After 35 years of fairly steady lava effusion from the Pu’u ‘O’o vent along Kilauea’s mid portion of the East Rift Zone, a drastic change in the volcano’s behavior was initiated in May 2018. A series of new fissures opened between May 3rd and May 9th along the eastern end of the subaerial ERZ ( >40 km from the summit caldera), feeding a few short lived, relatively small volume flows. The products from the early phase of the eruption were dominated by plagioclase and clinopyroxene phenocrysts, gabbroic glomerocrysts and other crystal clots likely picked up prior to eruption. The initial activity transitioned between May 12th and around May 28th to steadier fountaining, higher effusion rate activity, leading to the formation of larger volume lava flows and the ensuing destruction of hundreds of houses and structures within the Puna area. This period marked the arrival of olivine-bearing Pu’u ‘O’o-like magma to the eruption site. Since the end of May, activity has focused on a unique vent (Fissure 8). This contribution examines the crystal cargo from the different magmas involved in the initial four weeks of the eruption, and their history through chemical zoning patterns of crystals. We discuss the magmatic origin of mineral assemblages from the evolved basalt end-member, and present initial results on timescales of magma interactions prior to their arrival at the surface from diffusion modeling in olivine.