Season 41 Episode 1 premieres with the promise of dangerous challenges and extreme deprivation, but it's really a celebration of returning to something you love.
Come on in!
For me, Survivor's return feels like coming home.
It's been a while. I've missed you.
Jeff
If you've been a fan for a while, you know what I'm talking about. Heather, a member of the blue Luvu tribe, really zeroed in on it -- the show's been on for twenty years now, so it's basically a tradition for some people. Heather started watching it with her boyfriend, now they're married and watch it together. I remember getting my mom to tape it on VHS.
It's one of the first reality shows that really took off in a big way. It's a great escape because it's so easy to identify with these players, imagining what we'd do in their position or what we'd do with a million dollars.
It used to be THE water-cooler show. Now, people are more prone to say, "Is that show still on?" Well, we can happily say, "Yes, it's been on for 20 years, and it's still going strong!"
Talk of COVID looms large among these castaways.
All of them are so thrilled to be here, living out their dreams. So many people have lost so much during the pandemic, you can just feel the gratitude and lust for life bursting from the screen.
This cast is so engaging and enthusiastic. They are 100% superfans. They don't care that it's harder than it's ever been. They don't care that it will be a shorter, more condensed time span. They're all just happy to be playing.
At this moment, I'm the happiest human being on the earth.
Naseer
This might be the friendliest Survivor cast we've ever seen.
I get the sense that it's a real novelty for them all to be in close quarters with strangers. They have formed close relationships very quickly -- it will be interesting to see what happens when those bonds need to be severed.
It's apparent the producers made a real effort to make the casting inclusive, which is great. An audience of millions watches this show -- more representation and diversity is never a bad thing (unless you're making a racially divisive theme -- looking at you, Season 13).
This episode also did a great job of spreading the love -- probably because it was 2 hours! It seems like just about everyone got a confessional or got to chat to Jeff about something.
Often, the trickiest part of the premiere is keeping track of everyone and who's on what tribe -- but by the end, we have a fairly good sense of who most of these people are.
Getting into the game, I'm going to be an animal that's let out of its cage.
Erika
The flashback shots were an interesting addition. Not uncommon in other reality shows, this is the first time we've seen them on Survivor. They were minimally done so as not to be intrusive but were still useful in showing us personalities and the pre-island human side of some of these castaways.
There are more than few standouts here amongst the castaways. Those that made the biggest impressions, who I suspect will emerge with lasting impact on this season are:
Ricard, Naseer, JD, Shantel, Xander, Evvie, Liana, and Voce.
Ricard came to play. He doesn't trust anyone. He's also incredibly confident -- speaking up about "Come on in, guys!" could have singled him out, but he only got one vote (from Genie, who was unfortunately out of the loop, but at least not in danger).
Ricard's issue might be that if he tries to take control too early, he could outs himself as a power player before he has the means to protect himself.
Naseer is such a character, but he's playing too hard. He tries to put the target on Danny and Deshawn, which unfortunately backfires on him. However, Luvu doesn't go to tribal council this week, so he's safe for now.
I don't think Naseer will make it to the end, but I suspect when he goes, it will be with fireworks.
JD is another character that wants to leap off the screen. It seemed like he was getting set up to be the first boot, but he survived! He's the type of player that's great TV but may not be as much fun to share a camp with. His personality comes across as a little over-confident but charismatic.
I grew up more like Carlton Banks than grew up like Will Smith.
JD
He's got at least three more days -- and an extra vote! If he sticks with Shan, they could go far together.
Shan(tel) is so engaging and clever, she could conceivably take this whole thing. She's an excellent schemer who projects kindness and sincerity.
I am the Mafia pastor, okay? I am half-Italian, half-Jamaican. That means I'm cutthroat, okay? I will pray for you and walk you out the door.
Shan
Look how well she got herself into the prime position of the swing vote, getting JD to defer to her. Not only that, but she chose to cut Sara over Brad. She's thinking several steps ahead.
Others might have voted for Brad out of spite (like, come ON, Brad, you do not just tell someone to their face they should be voted out), but voting Sara out will keep the tribe stronger and keep Shan in good with those who remain.
Also -- her evil soundtrack! That's a Survivor first! A castaway with a musical theme she herself came up with it? And that production actually worked an instrumental of it into the score of the episode? Amazing! Does Shan get a composer credit now?
I hope to hear this theme many more times throughout the season.
Xander is young, good-looking, and earnest. It's hard to say yet whether he'll be able to keep up with all the twists and turns or if he'll be easily manipulated. I can see him teaming up with the "Summit Three" -- himself, Danny, and JD -- if they all make it to the merge.
Liana, Voce, and Evvie have proven to be great narrators and social players who know how to navigate relationships. They will no doubt figure more prominently as the season progresses.
One subtle difference that was noticeable tonight was that the cameras are not trying to hide the crew as much. In the past, the production crew had only appeared during significant emergencies.
Rather than amplifying the show's artifice, these shots actually made it feel more real, like a documentary instead of a slickly produced show.
So, let's talk about these new twists and advantages.
The "Summit Meeting" gives off major Exile Island vibes, so I hope it continues throughout the season. It might need to be some sort of new "dilemma" every time since the three players were surprisingly open about what they found when they returned to their respective tribes.
It felt pretty convoluted, honestly, based on the several different ways it could go, but it seemed like it worked out for everyone. Xander and JD each have an extra vote. Danny doesn't, but he didn't lose anything either.
The Savvy or Sweat Challenge feels like one of those things that will get done every episode but not serve much purpose, except to keep a few castaways segregated from the rest of the tribe for a certain amount of time.
At least we get two challenges per episode again -- if you consider this the "reward" challenge.
The shot-in-the-dark is obviously the biggest new dynamic, most likely to cause chaos. The strategy will now have to include convincing people they are safe so they don't risk using it and wasting it.
With a 16.7% chance of success, it will be interesting to see how many people play it and how many it actually helps. It could undoubtedly be useful as a backup for someone if they have an immunity idol that they want to use on someone else or save for later.
There's also the "beware advantage" that Jeff has hidden at each camp. Unfortunately, Tiffany didn't find it, so we'll have to just wait and see about that one!
With all these new advantages, it's impossible for the castaways to be prepared for everything, and they'll just have to think on their feet!
Another new brutal twist is that two tribes had to go to tribal council this episode. If this is the case for the entire season, at least until the merge, the condensed time period seems much more manageable.
Yase blindsided Abraham at tribal council, but nobody else seemed surprised. If Tiffany actually was worried, she held it together well.
We don't just exist, we exist in harmony.
Tiffany
The Ua tribal was much more intense, with live whispering, minds changing, and decisions being made on the fly. This is Day 3! How much crazier can it get?
These castaways are genuinely invested in each other as people and have quickly bonded in a way that will make this game either more heart-wrenching or more civilized -- or perhaps a bit of both.
The first episode of a new season of Survivor is always so exciting, sometimes more so for the promise of what's to come. There are many pieces in play right now it's hard to know when and how they'll make their impact on the season.
At Season 41, it's understandable that production has to create more variables to keep the game from getting played out in a predictable fashion.
It's a new game, but it's still the Survivor we know and love.
Do you think Ua and Yase made the right choices in voting out Sara and Abraham? Who is your winner pick? Do you love or hate the new twists and advantages? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Mary Littlejohn Mary Littlejohn was a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic.
