I actually enjoyed the last season for the most part, unnecessary twists eating up time and all, but this does feel like it's off to a stronger start. Hopefully now that the pressure of "the first Survivor season in over a year" is off and the audience has a better idea of the twists that are potentially in play (though I will never be happy about that stupid hourglass), the season can be a bit more relaxed (or as relaxed as it can be in this 26 days iteration).
The Jackson thing was a bit weird, but if this was something that he kept from production until the day before it started like Jeff mentions during their talk, I can see why they chose to have him start the game. That late into the process, it doesn't seem like there's much else that can be done unless they had alternates out there (and the alternate process seems like a headache to do when there's a two week isolation period involved) or were willing to start on an odd number. My optimistic reading of what happened was they gave him a couple days to see how he'd do and then pulled the trigger the moment withdrawal side effects seemed to be kicking in, with the campfire scene being their way of ensuring he still had a moment besides being abruptly kicked off, though that thread from Max Dawson does raise some interesting questions about what their policies on prescription meds really are.
The amulet twist is fun. I like the layer of paranoia that goes into it and hope we have the chance to see that actually play out instead of having two of them get voted out before anything can happen. Also the "smear dirt and fake blood all over you to make it look like you struggled for the oars" was an incredibly funny bit of unnecessary theatricality, especially with Hai going overboard with the fake blood. This seems like another fun cast and it's always a good sign when I can remember at least half of the cast after the first episode. Maryanne is a delight and I hope she goes far, though I'm biased towards all the Canadian contestants.
Agree that this was much more enjoyable than anything about last season, although I didn't immediately gravitate to any of these cast members in particular as I did with Evvie and Shan or even Deshawn last season--but overall it seems like a well-chosen cast as a whole and I'll give them time. (Maryanne's energy was delightful, I liked the awkward chemistry between Zack and Romeo but it was not to be alas, and Jackson's story obviously drew me in the most again alas. After reading this I will give Jenny another look, though, I wasn't as taken with her off the bat but the things you point out are pretty funny.). The twists felt much more organic and related to social dynamics, and I found the scene where they were smearing mud and fake blood on themselves absolutely hilarious, despite the fact that there was no payoff.
I did feel that letting Jackson start the game (they have alternates for a reason!) was a little bit manipulative to have Jeff get a big Jeff Probst Talk Show moment, but also thought it was a bit uncharacteristic of the Big Important Social Lessons era of Survivor (in a good way) that they did not make Jackson's Big Teachable Moment be about his gender identity. I have mixed feelings about this era, because I am glad Survivor is confronting how societal power dynamics play out on the island which has always happened but was rarely acknowledged before, but the discussions as they play out often feel very exploitative of the cast, and this did too. Of course, as you point out, Jackson blatantly lied through casting, so it's a little bit on him, but I kind of felt like Probst was producing a big moment for himself by not sending in an alternate so it still rubbed me the wrong way.
Also if there's anyone reading these comments who would like that three month gift subscription, as my friend I usually discuss Survivor with is Myles McNutt I am happy to donate it to any internet stranger who wants to talk about Survivor here, just lmk!
Great piece Myles, and I'm looking forward to a season full of discussion! A couple of notes I took:
With Jackson, if we take Jeff at his word, they found out about the Lithium a day or two before the start of filming. I have to imagine they knew he couldn't play, but didn't want to start with uneven tribes (I hadn't even thought of your potential more cynical view). I wonder: if this had been a normal, non-Covid season, would there have been an alternate they could have replaced him with?
The Gen-Z woman in a blazer saying that she will sunburn instantly, only camps at music festivals, and hates sand is the most I've ever identified with anyone on this show, despite the age and gender discrepancies.
I don't really get Tori's strategy of lying about her job; seems like a hard lie to keep up with for not much gain. Also, her reaction faces are going to be meme gold, based on this episode.
It seems weird that they gave them the same amount of time for the triangle puzzle and filling the barrel. With 4 hours, and up to 6 people, I feel like you're basically guaranteed to eventually get to a consensus right answer. Would have been a tougher choice if they only gave them like 30 minutes. I wonder how long they actually took.
I actually enjoyed the last season for the most part, unnecessary twists eating up time and all, but this does feel like it's off to a stronger start. Hopefully now that the pressure of "the first Survivor season in over a year" is off and the audience has a better idea of the twists that are potentially in play (though I will never be happy about that stupid hourglass), the season can be a bit more relaxed (or as relaxed as it can be in this 26 days iteration).
The Jackson thing was a bit weird, but if this was something that he kept from production until the day before it started like Jeff mentions during their talk, I can see why they chose to have him start the game. That late into the process, it doesn't seem like there's much else that can be done unless they had alternates out there (and the alternate process seems like a headache to do when there's a two week isolation period involved) or were willing to start on an odd number. My optimistic reading of what happened was they gave him a couple days to see how he'd do and then pulled the trigger the moment withdrawal side effects seemed to be kicking in, with the campfire scene being their way of ensuring he still had a moment besides being abruptly kicked off, though that thread from Max Dawson does raise some interesting questions about what their policies on prescription meds really are.
The amulet twist is fun. I like the layer of paranoia that goes into it and hope we have the chance to see that actually play out instead of having two of them get voted out before anything can happen. Also the "smear dirt and fake blood all over you to make it look like you struggled for the oars" was an incredibly funny bit of unnecessary theatricality, especially with Hai going overboard with the fake blood. This seems like another fun cast and it's always a good sign when I can remember at least half of the cast after the first episode. Maryanne is a delight and I hope she goes far, though I'm biased towards all the Canadian contestants.
Agree that this was much more enjoyable than anything about last season, although I didn't immediately gravitate to any of these cast members in particular as I did with Evvie and Shan or even Deshawn last season--but overall it seems like a well-chosen cast as a whole and I'll give them time. (Maryanne's energy was delightful, I liked the awkward chemistry between Zack and Romeo but it was not to be alas, and Jackson's story obviously drew me in the most again alas. After reading this I will give Jenny another look, though, I wasn't as taken with her off the bat but the things you point out are pretty funny.). The twists felt much more organic and related to social dynamics, and I found the scene where they were smearing mud and fake blood on themselves absolutely hilarious, despite the fact that there was no payoff.
I did feel that letting Jackson start the game (they have alternates for a reason!) was a little bit manipulative to have Jeff get a big Jeff Probst Talk Show moment, but also thought it was a bit uncharacteristic of the Big Important Social Lessons era of Survivor (in a good way) that they did not make Jackson's Big Teachable Moment be about his gender identity. I have mixed feelings about this era, because I am glad Survivor is confronting how societal power dynamics play out on the island which has always happened but was rarely acknowledged before, but the discussions as they play out often feel very exploitative of the cast, and this did too. Of course, as you point out, Jackson blatantly lied through casting, so it's a little bit on him, but I kind of felt like Probst was producing a big moment for himself by not sending in an alternate so it still rubbed me the wrong way.
Also if there's anyone reading these comments who would like that three month gift subscription, as my friend I usually discuss Survivor with is Myles McNutt I am happy to donate it to any internet stranger who wants to talk about Survivor here, just lmk!
Great piece Myles, and I'm looking forward to a season full of discussion! A couple of notes I took:
With Jackson, if we take Jeff at his word, they found out about the Lithium a day or two before the start of filming. I have to imagine they knew he couldn't play, but didn't want to start with uneven tribes (I hadn't even thought of your potential more cynical view). I wonder: if this had been a normal, non-Covid season, would there have been an alternate they could have replaced him with?
The Gen-Z woman in a blazer saying that she will sunburn instantly, only camps at music festivals, and hates sand is the most I've ever identified with anyone on this show, despite the age and gender discrepancies.
I don't really get Tori's strategy of lying about her job; seems like a hard lie to keep up with for not much gain. Also, her reaction faces are going to be meme gold, based on this episode.
It seems weird that they gave them the same amount of time for the triangle puzzle and filling the barrel. With 4 hours, and up to 6 people, I feel like you're basically guaranteed to eventually get to a consensus right answer. Would have been a tougher choice if they only gave them like 30 minutes. I wonder how long they actually took.