Coming off the heels of the historic 50th season of the show that puts castaways in the jungle to fight for a $1 million prize, Survivor Host Jeff Probst promised a New Era (pun intended) of the show: The Open Era!

What does that mean for the castaways?

That means starting with 21 people, not the traditional 18 we have grown accustomed too in the New Era. That means starting on a boat in the middle of the ocean, with no buff, gathering as much supplies as humanly possible. That means coming together as 21 castaways on one beach to start the game. That means, instead of three Tribes of seven, there will be two Tribes of 10, and one person will not start the game with the rest. Instead, they will venture off on their own on a Survivor journey. 

Lewis, a lad from Ireland, volunteers to go on the journey, and the others separate into their Tribes. Wearing yellow is Toka and wearing purple is Savu. The buffs are dropped from a helicopter in the sky!

Before they go back to camp, two people (one from each Tribe) must negotiate for supplies. The supplies come in bundles. Danny (who goes by his last name Kilby) for Toka and Kristin for Savu divide up the supplies, with Savu getting the pot, machete and fleet and Toka taking the rest.

At the Toka camp, while everybody is opening up to each other, Jenna seems a bit reserved, causing her fellow castaways to think she is lying about her occupation as a wedding photographer. Meanwhile, Devon is emerging himself as leader around camp, connecting right away with everyone.

Over on Savu, Rob and Eric connected early on the initial beach, as two guys from Rhode Island, but Rob is seeing Eric make friends with almost everyone, perking his ears up. While Eric is out fishing, Rob tells his fellow Tribe members that Eric is looking for an idol, putting a target on his back. At the same time, Rob is the one that finds the idol. This idol has no beware advantage or strings attached. It is his to keep until final five.

As for Lewis, after being stranded on Exile Island for 30 hours, Probst shows up on the beach and lets him know that he will not participate in the first immunity challenge or go to Tribal Council. However, if he can chop down a tree with an axe with time remaining in an hour glass, he can earn an individual idol. Lewis does not complete the task and is struck on Exile for at least two more days empty handed, with nothing but a pot and some rice.

On day three, with everybody gathered at the first immunity challenge, Probst officially welcomes Survivor 51 to the Open Era. No season will be the same, and as a testament to the Open Era, the Mr. Beast coinflip from Season 50 is returning. If the flip is unsuccessful, the cash prize will roll into the next season. Also, the players all had to vote unanimously if the fire making showdown at final four should be eliminated. That did not happen.

As for the challenge itself, Savu secured immunity by building their Survivor 51 logo the fastest, sending Toku to Tribal Council, and while the plan of Jenna going home seemed to still be in tacked, Patt saw how much Jenna worked in the immunity challenge, and she saw how little Aliyah worked and wants to flip the vote. Jenna tells Brady Aliyah was throwing out his name and calling him a goof. The pro wrestler lets his buddy Devon know he wants Aliyah out over Jenna. Devon has a problem with this because he, Aliyah, Sharonda, Jelly, and Ori made an alliance when everybody was at the first beach. 

At Tribal, Jenna does damage control by uttering out loud that she is the target but that she heard Aliyah’s name as a backup target. Devon makes it known he is voting for Jenna and says his alliance can vote differently. It does not matter to him because if Jenna gets by this Tribal, she could win the whole game; she is that good of a player. A live Tribal ensues, causing Jenna and Aliyah to both play their Shots in the Dark. Both were unsuccessful, and in the end, Aliyah goes home by a vote of 6-2, with her alliance members in Jelly and Devon on the wrong side of the vote.

The Open Era feels like Survivor in the mid 2020’s: A mix of the Old and New Era’s coming ahead to force players to own their game. This was a heck of a premiere, with a lot of personalities from all different backgrounds on this cast. Devon, Rob, Jelly, Jenna, Ori, Lewis, and Brady seem to be the main players of the season so far. These players seem more cutthroat and ready to play a more aggressive game on the heels of Survivor 50. Did the legendary players inspire these newbies to play a more cutthroat game? Only time will tell.