[Macie Lightfoot]

My point stands.

[MB.]

I recently finished a Pearl Islands rewatch, and below is an artist's rendering of my reaction to Burton's choice of jury facial hair (that lasted for the entirety of one tribal, I assume because he looked in a mirror immediately afterwards)





I'd also forgotten, but was very happy to be reminded of, how much of Lill's endgame strategy was determined by menopausal paranoia There's still room in her boy scout troop if you'd like to join, Jeff!

[Matthew.]

Finished Survivor Tocantins. The season itself was fairly average but still fine, and I didn’t dislike anyone which is good. This cast is probably the hardest so far to rank, so tbh just treat the entire top 6 as my #1 as they’ll be more or less back to back in my ranking. But for now Sierra seems right.

Edgic:

Spoiler:

1. Sierra - Went from the girl who was sick at the start of the game to the girl who everybody hated by the end of it A true arc and I had never even heard of her prior to the season, so I was surprised by how much I liked her
2. Taj - Provided some great one liners throughout the season, it would have been less enjoyable without Taj’s input for sure
3. Debbie - Her edit is polarizing but I really wish she was shown more because those last 3 episodes were enigmatic.... just makes me wonder what we missed out on
4. Tyson - He’s so bitchy but I like him a lot! How tf does this guy win a future season though
5. Coach - Completely delusional and his obvious bull**** was funny I would have liked him more if he was shown just a little bit less though because it definitely crossed the line of being too much at times.
6. Sandy - How could I not like a grandma who says stuff like AM A REAL SEX KITTEN THIS MORNIN ^__^
7. Erinn - “Dragon slayed x” is a top tier voting confessional
8. Candace - Kind of fun in her last episode but nothing special
9. J.T. - I have the slightest liking towards him but icr why?
10. Jerry - Seemed like he could have been good tbh
11. Stephen - I also have the slightest liking towards him but icr why?
12. Carolina - Was slightly good in the premiere but I was fine with her going first tbh
13. Brendan - I have no opinion on the following people so this is in elimination order ⬇️
14. Joe
15. Sydney
16. Spencer - Didn’t dislike him but I had no opinion of him and he was first to go out of #13-onwards so he’s last because of that

[Jack_]

What’s the general consensus on Coach on here and in the fandom? I found his delusion hysterical on Tocantins, his stint on Exile is one of the funniest scenes I’ve ever seen on Survivor but I thought he was pretty disappointing on future seasons when he tried to tone it down

Which is a contrast from Tyson who I genuinely couldn’t stand first time around (and was angry he was invited back), but find him more tolerable with each future appearance

[reece(:]

Coach ruined all his legacy with his South Pacific religious obsession stint which was another case of a good character ruining themselves on a return season.

[Braden]

In terms of Coach I would say:

Heroes vs Villains > South Pacific > Tocantins

His edit was too overbearing and obnoxious in Tocantins, but I did somewhat enjoy him all three times he played, tbh.

The only season where I (again, lmao) somewhat enjoyed Tyson was Tocantins. Even though he ended up being an arsehole to Sierra, his elimination was delicious to watch.

[JerseyWins]

Originally Posted by Jack_

What’s the general consensus on Coach on here and in the fandom? I found his delusion hysterical on Tocantins, his stint on Exile is one of the funniest scenes I’ve ever seen on Survivor but I thought he was pretty disappointing on future seasons when he tried to tone it down

Which is a contrast from Tyson who I genuinely couldn’t stand first time around (and was angry he was invited back), but find him more tolerable with each future appearance

Idk I didn't find Coach funny at all. In fact, I think he's the one person from Tocantins that I have a lingering hate for. He might be the only one on Tocantins I'd rank in red in hindsight (can't remember if that was originally the case or not).

Agree with Tyson, he's kinda grown on me to where I at least think he's "alright" and great/hilarious at times (and on social media)... after seeing more of him I appreciate him more on Tocantins as well now.

[JerseyWins]

I think most of my Tyson/Debbie/Coach hate originally came from being a fan of the Sierra/JT/Stephen/Taj/etc. side (& that I couldn't stand Coach in particular) but they're a decent funny trio looking back at it.

I agree with Matthew that who I liked on that season varied a lot. I remember changing my mind and having a hard time ranking (outside of my top 3 of JT/Sierra/Stephen who were GREAT )

[Matthew.]

In the reunion, apparently Coach was hated by most of America I thought he would have been liked. I was expecting to like him more than I did though. I feel like if he wasn’t so overexposed on the edit, I’d have liked him more, but I still think he was good nonetheless

[Macie Lightfoot]

Got through the premerge of SA: Champions and the swap phase was alright. Nothing stellar, but definitely a nice refresher compared to how US Survivor has been lately. Not the most exciting dynamics or character development and the last episode had a bit more focus on ~survival~ and being hungry and running out of food, but it actually feels like a season of Survivor and you can actually follow what's going on.

I initially thought that turning Touchy Subjects into a tribe swap was a great and fun idea, but then Stephen and Shane broke it by purposefully timing when they would get questions correct to make sure that their entire alliance stayed on the same tribe I can't blame them for ~playing da game~ but it was lame to see them effectively break a twist.

I feel really bad for Gena. For a MOR townsperson she really came to light in her boot episode as an OTTP fun force and probably could've been a fun MORP presence with a better edit. She got swap****ed and clearly her old tribe loved her enough to sneak an Idol in her bag to her at the next IC, but then god bless Corne for "discreetly" telling her to check her bag when she gets back to camp everyone heard and then in what I think is probably one of the most controversial moments of the season, Shane went into her bag and stole the Idol from her and she got booted because she couldn't play it. The whole thing just kinda felt icky and gross, and I really impressed with Selatan collectively agreeing to use their tribe's Idol to try to save her from her impending doom.

If I have to criticize anything about the tribe swap, it's that the focus was always on Utara. It makes sense and is inevitable because they went to TC every episode, but it was't fun since they're all kind of annoying and unlikable? Sonette and Sivu are fine but largely irrelevant. David is A Big Character that production is pushing forth, but he was kinda smug and lost a lot of his charm crawling up Utara's asses. I think there was definitely a lot of work he actively put in that wasn't shown because it's impressed how he went from being swap****ed to passing over Sonette and Stephen in the tribe's pecking order (which I think is a huuuuge oversight on Shane and Marian's part), but then he comes out with some **** about how Gena got what she deserved even though the poor girl didn't even realize that they were going into a tribe swap.

I kind of appreciated Stephen as someone who seemingly had some moral dilemmas where he realizes he's aligned with ****ty humans and he doesn't want to play the game like them but he realizes that he benefits from it, but I wasn't really a fan of him acting like he was above stealing Gena's Idol when he actively distracted her and led her away from her bag so Shane could steal it. Marian definitely was a little overboard with her distaste for him, but she was absolutely right that he can't expect to benefit from everyone else's work while trying to keep his hands clean.

Marian is someone who I feel like I'm supposed to like as a Suckster but I just can't. She's just way too permanently sour and grimy and vengeful and it just feels a bit overdone. I don't know, I wouldn't say she's cut exactly from the same cloth as a Corinne Kaplan or a Stephanie Valencia but I feel like they all have enough similar personality traits that I just don't vibe with.

And then Shane, holy **** I cannot staaaaaaaaaaand him! It feels like Andrew Savage in Pearl Islands all over again. The self-impressed sense of intelligence, always putting himself in the leader position of any Challenge despite being completely unremarkable both physically and mentally, saying that Sonette should willing fall on their sword because she's weak in Challenges and holding them back, repeatedly having confessionals about how he's the smartest player on the island despite CONSTANTLY making bad decisions, he's just testing my patience each and every episode. The only saving grace is that he and Marian are certainly being setup for a downfall. Keeping David or Sonette was one thing, but then keeping David over Stephen makes absolutely no sense (although to David's credit I think he definitely put in a lot more hustle than was shown) and I think they're going to pay for it. The scene on the beach where Marian was worried about David being a double agent and Shane said he doesn't have the people skills for that just felt like the biggest foreshadowing ever.

I didn't talk about Selatan at all because they were so ****ing irrelevant since the tribe swap, but they seem like fun and I would love to live on their island! Corne actually seems like a great captain and he's creating a great atmosphere for their tribe to thrive as a team and he's actually embracing the game of Survivor and they all just seem like fun people? I stan.

So yeah, that was a large ramble about a season that most people haven't seen! I am enjoying it quite a bit though, it's been a fun watch so far. My main issue is just that I don't really have a favorite yet? The only people with prominent edits so far are Shane and Marian who I hate, David who I'm mixed about and I imagine is overhyped, Zavion who I'm pretty indifferent towards, and kiiiiinda Graham who is just getting a blatant winner's edit. But I'm excited for the merge because it's been forever since I've watched an actual good merge portion of Survivor!

[MB.]

Since we won't be getting a new season of Survivor SA this summer, I'm tempted to start Champions (at some point between now and September, naturally) going off of your recommendations! I may even push the boat out and track down some of the older seasons, like Santa Carolina, which I've heard is... in existence!

[Headie]

I've got two eps left and agree with pretty much all your comments, bar Marian who I love

It's a shame most people haven't seen this season and only really started from 6 onwards because it's definitely on a similar level to them, even if the rules/twists are a bit more questionable.

[Headie]

Originally Posted by MB.

Since we won't be getting a new season of Survivor SA this summer, I'm tempted to start Champions (at some point between now and September, naturally) going off of your recommendations! I may even push the boat out and track down some of the older seasons, like Santa Carolina, which I've heard is... in existence!

You should give it a go, you'd enjoy it

[Macie Lightfoot]

Originally Posted by MB.

Since we won't be getting a new season of Survivor SA this summer, I'm tempted to start Champions (at some point between now and September, naturally) going off of your recommendations! I may even push the boat out and track down some of the older seasons, like Santa Carolina, which I've heard is... in existence!

My plan is to work my way backwards through the franchise! I've heard Santa Carolina is a pleasant surprise and The Ashley Hayden Experience is top tier Survivor content.

[Macie Lightfoot]

Originally Posted by Macie Lightfoot

but then keeping David over Stephen makes absolutely no sense (although to David's credit I think he definitely put in a lot more hustle than was shown) and I think they're going to pay for it. The scene on the beach where Marian was worried about David being a double agent and Shane said he doesn't have the people skills for that just felt like the biggest foreshadowing ever.

yuuuuup got through the two merge episodes and Shane's personality was just *so* off-putting that he not only managed to firmly push Solly, Buhle, and Vel away (even though Marian was convinced that booting Stephen would secure them somehow), but it also even managed to push David away David's back to being good again, especially considering that next episode's preview has Shane DEMANDING for an apology and David refusing to do so, which is one of my favorite type of conflicts ever (remember Britney demanding an apology from Kathy in BB12 and following her around the house after losing a POV Comp and Kathy adamantly refusing? )

Anyway, the whole theme of this episode was Shane and Marian completely humiliating themselves and pushing everybody away and it was a hilarious comeuppance. For two people who love to posture and grandstand about how they are the smartest players EVER and they're playing such high-caliber games that nobody else can dare keep up with, they really put on a clinic of how to completely blow any good will you have and embarrass yourself in the progress. Like, I can't name anything that they even accomplished in the game that was worthwhile? They secured a majority alliance pre-swap but never needed it, self-cannibalized on their own alliance TWICE in the swap for no ****ing reason, and then their merge play was even more horrendous? They have two Idols between them and Shane "lost" his and decided to confront the entire tribe and accuse someone of stealing it from his hiding spot, and I guess he thought that it would make Selatan paranoid of each other but all it did was unite them against him even more Then he gave his "other" Idol to Marian at Tribal Council and she pretended to be all shocked that he had a second Idol but then she just played it on him anyway? She gave this big speech about how she played a PHENOMENAL GAME and she's sure she made A LASTING IMPACT ON SURVIVOR, and then managed to get voted out bye bitch!

Personal highlight of the episode was during the Idol confrontation when Shane described what it looked like and Zavion just went "that sounds really pretty " in the most deadpan tone

[Matthew.]

I’ve finished Survivor Samoa. This season is a lot like BBUK11 to me; a season that had a lot of potential, but only has a select few that I really liked, and is a victim of a season ruiner. I put it just above red tier in my season ranking because it at least had one storyline which I was interested in, but I could change that later on.

Edgic:

Spoiler:

Ranking:

1. Shambo - Obviously she’s my #1 An OTTM lunatic who has a passionate hatred for yoga and Laura Morett, has had a Shambolicious Mullet since 1986, and bases her votes on her dreams
2. Laura - I mostly like her for her Shambo feud, but the image of her cycling to Starbucks with her pastors is hilarious to me too
3. Natalie - Episode 1 she was defined by Russell as just a member of His Dumb Ass Girl Alliance, well look what said Dumb Ass Girl ended up doing
4. Yasmin - THEY'RE NOT GONNA SAY OOOH YEAH HE'S SO GOOD HE TACKLED A GIRL NO THEY'RE GONNA SAY HE'S A BIG SISSY
5. Betsy - Ben boy ben boy what you gonna do? What you gonna do when they come for you?
6. Erik - Perception is not reality, reality is reality
7. Brett - I don’t have any strong feelings about *him* but lmao @ him arriving on Episode 12 of 14 and being a main target straight away
8. Dave - Was kind of a fun awkward presence!
9. Russell S. - I thought he was actually fun and seemed like a good guy who had potential to go far, shame he had to go out the way he did
10. Monica - I had like no opinion of her until her last episode where she tried to blow up Russell’s game, which I appreciate the effort
11. Mick - feckless /ˈfɛkləs/ adjective 1. lacking initiative or strength of character; irresponsible. "her feckless younger brother"
12. Marisa - Had some potential but she left early and I didn’t really think about her again
13. Kelly - Lmfao
14. Jaison - Well done for standing up to Ben in episode 3 but in the others.... he was kind of boring
15. John - I know some people don’t really like him but I’m not fussed either way about him
16. Liz - Kind of boring but I can take her or leave her
17. Ashley - For somebody who was one of the most visible in the first stage of the game I don’t remember her at all?
18. Mike - I didn’t really have an opinion on him but didn’t want him to leave the game that way
19. Russell H - Okay so I don’t think he’s the worst of all time or even of the season but **** me is he a stain on what was otherwise a season with potential. A repulsive, arrogant and obnoxious person with a CPN6 edit every episode........ **** that.
20. Ben - A repulsive racist who gets often overshadowed by Russell Hantz but not in this ranking He told Yasmin she was ghetto trash who needed to go back to where she came from, eat ketchup sandwiches, drink Kool Aid and go to grammar school. **** him.


My next season will be Heroes vs Villains, so here is my pre-season ranking for that series.......

1. Sandra
2. Cirie
3. Parvati
4. Courtney
5. Jerri
6. Randy
7. Sugar
8. Stephenie
9. Danielle
10. Rupert
11. Tyson
12. Coach
13. Amanda
14. Candice
15. J.T.
16. James
17. Tom
18. Colby
19. Rob
20. Russell

[Macie Lightfoot]

Moyra's boot is my dream scenario about how I would want to be booted if I were ever to go on Survivor: become complacent within in the majority alliance, proudly state that I'm taking an OFF SHIFT day because I'm sick of talking game nonstop, and then fantasize about making it to the Rites of Passage as my own alliance plots to blindside me her edgic strip doesn't look that inspiring but she was a lot of fun and definitely one of my favorites.

I'm really enjoying this season! I think it's the weakest cast of the three I've seen but it's fun to see a season of Survivor South Africa where the gameplay and dynamics are actually fluid, and I think that alone has me liking it better than Island of Secrets right now? No one is in the Nicole Capper tier of favorites for me but I'm kinda fine with everyone? Graham is very palatable as a gamebot partly because I think his gameplay is actually interesting and drives the plot forward in an interesting manner, David has been a bit low-key lately but so much better when he's not stuck on that godawful Utara beach, Zavion has a few funny one-liners and in general is a fun presence, Buhle has proven herself to be fun but her merge edit has been abysmal, Sivu is a little too self-congratulatory about the game he's playing but his edit is so barebones that it doesn't bother me, Altaaf is just there but not bothering me, and I still don't like Shane and think he's an ass BUT he's been at his best (least worst?) since Marian was booted because I think he was humbled a bit, although he congratulated Zavion and Graham for finally playing the game after the Solly boot

Fave motif of the merge has been Zavion singing ominous songs as the show cuts into a commercial. During one of the merge episodes it was "I Knew You Were Trouble" when I think Shane was walking up towards everyone else on the beach, and in this past episode it was "It's So Hard to Say Goodbye to Yesterday" as they solidified the Moyra blindside.

[Macie Lightfoot]

WAY past my bedtime so I’ll elaborate more tomorrow as I go to bed hysterically laughing at World’s Smartest Human Shane Hattingh getting booted with TWO IDOLS and being completely blindsided by people he hardly disregards as humans like Buhle and David GOODBYE ASSHOLE xxx

[Macie Lightfoot]

What a humiliating but extremely satisfying boot! Shane spent the entire episode talking about how FINALLY everyone has started to see the benefits to playing the game the way he has been playing all along, how he's actually the most honest player in the game because he's honest about his deception, how he absolutely could've won the endurance IC but he dropped for ice cream because he knew Sivu was gonna win (that statement doesn't even make sense???), how he *wants* to have the record for the most votes cast against him, how it's *hilarious* that he has two Idols and one is hidden in his shoe at camp and NOBODY WILL EVER THINK TO LOOK THERE HAHAHAHA.....


and then he got completely clowned by people like David and Buhle, players who he clearly thinks less of and doesn't respect at all, to the point where he didn't play either of his two Idols (!!!) at the F7 (!!!) and got humiliatingly blindsided goodbye asshole!!!!!

[Captain.Remy]

Somehow Youtube recommended me to watch Jeff Varner outing Zeke today.
It was as horrifying as the first time it aired. What an outrageous person Varner is.
It's really one of those TV moments you can't forget, and I hope Zeke is living his best life since.

[Macie Lightfoot]

Kind of a long post about a season hardly anyone has watched, so click the spoiler tags below if you care about my thoughts on Survivor South Africa: Champions!

Spoiler:

Finished SA5: Champions and really enjoyed it! The endgame was dynamic and compelling and a lot of fun and just reminded me of how good Survivor used to be. It felt like something plucked around the China/Gabon era almost? Shane's blindside was a hilariously embarrassing ending to someone who ****ing sucks, Altaaf solidified his boot by accidentally spilling rice at camp and then reacted to this by bringing the rice to TC and dumping it all in the fire on purpose much to everyone's horror and disgust, Zavion got super cocky in an enjoyable way and then got Idol'd out at F5, we had an epic endurance FIC that went on for more than three and a half hours and ended with deals getting cut and deals getting broken, and we even had a fight on the night before FTC?

Even the FTC was a throwback because there was equal emphasis on strategy and morality, a component that's been entirely erased from the current state of the show. It was just refreshing to hear certain questions like Vel asking Buhle if their friendship was real and Altaaf asking if they would've changed how they played the game if there wasn't any money involved. And then as lame as Zavion's question was, he ended up giving Sivu his vote because he needed the money more. And Solly literally flipped a coin in the voting booth before casting his vote

I was very satisfied with the end result too! Graham clearly ran the show for almost the entire time and even though he was a bit of a gamebot he wasn't a bad one? His gameplay was cutthroat and actually entertaining without trying too hard to be, and he even had a mini meltdown at the end over the prospect of Sivu potentially winning just for playing an Idol correctly and coming from a poor town Shane and especially Marian were awful at FTC, with Marian leading off with a David Murphy/Spencer Bledsoe speech about how she's one of the best players ever, how it would be an injustice if Sivu didn't win, and she even congratulated him and said that his bank account will go into cardiac arrest. And then, in true fashion to her ancestors Corinne Kaplan and Stephanie Valencia, she fell so ****ing flat and ended up voting for Graham to win What an idiot.

So yeah, I would definitely recommend this season to everyone! I know most people have only seen 6 and 7 because they're the revival seasons, and even though 5 has a weakest cast of the three it's the only one to have dynamic gameplay so I'd definitely say Champions > Island of Secrets :3

1. Shona (SO stupid and thought she was playing a good game but she was a ****ing mess her boot arc is maybe my favorite thing ever, where she goes from spared outcast to Idol stealer (?!?!) to getting exposed and being left sobbing on the beach as her game came crashing down in a matter of hours. Hilarious in every sense of the word, starting from the marooning when she just sat on the raft yelling STROKE! STROKE! to everyone in the most cheerful voice as she did no work rowing their raft to shore )
2. Moyra (another person with a fun boot arc who felt a lot more prominent than her UTRM strip. Started off as the last picked for her tribe and found herself in a comfortable position in the majority alliance, got exposed for hoarding sugarcane and lost the trust of the entire tribe, and then coasted to the merge where she stuck with the majority alliance until she got brutally blindsided. Her boot episode consisted of her proudly stating that she's taking an "off shift day" and not talking game, and she just sat around camp waiting for the boys to tell her how to vote as she fantasized about taking part in the Rites of Passage basically a dream for how I would want to play Survivor)
3. Zan (Utara was an awful tribe so of course I love their tribe nemesis? He was the provider but he was laughably selfish and abrasive, openly criticizing the shelter everyone made and using the tribe flag as a hammock bed and catching various sea creatures but letting them go because he's randomly passionate about marine conversation Then he wanted to quit to go live his life with his girlfriend and the tribe was FURIOUS and stole his clothes and planned on blindsiding Buhle instead, so he responded by stealing the flint and giving it to her at TC as a makeshift Idol so they would vote him out instead honestly would be my #1 probably except he had one random suuuuuuuuuuper racist moment where he made some gross Indian joke about Killarney)
4. Graham (I really dig him as a winner? Seems like a boring gamebot on the surface but his gameplay was kind of Jackson Michie-esque because he spearheaded multiple ruthless blindsides over the smallest slights like Moyra hoarding sugarcane ~10 days earlier and Altaaf coming after him in an elimination Immunity Challenge ~5 days prior. For someone who seemed boring at first, he actually wasn't prone to conflict and was kind of funny? His endgame morph of dreading losing to Sivu was great because he flat out told Sivu to his face that he didn't deserve to win just for one Idol play and got in a fight with him over using his poor upbringing for sympathy I don't even care that much about gameplay but he definitely deserved his win so it was a satisfying ending!)
5. Buhle (kind of a nobody and should've gotten a more prominent edit for being the runner-up but she was just likable? Good taste in allies, touching backstory, randomly REALLY ruthless like when she blew up Sonette's spot by spoiling their Idol clue and when she tried to cut Sivu at F4 much to his horror. I do think she's kind of an introvert and not exactly compelling television so I don't even know how she got cast on the show in the first place, but she overcame a lot by being immediately labeled the weakest on Utara and being the perpetual alternate boot target and then going all the way to the end, even if it was mostly by floating by and not really doing anything)
6. Zavion (I thought I'd hate him at first for being part of that cocky Ashleigh/Philip/Marsha alliance but he was immediately humbled by Ashleigh's boot and kinda got his game in check? Very impressive at Challenges, unique archetype as a gay wedding planner pretty boy who also happens to be a very good athlete, and just was a fun presence? He had good spirits all the way through the game and had some funny one-liners during the merge, and his boot was very satisfying as he openly told Sivu that he was going home and asked him for advice on how to move forward in the game only to get Idol'd out by Sivu he was a good sport about it and just seems like a good person and I dig that?)
7. David (I feel like the show wanted us to think of David as The Character of the season, and he was okay but I just liked some other people more! Immediately the outcast on Selatan for haphazardly forming alliances and talking strategy with people as soon as they hit the beach, randomly found an Idol and formed an alliance of opportunity with Shona that ended with him waving his dirty underwear in her face and making her cry sadly I feel like that was peak of David! His tribe swap era was not good because he shoved himself right up Utara's asses, which I get that he had to do it for self-preservation but it was still not a good look. And then it was fun to watch him flip back to Selatan at the merge because Utara was just so unlikable and completely disregarded his opinions, but then that was kind of it? Endgame David was more inherently likable but also the least remarkable, so I guess that's why I only have him ranked as #7. He just kinda floated along as a number of Graham and Zavion and made a deal where he would get booted at F4 because the Jury didn't like him, which I kinda appreciate but it's also kinda lame)
8. Gena (kind of a MOR townsperson but had such a UTRP personality? Apparently she was The Spirit of Selatan and then she got swapped onto Utara while entirely clueless that the Challenge they were playing was actually the mechanism for a tribe swap. Her old tribe members conspired to save her by smuggling an Idol in her bag and giving it to her at the Immunity Challenge, but they were so obvious that Utara stole her Idol and ruthlessly booted her at the first instance such a tragic story but her edit before her boot episode was kind of nothing sadly)
9. Solly (sometimes a little bit too much about CHALLENGES and I WANT PEOPLE TO SEE ME AS THE THREAT THAT I AM despite being like... above average but not out of this world? However, he had good taste in allies and HATED Shane and even cut Sivu off during his question at FTC because he was answering it so poorly so I kinda stan)
10. Vel (the vapid favorite, I mean just look at her edgic strip I still have no idea what her voice sounds like)
11. Stephen (YES he was a dumb hypocrite about the Idol steal and the majority alliance but I don't think he was entirely fake because he actually did seem to be a nice person who enjoyed the company of people his alliance was targeting like Sonette. It was very weak-willed but I was impressed that Survivor in 2014 could still at least kinda pull off a moral dilemma, it was a big Kelly Wiglesworth-esque)
12. Sivu (I don't dislike him but I don't really like him either! He wasn't overbearing at all but his confessionals from the beginning were vaguely cocky about how he is playing THE BEST GAME because he is PLAYING BOTH SIDES and HE CAN GO EITHER WAY which may be true but he also like..... didn't actually do anything other than Idol Zavion out so Graham was entirely correct? He just seemed kinda self-righteous about how he played a masterful game and deserved to win even though Graham was right there alol I'm still perplexed at how he went from MASSIVE JURY THREAT that people openly cheered for and celebrated to being the third placer at FTC )
13. Altaaf (didn't even feel that prominent despite his MOR strip. Apparently he was transparently nicey nice and pandering to the Jury by spoiling blindsides and throwing his vote away at TC but it wasn't really shown to us and just kinda told to us through confessionals. His eleventh hour boot meltdown was entertaining BUT his confessional about Zavion during it was homophobic and not a good look!)
14. Sonette (got a pretty prominent edit at first for being an MOR townsperson but all she really did was cry? She cried when Mark labeled her as one of the weakest and sat her out of a Challenge, she cried when Buhle blabbed about their Idol clue, and she cried when her alliance openly turned on her but she didn't even use the Idol to save herself so I have no sympathy)
15. Ashleigh (a completely inconsequential first boot BUT I kinda liked the one time she sensed the impending doom of being stuck in an alliance with Marsha and Zavion)
16. Marsha (I can't describe her personality at all, she just got her whole tribe to turn on her immediately because her alliance of four somehow thought they could control a tribe of ten by transparently promising everyone that they were number five)
17. Killarney (I liked that she hated Mark as a captain BUT she was also kinda whiny just because Zan told Nico at a Challenge that her shelter was uncomfotable )
18. Philip (very cocky for no reason and ultimately BORING. He acted like he was Boston Rob but he literally never had control over Selatan and was a sixth boot alol)
19. Marian (again, I can't help but compare her to Corinne Kaplan and Stephanie Valencia because she tries so hard to be something big in the realm of Survivor and will do anything to further advance her villainous persona but in reality she's just a sour, lame, grimy, vengeful cow. No fun, awful Juror, and used every opportunity to talk herself as a SURVIVOR LEGEND who played A PHENOMENAL GAME and MADE AN IMPACT ON THE FRANCHISE despite accomplishing **** all as a player!)
20. Shane (basically Andrew Savage from Pearl Islands. Incredibly smug and a self-impressed sense of intelligence and physical strength and leadership but he has absolutely nothing to show for it. For someone who hyped himself up as one of the best players of all time, his pre-swap game was lazy and just about corralling up a majority alliance, his post-swap game was actively bad because he just took shots at his own alliance for no real reason, and then once the merge hit he just got used by Graham until he got humiliated and blindsided with TWO IDOLS IN HIS POCKET!!!!!)

Oh and as for the captains... Corne would be green and Mark would be a very low yellow. They were both in WAY over their heads and thought the game should be about tribe strength so of course they both immediately blindsided after the first TCs they attended. The difference is that Corne kinda embraced the game after that and gave Selatan cute pep talks at every moment he could and even smuggled an Idol to Gena to save her
but then Mark was just kinda like "ugh I want nothing to do with the game leave me alone" and was kind of a dick when it came to tribe Challenges, always giving Shane important roles and always wanting to sit out people like Sonette and Sivu and Killarney. I don't know, he just kinda seemed like a dick who had very rigid views on what physical strength looked like and it was just macho bull****.

[Matthew.]

I’ve finished Heroes vs Villains! Such a good season, especially given the lack of Cirie, Sugar, Stephenie, Courtney and Randy, but on the other hand, what was we to expect from a season with Sandra, Jerri and Parvati on it?

Edgic:

Spoiler:

1. Sandra (-) - The queen stays queen
2. Parvati (+1) - She has the ability to make strategy fun which I don’t usually find fun but Parvati manages!
3. Jerri (+2) - Villain turned sort of hero is a great arc
4. Danielle (+5) - Absolutely hilarious to me, and grating to everybody on the season
5. Rupert (+5) - I have always tried to show that Good Will Always WIN
6. Coach (+6) - He works so much better when his delusion isn’t in every episode
7. Amanda (+6) - I’ve never properly liked Amanda but cluegate is a top tier Survivor moment tbh so I stan now
8. Courtney (-4) - Pretty UTR on the show but “bandy legged little troll” and her jury reactions were hilarious
9. Stephenie (-1) - Next time **YALL** lose a challenge a little less cursing off might help x
10. Cirie (-8 )- Not as good as her other seasons due to going early but I have no doubt she would have delivered if she stayed
11. Sugar (-4) - Messy first boots >
12. Tyson (-1) - CPN turned UTRP
13. Randy (-7) - *throws buff in fire*
14. Colby (+4) - Pausing Treasure Island so he didn’t miss anything as he broke up cluegate
15. Tom (+2) - I appreciate him for sticking up for Steph against James
16. Candice (-2) - Unpopular opinion but I still don’t really get the Candice hype? Maybe in BvW...
17. Rob (+2) - Surprisingly bearable this time round?
18. JT (-3) - Despite being the new dumbest Survivor ever I don’t really have an opinion on him?
19. James (-3) - Pretty dull and miserable this time round and his treatment of Stephenie was pretty uncalled for
20. Russell (-) - Not as bad as Samoa but still awful and obnoxious

[Matthew.]

I’ve finished Nicaragua, I really liked it, and I have no idea why some people think it’s the worst ever because it’s good from start to finish. It’s also absolutely worth the watch purely for the penultimate episode because Jane’s reaction to finding out she is going home is one of the funniest things ever on this show

Edgic: (Purple Kelly’s is particularly enigmatic)

Spoiler:

1. Jane - Her last episode was one of the funniest things I’ve ever watched on Survivor with her meltdown and putting out the fire and subsequent rant at TC Made even funnier by her winning AFP by the biggest landslide ever BY GOD I STARTED IT I’M PUTTIN IT OUT x
2. Dan - Everything about him is hilarious, his final words to his jury speech and pretty much everything he said and did in this season My favourite has to be thinking Holly is a big threat because only 1,100 people live in her town.... just wtf
3. Holly - Her story reminds me a lot of Marquesas Kathy from OTTM crazy older lady to a CPP big player and threat to win... so on that note she probably should never return
4. Chase - I was surprised to like him as much as I did! He’s like a younger Jimmy T in that he just tried to be a good person but found himself in awkward situations and people were annoyed at him because of it
5. Jimmy T - A really fun guy, who just tried to be a good person but annoyed his tribe in doing so so sadly went early. He was probably my favourite when he left
6. Sash - For somebody who I don’t think is liked, I thought he was decent, with how obviously sneaky he was yet he still thought he was a major player lol
7. Wendy - I feel like she could have been such an interesting character if she stayed
8. Kelly S - Lmao what a messy journey
9. Tyrone - I liked him for how shady he was and felt like he had potential to be great but then he got booted for eating too much chicken
10. Brenda - She was okay! I liked when Marty admitted he had an idol and she was like “....great! ” but then ranted about him in confessional
11. Naonka - I assume this is an unpopular opinion here but tbh I thought she was so vile premerge with her treatment of Kelly B but she randomly became good and funny postmerge? I’m so mixed on her so a high orange feels like a good spot for now.
12. Benry - I liked his voting confessionals, eg Dirt Squirrel/Benry’s here baby *drops pen* but that’s it sorry?
13. Alina - A 100% grade A dirt squirrel who cried when Naonka and Kelly quit
14. Jimmy J - He seemed like a nice man
15. Kelly B - She seemed okay, but I didn’t like Naonka’s treatment of her
16. Yve - I don’t have much thoughts on her but I liked when she said she didn’t brag about her wealth and Dan was like “Well I do ”
17. Jill - I don’t really have much thoughts on her either about her but she has bad choice in allies
18. Jud - Seems like a nice person and I liked him initially but he became really annoying and grating towards the end imo
19. Marty - I wanted to get behind Mr Fartay as a villain but he was sooo boring for someone who was vis-5 in almost every episode
20. Shannon - So dim and pathetic and horrible with his obvious bigotry. Showed himself up even more at the reunion, what a twat

[Jack_]

The only things I liked about Nicaragua were Jane’s amazing meltdown and Fabio being one of the more underrated winners

Also re. HvV - what was productions obsession with James and Amanda? I can just about understand him for the horny housewives (although he is SO overrated and at times a bit of a twat), but Amanda is basically the personification of the word ‘meh’. THREE SEASONS for both of them?

[Macie Lightfoot]

Amanda's SUCH a weirdo and I love how she presents herself as a normal likable girl but then as soon as she turns on someone they come to the realization that she's a fake demon

I feel like I don't like Nicaragua as much as people here do. I think on paper it's a good and fun and chaotic season but the edit is kind of clunky and hard to follow, and there are SO many things left out like an accurate portrayal of NaOnka, Mortgagegate, actually explaining how Jud got his Jury votes, etc. and I think it takes away from the quality of the season since the narrative is kind of poorly constructed.

GOOD LUCK because if CI/Fiji were the dark ages of Survivor, RI/SP/OW are..... whatever's darker than the dark ages. RI is legitimately awful television in every sense of the word.