Survivor Fiji: Episode 1

Survivor: Fiji premiered last night. For Survivor fans like myself, the premier is always a treat. Getting to know the new castaways, seeing the new digs, it never gets old. This season has a new gimmick: The haves vs. the have-nots. The two camps will be vastly different: one with all sort of amenities, one with next to nothing. Should be fun.

Survivor Fiji began like no other 'Survivor', as Jeff revealed that one castaway quit hours before filming began, leaving 19 castaways to battle it out for this season's $1,000,000 prize. The castaways began as one large group, receiving blueprints to build an upscale shelter. Sylvia, a real-life architect, took charge of the project, as the others worked hard to assemble the shelter.

Note: The 20th survivor quit the evening before due to panic attacks which forced a sudden change to the game with only 19 contestants. She is interviewed here.

The next day at the challenge, after the tribe agreed that Sylvia had taken the leadership position, Jeff handed her the task of dividing the other eighteen castaways into two tribes of nine. Sylvia, who was left as the odd woman out, was sent to Exile Island, but was given Immunity from the first vote, and would rejoin whichever tribe lost the first castaway.

The first Immunity/Reward Challenge involved a chariot race, where two castaways would grab bags of puzzle pieces, ultimately using them to assemble three numbers, which would correspond with a wheel. If they used the combination to turn the wheel correctly, a knife would be revealed, allowing the tribe to cut the rope and signify their challenge win. After a temporary stumble, Moto regained the lead, winning the first challenge and sending Ravu to the first Tribal Council. The winners stayed at the "posh" compound while the losers got a barren beach with only a pot and machete.

At Tribal Council, the votes were split all over the place. But ultimately, Jessica received the most votes, and she became the first person voted off of 'Survivor Fiji'. She screwed up in the Immunity Challenge, first having trouble untying the puzzle pieces, and then struggling to assemble her puzzle. She basically lost the challenge for her tribe, and wasn't a big enough contribution around camp to save her from her mistakes. She seemed to be blindsided, not expecting to be voted off, so she didn't even have a chance to try and save herself.