1. I thought not having a full starting on the premiere episode was ridiculous. We didn’t even get the names of the contestants until they did confessionals. And what about the ones who didn’t? Not the best decision. Ridiculous.
2. Chelsea was a standout for me in the episode. I thought she was absolutely brilliant. In fact, it was one of the best first-episode performances I have ever seen on the show. Let’s review. She caught two chickens with her bare hands, got thrown into the majority alliance on the women’s team without even trying and has the physical capacity to single-handedly win challenges. Plus she is hot enough to fry pancakes just by looking at them. My only minor nitpick is that I hope she learns to play a little bit nicer with the guys because at least a few of them will end up on the jury.
3. Loved Alicia’s spunky nature. While Christina chose to try and steal fire with Monica, Alicia basically tried to take it right in front of the guys. That shows guts and someone to watch in the game.
4. Colton is the story of the season. While I thought his play to befriend the girls was made too early, he proved me wrong. By bonding with Sabrina immediately, she felt compelled into giving him the hidden immunity idol and this took Colton from the worst position on his tribe to the best.
5. The guys are idiots. Period. While they are ‘competing’ on separate tribes, the fact is that this season’s twist is about their social game. Hell, it says that on the flag for both teams. “One world.” Do they not realize what that means? Isolating the women so early is inane. Their douchy attitudes will prevent any chance of working with the women down the line. There is absolutely no reason for it. It’s like I am watching the first season of Survivor. Not its 24th.
6. I can’t believe how much info we got about the alliances in the first episode. I have seen entire seasons of the show go by with no alliance discussion until after the merge. This time, within the first 20 minutes, we found out that the women’s core included Kimberly, Sabrina, Chelsea, Alicia and that on the men it was Matt, Michael, Jay and Bill. The difference is that I think that the women were far sharper about hiding their alliance than the men were. It won’t take long for Troyzan, Tarzan, Jonas and Leif to figure out where they stand and Colton will be more than happy to point it out to them if there is any doubt.
7. Kim gives off an Amanda Kimmel vibe to me. She kept quiet and stayed in the background. It shows that she is playing an adaptable game and waiting before she makes a big move. Let’s call it the “anti-Colton” strategy. The most impressive thing to me is the fact that despite not putting herself out there, Alicia still included her in the core group. Spectacular.
8. There is no way Michael, Matt or Troyzan can win based on how they came across in that opening episode.
9. While I am hating on the guys, they made the right decision to stop the challenge and take the win. The show is about immunity. That’s all it will ever be about. It was a non-decision.
10. Sucks that Kourtney had to leave because of injury. I am sure Michael Skupin, Bruce Kanegai and plenty of others had a flashback tonight.
