"'Survivor' is the most physically demanding and emotionally taxing game on television. It strips you to your core, while offering the opportunity to prove what you're made of. For those who win, the reward is grand: a million dollars and a high that might never be repeated. But if you lose, the consequence is often a relentless nightmare of 'what ifs' that never ends...until now," host Jeff Probst explains during the intro. "This season for the first time ever we turned 'Survivor' over to the fans. 20 former players, who have played only once, were selected by a nationwide audience vote and are being given a second chance to finish what they've started. Some have waited over a decade. They've travelled to Cambodia, a country with a stunning, humbling and powerful history that stirs the emotions. It serves as a vivid reminder of how the past can haunt, and provides the inspiration to seize their second chance."
The returning contestants are introduced one by one as they arrive in Cambodia. They each reminisce on their past mistakes and why they didn't come out on top during their first time on "Survivor." They flashback to the exact moment they were voted off and reveal what's been haunting them ever since, and most importantly how they're going to use this opportunity to it's fullest to do it all over again. Only this time, they will play the game way they should have from the very beginning. They have all replayed what they did wrong over and over again in their head ever since they heard Probst say those dreaded four words, "the tribe has spoken," but they've matured and are back to give it all they've got.
The beginning of the game is an exciting one as the 20 contestants, who have been split up into two tribes, Ta Keo and Bayon, sit on their own little boats only to dive off in the clothes on their back to swim to a bigger boat to grab as many supplies as they can hold. From pots, pans, live chickens, fruits and everything you could ever wish for on the "Survivor" island, the two tribes move quickly as they try to fill their rafts. The twist, there's another boat a hundred yards away with rice, and whichever tribe works together the best from the start, and gets to the boat of rice first, gets to keep it. Woo from the Ta Keo tribe ended up taking one for the team as he swam to the rice boat on his own at rapid speed, winning his teammates the most valuable prize of them all.
The two tribes quickly got to work as they set up camp, built shelter, got to know each other, started to form some alliances, and they even did some yoga as they awaited the first challenge. Kelley Wentworth, from tribe Ta Keo, found the first hidden immunity idol clue in a tree, which revealed that the actual idol would be somewhere within the first challenge. It laid out exactly where it would be hidden on a raft during the challenge, but explained how it was up to that contestant to figure out if they're brave enough to grab it in front of their entire tribe.
"Fifteen years waiting to return...the first challenge ever done. And then the first player is voted out...now it doesn't seem so fun," the first tree mail reads, revealing that the first challenge they will partake in is the first one ever done on the first season of "Survivor."
The challenge, which was called Quest For Fire, was as competitive as it gets as these two tribes battled it out for an immunity idol and an ultimate fire-making kit. Kelly Wigglesworth, being the only contestant from season 1, was the only tribe member to have ever taken part in Quest For Fire before, and unfortunately, she missed her chance once again as Bayon won, sending her tribe straight to tribal council. Wentworth, on the other hand, used the only chance she had to grab the hidden immunity idol, completely getting away with it. Wigglesworth got extremely emotional as she felt she let her team down, but they informed her that it was a group effort and they knew it was not all her fault.
At tribal council, the members of the Ta Keo tribe spoke a little about how they're handling their second chances so far. Most of them really didn't seem to know where they stood as they were only a few days in, while a few others believed it would not be a random elimination at all as they've seen what has gone down already at camp. "At the end of the day, it's how well you can get along with everyone else," Woo said, hinting towards the people like Abi-Maria Gomes, who spent most of her day worrying about her missing bracelet and then blaming Peih-Gee Law for taking it instead of helping set up camp. "I think my guts telling me which way to vote," Wigglesworth said, while the others explained how they've been picking up on little cues to see who's really in it to win. "I think if there is an elephant in the room, we're about to find out," Jeff Varner boldly said. "It's my second chance, I don't want to screw it up. This is an important night."
The votes came down to Abi and Vytas Baskauskas, who seemed to be a threat, and in the end, Vytas ended up being the first person voted out of the tribe. "Well tonight's vote illustrates one thing very clearly: your second chance can end at any time," Probst tells the remaining contestants. "Which means you've got to make the most of it"
"I remember saying before I came out here that I'd rather not get picked than get picked and be the first booted. It sucks," Vytas says following his elimination. "I mean, I came out here and I tried to find people I wanted to work with and apparently they saw me as a big threat. It's total respect. They were afraid of me, and for a good reason."
