The following contains spoilers for Episode 1 of Survivor Season 44.The new, modern era of Survivor has been finding its way for the past few seasons, doing its best to marry the traditions of the classic game with the new twists and turns that the newer iterations of the game demand. This has been met with mixed results, as some of the twists work to the benefit of the show, while others are immediately criticized by fans. Season 44 is a season where the show seems to be finding its footing a bit more and truly figuring out how to present itself in the new era while still feeling fresh.
The premiere of Season 44 had a lot going on and managed to balance introducing new characters with telling a compelling narrative arc, as well as a healthy dose of both humor and drama. The show seems more confident in its decisions this time around, as they know which advantages work and which don't, and as they also strive to include new ones to keep things interesting for both the new crop of players and the audience. They've shown that they're open to evolving the game as time goes on, and won't just stay stuck in old ways because it's tradition. Sometimes a show that's been running for as long as Survivor has needs a breath of fresh air, and it seems like Season 44 might be shaping up to be just that.
The first thing that's very noticeable about this season is that it has quite a cast of characters. It seems like the show really prioritized getting interesting personalities this season, which is much needed for reality TV as it's one of the main sources of entertainment. There are players like Yam Yam, who is bubbly and bright, as well as Carolyn, whose strangeness is a total delight so far. Even the players who are more mild-mannered are still practically bursting with excitement to be on the island and their personalities really shine through their confessionals. That kind of excitement is just contagious for the viewer at home as well.
The game kicks into gear right away with a challenge, and it's one that has some very unfortunate consequences for Bruce. At one point, he suffers an injury to his head and the medical team has to come out and check that he's okay (in the first of their many appearances during this episode). He seems to recover alright, but later on, the pain gets worse, enough that he is medically evacuated from the game before he's even spent 24 hours in it. It's unfortunate for him, as well as a loss for the tribe, as they're down a number already and it's not exactly great for morale.
Medical has to come out to the beach again, this time at the Ratu camp, as Matthew takes a pretty big fall from a rock while exploring and momentarily dislocates his shoulder. He incurs a few other cuts and scrapes as well, and medical patches him up and clears him to keep going after putting his arm in a sling. He reflects on how his game (and possibly his body) could have been ruined by his own risky actions, as it wasn't like the injury came from a challenge or anything.
A new twist is introduced in Episode 1 in the form of the birdcage advantage. A padlocked birdcage with something hidden in a bag inside of it is just out in the open at each tribe, and it immediately starts playing mind games with the contestants as they try to figure out its purpose. The Ratu tribe agrees to collectively search for the key, and in the end, it's Brandon who happens upon it. Maddie sees him pocket something, so he's forced to come clean and show it to her. She thinks they should hide it, but Brandon decides to tell the whole group and unlock the cage in front of them.
In it is an immunity idol as well as a dummy idol that could be used to fool others. Of course, because he opened it publicly, the dummy idol is neutralized and he suddenly has a big target on his back with the immunity idol, so Brandon finds himself in a precarious spot. This seems to be the new way of doing idols this season, instead of just hiding them in the jungle. It adds some tension to the game, as even the biggest fans of the show don't know exactly how to approach it yet, and it will be interesting to see if it works out for other tribes (especially the dummy idol) if a player can manage to open it secretly.
This season has also introduced a couple of new advantages at the Risk vs Reward island that one player from each tribe gets sent to. Sarah gets the Inheritance advantage, which allows the player to get every idol and advantage that is played at a Tribal Council. A lot of fans already aren't happy about this one, as it basically takes the much-hated Knowledge Is Power advantage and makes it worse by giving it no way to fail, and essentially giving someone an overpowered advantage (at least, in theory, as it has yet to actually be played). Lauren also receives an advantage that allows her to bank her vote at Tribal by not voting and instead getting two votes at a future Tribal.
At the Immunity Challenge, Ratu loses and is sent to Tribal, after Brandon becomes a bit dehydrated and medical is brought out for yet another time to check if he's alright. The tribe experiences a big scramble later in the afternoon as everyone tries to coordinate the vote. It seems that they have a lot of options of who to vote for, and no one has built up solid loyalties yet. Matthew even considers voting out Brandon, despite Brandon being his closest ally so far.
The Tribal itself gets pretty crazy, with two people (Jaime and Matthew) playing their Shot In The Dark for seemingly no reason (unless they were really that paranoid about going home themselves with all of the scrambling). Matthew's doesn't work and he's not safe, but Jaime's paper shows that she is safe, which is the first time the Shot In The Dark has actually worked for anyone. Brandon plays his idol, feeling unsafe himself after everything, which proves to be a good move, as he would have been voted out otherwise. Only three people from this Tribe vote, since Lauren banked hers and Matthew and Jaime used the Shot In The Dark. There were two votes for Brandon, and one vote for Maddie, so she is sent packing with just one vote.
It was a pretty jam-packed first episode, and thoroughly entertaining all the way through. The archetypes of the cast and their personalities are already shining through, and the editing had a good mix of actual gameplay elements as well as letting the audience get to know the players. The two-hour episode went by quickly, and Survivor's willingness to change the game to keep things fresh is a sign that they're always looking ahead. If this episode is anything to judge it by, it seems like Season 44 might be a pretty good one, as long as they keep this same momentum going.