Hello everyone and welcome back to the blog after a week
off! I’m excited to jump back into the swing of things by starting to recap
Survivor. For those who haven’t seen the show, it’s basically Big Brother but
on an island where people also have to survive off of the bare minimum. Also,
during the first stages of the game there are separate “tribes” and based off a
competition, a person will be voted off from the losing tribe. There are other
mechanics to the show, but I can explain those when they become relevant. For
my first blog on this season, I thought I’d use it to give my initial
impression of the players. If you’re busy and don’t want to read a bunch, here’s
the summary: Not Good.
But first (yes I’m stealing Julie Chen’s line), let’s talk
about the theme real quick. The first tribe is of Generation Xers. The second
is of millennials. I want to take a second to talk about how annoying this
theme is. The first two episodes have been nonstop bombarding us with
comparisons between the two generations where the millennials are the “free
spirits” and the Gen Xers are the “hard workers.” But, here’s the thing: the generations aren’t
different. Hear me out. While the technology and ways to work have changed, the
quality of people doing so really haven’t. It’s just a different context. If
you put the soul of a gen xer into a millennial baby, I’m willing to bet that
nothing would change. Or did Survivor forget that Gen Xers were considered the “free
spirits” and “lazy kids” to the Baby Boomers? It’s an age old cycle.
Ok, mini rant over. Let’s talk about the players this
season.
Jay: I have mixed feelings about him. While he is involved
in the Pretty Kid alliance that I hate, he at least seems to have a semblance
of intelligence to him. Case in point: he was smart enough to know Taylor’s
showmance was a bad thing and that he needed to cool his engines.
Hannah: We go from someone with some intelligence, to
someone who miraculously showed none last night. The target was Figgy until
Michelle whispered to her during tribal to vote out Mari instead. Here’s the
kicker: Michelle wouldn’t tell her the reason until after. HELLO?! If someone
won’t tell you the reason until after you do it, that’s a pretty good reason
NOT to do it. Furthermore, the fact that she was told last minute proves she is
on the bottom of the “Kappa Kappa” alliance, a name that she gave them last episode.
So now a showmance and an alliance that doesn’t need her is strong in this
game. She screwed herself.
Michaela: I have a feeling that if she can learn to control
her instinct to confront people, that she will make it far. She’s fairly
perceptive and is able to move past not liking someone if keeping them in the
game still benefits her.
Tayor: He is the stereotypical surfer type who you expect to
only know the word “dude.” Also, because he is pretty he started a showmance
with Figgy. That alone shows he sucks at this game and being aware of his
position. Figgy and he lucked out that he had two alliance members that worked
to save her.
Adam: I really don’t have an impression of him outside of
the fact that he talks REALLY loud when he is giving his confessionals.
Figgy: I really wish I could say that I liked her. But, I
just can’t. Anyone who comes into a game show talking about how they want to
win and “find a husband” I can’t respect. She also came off like a total brat
in her conversation with Michaela. She felt the need to start a confrontation
while Michaela was just eating sugar cane. Sure, Michaela was giving her the
side eye, but learn to ignore that.
Zeke: He seems like a cool guy, but he is completely out of
his element with this tribe. He needs to lay low for a bit until a tribe swap
can put him into a better position.
Michelle: I give her
props for being able to get Hannah to switch her vote. It shows that she
engenders trust in people fairly easily, and she was able to save her true
alliance member. However, I can’t give her too much props because it’s not hard
to manipulate an idiot. I’d like to see her work when she is faced with a
better challenge.
Will: He left high school to play on Survivor. How have his
parents not killed him? I’d be six feet under if I did something like that.
Lucy: Who? She hasn’t said a word the first two episodes. I
guess we can pencil her in for makes jury but doesn’t win.
David: Ugh. He is so paranoid and that’s what keeps him in a
bad position. But his alliance with Ken is endearing so he has that going for
him.
Ken: I like Ken. He seems down to earth and good at
challenges. Basically, he is like my past favorite Joe. The issue is, these
guys don’t win. The second they lose an individual immunity after the merge,
they are voted out. I’ll enjoy him while I can.
Paul: The tough alpha male that has to control everything
never makes it to the end. Pencil him in for an entertaining blindside or a
future medical evacuation.
Chris: I want to like him because he is an attorney. But, he
comes off like the bad stereotype of one. He seems to think too highly of
himself, and in Survivor that confidence is not a good thing.
Sunday: She’s fairly forgettable at this moment.
Jessica: Here is another attorney, but I like her. She’s
gotten herself into a power alliance where she helps call the shots, but no one
thinks of her as the head honcho that needs to go. It’s good first couple of
episodes play.
Brett: Cops have a good history of at least making it to
jury on this show. Whether he wins will depend on his strategic chops winning
out over his “macho” style. Jury’s out on him.
Cece: She seems to be in a bad place. She doesn’t have the
numbers and she had aligned herself with Rachel, who was voted out last
episode. However, my instincts say that she might make it further than I
expect.
So there you have it, my preliminary thoughts on these
players. Keep tuning into the blog to see how my thoughts evolve as we see more
and more of their gameplay. P.S. this is the only game show where I don’t look
at spoilers, so with events like last night’s blindside, I am just as surprised
as all of you.
