Survivor Redemption Island Episode 1

Survivor Redemption Island Episode 1 opened up with a bang. All of the new players flew in on one helicopter together. The players left the helicopter with just the clothes on their backs; they had already been divided into two different tribes. After Jeff said "Welcome to Survivor," he announced that there were two new players. Boston Rob appeared first, and people were excited to see him. When Russell appeared, people weren't so excited.

Francesca commented that the two returnees were sizing them up as prey, and called them troublemakers. Was that really a wise move? I don't think so. Jeff had Rob and Russell draw buffs to decide who would be on which team. Rob drew an Ometepe buff, and his team cheered. The Zapatera tribe was not as excited to see that Russell had his buff, although they feigned happiness at seeing him join their tribe.

Jeff announced the Redemption Island Twist: once the players were voted out, they were not gone for good. They would go to Redemption Island, where they would compete in duels whenever a new person was voted off. The loser of the duel would be gone for good. The Survivors were shocked to hear about the new rules.

Russell Takes Control at Zapatera

Russell had grandiose dreams of taking control and being the leader of his tribe. He got all of the Zapatera tribe together and told them that they were going to face a difficult challenge, but he wasn't there to sabotage them; he was just there to win. I'm not sure if the others bought it: if he was there to win, wouldn't that mean voting them all out?

Zapatera was ready to get to work. They were given a set of tools to work with, and started putting things together. Survivor had provided them with a toolbox with nails and other items that they could use to build their shelter. This season was not to be one of the extremely harsh seasons where they were provided with nothing.

Russell took Stephanie aside; he wanted to talk to her. He implied that he was going to take Stephanie to the finals with her, just as he did with Natalie and Parvati. She acted like she believed him, but I'm not sure if she really bought it. Other people noticed that Russell had approached her. They all wanted to get rid of him quickly; it didn't matter to them that he already had experience playing the game. They knew that he was a snake and they wanted him out.

Rob Gains a Following at Ometepe

At Ometepe, the players were also busy putting their shelter together. Phillip was telling Francesca that she was doing her job well, and started to grate on her nerves. He also told Andrea that she wasn't chopping correctly. He told the others that he was a former special agent and was good at reading people, and was honest. Francesca was not impressed; she thought that it was funny that he thought it was some big deal to be a special agent.

Kristina took a look for the hidden immunity idol, and Rob caught her checking things out. Phillip approached her and passed along to her that Rob had told him to watch out for the girls; that they couldn't be trusted. They decided to ally with each other. Later that day, Kristina found the hidden immunity idol, moved it somewhere else, and re-buried it.

Phillip continued to anger his tribemates (and allies) Francesca and Kristina as he approached them when they were talking about voting out Rob. Francesca had a difficult time staying calm as they spoke. I'm not sure that he'll stay long in the game, especially if the other people in the tribe feel the same way about him.

The First Survivor Immunity Challenge

For the immunity challenge, the Survivors had to build a temple. The first part of the challenge involved strength, as they had to push four heavy blocks to a base in order to build steps. Zapatera quickly took the lead. They had finished pushing their third (out of four) blocks to the wall while Ometepe was just starting their third block.

In the second stage, one Survivor had to chop a set of ropes, which would release a set of wooden stairs. Ralph chopped for Zapatera like a madman. When the steps were released, the tribe climbed to the top of the temple to put together the top, which was a puzzle.

By the time Ometepe reached the puzzle stage, Zapatera had a great lead on it already, but Rob was good at puzzles. Rob took the lead for Ometepe as they put together the puzzle, and his team caught up quickly. The tribes were getting close, but they were not close enough. In the end, Zapatera ended up with the win.

Deciding on the Vote

Back at camp, Kristina told Francesca that she had the hidden immunity idol, and wanted her to help him vote out Rob. Francesca didn't want to vote out Rob; she wanted to vote Natalie out instead.

Rob noted on camera that he initially didn't like Francesca because of her comment at the beginning of the game about him being a troublemaker, but when he saw Kristina looking around for the hidden immunity idol, he figured that she was a greater danger. Thinking that Kristina might have found an immunity idol, he instructed his followers (which was most of the rest of the tribe) to split the vote between Francesca and Kristina.

The Outrageous First Tribal Council

Tribal council started off with typical Tribal Council questions, but ended up being one of the most outrageous tribal councils ever. Francesca mentioned that Rob wouldn't get voted out that night, and Phillip spoke up. Phillip reported that he had a plan with Francesca and Kristina to vote out Rob. Francesca denied it. Phillip threw in another reference to being a former special agent; he also mentioned that Kristina showed him her hidden immunity idol. If he was trying to be allies with these two people, he obviously wasn't doing a very good job at it. Kristina confessed to having an immunity idol, but mentioned that she was planning on voting out Natalie instead of Rob (like that's going to help her case).

Rob told Kristina that she would be safe if she gave up her immunity idol, but she was unwilling to give it up (smart move, that usually does not turn out well). When the tribe voted, Francesca and Kristina voted for Phillip, but their two votes against Rob's fans didn't end up changing the result. Kristina chose not to play her immunity idol; but that ended up being a good move, because her ally Francesca was voted off.

On her way to Redemption Island, Francesca commented "Don't trust Phillip!"