Before departing for the 33rd season in July 2017, the show's creator and acting chief Kim Byung-man injured his spine while
skydiving and had to miss the trip for the first time since the show's creation in 2011. To make up for his absence, the show invited Law of the Jungle veterans who have appeared the most times on the show.
[157] The first half begins with the cast being dropped off at a beach where they were greeted by various packages from around the world. They were given the theme of the first half, which is "Like a Movie". They were informed that they were on
Monuriki island, where the 2000 movie
Cast Away was filmed. Their luggage were confiscated and they were tasked to survive using only whatever items are in the packages as a reference to the film where
Tom Hanks' character only had the
FedEx boxes that were washed away with him on the island. The items they received were the same items in the film, such as
ice skates, a
volleyball, a dress,
VHS tapes and even items Hanks' character only acquired later on such as a
flashlight and boots.
[158] The cast attempted to build a fire for hours without their tools but were unsuccessful, becoming the first tribe to spend the night without a fire.
[159] The next morning Jong-suk, Da-rae and Jaehyun traveled to the other end of the island along the beach to look for a better survival area, while Sung-hoon's team took the longer route through the mountains. Sung-hoon's team traveled for 3 hours only to realize that they went around in a circle and ended up back where they started. Because of the time lost, they decided to remain there.
[160] They were reunited the next day and were given another mission, which is to escape from the island using only a raft, similar to the end of the film.
[161] After successfully reaching the other island, they were once again separated into two teams, with Sung-hoon, Woo-jin, Jaehyun and Chaekyung heading to the
Navua River, where
Anacondas: The Hunt for the Blood Orchid was filmed while the rest of the cast went to the
Yasawa Islands where the 1980 film
The Blue Lagoon was filmed.
[162][163] Meanwhile, Jong-suk was given a separate mission which is to feed
sharks. After completing his task, he joined Sung-hoon's team by replacing Jaehyun who had to leave earlier than the rest, ending his trip on Episode 286.
[164] The second half started on episode 288, with the cast heading to
Taveuni island which is also called "Garden of the Gods". They were tasked to visit every unique hidden geographical site on the map. On their first day, they made camp on the beach and divided tasks among the members such as hunting for food, building their shelter, and gathering materials. While searching for food, they came across the waterfall on the map.
[165] While they were sleeping, the water level rose fast at dawn the next day due to heavy rain and reached their shelter which they quickly attempted to repair. Chorong had to seek medical attention for her swollen eye which got irritated by the ash from the bonfire that she was tending to the whole night. Later, they separated into three teams to fully explore the island. Ryu Dam, Moon-sik and Bomi's team first came across the
mushroom rocks located on the beach and they continued walking until they reached a natural water slide on the island but had to evacuate the area immediately due to the heavy rain. Kangnam and Jinwoon also tried to fish by the river, but also had to leave. They were informed that it will continue to rain for hours and their current shelter will be flooded by then. For their safety, they decided to move to another location to set up their camp. However, because they couldn't go anywhere yet because of the heavy rain, the cast and the staff had to spend one more night in the area. The next morning, Tae-gon and Ryu Dam went out to the sea by boat to fish. Meanwhile, Kangnam, Jinwoon and Bomi visited the
Rainbow Reef. Moon-sik, Yunhyeong returned to the water slide with Chorong who had already recovered. Later, they also spotted a
blowhole. Kangnam, Jiwoon and Bomi went to see a septuple waterfall and caught fish there. Tae-gon and Ryu Dam fished for hours by boat on the sea and managed to catch a
dolphinfish which was shared among the cast and crew. On their third day, they traveled to the west of the island. They were given a last mission, which is to choose a member who will have to survive on their own, something Kim Byung-man does on occasion in the past seasons. Moon-sik volunteered and was separated from the group for one night. Their final stop is the
lighthouse in the far west of the island.
[166][167][168][169]