My partner: "Why is Morriah considered the weakest in the tribe?? Just cuz she's heavier than the other women on the team? Look at Jeanine!!"
Me: "I think it has less to do with that but just because she's the only black person on the team and everyone's unconscious bias is showing."
The diversity casting is great, and her tribal council was awful, but damn they REALLY need to work on that shit. You'd think after 41 and 42 they would have learned something but if yikes.
Yes, small tribes and faster time frames have really reinforced voting out the "weaker" tribe members first. And the other women will always be faced with the same dilemma showed in this episode whereby keeping the tribe strong they risk setting a precedent that puts them on the chopping block for future votes.
Cody is annoying, but I also feel like the show has had a lack-of-villain problem in this newer, more earnest era of the show, so I suppose I appreciate his presence for now. In any case, I don't imagine him being long this game.
One last point: I do like that they cast genuine fans for the show (at 43 seasons, it would be silly not to at this point) but I also wish they downplayed the "meta" aspect of asking everyone what the show means to them I( could also do w/o Jeff constantly self-consciously talking about how hard things are to justify the 26 day format). At least its usually just in premiere episodes where they over emphasize these aspects. And we can be thankful Jeff is no longer talking to the camera directly!
I really find that what seasons 41-43 have emphasized is that small tribes of 6 more often than not result in a woman going home. 2 out of 3 tribes voted out a woman first in 42, and it was 1/2 for 41 (with Erika a big target on blue before the merge).
But in general, I am really sick of the small tribe format with no swap. It makes gameplay stale from the get go. You know more likely than not who is in control and who isn't. You can see moves a mile away. I wonder what everyone considers to be the most "iconic" pre-merge boot of 41/42? The 42 green tribe bunch of no votes tribal council?
It's a game play snooze fest when the show isn't focusing on advantages because there's so little room for change. The characters are great, I love that we are really focusing on their stories and what motivates them. But knowing that they have a 1/6 chance of going home almost forces me to be less invested, because it's so likely they are going home. Maybe I'm just feeling very negative about this same format for the third damn time lol.
I feel like this was the first of the "Monster" seasons where I actually liked the premiere. I'm always going to be a Survivor purist (still holding out hope that season 50 is a throwback no-advantages season), so the fact that nobody got a season-long advantage this time was a huge plus. And I think this cast actually has some personality right off the bat, as opposed to just Maryanne last season. Does that mean I remember anyone's name? Of course not, there are so many of them. But I am optimistic that this season will be a bit more character-driven early on.
The one thing I want to know: how do so many of these people go to Fiji without having practiced making fire with a flint and splitting bamboo/coconuts with a machete? You know 100% you're going to need to do that from day 1, and yet so many aren't able to do it.
I do wonder if the non-Morriah members of Baka talked at all about the optics of eliminating a black woman first, considering they all clearly watched last season where that was such a focal point.
Hope everyone had a nice summer, excited to chat with you all in these comments again for this season!
I don't watch Survivor, but I enjoyed the premiere of The Amazing Race, and the promise of a race with no non-elimination legs appeals to me. I don't hate any of the teams yet either, though I was disappointed at the team who went home in the first ep.
Happy you're back with us on another season Myles! Good vibes for this season so far, Gabler came off as kind of a doink early on but he won me back by episodes end. It's always hard to find joy in the early going as the sheer number of contestants results in no personalities emerging to latch onto, but as someone who's been watching from the beginning, there is value in the journey. As someone else noted, so glad Jeff isn't breaking the 4th wall (yet anyways), and hopefully the amount of various rewards and penalties and trinkets and votes stays low, I think at one point last season there were like 17 different items in play and one player had 5 of them, and anyways that isn't adding anything to the game other than ruining true gameplay and having to keep a spreadsheet updated.
In addition to the three men you mentioned, I also thought that Lindsay had a good chunk of narration. We got the personal stories from Jesse, Karla, and Geo, but Lindsay seemed to be more visible in voicing strategy and tribe dynamics.
My partner: "Why is Morriah considered the weakest in the tribe?? Just cuz she's heavier than the other women on the team? Look at Jeanine!!"
Me: "I think it has less to do with that but just because she's the only black person on the team and everyone's unconscious bias is showing."
The diversity casting is great, and her tribal council was awful, but damn they REALLY need to work on that shit. You'd think after 41 and 42 they would have learned something but if yikes.
Yes, small tribes and faster time frames have really reinforced voting out the "weaker" tribe members first. And the other women will always be faced with the same dilemma showed in this episode whereby keeping the tribe strong they risk setting a precedent that puts them on the chopping block for future votes.
Cody is annoying, but I also feel like the show has had a lack-of-villain problem in this newer, more earnest era of the show, so I suppose I appreciate his presence for now. In any case, I don't imagine him being long this game.
One last point: I do like that they cast genuine fans for the show (at 43 seasons, it would be silly not to at this point) but I also wish they downplayed the "meta" aspect of asking everyone what the show means to them I( could also do w/o Jeff constantly self-consciously talking about how hard things are to justify the 26 day format). At least its usually just in premiere episodes where they over emphasize these aspects. And we can be thankful Jeff is no longer talking to the camera directly!
I really find that what seasons 41-43 have emphasized is that small tribes of 6 more often than not result in a woman going home. 2 out of 3 tribes voted out a woman first in 42, and it was 1/2 for 41 (with Erika a big target on blue before the merge).
But in general, I am really sick of the small tribe format with no swap. It makes gameplay stale from the get go. You know more likely than not who is in control and who isn't. You can see moves a mile away. I wonder what everyone considers to be the most "iconic" pre-merge boot of 41/42? The 42 green tribe bunch of no votes tribal council?
It's a game play snooze fest when the show isn't focusing on advantages because there's so little room for change. The characters are great, I love that we are really focusing on their stories and what motivates them. But knowing that they have a 1/6 chance of going home almost forces me to be less invested, because it's so likely they are going home. Maybe I'm just feeling very negative about this same format for the third damn time lol.
I feel like this was the first of the "Monster" seasons where I actually liked the premiere. I'm always going to be a Survivor purist (still holding out hope that season 50 is a throwback no-advantages season), so the fact that nobody got a season-long advantage this time was a huge plus. And I think this cast actually has some personality right off the bat, as opposed to just Maryanne last season. Does that mean I remember anyone's name? Of course not, there are so many of them. But I am optimistic that this season will be a bit more character-driven early on.
The one thing I want to know: how do so many of these people go to Fiji without having practiced making fire with a flint and splitting bamboo/coconuts with a machete? You know 100% you're going to need to do that from day 1, and yet so many aren't able to do it.
I do wonder if the non-Morriah members of Baka talked at all about the optics of eliminating a black woman first, considering they all clearly watched last season where that was such a focal point.
Hope everyone had a nice summer, excited to chat with you all in these comments again for this season!
Outside of those of the Used Car variety, I had no idea there was such a negative perception of salespeople in general society.
I don't watch Survivor, but I enjoyed the premiere of The Amazing Race, and the promise of a race with no non-elimination legs appeals to me. I don't hate any of the teams yet either, though I was disappointed at the team who went home in the first ep.
Happy you're back with us on another season Myles! Good vibes for this season so far, Gabler came off as kind of a doink early on but he won me back by episodes end. It's always hard to find joy in the early going as the sheer number of contestants results in no personalities emerging to latch onto, but as someone who's been watching from the beginning, there is value in the journey. As someone else noted, so glad Jeff isn't breaking the 4th wall (yet anyways), and hopefully the amount of various rewards and penalties and trinkets and votes stays low, I think at one point last season there were like 17 different items in play and one player had 5 of them, and anyways that isn't adding anything to the game other than ruining true gameplay and having to keep a spreadsheet updated.
In addition to the three men you mentioned, I also thought that Lindsay had a good chunk of narration. We got the personal stories from Jesse, Karla, and Geo, but Lindsay seemed to be more visible in voicing strategy and tribe dynamics.