Survivor: San Juan del Sur - Season Premiere - Recap and Results - Suck It Up and Survive
Recap and results for Survivor: San Juan del Sur - Season Premiere - Suck It Up and Survive:
Welcome to the recap and results for the Season Premiere of Survivor: San Juan del Sur -- Blood vs. Water, “Suck It Up and Survive”!
The new season has already been mired in controversy before even premiering, from the medical evacuation of two castaways before filming began, to the announcement of a cast that includes two well-known Amazing Race contestants and controversial MLB star John Rocker. We even have Redemption Island being replaced for this Blood vs. Water season with the returning Exile Island!
In short, this season is going to be insane! So let's get this party started!
Credit: CBS
ARRIVAL
-It's not even day one, and the game is already afoot, as the castaways discover some flint to practice making fire, along with a message that indicates that this could be the only time they spend together in the game. We meet MLB player John Rocker and girlfriend Julie, along with boyfriend/girlfriend duo of Jaclyn (former Miss Michigan) & Jon M. We also have Missy & Baylor, a mother and daughter who appear to be much closer than Laura and Ciera from the last Blood vs. Water season. This contrasts with the iffy father-daughter relationship of Kelley and Dale, who've had a relationship strained by years of not talking. Meanwhile, brothers Drew and Alec are super competitive, with each wanting to outlast the other in the game. They come across more as the Aras/Vytas duo of the season.
Josh and Reed are boyfriends and Broadway stars who are intense Survivor fans, whereas twin sisters/Amazing Race alums Nadiya and Natalie haven't gone longer than two weeks without seeing each other. In short, there are some close pairings here, such as father-son duo Keith & Wes. Wes thinks his father's time is up, but Keith isn't ready to pass the torch just yet. It's similar to husband-wife duo Jeremy and Val. Jeremy has been trying to get on the show for 10 years, and isn't about to let his wife cost him the million dollars, saying he didn't leave their children behind just to come here and lose.
So the cast meets with Jeff Probst as we split into two tribes.
COYOPA (Yellow/Orange): Nadiya, Josh, Alec, Val, Wes, John R., Jaclyn, Dale and Baylor
HUNAHPU (Blue): Missy, Keith, Jon M., Julie, Reed, Jeremy, Drew, Natalie and Kelley
Some drama right off the bat: Keith immediately recognizes John Rocker, and theorizes he might still be a massive ass. However, he keeps this information to himself. Jeremy, meanwhile, accuses Val of being incapable of handling herself without him, putting Val on the defensive.
No sooner do we split tribes than we get to our first reward challenge...
Credit: CBS
REWARD CHALLENGE
After a brief game of rock-paper-scissors, Jeremy is selected to compete for Hunahpu in a one-on-one battle. In the season's first twist, Jeremy will have to compete against his own wife, Val. Winner earns reward for his tribe in the form of flint. Loser is sent to EXILE ISLAND!
The challenge is basically an obstacle course in which each castaway is tethered to a rope and must negotiate their way through the course without getting tangled. After getting through, they must use the rope to lasso a plank to their mat. The first castaway to do this wins.
The challenge is hardly a race at all. While Val gives it a valiant effort, Jeremy keeps ahead the whole way through, winning the challenge and sending his wife to Exile Island. Jeremy is choked up and has no words for his wife, feeling awful about having to send her away. Val, however, is okay with it, saying she'll be back. However, there's one big twist: Jeremy must choose someone from his own tribe to send to Exile Island with Val!
Jeremy knows instantly who he wants to send, choosing Keith. His rationale is that Keith knows how to make fire and will be able to take care of his wife while they're out there. Probst argues it's not that smart to send the guy who broke his flint, but Jeremy says that was all Wes's fault (to which Wes shouts, "Oh, BULL!" in a humorous moment). Keith gets emotional on behalf of Jeremy and Val. For his part, Jeremy says sending his wife to Exile is his worst nightmare, but come on, man. That's just the game!
JEREMY wins reward for HUNAHPU!
Credit: CBS
BACK AT CAMP
Jeremy is still choked up about sending Val away, feeling he failed to take care of her the way he's supposed to. He also fears his friends and family back home are going to give him hell over this, which seems like a weird concern. I would hope they'd understand that this is just a game, for crying out loud. Of course, Jeremy gets over his pain by diving head first into strategy, forming a two-some with Kelley and then plotting with Missy, who can feel Jeremy's pain as a result of having been married and divorced multiple times.
Over at Coyopa, Dale feels left out. He's not only the oldest person at camp by a good 25 years, he also lacks social skills as a result of his career as a self-employed farmer. So he does work to ingratiate himself to the tribe, using his glasses to try and start a fire. But it doesn't work. And so he has contingencies in place, discovering an emblem on the lid of the watering hole. Dale knows it's not an idol, but he holds onto it anyway, surmising it could come in handy. Dale's intelligence doesn't stop there, however. When the other castaways fail to get a fire started with their boy scout methods, Dale snaps his glasses in two and places the lens on top of each other to magnify the intensity of the sun's rays. He succeeds in getting a fire started, and finally wins the confidence of his tribe.
EXILE ISLAND
Val hates Exile Island: it's desolate, dry, and the water is "unswimmable". However, there is a catch, as they discover a pedestal with two urns. There are directions that state that each must pick one urn. They do so, and Val discovers a clue to the hidden immunity idol, whereas Keith's paper is blank. Val lies about what it says, saying it's information about camp. Keith makes a huge blunder by not asking her to read it aloud, but he strikes me as a really trusting guy. Case in point, once he finds out he and Jeremy share careers as firefighters, Keith is ready to go all-in with the couple in an alliance, claiming it'll be a real bond. I love Keith, and I hope he sticks around for a while, but I worry about his apparent lack of game savvy, in that he seems like the kind of guy who could be manipulated very easily by someone if they were willing to do the work of manipulating him. Luckily, Val and Jeremy seem like pretty cool people, so hopefully, they take care of each other.
SUCK IT UP
At Hunahpu, Drew is getting on some nerves with his bossiness, as he and Jon work to get a shelter made, prompting Julie to resent him a bit. However, she understands the Alpha Male mentality, dating John Rocker and all. Meanwhile, over at Coyopa, Wes asks John, point-blank, if he's John Rocker. John tries to play coy by pretending "Rocker" isn't his last name, and he doesn't necessarily have to lie in order to put Wes off, since Wes's questions are "Does your last name have five letters in it?" Of course, Wes catches his mistake and corrects himself, saying he meant six. At this point, John gives it up and admits he used to play for the Braves. Naturally, because John isn't happy about this secret getting out, he's now thinking about eliminating Wes, illustrating the shortsightedness of Wes not keeping this information to himself in the first damn place.
Meanwhile, Josh's eyes have gone red and painful. He theorizes he has some kind of rash as a result of contact with some plant out there. The prevailing theory is the rash is the result of sap from the plant they used as roofing for their shelter, so the Coyopa tribe rushes to get rid of the plant ASAP.
Over at Hunahpu, Jon goofs off but admits there's an underlying pain beneath it all, as his father was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor not long before he came out. He admits that deciding to come out to the show was difficult, but his father gave him his blessing. "I can only hope I get to watch it with him," Jon says, in the first heartbreaking soundbite of the season (and, hopefully, the last).
IMMUNITY CHALLENGE
Both tribes will run through an obstacle course together, retrieving bags along the way that contain items which will allow them to complete the course: a rope to climb the first wall, and pegs to climb the second. At the third wall, they can only use each other. After this point, four tribe members will head on to the puzzle stage, because of course there's a puzzle. First tribe to complete the puzzle wins immunity. Val and Keith are back from Exile Island, but don't appear to be any worse for wear.
Coyopa is off to an early lead, obtaining their bag and getting John to hook the rope which will allow them to scale the first wall. However, Hunahpu makes it to the second wall in short order to make this a closer race. Unfortunately, Hunahpu has trouble with the pegs. They fall even further behind at the third wall when Coyopa works together in impressive fashion, with John pushing his teammates up the wall, while the other tribemates create a sort of ladder with their bodies to help the rest of the way. But Hunahpu remains in the challenge, catching up at the puzzle portion and gaining a brief advantage as Coyopa is pretty much stumped. In an incredible come-from-behind victory, Hunahpu finishes the challenge first.
HUNAHPU WINS IMMUNITY!
Probst asks Hunahpu about the bittersweet feeling of knowing they're safe while their loved ones are at risk for elimination. Missy gets teary-eyed, worrying about her daughter over on Coyopa. Meanwhile, Natalie worries for Nadiya. Of course, it's Dale who is the most worried, believing he's likely going to be eliminated due to being the oldest person in the tribe. However, he thinks it would be silly to eliminate him, since he's the only one who knows how to make fire. And I agree. It's not like he's going to let them keep using his glasses once they send him home.
Credit: CBS
"SINCE I'VE BEEN GONE"
Keith comes back with Hunahpu and is overjoyed to see how well they all work together and how well everyone seems to be getting along. However, he admits he has to make up for lost time, since he doesn't know anyone else but Jeremy. But Jeremy helps out by promising to bring Keith into the fold as thanks for taking such good care of Val.
Speaking of Val, she's making a bit of a mistake, in my opinion: instead of meeting her new tribe and forming bonds, she decides to go looking for the hidden immunity idol that's buried somewhere at her camp. Then again, she might think she's on the chopping block already, so it sort of makes sense for her to look for protection. Luckily for Val, Dale wants to give her a chance, and sticks up for her to the other guys. So now it's looking like Nadiya is on the chopping block, since the guys all remember her from The Amazing Race, so they know her strategy. Josh isn't sold on the idea but has little choice but to agree. Luckily for Nadiya, she comes to Josh for help, and Josh is all too happy to be the guy everyone comes to.
Of course, she pretty much blows it by telling Josh she counts him among the girls, which Josh says is one of the worst things anyone can say to him, since it's a gay stereotype. Val wants to form an all-girl alliance and vote out Dale, and they approach Josh about siding with them. In essence, Josh is the swing vote, and must decide which alliance will take him further. He does make a good point when he rationalizes that being in this position has its disadvantages, since the swing vote can often be resented for the choice he or she makes. Hell, ask Sarah the Police Officer from last season. A perfect swing voter has to make it seem like they're in an unfortunate but necessary position. If you come across as if you're enjoying being the swing vote, everyone will just lop you off instead. Granted, this isn't always the case, but generally, it's better to not be seen as the swing vote.
Credit: CBS
TRIBAL COUNCIL
John opens things by admitting that there's no obvious choice for whom to eliminate, which is a cleverly diplomatic answer to one of Probst's probing questions. Nadiya argues that when life gives you lemons, you should make margaritas, and Josh agrees that castaways should keep their motivation and positive spirit going. Probst asks how Survivor compares to The Amazing Race, and Nadiya says it's a much more wide-open sandbox environment, noting that it's more stressful because her sister isn't there. Her sister is her sole blood relative in America, so it's difficult being without her.
Val is iffy about her position, and Baylor echoes this reticence, noting that the guys all seemed to bond immediately upon getting to camp. Dale admits that he's been feeling like an outcast of sorts, since he's got twenty years on everyone here. But he subtly makes his case for sticking around by recapping how he helped create fire, which allowed them to have warmth and a way to cook food. This intelligence is offset by the brazen stupidity of Nadiya butting in on Wes's compliment of Josh's character by saying she feels Josh is in a unique position to go between the genders, once again stating that she considers him a girl. Probst seems to take offense to this, asking if this is because Josh is gay. Nadiya states that his being gay has something to do with it, since she'd never consider a straight guy a "girlfriend" (said flamboyantly), but she tries to argue this isn't all that has to do with it. However, it may be too late for her now.
While voting, John argues that Nadiya has way too much experience from The Amazing Race to be allowed to stay, while Nadiya argues that Dale isn't useful to the tribe. And so Probst gathers the votes and reads the results...
Nadiya
Dale
Baylor
Dale
Nadiya
Dale
Nadiya
Nadiya
Nadiya
NADIYA IS VOTED OFF OF SURVIVOR: SAN JUAN DEL SUR!
Well, she only has herself to blame. She didn't really make the right connections, and didn't put herself out there the way she should have. Also, she has to be pretty shortsighted not to see how her comments might have offended Josh. You don't just get to stereotype people and think they're going to join an alliance with you, especially when said alliance has less to offer him than the alliance of dudes that already wants him on their side.
In her exit interview, Nadiya says it sucks to be out first in her second reality show. She doesn't know if it's because of The Amazing Race or what, but she's not entirely surprised. However, she is disappointed. But expresses her hope for Natalie to go all the way.
I kind of feel bad for Natalie now, since I doubt she's going to take Nadiya's elimination well. But hopefully, she doesn't make the same mistakes her sister did. Even if her tribe does keep winning.
But what do you think? Did Coyopa make the right decision? Or did they vote out the wrong person? Sound off in the comments! Until next week, thanks for joining me!