When Survivor premiered in the summer of 2000, not even Jeff Probst could have predicted the show would still be going strong in its twentieth season. But last Thursday, the show celebrated it’s tenth anniversary by premiering a special all-stars season which pits ten favorite heroes of the past against ten of the most villainous castaways the show has ever seen.
Right off the bat, the two-hour episode began with a bang. After the twenty returning contestants were let out of their respective military choppers, Jeff immediately let them know they’d be thrown into their first challenge. And when he said challenge, he meant it!
Alongside the castaways returning, all the challenges in Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains will be returning challenges from past seasons. The first challenge was a physical challenge involving two players from each tribe battling it out over a stuffed bag in an attempt to get it on their tribe’s mat. The first tribe to three points would win.
Boy, it was intense. And the injury count showed it. In the first ten minutes, Stephenie dislocated her shoulder and medical had to come and pop it back into place. And then she went on to play the challenge some more! That woman is tough.
And in the final round, Rupert, everyone’s favorite pirate, broke his toe trying to get the bag from the villains. Still, it paid off for the tribe. Even with two injuries, the Heroes won the first challenge and won flint. Flint is pretty much the most important thing you can have in the game. You can’t make fire without flint.
Or at least until now. Very few tribes have ever made fire without flint, but under Boston Rob’s leadership, the Villains succeeded. Let me tell you right now, the Villains are my favorite tribe. Most of the Heroes are way too “goody goody” for me. I like a player who isn’t afraid to backstab and get to the end. And that’s exactly what the villains are.
And Sandra and Courtney are my favorites. No matter what happens this season, that’s not going to change. They’re hilarious! Both women have probably the best one-liners the show has ever seen and both will get into confrontations with others. That’s television gold right there.
Worst part of the Villains tribe? Russell Hantz. Because this show was taped before Survivor: Samoa was even aired, no one on the island knows who Russell is. Also, Russell doesn’t know that he indeed lost to Natalie, one of the”dumbass girls” he alligned with in Survivor: Samoa. He really thinks he’s the best player to ever play the game. I’ve got news for you buddy, you’re not. I can’t wait for one of the Villains to put him in his place.
In the first episode he’s already tried to allign with Danielle and Parvati and others from his tribe, promising them all that he wants to go to the end with him. Thankfully, Parvati is seeing right through it. Russell’s not the biggest threat though, so he could last a while. But I don’t see him making it to the end of the game. No chance.
After building their own fire at camp, the Villains continued to dominate and won the first immunity challenge which sent the Heroes to tribal council. The vote was pretty much a no-brainer.
Sugar had to go. She wasn’t helping anyone. She was annoying. And she was a major threat to make it to the end game if people just forgot about her. In a unanimous vote, Sugar became the first casualty of the game.
Next week is when the game will really start getting interesting. There’s no more obvious vote-offs. There’s no one left that isn’t a good player. Everyone’s a threat and everyone knows it. Fireworks are sure to fly and I can’t wait to see how it plays out!
