Just finished the third episode, and I totally agree. Hell, I make the US threads, and I've been saying all along this would be the better of the two seasons. I wish now more than ever that 40 didn't include so many game-altering twists. AU proves you don't need all that (although it is helped greatly by 4 hours a week as opposed to 1 or 2 in the premiere.)
Just finished the third episode, and I totally agree. Hell, I make the US threads, and I've been saying all along this would be the better of the two seasons. I wish now more than ever that 40 didn't include so many game-altering twists. AU proves you don't need all that (although it is helped greatly by 4 hours a week as opposed to 1 or 2 in the premiere.)
It's such a shame that they couldn't get 90 minute episodes at least for WaW. :(
And yeah, the situation with advantages on US Survivor these days is depressing. I understand the impulse to have Edge of Extinction so we don't lose the bigger stars early, but it fucks with the core foundation of the game in a way I just can't get on board with. And with only 42 minutes per episode, it's going to be draining screentime from the main game that I actually want to see. Gross. At least the winners have almost universally been shitting on it in their pre-game interviews, so hopefully that means we won't get another Chris Underwood situation.
The amount of idols and advantages every episode is becoming unbearable, too. And now Fire Tokens? Ugh. I'm not completely against the idea in theory given they're reminiscent of Garnets from The Genius, but it's just too much for one season. That play on Australian Survivor last night was the most excited I've been by an idol moment in years, partially because they aren't shoved down our throats as much on this version.
I was actually surprised that everything played out as straightforward as it did given the pre-episode hype but, that said, I do appreciate Australian Survivor's penance for letting the viewer in on every facet of someone's gameplay instead of keeping them guessing as to how an epic tribal council goes down.
I'll agree with RepairmanJack that David's going to struggle to play this hard over a span of 50 episodes given how hard he's come out of the gate. And while I will counter his contention that David has given 4 people ammunition to throw at him, he's certainly given 1 person that in Mat Rogers. It's going to be very interesting to see when the fallout from this vote reaches fresh ears... most likely after a tribe shakeup of some kind.
One thing I will say about this season is that everyone has largely played the same game they did before... with the exception of one person who has surprised me. AK has demonstrated far more social chops and acumen for this game playing the sidekick role than when he was trying to dictate the game the first time he played.
That said, he remains sharp and observant as demonstrated by sniffing out the Henry-Mat idol handoff and should do well laying low and waiting to pick his spots versus trying to run the show. Being able to hide behind shields like Locky and David while still influencing their decision-making is a good skill to have. If anyone sniffs out David's Hollywooding from tonight, it's going to be him.
Overall pretty good fourth episode, but I thought there was a lot of weird editing choices in the first half.
I don't know if I've just seen too much of The Genius or what, but the first half just seemed to have so many interesting editing choices and lingering moments that made me think some kind of late twist was going to be revealed or something.
Them just standing around while Mat searches everything for an idol why they all just stand and watch. Jaqcui going up against Zach and no one saying anything while the tribe lingered with every decision almost like they were wanting to throw it. Then when David is knocked out of the comp it shows him sit for a minute in the water and mention it's a good dip or something. There was just so many weird editing choices I kept thinking a twist was coming.
Man, I already disliked Lydia, but Abby and Lydia together has been mind numbingly annoying. Shonnee isn't in the competition, but they immediately come back and talk about how they want to stay strong and want Shonnee out. Her being out wouldn't have changed anything about that comp because she wasn't in it anyways. Then to act like they're happy to see her back and had no control over the vote. They really just seem like catty girls that are irritated by the girl who gets attention from the jock guys or something. It's so weird their complete fixation on Shonnee and passing it off the entire time on competition performance.
I was actually bummed by the tribe swaps. Was liking the general feel and conflicts in the previous tribes.
Abbey and Lydia were pretty insufferable in their original seasons so their obtuse, short-term gameplay here hardly comes off as surprising. With the possible exception of Michelle, we haven't lost a decent Survivor player yet and there's still plenty of dead weight left to cull from this All-Stars herd. Hopefully this early trend continues so we wind up with a batallion of top-shelf players left standing towards the end game so the eventual winner doesn't get a chance to coast to an easy win.
Good news is that this lot hardly seems like they'll be bitter like the original Survivor US All-Stars contingent. And the challenge design continues to be excellent and fresh unlike the recycled and lazy rehashes of their American counterpart.
"This is All-Stars, the safe vote is boring." Worst. Argument. Ever.
Is Dave just the forgone conclusion for merge boot? I am so lost at how he's not getting targeted. Everyone talks about him as a threat, or wanting him out, but no one brings him up as a target. I know he's strong at comps, but that's a long ass time to wait to allow him to sink his teeth in the game and find idols or anything to happen.
Moana and crew were stupid. As soon as they heard there was going to be a fire making challenge they should have switched back to Nick. Even the slight chance that the person voted out wouldn't even go just makes it a worse decision.
"This is All-Stars, the safe vote is boring." Worst. Argument. Ever.
Is Dave just the forgone conclusion for merge boot? I am so lost at how he's not getting targeted. Everyone talks about him as a threat, or wanting him out, but no one brings him up as a target. I know he's strong at comps, but that's a long ass time to wait to allow him to sink his teeth in the game and find idols or anything to happen.
Moana and crew were stupid. As soon as they heard there was going to be a fire making challenge they should have switched back to Nick. Even the slight chance that the person voted out wouldn't even go just makes it a worse decision.
You could say the same about Mat, who one episode earlier on his original tribe was walking around with a hidden immunity idol on his neck. Wasn't even part of the discussion in episode 7. Haven't seen 8 yet, assuming this is all about 7.
You could say the same about Mat, who one episode earlier on his original tribe was walking around with a hidden immunity idol on his neck. Wasn't even part of the discussion in episode 7. Haven't seen 8 yet, assuming this is all about 7.
Mat, I can kind of understand with the tribe swap. Numbers are 5/5 they're going to worry about the one guy that was on the outs and has an idol so they probably were trying to shore up his number at least while he has an idol. Then the Shonnee/Abby/Lydia stuff came up and it just made for an easier go of trying to build trust. I could see Mat as still a target, but why fret when numbers are so close anyways.
It never ceases to amuse me how much of a hard time Locky has with lying in this game. He's got the most shit poker face, hand in the cookie jar expression every time he gets caught or tripped up... and it's downright adorable how he tries to mask it even though it's a futile gesture. He had the exact same problem 3 seasons ago, too.
Moana kind of has the opposite problem in that she's got an amazing poker face but her cold, callous approach to the game will make it hard for a jury to warm up to her if she gets to the end. You need a little bit of Kim Spradlin or Tina Wesson graciousness to make everyone feel valued and to help depress your threat level if you're going to be a woman and attempt to run the game like a bad ass. This is unfortunately a gender thing because guys can play the Moana game without needing that extra touch to get credit for their moves. It's likely going to bite her at some point.
All-Stars without any tribal council votes after 9 episodes...
- A.K. (now excelling in a game role that best suits his strengths as the ultra-observant foot soldier)
- Brooke (Locky's arm candy... seems poised to be a challenge beast post-merge)
- David (the golden god... now with an idol, a grudge and an inside line into the Mat-Moana power couple)
- Flick (I couldn't blame you if you didn't realize she was in this season until Episode 9)
- Lee (last surviving memory of Abbey's muscle alliance on account of being blessed by the swap gods)
- Tarzan (seems poised to make a deep run due to not threatening anybody)
The contrast to this and WaW could not be more stark to me than watching episode 2/3 of WaW and then watching 9 of this. The first 15 minutes of WaW was almost entirely Edge of Extinction and advantage bullshit. The first almost 20 minutes of Aus All-Stars is entirely dealing with the ramifications of the last vote and people trying to find their place after the tribal.
I'm not even just talking about the time spent, because yeah Aus gets more time. I'm talking about the contrast in choice of what to focus on. US surivor has just seemed to have lost all perspective for the game.
God Dammit Probst!
AND they add an interesting wrinkle to the auction?! I don't think it actually has that big of an effect, but at least they're trying shit rather than giving up on the entire idea.
Editing choice of note:
Seems they were trying to edit it way worse for Phoebe than it was and didn't show at all how everyone's comments were actually about Moana and not Phoebe.
This has not been a good couple episodes for the optics on Dave. He's coming off as very misogynist and vindictive with how dead focused he is on Phoebe. He's acting possessive and so focused on one person while trying to work with the other person that screwed him over, but he views one as "Playing" and the other as "betraying". Also...did he try to throw the comp in ep 10? I feel like there could be some Mo/David/Mat planning going on there.
On a side note, I'm really starting to get Winner vibes from AK. Which is nuts. Not so much winner edit or anything, but he's sitting in the perfect spot right now to be a winner on Aus Survivor.
AK is most definitely playing an exceptionally solid game. Picking his spots well on whom to trust with info, staying true to his allies, not overgaming and remaining hyper-observant and vigilant about who his threats and allies are. He's an exemplary example of a player that has learned from their mistakes from playing the first time around.
On to David... the lesson he clearly needs to take away from Phoebe is to have more finesse when it comes to cutting players so they don't feel bitter about it. He was needlessly cruel with her and had she been the first member of a jury and was subsequently joined by Locky and the rest of his old Vakama cohorts, she would have irreparably tainted it and his chances of winning a vote at the end.
Hopefully he learns from it. He's got incredible game instincts and it would be fun seeing a player like him play balls out through an entire returning player season and win but he's going to need to adapt going forward or he's going to wind up getting sent packing shortly after these tribes merge.
I think Dave has some huge down sides, but I think he has an understated skill at evaluating people and what is happening at tribal council....as long as he doesn't let his ego blind him. Him instantly knowing Sharn was the one flipping, the way he actually watches everyone while they talk and isn't just staring at Jonathan and listening.
I loved the way the extra vote was played out in editing. They showed the characters confused about it and then left the explanation up to the vote reveals and the recap on next episode.
Ep12: The FIRST short episode of the season and it isn't because it was boring.
Was thinking the season was lagging a little bit lately but thought this was a pretty great episode
Fucking LOVED how this tribal played out. Harry straight up saying he's going to do something ballsy, and then willing himself to be talked out of it and have the faith to not play it. Really great.
Previews make think Merge is next episode, but then the advantage makes me think there will still be one more vote before merge. I'm going to lean on editing talk about merge and the preview and say merge is next episode. I like the idea of the advantage having the ability to help someone make merge or help someone at the first merge vote so people get more time.
You know who also liked to manufacture blindsides, just to give a person hope when their goose was already cooked in order to rub salt in their wounds and lord it over them as their torch was snuffed.
I'm getting serious Brian vibes from David right now. He'd better hope he's gotten that nonsense out of his system with Phoebe and Nick. I'm not liking Vakama's chances right now post-merge outside of Harry (who knows how to play from the bottom) and AK (who continues to play one hell of a game).
Locky's naive if he thinks he's not going to be the chief target at merge if he doesn't have individual immunity. He's a clear pair with Brooke and he's a proven challenge beast. Nick would have afforded him a shield that he no longer has. Harry had two opportunities to leverage his advantage to land an extra number and blew them both.
You know who also liked to manufacture blindsides, just to give a person hope when their goose was already cooked in order to rub salt in their wounds and lord it over them as their torch was snuffed.
I'm getting serious Brian vibes from David right now. He'd better hope he's gotten that nonsense out of his system with Phoebe and Nick. I'm not liking Vakama's chances right now post-merge outside of Harry (who knows how to play from the bottom) and AK (who continues to play one hell of a game).
Locky's naive if he thinks he's not going to be the chief target at merge if he doesn't have individual immunity. He's a clear pair with Brooke and he's a proven challenge beast. Nick would have afforded him a shield that he no longer has. Harry had two opportunities to leverage his advantage to land an extra number and blew them both.
I'm real interested in seeing how the merge shakes up. I agree with Locky and Brooke being the instant target, but I'm really curious how Harry, Shonnee, AK shake out with Harry/Shonne being already somewhat on the outs, and AK being a known commodity.
I feel like Harry let the tribe talk for him too much and he was dumb not using the advantage. He could have just called it out without even leaving suspense and just given it to Nick. Without knowing he lost the chance of getting immediately in on a crack in that tribe that will moreso just go away now with clear divides.
I kinda just hate Mo. She's just so blah. She plays such a blatant obvious game but tries to come off as some mastermind. Though it is kind of working for her, to surround herself with the most boring and bland people to be invited on the season to play and just sort of run with the numbers the whole time.
I love Shonnee. "The only way we can move forward is if they vote out AK and then Brooke." Just straight up ready to throw her alliance under the bus knowing it's the only way she can skirt back under the radar and get that social game to work. At the same time though, she says that...but we see nothing done with that mindset. They just go back and try to flip Zach and Lee.
What is Dave's plan moving forward? By time he wants to make a move who does he make a move with? I just can't understand where his mind is actually at right now. Mo/Jacq/Tarz is a close group. Lee/Sharn is a close group. He's gotten close with Zach but at what point is he hoping to do something? He seems to be taking having two idols the opposite way anyone else would be. He has so much room to maneuver and play around and instead he's just sitting back and wading in the numbers. Seems so non-David.
This season has kind of gotten boring with the boring majority and a pagonging happening.
Yeah, the post-merge has turned into a bit of a snooze. So much so that I've found myself nodding off during these past two episodes that provided little to no suspense in their eventual outcomes. That's not supposed to happen in Australian Survivor although it did way back in Season 3 (the first post-revival season) when its post-merge turned into a Pagonging with proverbial lambs led to slaughter.
That said, I do think settling back with the numbers was the correct play for David. So long as he doesn't lull himself into a false sense of security by doing so and doesn't spot a blindside attempt coming leaving him bounced with two idols like James and Kellee. Dude was clearly sick during the last handful of days so is probably focused on just getting healthy. Hence him seeming "so non-David".
Splitting up the tight Vakama pairs (Locky/Brooke, Harry/Shonee) was an ideal start. He's clearly planning to make a move with Zach at some point to winnow down Mo's power trio. That may be something he entertains after one more Vakama knockout. Brooke would seem to make the most sense as she has tight bonds with both AK and Shonee.
One could theorize he could then pick those two as free agents to make a strike at Mo, but the problem in doing that is you could kick off a chain reaction of all of the big players targeting one another and taking each other out in succession as shields get decimated one after the other. That is somewhat of a recurring trend in the post-merge through Aussie Survivor Seasons 4 through 6... and, if David's aware of that, he may prefer to just sit back and chill with his idols a while longer.
I feel like not enough emphasis was put on how slimy David was coming across most of this episode with the exile island talk. How does anyone left in that tribe hear him one second saying he thinks it'd be great to go and how it's a huge deal, but then quickly backs up to not be right for him. He could very easily just not be vocal, but I really can't see how anyone walks away from this whole exile situation without thinking David is just full of shit.
"Jacqui's a beast in challenges, she definitely has to go to exile so she can win for our alliance." like come on dude...
David almost had his idols wiped out without using them and without even going home lol Seriously that would be reason enough to send him to exile.
Ep: 18
Although it felt like two whole episodes wasted, I liked the effect of exile in creating splits in the dominant alliance.
Apparently Mo told David to use his idol AFTER the votes were already read and Zak was already voted out.
I continue to just hate Mo. Fuck her dumb jury management at the end.
David needs to get that cough of his looked at. I hear there's a bug going around.
Perhaps coronavirus has developed the ability to travel through time and infect David back in 2019 when this season was taped.
Although he's probably just suffering through a bout of smelling his own overpowering bullshit.
I know that would make me want to cough and gag, too.
Here's hoping this week's developments were representative of an actual shift in the game and not just a bump in the road.
Sort of feels like this season just ended prematurely as Shonee, the clear star of All-Stars, just had her torch snuffed because someone planted the absurd notion in Sharn's head that she can take David to the end and win.
This comes as a real letdown for me as I was a big proponent of Sharn's back in 2018 when she went to the end wth Shane and I legitimately felt she could have won that season had she not flubbed her sales pitch to the jury. If she goes up against the jury with David, it's liable to be an even bigger blowout... although I'm not sure she even gets that far. She'll probably get snakebit by the Iceman - Tarzan literally graced the Golden God with the Brian Heidik reference during tonight's immunity challenge - just like Helen did in Thailand after Brian pulled the wool over her eyes. Tarzan is David's Clay.
Frankly, the only thing standing in the way of a David victory at this point is an immunity run by Brooke.
The two non-moves that could have changed up the entire equation for this season prior to tonight now loom very large. Namely AK talking Harry out of gifting his emergency exit power to Nick to offer him a parachute and an extra number for their side. That 7-5 Locky vote could have easily swung the other way as Nick had solid relationships with both Sharn and Zach... and even had it not, Nick would have afforded everyone else on New Vakama an extra shield. And being talked off the "going to rocks" ledge by Sharn one episode ago. They had a 1-in-4 shot at swinging a majority with a solid number in Jacqui and were sold on rolling the dice. AK played a critical role in shutting that down as well. If David wins this season, he ought to cut AK a check for an unintended assist at two pivotal moments.
This comes as a real letdown as Australian Survivor could have really garnered a boost trotting out an amazing season opposite Winners at War especially with so many other entertainment options now rendered moot. What a missed opportunity!
I haven't finished ep 19 yet, but this entire confessional sums up why I hate Mo
"I'm just the puppet master pulling the strings. I didn't have to do anything and I pulled off this blindside."
Good job Mo. Someone came to you and said "I'm going to vote out Zack" and you said "Ok". Mastermind move!
Ep 19 - 20:
Nooooooo!!!! Shonnee!!!!!!!!!!!! Robbed goddess! That fucking face though on the last vote ha.
How is Sharn not just an absolute goat at this point? Unless AK or Brooke can pull something off I feel like David is a basic shoe in at this point. He's strapped himself to goats(besides maybe Mo...ugh) and he just got out one of the two comp threats he had against him. I have a hard time seeing the downfall of Dave at this point.
David better win! And same for Tony in WAW! I don't know if I can handle a world where David and Tony win Survivor all star seasons within the span of a few months.
Also, David has to do something with the fake idol he made right? Why else would they have shown us the crafting of it?
Just after watching Ep 19 - I'll admit was getting a little stale the last few, but wow was 19 great. Two excellent challanges, and that vote just wow had everything.
I think Dave was right with his choices on the reward - bringing anyone else was not really going to change minds, Sharn is the real long term threat.
Really loved that ep. :D
Nooooooooooooooooo!!!! Shonnee No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
One of the very few whos when she said I play a social game was able to back it up with action and she brought it in challanges - also impossible not to love that smile.
On the other hand my man the Golden God himself survived, he is the best and at this point deserves it - so im happy he survived.
AK meh, talks a lot - really find his voice irritating.
Brooke - serious challenge contender, but outside of that don't see how shes playing the game.
Sharn - Dangerous and needs to be outed ASAP
Mo - echo poster above she thinks shes all that but has done very little
Tarzan - nice guy, but a goat.
Dave - The Golden God, need I say more, would have loved a Shon/Dave finale.
I'm like 4-5 episodes behind but not sure if I'll watch. I have literally not completely finished a single season of Aus Survivor. I just get bored by the end game.
End spoilers:
Well deserved winner but a boring second half of the game and not much to keep me watching.
I'm like 4-5 episodes behind but not sure if I'll watch. I have literally not completely finished a single season of Aus Survivor. I just get bored by the end game.
While I don't disagree (especially given how long these seasons run), I will still hand it to Aussie Survivor for still delivering some epic final immunity showdown endurance challenges that are rife with tension and live up to their billing. As opposed to the US version's lame ass fire-making showdown - which Australia still managed to incorporate multiple times into the season as a fun twist without dampening the impact of the finale.
To each their own, but I still consider Australia Survivor as the overall superior product right now. Superior mix of social, competition gameplay with the oldschool season timing of reward and immunity challenges. Really enjoyed the finale (well, except for the reunion) and a truly deserving winner.
Generally clever idol placement without turning into a DK64 collectathon
Alliances vs. voting blocks that change their mind every episode
Specifically with this season:
Sharn may be the ultimate waffle in Survivor history, but her jedi mind tricks to stop rocks was impressive.
David possibly the most impressive idol user across all seasons; he knew how to manipulate the game and still play advantages effectively. His "Golden God" title was richly deserved and his acting job with Matt still holds up.
Moana won, what, 2 fire challenges despite no previous experience? 😆
Shonee and Brooke becoming challenge beasts and ultimately proving that the late-game Survivor build is not muscle-man. David did win the last two he needed to stay alive, but there was plenty of time there where his alliance should have dumped him.
I still really enjoy Winners at War, but the short run and endless twists make it feel more like a videogame sequel rather than a new season sometimes. And not that Survivor doesn't have plenty of players to choose from, but the door is definitely open one day if they want to do an "International All-Stars" season.
International All-Stars with both Luke Toki and Rob Cesternino in the game.
No winners allowed.
And stick Jeff Probst on the US tribe... so he can see what the actual game experience is like from that perspective.
Jonathan can host.
Loved the season. Loved the finale. I'm just too big of a fan. There's no such thing as bad Survivor to me, even when a season can be predictable and seem straightforward. I loved this All Stars cast, and I love the screentime almost everyone got in abundance, including the pre-mergers. Like Crazymoogle said above, the music is also a huge part of what makes this series so good. I wish the US version would take notes! (To be fair, they've stolen a few AU challenges over the past couple seasons, which is totally welcome and appreciated.)
Loved the season. Loved the finale. I'm just too big of a fan. There's no such thing as bad Survivor to me, even when a season can be predictable and seem straightforward. I loved this All Stars cast, and I love the screentime almost everyone got in abundance, including the pre-mergers. Like Crazymoogle said above, the music is also a huge part of what makes this series so good. I wish the US version would take notes! (To be fair, they've stolen a few AU challenges over the past couple seasons, which is totally welcome and appreciated.)
Agree, Just after finishing it now - Congrats to Dave the Golden God, excellent game, excellent tactics excellent challanges excellent player - honestly think he is the best I have seen across US and AUS (im four seasons behind US ekkk!)
Really enjoyed the season, downside was once Dave merged the boring alliance happened and got stale - but that was him toning down the ego.
Second, I love Probst,but John is an excellent host, love the way he really eggs them on. Another excellent season, its amazing how I always love this show.
Agree, Just after finishing it now - Congrats to Dave the Golden God, excellent game, excellent tactics excellent challanges excellent player - honestly think he is the best I have seen across US and AUS (im four seasons behind US ekkk!)
Really enjoyed the season, downside was once Dave merged the boring alliance happened and got stale - but that was him toning down the ego.
Second, I love Probst,but John is an excellent host, love the way he really eggs them on. Another excellent season, its amazing how I always love this show.
I disagree with this because she could have stopped it by not splitting the vote. Instead she let it happen but kept the appearance of her hands being clean.
Not the most popular opinion, but I think they're all worth watching. But what you're really saying is you haven't watched David vs. Goliath, and that is a sin. Rectify!
Not the most popular opinion, but I think they're all worth watching. But what you're really saying is you haven't watched David vs. Goliath, and that is a sin. Rectify!
So I have a theory its bad to compound too much good TV at the same time, very much a fan of regularly released TV to let you soak it all in. So it being a pandemic I completly ignored my own advice and started Ghost Island last night. Hopefully you don't mind me commenting on it here:
1)I miss friendly Aussies!!!
2)The Ghost premise is a bit meh and silly.
3)Hopefully gets better. Then again only ep1 in.
4)Jeff still awesome.
So I have a theory its bad to compound too much good TV at the same time, very much a fan of regularly released TV to let you soak it all in. So it being a pandemic I completly ignored my own advice and started Ghost Island last night. Hopefully you don't mind me commenting on it here:
1)I miss friendly Aussies!!!
2)The Ghost premise is a bit meh and silly.
3)Hopefully gets better. Then again only ep1 in.
4)Jeff still awesome.
I finally finished Australian Survivor Allstars season.
Dave played a fantastic game. It does mirror Tony's situation where you spend most of the season wondering first "When is he going to get blindsided?" and then "Why is nobody targetting him?". The premerge and early merge was really good, but it going boring fast right after the Locky vote.
The season still had some good highlights, but they were carried by the cast, rather than the game itself.
I'm going to echo what I said in the Winners at war thread, and yeah, the long format episodes is a double edged sword. It's really good when there are things going on and different agendas and groupings, but it falls apart when lines are drawn in the sand and there isn't much the players or the editors can work with to fill the episodes. I think they made this All Stars season too early, so we got a lot of people that play together already, plus plenty of people that don't have the depth to play their own game next to some of these other bigger profile palyers, and get dragged around and make for a very boring and by the numbers late game.
The cast was really good in terms of the different personalities, and it was a blessing seeing
Lydia, Abbey and John
out so soon. Phoebe, Matt, Dave, Harry, Brooke, Sharn, AK, Henry added a lot the game in terms of enterteinment. But Shonee, damn. she is just electric there, great confesionals, gret triabals, great interactions with people working with her and people working against here and,
surprisingly, great challenge performance.
On the show side of things, I like mostly all the twists, someof them feel a bit out of the blue but in general they seem "fair". The challenges are absolutely fantastic and I love how they aren't afraid to have them going for hours. Jonathan as a host is great, he sticks to the Jeff Probs formula a bit too much, but he plays along nicely with the cast and he has a lot of fun with it and it shows.
Let's see what this show has in store for the next seasons. It's not perfect, but it has some really good ingridients if they manage to smooth some of the edges.
Good analysis, agree about the return of players so soon, you could tell the bench was not that deep, but still mostly excellent cast, impossible to get a bad season work Shonee and Dave.
What I really like about AU is the long season, I actually end up caring about the tribes compared to US where it's three or so short eps swap or merge just hard to remember who was what tribe.
The AU challenges are excellent, long and brutal at times, love seeing John really egg them on.
My only complaint is the hidden idols, like I know the people search but it comes across either too easy or random, my favorites are the hidden in plain sight or at a challenge. So much fun watching AU!
Thrilled to have Survivor back after a long absence.
Australian Survivor Season 8 Episode 1 Spoilers
Not sure I cared for that first episode twist, however. Although I'll give them props for trying something different, I can't see this being a smart game move for George going forward. Once it became clear that he wasn't going to secure 3 anti-Mitch votes (along with Wai and himself), he needed to keep this advantage under wraps.
What doubly sucks is that his antics resulted in the Day 2 torch snuff of Australian Survivor's first non-binary castaway in Phil... an outcome that does not serve the long-term interests of a subset of a franchise that has had clear struggles with casting for diversity.
I also didn't exactly care for the overbearing editing of the well rock that was obscuring the hidden advantage in the Brains camp. And the fact that said advantage literally removed any and all suspense from the outcome of this episode's immunity challenge. I've given the Australian version of the show props for its production values in the past but I appreciate a little more nuance in my reality TV editing. This was anything but. Don't treat your audience like a bunch of simpletons, please. Or I will rapidly lose interest.
Jonathan was great as always. Still love the longer episode format and the protracted introductions of all of the season's big players by giving us some insight into their backgrounds and approaches to the game. Here's hoping the 2nd episode winds up better.
Thrilled to have Survivor back after a long absence.
Australian Survivor Season 8 Episode 1 Spoilers
Not sure I cared for that first episode twist, however. Although I'll give them props for trying something different, I can't see this being a smart game move for George going forward. Once it became clear that he wasn't going to secure 3 anti-Mitch votes (along with Wai and himself), he needed to keep this advantage under wraps.
What doubly sucks is that his antics resulted in the Day 2 torch snuff of Australian Survivor's first non-binary castaway in Phil... an outcome that does not serve the long-term interests of a subset of a franchise that has had clear struggles with casting for diversity.
I also didn't exactly care for the overbearing editing of the well rock that was obscuring the hidden advantage in the Brains camp. And the fact that said advantage literally removed any and all suspense from the outcome of this episode's immunity challenge. I've given the Australian version of the show props for its production values in the past but I appreciate a little more nuance in my reality TV editing. This was anything but. Don't treat your audience like a bunch of simpletons, please. Or I will rapidly lose interest.
Jonathan was great as always. Still love the longer episode format and the protracted introductions of all of the season's big players by giving us some insight into their backgrounds and approaches to the game. Here's hoping the 2nd episode winds up better.
I was kind of iffy on this episode. Between the US like editing with it's very specific focus on only a few people, and their US like drive to push people in to tribes no matter how much they actually fit.
Really liked the new advantage introduced. I actually think it could be used very differently depending on they way they want to use it. You could have made an alliance and basically took away everyone voting against you except for your specific target and controlled the decision beyond just keeping you and your picks safe. I think there's a decent amount of thought that can be put in to it. Even with less people for safety it's basically a better vote cancel.
It was used poorly, but I like the advantage itself.
You either take Phil and Wei out knowing they're the easy outcasts and picks, or you leave them and know who else would vote with them. It was just done stupidly, or half thought out.
Australian Survivor Season 8 Episodes 2-3 Spoilers
Man, I've been one of Australian Survivor's biggest cheerleaders over the years... but this season has seemed downright thoughtless in its execution out of the gates.
Why the hell are you front-loading nothing but strength-based team reward challenges when you've deliberately gone out of your way to set up a Brains vs. Brawn season theme dynamic? You could've run that Episode 3 reward challenge with these tribes 100 times and the Brawn tribe would've cakewalked into a win 100 consecutive times. There was no mental element to the challenge at all. It was a setup as an instant-fail for the Brains tribe in much the same way Phil was set up as an instant-fail in the first tribal vote when that stupid advantage was played on Day 2.
I also don't need the "loved ones photos" obligatory heartstring pull on Day 6 after these people have barely "survived" anything. Especially after a gifted win. That's almost insult to injury. Even the castaways are going "it's only been a week".
The good news is that it's still early and there are signs of potential to be realized elsewhere. A number of noteworthy personalities have stood out... most notably on the Brawn tribe, that should bring a lot to the table in future weeks. I appreciate that the immunity challenges have proven more balanced with puzzle elements in play to serve as equalizers. And it's been fun seeing odd ducks George and Wai instrumental in their two tribe wins to date.
Brawn has taken out their two oldest tribemates... whereas the Brains have snuffed the torch of their youngest. The average age of the Brains tribe is 37.36 years... 7 out of the 11 remaining are 35 years of age and older. Whereas the only member of Brawn older than 35 is now Benny at 38. The average age of everyone else on Brawn is 28 years.
The age disparity between the two tribes grows ever more pronounced and I suspect this will loom quite large until the inevitable tribe swap occurs.
The one element we're still missing is one or two castaways to really get behind as an audience in terms of wanting them to find success... or to want to root against as a villain. Many of the successful Australian Survivor seasons have had those players showcased early on. And we're still waiting on that front through the first week of episodes.
Since today is the merge episode of Survivor South Africa: Immunity Island, I thought I'd share my thoughts on the season so far.
It's been an okay pre-merge. Not as strong as the last two seasons. Losing big characters like Carla, Thoriso, Dino, and even Mike sucked, but their boots were all fun and interesting. Especially Thoriso's lmao. Her whole, "I'm on the outs but the majority alliance has to prove themselves to *me* instead of the other way around" saga was hilarious even though it's awful gameplay. And then it all culminating in her convoluted ploy to save herself.
Qiean's boot last week could have been a good, emotional final pre-merge boot, but the fact that she barely got any content until last week kind of put a damper on that. I still did enjoy the fact that they didn't even try to edit a decoy boot. Everyone knew she was going, there was no scrambling since everyone knew it was her time. It gave the edit time to develop the players on a personal level instead of wasting time on strategic talk that would never pan out.
I'm hesitant going into the merge. Renier and Amy are incredibly boring players (outside of the premiere for Renier), and I don't want them to stick around very long at all. I'd rather OG Vuna dominate the post-merge. My current favorites are Chappies and Santoni, and Wardah is up there with them. Tyson and Kiran need some personal development for me to care about them fully, but I'd rather they dominate the post-merge than Renier and Amy. And Anesu is enjoyable too, but not nearly as much as Chappies, Santoni, and Wardah.
As for OG Zamba, the only two I care about on that side are Shaun and Nicole. Smash I don't find particularly interesting on his own, but I do enjoy that he brings conflict to the show. Wardah honestly cannot help herself when she's around him and I enjoy every second of it. Marisha didn't get a lot of content in the pre-merge, so I find it hard to really care about her. And I've already touched on how I think Renier and Amy are boring to watch.
I don't think Renier and Amy are going to dominate, because if they did, I feel like OG Zamba would have received a bigger edit. Especially Nicole and Marisha since they're two of Amy's closest allies.
Overall I think Santoni is the most compelling player of the season so far. The fact that she's jumping from alliance to alliance and playing double agent for everyone, but has yet to be seriously targeted is impressive. Especially since she was a physical liability on her tribe for the entire pre-merge too. In any other season, I feel like Santoni would have been an obvious early boot, but she's been playing really well. I worry about her ability to last long term though. Chappies/Santoni as a duo in the merge could be seen as dangerous by everyone else since Chappies is a physical powerhouse and Santoni has connections to everyone.
I'm excited to see how the merge episode plays out too! The fact that Smash lost his vote, but also has a steal a vote will make the dynamics of the first post-merge tribal interesting.
Thoughts on the merge episode of Survivor South Africa
It was a really good episode. Not a top 3 episode of all time like some of the players were hyping it up to be on Twitter and Instagram, but still fun. I enjoyed the fact that they made it an extra-long episode so all of the social dynamics were able to be explained. Everyone was able to get content, and we were able to hear everyone's thoughts throughout the episode.
It was a really fun send-off for Marisha. Her blossoming into a cocky overdog because she was absolutely sure that there was no way the OG Vuna people could work around Renier's idol and Anela's vote steal was funny to me. And then it ending with her finding herself the victim of an idol play, it was a fun ending.
Chappies, Santoni and Wardah are still my favorites, and I'm happy that they came out on top at the end of the episode. I did find it strange though that Santoni talked about how she planned on voting for Chappies, knowing that Tyson would play his idol for Chappies, and then pretending to be shocked with the rest of OG Zamba that way she could still have their trust for one more round... and then she ended up voting for Marisha anyway. In fact, Anesu was the one who ended up using that exact strategy. I'm wondering if it comes back to bite Santoni in the ass, while Anesu is able to sit pretty with everyone's trust. I enjoy Anesu, so I wouldn't complain if Anesu ends up benefitting from it.
As for Tyson and Kiran, I really need them to show me some personality. I feel like every time they pop up on screen, it's always strategy talk. And while there was some really interesting strategy and gameplay this episode, I get tired of hearing people talk about idols non stop.
For Zamba, Shaun seems to be in the best position after that tribal. He's not as tight with the other Zamba members, and he has connections and relationships with Vuna members. Although it doesn't look like he takes the blindside well based on the preview for next week's episode. We'll see if he feels like he can still work with Vuna.
Amy, Renier, Nicole, and Anela's days seem numbered after this last tribal, but I don't think it'll be a simple pagonging. Santoni and Chappies are wild cards, so who knows what they'll do next week or the week after that. I have no doubt that if they feel slighted by Tyson, Kiran, or Anesu, they'll flip and try to take one of them out. And besides, Santoni has said that she wants to break up every pairing in the game, and Tyson and Kiran are an obvious pairing. And we'll see how long Santoni's double agent schtick can last before it gets her in trouble.
Survivor South Africa usually has strong and interesting end games. Of the seasons I've seen (which are 3 onward), none of them have really had a boring end game, even if I didn't like the outcome (looking at you, Maldives). I'm excited to see where this season heads.
Brawn gets even younger after snuffing Benny's torch this week... although that was clearly the correct call on their part. It shouldn't have ever been that close, frankly... given his immense ego and clear thoughtlessness. Had Simon's side done a better job of communicating/pitching, they could have clearly played up is lack of trust and reliability given that he openly spilled his side's target to Dani. That kind of sloppy play would outright sink a tribe in a swap/merge scenario and Simon could've even played up the possibility of having an idol and playing it on himself knowing that's where the votes would be going.
His pre-tribal pitch was sorely lacking... but thankfully Benny's arrogance blew up his own game during the council itself and prompted Shannon's people to swing in the other direction.
Happy to see Wai continuing to prove her worth by coming in clutch in another Brains immunity win. George having an idol is amusing as well... although I would not at all be surprised to see him play it poorly.
