Survivor megathread

[Progressive Pessimist]

This autumn is going to be a dead-zone for television in general.

[Progressive Pessimist]

This autumn is going to be a dead-zone for television in general.

Agreed, I'm dreading it. Probably will be when I fully commit to watching through Survivor Australia. At least we'll likely have Big Brother, I've seen on Reddit that we should hear something from CBS this week about their plans for it.

As for Survivor filming...I always thought it would be neat to do a season based in the U.S. One of the territories probably makes the most sense as it can still have the same look/feel, or Alaska. Just have be careful with filming to prevent spoilers.

I doubt that they'll ever film in a cold environment. Tropical environments are probably easier when it comes to insurance and the players' safety.

[Progressive Pessimist]

This autumn is going to be a dead-zone for television in general.

Which is why I was hoping we'd get more Survivor, not let. Film 4 seasons, air them twice a week, so each season finishes in 2 months. This would help CBS fill their slots.

But that would have taken some visionary leadership, something Probst just doesn't have.

Is Jeff Probst in charge of that though? I know that he's a producer, but I imagine that there are still those above him who make those calls.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Is this the most ridiculous Survivor-related video on the whole Internet?

He needs serious professional help. I'm more convinced than ever, especially with the "God. Guns. Trump." sweatshirt and new facial tattoos.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Sorry if bumping this thread made anyone think that I would be posting news on the next season, I didn't mean to mislead. I am posting here because I actually watched the first season of the show for the first time after finding it available for free on Amazon. I started watching 'Survivor' with Season four: Marquesas, I think, so I had never actually seen the season that started it all and thought I would share my impressions.

Right off the bat one can't help but notice how much cheaper and dated it looks, as well as how it resembled the times (with Rich's sexuality especially. Things have changed a lot!) but that's perfectly fine in the context of when it was shot. Less superficially, what I really took away from it was how it began resembling 'The Real World' on a desert island reality emphasizing show over the competition show we know and (usually) love of today. It was very jarring to see contestants on the show not talk about strategy or the end-goal of the million dollars (plus a Pontiac Aztec-often considered the ugliest car ever made. That was kind of funny.) but instead about each other and life on the island. I actually enjoyed it more than the rushed editing narratives that some contestants would get and savvy viewer can see through from later seasons. Because of that you got to know most of contestants well enough for as long as they lasted. I came away from this season remembering the majority of the contestants pretty well, which is harder to do in later seasons. I'll especially remember Colleen who was just adorable; Sean who was an absolute doofus, especially with his dumb, arbitrary alphabetical order way of voting people out, Rudy (who I remember from appearing again in a future season) and his nonchalant crotchety demeanor, and Sue for her thick 'Midwestern accent that made Frances McDormand's in 'Fargo' look subtle and her giving the most scathingly brutal final Tribal Council speech until Corinne's directed at Sugar in 'Survivor: Gabon.'

The competitive aspects of the game did rear their head eventually, of course. I have to wonder though how long it would have taken for that to become the focus of the players without Richard kick-starting that the first ever 'Survivor' alliance and other concepts that have become part of the shows fabric now. He really opened Pandora's Box, but that's what made him among the more compelling players of the season. Going into the season, while I knew very little about it, I knew that he and Kelly were the final two with him winning it. But watching how the interactions with him went at the point of the merge I really questioned how he was going to end up being the winner until I realized that his shamelessness and lack of pretense about his exclusively self-interested goal contrasted with Kelly's duplicity that she rationalized as being more ethical is what made him win. Rich didn't actually betray anyone because he never made any excuses for putting his goal before peoples' feelings; Kelly meanwhile did by being so wishy-washy with her intentions and tactics. He did deserve to win, but Kelly did too, they really couldn't wrong either way. However, I might be giving the jury too much credit since Greg, the deciding vote, and his kooky-ass ended up voting for Rich because he did in fact guess the closer number between one and ten that he was thinking of. What luck! That could not have made Kelly feel much better about why she lost.

Finally, the simplicity of this season was notable. That was actually refreshing too. From the challenges to the format to the mindset of the players, it makes me want the next season of the show to have the gimmick of 'Survivor: Bare-Bones,' or something, without anything that wasn't involved in the first season. I think that could be a great palette-cleanser for the series after so many mixed opinions towards the various gimmicks and twists that have been introduced over the past two decades.

So with all that said, I enjoyed watching the first season, it makes sense why I eventually got into the series and why the show was so revolutionary in the first place even as it is a bit rudimentary in comparison to future seasons.

[Progressive Pessimist]

After watching the original season I was put in a real 'Survivor' mood, especially with the absence of a new season this fall. So that led to me wanting to re-watch some older seasons that are also on Amazon Prime. I just finished watching 'Micronesia: Fans vs. Favorites,' which is often considered one of the show's best seasons, and I always personally thought so too. But it was even more entertaining than I remember from all those years ago. The elimination of Erik is obviously the highlight and still might remain the dumbest move in the history of the show, but I forgot how much it overshadowed the women's alliance's other manipulations of Jason and Ozzy, the fake idol, Amanda and Ami showering topless, the multiple medical evacuations, the number of blindsides throughout the season, Amanda and Ozzy's showmance, and even Chet and Joel's "I don't care" exchange. It had such a great cast too overall, with nearly everybody being memorable, I don't know how I was able to forget the likes of some of them from back when it originally aired. I also enjoyed how it used to be when there would only be one hidden immunity idol at a time, and one that required actual work to find in an isolated location. That's how I wish it remained.

The only real downside of the season was the presence of the "rites of passage" in the finale. That's one thing nixed from the old days that I am fine with in later seasons. I get why it's there but it takes up so much time and feels so phony. The reunion is always enough to me, and this was also back when Jeff (who has astoundingly barely aged from season one to this season to now-I envy him!) would go out of his way to give everybody a moment there.

So yeah, it stands the test of time as a top three season of the show. Next up I will probably watch 'Heroes vs. Villains' again for the hell of it, which I always held as the absolute best season, even featuring four players from 'Micronesia.' Amanda, Cirie, James, and Parvati always seem to be present for some of the best seasons.

Also of note, apparently Eliza "Queen of the Eye-roll," "it's a f***ing stick" Orlins intends on running for Manhattan DA next year. I found that to be an intriguingly timed bit of news and extra relevant to this website.

[Progressive Pessimist]

RIP Angie from Palau (season 10)

https://www.gardenofmemoriesmetairie.com/tributes/Cassandra-Jakusz

Jonathan Penner's wife also passed away this week after her battle with ALS that was publicized last season.

In less sad news, Inside Survivor is reporting that production has reached a deal with the Fijian government to begin filming in April.

Not the director of 'The Bye Bye Man' (which Penner also wrote)! No seriously, as bad as that movie is (in an endearing way), I felt terrible when I heard she had ALS and I feel terrible for  Penner and his family after their loss. I always liked Jonathan Penner and his Alan Alda voice, even in Cook Islands (another season I have been re-watching) when he got a lot of s***.

Anyway, it's good that we'll finally get a new season. If it hasn't already been clear, I've really been missing the show after a year without a new season.

[Progressive Pessimist]

#russellshouldhavewonsamoa

I actually agree and either he or Parvati should have won 'Heroes vs. Villains.' I did end up re-watching that season a month or two ago, and it really is in the top three seasons almost entirely because of Russell. Though I do think he got way too paranoid and sloppy with his gameplay towards the end of the season after starting off making some real impressive chess moves. It really did feel like he had a little crush on Parvati (even though he's married)...not like I could blame him. And for that reason I would have been fine if Parvati won instead in turn.

After that season I've continued watching some old season on Amazon, I finished 'Cook Islands' a few weeks ago and am currently now watching 'Survivor: Panama' again.

[Progressive Pessimist]

I love Gabon purely because it was one of the only seasons I watched live (China through maybe Kaoh Rong) where my favorite (aka the nerd) won.

Gabon is very underrated to me.

Actually speaking of which, and with this thread becoming relevant again with season 41 finally premiering next week, I am pretty close to finishing my revisit of the 'Survivor' seasons available on Amazon. I just have a few episodes of 'Cagyan' left that I'm rewatching. I didn't get to all of them, but definitely did watch all of the seasons that I have nostalgia for. And this led me to want to create a seasons ranking in tier list form like Harry did a few pages back. Tell me what you think...if you care:

Top Tier-Borneo, Micronesia, Heroes Vs. Villains.

High Tier-Pearl Islands, All-Stars, Palau, Panama, China, Philippines, Caramoan, Blood Vs. Water, Cagayan.

Upper Mid Tier-Africa, Amazon, Cook Islands, Gabon, Samoa, San Juan Del Sur, Cambodia, Millennials Vs. Gen X, Game Changers, Ghost Island, David Vs. Goliath, Winners At War.

Lower Mid Tier-Marquesas, Guatemala, Fiji, Tocantins, Kaoh Rong, Heroes Vs. Healers Vs. Hustlers, Edge of Extinction.

Low Tier-Vanuatu, Redemption Island, South Pacific.

Bottom Tier-Thailand, Nicaragua, One World, Worlds Apart, Island of the Idols.

*I still haven't seen Australia*

[Progressive Pessimist]

I love Gabon purely because it was one of the only seasons I watched live (China through maybe Kaoh Rong) where my favorite (aka the nerd) won.

Gabon is very underrated to me.

Actually speaking of which, and with this thread becoming relevant again with season 41 finally premiering next week, I am pretty close to finishing my revisit of the 'Survivor' seasons available on Amazon. I just have a few episodes of 'Cagyan' left that I'm rewatching. I didn't get to all of them, but definitely did watch all of the seasons that I have nostalgia for. And this led me to want to create a seasons ranking in tier list form like Harry did a few pages back. Tell me what you think...if you care:

Top Tier-Borneo, Micronesia, Heroes Vs. Villains.

High Tier-Pearl Islands, All-Stars, Palau, Panama, China, Philippines, Caramoan, Blood Vs. Water, Cagayan.

Upper Mid Tier-Africa, Amazon, Cook Islands, Gabon, Samoa, San Juan Del Sur, Cambodia, Millennials Vs. Gen X, Game Changers, Ghost Island, David Vs. Goliath, Winners At War.

Lower Mid Tier-Marquesas, Guatemala, Fiji, Tocantins, Kaoh Rong, Heroes Vs. Healers Vs. Hustlers, Edge of Extinction.

Low Tier-Vanuatu, Redemption Island, South Pacific.

Bottom Tier-Thailand, Nicaragua, One World, Worlds Apart, Island of the Idols.

*I still haven't seen Australia*

I like your list generally. One thing that I apparently stand alone in is that I kinda like Worlds Apart. I think most people on Reddit hate it too, but I just didn't hate the cast as much as a lot of people did.

Thanks for your feedback!

Unless I rewatched them recently, a lot of seasons on this list are based on what I remember, so I was a bit foggy on some. But not Worlds Apart. If the Dan-Rodney-Will alliance hadn't been so prominent throughout the season I might have liked it more, but they were probably the least likable alliance in 'Survivor' history. All three of them were just completely terrible, cruel people in ways that seemed to go beyond just how they played their game. They really made it an unpleasant experience. I liked Mike okay, and they made his win all that sweeter, but I also think I only liked him because he ended up being that alliance's underdog opponent. Though he was also a very predictable winner. I knew he would win if he made it to the end. Thankfully he did, because the season would have been even worse if Will won. I would have been neutral on Carolyn winning.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Thanks for your feedback!

Unless I rewatched them recently, a lot of seasons on this list are based on what I remember, so I was a bit foggy on some. But not Worlds Apart. If the Dan-Rodney-Will alliance hadn't been so prominent throughout the season I might have liked it more, but they were probably the least likable alliance in 'Survivor' history. All three of them were just completely terrible, cruel people in ways that seemed to go beyond just how they played their game. They really made it an unpleasant experience. I liked Mike okay, and they made his win all that sweeter, but I also think I only liked him because he ended up being that alliance's underdog opponent. Though he was also a very predictable winner. I knew he would win if he made it to the end. Thankfully he did, because the season would have been even worse if Will won. I would have been neutral on Carolyn winning.

I'm going to go out on a limb and say that Dan (that's S30 Dan, not S39 Dan!) is not really a terrible, cruel person, just a misunderstood doofus. I always kinda suspected it, but when I read this long summary from the Funny 115, I was convinced.

http://funny115.com/v3_3/2.htm

I guess so. It's probably unfair to judge him based on the show. But I just did not care for him. Though I do feel confident in saying that players like Rodney, Will, Colton, and Brandon Hantz are all people whose television personas translate to real-life. They're too shameless about it. 

[Progressive Pessimist]

Excited for the new season to start on Wednesday! Interesting to see how it is changed with the shortened schedule.

I'm thrilled even with the shortened game.

The shortened schedule at least adds something, and maybe that means we've subverted having another, worse, gimmick in its place.

[Progressive Pessimist]

 I figured that the "come on, guys" thing would get mentioned here. But even though I tend not to mind stuff considered "woke," as you might expect, I also agree that this felt unnecessary. I've never seen anyone object to "guys" being used as a gender-neutral term, and that appeared to be true until Ricard spoke up about it for whatever reason. At the same time though, I'm not upset that Jeff won't be saying it anymore, I don't really care. Anyone outright upset over it is no better than those who were upset about Jeff saying it in the first place. But why does he even need to say anything? I know it's a staple of his, but is it really something so important to the show as any of Jeff's other signatures? I did kind of appreciate that he doesn't seem to give a s*** about the potential backlash to the phrase's change though.

As for the rest of the "culture war, progressive, woke" stuff that is discussed in the episode, none of it bothered me or really even provoked much thought. I mean, why shouldn't they discuss the pandemic? It's entirely responsible for delaying this season and has affected the lives of literally everybody in the world in some way, and some of the cast specifically. One may be sick of hearing about it, but it's still the most relevant problem in the world right now. And I'm especially more than fine with this very diverse cast we have. And they didn't play it up as a gimmick like they did in "Cook Islands" and "Fiji" where they were basically filling a quota, and then not really keeping casts as diverse after those two. I think they're genuine now.

Moving on to my thoughts on the premiere as a whole, I enjoyed it a lot and I like the new direction the show seems to want to take in these pandemic days...to an extent. The 26 day period, two tribes losing, the challenge penalties, and even the fourth-wall breaking all were cool new additions to me. The other new gimmicks like the prisoner's dilemma advantage and the "shot in the dark" are the kinds that I usually find myself being annoyed by. It's early enough in the season where I'm willing to give them a chance to see how the impact the game but I think the initial new things I positively received were enough to start this new era of the show. I think there might be a bit too much going on with it all.

In spite of that, my favorite thing about this premiere is that it did an excellent job of helping us get to the cast fairly well this early. Many seasons of the show usually don't give some cast members any attention until later in the show where I sometimes found myself saying "oh, I forgot that person was in the game." Here though everybody got a little moment or two and that's going to mean a lot with how fast-paced this season is going to be where we won't get as long to become acquainted with these castaways. Every episode, for awhile at least, will probably involve a challenge and two tribal councils giving us less time of the day-to-day interactions, so it was a very good move to utilize the two hour premiere to introduce the contestants.

Also, maybe it's because I was rewatching some older seasons, but did the production quality increase this season? The HD quality looks like it increased at least two or threefold. Everything looked great!

Anyway, long story short, it's just nice to have a new season of 'Survivor' again-a show I can look forward to watching every week-even as I'm of mixed opinion of some of the new twists and turns this season is throwing at us.

[Progressive Pessimist]

God quit it with the stupid complicated advantages.

I feel like the fanbase is almost unanimous on this, and almost every contestant on the EW interviews said the same thing.

Idols are fine, but stupid phrases and "haha you lose your vote until others say the phrase too!" just muddy the game and make it come down to luck.



Also -- pretty dumb to have a shot at Xander (holder of 2 advantages) and not take it. It would have also knocked out an idol on both of the other tribes. Tiffany needed to cool down. In hindsight, it was dumb of Voce and Xander to get rid of Abraham when they saw the 3 women working together. Xander could have used his extra vote to get rid of Tiffany 4-3 last week, who knows if they're back at tribal council this week or not, but either way, all 3 of the men are still in the game in week 3.

You know my stance on the gimmicks, as I call them. But even as the whole phrase thing is stupid, I actually like this twist on the hidden immunity idol. For too long they've been too easy to find where the difficulty and risk in finding them no long matters, now it actually requires more to be able to use one.

And I was surprised that Tiffany convinced them to go after Voce instead of Xander too. For a women's alliance it doesn't seem like the other two trust Evvie all that much when she was telling them the truth about Xander's idol and the situation it could have allowed them to exploit. Maybe they're taking it for granted that someone from the other two tribes still won't find the idol and that Xander still won't have a vote going forward. But clearly Xander is playing hard; in it to win, and they ought not to forget that.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Now that we're a few weeks in (and the political stuff has quieted down), what are everyone's thoughts on this season?  Personally, I feel much less invested in it than usual.  Most of the interesting people seem to be getting voted out early, none of these twists seem to be panning out, and lots of contestants seem woefully under-developed.  Last night's blindside should have been epic, but it just feels like something is missing.

Hopefully 42 will be better.  Prior to covid, I felt like the show was hitting its stride again (37, 38, and 40 were all really good- except for the ending to 38), but I feel like covid killed the momentum it had built.

It was a little tedious overall with all the advantages and how much attention was being brought to them as opposed to the castaways themselves, but this week's episode may have won me back. It had a lot going on that wasn't just about who has which advantage and how they want to use it and even gave attention to some on the blue tribe who haven't had much exposure so far. I hope this season can stay that way going forward.

[Progressive Pessimist]

I’ve been rewatching China. Wrapped up with Panama (12) before that.

Really good seasons. If anyone has thoughts then I’d be glad to hear them.

Mine:

Panama was kind of a boring season up until the final 6 or so, when Cirie really started to make actual strategic plays. Obviously the idol mechanics weren’t really finely tuned yet which was annoying. Aras was a rather boring winner (being the golden boy, yknow) but it was pretty impressive that the overall Casaya 6 held together as long as they did considering how dysfunctional the alliance was. I think Danielle was screwed either way at the final 3, love her accent! Terry was a good player and I respect him but obviously he was lacking in the social game if he failed to really crack that miserable alliance. Cirie’s the best, really, and she just is so likable here, so I’m thankful for this season for giving us her. Shane has to be one of the worst strategic players to make it that far; just constant stream of leaking information and annoying tribemates. This isn’t the greatest season but I think it’s really solid and completes the really great 4 season run Survivor had with Vanuatu-Palau-Guatemala-Panama.

China has one of my favorite casts overall. Just really a wealth of great, likable, personable, talented players.

I re-watched both seasons recently too.

I loved 'Panama' all the way through. It had a lot of memorable moments: Bruce and Bobby getting drunk in the outhouse, Terry's challenge domination and rivalry with Aras, one of the most dysfunctional successful alliances thanks to Courtney and especially Shane's unpredictability; and the most respectful, cooperative tribal council ever just to name a few. It's a travesty that Shane has never been brought back in any subsequent season.

My only real gripe with the season was that it was one of those that featured the hidden immunity idol that could be played after the votes were read which was always way too powerful! Just owning the idol was enough to keep the owner of it safe until the final five, they didn't even need to use it-the threat was enough and both times (well, three times if you count that type of idol being brought back for 'Cagayan') that's exactly what happened. It was a good decision for them to change how it worked.

As for 'China,' I agree with you that it's one of the best seasons with one of the best casts. Lots of memorable moments in that one too. But I also have a singular gripe: the location. The nasty muddy, rainy, and swampy geography where they filmed was probably the single worst location for a season of the show since season 3: 'Africa.' It seemed like it made the castaways lives more miserable than was necessary. And the production probably recognize that which is why every season since has typically been in a tropical locale.

[Progressive Pessimist]

I'm taking a one day break from my...well, break from this forum, so even though I'm a bit late to the party I thought I'd just share my brief thoughts on the final.

Frankly, I had figured that Erika would be a likely winner once she orchestrated the Liana-Shan split vote. The only question was whether she would make it to the final three or not. Surprisingly, and stupidly, Xander picked her over the obvious goat, Heather to not have to make fire. This major miscalculation made me not so surprised, unlike some including my mom who I discussed the finale with the next day who couldn't fathom how Xander lost. That said, I really didn't think that Xander would get zero votes, especially less than Deshawn. I figured that at least Evvie, Naseer, and Tiffany would have voted for him.

But regardless of all that, Erika was a deserving to me and I would have been satisfied if either her or Xander won. But with her winning at least it breaks the all-male winner streak of the last four years.

Xander should have taken her to fire and knocked her out.

I'm going to disagree 100% and take it a step further and say that the person winning immunity shouldn't even be allowed to give up immunity and make fire themselves. Why? Because a move like that shouldn't be rewarded by the jury or become an "expectation" of a winning game.

A fire-making challenge is practically a coinflip unless one person just has no idea how to do it, and a good player avoids it instead of willingly puts themselves into it. I respect Tommy's approach to weasel his way out of firemaking (also Ryan in S35) way more than I respect Chris putting himself in danger, and although Natalie winning S40 would have been a cancel-the-show level disgrace, I do respect her for not putting herself in a coinflip danger there, and even if she'd taken Tony herself and beaten him, I wouldn't respect it because, like I said, it's a glorified coinflip.

(Obviously the real answer is to abolish the F4 firemaking, but Jeff Probst has no interest in that. If you get voted off at final 4, it was your fault for not managing your threat level, nor playing your social cards right, nor winning immunity. I don't feel bad for Wentworth or David at all.)

Wholeheartedly seconded!

Also, I can't imagine what the final 3 went through to think the show was done and they were going home, and all of a sudden, Jeff's like, hey I'm reading the votes right now! Boom, Erika wins! And we're going straight to a reunion show!

Why not let them have a meal, shower, and sleep after reading the votes and do the "reunion" the next morning?

Also seconded! Oh my God! That annoyed the s*** out of me too! But I'll go further in saying that DeShawn and Xander not having processed their losses yet, very blatantly so from their body language, and especially for DeShawn after getting kind of reamed by the Jury; made it very uncomfortable to watch for me.

The pre-merge boots also got shafted pretty hard. Why not include them? Aren't they still kept at Ponderosa after getting voted out until the game ends?

It also wasn't even all that interesting. With Jeff not having seen the edit yet he was clearly inhibited with the questions he could ask, so it mostly became about everybody's "personal journeys" which would be fine if it wasn't just the cast reinforcing things they were saying all season long.

I know that they did this because of the pandemic, but they really should have at least held it a day or so later to let the final three bathe, eat, sleep, and think. I hope for better next season.

It's been confirmed that Season 42 will have all the same advantages as Season 41. As a longtime fan of the show, what's the point in me watching if it's the same season with different people?

To be fair, they probably filmed it back-to-back so they won't have taken in the audience reception until 43. They're basically holding us hostage with it being either that or no 'Survivor' at all. Hopefully we'll at least get a good cast again though.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Here is who I think is least likely to most likely to win

6. Owen = 0 vote finalist

5. Karla = the lowest ranking for someone I think has any chance to win, guessing F5 boot

4 . cody = either fire naking loser or the winner

3. Gabler = either wins or gets a 1 to 2 vote FTC runner up

2. Cassidy = either wins or F5 boot

1. Jesse = if he plays idol at 6, then 5, all he needs of FIC PR win fire

My guess is: Karla, cassidy, cody, owen, gabler, then Jesse

Regards -

Morgankingsley

December 3 2022

Morgankingsley! It's been awhile!

Now in giving my take on who I think will win, I really don't know, I feel like everyone to some extent has potential to be the winner. Maybe Owen the least though, I will agree with that, and Cassidy definitely has "under the radar" winner likelihood, Jesse meanwhile should be an obvious target to vote out soon but if that doesn't happen is very much a front-runner should he make it to the end.

[Progressive Pessimist]

While I've been enjoying this season it has been a little bit on the forgettable side, especially compared to 42 (even though it thankfully lacks some of the gimmicks from that season and 41), save for a few personalities like Cody and Gabler, but last night's episode did a lot to make my impressions improve. Jesse's move was some truly Machiavellan s*** and he pulled it off! I think we'll see how he convinced Cody to give him the idol next week because the edit, cleverly, misled us all. And it just goes to show, lesson number one of 'Survivor' which will clearly never abandon advantages anymore, never tell anyone!

I hope Jesse wins because he deserves it, and I think even deserved it before this masterful move, but I still think there's the possibility of him becoming the new Rick Devens if he is forced into the fire-making challenge at the final four (where he will 100% be in because he still has his secret idol). He is a clear threat, and always should have been seen that way if he wasn't so good at hiding behind Cody, and out of desperation I can see someone giving up immunity and engaging him in fire just to get him out of there. From there Cassidy will probably be favored. I used to think Karla was a front-runner but her game has become sloppy, especially after last night and with her continued tensions with Cassidy.

If Jesse wins the final four challenge, of course, he basically coasts and the only question left will be whether he wins unanimously or not and how butt-hurt Cody may or may not be on the jury.

[Progressive Pessimist]

I must also echo the surprise of Gabler winning. That's not to say that he wasn't deserving or anything, but it just felt weird. I don't know if it's because of his apparent meme status or if it was the edit. But what was even more shocking was to see how much he won by, being one jury vote short of a perfect game. Perhaps if it was something like a five to three vote I could have bought it more, but maybe this was a testament to Cassidy and Owen being weak finalists more than anything, especially given the arguments he presented at the final tribal council. I don't really know. But he seems like a decent enough guy at least, especially with donating the entire prize to charity. And I appreciate that he didn't use that as leverage during the final tribal. But he will always be an oddity of a winner with hindsight, I think. He is the archetype of a true wild-card.

Overall with this season though, I stand by putting it in between 41 and 42 when it comes to quality. It definitely picked up in the post-merge and offered a few unique personalities while also lacking some of the annoying gimmicks of the past two seasons, but 42 felt more memorable than this one and was entertaining throughout.

But I also must say that I am still not digging the new after-show format. Even with COVID restrictions being very much a thing of the past in most places, I wonder if they will ever return to live shows. I really would prefer that the contestants (all of them) reunite after having seen the edit, it offers much better discussion than the immediate aftermath of the game has. This one wasn't quite as uncomfortable to watch as in 41 and 42 at least. Cassidy in particular, despite losing, seemed to be in decent enough spirits. Owen, not so much. Though maybe liquoring the cast up with champagne helps.

And speaking of other notable cast-members Cody, Noelle, and maybe Jesse and Karla are shoo-ins for a future returnee season.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Also, I don't feel like I have enough of an inkling on most of them to make a chart, but I'll suffice it to say they all come across as Democrats other than Gabler and possibly Cody (who could go either way and may not really vote anyway) and Justine (who?)

Maybe I'm the only one who remembers her because she was this season's eye candy to me, but that evidently didn't last long.

[Progressive Pessimist]

This link has some unconfirmed speculation on their political affiliations:

https://www.reddit.com/r/SpoiledSurvivor/comments/uuxq49/43cast_some_various_info_on_season_43s_players/

If true about Nneka, that's a bit surprising. I'm assuming she still caved and got the COVID vaccine in order to be on the show, right?

[Progressive Pessimist]

So, Netflix added "Survivor: Tocantins" this month. I'm going to re-watch it and see if my opinion of it improves. It's a pretty well-regarded season by most, but I haven't seen it since it aired in 2009 and remember finding it fairly forgettable and average for whatever reason.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Yeah, so I rewatched 'Tocantins' and it definitely grew on me much like "David Vs. Goliath" did when i rewatched it last year. I'm not entirely sure why it didn't stick much with me from when I first watched it in 2009. Sure, I always remembered JT, Stephen, Coach, and Tyson (especially since they were returning players) but nothing else in the season resonated with me at the time.

Upon rewatch I'm surprised that I forgot about Joe being medically evacuated, the proposed Exile Island Alliance, poor Sierra being treated like s*** for reasons that confounded me (at least based on the edit-she didn't come across as dumb to me), and Taj's emotional reaction to her husband's message at the auction. There were truly a lot of memorable moments in this season and I'm actually surprised that Sierra and Taj (or even her husband) never came back in returnee seasons.

[Progressive Pessimist]

Any thoughts on the premiere of season 44?

To me it was chaotic, messy, ridiculous, and I kind of loved it. I am very eager to see how this season unfolds and this was probably the most gripping premiere of the post-COVID seasons so far.