We’re starting to get challenge fatigue so early that one of the first Survivor Ghost Island challenge videos looks like a previous challenge with one change.
One of the most exciting moments in an episode of Survivor is supposed to be during a challenge or in the process of eliminating another player through Tribal Council. All the small moments such as convincing someone to flip a vote, solidifying an alliance or stumbling upon an idol or advantage are fun, but they usually serve as an important context for a later payoff.
As we await the start of the Survivor Ghost Island season, CBS has released a behind-the-scenes look at one of the game’s first challenges, called “Coming Up For Air.” While it’s not 100% what we saw in Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers, it does have a strikingly similar appearance and structure.
Teams will climb over a series of obstacles, including a net and the World Apart Will Sims slide, then one player will dive deep and open a hatch, releasing a series of balls. Once the team swims across to the next platform, three players from each team will work together to toss eight balls into a basket like it’s basketball. One will shoot, two will swim and collect missed shots.
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The back end of this challenge was used in Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers when Joe Mena started sinking baskets like he was Al Horford, so it’s a bit unfortunate that we get to see it come around again so early into Survivor Ghost Island. However, the behind-the-scenes video has a bit of a backstory to it, as members of ET in Canada and US are facing off against each other with the help of Dalton Ross for the US and Andrea Boehlke for ET Canada.
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Survivor Ghost Island debuts with a two-hour episode tomorrow, February 28 at 8 p.m. ET.