"20 People, 39 days, and only one survivor", and the game is on for its 19th season.
This season's opener jumped right in with the two tribes, Foa – Foa (Yellow), and Galu (Purple) pre-selected and ready to play. Each tribe had to choose a leader based on first impressions. Russell, an attorney, was chosen as leader for Galu and Mick, a doctor, for Foa – Foa.
Next, each leader had to choose the player whom they believed was the fastest swimmer, the strongest person, the smartest person and the most agile. Once done, the challenge began; the swimmer set out to retrieve a key, bringing it back to the strongest, who then had to carry a heavy bundle of logs, passing it on to the most agile, whose job it was to unravel the rope rapped around the beam he/she had to walk across. Finally, the smartest player pieced together a puzzle-like statue. Yellow was the first to complete the task and walked away with flint as their reward.
Back at camp, personalities were revealed with a focus on two players: one on each tribe. Coming in as the self-proclaimed puppet master is Russell, an owner of an oil company out of Texas. He moved quickly to build alliances with each of the women – defaming their intellect in the process. "I'm not here for the money", the self-proclaimed millionaire says. "I'm here to show people how easy it is to play the game and win." Sabotaging his own teammates, by emptying their canteens and burning socks, he proved he would stop at nothing to outwit, outlast, and outplay. I understand it is a game; everyone will have a different strategy, but claiming to be a victim of hurricane Katrina revealed a part of this man's character that goes beyond playing a game.
Moving over to Purple, we meet Shambo, the ex-marine. She was not afraid to speak her mind as she expressed her annoyance toward John, the rocket scientist. Not yet knowing his occupation, she wasn't far off when she called him an "engineer or something" based on his ability to talk about plans and thinking instead of "doing".
On day three the tribes came together to compete for the immunity idol that would spare the winning tribe a night with Jeff at tribal council. Russell, the leader of Purple was mocked by Yellow after expressing pride in his tribe, causing Eric the bartender to speak up and say they were ready to whip some A…..
And whip some A… they did. Working together, Purple came in first and walked away with immunity.
Back at Yellow's camp, the puppet master (Russell) wasted no time running around vying for a unanimous vote to send Ashley, a spa salesperson home stating she was their weakest link. Fortunately, she was spared when Marisa, a student, shared her feelings with Russell – PM for short, and how she was worried and concerned because she had seen him talking with everyone in the camp. She was wise to worry, but unwise in her choice to share her concerns with him.
Tribal council heated up when Betsy, a police officer expressed her opinion that Ashley was the weakest link. The attention shifted when Jeff asked Marisa whom she considered the weakest link to be. Not wanting to answer the question, she responded by saying weakness has different levels. PM piped in and confronted her about her lack of trust. In the end, Marisa was sent home with six votes to Ashley's four.
Survivor Samoa – Episode 1 has set the tone for another season of excitement and fierce competition. I am hooked and looking forward to getting to know the players, while learning a bit more about Samoan culture and the beauty of the land as the weeks go by. Nineteen people and 36 days to go – who will walk away with the check for one million dollars – Mick the doctor has my vote.
Who has your first impression vote? Join in each week for the discussion.
(C) Teresa Ortiz
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