The season premiere of Survivor 48 airs tonight on CBS. Read a live recap here.
The episode begins with the castaways finding out they will be on Season 48. They get the news via webcam. They are all excited they’ve made it through the casting process and will get to compete on Survivor. We fast forward to the marooning, and all eighteen castaways are excited to see Jeff and start the game. We also hear some confessionals from the castaways. Joe is a fire captain, and he wants to be the person people call for help. Saiounia worries her lack of filter will get her in trouble. Eva is used to being in a male dominated field, so she is not scared to compete against anyone. Charity is a flight attendant and used to dealing with different personalities. David wants to be the hero. Shauhin says they’re like a pack of dogs sizing each other up.
Jeff says they all come from different walks of life, but they answered the call to be on Survivor. He asks what inspired them to compete. Mitch has a speech impediment. He was inspired by Christy, a deaf contestant from Survivor: The Amazon. Chrissy has been watching since Day 1. Kevin was inspired by Survivor: Cook Islands winner Yul Kwon.
Jeff lets them know their tribe names. The orange tribe is Civa (the sun), the green tribe is Vula (the moon), and the purple tribe is Lagi (the sky). They will now compete for tribe supplies. They must crawl under a net in the mud and carry back a chest in pairs. Afterwards, they must all climb up a platform and knock down a key. Lastly, they will unlock the chests that each has a sandbag. The first tribe to land three sandbags will win tribe supplies. The challenge begins, and Kevin hurt his shoulder crawling under the net. He stays in the challenge though. Eventually, Lagi takes the lead with Civa in second place. Lagi keeps the lead and land all their sandbags before another tribe can begin tossing. Lagi wins tribe supplies! Jeff lets Civa and Vula know that they can have a second chance. They must send one tribe member to compete for tribe supplies. Kevin and Kyle go for Vula and Civa respectively.
The Lagi tribe arrives at camp and gets to know each other. Shauhin calls this the best day of his life. Thomas worries he’s the weak link on his tribe since so many of his tribe members are athletic. He feels drawn to Bianca, and she is on board to work with him too.
Meanwhile on the Civa tribe, they get to work building shelter. Mitch thinks they will be a strong unit despite losing the marooning challenge. David is a stunt performer. He hopes his charm will help people see him as an asset instead of a challenge threat.
The Vulu tribe members get to know each other too. Cedrek worries they could be the underdog tribe. Stephanie is excited to play the game, but she doesn’t want to come across as playing too hard too fast. Saiounia tries to solidly an alliance with Stephanie and Mary, but they are hesitant. As a result, Saiounia goes to Cedrek and Justin instead. They agree to work together and to later bring in Kevin as their fourth.
Kevin and Kyle compete against each other to win tribe supplies. They must go down different paths and use a rope to find a machete buried under the sand. Once they have a machete, they must knock down a pot from a pole. They must then fill a jug with water to retrieve a flint. The challenge begins. Kevin takes a methodical approach while Kyle is more hectic. Kevin is in the lead, and he gets his machete first. However, Kyle knocks down his pot from the pole first. Kyle is in the lead, but he accidentally breaks his jug of water. He has no chance to win the challenge at this point. Therefore, instead of standing there doing nothing, Kyle decides to help Kevin fill up his jug and retrieve the flint. Kevin is appreciative, and he tells Kyle he owes him one.
Kevin returns to camp with their tribe supplies. Mary builds the fire, and she and Kevin bond. They say they trust each other and want to align. Later, Kevin is recruited into the majority alliance with Saiounia, Justin, and Cedrek. After hurting himself in the first challenge, Kevin is amused how his game has taken a turn for the better. He now has an alliance of four, as well as a side alliance with Mary.
Back at the Civa tribe, David notices an image of an eagle on a tree. He shows it to Mitch, but Kyle returns at that moment. They greet Kyle, and he tells them that he didn’t get the supplies. He’s a lawyer, but he lies and tells everyone he teaches high school English. Afterwards, David points out the animal images and the letters printed on trees. They all decide to keep looking for these images together instead of working on the shelter or trying to build a fire without flint.
Back at the Lagi tribe, Star says everyone fell into their role. Everyone is helping out around camp. Eva is bringing back bamboo all on her own. Eva is on the autism spectrum. She struggles with social cues and recognizing if someone is lying to her. Joe wants to build strong bonds. He wants to play a loyal game, even though it’s not a strategy that leads to success in recent season. Eva approaches Joe and tells him she wants to work with him. Joe wants to work with her too, and they solidify their alliance with each other.
Stephanie wants to work on building genuine bonds with people. She notices how Saiounia wants to play hard fast. Saiounia tells Justin that they should go searching for the hidden immunity idol together. Saiounia ends up finding the Beware Advantage. She must decipher a word puzzle to unlock a hidden immunity idol inside a cylinder. She won’t get to vote at tribal council until she unlocks the cylinder.
Over at the Lagi tribe, Star goes looking for an advantage too. They all notice her absence, and they realize she’s searching for an advantage. Meanwhile, Shauhin, Thomas, and Joe agree to an all-male alliance. They jokingly call themselves the “California Girls.” Thomas wants to bring in Bianca as their fourth, but Shauhin and Joe like Eva. Later, Eva opens up to Joe about being on the autism spectrum. It’s a touching moment, and Joe promises to have Eva’s back in the game.
The Civa tribe members get to know each other some more. They discuss favorite movies and other interests. David is a romcom fan. He says he’s a normal guy in a jock’s body. Kamilla and Kyle realize they have many things in common. The two of them talk game, and they are both wary of Charity. They discuss their concerns with Chrissy too, and David joins their conversation as well. In her confessional, Kamilla admits she’s throwing Charity under the bus to save herself. Kamilla, Kyle, Chrissy, and David end up forming an alliance based on their suspicion of Charity.
Saiounia needs help with her cryptogram. She tells Kevin and Cedrek about the clue, but they’re still unable to open the cylinder. Saiounia finally connects the dots and notices the images of animals all over camp. Saiounia ends up opening the cylinder with Cedrek’s help. She retrieves the hidden immunity idol and celebrates with Cedrek.
It’s time for the first immunity challenge. They must go through a series of obstacles to unlock a sled. They must then maneuver the sled up a platform. They will then use the puzzle pieces to solve a Survivor logo puzzle. The first two tribes to finish will win immunity. The challenge begins, and Lagi takes the early lead. The other two tribes catch up, and the challenge is fairly even as they get to the platform. Civa and Lagi are the first two tribes to start working on the puzzle. Lagi completes the puzzle first. Lagi wins immunity! It’s very close between Civa and Vula, but Civa completes the puzzle. Civa wins immunity! Vula will go to tribal council tonight.
Vula returns to camp. Stephanie apologizes for not securing the win at the puzzle. Saiounia, Cedrek, and Kevin agree to vote for Stephanie tonight. They remark how she volunteered for the puzzle, but she failed to deliver. Meanwhile, Mary wants to target Saiounia. She says she’s trying way too hard. Mary tells Stephanie and Justin they should target Saiounia tonight. In his confessional, Justin admits he doesn’t want to vote for Saiounia since she’s been very upfront with him. Meanwhile, Mary and Stephanie tell Kevin about the plan to vote for Saiounia. Kevin is caught in the middle, and Justin is in the same spot too. Kevin and Justin agree that it “wouldn’t be the worst thing” if Saiounia gets voted out with the idol in her pocket. Stephanie feels worried after Kevin says tonight is a straightforward vote. Stephanie says the vote is never straightforward, so she can’t feel too safe. Saiounia says she’s willing to play her idol on herself if she feels like she needs to use it.
It’s time for tribal council. Cedrek says living in the elements is harder than what it looks like from sitting at home and watching it on TV. Mary says the pressure and intensity of the game is a lot too. She says trust is built, strengthened, or shattered at tribal council. Stephanie agrees that trust is the “number one concern.” Justin says he would consider all possibilities, but they can only write down one name. Saiounia says they need to figure out to prioritize strength or loyalty. Saiounia says they need to play the game and they can look at the stars from home. Stephanie says they can still appreciate the environment and play the game too. Stephanie wants to move forward with people she trusts and have the same mindset. Kevin agrees with Stephanie and Saiounia’s viewpoints, but he also came to play. Kevin says the vote tonight will determine where the trust will be. Afterwards, it’s time for the vote.
Before Jeff reads the votes, Stephanie plays her Shot in the Dark advantage. Jeff reads the scroll and reveals “Not Safe.” Any votes for Stephanie will still count.
The first vote is for…
Saiounia
Stephanie
Stephanie
Stephanie
Stephanie is the first person voted out of Survivor 48.
And that wraps up tonight’s episode of Survivor. Thanks for reading, and come back next week for another live recap.
