Survivor goes "Behind the Buff" with the first eliminated castaway

Last week, during the season premiere ofSurvivor 51, fans got to experience a whole new take on the modern era ofSurvivoras we dove into the open era and immediately felt like we were returning home to the original things we love aboutSurvivor.

But one thing that remained the same was that someone had to go home first and unfortunatley forAaliyah Puglia, her name was on the chopping block after the Toka tribe lost immunity and we watched as her torch was snuffed before she left the game.

And in similar fashion to the old-school Ponderosa videos,Survivor'sofficial Instagram account gave us a little bit of a look into Aaliyah immediately after her exit from the game. Usually we only get a player's insight after they've had time to think—and overthink—their gameplay, but this season we get an on-the-island reaction to their elimination.

See what Aaliyah has to say about her time onSurvivor, below.

What went wrong?

Pretty straight-forward, Aaliyah explains that the reason she went home first is simply because she, "wasn't as good at playingSurvivoras [she] thought [she] was."

But in reality, the issue was that she chose the wrong ally in Devin Way who ultimately fought extra loudly for someone to go home that no one cared about rather than strategizing with his tribe mates to switch the target a third time to someone other than his no. 1 ally.

And because of his hard gameplay out the gate, it's likely he now has his own target on his back that will affect the rest of his allies in the coming weeks until it ultimately takes him from the game, too.

Looking back, Aaliyah knows that that's the reason she's gone. She says that the one thing she'd do differently if playing again would be to have more intentional and strategic conversations with more people from the very beginning rather than getting a few allies and sticking close to them.

What did Aaliyah learn aboutSurvivor?

Aaliyah confirms the true reality ofSurvivor. While yes, there are producers and cameramen around all the time, players truly are on their own.

"As much as there's medics, there's no one on hand to really help you out if it's something, like, minor," she explains. "I got bitten by a black ant, and I said to someone, I said, 'Medic!' and she said, 'This isSurvivor.'"

And one of the most surreal things about being onSurvivoris meetingJeff Probstand seeing him say all theSurvivorthings in person rather than through a screen.

But she also adds that he's personable and kind, working hard to make everyone feel comfortable in a very uncomfortable environment.

What was Tribal Council truly like?

While players get used to having cameramen around camp and the challenges,Tribal Counciltruly is a more intimate experience where the camera are hidden and it feels much more like a one-on-one with Probst.

And this season's Tribal Council arena is more intricate than ever, with Probst even giving a full behind-the-scenes tour before the cast announcement.

But based on her experience at Tribal Council and beyond, Aaliyah picks Angelica "Jelly" Loblack as the Sole Survivor of season 51. After playing with her—even just for a couple of days—she got a glimpse at Jelly's incredible mind of strategy and just knows she's going to go far and dominate the competition.

Of course, we have to wait and see what happens next whenSurvivor 51episode 2, "Weaponized Honesty," airs on Wednesday, September 30 at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramout+.

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