We are about to kick off a brand new season of Survivor which will include two returning members who will serve as mentors to 20 new castaways. Boston Rob and Sandra will be teaching the castaways things throughout the game and give them an opportunity to use those skills to gain an advantage. Keep refreshing this page to get more information on this new twist right here with our Survivor: Island of the Idols live recap!

Sign up with CBS All Access to live stream Survivor right here

We started tonight’s premiere off with the castaways being brought to their islands via boat, but there is no Jeff in sight. The Lairo Tribe is the first tribe we see and they are getting to know each other. We meet Tom who is a former NHL player, Elizabeth is a former Olympic swimmer, and Missy is a brain cancer survivor.

We then get a look at the Vokai Tribe. Janet is trying to start a fire with nothing but bamboo and manages to get one going! She’s definitely gaining brownie points with her tribemates which is important for her because she wants to stand out for something other than being the “older” castaway in their tribe.

Meanwhile, Aaron on the Lairo tribe has pointed out that Elaine, Tom, and Vince are out wandering around and they have put a bit of a target on their backs because of that.

On Vokai, Dan has pointed out that Jason has gone wandering as well and says he went off looking for stuff early on. He tells us that he just wanted to make someone else a target so that it wasn’t him.

Tommy and Jack on Vokai are already making connections with each other and other tribemates. A lot of people are talking about Jason on Vokai and Noura goes to him and gives him a heads up that people are talking.

Missy on Lairo gave Elaine the heads up that the other tribemates have been talking about her, Tom, and Vince walking away from camp for a while. Elaine tells us that just means she has to play a better game from here on out to make sure that she isn’t the target.

On Vokai, the ladies are having a hard time with Dan being a little touchy. Janet tells the other girls that they need to talk to him about it and Kellee does just that and the conversation goes well. Back on Lairo, Ronnie is just watching the castaways and he pulls Elaine aside to talk to her and make her feel safe with him, but he tells us that he is gunning for her. Elaine tells us that she knew from the moment she talked to him, she didn’t trust him and called him a weasel.

It is time for the first Immunity Challenge of the season! The castaways will be going through an obstacle, drop a bridge, then get to the other side of the bridge to put together a puzzle. The first tribe to finish will not only win Immunity, but they will also win flint! Vokai has a huge lead going into the wall climb to get to the puzzle. Lairo is able to get all their castaways up on the platform and three of their tribemates start building the puzzle, but Vokai isn’t far behind them.

Vokai takes the lead after Lairo has an issue with their puzzle pieces not fitting correctly. Vokai manages to get their entire puzzle together while Lairo had none of their puzzle put together because they started taking it apart. Lairo loses and will go to Tribal, Jeff then tells them that all 10 of their names are in a bag and whoever’s name is chosen will go to Island of the Idols. Elizabeth will be heading to Island of the Idols but will return to camp before Tribal.

We get a look at Elizabeth getting to Island of the Idols and finding Boston Rob and Sandra’s big wooden busts. She is blown away and even more so when they come out! She now realizes that Island of the Idols means Idols in the game of Survivor, not Immunity Idols. While she is talking to Rob and Sandra, they are asking her about camp. She tells them that they don’t have a fire there to cook and he offers to teach her how to build a fire so that she can go back to camp and do it.

Rob shows Elizabeth how to do it and then while she is trying to do it, Sandra is coaching her on how to get it going. Elizabeth is thrilled that she has learned how to do this, but now it’s time for Elizabeth to test what she has learned. Rob tells her that there are two fire making stations if she wins she will get an immunity idol good for the next two Tribal Councils, but if she loses, she will lose her vote in tonight’s Tribal.

Back on Lairo, Elaine, Tom, Vince, and Chelsea are talking about who they want out tonight. They all agree that Ronnie is their target. However, Vince hears Elaine’s name being thrown around and goes back to talk to Elaine and Tom. Elaine is really hoping that she doesn’t end up going tonight.

Elizabeth is still thinking about her decision on whether or not she is going to take on Boston Rob or not in a fire-making challenge. She decides to go up against him. Rob tells us that he has something in his back pocket. Elizabeth is panicking when Rob’s fire starts going. Rob does end up beating Elizabeth which means that she will lose her vote at the Tribal Council. Rob asks her what she was thinking of going up against him and then tells her that she has lost her vote, but she has learned to make fire. Before she leaves, she is asked to pick a name out of the bag for the player from Vokai to visit the Island of the Idols.

Elaine is bargaining with Aaron and he tells Elaine that the concern is she is too likable. Aaron asks her if she would be willing to vote for anyone and she tells him that she will vote anyone out as long as her name isn’t being thrown in the mix. Aaron mentions Vince’s name and when Elizabeth gets back to the island, she lies about what Island of the Idols is. She then gets filled in on who they are thinking about voting out. She is asked who she is voting for, but she tells them she has no idea. That’s because she doesn’t have a vote tonight, but she doesn’t want to tell them that.

It is time for the first Tribal Council of the season! The members of the Lairo Tribe come in and sit down and we see Rob and Sandra looking on without being seen by the castaways. The castaways start talking about Elaine and her likability being a liability. Ronnie talks about how getting rid of a big guy off the bat isn’t good for their tribe either because they will never win anything. Elaine gets emotional about how she doesn’t want to go home yet and how she wanted this game to build her up, not break her down.

Ronnie and Vince are talking about how everyone has a story and yes, it sucks that someone has to go home three days in. Aaron says that emotions make it hard to vote someone out. Rob asks Sandra if it was ever this hard for her and she says “f*** no, I’ll vote you out and that’s it.” It’s time to read off the votes:

  1. Vince
  2. Ronnie
  3. Vince
  4. Ronnie
  5. Ronnie
  6. Ronnie
  7. Ronnie
  8. Ronnie

With six votes, Ronnie is the first castaway voted out of Survivor: Island of the Idols! It’s time for the Big Brother finale! Join us right here to find out who wins and join in the conversation!

Find us on Twitter and keep up with us on Facebook for all your Survivor news, spoilers, and recaps all season long! Want to see more from Tammie Slogeris? Follow her on Twitter and like her on Facebook to join in on the conversations!




Recent Posts on Big Big Brother: