User blog:Sulola/Survivor: Taveuni EP. 1: The Fijian Ted Bundy

COLD OPEN
A wide aerial shot of the stunning Fijian island of Taveuni is shown, with the sandy white beaches, sunkissed skies, and various exotic wildlife flood the screen. The scene then shifts to host Su Sangster striding down the beach, explaining the season as shots of 5 boats being rowed through the water towards him on the beach can be seen.

"For the beginning of the first season of Su's Blog Survivor, 50 all new castaways will be travelling here, to the enchanting Fijian island of Taveuni to compete for the million dollar prize and the title of Sole Survivor. In this giant cast, who will rise to the top and overcome? 78 DAYS, 50 PEOPLE, 1 SURVIVOR!"

As all five boats, each carrying ten castaways, arrive at the beach, many people are shown with shocked and confused expressions to see how many people are all here at once. An outspoken young African American woman with a heart on her t-shirt named Mikayla asks Su if there has been a mistake, and he laughs, telling her no. The first big twist of this season is that the cast is bigger than ever before: there are fifty castaways in total competing on this season, which will be exactly double the length of a normal season. This elicits some jaw drops, and a girl with bright pink hair named Kokoro celebrates this excitedly, whooping loudly and making her tribe laugh.

Su explains that they came in with their starting tribes on the boats; he will be giving them a map to their campsite, where they will get to explore and meet each other for the first day before having to compete in their first Immunity Challenge the following day, due to the faster schedule in order to keep the season at a fast pace. With that, Su gives each tribe their map, as well as their buffs, telling them their names. The dark blue tribe is ; the orange tribe is ; the turquoise tribe is ; the dark magenta tribe is ; and the dark purple tribe is. With that, the 5 new tribes head out to their camps to get to know each other.

BOUMA TRIBE
Immediately after the Bouma tribe arrives at camp, both Mark, a former NFL player, and Rowlan, a commercial pilot, try to take over and lead the group. However, instead of fighting each other, Mark lets Rowlan take control of the tribe, saying he was only going to do it if no one else was going to, and not wanting to clash this early in the game. Under Rowlan’s direction, the tribe begins to construct a shelter, with it slowly coming together over the course of the day.

As the two men are out bringing bamboo back to the chosen site for the shelter, Rowlan tells Mark that he appreciates Mark letting him lead the tribe, and that he really likes him and they should keep an eye out for each other as the two oldest and most wise men on the tribe. Mark happily agrees, saying in confessional that he gets along with Rowlan the most out of everyone so far and is excited to work with him in the future.

Meanwhile, another group is becoming readily apparent. Some of the younger castaways on the tribe seem to vibe well together, forming a “cool kids” group of sorts just because they share the most in common. Lane, Conen, Daisy, and Faustina all are seen splashing in the ocean, and talking about how they have a bunch of fun together. Daisy talks about how Faustina is the most hilarious person on the tribe, while Conen talks extensively about his attraction to Daisy. Lane also shares a confessional about how he wants to save his energy for the challenges and is letting others do the heavy lifting. The four seem to be doing less than a lot of the others; Mena mentions in confessional that she wishes the able, young foursome would help more to get the shelter ready, but that her strategy is to lie low at the beginning and she doesn’t want to get on anyone’s radar yet, so she says nothing.

Some of the outsiders in the tribe can be seen as well. Elmer struggles to help Mark and Rowlan carry back bamboo even though he’s only carrying half the load, and he whines in confessional about how much harder the physical labor is than he expected. Meanwhile, Zia and Lori-Ann struggle to weave palm fronds with Mena, but the two nerdy women focus their energies and are able to weave enough to get a solid roof for the shelter. Zia states in confessional that while she is definitely out of her element she has hope that this game with help her stop being afraid of nature and going outside her comfort zone.

KOCOMA
When the Kocoma tribe arrives at their campsite, no one completely steps up to be leader. However, Shel knows how to weave palm fronds, and Scott is a lumberjack and knows how to deal with nature, so Scott takes charge of building the shelter while Shel tasks herself in teaching the others to weave palm fronds.

Scott, Osprey, and Lewis do a bulk of the heavy lifting, collecting materials to build the shelter. The three bros are intensely focused on making sure that they have a shelter to sleep in for the first night, but they also click really well on a personal level and enjoy making jokes. In confessional, Lewis shares that he’s happy there are like minded people on the tribe with him.

Meanwhile, Shel leads Khelani, Jacinta, Casey, and Valerie in weaving palm fronds. Valerie expresses annoyance that the guys have taken over the building, sharing in confessional that she was excited to cut down some bamboo and wants to help out. Jacinta agrees, cracking a crude joke that makes some of the women chuckle. However, Khelani and Casey assure her that she’ll be able to help soon, not wanting drama around camp so early.

Jordan tries to tag along with Scott, Lewis, and Osprey, doing his best to help carry stuff back to camp. He shows his worth by being good at tying knots to hold the bamboo poles together, which impresses the other guys. However, Jordan expresses in confessional that he feels like there is no one on the tribe that he is instantly clicking with. A massive superfan of the game, Jordan is nervous about his place in the game already. While out collecting wood for the shelter, he searches for the idol but finds nothing.

Gunpei is also a rarity to most of the tribe. He helps somewhat with constructing the shelter, but he also seems very mysterious, not sharing much about his past and who he is. He likes to spend time alone, and in confessional he says that while he doesn’t have anything against anyone on the tribe, he doesn’t feel safe talking about himself with anyone yet. This leads some people, especially Valerie, to regard him as odd and an outsider on the tribe.

LAUCALA TRIBE
When Laucala arrives at camp, the tribe immediately comes together as a tight knit group. With no clear leader, the group still gets to work right away, intent on getting a shelter together as soon as they can. Gavin, Jared, Mikayla, and Ethan gather wood, while Axel, Cleo, and Sid plan out the shelter, and the others gather and weave palm fronds. The shelter quickly starts to come together without trouble. While in a lot of the other tribes, there are clear divisions among the members of the tribes, the Laucala tribe seems pretty united. People switch around in their jobs, with everyone doing whatever needs to be done. Colleen talks about how happy she is that the tribe seems to be working well together. She was worried she would be immediately outcasted for being nearly 70 years old, but so far she has made great friends, especially with Kenedie. She talks about how she is excited for the game and hopes she can prove herself in the future.

While most of the tribe is feeling the united spirit, some people express some concerns. Both Cleo and Mikayla talk about how while having a united tribe is important, they want to start playing the game and are a little worried that this tribe is going to slowplay strategy. Cleo talks about how despite her age she is here to demolish the game strategically due to her skills as a poker player, while Mikayla talks about wanting to prove what a strong black woman can do in a game like Survivor.

On the Laucala tribe as well, someone is keeping a big secret. Elena lies to everyone on the tribe, telling them that she is a model and aspiring actress instead of letting them know that she is actually an adult film star. She also lies and says her last name is Bakova. She doesn’t want to be targeted just because of her controversial occupation, and she wants people to get to know her as the true Elena Morozova. She laughs about how she’s been lucky so far that none of the guys recognize her, and knows however that it’s unlikely that out of forty nine people, no one will have heard of her. But she thinks for now, lying about it is the best thing to do.

NAVAKA TRIBE
Immediately once the Navaka tribe arrives at their beach, Turem takes the leadership position, insisting that he lead them instead of doing a more laidback approach that most of the tribe favors. Turem says in confessional that he knows he can lead the tribe to success and doesn’t want people getting in his way and trying to slow him down. Some, like Joseph, Pheonix, and Norbert, welcome Turem’s strict leadership, but others aren’t so fond of it. Aia rolls her eyes in confessional and talks about how she knew there was going to be a dumb jock who would try to boss everyone around, and she’s willing to let Turem dig his own grave. She also talks about how she will be lying to everyone about being a psychologist, not wanting to dig her own grave. Instead, she is saying she is a school counselor.

Turem assigns himself, Joseph, and Pheonix to try to do the entire shelter except the roof while telling all 7 other tribe members to work on the palm fronds. This ends up being pretty awkward since over half of the tribe ends up travelling in a large group while the stronger guys unintentionally isolate themselves as they work hard to set up a shelter.

While a lot of them are annoyed to be put on palm frond duty, not everyone is meshing. Some people get along great; Aia and Bella immediately hit it off, talking each other’s ear off as they weave. Jerica and Elizabreath don’t have very similar backgrounds but they are around the same age and try to make conversation out of that. However, everyone else feels like an outsider. Most people find Kokoro too bubbly, and she can’t resist being loud and energetic. Meanwhile, Norbert seems constantly half asleep, already tired out from the first day, and Jackey’s social anxiety is limiting him from making social bonds at first.

As the palm frond weavers carry their finished work, done quickly due to the sheer amount of them doing it, Jerica talks in confessional about how she already is wary of this tribe’s dynamics and vibe. She says it feels very disjointed, and the only person she is remotely clicking with is Elizabreath, and even then she finds her to be quite rude at times. Distressed about her spot in the game, Jerica says she is just going to keep trying her best to fit in.

VIDAWA TRIBE
When the Vidawa tribe gets to their camp, they immediately get in a circle to introduce one another. They start off by finding out there are two Cassie’s on their tribe; however, the older Cassie, a red headed guitarist, immediately announces she would rather be called “Rogue” instead. This shocks some of the others, and Peter can be seen laughing in confessional about her ridiculous nickname. However, everyone honors it. In confessional, Rogue talks about how she has always gone against the norm in life, and how she plans to do the same in this game.

Once everyone has introduced themselves, they divide into groups to put together the shelter. Paolina, a weaver by trade, leads her team of herself, Cassie, Rogue, and Rigoberto in weaving the palm fronds. Paolina is happy to be of use to the tribe, while Rigoberto expresses concern over being seen as the weakest male and placed on palm fronds. However, Rigoberto insists he is here to work his hardest and he is not going to go down easily despite poor first impressions of his physicality.

Meanwhile, Rochelle and Terry, the two most intellectual members of the tribe, find a good spot to set up the shelter and discuss how to build it while Peter leads a team of himself, Keyson, Mindy, and Navab to collect bamboo to build the shelter. This group seems to get along well, and they follow the instructions of Rochelle and Terry, beginning to build a solid structure. In confessional, Peter talks about how happy he is with his tribe. As a motivational speaker, it is his job to unite and energize people, but he’s trying not to be a full on leader of the entire tribe, not wanting to seem like a big threat. He knows in a season of fifty castaways that you have to slow play the game at the beginning, so he talks about using his charm to bond as closely as he can with everyone. Meanwhile, Keyson and Navab are shown getting along super well, talking about how they remind each other of their best friends back home and how they want to work together moving forward. A final confessional from Mindy shows that she too thinks that the Vidawa tribe is going to be a force to be reckoned with.

IMMUNITY CHALLENGE
The five tribes meet on a stretch of beach for their first Immunity Challenge. Called Quest for Fire, each tribe must light a torch on the beach, then carry that torch and a canoe out onto the water. They will then have to row through a course on the water, lighting five woks as they go. Once they reach the end of the course, a large floating platform for each tribe, they will have to get everyone out and light the final wok. The first four tribes to light their final, massive cauldron will win Immunity, while one tribe will be the first to attend Tribal Council.

Once the challenge begins, all five tribes go hard, wanting to be safe for this first round and have more time to make key bonds with others. Rowlan tells everyone what to do for Bouma, which leads Bouma to get into first place. Laucala and Vidawa trail behind at a close second and third. Meanwhile, both Navaka and Kocoma begin to struggle. Kocoma’s lack of a solid leader makes it difficult for them to communicate and work together, while Turem on Navaka is being so controlling that it is causing people to do worse on the challenge. Vidawa makes up time, passing Laucala. However, they are unable to catch Bouma; Bouma finishes first, with Vidawa second and Laucala third. Kocoma and Navaka fight for the final Immunity Idol; in the end, Navaka has a strong final push that ends up getting them the win and sending Kocoma to Tribal Council.

PRE-TRIBAL
When the Kocoma tribe arrives back at camp, there is a general air of uneasiness. With no solid alliances, no solid leader, and no general feeling of how the vote should go, things are very up in the air, and none of the new players know quite how to break the ice. Eventually, Lewis pulls Scott and Osprey aside to chat, triggering the beginning of people beginning to break off into talks.

Lewis, Osprey, and Scott walk through the jungle, discussing who to cut from the tribe. They agree that they need to keep the group strong, and that most people have been pulling their weight. However, they talk about how weird Gunpei has been acting and how he seems distant, as well as talking about how crass Jacinta can be and how her age is limiting her in the game. They also mention Jordan as a possible target but the three men seem to agree that Jacinta is most likely their best option, as she is the physically weakest.

Meanwhile, some of the women gather on the beach. Casey, Valerie, and Jacinta walk down the shoreline, speaking about the vote. Both Casey and Jacinta talk about being worried about being targeted as weak, and wanting to strike back against the strong men. Jacinta in confessional talks about how she is annoyed to be singled out for being in her 50s and not being the most fit. Valerie agrees, saying that the strong men refusing to step up and lead and instead just ignoring a lot of the rest of the tribe is annoying. However, they also know that they need the men for challenges. Jacinta then throws out Gunpei as an option, for being mysterious and lurking. This piques the other girls’ interests, and they agree that Gunpei might be a good target.

Meanwhile, Gunpei is unaware of the target growing on his back. He talks with Scott one on one, who tells him that Jacinta is a name he is thinking of since she is the weakest member. Gunpei takes this and runs with it, thinking that most people will end up doing Jacinta due to her age and not suspecting that the admissions counselor will not give up easily.

With the vote seeming to come between Gunpei and Jacinta, the rest of the tribe is left to figure out what to do on their own. Valerie brings Shel and Khelani into the woods with her to talk about who they want to vote for. Valerie is firm about her want to vote out Gunpei, having bonded with Jacinta, but the other two women are less sure, since Gunpei is very intelligent and rather strong physically as well despite his shady personality. This struggle between options is echoed through much of the tribe; in confessional, Jordan states he’s happy to be safe but it is a hard decision to make at the first Tribal of the season. Do they take out a lively but weak castaway or a stronger but shadier one?

As the tribe gathers their things to leave for Tribal Council, it still seems as if there has not been a unanimous tribe decision as to what should happen. No one is quite sure who will be the one leaving as they all head out to Tribal.

TRIBAL COUNCIL
At Tribal Council, which is located on a dock with a round platform at the end extending into the Fijian ocean, the ten Kocoma castaways dip their torches into the fire for the first time. Then, Su begins to question them.

He asks Khelani how the tribe has been functioning. She admits things haven’t been going super well, that no one is stepping up to be a leader and there’s a general lack of unity in the group. Most people nod their heads in agreement. Jordan can be seen nodding vigorously and Su asks him what they need to do; Jordan replies by saying that they need to all get to know each other better and focus on growing as a team.

Su then asks Jacinta how she feels being the oldest member of the tribe tonight. Jacinta sighs, groaning that she feels like her life might be on the line, but that it’s ludicrous to vote someone like her out who is going to try her best when there are people that don’t even socialize with anyone. She looks at Gunpei when she says this, which alarms the former detective. Su asks Gunpei if he thinks Jacinta is referring to him, and he slowly says yes. Angry, he says that just because he isn’t the loudest or most open doesn’t mean he isn’t here to work hard and support the tribe. Su then turns to Shel, asking her how you decide on a vote tonight, when there are people fighting for their lives in the game. Shel sighs, saying it is a hard decision but that if any of the Kocomas want to win the game, they’re going to have to do many more of these Tribals, and so you just have to make the decision that benefits you the most.

With that, the castaways go up to cast their votes. Jacinta is shown writing down Gunpei’s name, saying “I don’t work with creeps”. Casey can be seen deciding her vote in the hut, and then Gunpei is shown writing down Jacinta’s name. He says, “Just because I’m quiet doesn’t mean I need to be attacked. Good riddance.” Lewis is the final one shown, returning to his seat with a thoughtful look on his face.

After they have all voted, Su gets the urn and begins to read the votes.

Jacinta.

Gunpei.

Jacynta.

Gunpay. That’s two votes Jacinta, two votes Gunpei, six remaining.

Both Gunpei and Jacinta can be seen very tense, and also annoyed by the misspelling of their names.

Gunpai.

Jacinta. That’s three votes Gunpei, three votes Jacinta, four votes remaining.

Jacinta.

Jacinta.

Jacinta can be seen groaning, putting her face in her hands.

1st person voted out of Survivor: Taveuni....

Jacinta, you need to bring me your torch.”

Jacinta stands up, obviously disappointed with the tribe’s decision. Valerie can also be seen looking angry with her tribe, while Casey looks blindsided at Jacinta’s vote off as well. Meanwhile, Gunpei can be seen sighing in relief, and Lewis and Scott share a triumphant smile as Jacinta sets her torch down before Su. He snuffs her torch.

“Jacinta, the tribe has spoken.”

The 50-something walks out of the Tribal Council area without a word to her old tribe, obviously very disheartened at her vote off. Su turns to the tribe then to speak, telling them that they need to get their act together and find some cohesion if they want to avoid coming to Tribal again. With that, the tribe leaves for their camp, with Valerie brooding in anger and Jordan looking satisfied to be safe.

Trivia
The episode title was said by Valerie Beks when discussing how Gunpei Jou was acting creepy and shady and she thought he seemed like a serial killer.

Jacinta Alondrez is the first person ever to be voted off of Su's Blog Survivor.

Polls
What did you think of the length/depth of this episode? (Please comment below what I should change/fix!) Too much information Good amount of information Not enough information

What's your favorite tribe? Bouma Kocoma Laucala Navaka Vidawa

Who would you have voted off at Kocoma's Tribal Council? Gunpei Jacinta Someone else

Author's Notes
Thanks for reading y'all I hope this is enjoyable for you guys!!!!

Also here's the link to the voting table spreadsheet, the game table is still under construction: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1U9MHNIIwdoBVo_Eh7pnSULbyjaLUBaP2lcNSym5Mvg8/edit?usp=sharing