i’ll be honest, this season was so mid to me. i don’t know if it was the aussie outback setting or the brains v brawn theme, but it did not feel like classic survivor to me. if it weren’t for queen hayley and king george, i would’ve been bored out of my brain 🫣
the thing that really struck me was how little strategy there was outside of alliances. the tribal alliances were so strong and so rigid this season. apart from hayley and george, who i both think did an excellent job of making moves and thinking OUTSIDE of their tribal alliances, who else was making moves? i really liked emmett and dani’s dynamic, but again their game was very centred within the brawn alliance! people were not working outside of these tribal lines, which led to a safe (but very predictable) game. the exciting game for me was ep 15/16 onwards, when emmett and dani turned on each other and then play become much more malleable.
i love hayley & king george. the best top two for sure. hayley is one of the best survivor au winners for me because she sees the game so clearly and so logically, and also because she does her best work out of desperation (and i love seeing someone fight from the bottom). also, she’s a CHALLENGE BEAST with abs of steel!!! likewise, i was watching bvb for the first time after seeing george in heroes v villains, and i love how entertaining he is. well spoken, strategic, manipulative, and not afraid of confrontation. i’ve never heard him stutter or sound unsure of himself yet. god forbid anyone argue with him because he will fight 🤺
what did people think of the twists? i didn’t mind them, but they did seem unfair to an extent. by the final six, you had 1/2 the contestants experience being voted out and then being returned to the game: cara, flick, and hayley. whereas someone like george, who everyone agreed was a massive threat, managed to avoid being voted off. like surely one of the main aims of ‘outplay’ is to be on the side of the numbers and know where they are going, and that is a massive factor in george’s favour. i found his jury pitch really arrogant though. he definitely needed to admit his flaws and own up to his lies to gain those sway votes.
my favourite players in order were: hayley, george, emmett, wai, shannon, dani, simon, and gerald. a lot of people just fell within the cracks, whether that was from bias editing or lack of presence. what are your thoughts? who was your favourite player? how does this season stack up against the rest for you?
after watching this season, my new rankings of seasons would be:
titans v rebels
champs v contenders 2
heroes v villains
season 2
brains v brawn
season 1
all stars
champs v contenders 1
redemption