In Survivor 48, we were shocked—but also not—when week-after-week the Vula tribe found themselves at Tribal Council with Jeff Probst continuously asking what they were going to do to turn the game around.
And now, 3 episodes in to Survivor 49, it's safe to say that Kele's not only following in their footsteps, but lapping them in the race.
(Spoilers for episode 3 ahead!)
Vula only narrowly escaped being named the worst starting tribe in Survivor history, but Kele still has the potential to get there, especially if a tribe swap or some sort of sympathy advantage doesn't come for our blue castaways next week, and they end up in a Survivor: Palau situation with only one person making up the Kele tribe.
As I mentioned in my episode 2 analysis, there are now three tribes in the new era with a three-episode losing streak: Survivor 46's Yanu, Survivor 48's Vula, and Survivor 49's Kele.
How does Kele's journey compare to other new era early losing streaks?
In Survivor 46, the Yanu tribe found themselves on an early losing streak after they failed to complete the marooning as well as the first three immunity challenges. After their first loss, David Jelinsky was voted out followed by Jess Chong, but the tribe was reluctantly spared when Nami's Randen Montalvo had to be medically evacuated on Day 7, keeping Yanu from returning to Tribal Council three episodes in a row. This put them at a 100% challenge loss rate, but only a 33.3% player loss rate.
Survivor 48's Vula was undoubtedly cursed as it became almost expected for Jeff to see them each week at Tribal Council. They also lost the marooning and the first three immunity challenges, but had to proceed with back-to-back-to-back eliminations as they sent home Stephanie Berger, Kevin Leung, and Justin Pioppi. So by the end of episode 3, they had a 100% challenge loss rate and a 50% player loss rate.
Kele has lost every challenge of Survivor 49 through the first three episodes
Now Survivor 49's Kele has not fared any better than the other two in the challenge department, also returning to camp empty-handed after the marooning and first three immunity challenges. Their first two trips to Tribal Council ended with Nicole Mazullo and Annie Davis getting their torches snuff, but this week's episode is where things took a turn for the worst.
Not only did they vote out Jeremiah Ing, but they also saw Jake Latimer medically evacuated from the game. With this unprecedented loss, Kele has a 100% challenge loss rate and a 66.6% player loss rate, putting them at the top of the list of worst—or maybe unluckiest? take your pick—starting tribes in the new era.
Hopefully things turn around for Sophi Balerdi and Alex Moore next week, but this season has been keeping us on the edge of our seats so far, so who knows what's in store?