I don't know about predictable but they all had clues in their premiere confessionals that they would make it far.

• Spencer: Last time I played Survivor I was frankly, cocky. I thought about Survivor in terms of chess but I have done a lot of maturing. I’ve done emotional growing in that time. People are not chess pieces and they need to be related to on a human level. Being more emotionally aware, I think I’m in a better place in life than I’ve ever been to play and win this game.

• Kimmi: My experience in Australia was cut way short and I wanna have that second chance at my dream of getting to the end. The Angkor Wat temple, that’s a total metaphor for this whole game because, you know, you get a little bit of damage, but you know what? You can build yourself up. Fourteen years is a long time to finish that last chapter in the book.

• Tasha: The first time I played Survivor I was nice Tasha. I didn’t want my family or my church members to be disappointed in the way I played the game. When I returned home, my church members were saying, “You need to be more aggressive. You need to lie and backstab like everyone else.” So if the saints think it’s okay… it’s okay. I’m here to win a million dollars and when it’s all done, I’ll pray for forgiveness.

Jeremy: Last time when I played with my wife, half my mind was always with her. It’s emotional, you know, with Val. I really love her and I care about what she’s doing. I wasn’t focused so I was blindsided by my own alliance. I went home, took it hard. Now, I want the money for Val more than for me. Like, I just need to go through this again. I’m back for some redemption.

• Keith: I never thought I’d made the cut but here I am. Happy to be here now. Last time I kind of coasted on by for a while, even without an alliance. That gets you all the way to fourth, big deal. Fourth place is a hard pill to swallow. So I’m not gonna change a lot but maybe tweak a little bit. Second time is gonna be a whole lot different. No fumbling this time.

As for Kelley, her premiere was all about changing up her game and the HII. Her confessional about making it to the end came at the merge:

• Kelley: I’m so excited. I’m just, like, freaking out inside. I mean, I didn’t make the merge last time, which was, like, my goal number one, so to at least make the merge this time, it’s like, “Okay, I’ve hit one step of, like, where I wanted to be.” But, you know, I want to push through, and I want to get to end. There’s one winner. One person gets a million dollars at the end of Survivor. Like, I came here to play.