Survivor: Last Resort: Cape Verde 1.1 - Episode 1

Survivor: Last Resort: Cape Verde 1.1 - Episode 
Writer: Chad Taylor

On the blue waters surrounding the Santiago island in Cape Verde, two boats holding 8 contestants each arrive to shore where host Jeff Probst awaits them.

Probst welcomes them all to the island. “You are about to embark on a weeks-long test of mental and physical fortitude. And the last person to withstand this challenge will win $1 million dollars and the title of Sole Survivor. I’m sorry, did I say $1 million? Since this is show’s first season on Last Resort TV, we’re raising the stakes a bit. For the first time ever, the winner of this show will receive a TWO million dollar grand prize.” The contestants all look shocked, happy, and nervous at the same time.

He asks if anyone here is a fan of the show and half of them raise their hands. Jeff points out that Francis Morse seems the most eager to answer that question. Francis excitedly says that he’s seen every season and just talking to Jeff Probst is a dream come true for this average Joe. In a cutaway confessional, Sarah Morse expresses shock to see her husband also made it onto the show. She just went to the casting call with him and didn’t really expect to get on. They make eye contact but come to an unspoken agreement not to reveal their relationship.

Probst asks who is the youngest here and Laura Osborne raises her hand. He asks what she does for a living and she says that she is a social media influencer. Some of them look confused or disappointment, while Jim Bonds asks “what the hell is that?” and they all laugh. Bonds admits that he doesn’t have much room to talk - he makes a living as a James Bond Impersonator. Jose Mendes - who works in the entertainment industry - points out that he doesn’t look anything like Daniel Craig, to which Bonds specifies that he’s a Pierce Brosnan James Bond Impersonator. Most of the contestants look bemused.

Probst tells them they will now have time to get accumulated with their tribe and camp before the first immunity challenge and Tribal Council.

On Brava beach, things are hectic right off the bat. There are dominant personality types like Bonds and Sally, who are annoyed when people like Francis, Rajon, and Laura aren’t carrying their weight around camp. However, Sally and Bonds also clash with each other as they both like to be in control. As a result, not much gets done around camp in the form of building shelter or catching food. Amidst this chaos, two of the quieter members of the tribe - Fiona and Megan - form a bond. Fiona is a country music star in the 90s but only reveals this Megan as she doesn’t want others to target her if they view her as “unworthy” of the grand prize. Megan, an inner-city special ed teacher, says Fiona’s secret is safe with her as she can tell Fiona has a heart of gold.

In order to build tribe unity, Sally suggests they all meet at the camp and formally introduce themselves. Sally talks about herself being a pharmaceutical executive. In confessional, she says she is used to planning team-bonding exercises at work so this is nothing different. Fiona only identifies herself as a stay-at-home mom. Rajon calls himself a DJ but says its really aspiring DJ and they laugh. Chase says he is right there with him as he is technically a pro baseball player but he hasn’t made it to the major leagues. Lastly, Laura and Bonds once again take center stage given their truly unique career choices.

On Togo beach, the tribe works efficiently at building a sturdy shelter. Because that is out of the way, it doesn’t take long for the strategizing to begin and a clear divide to emerge. Jose and Chad Betts become quick bros despite being from different coasts and having totally different jobs (talent agent for one, the other unemployed). Meanwhile, the four girls - Sarah, Puma, Rose, and Gail - all form a tight bond. Sensing their immediately tight bond, Sarah opens up about her emotions as she just found out that her husband is on the other tribe. They had no clue that the other one was going to be on the show. In confessional, Rose says that she thinks her career as a therapist will help in situations like this as it will let people trust opening up with her.

Outside of the alliance forming, Jim works hard around camp - choosing to build goodwill that way. In confessional, Dr. Kaiser talks about his job as a theatre professor and how fulfilling it has been to mentor younger actors. Here, however, he feels out of place given his older age. Feeling isolated and useless around camp, Kaiser decides to go off exploring into the woods. While out there, he spots a tribal symbol in a hole on a tree and goes to examine it (which is difficult given his weight). Upon further examination, this turns out to be the game’s first Hidden Immunity Idol. Immunity Idols can be played after the votes have been casted at Tribal Council - nullifying any votes against the person it is being played on. Kaiser does a little dance to himself and says he will try to use this to his advantage.

Both tribes meet up with Probst for the first immunity challenge. The winning tribe is safe for the week while the losing tribe goes to Tribal Council, where they will vote out one of their own. He reveals that the winner of this challenge will also get a flint to help start a fire - something the tribes have both struggled with.

The challenge is a throwback to the first immunity challenge in Survivor history and rather simple. They must, as a team, guide a raft along shallow waters - lighting symbolic torches along the way. Upon reaching the beach, they must build a pole long and sturdy enough to retrieve a key within a cage that is 8 feet away. That key will unlock the cage, where they will light the final fire which will symbolize the first winner.

It is a tightly-contested challenge. However, Kaiser’s age and weight slow down the Togo tribe a bit and make it difficult to row the raft straight. Brava reaches the beach first but Togo isn’t too far behind. However, that slight head start gives Brava the advantage on building their pole as Megan’s crafty skills from her job as a teacher turn out surprisingly useful. They get their key and light their fire, making Brava the first tribe to win immunity.

Back at the Togo camp, things are normal at first - no one willing to be the first to strategize. Sensing he is on the bottom of the totem pole after his poor challenge performance, Kaiser debates who to share his Immunity Idol secret with. He ends up choosing Chad and Jose as they are both more athletic than him and should be around for a while. Chad and Jose perk up when he tells them this. In private, they debate whether it’s best to try to blindside him with the idol in his pocket or harness it for their advantage. They go back to Kaiser and tell him that they have his back.

The four-girl alliance meets and discuss who they are targeting in the upcoming vote. Gail suggests Kaiser as he is a challenge liability and they don’t want to have to keep going to Tribal Council. Rose, being the oldest woman on the tribe, is hesitant as she is afraid her age will make her a target in the future. Sarah calms her nerves and says if they get a man out this week, they will have the majority numbers going forward. Kaiser is solidified as the target. However, it is still 4 vs. 4 and they want to avoid a tie. Gail identifies Jim as being the most likely to flip and Puma volunteers to talk to him about the vote.

However, in confessional, Puma says that she is here to play for Puma and Puma only. She’s not going to join an alliance just because of her gender. So she approaches Jim and talks about how they are the two people unaligned. The swing votes. Jim likes the idea of having this much power in the game. But who’s the other option outside of Kaiser? Rose? Or maybe Sarah? Definitely not Gail or Puma, the strongest of the ladies.

Puma has a devious smile on her face and says she knows something. When the girls were first meeting, Sarah revealed that her husband is actually on the Brava tribe. Jim is shocked to hear this. They both worry about the advantage those two will have if they ever get reunited. At the same time, the trio of Kaiser, Chad, and Jose seems like a more dangerous threat than the three girls, so maybe they should cut that alliance at its knees. Puma is leaning more in this direction as she hates losing athletic challenges and Kaiser will be a detriment to them in every physical challenge. Jim says that he will tell Jose this bit of information about Sarah and her husband so maybe those three guys will vote for her. But the ultimate decision will really lie in the hands of Puma and Jim.

At tribal council, the eight Togo tribe members grab their torches - will be eventually be snuffed out if they get voted out. Jeff asks how things were the first few days and Rose says she thought the group functioned well. They built their shelter in a quick manner and all contributed around camp. It’s just when it came to the immunity challenge, they fell short. Jeff asks Kaiser if he feels any pressure for bringing his group down in the challenge and he says that he does. He hopes they can look past it but he also knows this is a game all about survival and people will cut him if they view him as a liability. When the topic moves to gameplay, Chad admits that they all splintered into sub-groups as they are all here to win that two million dollars. Jeff says that it is time to vote and each of them does.

Before the votes are read, Jeff says that if anyone has a hidden immunity idol that now would be the time to play it. Kaiser nervously looks at Chad and then Jose, who shakes his head no after some hesitation. Kaiser doesn’t play it.

First vote...Kaiser


...Sarah

...Kaiser

…Sarah

...Kaiser

...Sarah

Tied 3 votes Kaiser, 3 votes Sarah, 2 votes left



…..Sarah



Jeff reaches for the eighth and final voting parchment. Gail whispers to Rose and asks what happens in the case of a tie. Rose isn’t sure. The first person voted out of Survivor: Last Resort...Sarah. All of the girls (including Puma faking) looked stunned while the Chad and Jose have sly smiles on their face. Jim does not show any emotion in either direction. Sarah, the tribe has spoken.

In her post-show confessional, Sarah says she didn’t see this coming at all and starts to tear up when saying that she wishes she could have played with Francis down the line. She’s ~obviously~ rooting for him to win the whole thing.

Votes for Kaiser: Sarah, Gail, Rose

Votes for Sarah: Kaiser, Jose, Chad, Jim, Puma