We're back in Fiji with a boat of brand new castaways, where Jeff has divided people up based on how the world sees them. To demonstrate the Heroes, he obviously turns to Ben the marine. For the Healers, he goes to Cole, but following his unnecessarily long answer, he switches to Dr Mike, who is already making dick jokes. On the Hustlers, Ryan is just hoping the rest of his tribe are more outdoorsy than he is.
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| They're heading to a different beach |
Jeff gives them their first challenge, which is to load supplies onto their boat. Then they have to get to the beach and lift a tribemate high enough to light a torch and get fire. There's also a secret advantage, which Ryan finds, as one of the last to jump off. The tribes get in their boats and the Hustlers are paddling the wrong way. Healers get to the torch first and Roark lights it up, giving them fire. Heroes are second to win themselves a flint and the Hustlers didn't even get out of the boat. Not a great start.
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| Just call me the showmance killer |
Healers arrive to a giant bonfire and talk about how they're well-equipped to dominate. The Heroes start playing the game first, with Ashley and JP making an alliance and talking about bringing in Ben. Alan wants to work with the cowboy too, so they decide to make a four, but he's already seeing Ashley and JP as a power couple....so that group might not last long.
As the Hustlers put together their camp, Ali decides to check in with Patrick, who is eating insects and clowning around. Ryan opens up his advantage and learns he has a superidol that can be played after the votes are read and is only good for the first tribal council.
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Protip: if you're trying to avoid Tony comparisons,
this is what NOT to do |
Mike is looking for an idol of his own, and Joe has quickly cottoned on to this. Joe questions him about the rope he's carrying, and then tells him point-blank he thinks he has it. This doesn't really impress Mike, who fears he will now be a target. Meanwhile, Ryan shares with Devon that he has the idol, and that he'd be willing to play it on him if he needed it.
Alan continues his crusade against the power couple by accusing JP in the middle of the night of having an idol. Ashley leaps to his defence and JP even pulls down his pants, but Alan is just trying to stir things up. He mainly just succeeds in putting a target on his own back though, by making himself look like a paranoid loose cannon.
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| Who said Hali wasn't a game changer? |
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| Chrissy takes a knee |
For the first immunity challenge, the castaways have to race up a net, pull a cart to the top of the platform, ride it down and choose a ball maze. They'll then take their maze up another platform and complete it, with the first two winning immunity. The first part is pretty even, with the Heroes getting down first and choosing the labyrinth. Hustlers take the obstacle course and the Healers are left with the one track maze. Hustlers actually make up time getting back to the top, even with the odd choice of Ryan as one of their pullers. Devon and Ali are doing their maze, with Mike and Desi taking it on for the Healers and Chrissy and Ben doing it for the Heroes. Despite being stuck with the last choice, the Healers actually get their ball in first, mainly thanks to Roark's strategy. Healers win the challenge, but the battle for second place is close. Hustlers manage to get it, and Chrissy is left vomiting on the floor. Since Ryan is now safe, he has to pass the idol on to someone on the losing tribe.
Ben and Ashley still want to stick with the easy vote and get one of the moms out, but that's in jeopardy now with Alan acting crazy. Alan talks with Chrissy and Katrina, who are hoping to get him and Ben to vote with them. Their fortunes might just have turned further when Chrissy checks her bag and sees she has been bestowed a gift: the superidol.
At tribal council, Chrissy says she feels like an outsider. Alan and Ashley end up getting into an argument when Alan again calls her and JP out as a pair. Ben says he's hoping to keep the tribe strong and figure out the rest later. The vote ends up 5-1 for Katrina, but will Chrissy change that by using the idol? She does not, which seems a questionable call. Perhaps she has faith in Ben and Alan that she won't be the next target.
Well, that premiere really flew by and definitely could've done with the extra time. But with the Heroes battling against their own in-fighting and the Hustlers hardly a well-oiled machine, I'm excited to see how things progress from here.
STAR OF THE WEEK: RYAN ULRICH
More than just a witty confessional-giver, Ryan managed to find the very first advantage of the season and made good use of it, leveraging it to forge a strong early alliance. We'll see if he can build from that, but he's off to a good start.
