Survivor 50 premiered last night to an audience of millions of Americans eager to see their favorite castmembers return… And it didn’t disappoint. The season premiere was full of twists and turns that left audience members shocked.
Two people left Survivor 50 before the first night was over. One got voted out, and one got wheeled out due to an injury.
The milestone season premiered Wednesday with a three-hour episode on CBS, the longest single episode in the show’s 25-year history.
Season 48 winner Kyle Fraser ruptured his Achilles tendon during the first immunity challenge and was medically evacuated before a single vote was cast.
Soon after that, Jenna Lewis-Dougherty, the only castaway from the original Season 1 in 2000, was voted out at Tribal Council. She didn’t make it through night one.
She waited 26 years for that!
Premiere Starts With Jeff Probst’s Montage Of 49 Prior Seasons
Probst opened the episode with a montage of all 49 previous seasons before welcoming the 24 returning players to Fiji. The first fan-voted twist was apparent immediately, castaways would have to earn their rice and supplies rather than receive them automatically.
The three tribes were set.
Cila in orange: Joe Hunter, Savannah Louie, Christian Hubicki, Cirie Fields, Ozzy Lusth, Emily Flippen, Rick Devens, and Jenna Lewis-Dougherty.
Kalo in teal: Jonathan Young, Dee Valladares, Mike White, Kamilla Karthigesu, Charlie Davis, Tiffany Ervin, Coach Wade, and Chrissy Hofbeck.
Vatu in pink: Colby Donaldson, Genevieve Mushaluk, Rizo Velovic, Angelina Keeley, Q Burdette, Stephenie LaGrossa Kendrick, Kyle Fraser, and Aubry Bracco.
An early journey sent Coach, Q, and Ozzy off together. Vatu won the supply challenge and had flint and a bonfire waiting at camp.
Kyle Fraser Suffers Ruptured Achilles Tendon On Survivor 50 Night One
The first immunity challenge involved crawling through mud and scaling a massive wall. Kyle Fraser went down in the middle of the challenge. He thought it was his ankle.
The medical team came out, ran an ultrasound on the beach, and delivered the verdict. Fraser had ruptured his Achilles tendon.
Fraser had won Season 48 just months before filming began on Season 50 and came in with his social game already in tune.
He had built a core alliance on Vatu with Genevieve Mushaluk within hours of hitting the beach. None of it mattered. Fraser is the first person out of Survivor 50 and he never even had a vote cast against him.
Cila Loses, Jenna Goes Home
Kalo won immunity outright. Vatu, despite losing their only winner to injury, held together and took immunity on the puzzle.
Cila lost and headed to Tribal. Cirie had struggled badly on the monkey’s fist portion of the challenge and the whole tribe knew it.
The next part was probably the most-talked about part of the episode. Jenna Lewis-Dougherty came in playing nothing like a Season 1 veteran.
She was aggressive from the jump, openly campaigning to eliminate Cirie on day one, arguing you cannot let one of the greatest players to never win the game get comfortable. The pitch got back to Cirie immediately.
Ozzy went to work. He declared himself “ride-or-die” with Cirie and started rallying votes against Jenna. Joe Hunter, watching Ozzy and Cirie operate together, grew uncomfortable.
Hunter had been burned by a close alliance in his previous season and said he was seeing the same pattern forming again. Savannah Louie and Joe talked through their concerns.
On the other side of the tribe, Rick Devens and Christian Hubicki found each other immediately and pulled Emily Flippen into their circle.
At Tribal, Probst asked Jenna to compare sitting at this Tribal Council to her first one 25 years ago.
The vote came down to Jenna versus Cirie. Jenna went home.
The only castaway from Season 1 did not survive the first night of Season 50.
What to Watch For In Survivor 50 Episode 2
Savannah Louie told her tribe she won Season 49 on day one and then kept a hidden advantage to herself. She also has a growing target on her back from players who believe she’s more dangerous than she’s letting on.
She is on a tribe with no other winners, which makes her the obvious threat. That combination is a difficult position to maintain.
Colby Donaldson said out loud that he can barely hear out of one ear, his eyesight has gotten worse, and he does not have the mental capacity to keep up with the new-era game.
That’s a rough self-assessment on night one.
Cirie survived despite a poor challenge performance and an active campaign to send her home.
The Devens-Christian pairing is the early alliance most fans will be rooting for. Two of the sharpest strategic minds on the cast finding each other in the first hours is exactly the kind of combination that tends to go deep.
Survivor 50 continues next Wednesday at 8 p.m. on CBS.
