Survivor Redemption Island Episode 1

This blog post contains spoilers.

Season 22 of Survivor will still be on Nicaragua, as was season 21, but this season will features two twists: Firstly, those who are voted out do not leave but rather go to Redemption Island (RI) where they will have to survive by themselves. When the next person is voted out, he or she also goes to RI where the two castaways will engage in a duel. The winner of the duel will continue to stay on RI while the loser is completely out of the competition. At some stage in the future the castaway on RI will re-enter the game. Survivor Pearl Island had a somewhat similar idea in that two people who were previously voted out went back into the game. When this happened, there was a lot of pressure on the returning castaways because those in the game make the argument that these people did not deserve to still be in the game. The second twist this season involves the return of former Survivor players Boston Rob and Russell Hantz. Boston Rob has played three times, went to the end once, but has never won. Russell, a self-proclaimed multi-millionaire who owns an oil company, has played in two seasons, has been to the end twice, but has also never won. Given these these two players have developed reputations as villainous and devious players, it is likely that other players will see them as a threat, which may see them voted off early. If this happens, the existence of RI should give Rob and Russell fans an incentive to continue to watch the season.

During the first episode, Rob and Russell were randomly assigned to separate tribes. Russell is in the more physical side whereas Rob is in the less physical side made up of younger and physically weaker people. Because Rob is the only strong player on his tribe, he is important. However, Russell is a strong player among many other seemingly strong players, so his position in the tribe is, in my opinion, not good, especially given his villainous reputation.

Rob's tribe lost the immunity challenge and went to tribal council. He teamed up with three young girls and two young guys to form a six-strong alliance versus a minority of three people: Francesca, Phil, and Kristina. Because Rob suspected that Kristina had an immunity idol, he instructed his alliance to split the vote between Kristina and Francesca. This plan resulted in Francesca being voted off.

One of the castaways, Phil, is probably one of the strangest contestants ever. He was a former Federal agent and likes to brag about this. When he talks, he uses secret agent jargon. He reminds me of a friend of mine who studied law in university and although he is not a lawyer but an accountant he loves to brag about how he had a sharp legal mind and that he knows how to think in a legal manner. While being a Federal agent or being a law may or may not be an impressive thing, the bottom line is that if you have to brag about it, surely you must be insecure.