There’s almost always a Day 1 alliance on Survivor that goes the distance. Here’s our breakdown of every alliance we saw in the Island of the Idols premiere.
It felt nice getting back to a 90-minute premiere format after a rushed Edge of Extinction first episode last season. We got extra time to chill with the tribes and start to get to know each castaway. One trend we’ve seen pretty often in the past few seasons are early pairings making their mark. That wasn’t the case in the premiere of Survivor: Island of the Idols.
The alliances that we’ve seen so far have been mostly larger groups instead of duos. In reality, there probably were plenty of unaired alliances that were formed in those first three days. That said, there is a reason why the edit chose to focus on these ones, so let’s take a look at every alliance formed in the premiere.
The Lairo tribe (wearing orange)
Vince, Elaine, and Tom: These three players got together early because of their similar work ethic. This is a loyal trio that I can’t see turning against each other anytime soon. However, the target was on them early because they separated themselves from the pack. If they want to lessen that target, it’s crucial for them to keep this group of three on the low.
The Lairo Women (Missy, Elaine, Elizabeth, Karishma, and Chelsea): Could we have an all-female alliance on our hands? It’s still very early, but this group of women has the power to pull it off. They did a great job of meeting subtly without raising eyebrows. With Ronnie gone, they already have the majority, so watch out!
Lairo “Stong Seven”, minus Ronnie: Right after Elaine, Tom and Vince left camp together, the remaining seven decided to align and vote out one of those three. Well, that didn’t happen! Although Ronnie got his torch snuffed, that doesn’t mean this group won’t get back together. If that trio continues to go off on their own, this “Strong Six” could decide to actually vote together this time.
Elizabeth, Missy, and Chelsea: There wasn’t a ton of time to see how close these three became after the first three days, but they seemed to hit it off in the one scene that the edit did show of them. In Ronnie’s exit interview with Rob Cesternino, he also noticed a friendship developing between Elizabeth, Missy and Chelsea. We’ll have to see how legit this group of three is in the next few episodes.
The Vokai tribe (wearing purple)
Jack and Tommy: This is probably the most definitive duo so far in Island of the Idols. In a confessional, Jack expressed the need to find a number one ally. He went for a walk with Tommy and they seemed mutually interested in working together. Although Tommy was shown having one on one conversations with other tribe members like Lauren and Jamal, the edit portrayed his relationship with Jack as the most significant.
Jack, Kellee, Molly, Tommy, Lauren, Dan: This group of six came together at the Vokai camp and decided that they could form a strong majority. They also mentioned that they liked Jamal even though he wasn’t with them during that conversation. Although I highly doubt the strength of this six-person alliance, it does reveal that Noura, Jason, and Janet are more than likely on the outs.
Noura and Jason: This was more of a conversation than an alliance, but it still has potential. Noura heard the talk about Jason leaving camp and took the initiative to approach him and let him know what she heard. In a confessional at that time, Noura said that she possibly wanted to work with him, so this pairing could emerge in the next couple of episodes.