Survivor Season 47 Premiere Recap and Live Blog
The two-hour season premiere of Survivor 47 airs tonight on CBS. Read a live recap here.
The season premiere begins with confessionals from a few of the eighteen new castaways. They are in a boat making its way to shore where Jeff awaits. Sam believes he’s well-rounded enough to win Survivor. He calls himself a wolf in wolf’s clothing. Aysha says she marches to the beat of her own drum and doesn’t like losing. Kyle spent five years in foster care and lived in 26 different homes before graduating high school. Tiyana is the first native Hawaiian to play Survivor. Jon jokes that his friends and family back home will want him to suffer. Anika says she will play hard, maybe even playing evil. Sue says if she wins, her final words will be that a 59-year-old woman beat all of them.
They arrive on the beach, clapping enthusiastically. In his confessional, TK says he doesn’t see tough competition. Jeff welcomes them and gives a speech about community. They must build a community while voting each other out. The tribes are already divided, and Jeff lets them know their names. The blue tribe is Tuku, the red tribe is Lavo, and the yellow tribe is Gata.
Jeff asks them how are they in their communities back home. Gabe says he’s a grinder. Teeny says she’s from New Jersey, even if her current style doesn’t reflect that. Andy says he didn’t have many friends until he learned to be himself. Jon says he’s a podcast host and quips that he cares what people think about him. Jon says they all have thought about how they could or would play Survivor, but now that’s going to be fact-checked.
A new challenge
Next Jeff leads them to their new challenge. They must crawl through the mud under a net and then race into the jungle. In pairs, they will retrieve two puzzle pieces from one of three different obstacles. Once all six pieces are collected, two tribe members will solve a puzzle. The winning tribe will win camp supplies. The challenge begins, and Tuku gets the early lead while Gata falls to last place while collecting the puzzle pieces. However, Rachel and Anika from the Gata tribe manage to solve their puzzle before Tuku or Lavo. Gata wins tribe supplies! Jeff lets the losing tribes know they will have another opportunity to earn their supplies. One tribe member must compete in a challenge, but Jeff will not give further details. Aysha from the Lavo tribe and TK from the Tuku tribe will do the challenge.
We next see the Gata tribe arrive at camp. They wash off the mud in the ocean and get to know each other. Jon used to be a speechwriter and is now a podcast host. Andy wants to form a strong bond with two people to avoid being voted out. He talks to Jon in the jungle, but the other four notice their absence.
Meanwhile on the Tuku tribe, Tiyana thinks they have an advantage with physical players. She admits they need to do better in puzzles. Gabe pulls Sue aside and says she’s the person he wants to work with the most. Sue also has a chat with Caroline, and Sue feels very close to her. Sue worried she was going to be on the outs of the tribe, so she’s relieved that both Gabe and Caroline want to work with her.
Castaways make alliances
At the Lavo tribe, Kishan believes he’ll be good at Survivor since he’s a doctor. He’s used to chaotic environments. Teeny says she’s good at forming friendships, and she thinks she can be everyone else’s number one ally. Teeny feels especially close to Kishan; she says they complement each other well. Genevieve and Rome are getting close too. Genevieve pitches a group of four with the two of them, Kishan, and Rome. Teeny is unsure about Rome. She says she wants to wait for Aysha to return before finalizing their fourth ally.
Aysha and TK arrive at their challenge. Only one person will get their camp supplies. They will be given picture clues to find keys hidden in the jungle. The first to collect four keys will win the challenge. Aysha finds her first three keys first, but she gets lost trying to find her way back to the beach. The fourth key is in the ocean, and TK manages to get back to shore first. Aysha arrives before TK finds the key, but he eventually spots it. Aysha tries to grab the key away, but TK holds onto the buoy and claims the key. TK wins camp supplies for his tribe. Aysha will return to Lavo empty-handed.
Back at the Gata tribe, Anika cannot help but take on a leadership role. Sam is relieved he’s not in that role. He just wants to be in the middle. He wants to be the “glue guy.” Sierra says she’s underestimated for being a pageant girl, but she builds the fire for her tribe.
Beware advantage
TK returns to the Tuku tribe. Everyone celebrates having camp supplies. Caroline notices the guys TK, Gabe, and Kyle bonding the moment TK joined them. She is concerned about an all-male alliance. Later, while collecting firewood, Gabe stumbles upon the Beware Advantage. Gabe finds the key, but they are other steps before claiming the idol. While pulling down a key, TK catches him. Gabe claims he just found the key, and TK speculates that it could be part of the Beware Advantage. In his confessional, TK knows Gabe is not telling him the truth about finding the Beware Advantage. He says he and Gabe must not be that close after all. Gabe, however, believes TK bought his story about not finding the Beware Advantage first.
Aysha returns to Lavo. She tells the truth about what happened in the challenge. Afterwards, Teeny pulls Aysha aside. Teeny recognizes her from Rob Has A Podcast. Teeny wants to work with her. Meanwhile, Rome goes searching for an advantage, and everyone else notices his absence. Rome found the Beware Advantage. He plans to find the idol at nighttime when everyone is asleep.
Gabe continues searching for the idol with instructions from his Beware Advantage. Gabe tells Sue about it, and she will be his lookout while he goes hunting. Gabe eventually finds the box with the idol inside it, but there is a catch. The idol is only good for one tribal council, but he can continue searching for an idol good for three tribal councils. Gabe chooses to look for the idol good for three tribal councils, but he must discard the idol only good for one tribal council first. Gabe ends up dropping the box, which the other tribe members hear.
Doubts about Andy
At the Gata tribe, Jon notices he is the oldest person on his tribe. Andy feels close to Jon, but he wants to build a bond with Rachel too.
In her confessional, Rachel says he’s sweet, but not strategic. Later in the evening, Andy feels like he is spiraling. He is feeling very insecure, and he asks to speak with Rachel in the middle of the night. Rachel did not want to do this since this could put a target on their backs. Rachel talks to him, but she admits in her confessional that she doesn’t think Andy will be a good alliance member. Later in the day, Andy feels like he’s in a negative headspace. He believes he is in the bottom of the tribe. Andy tells Jon that he feels like the least popular person on the tribe. Jon feels close to Andy, but he shares in his confessional that he has doubts about working with Andy.
Early in the morning, Gabe goes searching for the hidden immunity idol. He finds the key from a piece of driftwood. He opens the box again. He can claim the idol that is good for three tribal councils, or he could discard it and continue looking for an idol that is good until the Final Five. Gabe decides to claim the idol that is only good for three tribal councils.
Time for the immunity challenge
Back at the Lavo tribe, Teeny says Rome stresses her out. Rome is still searching for his idol, and Aysha spots him. She tells Teeny, Solomon, and Kishan. They decide to go see where Rome is while Rome retrieves the key from the well. They come across Rome, but he walks away without saying anything to them. Aysha suggests she, Teeny, Solomon, and Kishan should solidify their four-person alliance. They are concerned Rome could have a hidden immunity idol, and they agree Rome should be the first target.
It’s time for the immunity challenge. They must paddle a boat to shore while collecting chests. Once back on shore, they will unlock the chests containing puzzle pieces. The first two tribes to complete their puzzle will win immunity. In addition, the winning tribes will win a toolkit. The challenge begins, and Gata falls behind in third place as they paddle the wrong way. They continue to struggle, but Tuku flips their boat. This could open the door for Gata. However, Gata flips their boat too. “Absolute disaster!” Jeff calls.
Lavo has a strong lead and reach shore first. Aysha, Kishan, and Rome begin working on the puzzle, and they solve the puzzle before the other two tribes even get their puzzle pieces out. Lavo wins immunity! It’s a showdown between Gata and Tuku. Anika, Rachel, and Sam work on the puzzle for Gata while Caroline, Gabe, and Tiyana work on the puzzle for Tuku. While both tribes are working, Andy lies on the ground. Jeff asks if he’s okay, and Andy requests medical attention. The challenge continues as medics check on Andy. Caroline, Gabe, and Tiyana complete the puzzle. Tuku wins immunity! Gata will go to tribal council tonight.
Andy has a meltdown
Andy was overheated, but he will be okay. Andy keeps telling Jeff that they were going to vote him out tonight. Jeff reminds him he is still in the game. Later, Andy manages to rejoin the Gata tribe and Jeff tells him to give them an update. Andy says he feels better now. He also candidly shares that he is on the bottom of the tribe and no one on his tribe likes him. His tribe members disagree and say that’s just in his head. Jeff says it sounds like Andy is conceding defeat. Andy says he’s not quitting. He says he is a strategist and plans to give it everything. He admits he was planning to throw Jon under the bus. Everyone (including members on the other tribes) is shocked that he is saying this out loud. Afterwards, they all return to camp.
Gata returns to camp. Rachel is stunned by Andy’s meltdown. Andy says paranoia and insecurity got the best of him on the mat. In her confessional, Anika says Andy having a huge outburst on Day 3 is a concern. Jon says Andy is a mess. He seems like the obvious vote, but he’s paranoid he could be on the outs too since he’s the oldest member on the tribe.
Will Jon be the target?
Jon talks to Rachel, Sierra, and Anika. They agree to vote out Andy, but Rachel says they should tell Andy they’re voting for Jon. Jon reluctantly agrees, but he’s not okay with his name being out there. Jon talks with Andy, and he asks what does Andy want to do. Andy says he wants to vote out Anika. Jon says he is on board with this, and they pitch this plan to Sam. Jon says they just need one more vote, and Jon thinks Sam could pull in Sierra.
In his confessional, Sam says he will not vote for Anika tonight. Sam weighs the pros and cons of keeping Jon or Andy. Andy had an outburst, but he brings more strength to the challenges than Jon. Eventually, the other four tribe members are thinking the same way. Do they keep Andy for tribe strength, or should they get rid of him now since he could be a liability?
Time for tribal council
It’s time for tribal council. Jeff asks about camp life. Sierra says Anika led the tribe well. Jon says they spent the days finding commonalities. People were reluctant to have strategic conversations. Jeff says it sounds like it was a delayed start to the game.
Jeff switches the topic to Andy’s meltdown. He says the comments he made about his tribe members not liking him stood out. Andy feels like he is 100% on the outside. He opens up how he found a community back home, but he feels like he took a step back in this game.
Jon says people shouldn’t be judged by their worst moment, but it was still frustrating that Andy said so much in front of the other tribes. Sam never had a perception that Andy didn’t give 100%. Sam says he can’t ignore how he turned his back on his best friend Jon though. Rachel worries if Andy will spill more information to other tribe members down the road. Jon doesn’t know what conversations would’ve taken place if Andy didn’t have his meltdown. Could he have been the target if it wasn’t going to be Andy? Afterwards, it’s time for the vote.
Jeff reads the votes. The first vote is for…
Jon
Anika
Jon
Jon
Jon
Jon is the first person voted out of Survivor 47.
And that wraps up tonight’s episode of Survivor. Thanks for reading, and come back next week for another live recap.
