Survivor 43 season premiere breaks hearts after one episode

Survivor returned on CBS and it did not disappoint. The Survivor 43 season premiere saw 18 castaways land on the beaches of Fiji where they were divided into three tribes; Vesi, Baka and Coco. The excitement from the players highlights how much fans love the show when they earn a spot onto their favorite reality TV show.

The opening sequence gave viewers a glimpse into some of the players before jumping into the first reward challenge. Players had to haul heavy boxes, pull a boat to shore, solve a cube puzzle with those boxes and then be the first to capture a flint.

If viewers thought the Survivor 43 season premiere shot out like a canon, then they weren’t ready for the lightning pace of how quickly things can fall apart for a player’s game. For anyone who has made any preseason draft picks (like on RHAP), hearts are sure to break after tonight’s vote.

The Survivor 43 season premiere prepares you for heartbreak

After the initial reward challenge, the different tribes had to make their way to camps and ultimately end up working on their shelters. Yes, two tribes had to take on another challenge back at their camps to try and earn supplies they didn’t get in the reward challenge. But building a shelter is a quick way to learn who helps around camp and who everyone might want to strategize with. Let the games begin!

Talks of a girls’ alliance happened on more than one tribe, and after the past two seasons have seen a female winner, it’s safe to say “girl power” was also the vibe during the Survivor 43 season premiere. Additionally, some of the castaways are already showing their ability to think and make critical decisions under pressure, which also lead to last year’s winner landing a massive blindside.

When one member of each tribe was tasked with taking a ride on a boat and ultimately learn information about one another, Karla Cruz Godoy from the Coco tribe had her game face ready. Along with Dwight Moore (Vesi) and Mike Gabler (Baka), each player had an opportunity to take a shot at winning an advantage, but the risk meant the chance of losing their vote.

In that moment, Karla realized her vote was her life in this game. Saving her vote could ultimately give her some ability to maneuver within an alliance to help land her own blindside, if they were sent to tribal council. On the other hand, Dwight and “Gabler” took the risk leaving the former without a vote and the latter with an idol, which will only last through his first two tribal councils.

After an exciting immunity challenge where players crawled through the mud, dug through sand and built human pyramids to climb up a wall, it all ended up being decided by a table obstacle course where players had to guide a ball down a path to land in a hole – and then do it two more times. For those who did or didn’t take the risk on their three-person adventure, Karla and Dwight were able to breathe a sigh of relief as Coco and Vesi won immunities.

The despair on the faces of the Baka tribe made it very clear someone was going home and it was going to hurt. Gabler should be safe with his idol, but who would be left out of the plan and sent packing, ending their dreams of being the “Soul Survivor” after one episode?

How quickly do things change in Survivor?

Remember that talk about girls’ alliances? Well, once a tribe realizes they are being sent to tribal council, reality sets in and players have to decide what is the best decision for themselves; individually and as a tribe. Do players decide to “ride or die” with their strongest bonds or do players have to adapt to try and avoid potentially losing another challenge and coming back to tribal council?

It’s safe to say fans don’t always get to see everything going into the voting at tribal council, but like every season and almost every episode, two names do get thrown out at some point. Unfortunately, the Survivor 43 season premiere saw Owen Knight and Morriah Young get the early targets. With Owen being a college admissions director and Morriah being a middle school teacher, these are two personable people who know how to communicate; yet, they found themselves on the bottom of the season’s first episode.

Landing on the beaches of Fiji with such enthusiasm, everything at Baka was copacetic until it wasn’t. Tribal council came and a rainbow was snuffed out, along with Morriah’s torch. Perhaps she got unlucky with the idea of a cursed first name, or maybe the other members of the girls’ alliance pivoted to a decision they felt helped them best adapt at moving forward in the game.

Teachers are such a bright light for their students and the energy Morriah brings is clearly positive and influential for those around her back home. Sadly, viewers won’t get to see her vibrancy continue on through this season. For Morriah fans everywhere, hearts have been shattered.

Were you sad to see Morriah leave the game in the Survivor 43 season premiere? Should the Baka tribe have made another decision? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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