Survivor 48 is finally starting to heat up. The first two episodes were pretty tame on the drama (more on that soon), but the audience is definitely starting to see the cracks starting to form on these three tribes. It looks like all hell is about to break loose in Survivor 48 episode 3 based on the preview for the new episode.
Even with a rather straightforward start to the game this season, there have still been some big surprises in the first two episodes. For this list, I picked the four biggest surprises to start Survivor 48. It gets a little Vula heavy because that's basically the only tribe we've seen face any adversity this season so far.
The Vula tribe is so bad at challenges
Normally, the tribes on Survivor seasons are pretty evenly matched, but every once in a while, we get a tribe that just stinks in challenges. Sometimes, the tribe struggles to communicate. Sometimes, there are players who just put themselves in the wrong positions. And, sometimes, the tribe is just overmatched. Honestly, it's probably a little of both for the Vula tribe, which has lost all three challenges so far this season.
And, it's not even the challenges! It's the other parts of the game, too, where they are struggling. Mary Zheng was picked for a Journey, and she was unable to solve the puzzle while Thomas Krottinger and Mitch Guerra were able to solve the puzzle and pick up advantages. Kevin Leung prevailed in the new supplies challenge, but even that was basically handed to them by Kyle Fraser getting a little loose with his pot and breaking the glass jug he needed to fill. Kyle helped Kevin finish the challenge, which was the nicest thing we've seen in the game so far. More on that shortly!
Honestly, I don't know where this is going to end for the Vula tribe. Not only have they lost every challenge, but they've also voted out players who could help them in challenges instead of Cedrek McFadden, who has been the weak link in two of the three challenges. Sure, Stephanie Berger and Kevin Leung dropped the ball on the puzzle, but they nearly completed that puzzle. And, they had to come from way behind to even have a chance because the Civa and Lagi tribes went through the course much faster.
We haven't seen a tribe this bad at challenges since Yanu in Survivor 46, and the Vula tribe might even be worse.
Survivor didn't show Kevin Leung's injury
Speaking of Kevin, it's very surprising that Survivor didn't show his shoulder injury, considering how bad it actually was. We learned from Parade after the first and second episode from Stephanie and Kevin that he suffered a dislocated shoulder during the Marooning challenge. Medical was called in, and Doctor Joe popped his shoulder back into place.
Kevin actually revealed that he blacked out during the challenge and after because of the pain of the injury, but he chose to stay in the game. He didn't sleep because of the pain and vomited up the ibuprofen because he didn't have anything in his stomach to keep down the anti-inflammatory meds.
Where was all that? We knew Kevin was hurt because it kept being referenced by the players, but we didn't see any of his journey in the game in an accurate way. So, I think, as fans, we should feel a little deceived. Obviously, we can't see everything, but cutting out a huge injury that completely shapes the game was an interesting move.
The Vula tribe nominated Kevin to compete against Kyle to win supplies
In the days after episode 2, we learned from Kevin's interviews with Parade and others that he blacked out from his injury. Then, immediately after being tended to by Doctor Joe and the medical team, the Vula tribe picked him to do the challenge for supplies against Kyle Fraser. That is so surprising!
Clearly, Kevin was the most physical player on the Vula tribe, but he just popped his shoulder out and you send him on an another challenge? The move paid off, but it was a huge risk. But, let's be real. It only worked out, as mentioned, because Kyle made a massive mistake.
The Vula tribe's questionable decision-making is easily one of the biggest surprises of Survivor 48 so far.
All the players needed help to solve the Beware Advantage code
Do you remember the days of old when all a player had to do was find an immunity idol hidden around camp? I do, and I miss those days. I am not a fan of the Beware Advantage that features a key and cryptex to obtain a hidden immunity idol. This isn't the DaVinci Code, Jeff.
Anyway, watching all of these players, except for Kamilla Karthigesu, struggle to solve these puzzles. It creates too much uncertainty in the game for me. I would much rather have three secret immunity idols in play this early in the game. Why take a vote away unless a player can do a Tom Hanks impression, you know? I didn't love that aspect of the game this season, and it's surprising that the Beware Advantages continue to get harder instead of easier to accomplish.
Survivor 48 lacks drama
Overall, I'm surprised by the lack of drama this early in the season. Sure, we've seen some players scrambling on the Vula tribe, but for the most part, things on the Civa and Lagi beach seem to be going great. There are a few players on the bottom. If I were Star Toomey, Eva Erickson, Mitch Guerra, or Charity Nelms, I would be a little bit worried. Those players appear to be on the outside of the majority alliance on each of their tribes, but it's still very early in the game.
We did get a little nugget of drama when Thomas Krottinger got a little diabolical in the second episode when he suggested losing or destroying the key to the Beware Advantage to prevent Star from solving the puzzle and getting an immunity idol. Honestly, it wasn't a bad move. Why should they help a player get an advantage if it could backfire on them later? Clearly, it caught Shauhin Davari off guard and revealed a few things about Thomas that he might have wanted to keep secret for a while.
We'll see if the drama picks up soon!