Episode 1 (2 hours!) – Feb 26, 2014
I definitely don’t have the motivation to do as much work on a Survivor recap as I do the Amazing Race, but that isn’t going to stop me from doing something. So the premiere of the 28th season was last night and it was epic. EPIC. But to get things started, I’ve collected some pics from the episode for your perusal, as damn(!), there is plenty to look at. I’ve got nothing for ya if you’re looking for chicks though.
There was a veritable treasure trove of good-looking guys. But that wasn’t too surprising since the theme of this season, at least initially, is Brawn vs Beauty vs Brains. Ugh, I know. It’s such an annoying concept. But if you actually watched the episode, you ended up seeing that despite those conceits, the two-hour block was a lot of fun.
Why was it fun? Because we got to watch the sheer insanity that went on at the Brains tribe:
- Absolutely no brains were applied to strategy. David made a terrible blunder in sending Garrett off in that first vote. Kass was telling J’Tia she was the target. Garrett insisted on a no-scheming zone. Tribal Council was a display of utter stupidity by pretty much everyone. Unbelievable.
- The challenges….OY. The first challenge with the cart and treasure chests was a bloodbath and the Brains were never in contention. The second challenge where the Brains had a ridiculous and commanding lead and THEN PROCEEDED TO LOSE the challenge entirely was jaw-dropping.
- Gotta say though – I was pretty good with being able to watch Garrett interact with everyone at camp in only his small black boxer-briefs. He was ridiculously in shape but as the 2 hours went on, it was clear this was not his game. You can’t “not” play the game and expect others to do the same. Even worse, you have to have some sense of what Survivor is about. He was the worst. Damn attractive with a slammin’ body, but the worst. PS: totally think he’s on my team. Just sayin’.
In the end, the first two eliminated were both from the Brains team: David (who played the wrong game; as written a LOT on the AV Club forum, “playing a post-merge game pre-merge” <– this x1000) and then Garrett, which was a blindside to him as well as to me and I think many of the viewers. CBS hid it well and made it seem clear that J’Tia was a likely and deserving goner in the 2nd episode – but Garrett’s complete self-destruction at that 2nd tribal council clearly convinced Kass that he had to go. And go he did. Mind you, this was AFTER J’TIA HAD PROCEEDED TO DUMP ALL OF THEIR RICE INTO THE FIRE. They STILL voted him out over her. It’s almost too much. But it made for a fantastic start, and I can’t wait to see what happens next.