Survivor 50, Episode 1, Part 1: Here We Go
We're back! And I'm so happy to be back. Another season, another bunch of episodes to obsess about. But this season is extra special, because it's Season 50 and it's full of Allstars. Big survivor names, big survivor players, each with their own story and style. Yes, maybe we don't all agree on who should have been picked, who is missing, why this person and not this person (etc.), but I think we can all agree this group of characters IS an exciting group and it's going to be so much fun to watch what they do. I'm feeling it. I'm ready.
So here we go:
It begins with a montage. In the beginning, there was Richard Hatch and Sue. Snakes and rats. Okay, here's another montage? It doesn't feel like one montage. It feels like two. How it began and then how it went (twenty-six years!). And let me tell you, it makes me giddy to see all these amazing and fun and wild and heartbreaking and badass and even ridiculous--yes ridiculous (hello Applebee's mushroom burger) moments from my favorite show. Actually, hmm, it's three montages. Because before we officially start the season, we also get a player montage of who is here (I see Stephenie. I see Charlie. I see Chrissy. I see Tiffany. I see Jonathan. I see Kyle.) and why they are here. Adventure! The barge arrives and they shuffle out onto the beautiful Fijian beach. It's starting.
And now they are all lined up and excited and ready and I AM SO HAPPY TO SEE ALL THEIR BEAUTIFUL FACES. And Jeff reminding us for what feels like the hundredth time that people named their babies and dogs after Colby. Jenna is sharing about--— and Mike White is glad he doesn't have to miss out on the party.
Quick side note: Jeff is telling the players that they turned the entire season over to the fans. And, yeah, I'm not so sure about that. We didn't choose the cast. We didn't choose how many players or what tribes they are on. We didn't decide what the challenges would be. Ozzy definitely didn't crowd source his Shambolicious hair. I remember choosing rice, some pretty colors, an adjective for advantages, and maybe fire making? Oh, the live finale, too (duh). Am I missing anything?
Anyway, isn't it just so delicious, so much fun, to be hanging out with all these different personalities, all these icons (Cirie! Mike White!) talking about what the game means to them and what their journeys have been and will be? The answer is yes. Yes, it is. You can't love Survivor and not love this.
And Coach here is telling us that they (the castaways) are all here because they don't want to live with the regret of not showing up and giving it another try. Coach believes himself to be very wise, and darn it, sometimes he is. Because I do believe that we (all of us modern humans) are very often motivated by fear of regret. I see it all the time in my clients. They tell me how afraid they are of making the wrong choice and sometime down the line having to experience big regret over that choice. I usually tell them, it doesn't help to get caught up in the right and wrong of choices (unless you are actually choosing to cause harm, obviously), but instead to think of choices as paths. Each path might have some difficulties but they also both have things to enjoy, be surprised about, love, etc. One path might have an amazing root beer stand, but also a few potholes (why am I thinking about root beer stands? I do not know). The other might have the most wonderful views but take longer and there's a few dead animals on the side of the road you really wish you didn't have to see. (oh dear, Alison). But this is just a digression, because the kind of regret that Coach is talking about here is a different kind. Not really about choices and paths, but about not really embracing opportunities. Not really embracing life. An existential kind of regret. Like, I should have shown up more. I should have let myself be challenged and have adventures even if it came with risk and potential challenges and, yes, even suffering. (I should have kissed that boy when he tried at junior high party. I should have held on to my Austin wedding website longer and gotten a higher price for the sale than I did. I should have found a way to go back to Australia earlier in my life.) That's what I reckon, anyway. So here are the 24 castaways embracing life. Showing up. Thanks, Coach! (Coach, do you know any Yalom quotes?)
Another side note: I do not believe that the fans voted no rice. Who are these fans? I am a fan. I voted for rice. I want them to eat enough to have brain functioning and not have to have blurred out pubic hair 10 days in when their pants don't sit at their waists any longer.
Okay, let's talk about the players and their choices and behaviors and all that good stuff. The stuff I care about most. The psychology of the game. (You don't need a traditional recap, right? There's enough of those out there.) Everyone seems thrilled to be there. What's more, they seem hungry.
Coach seems absolutely giddy to be going on the challenge. Specifically, he seems delighted to be picked to go. "They want me!" How can I not also be delighted for him to go? And Ozzy, too! So fun. Q? Well, I love love love Q. Maybe we should have had another icon from the old days (Colby?), but whatever. It's fine. Maybe Coach and Ozzy need a balancing presence. Can we call Q balancing presence?
Back at the Vatu tribe camp, Rizo is giving advice to Colby. Not sure that is wise. And I guess it's not, because Colby is hella annoyed. Hey, did you know men are still officially in adolescence until they are 25 or 26? Their brain is still changing! The front lobe not fully developed until they are halfway through their twenties.
Over at the Kalo camp, Charlie is cracking jokes. Calling Jonathan a mountain and laughing about Mike White's glow up. Charlie, I love you, you cinnamon roll boy. We are hanging out with Charlie and Mike and Tiffany and I'm loving it. And now here's Mike White getting sentimental about his previous season and what it meant for him and I'm here for it.
On Cila, Joe is enjoying himself and that's nice to see. Everyone has energy and is having a good time meeting each other. Joe is excited to be around these legends (And Savannah who he doesn't know anything about). There's a lot of positive energy and it's clear people are happy to be here.
But here's Jenna playing hard out the gate. Throwing out Cirie's name if not actually campaigning for her demise. Don't do this, Jenna. It's too early and Cirie is too smart (and too beloved). Bigger than that, though, is that going hard usually costs you, especially before the first vote. People need time to ease in, take stock, settle. And people don't like to feel cornered, which is what she's doing. Beyond that, she's already declaring herself as someone who's wanting to take charge, which people find often find threatening. I think we all have a little bit of Oppositional Defiance in us. Like, don't tell me what to do. Even if Jenna's not saying it so directly (hey, vote for Cirie), she's making it hard to feel like they aren't being bossed around a bit. Finally, there's the energy and vibe of it all. If you start so hard, you seem too eager, too anxious and that makes others anxious. People want chill and calm. And it makes me sad because I can see that Jenna is so obviously thrilled to be there and wanting so much to prove herself, be all about the new way of Survivor-ing where strategizing starts asap. I don't want her to put herself in danger this way. I want her to have her important journey.
Speaking of journeys, we land on the beach wherever Coach, Ozzy, and Q are in a race for a key. And it's taking everything out of them. When (after 45 minutes of exhausted attempts), Ozzy finally acquires it only to have Coach decide to be cutthroat. Ozzy finds it dishonorable to have his legitimately-earned key stolen from him by the self-appointed dragon slayer. Coach reckons he just slayed his first dragon in stealing that key from out of Ozzy's hands. He plants on kiss on Ozzy's forehead and tells him he's sorry. It's always been hilarious how Coach is so adamant he plays with "honor and integrity" and yet absolutely does not time and time again. Honestly, I'm not exactly sure what honor and integrity mean to him. If we look at Ozzy's history in the game, we can definitely make a case for him playing the way that Coach thinks he does. At least Q is being Q and giving us the hilarious takes. I'm so happy Q is here!
Yeah, so, did Coach do the right thing in stealing the key from Ozzy or is too much of a short game vs. long game move? Sure, he gets supplies for his tribe and that's pretty awesome and maybe even the move most people would make. But Survivor, to me, is definitely much more about the long term game and that means solidifying relationships. So Coach just telegraphed to Ozzy that he can't be trusted and that he's willing to get dirty. What's more, he's now put himself immediately as an adversary to Ozzy. Don't make enemies so early, Coach!
On Cila there's some romancing going on with Devens and Hubicki. How can we NOT LOVE a Devens and Hubicki bromance? And Emily is now in this quirky nerd throuple of my dreams. Jenna--take note! (even though you can't because this already all happened a long time ago), you gotta "build relationships" (thank you, Kyle) first. Make the connections, make friends, align align align.
Oh boy, what's happening with Genevieve and Aubry on Vatu? A tense and awkward conversation on the beach where Aubry asks, "What kind of game are you playing?" in an extremely distrustful tone. It feels like Aubry's coming at her too aggressively, while Genevieve is just feeling things out, letting Aubry knows she sees her as a dangerous player, but one that she wouldn't mind working with. Which makes me think that there was more to this scene (more background, I mean) than we get to see. Because I can't believe that Aubry would want to burn a bridge like this so quickly. She's too smart for that. So, what did we miss? What did Aubry see and experience that we didn't? What a bummer to not have these queens bonding and scheming instead of making distrusting squinty expressions at each other.
On Exile, after a buggy overnight, Q and Ozzy have to come to an agreement about advantages: extra vote and no supplies or supplies and no vote. Ozzy makes his case to get that extra vote in an attempt to be "Oscar" (which I guess means playing more with his head). Q agrees and tells us he thinks he made the right decision, but losing a vote for your first tribal is rough. It hurts you. And having the extra vote is a potentially powerful advantage. The supplies are awesome to come back with but, again, maybe too much of a short term gain/game move. Still, he bought himself goodwill with Ozzy (or, erm, Oscar). He showed Ozzy he was willing to negotiate and be a team player. He also gave Ozzy the gift of a win, which builds goodwill through good feeling. Ozzy gets what he wants and will experience happy feelings related to Q! (Coach, not you. You failed at providing the happy feelings). So, want to make friends and influence people? Give them happy feelings! (Use this for good, not evil, my guys).
When Ozzy gets back to Cila, he's fortifying bonds with Cirie. And here's Cirie talking about forming good relationships so people will want to keep her around. She's telling Ozzy that she's loyal ("the most loyal person around"). Is there anything else Ozzy would like to hear more? I'm solid with you, I'm your fellow soldier, we are in this fight together until death! Think about Ozzy's past Survivor ends? Stabbed in the back (even by our girl, Cirie) over and over, often so close to the end. But he knows Cirie is a a fantastic Survivor player and he knows--I think he knows--that she likes to have tight alliances (even while also building connections with everyone, making her a good person to align with) and so if she's giving him her word on day 2, it's a good thing and it must mean something. He's smart to make her his number 1. And she's smart to build that bond with him, because he's always a loyal player.
You should know, it's my feeling that that smaller, tighter alliances are the best way to go. Always have a number one. Don't stray. It keeps you focused and gives you a purpose beyond yourself. If you are trying to keep more than yourself alive in the game, you'll play better (essay forthcoming).
Ah, Christian, telling us about his newborn son (Michael!) and how he's thinking about how one day his son will see this. Legacy! We humans love to think about our legacies. Which brings me back to where we started. With Coach and his little "no regrets" speech. Living life in a way that's meaningful knowing we will die. This life, it ends. And what kinds of ways can we live forever? Through our legacies. Our libraries, our museums, our presidential libraries. Our erected university buildings. Okay, that's the 1 percent. But the rest of us, we have the memories we created with others. And if you get on Survivor, you have a record of yourself running with paddles on a Fijian beach, hugging Rick Devens, and narrating for a bunch of fans just how amazing it is to be there. We love you, Christian Hubicki. For your quirks and witticisms. Most of all, though, for your wonder and awe and graciousness.
It's a two hour episode and there's so much happening, so stay tuned for part 2, y'all.
