Survivor featured the Vula Tribe voting out Stephanie Berger after she played her "Shot in the Dark" and lost her vote during the Season 48 premiere episode that aired Wednesday night on CBS.
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"I just got voted out -- and I got voted out first," Stephanie said in her final words.
"I don't have a ton of regrets. Could I have hit the beach a little harder? Could I have started forming alliances a little faster? Maybe. But I got to push myself in ways that I didn't know that I could. I am walking out of here with my head held high and really glad about the opportunity."
The Survivor broadcast began with 18 strangers being abandoned on an island in Fiji. The cast included a PhD candidate, a flight attendant, a fire captain and more.
When the cast met Survivor host Jeff Probst in the sand, they were already divided into three tribes: Cuba, wearing orange; Vula, wearing green; and Lagi, wearing purple.
The Vula Tribe featured Sai; Stephanie; Cedrek McFadden, a 46-year-old surgeon from Columbia, SC, who currently resides in Greenville, SC; Justin Pioppi, a 29-year-old pizzeria manager from Winthrop, MA; Kevin Leung, a 34-year-old finance manager from Fremont, CA, who currently resides in Livermore, CA; and Mary Zheng, a 31-year-old substance abuse counselor from Montgomery Village, MD, who currently resides in Philadelphia, PA.
The Civa Tribe was comprised of Charity Nelms, a 34-year-old flight attendant from Monroe, MI, who currently resides in St. Petersburg, FL; Chrissy Sarnowsky, a 55-year-old fire lieutenant from Chicago, IL; David Kinne, a 39-year-old stunt performer from Long Beach, CA, who currently resides in Buena Park, CA; Kamilla Karthigesu, a 31-year-old software engineer from Toronto, Canada, who currently resides in Foster City, CA; Kyle Fraser, a 31-year-old attorney from Roanoke, VA, who currently resides in Brooklyn, NY; and Mitch Guerra, a 34-year-old P.E. coach from Waco, TX.
The Lagi Tribe was made up of Bianca Roses, a 33-year-old PR consultant from West Orange, NJ, who currently resides in Arlington, VA; Eva Erickson, a 24-year-old PhD candidate from Eagan, MN, who currently resides in Providence, RI; Joe Hunter, a 45-year-old fire captain from Vacaville, CA, who currently resides in West Sacramento, CA; Shauhin Davari, a 38-year-old debate professor from East Bay, CA, who currently resides in Costa Mesa, CA; Star Toomey, a 28-year-old sales expert from Monrovia, Liberia, who currently resides in Augusta, GA; and Thomas Krottinger, a 34-year-old music executive from The Woodlands, TX, who currently resides in Los Angeles, CA.
Mitch revealed how he has a speech impediment and was inspired by former castaways with disabilities who were facing a similar struggle. There were also several Super fans who have been watching Survivor since Season 1.
Jeff then instructed two members from each Survivor tribe to race down the beach, crawl under a muddy net, and retrieve a heavy chest. After that, the next two players would go.
Once they had all three chests, three tribe members would race back down the beach and back under the net before climbing up a steep ramp. At the top of the ramp, they had to grab a key, unlock a chest, and then use the sandbags inside to knock down three targets.
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The first Survivor tribe to finish would receive camp supplies in the form of a pot, a machete and a flint. The two losing tribes would have to try to earn the survival kit a different way.
Kevin got injured when diving into the mud, which ruined his tribe's chances of winning.
Lagi ultimately finished the challenge in first place. The other two tribes were then each instructed to choose one person to go on a journey. Those two castaways would travel together and have a chance to earn tribe supplies.
Vula sent Kevin, and Civa chose to send Kyle on the Survivor adventure while all of the other castaways began building their shelter at their respective camps.
At Lagi's camp after the challenge, Thomas was afraid he and Bianca would be outcasts because his tribe was comprised of strong and confident men as well as very athletic women.
"You're instantly looking at everybody and going, 'Oh no, am I the weakest link?'" Thomas told the cameras. "I may not be strong, but I can bond with pretty much anyone."
Thomas actually hit it off with Joe and Shauhin, which surprised him, and he said he loved Bianca and was so glad that she was on his tribe.
Bianca told the Survivor cameras that she immediately knew she really wanted to work with Thomas and he could be her "Day 1 to the end."
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Meanwhile, Chrissy boasted about how she knows how to deal with different personalities as a fire lieutenant on Civa, and Sai looked for "a core four" on Vula. Sai quickly joined forces with Justin, Cedrek, and Kevin, and she felt great about his position in the game on Day 1.
Meanwhile, Kevin and Kyle were instructed to follow a rope to a machete and secure it by any means necessary.
Afterward, they had to follow the path leading them to a pot, which they could also grab however they saw fit. And finally, the flint was locked at the end of the path, and so they had to fill a jug with water to float the key to the top.
The first person to retrieve their key and unlock the flint would earn their tribe supplies. The loser learned he wouldn't receive his tribe's supplies until after the first Survivor Immunity Challenge.
Kevin took a methodical approach and tried to use his intelligence to solve the problems, while Kyle rushed through the obstacle course and muscled his way through it.
The first key to the machete was inside a coconut, and the pot was hanging from the top of a tall bamboo stick.
The men were pretty much neck and neck, but then Kyle accidentally broke his jug. Kyle was upset that he failed, but knowing Kevin had injured his shoulder, he decided to help Kevin finish the task so he could help out his tribe back at camp. At that moment, Kevin acknowledged Kyle as "a standup guy."
Once Kevin returned to his Survivor camp, he became friends with Mary. He also became allies with Sai, Cedrek and Justin. Kevin therefore felt safe as a member of two different alliances so early in the game.
Over at Civa's camp, Mitch and David stumbled across a couple of images on the trees as well as black rope. Once they untied the rope, they uncovered an "S."
Kyle then returned to his Survivor camp and apologized to his tribemates for not being able to earn their supplies. David believed Kyle and then shared with everyone how he had discovered pictures of animals as well as the "S."
The whole tribe therefore went on a wild "goose hunt," according to Mitch, looking for black rope and uncovering more letters.
Meanwhile, Eva shared how she has autism and fixated on gathering bamboo. Eva explained how she'd probably struggle with people lying to her because she's a very direct person, but she was ready and willing to challenge herself.
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On Day 2, Stephanie on the Vula tribe was trying to have as many authentic conversations as possible in attempt to actually get to know her Survivor tribemates.
Sai then devised a plan to find the hidden Immunity Idol before the other ladies got to.
Sai ended up finding a Survivor "Beware Advantage," which required her to crack a code in order to retrieve the idol. Until Sai took possession of the idol, she could not participate in the vote at Tribal Council.
Sai was given a set of numbers, and the lock featured a bunch of different letters. Sai wasn't sure how to open the lock, and she was terrified about losing her vote.
Over at Lagi's camp on Day 2, Star went off looking for an advantage or an idol to protect herself. Everyone could tell Star was off looking for something, and so it appeared to put a target on his back.
Joe, Thomas and Shauhin then formed an alliance and called themselves the "California Girls." Thomas wanted to bring Bianca into the Survivor alliance, but the other two guys really liked Eva.
Eva then opened up to Joe about her autism and how he could help her through the game.
Joe thought of his daughter and what he'd do if she needed him like that, and so he decided in that moment he'd be there for her and keep her close. Joe told Eva that she had come to the right person and their immediate bond was "meant to be."
"I'm not going to let her down. Even if that hurts my game or I have to go home early, I'm not going to let her down," Joe told the Survivor cameras with tears in his eyes.
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Meanwhile, at Civa's camp, David revealed how his favorite movie is Notting Hill and he's a hopeless romantic trapped in an athlete's body. And Kamilla and Kyle bonded over being Guyanese.
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A Survivor alliance was formed as a result over a mistrust in Charity, according to Kamilla.
Over at Vula's camp, Sai continued to try to crack the code of her combination lock. She let Cedrek and Kevin in on the secret because she needed help.
Suddenly, Sai remembered there were colored symbols all over the place such as a green turtle, a purple octopus and a pink dolphin.
Sai cried and couldn't figure out how to open the lock, and she felt defeated and was on the verge of giving up. But Sai carried on, hoping to find all the pictures, and she finally discovered all of the animals around camp.
Sai then used certain letters in the animals' names -- which each corresponded with a colored number provided in the initial clue -- and, with Cedrek's help, came up with the word "LISTEN."
Using the letters in "LISTEN" finally opened the lock, and then Sai was awarded a hidden Immunity Idol. She was overjoyed and extremely proud of herself.
On Day 3, the three Survivor tribes met Jeff for the first Immunity Challenge of the season.
Each tribe was required to race over a massive ramp and through a net tunnel, where one player would use a Fijian war club to smash a mask, releasing a key. That key would be used to unlock a sled, and then a tribe must work together to move that sled down a track over sandbags.
Once at the end, each Survivor tribe had to pull that very heavy sled to the top of a tall platform, where two players would use the pieces inside of the sled to solve a Survivor logo puzzle.
The first two tribes to finish would win immunity, while the losing tribe would lose their flint as a penalty and have to vote out one of their own at Tribal Council that night.
In addition, the tribes were playing for Reward. The first tribe to finish would receive a massive tool kit, and the second-place tribe would earn a smaller tool kit.
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After the challenge, Stephanie apologized to her tribe for letting them down by not being able to solve the puzzle fast enough.
Sai was annoyed because Stephanie had volunteered to do the puzzle, only to fail at it. Kevin, however, acknowledged in a Survivor confessional how he had also messed up on the puzzle.
But Mary admitted that she didn't trust Sai because she was always gone looking for an idol.
Justin told the Survivor cameras that he knew Sai was "dangerous" but she had also been upfront with him so far in the game. Justin wondered if keeping Sai around would make sense for his game since she wanted to work with him.
Sai knew Stephanie and Mary were "up to something," and so she hoped she wouldn't have to use her idol that night.
"I don't mind using my idol. I just want to use it wisely," Sai told the Survivor cameras.
Meanwhile, Kevin was in a solid alliance with Cedrek, Justin and Sai, but Mary and Stephanie asked Kevin to work with them to take out Sai. Kevin had a good feeling about Stephanie, and so he pointed out how he had options and could ride the middle with Justin.
Justin said he knew Sai had -- and could use -- an idol, and so that scared him. Kevin was just pleased that he and Justin were going to have control over the vote.
Justin told Stephanie that it was going to be a "straightforward vote," but she wasn't buying that because the game was Survivor.
At Tribal Council on Night 3, Sai spoke about how her tribe had to decide whether to keep strength or focus on loyalty going forward.
Sai then suggested that Stephanie wasn't playing the game hard and had her head in the clouds.
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"Everyone out here is playing with a capital P," Stephanie insisted.
When it became time for the castaways to vote, Sai whispered at the voting booth how she had a gut feeling Stephanie was going to play her Shot in the Dark.
Jeff then tallied the votes, but before he read them out loud, Stephanie decided to play her Shot in the Dark.
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Stephanie had sacrificed her vote to take a one-in-six shot of safety in the game. But unfortunately for Stephanie, she was deemed "Not Safe," and so any votes cast against her would still count.
Jeff proceeded to read the votes in the following order: Sai, Steph, Steph, and Steph.
Everyone in the Vula Tribe voted out Stephanie except for Mary, who had cast her vote for Sai.
About The Author: Elizabeth Kwiatkowski
