Survivor: Apex – Week One in Review
Come one, come all to the most primal, ruthless, carnivorous game taking place right here at UVA Law. That’s right. The newest season of UVA Law’s Survivor—Survivor: Apex—has just concluded its first week with six casualties already in the books and many more to come in the next three weeks.
But we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
Let me set the scene. My name is Kevin Hoang ’25, and I’m one of this season’s esteemed Jeffs (or co-hosts for the Survivor-casuals of the world). My fellow Jeffs include some fan-favorites from Survivor: Wolfsbane, the blockbuster season of Survivor that dominated the rumor mill last fall. They are: Mackenzie Kubik ’25, Nick Hoffman ’25, Emma Howard ’25, and Claudia Daboin PhD ’27.
As we embarked on Survivor: Apex, the Jeffs are pushing this newest batch of Players to embrace their carnal instincts to vie to be the next Queen Bee, the next King Cobra, the next Sole Survivor, no matter the cost. Relationships will be tested in the hunting grounds of Tribal Council, where advantages, twists, and good old-fashioned greed will facilitate bitter betrayals and blistering blindsides.
Without further ado, let’s get to the carnage.
Day One saw the Players separated into three Tribes: Panthera (in red), Aquila (in blue), and Cayman (in green). The first Challenge, Natural Selection, required Players to collect bags of letters by completing different tasks—untying a devilish length of rope, sinking two cornhole bags, and leading a blindfolded partner through the treacherous Law School Lawn—before solving a word puzzle. The Cayman Tribe, led by Wes Jung ’25, who literally took a fall (on the pavement) for his tribe, and Greg Mekenian ’25, who solved the word puzzle, took home tribal Immunity.
In their first Tribal Council, the Panthera Tribe—otherwise composed entirely of former Section C alumni—brutally voted out outsider and lover boy Shayon Malek ’25 of Section J in a 6–1 landslide. Shortly thereafter, the Aquila Tribe eliminated Lile Moot Court finalist Ben Baldwin ’25 as swiftly as he could say, “May it please the court.”
Day Two continued at a blistering pace. The second Challenge, F0R TH3 GR4M, tasked Players with spotting the difference in their own Instagram pictures. Social media is a vice, indeed. Once again, Cayman stomped on their competition, sending Panthera and Aquila back to Tribal Council.
At their second vote, former Section C in the Panthera Tribe had no choice but to cannibalize their own, sacrificing sweet, sincere, soft Tanner Stewart ’25 in a 5–1 vote. A new majority in the Aquila Tribe staged the season’s first true blindside during their second vote, sending UVA’s favorite DJ Luis Sierra ’25 home in a shocking 4–2 upset.
Day Three spared no mercy on the Players. Their third Challenge, Eyes for Some Eyes, required them to identify celebrities—including America’s unlikely sweetheart, Taylor Frankie Paul, and Jeff Probst, whose job I am actively coming after—solely on their eyes. In a show of unwavering strength (and superior pop culture knowledge), the Cayman Tribe drop-kicked their opponents once again, evading their third Tribal Council in a row.
That meant Tribal Council number three for both Panthera and Aquila. But first, the Cayman Tribe enjoyed one last advantage: They chose three players, one from each Tribe, to go on an all-important journey where anything from hugs and kisses to advantages and idols could be doled out. They chose: softball extraordinaire with a dangerous soft smile CJ Wittman ’25 of the Panthera Tribe, self-proclaimed gambling whiz and League of Legends fanatic Chris Huh ’25 of the Aquila Tribe, and recently-engaged (congrats queen!) Eagles-touting Raquel Szomstein ’25 of the Cayman Tribe. Only time will tell what may have transpired between them!
At Tribal Council, Panthera continued to witness section-mates backstabbing one another, with international superstar Katie Barbella ’25 falling victim to the most visceral blindside of the season—and she (claims to have) had an Idol in her pocket! Aquila voted with clinical efficiency, dispatching Lile Moot Court champion Malia Takei ’25 before she could talk her way out of this pickle.
Finally, Day Four, in sweeping grandeur, brought not only a Tribe Swap—bringing us from three Tribes to two, with Aquila meeting a premature extinction—but also the infamous Comeback Challenge. In that Challenge, the eliminated Castaways were forced to vote and elect a Fallen Champion to be resurrected. Ultimately, in a 3-1-1 blinder, Shayon Malek reentered the game with a taste for revenge and an eye for havoc.
The newly-minted Cayman and Panthera Tribes then faced their fourth Challenge, Thinking Outside the Box, which required Players to secretly select a box with a point value and an individual advantage (like an extra Idol guess) or an individual detriment (losing their next vote). Advantage boxes would hurt their Tribe’s score, while detriment boxes would increase their Tribe’s score.
Ultimately, it was the new Panthera Tribe that took home immunity (but at what cost?), sending the Cayman Tribe to its first Tribal Council. There, the new Cayman Tribe pounced on Feb Club MC Alexa Rothborth ’25, ending her run in a sharp 6-2 vote.
Who will be the next set of Players to meet their maker (in the shape of Nick Hoffman) at Tribal Council? Who will navigate the treacherous waters of the post-swap? Will a single Player or Jeff do their readings for the upcoming week???
Tune in next week and find out.
Toodles,
The Jeffs
A Tribute to the Week One Fallen:
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bga4jv@virginia.edu