Considering how much time I’ve spent complaining about the direction Survivor has taken in the post-COVID era, I was really happy with last night’s premiere of Survivor 51. There were no returning players. The castaways seem like a good mix of personalities. There are some people I can already tell I’m going to hate (Devin) and some I’m now definitely rooting for (Lewis, Jenna). So far there are only two idols floating around, and only one of them has actually been claimed. (Congratulations, Rob.) After three months of watching the Big Brother houseguests pretend to be time travelers, there was something genuinely gratifying about watching people compete in a real immunity challenge.

Of course I wouldn’t be me if I didn’t have something to complain about. “Permanent uncertainty” is almost as dumb a slogan as “Expect the unexpected,” and I found it strange that Jeff Probst seemed to think this was a new concept. Every season of Survivor, people have been uncertain about their place in the game and whether they were going to survive that night’s tribal council. Probst’s speech about this being “the open era” of Survivor went on forever and didn’t add up to anything. Basically he said any twist from a past season could happen again. And how is that a new thing? I wondered.

Finally, Probst tried to defend the firemaking challenge, which is one of the worst things that ever happened to Survivor. He even gave the castaways a chance to do away with it, but he insisted the vote had to be unanimous. Of course it wasn’t. The players know the firemaking challenge is there to rescue people who couldn’t get themselves into the final three on their own. The whole vote felt like Probst taunting those of us who prefer old-school Survivor and who know the only reason firemaking was introduced was so Ben Driebergen could limp into the final three in season 36 despite a terrible social game.

But enough complaining. There were enough good moments and interesting personalities last night to make up for anything Jeff Probst said.

First off, Kilby losing all of his tribe’s equipment in a thumb war was a classic Survivor moment. When it happened, my immediate thought was that Kilby was doomed. I was surprised no one brought it up at camp or at tribal council, so I can only assume Kilby must be the most likable man on Earth.

Secondly, I really cannot stand Devin, and I think the rest of Toka is eventually going to turn on him. He comes across as fake. Even more importantly, his crusade to vote out Jenna rubbed me the wrong way. Even if Jenna were lying about being a wedding photographer (she isn’t), that wouldn’t change the fact that she worked hard in the challenge and hadn’t been causing trouble at camp. Devin went into tribal feeling very smug, but by the end of it he saw he didn’t have nearly as much power as he thought.

I hated that Jenna was essentially being targeted for being shy. One of the things that bugs me about that later seasons of Survivor is that the castaways always want to talk about their personal lives and take it personally if someone doesn’t want to share. That Jenna survived tribal made me happy. That there was so much genuine suspense reminded me of just how good Survivor can still be.

I feel terrible for Lewis. He did all that work chopping down the mast to get the idol. What’s sad is that whoever goes to Exile Island next will probably face the same challenge and have a much easier time because of the work Lewis already did. He basically exhausted himself for someone else. I really like Lewis and I hope he does well.  I assume he’ll be joining the Toka Tribe.

As for Savu, Rob found an immunity idol. I don’t know how I feel about that, because I’m not a huge Rob fan. He spent the episode trying too hard to be a classic reality-show villain. Eric talks too much and I’d probably have a hard time living on a beach with him, but Rob’s obsession with getting him voted out felt like a bit much. Just from last night, I get the feeling Eric is being set up for a redemption arc.

Tribal council was exciting. Personally I was happy Aaliyah went home, if only because it means Devin has one less ally. It looks like the show is setting up a massive Devin/Brady rivalry. Of course, judging from the preview of next week, Brady might also have chopped off one of his fingers, so we’ll see.

Are you glad Survivor’s back? I’m glad it’s back.  When I was growing up, I always watched Survivor, Big Brother, and The Amazing Race with my mom.  I’ve struggled a bit with the post-COVID era direction of Survivor.  The fact that everyone suddenly had a sob story always bugged me because, to me, Survivor should only be about what happens on the Island.  (It also didn’t help that Jeff Probst lost a bit of his edge as host.  The season where he asked the castaways whether it was okay for him to keep saying, “Come on in, guys!” might as well have been hosted by Henry Winkler and a shark.)  I missed the previous few seasons of Survivor but, with Big Brother being such a bust this year, I decided to give Survivor another chance.  Last night’s episode felt like a return to the show that I grew up watching.