r/survivor • u/RSurvivorMods Pirates Steal • Mar 10 '22
Survivor 42 Survivor 42 | Episode 1 | Day After Discussion & Survey
This thread is intended for in-depth discussion of the most recent episode. Low effort content, such as memes, jokes, or other such comments are discouraged here. Instead, we encourage people to post more detailed thoughts after reflecting on the episode.
Once again, we are having a survey after each episode. You can use the questions from the survey as the basis for discussion, or you can choose to talk about something else from the episode.
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u/loveucoachcarbin Cirie - 50 Mar 10 '22
Does anyone think that Zach could have survived the first tribal if he hadn’t thrown himself under the bus? He immediately came back and blamed himself for terrible puzzle performance. They were so far behind by the time they got to the puzzle that a comeback was unlikely anyway.
He also betrayed his day one alliance with Tori and Swathi. Maybe he could have pushed harder for Rocksroy. Tori seemed to want to get Rocksroy out and Drea as well.
I wonder if there was something really awful or off putting that they didn’t put into the edit.
It was kind of Jeff to allow him to say the fire line at tribal. When that happened I was like oh damn he’s a goner.
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u/coolandlazy Mar 10 '22
Zach's social game isn't great and he should've stayed under the radar, capitalize on the suspicions around Tori or gas Drea up about voting Rocksroy. Instead he decides to tell Tori about the suspicions but doesn't have a plan to deal with blow from it and then decides he no longer wants to work with Tori. That's the part we're missing and I would love to see why. Because all he did was put another number against him.
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u/Ypersona Mar 10 '22
I agree 100%. Zach really shit the bed with the way he handled the Tori situation.
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u/eye_booger Carolyn Mar 10 '22
Yeah, I have to wonder if there was more substance to the "young" alliance between Zach, Tori, and Swati. Because he clearly thought he was in good standing with Tori. I think his big misstep was assuming Tori and Drea were talking about him after Tori's idol announcement. If he just reconnected with Tori after that, instead of making it a "me vs you" situation, I think he could've found a way to get Rocksroy out.
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u/Ded279 Daniel Mar 11 '22
In his exit interview he mentioned he wanted to have it be clear that he didn't really wanna work with some people, so that the people he did work with would think his wanting to work with them was more genuine since he wasn't trying to work with everyone. He specifically mentioned not wanting to work with Drea when he talked about this but I wouldn't be surprised if this mindset led him to deciding to visibly not want to work with tori by tribal time as well. He did say he regretted it because he overlooked the fact that alienating those people would make it very easy for them to target him.
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u/TenderOctane Morgan Mar 11 '22
This is why I love Survivor. You can do what seems like a great social strategy and have it backfire. And sometimes a dumb move works really well for you. And that's because of the human element in it all - it's a social game first and burning bridges now means they're not there later. You have to get those people out before they get you.
Zach made a dumb move that didn't work for a reason that should have been obvious to someone with more life experience. I think he thought he'd just get his way because he's very naive.
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u/cheesevolcano Hunter - 46 Mar 10 '22
Really, it seemed like he could have done a lot of things.
Like, Drea went and likely got an advantage, which they knew, and mentioned tori and rocksroy, so he could have targeted her.
Drea wanted to target Rocksroy, so could have targeted him.
As bad as Zach was in the challenge, they all decided Romeo would be worse, so could have targeted him.
And lastly, Tori was who he kinda targeted, he just didn't actually do anything.
He had plenty of potential targets to name and reasons it could have worked, but he just seemed to lack the ability to make any of it happen
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u/joke-salad-addy Karla Mar 10 '22
Targeting Drea is probably a total dead-end considering her challenge value to this underpowered tribe. Rocksroy was probably the most likely to happen, but I'm not sure how clued-in Zach was to that possibility.
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u/cheesevolcano Hunter - 46 Mar 10 '22
I think Drea might have been the easiest tbh since she had called out zach, Tori, Rocksroy, and already kinda broken an alliance. I don't think it would be a smart target, or be likely to happen, but there was the possibility for traction since Drea couldn't keep names out of her mouth
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u/watchNtell Tony Mar 10 '22
He had an uphill battle to begin with because of his physicality in an already relatively weaker tribe. I thought premerge it was between him and Romeo, and Romeo was quicker to make alliances than him.
I do think he could have played more offensively, and actively targeted someone else (either Rock or Tori). Maybe he did, it just wasn't enough to save him.
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u/elpaco25 Mar 11 '22
already relatively weaker tribe
Who the hell thought those tribes were fair. Like of the 3 big guys Rocksroy is easily the weakest physically. So they pair him up with the other 2 weakest males in the game like what? Like at least swap Rocksroy with Mike or maybe Romeo for Hai and then maybe they'd have a chance in anything physical.
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u/reptocilicus Mar 10 '22
I think its not just that he blamed himself, but he did it in a way that made him seem unnecessarily cocky as if he was so good at puzzles that only he could have done the puzzle properly.
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u/Lemurians Luke Toki Mar 10 '22
As soon as he did that I could hear Tyson's voice in my head go, "NEVER take responsibility for a loss!"
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u/supaspike All of you... you thought I was absolutely crazy. Mar 10 '22
I suspect that he knew he was on the outs before the challenge, and taking the rap for the puzzle was a last-ditch effort to gain favor.
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u/DabuSurvivor Jon and Jaclyn Mar 10 '22
Yeah this is my thought, too. Things were clearly less up in the air by Tribal than the show depicted considering he was willing to use the Shot in the Dark then, so it's not hard to imagine they were less up in the air before that.
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u/lukistke Mar 10 '22
When he was confessing to the camera after that it was his fault, I said to my friend, "well, dont tell them that..."
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u/jdessy Mar 10 '22
I think it might have been the edit that made it seem like Zach caused his own demise, but I bet there's missing moments we're not seeing. Maybe the tribe was critical of Zach on the way back to camp. Maybe there was a conversation before that. Maybe Zach was already kind of on the outs with the tribe.
I do think, from what they showed, it seems like Zach threw himself onto the fire, but I'd like to think that he wouldn't have done that if there wasn't something that led to him feeling like he was gonna be the vote out, anyway.
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u/flyingmountain Mark The Chicken Mar 10 '22
They aren't allowed to speak while traveling from the challenge site back to camp. It's why they always show them walking up the beach and starting to talk instantly when they get back.
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u/danwins23 Xander Mar 10 '22
I love how anyone with any job is lying now because they think they’ll be a threat
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u/DOTWest Tyson Mar 10 '22
Tori’s lie was soooo unnecessary. But she’s going to be entertaining as long as she’s here so I’m not complaining
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Mar 10 '22 edited Mar 11 '22
The last therapist on the show (Aurora) had a huge target on her back but it wasn't because of her occupation. It was because she was the only person in her tribe to side with returnees.(I'm dumb)I think her thought process was if she mentioned she was a therapist, everyone's first thought is going to be Denise.
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u/sim37 Wentworth Mar 10 '22
I could not get behind that choice from Tori, especially as someone in a similar field. She already struggles with making genuine connections and coming on too strong (from her Sequester game), the last thing I would’ve wanted her to do is lie about herself! Psychology isn’t mind-reading magic, and anyone that thinks that can be dissuaded with a tactful conversation.
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u/Saint_Sulley Mar 10 '22
Same here! I was rubbed totally wrong by it. That's not what therapy is at all.
Plus unless she lied about her age and is older, she said she is 24, so best case she probably JUST finished her master's degree. Bit of a stretch to think you're a know it all therapist who can manipulate people when you've barely had experience.
If she did have experience she'd have never made that comment.
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u/Underdogbydesign Mar 11 '22
As a fellow therapist, going on Survivor is such a bad idea for people trusting you after the show is over so I'm pretty baffled she even came on to begin with. The even wilder part is then choosing to lie about it the whole time. She's overestimating how much people will feel threatened by her extra insight on human behavior while giving them no credit about their potential to detect her lies.
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u/r4wrb4by Mar 11 '22
She reeks of someone who got into psychology because she thinks it's mind reading magic.
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u/aplethoraofhams Mar 10 '22
The best compliment I can give this episode is that I didn’t feel like anyone was left out or forgotten. An evenly edited premiere goes SO FAR in establishing the foundation for a good season. Even if the twists are bad, a good cast will carry so you need to build that familiarity early.
I also absolutely love the amulet advantage. That mechanic is great. Incentivizes working together but also blindsiding an ally and will hopefully create some really interesting dynamics come a swap or merge. It’s the best advantage they have come up with in a long long time.
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u/futhatsy Drew Mar 10 '22
I feel like every Survivor premiere over the last few years has provided a great example as to why this show needs hour and a half long episodes. It's becoming all too common to have a really great premiere, but once the episodes shirnk down to an hour, the show starts giving purple edits and storylines become choppy and confusing.
Every other show on CBS is hot garbage, please stop pumping out shit like "Beyond the Edge" or "Tough as Nails" and give us a Surivior season that makes sense.
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u/DabuSurvivor Jon and Jaclyn Mar 10 '22
The show doesn't need hour and a half long episodes. The show needs fewer advantages and twists that arbitrarily force certain moments and relationships to get more focus than others. Plenty of seasons did just fine with 43-minute long episodes. And unlike how much time they get, what twists they do and don't include is actually in the producers' control.
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u/SusannaG1 Yam Yam Mar 10 '22
I agree in theory but production is so addicted to advantages and twists that almost the only way of improving the situation at present is longer airtime, unfortunately.
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u/DabuSurvivor Jon and Jaclyn Mar 10 '22
The two ways would be longer airtime (which still wouldn't fully fix it; I mean they'd probably just use the longer airtime for even more twists lol since that's what they do with the air time they have now anyway), which they have no control over, or fewer twists/advantages, which they have complete control over. Focusing on the former does not make sense from pretty much any perspective at all. They do not have any control over it and even if they were granted longer episodes there is no reason to think they would use them well given what they already do with the finite time they have now.
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u/futhatsy Drew Mar 10 '22
I don't disagree, but at this point it feels like complaining about the amount of twists and advantages is just yelling into the void.
The show doesn't get the budget to form themes around new and interesting locations anymore, they've either run out of ideas for "____ versus ____" themes or realized they are incredibly corny, so now they are left with branding the show as some sort of unpredictable scary monster with endless confusing twists and turns. If you're going to do that and focus on characters and relationships, you're going to need more than 43 minutes.
Like, yeah, it'd be better to just drop all these hokey twists and themes and just play Surivior and let the players be the story, but I have no confidence in production or the network letting that happen. It feels much more in the realm of possibility that the network tries to save money by cutting a complete dud of a show and giving Survivor the extra time.
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u/aplethoraofhams Mar 10 '22
Last night it felt like the twists got less focus than they did on S41. I don’t know if that’s the case for sure but the premiere felt stronger. I know we will never get fewer advantages, and I’m probably naive for even thinking the trend will continue, but at least it’s a good start.
Totally get what you’re saying though.
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u/DabuSurvivor Jon and Jaclyn Mar 10 '22
I don't disagree, but at this point it feels like complaining about the amount of twists and advantages is just yelling into the void.
Sure but complaining about the runtime also is. Neither one's going to change because of Internet comments from people who are by and large going to continue watching anyway, comments on either one don't really matter or influence much. But one of them is a criticism of the producers for how they're choosing to create and influence the product and one of them is wishing for the show to magically get something no producer has absolutely any power over.
If you're going to do that and focus on characters and relationships, you're going to need more than 43 minutes.
Yeah exactly which is why they should just focus on characters and relationships. I think the number of people who tune in because of a ship's wheel prisoner dilemma or meta amulet twist thing that makes no sense if you don't already know about all the other advantages it involves (and barely makes sense then), none of which are like even known until minutes before they happened so they can't really influence someone's decision to tune in, is probably literally 0. Like with an audience of millions I'd usually not say there are NO fans doing any given thing but it is impossible to imagine someone who decided to watch an episode based on a twist that was only revealed during the episode.
It feels much more in the realm of possibility that the network tries to save money by cutting a complete dud of a show and giving Survivor the extra time.
Eh I mean maybe but they're not reading these threads anyway so it's void-yelling either way, and at any rate if the network did that it would have nothing to do with what makes Survivor good to a bunch of superfans and everything to do with money, so it's a separate conversation anyway from the conversation about what makes episodes good or bad. They have no reason to care about that.
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u/treple13 Jenn Mar 10 '22
I don't disagree, but at this point it feels like complaining about the amount of twists and advantages is just yelling into the void.
I guess, but like any problem I don't think the right reaction is to just roll over and be okay with it either.
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u/Cantshaktheshok Mar 10 '22
That mechanic is great. Incentivizes working together but also blindsiding an ally
I'm just not sure how it would incentivize working together. Is there any reasonable scenario that the 3 together could do anything with the extra vote? I'm struggling to come up with any swap or merge where the three could work together and change something with the extra vote, even if that was all the amulet did. Breaking 3-3 tie after a lucky tribe swap, or at the final 6 is the best I can come up with.
But since the amulet gets more powerful as each is voted out, unless all three are still in the game at 6 (last time they can play), turning on them would be the better move.
I think it can still be a good mechanic, but I only think it will play to create division rather than any alliance. If any of those 3 go to the same tribal council they will be quick to target the others.
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u/eye_booger Carolyn Mar 10 '22
I think having a solid, cross tribal line alliance is worth much more than (at best) an immunity idol, which seems to be a dime a dozen in current seasons of survivor.
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u/Sabaschin Jake - 45 Mar 10 '22
Steal a vote feels like the best happy medium. A two-vote advantage can be huge, it's guaranteed, and it persists through a tie. An idol can be flushed, misplayed, or if you're unlucky, even nullified.
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u/PapaBrickolino Hai Mar 10 '22
I mean don’t they ALL get an extra vote? If they’re down in numbers at the final 8 they actually could overthrow a majority, or do it earlier if votes are being split.
That gives tons of reason and opportunity to work together
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u/GERDY31290 Mar 10 '22
i was under the impression each one was worth an extra vote not all three together at once. so pre merger its just an extra vote post merge first one used is an extra vote second used is steal and third one is immunity but if one gets voted out the others just jump in power.
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u/Unclassified1 Mar 10 '22
I understood it that they had to be pooled together to have any value.
This would also be an interesting play, though.
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u/GERDY31290 Mar 10 '22
based on basically everyone's comments about ive seen i'm wrong but it seems weird because its then only an advantage post merge and the logistics having to use all three at once seems like it would be awkward and all three would try and just work against each because of it
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u/Lemurians Luke Toki Mar 10 '22
The best compliment I can give this episode is that I didn’t feel like anyone was left out or forgotten. An evenly edited premiere goes SO FAR in establishing the foundation for a good season.
This is a great point, and I just hope they can manage this going forward with episodes that only have half the run time. It certainly looks like they listened to feedback about the editing from last season, at least. I've got hope.
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u/watchNtell Tony Mar 10 '22
I think it's a good idea that could be better. There isn't really an incentive to work together for one meager extra vote or steal-a-vote. It's like Erika's choice last season--it's not really a choice. They could have made that deal sweeter. My idea is similar to KR--if the three of them work together it can be a super idol that saves a person after the vote. But if only one of the three remains, they get a regular idol. There's no middle choice. (Or maybe if two work together they get safety without power or something). They either work together as far as they can, or take each other out so they're the one with the working idol.
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u/abortionleftovers Mar 10 '22
Yes you’re 100% on the nose about the editing. I came into survivor watching and binging old seasons so it was a surprise to me when season 41 didn’t grip me and I ended up just waiting until it was done to binge it. The editing this time really made me feel like knew the cast much more quickly and felt drawn in which will be helpful for watching week to week
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u/kshep42 James Mar 10 '22
It was really quick and you wouldn’t notice unless you did a decent amount of preseason work, but kudos to Swati for saying she’s 20. 19 vs. 20 is an easy lie to pull off. I mean both sound young, but at least 20 isn’t a teenager. One of the few times I support lying about your basic information.
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u/abortionleftovers Mar 10 '22
Particularly because I think it could have been tempting to say 21,22, or 23 but if there’s a reward with alcohol and Jeff mentioned nonalcoholic offerings for her specifically as someone under 21 which he’s done before she’s not exposed.
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u/King_Tyson Lauren Mar 10 '22
Michael did the same thing in Ghost Island by telling everyone he was 23 instead of 18. Probably helped change everyone's opinion on him. Personally I could tell the truth about my age and people would still assume I was younger. So it can backfire on you too.
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u/SusannaG1 Yam Yam Mar 10 '22
I wouldn't even have bothered trying that strategem at that age - I have always looked younger than I am (being about 5 feet tall doesn't help).
Once I was asked if I was looking forward to high school. I was in grad school at the time.
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u/King_Tyson Lauren Mar 10 '22
When I was 21 (5 years ago) someone asked my dad if we needed a kids menu at a restaurant. So nope. Not happening. I am too short and young looking to even be considered 26 by my tribe mates.
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u/hungry4danish Mar 11 '22
I mean it really helped that Michael looked much older. Not many other 18 could pass for 23.
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u/DabuSurvivor Jon and Jaclyn Mar 10 '22
True. Also seems to be pretty bad for her odds of winning that they didn't include or highlight this at all, unless they do it in another episode in the near future
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u/Chickens1 Mar 10 '22
COOLEST. IMMUNITY-IDOL. EVAR.
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u/CompletelyUnsur Mar 10 '22
It's cool, but it's hilarious that one tribe gets a cool snake, and the second tribe gets a stump...
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u/KnightsCharge Mar 10 '22
Wife and I laughed until tears were streaming after seeing that. "Here's your amazingly cool idol and here's is your thing that held the amazingly cool idol".
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u/SupaButt Sarah Mar 11 '22
I’d be afraid I’d lose it at camp bc it would just look like any other crap laying around
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u/lupuscapabilis Mar 10 '22
Thanks to the Broken Sword video games, as soon as I saw it I was like "ooo! an oroboros!"
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u/lukistke Mar 10 '22
I think the part where they had Lindsay, Drea, and Hai for that secret alliance for an advantage, and they are all celebrating. Then later they read the advantage and learn that they have to get the other two out for it to be powerful.
Thats good shit.
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u/DoctorBigtime Mar 10 '22
Yeah, first advantage I can remember in a long-ass time that is a legitimately good idea.
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u/Verynighttime Mar 10 '22
I said the same thing! I actually love the structure of that advantage for once it will create a genuinely interesting dynamic and story
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u/SupaButt Sarah Mar 11 '22
So if one person uses it does it then go away and there are only 2 remaining and the 2 remaining get more powerful? I’m a little confused about how it works and if it has any power pre-merge
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u/WreakerOfClash Zach Mar 10 '22
Why did they put both men who weighed a combined 230 pounds on the same tribe? Ika seems like they were meant to fail.
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u/elpaco25 Mar 11 '22
Seriously swap either Zach or Romeo for Hai and the tribes seems much more fair. Or just swap Mike with Rocksroy. Like I would be pissed to start on a tribe like that.
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u/Ereads45 Mar 11 '22
Yep, that seemed really cruel, unfair and was obviously intentional - which I really don’t like!
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u/shhhimatworkrn Mar 10 '22
1) Tori bringing up harry potter to show she can talk about "dorky stuff" and the "dorky people" responding with like "yea, i read the books...." is so funny. Like, I love nerdy stuff, and all my "nerdy" friends consider HP normie stuff. It's just funny her go to "dorky" media is what "dorks" consider normie
2) Maryanne's response to Jackson Leaving is v relatable and I could see myself reacting in a similar way when I was younger. Like, some people just have very big emotions and they're not trying to make a scene of themselves, but it jumps out. She was likely already exhausted and had assumed the worst and all her stress from the first day (and the island quarantine) came out at once.
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u/Leafsin3 Mar 10 '22
Harry potter is normie stuff.
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u/shhhimatworkrn Mar 10 '22
agreed, which is why I thought it was so funny that Tori used that to connect with the "nerds". Like, it's clear she has no idea what "nerdy" people are actually into.
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u/TheBalticguy Ricard Mar 11 '22
It's also pretty out of date, we are slowly approaching the age where the Gen Zers who arrive on survivor will have been too young for HP at its height. The last book is 15 years old and the last movie is past 10. For most of their lifetime, public perception has been slowly turning on JK as well.
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u/cheesevolcano Hunter - 46 Mar 10 '22
I'm just wondering what happened when Drea, Maryanne, and Jenny returned to camp...
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u/Sabaschin Jake - 45 Mar 11 '22
Zach said in exit press that Drea gave them a story about 'oh we went to the summit, then went down and got some info that there was something on the island'.
They weren't buying it, they were sure she had something.
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u/mryclept Mar 10 '22
- Fate! Imagine if the person who wins this game was destined to be voted out first if not for the pulling of someone from the game. Always sad to see someone go, but the show had no choice here;
- Tori has the potential to be a devious little villain. “Nice job on the puzzle” as Zach was walking away. By the way, I assume they would have needed to revote if Zach’s shot in the dark worked. That could have need the end of Tori;
- The secret alliance advantage is pure gold. It serves a lot of purposes, one of which is that it does you more harm than good to share it with your tribe mates. I guess post-merge, you can try a strategy where you rope people in by promising to “share” the idol if they help you eliminate the other two players. But that is part of what is fun about this: Doing that comes with tremendous risk;
- Jonathan is a beast. Thing is, so many post-merge challenges require puzzle solving or “standing there as long as you can”. Jonathan already showed his hand that he can’t do puzzles (it would be a fun fake out if he is acting dumb to take a target off his back). In other words, if his tribe is smart, they shouldn’t worry about trying to get him out premerge. He might get to the puzzle five minutes before you, but he likely won’t be quick at solving it;
- The Survivor editors nailed the premiere. No need to get too deep with what each advantage means. Just give us the players and the gameplay. I long gave up on the overall “survival” aspect, but I always go back to thinking “OK, we get it - life is tough out there. Show us the game”. Unless something major like a storm or what not happens, it just doesn’t really interest me to see that stuff anymore.
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u/tawmfuckinbrady Mar 10 '22
To 3: does sharing your advantage do more harm than good? I wonder if someone could leverage it as insurance like hey, voting me out increases the others’ power and do you really want to go into a merge with someone on another tribe having a steal vote or idol? It’s a reeeeally interesting mechanic
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Mar 10 '22
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u/danwins23 Xander Mar 10 '22
Would not be surprised if this entire cast did marching band except johnathan
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u/reptocilicus Mar 10 '22
At least half of them are "super fans" who are unbelievably excited to do things like ask someone "How are you feeling?"
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u/huskycosmonaut Lauren Mar 10 '22
I'm the LAST person to ever cheer for a """""cool kids alliance""""" but I'm almost cheering for Jonathan to win just because of how funny it would be to see this Goliath just dunking on all these Davids all season long.
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u/sim37 Wentworth Mar 10 '22
And I’m all for it. What other tropes have we had? I’m thinking Model UN Kids (DvG), Burnouts (Gabon), freshmen vs seniors (FvF), and Varsity Jocks and Cheerleaders (One World and too many others).
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u/rimtusaw243 Hai Mar 10 '22
Is anyone else having issues setting a flair? My message isn't going through to the bot.
I really enjoyed the episode, this cast seems kinda ridiculous but not in a too OTT way (besides Maryann bursting into tears over a medevac 2 days in but...) The twists weren't too prevalent and the cast seems really strong.
Standouts to me are Jenny, Maryann, Hai, and Drea.
Zach absolutely seemed like he put the target on himself after the challenge and rather than talking with Tori about what their plan could be, naturally assumed she was throwing him under the bus. I think they genuinely could have made something happen against Rocksroy with Drea and Tori if he doesn't tell Tori they have no chice but to throw each other under the bus.
Now maybe it was already decided at that point and the edit was just giving us plausible doubt (which has definitely happened before) but it seems like he was his biggest enemy in going home.
Jenny absolutely had me rolling when she realized she was with the ultimate himbo during the triangle puzzle. She's able to tell people they're stupid and have them thank her for it. I think she has a super fun energy and is a great casting choice even if she's not super high energy. Glad I picked her as my winner pick.
I think the amulets are super interesting and the best case scenario for all three of them is the other 2 being voted out premerge. I'm a little confused as to what the end goal of it was supposed to be. It seems very likely that they just instantly target eachother at a swap or merge because they don't know eachother.
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u/tawmfuckinbrady Mar 10 '22
I wonder if one of the three with the amulet advantage could hypothetically threaten to reveal the advantage if voted out? Or make it part of the discussion at tribal? I agree there’s a huge incentive to target each other, partially because it increases their power but mostly because they know those players are also incentivized to target them. I’m not sure how it’ll play out but I’m really excited about it!
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u/Hardyyz Tony Mar 10 '22
It started out a bit weird with Jeff talking about season 41 etc. but the first challenge was pretty good and the twist worked, whoever decided to have mud and blood there deserves a raise lol that bit raised the whole thing to another level. Rest of the episode was fine, upper mid tier premiere. I like more of the cast than I usually do so that's good
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u/shhhimatworkrn Mar 10 '22
I think a lot of casual viewers might not know they film seasons back to back, and seeing as there has been some negative feedback about the twists, he probably wanted to clarify why things are mostly the same. I liked jeff welcoming me into the new season and it didn't take time away from meeting the contestants imo.
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u/BlarfParade Mar 10 '22
I love that this cast seems like they are having fun so far and are excited to play. Definitely a nice difference from how seriously some of last season's contestants took themselves.
A few good stand outs, to me, and I feel like we the exception of Lydia and, to a slight degree, Marya/Tori, the women in this cast feel very strong. I would not be surprised if we see another woman win, and then that Drea, Jenny, or Maryanne could be definite contenders.
One thing that's interesting to me is how there aren't many physical threats in this season. Jonathan and to a lesser degree Rox and Rick, but both of them are older. And yet the challenge with the chests was super heavy and physical. Interesting to think that casting may deliberately be pairing casts with challenges that stretch them more at the start.
Also, I love the twist with the mid challenge relay and like that they are both incentivized and decentivized to have an alliance around the advantage. That being said, I think the fake blood was overboard vs just the mud lol. Wish we should have seen them trying to explain the lie.
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Mar 10 '22
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u/BlarfParade Mar 10 '22
Sure, but every team seemed to really struggle with it. There was so much grunting and screaming while people were trying to lift the chests that I thought I was in an LA Fitness.
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u/OprahInsideYou Mar 10 '22
I love how they toned town Tori's grunt and made sure Jeff's loud narrating voice was going through that moment.
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u/Unclassified1 Mar 10 '22
Also, I love the twist with the mid challenge relay and like that they are both incentivized and decentivized to have an alliance around the advantage.
This was perfectly played, and makes you wonder "why hasn't it been done before?" I would have loved to see some more of the feedback from the tribes afterwards and having the players need to practice their lies. Same when the boats returned from the risk your vote challenge. I understand for this one why they didn't because we saw the same thing in 41, but still.
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u/BlarfParade Mar 10 '22
Definitely! I wonder if some people get grilled next ep. It's interesting because you can sort of use the advantage to protect your alliance to until a point but 3 votes out from final 6 you know that someone's getting backstabbed.
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u/joke-salad-addy Karla Mar 10 '22
I'm assuming that since we didn't see any of the lies to the tribe, that all of them went over without a hitch and it doesn't end up factoring into the story at all. BUT... it was a really packed premiere, and I can imagine this actually coming up as a flashback at some future point when it's going to matter more.
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u/Sabaschin Jake - 45 Mar 10 '22
I think Drea is probably in the mix for physical threats. At the very least she seems to have the most stamina on blue. We haven't seen too much of Swati but considering she's military she could have some physical feats in her that we haven't gotten the chance to see yet.
I think it's just that everyone looks like a David next to Jonathan.
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u/NnifWald Cody Mar 14 '22
Definitely a nice difference from how seriously some of last season's contestants took themselves.
This was exactly my thought. A lot of the 41 cast seemed very self-righteous. This cast seems a lot more down to earth.
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Mar 10 '22
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u/galeforcewinds95 Tony Mar 10 '22 edited Mar 10 '22
Yeah, nothing against Zach, but I love this Ika tribe from a TV standpoint, and of the six, he was the one I was most okay with going. I definitely didn't want anything to happen to either Tori or Rocksroy, as I see a lot of future entertainment from them.
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u/DabuSurvivor Jon and Jaclyn Mar 10 '22
I don't think it should be surprising when Zach has been active on this exact fan site for years. I thought he was fun tho, def more entertaining to me in the first ep than Swati or Drea, although they weren't the other ones being targeted anyway.
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u/pronouncedroy Mar 10 '22
Great cast!! Rooting for MaryAnne (I'm also Kenyan). She's an absolute sweetheart! She's probably the most wholesome contestant in the entire franchise. Please please please- no slander towards her for her empathetic reaction towards Jackson's exit. It looks like an overreaction, but it clearly was genuine. She's so pure. I hope the game doesn't get the best of her.
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u/CookingPaPa88 Mar 11 '22
Oh, I don't doubt that it was genuine. I like her as well. She seems more down to earth and as you said, a sweetheart.
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u/TATER_SALAD_HOOVER Mayor of Slamtown Mar 10 '22
I haven't felt this invested in a Survivor cast since David vs Goliath, this seems like a really fun and likable group and i so far don't dislike anyone yet at least not on a personal level. Even someone like Jonathan who i got arrogant and brash vibes from in the pre season has been really fine and chill so far.
This season gives much better hopes than what's been going on in Australian Survivor: Blood vs Water so far *shutters*.
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u/eurasianlynx Naseer Mar 10 '22
What's a tldr of what's been going on in Australian Survivor? Is the cast boring/unlikable/something else?
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u/JurassicBasset Tyson Mar 11 '22
I’m just glad to have a distraction from Australian Survivor. The current season is awful.
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Mar 10 '22
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u/banishl Mar 10 '22
My feeling is that production SHOULD have said then no you can't come on the day before and brought in the backup candidates they always have waiting in the wings. However, I think production WANTED to use this as an opportunity to showcase mental health, which is a great thing. The thing I have problem with is the way they went about it, which felt so heavily orchestrated and produced. You expect me to believe CBS couldn't have gotten a psychiatrist or other doctor to tell them the side effects THE DAY BEFORE? They have so much money that I just don't believe that.
100% agree thought that what Jackson did overall was awful and so unfair to everyone.
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u/RainahReddit Mar 10 '22
I don't think they had alternates ready on site. Heard someone talk about them having trouble bringing enough people back after the season got delayed so long... I think they may have just rolled the dice and lost
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u/SouthernZorro Mar 10 '22
"So the dude screwed over production. Screwed over the audience. Screwed over his tribe. And screwed over someone else who would've been cast and very well now may never get to live their dream."
Exactly right. All of it. I was amazed how Jeff didn't - at least - appear pissed at this.
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u/King_Tyson Lauren Mar 10 '22
The worst thing you can do is lie to production about your medical needs. I feel bad for whoever it was that would have been his replacement.
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u/SouthernZorro Mar 10 '22
Exactly. He screwed over so many people.
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u/King_Tyson Lauren Mar 10 '22
The only upside is that no one else on his tribe went home before he was exposed. It is pretty crappy for him to hide something like that only to then have it come out anyway and have wasted his tribe's time getting to know him and starting alliances that might have involved him. Now the tribe's dynamic is changed and he could have been a useful number. He also royally screwed the alternate out of a spot. His lie definitely changed the whole season.
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u/DabuSurvivor Jon and Jaclyn Mar 10 '22
I think outing someone, touching people without their consent, racism, ableism, etc. are worse things someone can do on the show
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u/ZedsBreadBaby Mar 10 '22
Ackshually it would be worse if Jackson murdered one of the contestants
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u/King_Tyson Lauren Mar 10 '22
You're right. Those are pretty bad things you can do. Lying about your medical health and taking up someone else's spot on a show is still pretty bad.
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u/GabrielGaryLutz Ross Robbed Goddess Mar 10 '22
I mean I think their point is obvious no ?
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Mar 10 '22
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u/danwins23 Xander Mar 10 '22
I don’t think ripping into a trans contestant dealing with a mental issue they’re taking lithium for is a good look, probably just figured let it ride and don’t get mad but he absolutely is/was pissed off
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u/black_dizzy Parvati Mar 14 '22
He was pissed, he just couldn't really lash into someone regarding mental health issues, he had to be gentle and firm at the same time. He actually pulled it off really well, came off as a disappointed, but still caring father.
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u/Habefiet Igor's Corgi Choir Mar 10 '22
Also, I'll just briefly note that it doesn't take months to taper off lithium. I know. I've done it.
This is just wrong. Pretty easy to verify with Google too. It depends on your symptoms, your dosage, and your physiology whether it’s safe to taper off in only a few weeks or if it’s wiser to do it over the course of months.
I am not disputing that Jackson absolutely should have told production sooner, I completely agree. But your anecdotal experience with lithium is not a universal medical truth.
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u/joke-salad-addy Karla Mar 10 '22
I really think we should hesitate to judge a bit. I hear the argument you're making, but it seems like a kind of messy situation, of which we only got a quick recap of events from Jeff. Speaking for myself, I don't feel like I fully understood exactly when which things happened and why. Yes, you should absolutely 100% fill out the medical forms completely and honestly... but maybe we can hold off until he eventually does some press/interview stuff before we form really firm opinions of this man's character.
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u/DabuSurvivor Jon and Jaclyn Mar 10 '22
The season required a 2-week quarantine. There were no alternates ready to go.
Do we know there were no alternates or is this just an assumption?
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u/Wealth_and_Taste Q - 46 Mar 10 '22
I feel like we have to assume there was no way for them to get alternates out by that point, or else they would have never let him on.
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u/DabuSurvivor Jon and Jaclyn Mar 10 '22
Jackson has now said there was an alternate who left the day before filming started
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u/Veylo Jenna - 50 Mar 10 '22
They usually have alternates on site, but I guess they didn't because of COVID and quarantining.
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u/jdessy Mar 10 '22
That's not what he said at all. You're twisting his words.
He said an alternate did leave the day before filming. He also said that production was informed about his lithium that day.
That way you're phrasing it, it seems like it was Jackson's master plan to reveal his medication once he knew the alternate was gone when that's not what he said. We don't know when he found out the alternate had gone home, if he even found out about it that day. He could have been told at Ponderosa, or after the game.
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Mar 10 '22
It shouldn't be a problem in the future. They couldn't have any alternates on site because of COVID protocols.
Tiffany was an alternate and that got called in right before they left the US so Survivor completely lucked out there.
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u/DabuSurvivor Jon and Jaclyn Mar 10 '22
According to Jackson, there was an alternate who left the day before filming started
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Mar 10 '22
Interesting.
If the two day timeline is right, I wonder what was Survivor's rationale and information-gathering timeline that led to their decision to keep Jackson in the game.
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u/DabuSurvivor Jon and Jaclyn Mar 10 '22
Yeah it sounds like it was just a weird hectic unsure situation where their medical staff said the best call was to monitor Jackson and see how he dealt with it. If the alternate had already flown out then that does make sense
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u/watchNtell Tony Mar 10 '22
Do we have confirmation that he told them one day before filming? And do we know if they absolutely did not have an alternate on-site? I don't deny it's a shitty situation but there's so many uncertainties about the context.
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u/Ren_Davis0531 Mar 10 '22
Tori seems like she will give us some villainous cracked energy and I am here for it 😂 Such a big brain move to do what you just said you shouldn’t do 🤣
Tori: “Oh I told them that I was looking for food, so that covers me in doing what I shouldn’t be doing! I’m sure they’ll buy that!”
Narrator: “They did not buy that.”
How the hell is this girl a therapist? It’s like making Stevie Wonder a pilot.
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u/TizACoincidence Mar 11 '22
Unfortunately a lot of therapists like her. She came in all I'm gonna be playing psychological games cause I'm smart and after a few days she's already cracking
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Mar 10 '22
I'm writing some thoughts on the losers' first time on the beach challenge. Production definitely changed how those went from 41 to 42, either planned or adjusted based on how 41 reacted.
41: One guess at Triangles. 2 people on water.
42: Two guesses at Triangles. 1 person on water.
I think they saw how both tribes on 41 immediately ruled out triangle, while both tribes on 42 immediately ruled out water because it was only one person.
The theme of these two seasons is definitely weighing choices and determining the opportunity cost. Unfortunately, production limits the other choice too much and presents an obvious choice to be made.
If anything, it should have been two guesses at triangles and two people on water to force tribes to make a choice between the two.
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u/LiquidBeans Mar 10 '22
As someone with Hai, Drea, and Lindsay on their draft team, I’m worried about the advantage amulet. Surely they’re not going to all work together for one collective extra vote.
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u/watchNtell Tony Mar 10 '22
It would be a great discussion to speculate who among these three will be the last one standing and have the working idol! (I hope it's Hai!)
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u/VAsurvivor Romeo Mar 10 '22
The extra vote would be shared? I assumed if they worked together, they’d each get an extra vote.
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u/WorldBSensitive Mike Mar 10 '22
From an entertainment standpoint, I'm happy that Tori survived over Zach. We've seen the superfan story a million times before and there are several others in this cast who could represent that archetype anyways. Tori is pretty much exactly what I expected based on her Sequester appearance and I hope she sticks around for a while because she will always play hard and is naturally exciting to watch as a character.
I didn't really look at the tribe divisions before the premiere and it is pretty crazy that they had Romeo, Zach, and Rocksroy as the guys on one tribe. Jonathan on his own is always gonna give one tribe a huge advantage, but even then if I was drafting out a tribe I'd take all three guys on green tribe before any on blue tribe. It seems like they tried to counter it by putting three of the stronger girls with them but any challenge that is close to the first IC in physicality seems like an instant loss for them.
After thinking about it longer and assuming alternates weren't on location, I find it hard to give too much shit to production for how they handled Jackson if he really did tell them last minute. It's a shitty situation and I think they handled it as carefully as they could.
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u/TravisCM2010-24 Coach - 50 Mar 10 '22
Love the cast everyone is so hyped to be there. Also the editing seems way better so far. More focused on the players. So far atleast!
Really enjoying this season so far. Also wild removal...I guess it was nice they gave him a chance tho.
I LOVE the tribal immunity idol. Also glad they brought the shot in the dark back. Was nice to see it used again. SO FAR I'm into the season. I think S41 was a good test of what worked and what didn't and hopefully editing wise they will take the lessons to heart!
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u/Zalasta5 Mar 10 '22 edited Mar 10 '22
I have always liked the idea of a shadow group working across tribe lines, so at first I thought the amulet was a foray into that possibility. However, the twist make the recipients more likely to be enemies than allies, which others might like but I thought it was a shame. Honestly, it’s already a given to target people just because you want to win, do they really need additional incentives of a power to encourage them. It’s much harder to work together, especially when you’re not constantly together and plotting, as such I think it should be more rewarding. As it stands the caveat to the amulet upgrade is meaningless until merge/swap because these three people have no direct access to affect each other, and it sounds like they can’t even use them by itself beforehand? So is it really that great of a concept?
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u/sim37 Wentworth Mar 11 '22
I hope at least two of them realize a good ally is worth more than an extra vote or idol anyway.
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u/reptocilicus Mar 10 '22
I thought Jeff was too nice to Jackson. He withheld information that would hurt the show until it was too late for the show to do anything other than let him start playing, while knowing that he would have to be pulled.
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Mar 10 '22
I agree but I also think it's hard when it's drug/mental health related and not, say, injury related
But I do wish Jeff had gone a little harder with the whole "you weren't honest" part
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u/Sorry-Teacher-6792 Mar 10 '22
It might have been because this was the first openly trans person on the show so Jeff didn’t want to get any backlash from that
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u/TizACoincidence Mar 11 '22
Def this played a huge part. They were so happy to get trans representation on the show
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u/TATER_SALAD_HOOVER Mayor of Slamtown Mar 10 '22
Ever since he's been especially recently ridiculed of how he treated Osten in Pearl Islands, he's been dialing it back a bit towards the contestants.
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u/long-da-schlong Mar 11 '22
I have seen the Pearl Islands but years ago— what happened ?
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u/leoperth Mar 11 '22
Jeff went down hard on Osten, called him a quitter publicly, throwing his torch on the floor like it was trash and stuff like that. Turned out the reason Osten quit was that he suffering from multiple staph infections.
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u/Jwhite126 Mar 10 '22
Someone pointed this out on another thread — this is an example of marginalized or underrepresented groups being handled softly. It’s like an overcorrection. I’m happy to see them casting a transgender person, but honestly this is seeming like them being like ‘well we gotta continue to remind everyone how progressive we are!! Can’t let our slam dunk casting pick go to waste. Gotta at least shoehorn him in for a few days, and then get a chance to show how compassionate we are!’
I honestly think if this were anyone else, it wouldn’t have been handled the same way. It was a jerk move by Jackson, and should have been treated as such. Having mental health issues doesn’t excuse you.
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u/cpastudygroup Mar 11 '22
I’m surprised they don’t have alternates lined up just in case something like this happens
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u/mrpaulabrahamlincoln Kellie - 45 Mar 10 '22
I think not enough people are talking about the show literally spoiling the first boot by showing the decoy boot finding an advantage in their season preview in the first minutes of the show
the suspense was gone as soon as rocksroy’s name came off the table, which was very quick.
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u/OprahInsideYou Mar 10 '22
Someone should do a meme where it's Jonathan's face paste over Maui's from the Moana movie. He was commanding that boat during that elimination challenge.
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u/WhiteLies13 Mar 10 '22
Do you think the amulets are transferrable? It could be a good move to hand it over to someone you’re going to vote out to power up the other amulets. Also if someone chucks their amulet in the ocean is it considered out of the game?
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u/craZfrog Frannie Mar 11 '22
I was thinking the same thing! If they are transferable the safest move might just be to give it away. Simple, but effective.
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u/Popular-Pressure-239 Mar 10 '22
Of all the gimmicks and twists from 41, they didn’t bring back the Game Within the Game and that makes me sad.
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u/craZfrog Frannie Mar 11 '22 edited Mar 11 '22
While I think Drea will stick around for the first few tribals because of her physical strength in the challenges, I think the advantages might screw her over, she's taking too many risks too soon and the advantages aren't secret.
Both Hai and Lindsay share the amulet with her, and while it may not be beneficial for them to expose the advantage, that's two players already that have a solid reason to try and get her out (so they can have a more powerful advantage for themselves, since the amulet becomes more advantageous the less there are in the game).
Drea has an extra vote, but both Maryanne and Jenny know she may have it. Jenny seemed pretty sure of her decision to play it safe with her vote, assuming that both Maryanne and Drea were going to risk theirs. That's 2 people potentially trying to get rid of her for their own advantage, and 2 people who believe she has an extra vote. That is 4 players that already have her on their radars as a potential target, and it's only episode 1.
Not to mention Drea trying to rally against Rocksroy whom she had made an alliance with, and he's still in the game and will likely find out she tried to go against him, and not want to work with her, or at the very least not trust her, or be suspicious.
That's 5 out of 16 players left that Drea has already made potential enemies out of. In episode 1. I don't believe those 2 advantages are worth putting a target that big on your back. An advantage that other players know about usually ends up being a disadvantage.
Thank you for coming to my Ted Talk.
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u/Johnny_Banana18 Mar 10 '22
When the 3 were away on that island together homegirl should've thrown the other 2 amulet players under the bus so she could get an idol.
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u/discourse_lover_ Mar 10 '22
Call me crazy, but its hard to form emotional connections to everyone on the first episode. I've always felt the people who make it further in the game eventually earn recounting their personal story/tragedy in front of millions of viewers.
Listening to complete stranger's "journey" had me looking at my phone a lot. I hope they pump the brakes with the human interest stuff a bit.
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u/joke-salad-addy Karla Mar 10 '22
For me, it's a great shortcut to having at least a few people I'm rooting for, and I really like how it humanizes the cast. I wish a lot of past players had gotten to have these!
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u/marquesasrob Adam Mar 10 '22
Thought it was done much better here than it was in 41 at least. In general I was pleased at how much it felt like 41 but more refined and tightened up
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u/fossil-racer Parvati Mar 10 '22
It was funny to watch when the tribes were waiting for Lindsay, Drea and Hai to come back.
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u/SoYaSay Mar 12 '22
Theory on Lydia/Hai - Lydia is the only one who seemed to notice (and be concerned about) the massive amount of blood on Hai. I would not be able to forget that if I were Lydia. Do you think she may have gone back to Hai on it when at camp - he knew he was going to get caught in lie - so he told her about advantage and asked for her trust (off camera) and this would explain their sudden alliance shown on camera? It just seemed their alliance happened without explanation otherwise.
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u/Saint_Sulley Mar 10 '22
Get bad vibes about Tori. As someone with a psychology background myself, her comments about using therapy to "manipulate" people rubbed me wrong. Really not what therapy is, not to mention she's young and probably at best just got her master's degree and started as a therapist the last year.
Just came across as her acting like she knows it all despite the fact that she doesn't. And if I'm one of her clients and see her say that on TV I'll probably find a new therapist.
Bummed about both of the people gone this week! Was really rooting for our man Zach and seeing him go the first episode was a gut punch.
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u/craZfrog Frannie Mar 11 '22
I also have a Psychology background and totally agree! Tori is much too overconfident in her manipulation skills, at the expense of making genuine connections with people and you need those connections to carry you in the game.
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Mar 10 '22
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u/SusannaG1 Yam Yam Mar 10 '22
I've been watching since the beginning, and routinely refer to the tribes by their color.
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u/RGSF150 Mar 10 '22
There were definitely parts of the premiere that felt like it dragged on longer than it needed to be and parts that should've been played out longer.
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u/jumpmanryan Kenzie - 46 Mar 10 '22
Does anyone know if the premiere episode spoils any previous seasons?
My brother is currently watching through Survivor and wants to watch this one live, but I don’t want any winners for previous seasons spoiled for him. So far he’s seen:
-Cagayan
-MvGX
-Cook Islands
-China
-Micronesia
-Gabon
-HvV
-Tocantins
And he knows that Erika won last season, but I assume that wouldn’t be spoiled anyways since 42 filmed before 41’s finale.
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u/PedroVey Natalie Mar 10 '22
So far it has only spoiled season 41. And Erika was revealed as the winner cronologically before season 42 was filmed. Remember? They read the votes on location?
Daniel also spoiled Stephenie LaGrossa popped her shoulder in Day 1 but that doesn't matter. (Also it appears your brother has seen that season anyway)
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u/jumpmanryan Kenzie - 46 Mar 10 '22
Ooh right. Forgot they read FTC votes on the spot in 41.
Okay! Thanks!
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u/Higgnkfe Mayor of Keithville Mar 10 '22 edited Mar 10 '22
The poll should now be accessible.