Survivor 51 Premiere "Permanent Uncertainty" Gameplay Breakdown

 "We're gonna take this game by the cojones!"

-Eric Macksoud

It's the Open Era!  Anything can happen at any time!   I can't wait for the return of the Medallion of Power, the greatest twist in Survivor history!  But, while we wait, let's talk about this premiere, which I found really fun.  I'm liking the cast and there's a couple of people who I can't wait to see go down in flames.  The Tribal Council in particular was a blast.  This premiere just felt very refreshing after the last 10 seasons.   It's nice to see them mix things up.  I wish Jeff had put the fire-making vote up to a real, anonymous vote, instead of making it public.  I think a lot more people would have voted to get rid of it.  It's garbage that it had to be a unanimous vote.  That's higher than what Congress needs to do stuff!  Make it a majority vote!  You're a coward, Probst!  Anyway, let's talk about who played well and who sucked.

Who Played Well:

We'll start over on Savu.  Ana, Carter, and Rob all formed an alliance, which I can see doing well.  Rob also clocked that Eric, his fellow Rhode Islander, was annoying the rest of his tribe, and was totally willing to make it look like Eric was off Idol hunting when he was just fishing.  Plus Rob was able to get himself an Idol.

We didn't hear anyone complain about how Kristin did in the negotiation and I think she got the best item of the four available.  She and Sharonda also formed a bond, which could get Kristin into the Helicopter alliance with Sharonda and Ori.

Moving over to Toka, like with Kristin, we didn't hear anyone complain about how Kilby handled the negotiation.  And since the tribe ended up getting flint after Tribal Council, it actually worked out pretty well for him.  I think Kristin is the better negotiator and clearly the better thumb wrestler, but I think Kilby did fine.  He also ended up being on the right side of the vote at a chaotic Tribal Council.

Maggie, Mike, Patt, and Thien An all ended up on the right side of the vote as well and voting out Aaliyah broke up a potential trio, even if they didn't know that.  Patt may have put her foot in her mouth a bit at Tribal Council by saying that Aaliyah was a target, but I don't think that did any lasting damage and Aaliyah is out of the game now.

I'll reluctantly put Brady on this side of the line due to making an alliance with Devin that seems like it will withstand their disagreement.  He also drove the vote and knocked out the person who threw out his name.  That said, if people say you are being too intense at a Challenge, you're being too intense at a Challenge.  And freaking out the way he did when he heard his name was tossed out wasn't great.  It's a net positive, but just barely.

Who Sucked:

Going back over to Savu, the only person I have here is Eric for annoying his entire tribe by talking too much.

Back on Toka, 

Jenna got off to a rough start by being so closed off and basically not playing the social game.  She dug herself a hole, but managed to get out of it by getting Brady to target Aaliyah, so good for her.  Technically she wasted her Shot in the Dark, but I really don't blame her for that one.

I don't know why Devin was so focused on Jenna.  Like, sure, paint a target on her early on so there can be an easy person to vote off, but the ship started steering towards Aaliyah instead.  I get that Devin had a Day 1 alliance with her, but he needed to be more adaptable when Brady started leading the charge.  And his radical honesty at Tribal Council was just awful.  He's made an enemy for life with Jenna and he's shown the rest of his tribe that they can't rely on him.  He does still have his Helicopter Alliance and his bond with Brady, but oof.

Jelly also ended up on the wrong side of the vote.  She still has the Helicopter Alliance and Devin, but I would not be thrilled to have Devin as an ally.  Plus she should not have been trying to start a showmance with Ori on Day 1.

Finally, we have Lewis, who acted like an utter fool in volunteering to go on the Journey.  No one should have volunteered and they all should have drawn sticks instead.  He also wasn't able to get the Hidden Immunity Idol and only succeeded in destroying his hands.

We really didn't get enough from Alexis, Cristian, or Linnea for me to say either way.

As for Aaliyah, I don't think she actually did very much wrong.  She wasn't great at the Immunity Challenge, but I think that just made fewer people willing to try and save her.  Jenna wound Brady up and let him go after Aaliyah.  I think it was more clever gameplay by Jenna and emotional gameplay from Brady rather than bad gameplay from Aaliyah.

Verdict:

Best Player of the Episode goes to Rob Antonson for making an alliance with Carter and Ana, getting a target painted on Eric's back, and finding the Hidden Immunity Idol.

Worst Player of the Episode goes to Devin Way for being utterly inflexible, far too honest, and an unreliable ally by causing chaos at Tribal Council.  He ended up on the wrong side of the vote, lost an ally, and made at least one enemy.  I do want to give a Dishonorable Mention to Lewis though.

This was a really fun premiere.  I'm still annoyed at how the fire-making challenge vote went down and how whiney Probst is about it, but the rest of the episode was great, especially that Tribal Council.  I want Devin to stick around and cause more chaos, but I also really can't wait to watch his game collapse.  Either way, I'm sure it will be entertaining!