"Two big brain moves of the season": Fans react as Cody and Sami emerge as initial fan favorites on Survivor Season 43

A brand new season of Survivor hit television screens on Wednesday, September 21, 2022, at 8 pm ET on CBS.

For the 43rd season, 18 castaways landed in Fiji to "outwin and outlast" each other and win the coveted title alongside a whopping cash prize of $1 million. Some participated in interesting challenges, some gained immunity and steered right ahead, while others were in danger of going home.

In the premiere episode of the reality competition series, fans had their pick of initial favorites - Cody and Sami. The duo performed really well in their challenges and gained the respect of fellow teammates as well as viewers back home. One tweeted:

Filming for the 43rd season of Survivor took place in Fiji, making it the eleventh consecutive season to be shot in the island country. This season will play out for 26 days, reduced from its initial 39 day-run.

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Survivor castaways are given interesting challenges

The 18 castaways for this season of Survivor were divided into three tribes, namely Vesi, Coco, and Baka.

Dwight Moore, Cody Assenmacher, Justine Brennan, Nneka Ejere, Noelle Lambert, and Jesse Lopez were part of the Vesi tribe. Geo Bustamante, Lindsay Carmine, Cassidy Clark, Karla Cruz Godoy, James Jones, and Ryan Medrano made up the Coco tribe. Mike Gabler, Owen Knight, Sami Layadi, Elisabeth "Elie" Scott, Morriah Young, and Jeanine Zheng entered as part of the Baka tribe.

Host Jeff Probst welcomed them to the game, followed by a brief introduction of a few cast members. They discussed their motives for coming on the show and as different as they were for each member, fellow castmates could relate to it.

For their first Survivor Reward challenge, the tribes had to collect crates from the jungle and the water, following which they had to bring it back to the island and create a cube. One of them had to climb up on the cube and take the keys out. The first member to do that would secure a win for their tribe.

Although Coco tribe was the first to assemble the pieces and climb up, Lindday failed to retrieve the keys, allowing Vesi and Baka to catch up. While Dwight struggled with the key, Cody advised him with a strategy that helped the Vesi tribe secure a win.

Members of Coco and Baka had to gain their own supplies, for which they had to complete a challenge: Savvy or Sweat. The former required them to solve a puzzle, while the latter required them to dig into their supplies themselves. While Coco tribe solved the puzzle, Sami from the Baka tribe along dug out the supplies.

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Viewers praise Cody and Sami for their skills

Survivor cast members Cody and Sami became instant fan- favorites following the premiere of the show. They were complimented for their incredible physical and strategic skills.

Check out what fans said on Twitter:

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This season of Survivor has begun on an interesting note. The castaways are putting their best foot forward to participate in challenges to ensure that they aren't sent home. At the same time, they have also taken the time to strategize depending on the twists and turns that the competition introduced.

Keep watching Survivor on CBS.