The long-awaited premiere of Survivor 48 occurred last night on CBS where 18 brand new castaways arrived on the Mamanuca Islands of Fiji to compete for the $1 million prize. The cast is filled with several incredible players all with unique backgrounds and histories. Regardless of how well a tribe may or may not get along, one tribe must go to Tribal Council where they must send one of their own to Ponderosa ending their Survivor experience once and for all.
Every season of Survivor has one, so who is Survivor 48's dreaded First Boot? The results probably won't shock you too much based on the early edit.
Spoilers ahead for the Survivor 48 premiere, "The Get to Know You Game."
Like every season of the long-running island reality show, the game started remarkably fast as the three tribes were immediately thrown into the first challenge of the season where the Civa, Lagi, and Vulu tribes dove into the opportunity to win supplies for their tribes. With a stacked group of physical threats, the Lagi tribe dominated the challenge sending one player each from Civa and Vulu to compete in a one-on-one battle to earn flint and a machete. Kyle from Civa and Kevin from Vulu then departed from the rest of their tribe to compete for the essential supplies.
While Kyle and Kevin were off on their individual adventures, the middle part of the episode focused a ton on the Vulu tribe and the dynamics between the left-behind players. While some players focused on creating social bonds, Sai immediately put her foot on the gas pedal, placing her game at the forefront of her attention. Sai went straight to Justin and Cedrek to form a potential four-person alliance (including Kevin) after not gelling well with the other two women of her tribe. A divide was drawn almost immediately as Sai found an idol with help from Justin and Cedrek. Kevin came back to the Vulu camp after winning the one-on-one and was immediately stampeded with the idea of a four-person alliance with the potential of leaving Stephanie and Mary in the dust.
The immunity challenge was a close battle that ended with the Lagi tribe showing off their toughness and finishing first in a relatively large manner. With two of the tribes battling it out for the second Immunity Idol, it all came down to the final puzzle. The Vulu tribe had a slight lead on the opposing Civa tribe when a visible hesitation came from Stephanie which led to a big comeback from the Civa tribe sending Vulu to Tribal.
Why Stephanie Berger was voted out first in Survivor 48
Life at the Vulu camp became instantly intense as Stephanie immediately apologized for being a major factor in the loss at the immunity challenge. The apology tour at camp upset frustrated Sai who immediately targeted Stephanie as the potential first boot. Stephanie and Mary did the same as they didn't vibe with the aggressiveness of Sai's early gameplan and didn't find her trustworthy. Cedrek sided immediately with Sai while both Kevin and Justin were in the middle of both sides.
Tribal council arrived which led to a very obvious decision between the two women on who would be voted out. Sai came out with an aggressive approach while Stephanie was forced to play a little bit of defense of the way her strategy was different than Sai's. Sensing the way Tribal was leaning, Stephanie decided to use her Shot in the Dark while everyone else casted their vote. The Shot in the Dark ultimately left Stephanie vulnerable to be voted out which is exactly what happened. Stephanie was sent home with a vote of 4 to 1 as Sai and the three men all casted their vote for Stephanie to be sent packing.
Your 48th first boot of Survivor is Stephanie Berger. Sadly, Stephanie will go down in the history books in a group of less than stellar players who were the first people voted out of their seasons. It's safe to say that Stephanie did not survive tribal.