Jeff Probst welcomes the audience back to Survivor, telling us it will be fast-paced, with new advantages (the "beware advantage"), small tribes, no food, penalties for losing, and a game-within-the-game for the audience to play along at home.

We hear from many of the castaways about how excited they are to play Survivor, especially after COVID.

Jeff greets the three tribes as they board the barge. He asks Abraham and Erika to describe their excitement and they respond with enthusiasm. Naseer talks about how he learned English from watching Survivor. Heather explains how Survivor is a tradition in her family. 

Jeff checks in if everyone is okay with the phrase "Come on in, guys!" -- Evvie says she's fine with it as a queer woman, and everyone agrees it's all good.

The three tribes are Luvu (blue), Yase (yellow), and Ua (green). All tribes will only get one pot, one machete, one flint, and no food. 

The first tribe to find six paddles in their tribe color, get onto the raft, and get the key, wins the supplies right away. There will be penalties for the losers. Luvu gets to their boat first. Yase can't find their final paddle. Luvu paddles, but Ua overtakes them. Ua wins the first challenge, winning supplies for their tribe. Liana finds the final yellow paddle after Ua wins. 

On Ua beach, Sara talks about how her grandma died from COVID, and how she used to watch Survivor with her, so she's here for her. Brad, a cattle rancher, gets to work on the shelter -- his dad died of cancer a week before Brad left for Survivor.

JD successfully makes fire, talking about how much he practiced over the last year.

At Yase beach, they are given two options -- the Savvy challenge, or the Sweat challenge. There is a penalty for failure -- they will not receive their supplies until after the first immunity challenge. They choose the Sweat challenge -- two members of the tribe must fill two barrels with ocean water in a limited amount of time. Voce says he'll do the challenge with Xander, but regrets it immediately.

At Luvu, Danny and Deshawn do the Sweat challenge. 

At Ua, Shan(tel) and Genie talk. Genie talks about how she's been married to her wife for 20 years, and her traditional family was surprisingly supportive. Ricard talks about how he met his husband and how his daughter is 22 months old. He feels bad for leaving his husband but knows he can provide for his family if he wins.

At Luvu, while doing the challenge, Danny and Deshawn look for the idol. Naseef is on to them. He comes back to camp and tells the others that Danny and Deshawn are looking for idols. Erika grows suspicious of them.

At Yase, Liana and Evvie bond. Evvie informs the audience that she has been studying evolutionary biology. She tells Abraham her plan is to forge genuine relationships. Abraham's plan is to keep the tribe strong. He mentions how Tiffany didn't help in the challenge. 

Tiffany talks about how her mother died of ovarian cancer. Tiffany then had a preemptive double mastectomy before she could get cancer. They called her a pre-vivor, now she's going to be a Survivor.

At Ua, JD has little conversations with everyone in his tribe. Ricard thinks JD is untrustworthy because he's playing so hard. Shan, Sara, and Ricard agree that JD would be an easy first boot. Shantel plots evil, complete with a soundtrack.

Xander and Voce get the challenge done. Danny and Deshawn get the challenge done. Yesa and Luvu both receive their supplies.

At Luvu, Danny and Deshawn find out that Naseer was plotting to vote them off, so naturally, they want to vote him off. Sydney shares her love of traveling and challenges -- she catches and kills a crab.

At each beach, a boat arrives with a message. One person must get on the boat to make a journey and decision, then return. At Luvu, no one else wants to, so Danny goes. At Yase, Xander is dubbed the most trustworthy, so he goes. At Ua, they draw rocks to decide -- JD draws the white rock, so he goes.

The three boats arrive at a beach, bringing JD, Danny, and Xander. A sign tells them they must follow a path to the summit and get to know each other. They talk about sports as they trek up the mountain. 

JD talks about how he used to be short and skinny and he got bullied a lot. Survivor gave him people to look up to, and it made him who he is today. 

At the summit, they are told they must separate and make a private decision before returning to camp. The decision is to "protect your vote" or "risk your vote." In a Prisoner's Dilemma, they'll each either lose a vote or gain a vote, depending on the other two's decisions. Danny chooses "protect your vote" but we don't see Xander or JD's decision. 

Back at Luvu, Danny shares all the details of the excursion, and tells them he protected his vote.

At Yase, Xander tells his tribe that he risked his vote. 

At Ua, JD recounts the adventure, with every detail, and tells them he protected his vote. Ricard doesn't believe any of it and wants to get rid of JD.

At the first challenge, Jeff checks in. Ricard brings up his feelings about "guys" and says he doesn't agree with it. Jeff agrees with Ricard, and it officially becomes "Come on in!"

Jeff explains about the "shot-in-the-dark" dice. A tribe member can choose not to vote, but instead draw a one-in-six chance at safety. It is done in secret at the voting booth. Everyone gets one die.

Jeff lays out the challenge -- they will race over and under obstacles, move sandbags to clear a track, load a sled with puzzle pieces, hoist the pieces to the top of a tower, and complete the puzzle. Only the first tribe gets immunity. Both losing tribes will have to vote someone out, and also lose their flint, which they must win back at the next immunity challenge.

It's a tight challenge at first, with Yase having a slight edge. Luvu has a big setback when a sandbag falls off the mat. Ua is first to the puzzle station. Evvie and Liana do the puzzle for Yase. Shan and Sara do it for Ua. Erika and Deshawn do it for Luvu. Ua is leading, with Luvu on their tail. Luvu overtakes. Sara (Ua) discovers they hadn't emptied one of their bags. Luvu wins, sending Ua and Yase to Tribal Council. 

At Yase beach, Evvie is upset she couldn't do the puzzle. Liana and Tiffany want to take out Abraham. Abraham wants to take out Tiffany and shares this with Voce, Xander, and Evvie. Evvie chats with Voce, Liana, and Xander, trying to get Abraham out. Tiffany tries to trust her gut, but she's nervous her name is being thrown out there. Tiffany goes idol hunting but comes up short.

At Ua, Sara is upset she failed at the puzzle and thinks she'll be voted out. Ricard and Sara talk about voting out JD. Ricard talks to Genie and gets her on board voting out JD. Brad doesn't want to vote out JD. He says Sara and Shant messed up, to their faces, and they should be considered options. Brad, Shan, and JD talk about voting out Sara. Shan finds herself in the middle, with the potential to turn this game in her favor. 

Yase arrives at tribal council. Tiffany states that Yase is a cohesive tribe. Abraham says that strength is the most important thing in the game. Tiffany remarks that she's open and that Abraham is very closed-off. Abraham says his best qualities are strength and stamina. Jeff asks Voce about the shot-in-the-dark -- Voce says it's not as scary as it sounds. Jeff asks Xander how the vote will change the tribe -- Xander says they will be stronger. Evvie agrees that they will leave stronger. 

Yase votes. Xander gets an extra vote from the earlier challenge, which he saves for later. Abraham is voted out in a blindside.

Ua arrives at tribal council. Shan talks about camaraderie. The tribe talks about how much of a family they are. JD recounts how he went off on the boat. Sara remarks that one has to remain skeptical of people going off and returning. Sara recounts the challenge, and how she regrets the mistake with the puzzle bag.

While JD talks, Shan, Sara, and Ricard quietly discuss who they are voting for. Sara points out that her name was thrown out multiple times. Shant wants to vote out Brad. Ricard whispers to JD to vote for Brad. JD whispers to Shan that voting for Brad is a bad idea. Sara tries to get in on it but then gives them space. JD says he will vote with Shan. Shan whispers inaudibly to him. 

They all put their dice in their pockets. Ua votes. JD gets an extra vote from the earlier challenge, which he does not use at this point. Sara is voted out.