We’re back baby!!!! I was getting some serious Michael Jordan comteback vibes with the Survivor SA season 8 premiere.
Survivor South Africa feeling itself
Filmed locally in South Africa on the Wild Coast – and entirely in secret – Immunity Island is the first of the major English-speaking versions of Survivor to return. Survivor Australia and the flagship U.S. version both have plans to air sometime later this year as well. But, thanks to our South African friends, here we have the first *new* Survivor in a little over a year, since the Winners at War finale on May 13, 2020.
This season – as its name makes clear – includes a never-before-seen twist called Immunity Island. Unlike some previous similar iterations, Ghost Island in U.S. Survivor 36 and the Island of Secrets in the 7th season of Survivor SA, host Nico Panagio actually gives a brief explanation to the castaways of what Immunity Island is all about.
After an immunity challenge, the winning tribe chooses one member of the losing tribe to go to Immunity Island. As the name suggests, that person is granted immunity (possibly, more on that in a bit), but with it comes a dilemma, forcing them into a decision that could drastically affect their game. Initially I wasn’t sold on Nico giving away so much up front. But after seeing later in the episode how it all plays out, the decision to do so makes a lot more sense. Still not thrilled about it, but at least the reasoning tracks.
Let the games begin!
With no theme to divvy up the tribes, we resort to a good old fashioned random draw. The tribes breakdown as:
Now that the tribes are set, it’s time to get to the first challenge. Though to be fair, it’s more of an activity than a challenge, as the tribes aren’t actively competing against each other. They each run out onto a course to gather various supplies. They have two minutes to grab as much as they can. There is also one individual immunity necklace for each tribe. Dino manages to grab the Zamba necklace, while nobody gets Vuna’s. Though Dino did try to direct Paul on where the necklace was, but Paul ran out of time before he could nab it.
There was also one additional twist, which we didn’t learn about until after. Out on the course there was one pouch marked “Tribe Advantage.” Renier reluctantly revealed he picked it up, gaining a sleeping bag, mosquito net, blowup mattress, ax, and a knife for Zamba.
The Tribe Advantage reveal was an early indication of Renier potentially being a real gamer. When Nico initially asked who had the bag, Renier didn’t acknowledge it. It was only after Nico insisted it was a good thing for your tribe as a whole that Renier admitted he had it. Though clearly marked as a Tribe advantage, Renier was still reluctant to show he had picked up any sort of advantage while on the course. He clearly knows keeping information close to the vest is a valuable trait to have. This particular instance turned out to be a Steers nothing burger, but it points to Renier as being a potential strategic force to watch.
Vuna (Orange)
Once Vuna arrives at their camp, it’s a lot of the normal first day stuff. Shelter building, trying to get fire going, feeling out potential alliances, that sort of thing. Nothing of significant note happens, but there are a couple things to point out.
Wardah, a yoga instructor, and Anesu, a doctor/vegan lifestyle entrepreneur (idk either, that’s just what the lower third said) know each other to some degree outside the game, due to both being involved in the small “yoga world.” They agree to keep this connection a secret, so as not to be seen as too strong of a pair. They discuss this while burying a stash of food. That part doesn’t really matter here. It’s just a super fun thing to point out, especially because neither the show nor Wardah and Anesu called any attention to it.
In more off-island connections, Kiran recognizes Anesu from their time at university. But we never receive confirmation on whether or not Anesu knows or remembers Kiran.
The rest of the time on Vuna is spent mostly watching Kiran and Anesu form various alliances with basically everyone on the tribe, but with one distinct difference. Kiran seems to be starting the conversations with everyone, while everyone else approaches Anesu. While Kiran has the right idea, Anesu is in the much better position right off the bat. Kiran could be at risk of forcing the issue too much, while Anesu can sit back and let the game come to her. If this is an accurate indication of the kind of person and social player Anesu is, she could be one dangerous player this season.
Zamba (Green)
Over on Zamba, it’s lots of the same as Vuna, everyone is trying to feel each other out. However, it’s Shaun and Qieän that maybe step out of line first. They begin searching through all the food to see if there might be a flint hidden somewhere (good!) while also hoping to find an idol clue (bad!). One of the biggest rookie mistakes you can make is getting caught idol hunting first thing. And idol clue hunting is just as bad. This paints an immediate target on each of their backs.
Reward Challenge
The first reward challenge of the season and they’re already mixing things up. Rather than the usual tribe challenge, both Vuna and Zamba send one member each. It’s Chappies from Vuna and Jason from Zamba. The challenge is actually quite simple: the classic fire-making challenge. Win and you take a full fire-making kit back to camp. Lose, and you head home with nothing.
Well, not quite nothing. Chappies wins, but both he and Jason leave with something just for themselves. As representatives for their tribes – or “ambassadors” as Nico refers to them – they each receive Diplomatic Immunity. If their tribe loses an immunity challenge before the merge, they have the option to invoke their Diplomatic Immunity, permanently defecting to the other tribe. It’s another brand new twist, and one that I’m, maybe less excited but more intrigued, to see play out.
Returning to Vuna’s beach, Chappies tells his tribemates that there was nothing else other than the challenge and the fire kit reward. Mike, however, remains skeptical. Being that only one member of each tribe was present for the challenge, he correctly assumes that there had to be something more going on. This didn’t go any further in this episode, but here we have yet another person and moment to keep in mind as the season goes on.
Back at Zamba, Jason returns to a mostly sympathetic camp. Nothing really to report here.
Immunity Challenge
Five members swim out into the water to retrieve rope rungs. Two members build a ladder up a structure with the rungs, after which the rest of tribe climb up one at a time. One person then undoes a rope puzzle to release more rungs, making another ladder to climb up to the top of the structure, where two members finish with a puzzle.
Zamba starts on the puzzle with a big lead, but say it with me now. It’s. All. About. The. Puzzle. Everything before the puzzle is just a primer. As Nico calls out during the puzzle, it’s Survivor’s great equalizer. Carla and Anesu are able to pull out the comeback victory.
Vuna sends Thoriso to Immunity Island, perceiving her as one of the weaker players.
Immunity Island
Unlike an Exile Island, Immunity Island isn’t as dire of a place as you might assume. It comes with a shelter, bed, food, and a fire-making kit. Being away from your tribe can be detrimental to your game, but if you’re going to be exiled, this ain’t a bad way to experience it.
Getting to the immunity of it all, Thoriso faces her immunity decision. She can “Stay and Play” in a timed challenge for an advantage. But if she loses, there will be “repercussions.” If she plays, win or lose, she keeps her immunity idol, saving her for at least the next vote.
The other option is to “Give Up and Go.” She can decide not to compete in the challenge and return to camp immediately. The rub here is that, while she keeps the idol, she cannot use it for herself. She can either leave it unused or give it to another tribemate.
Thoriso decides to Stay and Play. She digs through a large sand pit to find a bag. If she wins, she receives clue to hidden immunity idol. But lose and she loses her vote at Tribal Council. Unfortunately for her, she loses.
Zamba
The two consensus targets remain Shaun and Qieän, due to their perceived idol searching on Day 1. Jason doesn’t like this plan, as he was dead set on working with Shaun. Jason tries to convince Renier to flip the vote, but Renier isn’t going for it. Which leads to one of the funniest moments I’ve ever seen in Survivor. And that is not hyperbole.
I mean, come one! Are you kidding me! I can’t think of anything from Survivor history that is even a tiny bit similar to this. My dude Renier is basically doing bunny ears behind Jason. I don’t know if it’s more bold, reckless, hilarious, or some amazing combination of all three. But what I do know is that, assuming he hangs around for a while, Renier is going to be a star this season.
Meanwhile, nobody lets Shaun in on this plan, because he’s becoming hilariously unhinged. He goes into Tribal Council believing nothing else other than he’s the one going home.
Tribal Council
Shaun continues his rampage, trying to save himself, proving once again that the Survivor SA production knows how to cast a season. Only one episode in, and already we have a handful of standout moments and characters.
Shaun even tries to shift the target to Dino, calling him out for reaching out to Paul on Vuna during the immunity challenge. It’s a fair point. Well, it would be, if Dino didn’t have the immunity necklace from the opening challenge. Maybe Shaun just forgot about that? Either way, great stuff.
Thoriso is back from Immunity Island and what does Nico do but blow up her spot! He calls out the fact that her immunity came with a price, and she admits she lost her vote. I really don’t like that. I want places like Immunity Island to stay as secretive as possible, let the players determine how that information is revealed – or not revealed.
Thoriso’s no vote ends up having no impact, however, as Renier’s blindside on Jason is successful, sending him out by way of a 7-2 vote.
Winner Pick
I first narrowed it down to one person per tribe. For Vuna, I really like Anesu, and for Zamba, Renier stuck out. Anesu seemed to make connections very easily, not having to force the issue. After just one episode, it seems like he really knows the game. If he can keep that in check, I think he has a chance to go pretty far. For my official winner pick, I’m going with Renier. Let’s go buddy!
Final Thoughts
Once again, it’s just an amazing feeling, seeing (NEW!) Survivor back on our TVs. After all that has happened in the past year-plus, anything that gives us a sense of normalcy has an extra positive emotional feel to it. And what made this premiere episode even better is that there was not a single mention of Covid or “the times we’re in” or anything of the sort. That’s not to say there won’t be discussions or confessionals around that topic at some point, but to see a brand new Survivor season that by all accounts felt like any other season, it’s just another small step forward.
Like I said before, a dynamite cast, at least off of first impressions. This was maybe the one thing you could guarantee from the show. In the two rebooted Survivor SA seasons, season 6 Philippines and season 7 Island of Secrets, the cast has been a highlight. Looks like they nailed it again.
Filming locally for the first time, the scope and scale of the season appear to be on par with that of any other season. It makes sense. I don’t think they would have chosen a filming location where they would be hindered in this aspect. But still, it’s nice to see that confirmed on screen.
I’m not quite sold on Immunity Island. I LOVE that the players sent there are forced to make tough decisions. I’m a big fan that they aren’t told what the advantage or repercussions are until they accept the challenge. An idol clue or lost vote seem like safe bets, but until you have that confirmed, you never can know what to expect in Survivor.
What will be really interesting regarding Immunity Island will be what happens after the merge. Being the season’s namesake, I’d have to imagine it will continue for at least part of the post-merge run. It will have to end eventually, likely around the Final 6 or so. But if there are (potentially) two guaranteed immune players, plus the possibility of idols and other advantages, it might be too much (the last thing we want is another Cirie in Game Changers moment). Time will tell, I guess.
As for timing on when these recaps will publish, that might vary week to week. The episodes are Thursday nights in South Africa, at noon my time. If they’re available for me early enough, I might be able to get the recaps out Thursday night. Could also be sometime Friday, or maybe even as late as Monday. I don’t have any control of the timing of their availability, so I’ll just ask for some flexibility there as we progress throughout the season.
Some More Stuff
If you want more Survivor, let me point you to my new podcast, Talking Llama. We’re 10 episodes in, and we’re starting off by going through our complete rankings of the 40 U.S. Survivor seasons. We may have some international coverage here and there, but my good friend and co-host Jared may not be able to watch this new season. We’ll see how that goes.
