It's been a while.
I've missed you.
Well, I've missed the jungle, and I've missed the ocean,
but mostly, I've missed our time together.
Survivor started out as this tiny little social experiment,
and it has evolved into one of the most mentally draining,
physically challenging and socially complicated games
ever seen on television.
And you've been there every step of the way,
which is why we thought it would be fun this season
to invite you inside the game a little more,
make you coconspirators.
So, at times, you'll know
what's happening before the players know.
You can play along, second-guess, like this.
It's a new advantage, the Beware Advantage.
This advantage comes with risk.
So, if you want this, you better be sure.
What would you do if you found it?
I'm gonna hide this at the Yase tribe camp.
The other two tribes will have one as well.
We just want to have fun this season,
so we're gonna lean into the best kind of Survivor fun,
the dangerous Kind.
Plus, we're gonna increase the pace.
These players will go 26 days,
which means they have to hit the ground running
because there will be nowhere to hide and no time to hide.
Plus, small tribes, no rice,
penalties for losing,
and you've got to earn everything.
And even then, the unexpected dangerous twist
can take it all away.
What do you want from me?
We're just trying to evolve the experiment a little more
and see how it goes, and we'll do it together.
Oh, and for you younger future Survivor players,
there's a game within the game just for you.
(sighs)
Been too long. Glad to be back.
♪ ♪
CREW 1: Okay, here we go.
CREW 2: All crew set to positions.
-CREW 3: Copy that. Over. -CREW 4: Helicopter up.
-We're rolling. -CREW 5: One, two.
CREW 2: Prepare the beach. We are a go.
-Cameras, this is it. -CREW 7: Speeding.
-CREW 2: Systems are ready. -CREW 8: Cameras?
-CREW 7: Speeding. -CREW 9: Speeding.
CREW 2: Season 41, let's go.
♪ ♪
I am really freaking excited to play Survivor.
I have studied this game, I love this game,
and I can't express how honored I am
to be part of the first season back.
That's freaking crazy.
DANNY: It's been a year and a half of quarantine.
Your mind's going crazy.
And I would throw on Survivor,
and I would just binge-watch it all day and all night.
I got to look forward to seeing competition.
I'm a former NFL player,
and the competitive spirit never leaves.
You're always trying to win at something, so this is
the ultimate test for me.
TIFFANY: Survivor kept me going through pandemic.
I was an alternate-- I went from
possibly being casted to you're not on the cast
to being called 24 hours before you're going.
I'm freaking out.
I want to show my kids, you know?
Mom said she's gonna be on Survivor, and look, she's here.
Now you can really do anything.
Like, let's start with making your bed.
JD: I've been a fan of Survivor since I could even watch TV.
I was born after Survivor.
It aired in 2000.
I was born in 2001.
And in my life, I always say there are three constants.
There's my faith, uh, my family
and Survivor.
You know, take everything that makes Survivor great
and inject it into my bloodstream,
and-and there you have me, JD.
VOCE: As someone that is in the hospitals on the front line,
honestly, this past year has been pretty traumatizing
for me-- professionally, personally--
and so this is kind of a complete reset for me.
I am beyond ready to play this game.
SHAN: A lot of people would think that pastors, like,
they can't play this game, they can't play this game well
because they're soft and, you know,
they want to take the high road all the time.
Listen, I am the mafia pastor, okay?
I am half Italian, half Jamaican.
That means I'm cutthroat, okay?
Like, I will pray for you
and walk you out the door at the same time.
I have no problem doing that.
SARA: I think 2020 was probably
the worst year of my life.
COVID has made me more excited to play the game.
ERIKA: Getting into the game, I'm gonna be an animal
that's let out of its cage.
XANDER: This is what I live and breathe for.
Oh, my God. (laughs)
♪ ♪
Come on up.
Opening moments of your adventure.
As soon as I step foot on that barge,
game on, game on.
This fantasy is a reality now.
PROBST: More people coming on board.
GENIE: We are a part of this amazing game
and this amazing season.
PROBST: Yeah, we need one more.
You want to play Survivor?
-(laughter) -Yes!
PROBST: Come on.
We got a room.
It's the best moment of my life, really. (laughs)
All right, welcome to the 41st season of Survivor.
Let it go.
(cheering)
We are so happy you're here.
I'm so happy I'm here.
We need us some Survivor.
We were lucky enough to be invited back to Fiji.
You guys did the full quarantine,
took all the tests-- you are safe.
We can play Survivor.
So let's play some Survivor.
Let's start. Guy in the far back right corner,
-what's your name? -Abraham.
Abraham, give me a number and describe
the feeling right now of excitement, one to ten.
Oh, ten, ecstatic.
No masks, no confinement.
-I'm feeling it. -(laughter)
Right here in the middle, what's your name?
-Erika. -Same thing-- give me a number
one to ten, and describe what that number feels like.
Oh, my gosh, it's like a million.
I was supposed to come last year,
and it got taken away last minute.
And I think about, like--
so many people lost so much during the pandemic
that they're never going to get back,
but, like, we get to still have this experience.
I-I can't believe it.
Guy in the back, what's your name?
-Naseer. -Naseer.
What is it, Naseer, about this show
that keeps everybody coming back with the same enthusiasm?
I can tell you, Jeff, this-- at this moment,
I'm the happiest human being on the earth.
I started watching Survivor season 21
and never been to America.
I hardly spoke English.
I learned English watching Survivor.
(chuckles) Thank you.
-You are my teacher. -(laughter)
And you're my dictionary, too.
I'm sorry about that.
Well, we're glad to have you here.
-Woman in the front. -Hi.
-What's your name? -My name is Heather.
When did you first start watching Survivor?
-20 years ago. -So you... you're a day one.
-Day one. Day one. -Right... right on.
What is it about this show
that you missed when it wasn't on for a year?
Oh, I missed everything about it.
This is routine for me. This has been a habit.
I started watching 20 years ago with my boyfriend,
who is now my husband,
and now we watch it with our children.
-PROBST: Wow. -So this has been a tradition
in my family-- or creating a family with you.
Thank you. Thank you for this.
Well, thank you for the family experience,
because that is a big part of why everybody here--
this entire crew behind me--
-makes this show... -Yeah.
...is for families like yours.
That's what makes Survivor special to us.
-Yeah. -PROBST: All right.
Now, as we all know, we are in the midst
of one of the most powerful, still evolving periods of time
that we will probably ever go through in our lives.
So, while you're out there backstabbing, blindsiding,
swearing on kids that you may or may not really have,
if something comes up that you want to talk about it,
talk about it.
Who knows? We might learn something.
In fact, I'll start because
I need your guidance on something.
For 20 years, I have used one phrase
to call people in for challenges.
ALL: Come on in, guys.
-(laughter) -PROBST: "Come on in, guys."
Yeah.
Love saying it-- it's part of the show--
but I, too, want to be of the moment.
So my question to you to decide for us,
in the context of Survivor,
is a word like "guys" okay,
or is it time to retire that word?
What do you think?
I personally think "guys" is okay.
It's part of, you know-- "Come in, guys"
is, like, such a signature expression, and, you know,
I as a woman, as a queer woman, do not feel excluded by "guys."
Hmm. Yeah. Does anybody disagree?
-No. -We feel okay keeping "guys"?
"Guys" is good.
Okay, mark it down-- discussed and decided.
-(laughter) -All right, tribe names.
Wearing blue, you are Luvu.
-Luvu. -(whooping)
Wearing yellow, Yase in the middle.
-Yase! -(whooping)
-And Ua, wearing green. -Ua! Yeah!
-Ua! -Yeah.
PROBST: I'm gonna tell you up front,
this season is going to be more difficult than ever to win,
and here are a few of the reasons.
It's going to be a shorter season,
which means an already fast pace will be relentless.
There will be no time to breathe and nowhere to hide.
You are also starting with very meager supplies.
One pot, one machete, one flint.
That's it.
No rice, no food source, and...
gameplay that I promise you has never been so dangerous.
-Ooh! -(whooping)
PROBST: When you look at your box, you see a four and a one,
my suggestion is drop the four, keep the one.
This is a new era of Survivor.
Let's get to your first test as brand-new tribes.
On this boat, scattered,
18 color-coded paddles, six for each tribe.
On my go, you got to get
your six paddles and your six tribe members
off this barge and onto your raft.
Then you're gonna paddle out and around a buoy
and race back to where
you'll see a flint dangling from a pole.
The first tribe to get the flint
earns those meager supplies-- pot, machete, flint.
The other two tribes will leave here with nothing.
You'll have to go back to camp and try to earn them again,
wasting valuable shelter-building time.
I wish you all good luck. And go!
Survivor 41 is on!
Opening moments. You don't know each other,
you've not said a word,
but you've got to quickly figure out
how to work together.
You are looking for six of your tribe-colored paddles.
They're not gonna be easy to get to.
If there are knots, you got to untie them.
If there's something on top of it, you got to get it off.
ABRAHAM: I got two.
PROBST: All you need is six of your paddles
and your six tribe members off the barge and on your raft.
Somebody get in the water for blue!
Here's another blue!
PROBST: Doing a nice job there gathering all their paddles,
and now they're tossing them over.
Great strategy.
"Do they have all six?" is the question.
VOCE: No, no, no, no! One, two, three, four, five.
-There's one more yellow. -One more.
One more yellow.
Ua has their sixth.
Blue, we got six.
Blue, we got six. Come on.
PROBST: Who's gonna get all six paddles
and get to their boat first?
Danny's in the water. Genie's in the water.
Brad getting ready to leap.
Nice entry.
All the paddles were in the same spot,
so it's interesting that one tribe is struggling.
-Nothing up here. I promise. -VOCE: Okay.
-TIFFANY: We have 'em? -ABRAHAM: No, we're missing one.
PROBST: They were all in six groups.
What happened?
Hold it. Hold it.
Ready. Go, go!
Luvu has all six paddles and all six players,
and they are heading out.
(indistinct shouting)
PROBST: You got to unclip in the front and the back.
PROBST: Ua taking a long time.
-Okay. -Paddle!
RICARD: You two guys on the left...
PROBST: Tiffany now in the water for Yase.
Things not looking good for Yase.
-Go, go! -(indistinct shouting)
PROBST: It is all Luvu right now.
Even though they appear to be... not moving.
-One, two, three... -PROBST: Slowly,
they are inching their way out to that buoy.
We got it!
One, two, three.
PROBST: Ua now in the water.
They have got a very good pace out of the gate.
-Press it hard! Press it hard! -(grunting)
PROBST: Ua now with a really nice group effort.
Ua now starting to pull in the lead.
-Yeah. -PROBST: Luvu is going backwards.
Luvu got out to a fast start, and literally,
it is if they are anchored in the water.
One, two, three. Row.
We're not moving, guys.
PROBST: It's now Ua pulling away.
Doing a great job of paddling together
while Yase is suffering one of the biggest embarrassments
-of any day one... -VOCE: Thanks, Jeff.
...in Survivor history.
ABRAHAM: I don't see it up here.
There is no shot for Yase right now.
Turn your attention to green and blue.
Ua is about to celebrate
a first very big dominating victory
-out of the gate. -SHAN: Go!
Keep going.
Push on that side from the front, too, hard and down.
-(whoops) -PROBST: Pull on it.
-Shan has it. -(cheering)
Ua wins the first challenge.
Earns their tribe supplies.
Ua, your supplies will be waiting for you back at camp.
Luvu, you're gonna have to earn them another way.
Yase, you got bigger problems than camp supplies.
-LIANA: Guys, it's up... -VOCE: Oh, it's right up there.
EVVIE: Oh, my God.
There it is. At the last minute,
-Liana found it. -EVVIE: Yeah, Liana.
PROBST: Too little, too late.
Luvu!
We are not moving.
PROBST: Luvu, I don't think you unclipped in the back.
You're dragging an anchor.
-DESHAWN: Bro! -(laughing)
Oh, no!
Yase, off the barge, onto your raft.
Take your paddles. You got to get going.
Let's go-- in the water.
♪ ♪
Who will have what it takes
to outwit, outplay and outlast all the rest?
This is Survivor 41.
♪ ♪
(burbling)
♪ ♪
SARA: Last year, my grandmother passed away from COVID,
and losing her was hard in itself,
but when you're in a position
where you can't do anything about it, like...
I wouldn't wish that upon anyone.
-Oh, my gosh. -(laughter)
SARA: My grandmother enjoyed Survivor a lot.
Home sweet home.
We would watch it together.
-Let's get started. -Yeah, let's go.
I feel like I'm here almost for her.
I'm terrible at maps. Do you mind?
-This is the water... -So, wait, we took a right.
-Do you guys think it's... -Yeah, we're just kind of walking.
-I know, I think we keep going that way. -Wait, no, we... Yeah.
We keep going that way.
-We got this. -GENIE: Okay.
SARA: Obviously, the fact that I lost her is very sad,
but I do feel her presence with me, and I feel like that's
gonna give me so much strength throughout the game.
And let's find a good Shady spot.
Oh, yeah.
-BRAD: Look at that. -SARA: So cool.
Oh, I love this spot.
GENIE: Should we just start collecting a bunch of materials?
-I saw a bunch of bamboo. -Yeah, totally.
The more bamboo...
-I think over there, too. -RICARD: Let's do it.
♪ ♪
BRAD: I'm a cattle rancher
on a fourth-generation cattle ranch,
and we've just raised beef for the last hundred years.
And so I'm used to working with my hands all the time.
If there's a well down and the cows are out of water,
we got to fix it.
On the ranch, I was always Dad's right-hand man.
So there's a lot of responsibilities.
Five years ago, cancer got ahold of him,
and Dad died a week before I came out here.
Survivor was kind of one of those things that it's like,
go play Survivor and do this one for you.
You want to get the most out of life.
You want to get the most out of it.
SARA: We're gonna get fire today. I'm not worried.
-BRAD: What are we gonna eat? -Coconut.
-JD: Um... -BRAD: That's it, huh?
SARA: In season one, they gave them, like, canned food.
-Yeah, right. -(laughter)
(sighs) Someone else want a turn?
JD: I can get it. I promise you, I can get it.
For the past year, 'cause of COVID,
I may not have been playing Survivor,
but I was playing Survivor.
I was practicing all the time.
Making fire with flint.
With coconut husk, with grass,
with everything, just making that flame.
There it is.
Hell yeah.
-(whooping, laughter) -SHAN: You guys got fire?
Yeah!
-(whooping) -That feels damn good, man!
As a superfan, making fire on Survivor
was incredible.
Check the box. I made fire on Survivor.
That's crazy.
Man, whoo!
(laughter, chatter)
Any chance our family and friends won't watch episode one?
-No, no, no, I don't... -(laughter)
LIANA: The first challenge was quite difficult.
It didn't go so hot for the yellow tribe.
We definitely hit rock bottom, and we all looked like idiots,
but the only way to go from there is up.
EVVIE: So we walk up on the beach
and see this
crazy-looking hourglass
and this giant triangle frame.
And I'm thinking, "Okay.
Let's see what Survivor has in store for us."
All right.
"You must choose one task to complete, Savvy or Sweat."
-Okay, okay, okay. -EVVIE: Um, okay.
EVVIE: It's scary.
We need a machete. We need a pot.
We need, like... This is a huge, huge, huge decision.
I'm thinking, with these triangles,
it's gonna be, like... it's gonna be hard to see.
-Like, it's gonna be like, you're gonna miss it, so... -VOCE: Yeah. Yeah.
-LIANA: Right, right. -(laughter)
-That's right. -Oh, my gosh.
I think, if we have multiple people look at it, though...
-Yeah. -Yeah.
VOCE: So, being a neurosurgeon,
you are constantly thinking through scenarios.
And I really want the Savvy option to be chosen.
One of the rules said for the physical challenge,
only two people can do it
and the rest of the tribe goes off.
And you would have to be an idiot to do that,
because that means you're sequestered from your tribe.
Like, we could definitely do the water.
Like, I-I'd be willing to work with you for that.
VOCE: The-the one thing that I'm... I am worried about is,
is that I don't think filling the two barrels...
-I don't think it's gonna be that easy. -Yeah.
And then we won't have...
I think it's gonna be something where,
if you and I did it,
we're just gonna be exhausted afterwards.
Which I'm game for for the tribe.
-Oh! -Yeah, so that takes two of us
away to the water, and we can prep for the shelter.
-I'm handy, so I got it. -All right, let-let's do it.
If everybody's game, let's do it.
All right. You gonna be all right?
VOCE: I look like a little weenie
if I'm just like, "No, no, I don't want to do it."
And so, of course I have to say,
"Yeah, I could do that with you.
We could get it done. Sure. No problem."
-All right. -You guys got this. We love you. Good luck.
Guys, we love you and we're gonna get it together for you.
How did I get roped into this
while now these people are gonna go
make bonds, hunt for idols as they build the shelter?
They're gonna start this game. I'm not starting this game.
I'm the moron running along the beach
back and forth, back and forth, back and forth, back and forth.
Idiot.
ERIKA: Savvy or Sweat?
The water is a sure thing.
I'll do it. I'll step up and do it.
-You will? -Okay. -Yeah, I'll do it.
-All right, let's do it. -Thank you.
All right.
-All right, let's do it! -All right, Deshawn.
SYDNEY: Immediately, Deshawn's like, "We can for sure do Sweat."
It really wasn't even a conversation.
We are here for you guys, okay? All right?
-DANNY: Thank you. -NASEER: All right?
I mean, clearly, our brains aren't working.
We couldn't even unclip a... a hook.
What makes us think we can solve a triangle riddle?
-Ready, guys? -DANNY and DESHAWN: Yep.
-ERIKA: Get it. -(laughter)
-DESHAWN: We got it, okay? -DANNY: We got it.
-SYDNEY: Good luck. -ERIKA: You guys are gonna kill it.
-Get it. -(laughter)
DANNY: We start off with no food, no pot and no machete.
This is the horrible part of Survivor.
It's like, what... like, what is this?
Forget the four. It's the one.
So we need to just put the work in, grind hard.
This is a new era of Survivor.
Oh!
God.
Damn, damn, damn.
SARA: Ooh, the mosquitoes are out.
You doing okay?
Oh... I think I messed up.
SARA: So, how long have you and your wife been married, Genie?
I've been married for 20 years.
SARA: Dang.
-That's so beautiful to see and, like... -(insects buzzing)
Yeah, I know, right?
And it's just so incredible that, like--
it was kind of stigmatized, right, like, to be gay?
And so I think that's really important.
I was about 25,
and my now-wife proposed to me.
I have a very traditional family.
So I knew the first thing I got to do
is tell my mom, you know?
I thought she was gonna be really upset with me.
She gives me a diamond, and she says,
"I want you to give it to Lindsey."
And I was so touched by that because...
just from that gesture,
my mom was telling me she accepted me.
She loved me for who I was.
And...
you know, she never said those words to me,
but I knew it all right at that exact moment.
SARA: How long have you been married?
-RICARD: Six years. -SARA: Oh, my goodness.
What was strange about it was right before we met,
I was in the process of fostering to adopt,
'cause I wanted to be a single dad.
Okay.
I never, ever, ever wanted to get married.
At the moment I saw him,
-he was catching a football. -Yeah.
He had muscles.
-I mean, it was just awesome. -Yeah.
And so we got married 37 days later.
-That's incredible. -And now we have a daughter.
-No way. What's her name? -Yeah.
-Aurelia. -Oh, my goodness.
RICARD: Being on Survivor,
it's complicated
because I'm leaving behind a 22-month-old daughter.
She doesn't understand
why I'm gone or that I'm coming back.
And my husband, who's working a full-time job
while taking care of our baby while also being a transgender
pregnant man... I'm leaving behind a lot.
But if I won this money, I would be able to know
that my children's whole childhood up to adulthood
I could take care of them.
And so I'm here for a really good reason-- to make
a really big impact on my life.
Yeah. Yeah.
DANNY: Make sure we keep our eye on that time.
DESHAWN: Good thing is we got plenty of time.
And if we find it, bro, I'm not saying nothing
if you don't say nothing.
-Tell nobody. -That's it.
DANNY: I believe that me and Deshawn have a pretty strong alliance.
We made some deals while we were out here,
you know, trying to figure out,
you know, what we want to do
and how we can move further in this game.
DANNY: And if you're gonna look for an idol,
look for it on the first day.
DESHAWN: If there's a clue out here,
we gonna find it.
SYDNEY: What's going on?
SYDNEY: Okay.
You want to talk about strategy?
-You know why? -Why?
-They're looking for idols? -Oh.
-ERIKA: What? -SYDNEY: Really?
-NASEER: So... -You don't think they're gonna finish?
I know. These guys thinking they can come back
being the heroes, then take advantage of us.
Danny and Deshawn potentially looking for an idol
during the water penalty started waving
a few red flags for us.
ERIKA: You know, thinking about what can happen the next few rounds--
like, those guys could save each other with the idol,
all of a sudden, like, they pick off, like, "the weak people,"
then all of us
are screwed at that point.
VOCE: I'm just slowing way down.
I'm cramping up each time.
I mean, I'm gonna keep going, but I'm, like,
going about a quarter as fast
-as I was in the beginning. -XANDER: Me, too.
EVVIE: I really feel like the two guys,
they're gonna be so bonded from doing this together.
-You know what I mean? -Oh, totally.
Totally.
And I would go with those-those guys, maybe.
-You know what I mean? -I think I'm open to, like...
-Like, listen, as long as it's not you or me... -Yeah.
-Yeah, I 100% agree. -We're chilling.
LIANA: I definitely think Evvie right now
is my number one.
I don't know what it is, but I just have
an inkling of genuineness and authenticity with her.
-I work in a lab. I'm a research assistant. -Ooh.
What kind of research do you do?
So it's, like, genetics research.
-What? -Yeah.
EVVIE: In the game, I don't think
I'm gonna tell everyone that I'm doing a PhD
in human evolutionary biology at Harvard.
I think that would make me a big target.
But I've been studying natural selection
and, you know, what survives
and what doesn't survive my whole life.
So I'm really excited to play the ultimate survival game.
ABRAHAM: So, wh-what kind of game you plan on playing?
I'm not gonna not be ruthless when I have to,
but my most important thing is, like, making
genuine relationships with people and, uh,
work with them as long as I can.
-What about you? -I figure this is a team sport
-until it's not a team sport. -Yeah. That's exactly how I feel.
ABRAHAM: The first challenge that we had,
jumping off the barge, we looked like a weak tribe.
If we don't win, we vote.
-It's so hard in every challenge. -EVVIE: Hell yeah.
ABRAHAM: Winning stops the voting.
And if I can't win, I need to find a fall person.
Yeah. (scoffs)
Dude, I did see that. Yeah.
-I mean... -Yeah. We're good.
I looked at that paddle-- it was just floating away.
EVVIE: Yep.
ABRAHAM: She could've at least brought the boat closer.
EVVIE: I hear you.
LIANA: He's really about keeping the tribe, like, strong.
And he was saying, when you were in the boat
in the challenge, you were just sitting there
-and you let the paddle go away. -No, I didn't let the paddle go away.
-I put four paddles in... five paddles in the boat. -I know. Girl...
And I couldn't even get the other one.
TIFFANY: Day one, we all messed up together,
so throwing my name under the bus, that got me pissed.
But I have a lot of social skills
and a lot of resilience.
♪ ♪
I'm what they call a previvor.
My mother died of ovarian cancer when I was 16.
I was a senior in high school.
And I had the genetic code for that,
which was the BRCA gene.
I was one of the first people in the U.S.
to make the decision to have preemptive
double mastectomy and oophorectomy.
And I knew that if I did the surgery,
yeah, that was gonna not be the best thing in the world
for a young girl to have to do that.
I was only 32.
But they did find the beginning of breast cancer,
so I saved my life, and I was quoted
in the medical world as a previvor.
Now I'm here.
So it's time
to take that title and change it to "Survivor,"
and that's what I want to do.
SARA: Why does it keep going out?
(blowing)
Wow.
That's great.
-Are we? Yeah, I guess we are. -I think so.
You said you're 20...
-23. Yeah. -23?
SARA: You're right. Yeah.
JD: Coming out here, I didn't want to be the guy
who's talking strategy all the time.
I don't want that target.
-You all right? -Yeah. I just came to talk to you.
JD: And so what I wanted to do was
I wanted to kind of have
little tiny conversations, just getting to know people.
I don't know if you believe it, but I got mad game.
-You know what I'm saying? -SHAN: Ah!
I believe it the way you came and sat down over here.
JD: But at the same time, because the game's 26 days,
it is definitely gonna
go by so much faster.
It's like it's been injected with jet fuel.
For now, let's just say it's you and me.
Yeah, yeah. Absolutely.
JD: Me being a superfan,
I know ... about to get real.
It's about to get real real fast.
Mmm.
Is that working?
You're so smart.
RICARD: JD is a sweetheart,
but he's here, to, like play.
He's, like, really intense. He's really...
trying to make connections with every single person, and...
I just feel like there's something
untrustworthy right now.
So, what are you thinking, Sara?
Um...
I'm definitely being rubbed the wrong way.
-By...? -JD.
Yeah?
I'll say this-- if there is a Tribal Council
without there being kind of prep,
I don't want to say it, but I feel like it would be JD.
-Yeah. -I think so, too.
SHAN: There are many skills
that I bring to the table as a result of being a pastor.
I trust you guys, like...
SHAN: Active listening is huge-- especially in a game
where you can't trust anyone, I want people
to feel like they can trust me.
BRAD: Yeah.
SHAN: Being able to create bonds with people
and establish a strong relationship,
that's the disguise, right?
So they won't see me cut their throat in the end.
-That's a lot of work. -(laughs)
-But I'm down. -Yeah.
-I'm-a ride with you to the end. -All right.
-SHAN: I have your back 100. -Right.
-I want you to know I have your back. -Okay.
SHAN: I am working everyone at this moment.
And I have a soundtrack that I hum in my head
when I'm up to evil.
Like, literally, I have a soundtrack that I hum.
(humming a tune)
Just know that, like, if someone says your name to me,
like, I'm coming to you.
-Yeah. -And I just trust
-that you'd do the same for me. -Absolutely.
-Just have each other's back. -Yeah.
(humming)
SHAN: I want to be locked in with you guys.
-GENIE: Yeah. -BRAD: Yeah, I'm with you.
-We got three. -Yeah.
(Shan humming)
(stops humming)
DANNY: Sand's getting a little low.
DESHAWN: Let's not cut it too close.
We might have to pick it up.
♪ ♪
One step at a time.
DESHAWN: Let's go.
VOCE: Oh, my God, man.
-Oh, my God. -Oh.
Dude.
(sighs heavily)
DESHAWN: Never quit.
-Thank you so much. -Yes.
DANNY: We took that chance
and worked that hard to get the supplies,
so I think it built us a little respect in our tribe.
Hello!
(laughing)
Basically, what happened was, like,
me and Erika are sitting here...
-Mm-hmm. -Naseer was like,
"No one's strategizing."
Then he's like, "I saw the boys
looking for an idol."
-DESHAWN: Oh! -Yeah.
-I'm in shock. Did he really? -Yes.
DESHAWN: Danny was busting ass. I was busting ass out there.
Like, it wasn't easy to do.
And, like, damn, you got a lot of nerve
to come back and say that
two people who just won you a machete need to be voted out?
That's insane. I was upset.
Immediately for me, it was like, okay, it has to be Naseer.
Because this is the game he's playing, he has to go.
DESHAWN: Sounds like something's rocking.
DANNY: I just started running.
(laughter)
Oh, that's a big one!
(all exclaiming)
-I see it! It's right there! -Where, where, where?
SYDNEY: Survivor makes sense for me.
(others exclaiming)
Like, I love to travel
with nothing but the clothes on my back,
my retainer, my passport and a credit card.
Wish it was my dad's, but it's mine.
I've been to 49 countries.
I always need to challenge myself in life,
-and Survivor just made sense. -(Sydney exclaims, laughs)
-DANNY: You got him. -SYDNEY: Yeah, I got him.
-(Sydney screams) -DANNY: Oh!
You guys, we have a visitor.
DESHAWN: We were just kind of chilling at camp, and a boat pulls up.
That was weird because it's like, this is day two.
You know what I'm saying? And it just speaks to
how expedited this game is.
Especially when Jeff was saying it's a whole new era,
you have to be ready to play the game like it needs to be played.
So everyone's like, "Oh, Sydney, like, you're adventurous.
You should go." I'm like, "Okay. Yeah, right."
She don't want to go. I'm afraid of the unknown.
I'm thinking...
definitely not going.
Okay, listen, listen.
You want to do a rock, paper, scissors?
NASEER: I'm not for it.
That will put a huge target on my back.
-Does anybody want to go? -I'll go.
-I'll do it. -You want to do it?
-DANNY: Yeah. -ERIKA: Yeah? Go.
-Yeah, I'll go. -Do it.
Paper, rock, scissors? Nobody wanted to play.
I was like, well, if we're gonna sit here all day
and-and debate this, then I'll just go.
-ERIKA: Good luck out there. -NASEER: All right. Bye, Danny.
-(all saying goodbye) -DANNY: It's a risk
any time you're away from the tribe,
but I wanted to go because I came out here
to play the game of Survivor.
EVVIE: What do we do?
What do you want to do? Xander?
Yeah, I mean, like...
I mean, you guys know me. I'm not gonna...
Let's give it up, right?
-Okay. -TIFFANY: Are you okay with it?
Yeah. I mean, like, if-if you guys are okay with it.
-TIFFANY: We're okay with it. -VOCE: For sure.
-All right. -EVVIE: I think you're the person that
everyone would feel, like, most comfortable with.
-VOCE: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah. -Okay.
EVVIE: I absolutely think Xander was the right decision.
I think he's the least likely to lie about what happened person.
And I think it's a game where you can trust no one,
and I think we picked the person that
we all kind of felt the best about.
UA TRIBE: One, two, three.
(all exclaiming)
-JD: Okay! -SHAN: All right, you're going.
JD: Let's get this show on the road.
-Who wants this? -GENIE: We're so happy for you.
SHAN: We are happy for you.
-Are you sure? -SHAN: Yeah.
JD: In classic Survivor fashion,
we decide to draw rocks, and so...
I reach in, and I'm like, this one's definitely black.
Like, there's no way this is the white rock.
We reveal,
and I pulled the white rock on day two of Survivor.
This is so sick, and I'm so stoked
to be a part of this new Survivor experience.
I think all of us kind of wanted to go.
-BRAD: All right, man. -I know.
-Now I'm nervous. -(laughter)
No, actually, I kind of wish I wouldn't have picked that rock.
JD: But there's a little fear--
not for what's gonna happen once I get on the boat
but what's gonna happen back at camp.
A lot of the times, when somebody is selected
for something, puts a target on their back.
ALL: Ua!
JD: And it's easy for the five people there to say,
"There's one person not here.
We could get used to this."
♪ ♪
XANDER: You notice right off the bat
there are other boats, so I'm thinking to myself:
What are we doing together? Is this a challenge?
Are we gonna face off?
Is this a summit? Are we gonna work together?
And we have no idea.
-Danny. -Xander.
-Nice to meet, bro. -Nice to meet you, too.
-DANNY: Nice to meet you. -What's up, boys?
DANNY: What's going on? What's your name?
-JD. -JD. Danny.
-Danny? What's up, man? -Yeah.
What's up, my bro?
-Xander. -Xander?
DANNY: "Follow the path to the summit.
Take this time to get to know each other."
JD: All right.
We read this sign
right in the middle of the beach, and it's like,
you have a trek to do.
"Get to know each other."
XANDER: Where are you guys living now?
DANNY: Uh, I live in Dallas.
(laughing): No, I... no, I run a youth football program.
I'm no longer a football player. That ended in college.
Uh, LSU. I did a walk-on.
Damn, man.
XANDER: Uh, I run recreationally.
Hey, what about you, JD?
-Damn. (chuckles) -Rollin'.
DANNY: You the guy we need to be worried about.
(laughter)
-JD: This is tough. -DANNY: Yeah.
JD: I'm an athlete, so I thought
I was gonna be fine.
That trek had me gassed.
You got to be kidding me, dude.
But I thank God for...
for giving me this experience and...
This is my dream out here.
(crowd cheering)
♪ ♪
Growing up, I was not always the bro
with the long hair and the pretty teeth
and the really nice style.
I was bullied a lot.
Because I was short.
I was skinny.
I had braces. I had glasses.
You know, I wasn't cool.
I always say I grew up more like Carlton Banks
than I grew up like Will Smith.
Watching Survivor made me feel
as though I didn't need to fit into this mold
that everybody wants to put me in.
The people who I looked up to, the people who I loved to watch,
I'm like, "That's who I want to be like."
I want to be like Ozzy, you know?
I want to be like Woo.
And so that's why I say Survivor built me up
and Survivor helped me become who I am.
And-and without Survivor,
I wouldn't be this guy.
I wouldn't be the guy who loves being out in the jungle.
I wouldn't be the guy who,
on day one of Survivor, started fire.
-(cheering) -Yeah!
-Whew. -DANNY: Look at this.
JD: I'm the youngest kid out here.
It feels incredible.
I'm glad we're here.
-DANNY: Oh, yeah. Okay, okay, okay. -JD: Yeah.
JD: This is who I've wanted to be my whole entire life.
I'm out here, and I'm a Survivor player.
♪ ♪
JD: "You will now separate and make a private decision
before returning to camp."
-DANNY: Because, I mean... -Damn.
There will probably be an option for an advantage
or something for the tribe.
Here's my thoughts.
I really want to play with-with dudes who I vibe with,
and, like, I got great vibes from you guys
just as soon as we saw each other.
When-when you go down there, you taking the advantage?
DANNY: Me, Xander and JD, we assume that it will be
advantage or something for the tribe.
We tried to figure out if we were going to all agree
to take the advantage...
-Till we meet again. -It's been good, boys.
DANNY: ...or if we were all
gonna agree to decline it.
♪ ♪
All right.
DANNY: "After spending the day together,
"you must now make a strategic decision
"based on how well you got to know one another.
"Protect your vote or risk your vote.
"Here's how it works.
"If all players choose 'protect your vote,'
"nothing changes.
"All players stay the same.
Nothing lost, nothing gained."
"If all players choose 'risk your vote,'
"then all players lose their vote at the next Tribal Council.
"But if it's a split decision,
"players who choose to protect your vote
"remain the same.
"Players who choose 'risk your vote'
receive an extra vote."
"The question is, with a million dollars on the line..."
ALL: "Will you risk it or play it safe?"
♪ ♪
XANDER: The pro to protecting your vote
is that, at next Tribal, you don't have to worry.
And the pro to risking your vote is that
you have this weapon that can get you
out of a sticky situation.
What I gleaned instantly
from those guys is that they want to play hard.
It's the prisoner's dilemma.
You've just met these people, but you really don't know
how they're gonna respond to something
that could benefit them personally.
It's a high-risk, high-reward situation.
Although an extra vote would mean a lot later on in the game,
I know it puts a big target on my head.
I don't think it's a... a big risk for me going home,
but I don't want to lose the loyalty.
Think, uh, those guys will probably
protect their vote as well.
If I risk my vote and I end up losing,
then I would lose my vote at the next Tribal Council,
and I don't think the risk is worth the reward.
Yeah, I think I'm gonna... I'm gonna protect my vote.
At this point in the game, that's probably
the smartest decision.
So, if JD and Xander decided to risk their vote,
they will both have extra votes at Tribal Council.
Damn.
JD: The best decisions in the history of mankind
have been inevitably decided
by eeny, meeny, miny, moe.
Oh, guys, the-the boat's coming back.
Danny!
-I'm ready for story time. You know I love it. -I know, right?
-Let's go take a seat. -SYDNEY: All right. -ERIKA: Okay.
DANNY: I absolutely felt the pressure
to come back and let them know what really happened
at that mountain.
I met with JD from the green tribe and Xander.
Once we got on top of this mountain,
we read this little note.
And it was like, "Each of you will go and make
your own private decision before you go back to camp."
-(chuckles) -You can choose to risk your vote,
-or you can protect your vote. -ERIKA: Oh, my gosh.
DANNY: If all three people say "risk your vote,"
all three people lose their vote at the next Tribal Council
and you won't have a vote.
If it's a split decision, then the people that said "risk,"
they get an extra vote and it's good.
-Okay. The prisoner's dilemma. -SYDNEY: Oh, my God.
DESHAWN: Okay.
What did you do?
I protected mine.
-Oh, so you're staying the same. -Yeah, I'm staying the same.
-Okay, cool. -I got my vote.
HEATHER: Danny was very forthcoming,
and there were too many details
to not... to not mess up.
And I feel everybody is believing Danny's story.
You made a good decision, then.
Yeah, we didn't get no damn rice.
XANDER: After we meet and everything,
we each get to play,
-like, a game of chicken. -Oh.
And if everyone risks their vote, then we all lose it.
If everyone plays it safe, we all keep it.
Oh, okay, okay. I see what you're saying.
XANDER: If one other person or two other people
played it safe and I risked it, then we get an extra vote.
My tribe knows I'm coming back with something
that helps me or the tribe.
And we all know how this game works.
If I come back empty-handed,
they're left to assume the worst, which is bad for me.
ABRAHAM: No guts, no glory. I say you went for it.
XANDER: I risked it.
I don't know what the other two tribes chose.
We won't know until Tribal.
We could use it come swap time or whenever.
-EVVIE: Oh, yeah. -Yeah.
-You made the right decision. -Yeah.
EVVIE: Xander is smart.
This idea of risking your vote
and kind of a prisoner's dilemma,
that's a complex story, and I think Xander knows
he'd get caught if he tried to lie too much.
So we'll see, but that is, like,
a huge advantage, an extra vote at any time.
Like, we don't know what's coming to us. That's amazing.
XANDER: This is something that we can do for the team,
and, like, I'm willing to put my neck on the line for it.
With the way I was able to present my story,
I didn't have to keep up with my lie
and, you know, remember the little things
I changed and tweaked.
So, I always find it interesting that people love
to lie about these, you know, risk/reward scenarios.
BRAD: You got a big bag of rice in the bag?
-JD: No, I wish. -(laughs)
But, like, if y'all really want to check, like, here's my bag.
-Go through the bag. -BRAD: Oh, no, no, no, no.
RICARD: Oh, honey, I'm going through it.
I will... I will literally, like,
nothing in here, and I will take my pants off.
I sit everybody down, and I'm like,
"I have a story to tell."
From the beginning, get on the boat.
You know, we're cruising, and I'm like, mmm,
and my hair's, like, flowing through the wind
and I think I look amazing.
I look over, and then there's two people in different boats
whose hair looks even more amazing.
And we jump out the boat, and we're like, "Oh, what's up?"
And, like, we're all stoked to meet each other.
So, we have to do this trek,
probably a little over an hour, and I-I led the way.
And so, yeah, but that's not the end of it. Um...
There is this ship's wheel, right?
Xander and Danny both had the same thing,
and if one of us hits... if one of us turns it
and it says "risk your vote"
and two people turn it and say "protect your vote,"
someone gets an extra vote.
But if two people risk their vote,
then they lose their vote at the next Tribal Council.
If you lose a vote, like, you're screwed.
-SHAN: So, what did you do? -I protected my vote.
I didn't want to be the person
to just screw everything up, you know, for myself.
I told them that I protected my vote,
and I gave them so much information that I don't think
I left room for them to believe I was leaving anything out.
And I feel like everybody's still getting to know each other
and, like, we kind of are...
it's-it's in that blurry gray area so far.
I think they ate it up.
I really think I sold it really well.
-I feel good. -SHAN: Okay.
JD: But yeah, that was what happened.
RICARD: Yeah, so JD just came back
from his little fun adventure.
And I don't believe ... he just said.
It just doesn't make sense.
He's shady-boots lying, so let's get rid of JD.
That's crazy, right?
♪ ♪
Come on in, guys.
Getting your first look at that big first challenge.
All right.
So let's check in.
Ricard, how you feel?
We're three days into the biggest adventure
of your life.
-What's the vibe? -(light laughter)
So, when we saw you on day one, you asked us a question.
You asked us how we felt
-about "Come on in, guys." -PROBST: "Come on in, guys."
-Right. -RICARD: And the reality is
there was so much going on--
there's so much commotion, cameras, my hair is messed up,
I'm half crying--
I don't have the capacity to do what I'm really supposed to do,
which I regret.
I don't agree that we should use the word "guys."
-Huh. -RICARD: I fully agree that we should change it,
whether it just be dropping the "guys,"
changing it to something else.
I just don't really agree with it.
Reality is Survivor has changed over the last 21 years,
and those changes have allowed all of us,
all of these Brown people, Black people, Asian people,
so many queer people to be here simultaneously.
PROBST: Yeah. It's a great point, and I got to say,
I love that you thought about it more.
I love that you had the courage inside a million-dollar game
in which standing up anytime is risky
to bring it up again, because I'm with you.
I want to change it.
I'm glad that was the last time I will ever say it.
And realizing in this moment
somebody right now is on social media saying,
"Oh, he caved,"
it's @JeffProbst on Twitter.
(laughter)
I'll probably never read it anyway.
All right. I love that.
We just made a change. From now on, it is "Come on in."
Okay.
I want to tell you about a new twist at Tribal Council.
Gonna complicate the game a little more.
(sighing)
If you go to Tribal Council
and you fear you are in danger
but you don't have an advantage, you don't have an idol,
this is the Shot in the Dark die.
Here's how the Shot in the Dark works.
This die gives you the power to decide not to vote
but instead reach into a bag
and draw for a one-in-six shot at safety
that night at Tribal Council.
Low odds. It's like 17%.
But if you need a Hail Mary, this will give it to you.
Comes with a big invoice-- you can't vote--
but if you think you're in trouble,
what does your vote matter anyway?
And this decision will happen in private,
in the voting booth,
so nobody will know what you've done
until just before I read the votes.
Very new complication to the strategy.
There's one in here for each of you.
You can take these back to your camp.
Deal with that later.
Sorry about that, JD.
That's a bad toss, man.
All right.
Let's get to your first immunity challenge.
-(clapping, cheering) -There's the immunity idol right there.
-Oh, yeah. -Yeah.
-(others whooping)
In the tribe stage of the game,
this is what you want, because if this is at your camp,
it means so are you.
You're not going home.
For today's challenge...
...you're gonna race over and under a series of obstacles
till you get to the sled.
You're gonna load your sled with very heavy puzzle pieces.
Then two members at a time are gonna move very heavy sandbags.
Once you've cleared the track,
you'll push the sled down the track,
transfer your puzzle pieces to a crate,
and then hoist them to the top of a very tall tower
where two players will solve a Survivor puzzle.
The first and only the first tribe to finish
wins immunity.
(all groaning, muttering)
The two losing tribes will go to Tribal Council.
Two people going home tonight.
In addition, the two losing tribes
will have to forfeit their flint.
You will get a chance to earn it back
at the next immunity challenge.
I hope it's starting to sink in
this game is more difficult, more dangerous.
You have to perform every single day,
or you could be gone like that.
All right, give you a minute to strategize. We'll get started.
♪ ♪
All right, here we go. For immunity.
Survivors ready?
Go!
You got to get up and over that net.
Everybody moving quickly.
(grunting)
Now you're through the sawdust.
Naseer with a big fall.
Tribal Council tonight, two people going home.
-VOCE: Go, Abraham. -You got to keep moving!
ABRAHAM: Give me your hand.
PROBST: Got to get all six people to your mat.
-(grunting) -Come on. Come on.
Luvu, you're good. Ua, you're good.
Yase, you're good.
-Puzzle pieces on the sled. -Push it up.
-PROBST: Got to get all six, then you start moving. -Go, go, go!
-Move, move, move! -Get a sandbag. Get a sandbag.
PROBST: Now you're moving very heavy sandbags
to clear that track.
-Whoa. Right here, right here. -Sorry. Sorry.
Two members of each tribe moving very heavy sandbags.
You can swap out if you need. There's Erika with one.
Here comes Heather with one.
Liana. Look at that!
That's how you do it on Survivor!
Xander with another bag.
-Everybody doing a nice job. -DANNY: Here we go, here we go.
Bring it back, bring it back!
(deep, heavy breathing)
(whimpers)
LIANA: Go, Abraham!
Abraham trying to get two to finish this out
for Yase, and he's got it.
LIANA: Come on, Abraham, go!
PROBST: Got to get 'em on there. Come on, Abraham.
Get it on there.
(others shouting encouragement)
You're good. Get back.
The last bag for Ua.
-SHAN: Come on, let's go, let's go! -You're good. Get back.
-JD: Come on, Sara! -Last two bags, Deshawn for Luvu.
♪ ♪
-(shouts of encouragement) -PROBST: Here comes Yase.
They had a horrible start in the first challenge.
-Let's go! -PROBST: Here comes Ua.
ERIKA: Pick it up, now! Pick it up, now!
Luvu! Luvu! You got to go back!
You don't have your bags on here. Back!
-Go back. -Go, go back. Go back.
PROBST: Another tactical error by Luvu.
First, they did not clip their raft in the first challenge.
Now they got one bag.
-Oh, my God. -One, two, three!
Three!
One, two, three!
Luvu with a massive setback.
ERIKA: Come on, Naseer!
-DANNY: It's all right. It's okay. -RICARD: One, two, three!
-(grunts) -One, two, three!
It is Ricard and JD for Ua,
Liana and Xander pulling for Yase.
We got to pick it up. One.
Now get 'em into the sled. Let's go.
One, two, three!
PROBST: Luvu once again not sure what they're doing.
One, two, three!
PROBST: Ua finishes the first level.
-(grunting) -Everybody working hard.
Yase finishes the first level.
Luvu trying to get back into this now.
(grunting)
One, two, three!
PROBST: Ua in the lead, now starting on that second level.
Luvu still all the way back at the first.
One, two, three. (grunts)
That sled is very heavy, but you can do it.
-Come on, let's go, Genie. -(grunting)
PROBST: Ua's almost at the top.
LUVU TRIBE: One, two, three!
PROBST: Ua's first up.
Now two people doing the puzzle.
(grunting, shouting)
Yase, Luvu still working to get to the top.
EVVIE: This is it, Abraham.
Pulling for Yase,
and Luvu is fighting to stay in this.
-One, two, three! -(grunting)
PROBST: And now Luvu's starting to close the gap.
We got a big advantage. Come on, let's go.
(indistinct shouting)
-One, two, three. -PROBST: These are very heavy,
especially after two and a half very taxing days.
-Two, three! -PROBST: To pull a lot of weight.
Yase very close. One big tug.
-LIANA: Yase, together. -EVVIE: One...
YASE TRIBE: One, two, three!
-(grunting) -Go!
One, two, three!
(grunting)
Yase, you've done it!
-Get it all the way in! -Come on, come on. Keep going!
PROBST: Here comes Luvu. You're back in it!
That's how to dig, Luvu, right there.
You are back right in this. Two people on the puzzle.
-Good job, good job. -PROBST: Exhausted bodies everywhere.
This is Survivor 41.
Just breathe.
You are birthing a new era of this game right now.
-You guys got it. -You got this, guys. We are so in it.
-RICARD: We're still in this. -Just look. It's okay.
We have time. You got this.
They're double-sided. They're double-sided.
-Don't worry. -Good. There you go. There you go. Let's go!
Yeah, Shan!
PROBST: Shan and Sara getting a lot of early momentum.
Yeah, baby! Whoo!
-Yes! -PROBST: Right now it is Ua,
and then Yase and Luvu fighting for second.
Unfortunately, today, second is no different from third.
You're both last.
JD: Yeah, get it in there!
There you go!
Wow, Ua continues to rip through this puzzle.
You got it, you got it!
Luvu was in trouble early,
and they're trying to get back in it now.
Erika trying to fit that piece, and it's done!
It's now Yase in last place.
Turn that around flat.
PROBST: Again.
-Yes! -Nice.
Another piece by Deshawn.
Luvu is in this now. We got a challenge.
Another piece for Ua.
They're trying to hold on to that lead,
-but Luvu is right on their tail. -NASEER: Yes, yes! Here we go!
-On-on the long part. -HEATHER: Come on, come on, come on, come on!
PROBST: Yase has made very little progress.
We're missing a piece.
Keep working till you find that.
You can do it. Yeah.
It is now Luvu in the lead.
-Yes! -Yes!
Luvu had to go all the way back because of an error,
and Luvu is now in first place.
SARA: Where's the...
-BRAD: That's not it. -GENIE: You got this. You got this.
PROBST: What a comeback this would be.
(whooping)
PROBST: And Ua just discovers
they had not emptied all of their pieces.
They were still in the bag.
An impossible way to solve a puzzle.
HEATHER: Yes, yes, yes!
PROBST: Wow.
That's that adrenaline causing panic,
causing a mistake,
which leads to a visit to Tribal Council
as Luvu is closer and closer.
Ua, now that they have all their pieces,
they're actually starting to get back into this.
It makes you wonder what would've happened
if they had 'em all from the beginning.
Deshawn with the next to last piece.
Erika for the win.
(cheering, exclaiming)
-And they've got it! -(cheering)
Luvu wins first immunity challenge of Survivor 41...
(excited chatter)
...sending Ua and Yase to Tribal Council.
(excited chatter, cheering continue)
(cheering)
Luvu.
Congratulations.
Tribe immunity is yours.
All six of you are safe.
Nobody going home.
Grab your stuff. Head back to camp.
Enjoy the night off.
-Congratulations. -(whooping)
Thank you.
Ua, Yase, different story.
Tribal Council tonight, somebody will be voted out.
Before you go, I need your flint.
Sorry for you. Sorry for you.
Thank you.
All right, grab your stuff. Head back to camp.
See you tonight at Tribal Council.
♪ ♪
LIANA: That sucked. (laughs)
TIFFANY: Holy crap.
XANDER: You guys kept going.
-You were awesome. -TIFFANY: Yeah.
-EVVIE: I'm so sorry, you guys. -TIFFANY: Don't be crazy.
-You didn't stop. -I told you I'm only okay at puzzles.
TIFFANY: And I'm even less than okay at them, so...
LIANA: No, seriously, I'm so sorry.
-You kicked ass. -TIFFANY: What are you sorry about?
-Are you kidding? -LIANA: No, I...
I think I was... I... because I was doing so much,
-I think, like, other people could've... -TIFFANY: It was too much.
The sandbags.
I'm sorry.
TIFFANY: Don't be sorry.
LIANA: The first immunity challenge
was quite difficult,
but me and Tiffany want to take out Abraham
because he wanted her out, and...
hopefully, he'll go home tonight.
TIFFANY: We all know it's Abraham to begin with, right? SO...
Mm-hmm, but... okay, but this thing-- this is the only thing.
Like, do you think people are gonna be like,
"We got to keep the tribe strong"?
And then, like, try to keep Abraham?
You think... you think so? I don't know.
VOCE: So we're on the same page, what does that mean?
-XANDER: We're thinking Tiffany. -ABRAHAM: Tiffany.
I look at the first challenge we did.
We jumped off the boat. Who was where?
-Who was doing what? -Yeah.
This next challenge, physicality was in there.
-I don't remember where she was at. I didn't see her. -VOCE: Yeah.
VOCE: This is a different Survivor.
The physical demand
that has been put on us right now is intense.
And so, looking at it, having strength
is an asset while we can still preserve it.
-ABRAHAM: It's not personal. I mean... -XANDER: No.
Uh, nobody wants to be the first one to go.
XANDER: Yeah.
ABRAHAM: My day-to-day,
I'm a cybersecurity analyst.
So I look at different perspectives
of how to execute my job.
And the Yase tribe as a whole is a great tribe.
So what we need to do is just execute better
so we can compete in challenges.
We can't get that if we got parts that are not as strong
or doesn't work together well.
I think, when we get rid of Tiffany,
it's gonna make us stronger.
-It was a physical challenge, and it's hot. -Yeah.
ABRAHAM: We're trying to get that stuff where it needs to be,
and then you got a big-ass 41-piece puzzle.
EVVIE and XANDER: Yeah.
EVVIE: What are you thinking?
I'm gonna still go with the same thing--
let's keep the tribe strong.
EVVIE: Yeah.
ABRAHAM: Tiff's short track record shows that she's here,
but physically, she's not gonna be able to help us.
-EVVIE: Yeah. -We got to be able to compete,
or our tribe gets decimated.
All right, well, I think we all agree to keep the tribe strong.
Yeah, yeah, yeah.
We just failed hard-core in the last challenge, you know,
so the guys are thinking we need Abraham.
And on the other hand, the weak target
that's on the table is Tiffany.
But there's only six of us,
and I don't want to be in a situation where
keeping the tribe strong means getting rid of all the women.
Yeah. And the thing is, is that I really do love Tiffany.
-I-I love her. Yeah. -She-she's a ball of energy.
VOCE: I'm just a little worried about...
-...how sociable she is. -Yeah.
EVVIE: Right now, I'm trying to convince my tribe
to vote out Abraham.
I think he's a really good guy.
I think he'd be great to work with for a while,
but Tiffany is someone that I want to go
really deep in this game with.
I would personally go either way.
Like, there's pros and cons-- like, I think
Tiffany is more likely to be, like, really loyal.
-Yeah. -Maybe. Yeah.
-You know what I mean? -That's true.
EVVIE: I don't want to lose Tiffany.
She has been a very familiar type of person to me.
We clicked, and we both really want to work together.
Which puts me in a really good spot.
-Tell me, tell me, tell me. -Oh. Well, I just... the more important thing...
'Cause we're all planning on a little bit
being, like, strength or bust.
TIFFANY: And you're all throwing my name out there,
-and I'm letting it be happening. -EVVIE: Exactly.
Yeah, but you say that my name is out there,
-and that's really unsettling. -Scary.
I mean, of course. Of course.
I, like, really trust my gut instinct
that it's gonna be fine tonight.
But I'm... you have the feeling that this is Survivor
and this is where people get in trouble.
So I don't want to be overconfident.
♪ ♪
(chirps)
So going to Tribal Council tonight, having to figure out--
what do I need to do to save myself tonight?
'Cause I know my name's on the chopping block.
If there's even a one percent chance that I'm gonna get out,
I want to try to protect myself.
And so I went looking for an idol.
Oh, man.
Where would you be?
I'm gonna hide this at the Yase tribe camp.
The other two tribes will have one as well.
TIFFANY: I just want to make it through tonight's Tribal,
but I could be blindsided.
Which would be, like, my worst Survivor nightmare.
I feel like it's, like, here and I'm just not seeing it.
It's, like, right in front of my face.
♪ ♪
SARA: We had such a big lead.
I didn't come here to lose a challenge like that.
I knew it was a risk.
I told myself I wasn't gonna volunteer for puzzles
for this exact reason.
BRAD: That was horrible.
I'm sorry.
Yeah.
Just a little twist all of a sudden makes us a big loser.
SARA: Someone has to go, and, like,
I genuinely feel like it's gonna be me.
I'm gonna fight-- like, I'm gonna fight for it to not be me.
SARA: Yeah.
We have so few people.
We have to get everyone on board.
Well, as long as you, me and Shan vote the same way...
My God, Shan loves you.
RICARD: So we all wanted to get out JD,
but Sara and Shan messed up the puzzle,
and I would be really surprised if they voted out Shan.
So...
I don't know if Sara's safe tonight.
But I feel like JD should be next.
I worry about JD.
-Right. -RICARD: I worry.
It's just, like, his personality that's coming through.
A few of the things I'm picking apart.
We could all vote JD.
-I just... yeah, so I'm good. -Okay.
-Okay. Yeah. -That's right. That's right.
I was talking to Genie, and she really was on board...
-SARA: Voting for JD? -RICARD: Yeah. 100%. 100%.
-And... -(footsteps approaching)
Just the man I wanted to talk to.
BRAD: Hey.
-And then he walks away. -(chuckling)
-Trying to solidify plans. -Yeah. Yeah.
Yeah. I mean, you got to... you got to keep strength.
I hate to throw JD at this point, 'cause he's strong.
He's strong. We're gonna have challenges...
RICARD: Who were you thinking, then?
-Who are you thinking, Brad? Who do you want... -RICARD: Be honest, like...
-Well... -It's all gonna come out tonight anyways.
Sara's on the table. Shan's on the table.
SARA: What? Like, you're saying that to our faces?
Brad is playing the game like they played it
in 2000.
Like, whoa.
"She messed up. She needs to go."
I'm not opposed to JD, but not right now at our Tribal.
-SARA: Yeah. -Here's... here's my hesitation.
SARA: I'm thinking about using my Shot in the Dark.
Any single one of us has a one-in-six chance of immunity.
So I think it would change
the way this game is played, I feel like.
-JD: Hey, boss. -Bro, they are chucking you under the bus.
-Really? Really? -(laughs) yeah.
Really?
(JD and Brad laugh)
JD: This freaking sucks, man.
I really wanted to work with Sara, but...
Sara and Ricard were both
throwing me pretty hard under the bus.
BRAD: Dude, it's got to be Sara.
It's just, I think that's our only choice.
-I'm down. Yeah. -BRAD: That'll protect you. I mean, yeah.
JD: The best option for me is to go with Brad, Shan and Genie
and vote for Sara.
I'm gonna go this way, and then y'all...
And we just meet up right there.
SHAN: I'm excited, but I'm also nervous
because my name has been thrown out there.
Brad told me straight up it could be me
because of that one puzzle piece.
I trust you to the end. We go with Sara tonight...
SHAN: But I feel like I have been
in every conversation...
RICARD: We should get rid of JD.
SHAN: ...enough to get a sense of what's going on.
Brad is wanting to do Sara,
and Ricard and Sara, they want to do JD.
So I kind of feel like
I'm at the bottom because of the puzzle piece,
I'm at the top because of social game,
and I'm in the middle because of this divide.
Who would you want? Who would you want?
SHAN: If I can get the person
that I want out tonight, that puts me in
a really good spot to keep controlling this game.
♪ ♪
First Tribal Council, here we go.
♪ ♪
Behind each of you is a torch.
Go ahead and grab a torch, dip it in and get fire.
This is part of the ritual of Tribal Council because
in this game, fire represents your life,
and when your fire is gone, so are you.
It's about to be the case for one of you tonight.
So let's just start big-picture.
Tiffany, the first hours the first day,
you're trying to find our vibe. What's our group?
Do you feel that this is a tribe?
I do. I feel it's a pretty cohesive tribe.
You know, we don't just exist; we exist in harmony.
And you get to know somebody from your heart.
I think that that's what we're doing going forward in this,
even in this world right now.
We're starting to love each other
and accept every one of our differences,
and we're doing a really good job
showing the rest of the world that we did it in one day.
PROBST: Abraham, the other big thing
that you guys are dealing with is
the tribe is only six people.
-Yes. -So when it comes to voting somebody out,
what's the criteria?
We look at it as the strength we have moving forward
will compel us to be able to do and select the right person.
And it's not out of malice.
I mean, we're living the life experience on Survivor,
but on the other side,
who we have and what we put together for strength
is gonna be what we look at and say, okay,
this will get us further in the game.
PROBST: Tiffany, Abraham's answer
sounds to me like somebody who's played this game many times
because he said absolutely nothing
-while saying many, many words. -(Tiffany chuckles)
Right, that is very much who Abraham is.
He's very good at speaking in circles,
and you're not really sure if you ever got an answer.
It's-it's like a magic trick.
Where I have the gift of being
friendly and loving with everybody,
he has a gift of being close with everybody
yet not saying a single thing
unless he absolutely feels it's necessary for his game.
You know, Jeff, I can't change her mind about that,
but at the end of the day,
here's what I bring to the table.
I bring the stamina. I bring the strength.
You know, I'm coming to get it done.
PROBST: Evvie, this is fascinating
because Abraham hears somebody say,
"I don't think you make any sense when you talk,"
and he says, "Okay, that's fine. I know what I bring."
And the great thing about this game is
he might be reading it right.
It's just irrelevant what Tiffany thinks
about "my communication."
Or it could be Tiffany tonight writing down Abraham.
"I hope you understand this."
(laughs)
EVVIE: Yeah, there are about to only be five of us,
and we definitely don't want to get down to four.
So, I mean, I think challenge strength
is extremely important.
PROBST: Voce, the Shot in the Dark.
New twist.
Walk up there to vote, nobody knows if you're
going to vote, play your Shot in the Dark.
They don't know what you're gonna do.
But it could mess everything up if you draw that 17% shot
and you're safe.
16.7.
Thank you.
-(laughter) -I love that.
I'm just glad I got close at 17.
I was guessing.
So, Mr. Math Expert, at 16.7%,
how does the Shot in the Dark change the game?
Yeah, I think the idea of it is terrifying
because if I'm in danger, I'm gonna take that shot.
But at the end of the day, if you think through it logically,
I don't think it's actually as scary as what it is.
Liana, that is the kind of answer that,
if somebody said it to me, I would think,
"I should probably take my Shot in the Dark.
That sounds like they're trying to get me off the scent."
Yeah, if you are somebody that feels like you are
on the minority, you get this sliver of power,
and so that can cause a ton of chaos,
you know, whether that be a revote or somebody that's
top dog in the majority alliance is suddenly gone.
Like, it can completely stir up the game.
PROBST: Xander, how will tonight's vote,
if it goes the way you think it's gonna go,
make this tribe better?
I think that this tribe has gotten a bitter taste of loss,
and maybe the other tribes see us as something less,
but I want to be able to show them
that we're not a David tribe.
This is a strong tribe
that works together really, really well.
Somebody from the David tribe won that season.
-Right. -That's true.
-PROBST: Evvie, how about for you? -EVVIE: As everyone's saying,
we're really cohesive as it is,
and I really think that we'll leave here even more cohesive.
If we leave this Tribal strong as a tribe,
able to do everything we got to do around camp,
able to win in challenges, we'll be so much better off
for the later part of this game when we, like, critically
will need each other, you know, just as we do now.
How we feeling? It's time to vote?
Time to vote, Jeff.
PROBST: All right.
Voce, you're up.
♪ ♪
All right!
I'll go tally the votes.
♪ ♪
If anybody has an advantage or a hidden immunity idol
and you want to play it, now would be the time to do so.
Okay. I'll read the votes.
First vote, Tiffany.
Abraham.
Two votes Abraham, one vote Tiffany.
Abraham.
That's three votes Abraham, one vote Tiffany.
First person voted out of Survivor 41: Abraham.
That's four. That's enough. You need to bring me your torch.
I did not see that blindside hit me.
(sighs heavily)
Abraham, the tribe has spoken.
Enjoy this ride.
-Time for you to go. -EVVIE: Thanks, man.
-Bye, Abraham. -VOCE: See you. -Bye.
ABRAHAM: Did not see that coming. Whew.
Grab your torches. Head back to camp.
We'll bring in the next group.
Oh, I was blindsided. (laughs)
Didn't see that coming at all.
This is a great group of people.
I wish them all the best of luck.
This is a great game, and I had
a great opportunity in playing it.
PROBST: Behind each of you is a torch.
Go ahead and grab a torch,
approach the flame, dip it in and get fire.
♪ ♪
PROBST: Let's start on a high note.
Straight out of the gate, domination by Ua.
So, Shan, what did you feel with this group?
SHAN: I felt a great sense of camaraderie
and so much excitement and joy
that we had just, like, conquered
the very first challenge right out the gate.
Like, that put us in such a good headspace
for the next couple days.
I think we got fire in, like, the first 30 minutes
and, like, we built our shelter.
It was a beautiful space, honestly.
RICARD: We have not fought.
No one's had anger. It's, like...
-"Kumbaya." -...really weird.
And not like the fake "Kumbaya,"
where everyone's in a honeymoon phase.
-We genuinely are just chill. -SHAN: Mm-hmm.
And yet you're gonna vote somebody out.
-Yeah. -PROBST: Beautiful part of the game.
BRAD: Jeff, we would trade you a machete
and our last pot if you'd just
kind of let us stay as a family tonight.
I'm sorry to disappoint you.
-(laughter) -So, Shan,
yesterday, one person from your tribe
had to leave the tribe, get on a boat.
What are you thinking when you have to make that decision?
Oh, well, like he said, we are a very namaste tribe.
And so we're like, "Let's get democratic,"
and we pulled rocks and...
JD knew that if he came back here without any rice,
we're gonna know you have an item,
we're gonna vote you out.
And that's why I said, "Check my bag,"
at the very start-- 'cause I did tell them
that I had a chance to get an advantage,
and I told them exactly what it was.
And to risk my vote on the first vote?
I didn't think that was very smart.
And so I told them my decision to protect my vote, so...
SARA: You do have to be skeptical
when someone shows back up with nothing in their hands
when typically something like this,
they have an opportunity to get something.
You're taking the word of someone you don't know.
-And I'm not saying I don't believe him... -JD: Yeah, yeah.
...but I'm just saying you have to have
some skepticism in this game.
PROBST: Let's talk about today's challenge.
Looked to me, Sara, that it came down
to one piece that was missing,
but it was a piece you needed in order to continue.
What happened? How'd you discover it?
Yeah, so we got, like, a pretty good start on that puzzle.
Those pieces were flying together at first and...
-You were in the lead. -Yeah, we were in the lead,
and that one piece connected the side
to the rest of the puzzle.
And, like, that's a mistake,
and that could have been avoided.
In Survivor season 41,
there is no room for mistakes like that.
You know, we just... we're learning that this is
-a new era for real. -GENIE: And also the fact that,
like, there's only one immunity, uh, you know,
like, to-to win? Like...
-What is that, Jeff? I mean... -GENIE: We. I mean...
-(laughter) -SARA: Namaste.
PROBST: That is why Survivor is so compelling,
and the stakes are high when you're on a tribe of six.
So regardless whether it's Sara and Shan's fault
or they get credit for stepping up doesn't matter.
Somebody's going home.
JD, what kind of criteria
starts kicking in for you, in terms of...
What do you want to be after tonight's vote?
Right, your-your mindset fluctuates
because if you feel as though you're on the bottom,
like, my criteria is very low,
but if you are kind of running things
and you got the best relationships,
now you have a little leeway.
You can choose who you want to go home.
And so I think... I think everybody
talked to everybody at one point,
and-and I also think that...
-Does that concern you at all? -JD: Yeah.
Yeah, that's terrifying right there.
Maybe some plans are changing.
And that's what I was about to say,
was that I think everybody's name was thrown out
at least one time.
Okay, but mine was thrown out to my face multiple times.
So, out of everyone here, Brad comes over
and says, "Well, we think it's got to be Sara or Shan."
Like, you know, we got to stay strong, and it's like...
Are we about to make this a live Tribal?
-SARA: I mean... -JD: I'm down.
Like, we're already whispering over here, and I thought...
I've heard that I'm on the block tonight, and I...
BRAD: I just threw up two names because,
though that was the puzzle, what Jeff was talking about earlier.
I get it.
"Okay, those two are on the block." You know what I mean?
And I-I try to...
play that straight, but...
GENIE: I-I mean, it was...
-No matter whose name... -Yeah, this is, uh...
JD: Let's get it started.
RICARD: So the point I was trying to make earlier, though,
the puzzle piece, that's old-school.
We blame the people who messed up, made one mistake.
But we need to work with people we can trust.
RICARD: Maybe think about future challenges.
Maybe names you throw out
and the paranoia you cause, that's what I'm more
-paying attention to. -SHAN: I'm with you.
Like, right now?
(splutters)
All right.
(groans)
JD: Jeff, it's funny because when you see on TV,
you hear the conversations, right?
But, like, once again,
I'm hearing different things than what I was back at camp.
So either now or then, people were feeding me bull.
-Mm-hmm. -JD: Now I have to decipher
whether or not what they said then was true
or what they say now is true.
I don't quite understand the paranoia, man.
-JD: From me? -BRAD: Yeah.
I thought we were tight.
-I thought we were cool. -(JD stammering)
-I am. -I am.
-All right.
Wow.
Jeff, can all of us put our die in our pocket right now?
Absolutely.
-Do you have it close? -I already put it in my pocket.
JD: Jeff, tonight's gonna be a...
a Saturday night at Las Vegas, maybe, up there.
-We'll see what happens. -Jeff, just take us to the vote, please.
-PROBST: You're ready to vote? -Yeah. Yeah. -Oh, my goodness.
Okay, it is time to vote.
Ricard, you're up.
♪ ♪
(sighs)
Yes! Yes!
(sighs): Oh, man.
I'll go tally the votes.
If anybody has an advantage or a hidden immunity idol
you want to play, now would be the time to do it.
Okay, I'll read the votes.
First vote, Ricard.
Sara.
One vote Ricard, one vote Sara.
Brad.
One vote Ricard, one vote Sara, one vote Brad.
Sara.
That's two votes Sara, one vote Ricard,
one boat Brad.
Second person voted out of Survivor 41,
Sara.
That's three. That's enough.
You need to bring me your torch.
♪ ♪
Sara, the tribe has spoken.
Time for you to go.
Bye. Good luck.
Bye, Sara.
We love you.
Grab your torches. Head back to camp.
Good night.
♪ ♪
Captioning sponsored by CBS
Captioned by Media Access Group at WGBH access.wgbh.org
BRAD: I dive right in there, and sure enough,
here they come right down the trail.
SYDNEY: We were trying to learn as much as we could from him
-so we could boot him. -Yay!
XANDER: You got to throw all you know about Survivor out the window.
-Oh ... no. -XANDER: This is a new game.
I feel really disappointed right now.
I think my one regret would be not using the Shot in the Dark.
But it's been my lifelong dream to come on the show,
and even in these short three days,
I feel like I've learned that I can really do more
than I thought I could and, um,
maybe not to trust people as much
as I thought I could as well.
(roars)