Why Was Kyle Medically Evacuated in ‘Survivor 50’ Premiere?

Survivor 50 kicked off not with a bang but with a whimper when Kyle Fraser was medically evacuated from the game in the season premiere. Kyle hurt his leg during the season’s very first immunity challenge, trying to get up a wall, and never recovered. Even after letting him rest it for a few days, during which time he gained mobility, the Survivor medical doctor checked him out again and determined that Kyle might have torn his ACL. With that, production pulled him from the game out of concern for his leg. “I just hope that one of you guys take this freaking thing,” Kyle told his tribe before leaving. “I love you guys.”

Kyle leaving is an upset for both his allies and the audience. Kyle, who was returning after winning season 48, had the best setup of the three winners brought back for Survivor 50. He had strong alliances with Genevieve Mushaluk, Colby Donaldson, and Stephenie LaGrossa, all of whom will be left in the lurch without him there. It’s tragic to see someone who was immediately doing so well, despite being a threat, get eliminated in this way. It’s the kind of sadness that will hang over the entire season.

And, unfortunately, the situation is even more difficult to swallow than what was shown on the episode. In a video shared by Survivor reporter Dalton Ross from Fiji, you can see Kyle’s injury happen in real time. It turns out that the footage of Kyle’s jump that the show used was actually not the jump that hurt him. “Kyle actually made it to the top of the ramp without getting injured,” Ross revealed in his recap. “Colby was the last one down on the ground for the Vatu tribe, but when he could not get up, Kyle went back down to help Colby up and then tried to make the leap himself, with terrible consequences.” It just further emphasizes how avoidable this was. What a tragic start to what should be a celebratory season.