We’re still a week out from theSurvivor 51premiere, but those 7 days feel a little shorter thanks to a new sneak peek giving us the first five minutes of the premiere episode, “Permanent Uncertainty.” And wow, can you feel the tension in the new set of castaways as they await further instruction from hostJeff Probstwhile stranded on a boat in the middle of the ocean.
This season it appears we’re kicking off with a voiceover from Probst rather than any of the castaways—which became more common towards the end of the new era. He reminds the audience that our 21 players are “beginning the adventure of a lifetime,” before cutting to some very serious-looking game clips.
But what’s most interesting is everyone sizing each other up on the boat before noticing Probst arriving on his own boat, which gets everyone cheering.
Jeff Probst is ready to kick off the open era of Survivor.
“The beginning of a new season ofSurvivor…” Probst goes off before breaking into a huge pep talk that reminds both the players and the viewers at home that production has no hand in the game once things get started.
“This is your game,” he tells the castaways. “You decide how it’s played. You decide who stays, you decide who goes, you decide who wins. So don’t ever wait for permission to play your game. Own your game! Control your story every day you’re out there. That’s how you playSurvivor.”
It’s giving major “football coach before the big game” vibes and it truly feels like the most involved Probst has ever been with the players. While, yes, he always starts off the season with some kind of chat, this is very different than usual.
Where he usually kicks off the game by asking the players—who are already divided into tribes—questions about themselves and who they are, this time, the only call-and-response he goes for is asking why people are excited for this idea that the game they’re about to play is permanently uncertain.
Only Rob Antonson and Kristin Flickinger actually answer him by sharing they feel like that phrase in action will create both chaos and opportunities, which Probst goes on to compare as bookends. “Chaos can be opportunity, opportunity can create chaos.”
And then, going back towards the old school beginnings versus the camaraderie building we’ve seen kick off the game recently, he wishes everyone luck and rings a bell, officially starting the game where everyone immediately dives into securing supplies from the marooning boat and tossing it into the water.
Again, no one knows what tribe they’re in or who is on their tribe, but they all start communicating who got what as if they know they’re supposed to work together strategically.
And what’s most noticeable about the marooning is the fact that a lot of the supplies aren’t just additional camp supplies, but also island resources. There are pre-cut lengths of bamboo and palm fronds that players usually gather themselves for a shelter. So now I have to go back to the beginning and wonder if Probst was being honest about the game completely being out of production’s hands.
Because I don’t remember ever seeing island resources being provided as rewards or incentives before. Nails and rope and tarps, sure! Things that a player couldn’t just stumble upon in the jungle. So I’m thinking that this means our players are all going to work together to build an incredible shelter and then after it’s done, they’ll be divided into two tribes for a challenge where the winning tribe’s reward is that they get to be on the beach with the shelter.
I think I’ve seen this film before… and it happened the very first time the show ever went to Fiji back in season 14. Do you thinkSurvivormay be paying homage to its Fijian roots? Watch the entire preview below and let us know what you think.
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