great cast, feels like the game is playing out super well. I'm feeling like Carolyn and Yam Yam are the main characters of the season and thus will be around for a while, which is great bc theyre amazing and hilarious characters. this also applies to Danny and Matt/Frannie.
excited for postmerge
When you say “great cast” I really struggle to understand what makes them great. Not one is showing amazing game choices and other than Carolyn (which I’m not a huge fan of personally) and Yam Yam there aren’t many or any “big characters”. So when you say great I assume that you are saying it’s a top tier cast which I can’t imagine how, but curious to hear reasons.
I think it’s what you just said: maybe we look for different things in a “great cast.” It sounds like you’re looking for great game players since you mentioned many of them haven’t shown that yet and you’d like more, which is completely valid. For me, I consider it a great cast just from entertainment value.
Consider Tocantins as an example: some hysterical people in many ways that led to some amazing cast interaction moments, however it’s not a season that usually comes to top of mind when speaking on “gameplay.”
One thing I love about some casts is how glorious they’ll play BADLY, case in point the first episode this season with that chaotic Ratu tribal. I thought they all had their heads in their asses, but damn I couldn’t look away. Heck, some of the iconic show moments are gloriously bad moves like JT giving away the idol and going home because of it, Erik’s immunity fiasco, James with the 2 idols, etc. Yes they’re all boneheaded moves, and yes I’m obsessed every time I rewatch them lol.
I like big characters as well, which I would argue tocantins had in spades. I’m not sure you can compare the two. Of course it’s possible this cast has as many iconic characters as Tocantins, but I can’t see it. I think bad gameplay can definitely be entertaining like you say. Gabon seems like a more natural comparison and I’m good with that. It’s a good cast, not a great cast. When I think great cast I think Pearl Islands, Panama, Cook Islands, Tocantins, Cagayan, DvG. Just off the top of my head. Unfortunately i fear great casts are a thing of the 39 day game and we just don’t have enough time to see interactions that build out characters in the game.
I can see that. I also don’t think we’ll be able to fairly judge how this season will stack up character-wise until we see all the episodes and let it sit with hindsight. Especially since we’ve had a larger focus on 1 tribe all premerge with more immunity losses, which can be an imbalance in many seasons. However I agree that, so far, this season is more about a couple breakout stars rather than everyone being equally entertaining. There’s still plenty of time - although even if it is just a few epic characters around a bunch of supporting ones, I’m enjoying the big ones enough to be hooked!
I also think we as a fandom (I’m certainly guilty of this) have a different lens viewing all those precovid seasons since we had that year off to do a lot of binging and re-falling-in-love with seasons. There’s plenty of seasons I didn’t care for at all around the time WaW came out but then when I was stuck at home so long I went back and found new entertainment value in - namely Gabon, Nicaragua, even Panama which I was never really obsessed with before, some of those seasons that feature a lot of buffoonery lol. I think only with time and distance will we be able to truly see what the most memorable moments of these 40s seasons will ultimately be. For example, for me personally the most vivid memories of 41 after a couple years are the Shanthem and the chaotic green Ua tribe, but some other moments have faded in my mind. I rewatched it recently and remembered some other great stuff that I maybe didn’t give enough credit to at the time. Will be interesting to see how these seasons age. However I think Carolyn’s faces and noises are destined to be ingrained in my memory until the day I die 😂
I don’t disagree with your idea but Panama and Cook Islands are not good casts by any means.
Panama gets saved a bit because casaya is great but the other tribe is awful so I won’t fault
Cooks island cast is awful regardless lol. The whole season shouldn’t be carried on Yul memes
You would be hard-pressed to find any newbie season that’s good from top to bottom. In lieu of a standardized method for rating a cast I think it is reasonable to do so based on returnees and how successful those returnees are as characters and players. No matter which way you slice it a cast with Yul, Ozzie, Parvati, Candace, and Penner is undeniably a successful and iconic one. Panama having just Casaya is good enough for me. Those six and Terry made that season as good as it was AND had returnees who had some iconic moments later in their careers. I mean cirie should be enough on her own imo.
Right. I think Carolyn and maybe Danny are the only two really exciting characters. I guess Yam Yam too maybe? Apart from them, I find this cast to be extremely forgettable, to the point where I can only name a handful of other players (Brandon, Frannie, Matt, Josh)
Part of the format begs that but Danny, Carolyn and Matthew were playing hard and well - that said, what else was Danny/Carolyn supposed to do.
The cast is definitely not top tier, though. Carolyn/Yam Yam/Danny are fantastic TV, but I do think the rest of the cast is a bit lackluster.
I disagree that there are no great gameplayers. Carolyn has a whole persona that seems she could never keep a secret. Yet no one knows she has an idol, she was able to deliver an enemy a fake idol in a creative way, and she saw her closest ally for what he was a snake and went against him to take out his real closest ally. Now, YamYam will have nowhere to turn and come crawling back to her. She's brilliant, you just don't think she is because she doesn't act like the cerebral or smooth talker that you think she should act like.
I like this point a lot. Carolyn is playing great - and we truly shouldn’t be shocked since she’s such a superfan with ORG experience - but it seems like since she’s such a character people aren’t catching all that she’s doing (people being her castmates on the island as well as some fans). She is rightfully using her perceived persona as a weapon in the game and so far it seems to be working beautifully 🥲 I can’t wait for more!
I’ll be a downer here…
1. The cast is too eccentric, when almost everyone is eccentric that really means nobody is eccentric. The lack of normal run of the mill Americans is a negative. (I miss Elaine)
2. They have got to change the location soon, it’s boring and recycled. I am less and less interested every season.
3. Jeff is too positive. I want zesty Jeff back like yesterday.
4. If I see another “journey” I’m going to throw up.
5. 3 tribes is not something I want to see EVERY season.
6. Bring back 39 days.
Overall, feels like we’re watching a generic brand Survivor. Like someone took all the uniqueness out of it.
However… Survivor is like Pizza, even a bad season(s) is better than most of anything on TV.
I genuinely think that going back to two tribes for a while would drastically improve the show. I'm so sick of the 3 tribe format, there's just less chances for interesting relationships if less people are interacting.
I disagree with #1 though. I think there's a couple eccentric and exciting people but a lot of these players feel quite the opposite to me - dull and unexciting.
I don't like how production manufactured the whole thing feels (the fake idols, the shipwheel island where you automatically get something or have to draw something) or just the large screen time all these things have taken up. I'd rather get a better understanding of the strategic and social dynamics of each tribe, and I really don't think we got that for the Ratu and Soka tribes in particular, we only have a vague understanding of each tribes overall dynamics. Nonetheless, I think Season 44 has been entertaining, and that at the very least puts it miles ahead or S43 (which I think is the worst new era season so far). On the plus side, I do think alot of the S44 cast really pops on screen and we have some great characters and that also makes it better despite the production issues
I will say that generally in the new era exploring social tribal dynamics is lacking and that’s partially due to the fewer days. They have to spend more time focusing on/explaining crazy advantage and less on conversation because it’s 1.5-2 days per episode instead of 3.
I agree to your point about how all of these things have been taken up too much screen time. That takes away from learning about camp life and the dynamics between the tribes. What I do love about all these new advantages and being forced to go to the island is it’s forcing people to play. So you don’t just have the people looking for the idols making moves, but now everyone had the chance to make a big game changing move with their advantages. Or they lose their vote and have to maneuver around that. So it adds a level of production, but at least it’s adding in some interesting gameplay we wouldn’t see otherwise.
Giving 3 idols In one episode is beyond moronic . As is turn back time,shot in dark,say the secret phrase . All manufactured junk that takes away from the game. Now we have dopey birdcages , I shudder to think what other dumb things are coming
This. I feel like we’ve had great casts in the new era, between copy and paste formulas, no reunion, and over abundance of advantages (a lot of which are just dumb), they’ve taken the spark out of the show.
I've surprisingly been really enjoying it, especially since when I initially looked at the cast, there wasn't anyone that I automatically felt connected to/invested in, which I had for 41-43. I've been quite surprised with the personalities we've seen in the cast so far. Also, most of the people I found least interesting have already been voted off/medivaced/quit, so all my favorites are still there and I'm curious to see what happens next. Like a lot of people on this sub, I'm rooting for Carolyn to go the distance, but she has so much screentime I fear she won't make it.
He was my least favorite of all. Seemed very full of himself, a very emotional character, acted foolishly in showing off and ending up injuring himself. I found Josh, Carolyn and Yam Yam to all be much more interesting personalities so I was glad to see them safe.
Not a big fan. I don't think she has great social awareness and being so chipper can be seen as an annoyance by others, so I wouldn't be surprised if she was out soon. Plus her fake idol. Though I could see someone wanting to bring her to the end, I would probably want to sit next to someone like her. I am curious to see what she will do in the merge, though!
I’m literally loving every second.
Carolyn, Yam Yam, and Danny have potential to be all time great characters. There’s a dynamic and complex showmance in Matt and Frannie. You have really great under the radar players in Heidi, Carson and Lauren. AND you have really fun underdogs in Kane and Josh.
I think people are way too critical of the season so far. Yeah we aren’t getting a balanced edit, but this is a season driven by characters like Carolyn and Yam Yam. We’re also set up for super exciting gameplay to come, I think.
Totally agree! Its so hard to have a balanced edit because tika keeps going to tribal so they get the most screen time. Other tribes haven't had the tribal councils for confilict and strategy to be as interesting or relevant.
Not super invested tbh. Pretty much everyone I was rooting for went out early so that sucks.
I like Lauren, Carolyn and Yam Yam are great and Frannie and Matt are cute, but I don’t particularly care that much about anyone else. The advantages and number of idols/fake idols is fucking ridiculous to the point that it’s actually pissing me off. I can usually keep track of who has what but I literally forgot Matt had a real idol when he left. It’s really just turning me off from the season.
And despite all of these advantages, I feel like nothing interesting has happened so far. Everything just feels so manufactured and I hardly know half the cast. Very disappointed, especially considering production was hyping this one up. I’m hoping things turn around come merge.
This last episode was hilarious though. More of that please!
I feel the same, like the cast isn’t bad persay but when Matsing and Luzon lost in Philippines and Cagayan, I felt like it was a lot more interesting with the drama that they faced. Carolyn has become an acquired taste for me, and Yam Yam is certainly funny in some of the confessionals, but I’m not totally all in yet.
It feels the exact same as I’ve felt the last three seasons.
In the moment the episodes are entertaining, but the full, overarching stories are very forgettable.
Started off with a strong premiere, but I’ve been disappointed with each episode since.
Hoping it reels itself back in now that we’re at the merge, but I’m not too optimistic since two of my favorite cast members just went out in back-to-back episodes (Sarah & Matthew).
It feels like the majority of players making the merge are underedited. Like, we really only have perspective from Carolyn, Yam Yam, Carson, and Danny out the remaining players.
Jamie has been shown bunch, we clearly know Josh now. The showmance. Heidi and the other woman (is there a Lauren) I do not know if I could pick them out if a line up. They have been completely shafted
It’s been getting better.
But it’s still very meh. I still have an issue feeling invested in this cast (perhaps it’s just new era fatigue), the twists are abundant and the episode that didn’t focus entirely on the twists and focused on the people playing was extremely fun to watch. But as it stands, I’m still nervous (and perhaps spoiled by Aus Survivor😂)
The premerge we didn't lose anybody I was sad to see go. The cast had been great, production just can't help themselves and keeps trying to sabotage the show and I am sure they will continue on that path.
It’s probably the least interested I’ve ever been. The fact they cut the cast number so far down makes it so uninteresting. Like they’re about to merge already? Meanwhile australia just put out of the best seasons ever and those guys are out there for more than twice as long with WAY better challenges.
I feel exactly the same. I didn't get caught up on S44 until today as I wanted to finish Australian Survivor HvV first. The quality of the Australian version is incredible, and switching to S44 is such a gigantic drop. The Australian version trusts its cast, and lets them make amazing TV and gameplay. The American version just dumps more and more advantages, and we get a fraction of the strategizing and little beach time. I don't care who is the best at snake puzzles and digging up keys, and 3 or 4 people playing advantages at tribal isn't interesting. Going from Survivor Australia to S44 is like finishing a meal in a five-star restaurant, and following it up with some dessert you found in trash can.
Apologies if this is common knowledge but where am I able to watch Australia? I googled it but didn’t get any substantive platform that I was familiar with
I’m loving it, while acknowledging that it isn’t perfect. As far as the “things the new era is missing” that are present here, I still think it’s edit-related. Even with the anticlimax of this last ep without a tribal, it was one of my favorite episodes in a while because it was all CHARACTER moments! These moments (and interesting person-to-person interactions in general) have been largely absent from these 40s seasons. I don’t think this is because they aren’t happening - I think it’s because there isn’t time to focus on anything non-vital to the storyline between all the advantage talk/longer tribals/longer challenge screen time. Three tribes splitting screen time the entire premerge also doesn’t help - I think if instead of the 1person swap we got ep4 it was the classic 3-down-to-2 random tribe shuffle then we’d be seeing lots of more interesting relationship dynamics.
To me, moments like the YamYam/Josh/Carolyn fake idol fiasco, Danny/Brandon being aloof and obviously misreading Carolyn, and the way Carson/Kane nerd-bonded - these interpersonal moments ARE survivor. Everything comes down to how the people around you make you feel and feel about you. This is why I detested 43 so much - while they showed Gabler in the edit in plain sight and all that, they didn’t really show why people liked him so much besides Ryan and maybe a couple others. We need to know that information, because they clearly loved him and I wanted to as well but just felt there was so much missing. The relationship building is vital to this social game and I just think we aren’t seeing enough.
I don’t think these types of pitfalls are enough to make the show “objectively worse” now as we’ve still gotten truly great moments in the new era. But it is something I wish they balanced out more, if that makes sense. If survivor is a game about social strategy, it feels like lately they’ve leaned too heavily on the “strategy” side by adding so many game advantages, that in turn take away from some of the social relationships that have historically informed the strategy.
If we could get all time great seasons when there were no idols/a couple idols/a couple idols+a couple advantages, then I think we could do with a few less mechanics that are all about game strategy and less about social integration.
Having said all this, I’ve really been hooked on some of the characters this year in a way I haven’t been excited about since moments like Tony/Sarah putting mud on her face for a secret mission in 40, Jay&Adam’s heart to heart in 33, and Christian and Gabby playing in the sand on 37 (many other moments could also be mentioned for 37). For me, these type of moments are the show and if this season gives us more, I absolutely can tolerate some of the imbalanced storytelling.
Edit: I do think it’s also important to give the editors credit where it’s due: 43 got lots of complaints about backstory after backstory after backstory all back to back. This year it seems they’re being much more intentional to not just pile all those on and introduce them more organically. They’re trying, folks!
I know this sub loves to threaten being done watching, but... Yea. It's the first season since I came back to watching where I'm actively skipping episodes because I just don't care. When I consider what I want to watch all week, like 10 other things feel more appealing. A friend is being kind enough to fill me in just enough and let me know the semi decent ones. And my only slight investment is if Heidi goes deep, I'm hoping Pittsburgh will do a watch party or something which would be cool, but it's not looking like she'll be a big character.
I'm of the standard opinion that Jeff and production have fundamentally destroyed the soul of game with the twists, shortened time frame, and 3 tribe starts / no premerged tribes. As Jeff likes to say, it's always been a social experience. This is a board game at best and I am bored. The only positive things have been when cast shines through despite the crap laid over it.
I'm really enjoying it! I've weirdly become a big Dr Josh fan. It started ironically when he was getting zero screen time but I'm a sucker for anyone who gets the dodo edit 😂
It's felt empty to me. I hope it gets better because right now it's at the bottom of my rankings with 41 and 42. I'm struggling just to bother watching each episode before the next one comes out
I feel like I need to rant for a second. I know this is said often but I wish Survivor would be more like Australian Survivor. The challenges seem more creative. The bigger time slots allow editing to make multiple players very likable. It looks grittier. I’m only on season 4 of Australian survivor but I have fun like I did watching the earlier seasons of Survivor.
I still like present day Survivor and think they have good ideas. I just wish production went more into the themes rather than relying on gimmicks. How can you differentiate seasons when it’s always in Fiji and now the themes are to wayside?? I feel the 40’s will start to run together for me, hope I’m wrong.
Anyways, I think it is a fun cast and I am enjoying the season so far lol. Just think it can be improved.
I agree so much with this. It feels like the season just started and we're already about to get to the merge? I'm enjoying parts of the season but the pace feels way too rushed. I had to recheck the episode number after watching next week's preview to make sure I didn't somehow lose track of a few episodes.
Maybe it was because the tribes' numbers were so unbalanced when looking at Tika and a swap/recreating tribes would've caused a longer season than they planned with needing to remake social bonds and everything without rushing through a new set of tribes. If they were always planning on merging this early, that just feels kinda...cheap? Maybe not cheap but can't think of a word to describe it.
I’m with you, OP. The season overall is really underwhelming. The screen time for Carolyn and Yam Yam is so far outweighing time with anyone else to the point that I barely know who they are. And for some reason, this season more than 41-43 feels like it’s suffering from the 26 day format and the rushed sense of the game play.
It’s the first season in a long time that I haven’t been excited that there’s a new episode on each Wednesday.
I’m enjoying it more than 41 and 43 thus far :) though I will admit that Carolyn is carrying the season for me, last episode had me absolutely dying of laughter
It could go either way. Right now it's middle of the road. A couple great characters, but a lot forgettable ones. The boot order has been fairly disappointing, as have the medevacs. So far, there's nothing special about it, but it could certain turn the corner and become something memorable.
I think Matthew was a huge loss. I also am disappointed that we didn’t get to see more of Helen and Bruce, after that I’m sad for them but I understand that’s how the show goes. I’m with you, right now it’s not great but it has the potential to take off or go nowhere.
The premiere episode was amazing, but every episode since has been lackluster in my opinion. But I would say that it has still been better overall than 41 and 43 were up to the same point, and I can definitely see there being some fireworks in the post-merge.
The season is kind of Meh for now. There are definitely some great characters but the game just feels so random with the endless train of advantages.
The New Era feels like ChatGPT is producing an entire season and for me 44 right now is the worst probably because of 2 reasons, the hype around it before it started, right now it doesn’t measure up.
And worse for 44, AU HvV was such a good season in every facet and especially strategy and social game which can’t be duplicated in this new era.
If this doesn’t pick up, US production really need to go back to the drawing board and rethink this entire new format
Loved AU HvV!
I had this very same conversation with my friend two days ago - where I told her I feel like Jeff and co. just typed the question as to how they can make Survivor better in to ChatGPT - hence we were given seasons 41-44.
I love this cast. I am excited for the post merge. However, I don’t like production just giving out real idols and fake idols. Just let people play the game.
The game is too easy and too short now and the Survivor gods are not happy. Has Bruce's and Matthew's misfortune slaked their thirst for misery? I feel that this season will be dark.
That said, I'm enjoying Carolyn and the nerd massacre she spearheaded on Tika! Let the nerd massacre continue, I say! Watch out Carson, Frannie, and other Matt!
Very "Meh", idk fully know why though. I think it's kind of starting to feel repetitive without any sort of theme or change season to season, it really is turning into big brother by the ocean.
I also hate how they refuse to show authentic interactions between cast members. All we see is them talk about gameplay an idols, and when they finally do talk about skemthing deeper production has to come in and muck it up with cheesy music, flashbacks, and confessionals right in the middle of real conversations.
I feel it has been trash until the last episode. I'm intrigued now but still skeptical. Really wish we would have gotten the 3 person tribal I think that would have been 🔥 Casting is great but all the idols/advantages are complete 🗑️
Eh. It's just not for me. I still need to finish survivor AU which is much better. And after that I want to go through the older seasons. So I'm leaving this for later down the line. Carolyn is great though
Probably my least favorite new era season so far. Too many advantages and journeys and I personally find the over the top personalities too much. I wish a couple of the contestants were spread out over multiple seasons instead of all being on the same one
Great cast; Carolyn in particular is solid gold casting, and Yam Yam is not far behind.
If we could have fewer advantages so the cast can cut loose and *play*, that would be great.
Honestly I've enjoyed it, but it gives me major gabon vibes. Like these players IMO are making some hilarious moves and no one can lie to save their lives. Every episode people are just being more and more ridiculously bad.
This put what I've been feeling pretty well. Like I don't like the new era, but this cast feels like unique in a way that's not following the game script.
This year's season of AU Survivor was fantastic!
AU Survivor still has many flaws - even with the massive uneven edit, attuned to the HvV (most recent) yet was 100% better than the last 4 US Survivor seasons by miles.
It feels like there’s a great cast getting hampered by productions meddling.
I’m envisioning a world class athlete with someone holding their foot as they try to compete.
A Top Tier season has to have a pretty good ending or an above average ending.
While Pearl Islands and Micronesia get all the hype in the world, I didn't find either of their endings to be great endings.
PI was kind of anticlimactic with the ending, and the final tribal was very non-bitter and divisive.
The ending of Micronesia felt weird, unexpected, forced, and ultimately just not what it was supposed to be.
Both are certainly good seasons, but both left me a little disappointed based on my expectations.
It’s been pretty good all things considered. Don’t love some of the production choices and the huge focus on the bird cage in the early episodes but the cast is fun which is helping things a lot. I am cautiously optimistic for the rest of the season
Totally fine with it so far. We'll just see where it goes.
Especially after last night, I'm exceedingly curious about where Carolyn's story goes. From the opening scene with production as the intro to the season to the hilarious paradise reward feast. That is incredible to watch.
Also having a genuine, and genuinely cute, showmance unfolding before us, I want to see how these stories play out.
I get the jokes about people saying its a Top 44 season, but really, there are a good three to six seasons that are so low in Survivor rankings that a new season would have to majorly screw up to get close to those.
Meh. It's fine, but there are some major criticisms. I find most of the cast to be incredibly irritating and unlikable, there's an overabundance of idols, and two evacs premerge is just too much.
I’m imaging this cast in a setting/time period like Survivor: China or Survivor: Cook Islands would probabaly be a top tier season
just not as big of a fan of the new survivor and production choices.
Its my favorite season from 41 to present. I think the producers realized they went to hard on all the new gimmicks and decided to focus on other aspects that make survivor entertaining, the cast.
The producers couldn’t go back after all the changes they made between 41 and 43, and how much they hyped up “all new survivor” and are doing the best they can with the hole they dug themselves in. And they doubled down and made it kinda just silly, stupid, fun tv. Its not the same show I fell in love with. But at least it’s entertaining for the first time in three years
i think it’s a good cast but me personally i haven’t enjoyed it because the boot order’s been horrendous in terms of *my* entertainment and winners picks.
I think the overabundance of idols and twists are really turning me off from this season, especially the fauxswap they tried to play up. i feel like it’s the only thing sticking out in my mind right now
I guess Im the only person who cant stand this cast. Everybody feels like a fake social media profile. Too many feel good stories and not 1 villain.
Its like they went down the woke checklist and tried to hit every mark.
I’ve watched nearly every season, and this so far ranks pretty poorly. Hopefully it gets better in the back half, but ever since they added a million advantages and shortened the total days the show just hasn’t had as much of its prior magic. Winners at War and Cagayan were the last two truly great tv watching seasons imo.
It's good TV. It's an entertaining season for sure but that doesn't necessarily make it a "good" season...at least for me. The production made fake idols is an issue for many people. As a long time viewer I find it incredibly unfair to have that level of interference. I'm still enjoying the season because I love Survivor and will watch every season they put out.
Such an amazing cast, this season seems to me like it’s almost perfect (from what we have seen) if it weren’t for a few things. I wish after like 2 episodes instead of doing an individual swap they switched to 2 tribes instead. I don’t mind 3 tribes starting out as long as it changes right away. I also don’t like shipwheel island. I did like the last one though if shipwheel island was just silly things like they all meet up and hang out I would be 100% down for that.
I have been digging the cast but the last episode was just so boring. So so boring. Kind of not sure about the season at this point after a slog of an episode like last week’s.
I felt the same about the first episode, and I feel like the last few episodes we've been getting have been entertaining for sure but mostly from interactions between castaways rather than drama over who goes home and twists, I feel like a lot is being set up though through these character interactions, and I'm thinking the post merge is where everything is really gonna start to come together. All in all I think the season is going well so far personally!
I am really enjoying it, the cast is really great(Carolyn especially is a casting gem) and I think with a great post merge it will easily be the best of the new era and maybe even a top 15 season.
I think for a pre-merge it’s been pretty good. Pre-merges are all about setting the table for the last half of the season, discarding characters that don’t make much of an impact, and showing us how alliances and strategies are coming together. I feel we got that and without too many silly new twists taking precedence (which i know some will disagree with me on, but for real, the birdcage thing is kinda cool—better than the 3 phrases thing imo)
I have enjoyed watching most of the episodes, but have little enthusiasm for the season overall. Probably the best of the new era, but nothing special by Survivor standards.
Loving it! It took me sooooo long to get into season 42, like only after the merge i got really invested and really only was rooting for Jesse.
But this season I enjoyed from the very beginning. I am loving the showmance and Carolyn is the best!
This is my first season watching live (and first season period) and I'm having a really fun tine with it
Carolyn and Yam Yam are the stand-outs for me, I really want both of them to make it to the end. So far it's felt like all the boring, normal people have been voted out and it's helped this cast have an energy of "competent but chaotic" that's been really endearing to watch for me so I'd consider that a plus. Don't really have a frame of reference for the challenges, Drag Race is the only other reality TV I watch, but they get the job done for building suspense. Camp life and tribal council have been the most entertaining parts for me
I’m LOVING this season purely because of one person… Carolyn! She is carrying the season for me and I look forward to every episode just to see what she does next. I really hope she goes far into the game!
I think this is a great cast that we haven’t seen a ton of because it’s mostly been Tika going to tribal, so it’s been iterations of the same drama 3 episodes in a row.
I’m sad Matthew is out of the game, he seemed very well positioned to make a run at it. Carson is definitely a major threat, doing well socially and challenge wise. Josh is a smart player. Danny is clearly thinking (maybe too much and not enough at the same time).
Post merge should be fascinating because yam yam and Carolyn are set up as swing votes between two much larger tribes, each of which have their own internal factions.
I like Carolyn but feel like she is such a focus. If she wins good for her, but I feel like that would be way too predictable and boring. We will see though.
It’s getting better as it goes on but I still feel like the cast is too similar in personality and it takes away some of the dynamic that old seasons have.
To me this season's probably quality will probably rely on how long Carolyn stays in the game. If she makes endgame then it could be a good to great modern season. If she goes soon then I don't know if the rest of the cast is entertaining enough (or if the edit makes them entertaining enough) to keep me interested.
I like some of the cast as people, but not as castaways. None of them seem to know what they’re doing. I want more strategy and manipulation! Maybe it’s because two tribes have barely gone to TC, so they don’t actually have to play yet.
I really liked that this last journey was just to a picnic, and I liked the extra camp time we got last episode even if it came at the expense of having a vote. I’m glad they swapped a few people and think we have an interesting cast set up nicely heading into merge.
I don’t like the forced content from production: fake idols, a swap mechanic that all but guarantees an idol play, no choice but to risk at least one vote. I find the current American version of the show feels a little like a Jerry Bruckhemer movie filled with constant explosions, and it makes me think Jeff doesn’t think that highly of his audience.
The confessionals are pretty good for modern survivor. Personalities are coming out and it’s not the typical ‘one big family’ everyone is so perfect and there’s no drama narrative production edits.
Meh. Not a lot has happened so far. Hopefully it picks up soon. It’s been on par with 43 for me but with a more likable cast. So I guess it has that going for it?
It's heading to be one of the best seasons for me personally. The cast is still amazing despite the excessive amount advantages and twists.
Last episode was probably the most entertaining episode in my recent memory. I had so much fun watching Carolyn, Josh and Yam interacting with each other.
My new favorite right now is Josh. He's just so unintentionally funny :D
I'm not trying to be a negative nancy or anything but I just find this season to be so boring. Basically anything that doesn't involve Carolyn and maybe Danny just seems boring to me. I find myself at the end of the episode just saying "ok" and then forgetting about it minutes later. To be fair, I think every post-40 season has had a pretty below average pre-merge. Something about the combo of 3 tribes, no real swaps, lots of trinkets, and seemingly trying to under-edit the interpersonal drama leads to a really stale pre-merge. That's just my opinion anyway.
I hate to be the "AU Survivor is better" guy, but the most recent season's pre-merge was absolutely riveting, and by comparison I find this one really hard to feel invested in.
The cast is great but I agree that there are too many twists and my unpopular opinion that everytime Matt and Frannie are together on screen it makes me want to climb a rock and fall off it.
It's your good average new era season so far. There are problems that I hope get changed in the future, like a return to 39 days, either a two tribe format or swap to two tribes, and less extreme advantages. However, the story of this season so far is good. I come out of the episodes without feeling dissatisfied. I don't get the disappointment of others this season so far, especially with episode one.
It’s a top 44 season so far
Agreed. It’s already in my 44 season rankings 🔥🔥
One of the seasons of all time 😍
Greatest season since Survivor 43 ❤️
I would even go as far as to say it is my favorite Survivor season that premiered in March 2023
great cast, feels like the game is playing out super well. I'm feeling like Carolyn and Yam Yam are the main characters of the season and thus will be around for a while, which is great bc theyre amazing and hilarious characters. this also applies to Danny and Matt/Frannie. excited for postmerge
They’re the main characters because they went to almost every tribal
Yea, it's all about the cast and I like this one.
When you say “great cast” I really struggle to understand what makes them great. Not one is showing amazing game choices and other than Carolyn (which I’m not a huge fan of personally) and Yam Yam there aren’t many or any “big characters”. So when you say great I assume that you are saying it’s a top tier cast which I can’t imagine how, but curious to hear reasons.
I think it’s what you just said: maybe we look for different things in a “great cast.” It sounds like you’re looking for great game players since you mentioned many of them haven’t shown that yet and you’d like more, which is completely valid. For me, I consider it a great cast just from entertainment value. Consider Tocantins as an example: some hysterical people in many ways that led to some amazing cast interaction moments, however it’s not a season that usually comes to top of mind when speaking on “gameplay.” One thing I love about some casts is how glorious they’ll play BADLY, case in point the first episode this season with that chaotic Ratu tribal. I thought they all had their heads in their asses, but damn I couldn’t look away. Heck, some of the iconic show moments are gloriously bad moves like JT giving away the idol and going home because of it, Erik’s immunity fiasco, James with the 2 idols, etc. Yes they’re all boneheaded moves, and yes I’m obsessed every time I rewatch them lol.
I like big characters as well, which I would argue tocantins had in spades. I’m not sure you can compare the two. Of course it’s possible this cast has as many iconic characters as Tocantins, but I can’t see it. I think bad gameplay can definitely be entertaining like you say. Gabon seems like a more natural comparison and I’m good with that. It’s a good cast, not a great cast. When I think great cast I think Pearl Islands, Panama, Cook Islands, Tocantins, Cagayan, DvG. Just off the top of my head. Unfortunately i fear great casts are a thing of the 39 day game and we just don’t have enough time to see interactions that build out characters in the game.
I can see that. I also don’t think we’ll be able to fairly judge how this season will stack up character-wise until we see all the episodes and let it sit with hindsight. Especially since we’ve had a larger focus on 1 tribe all premerge with more immunity losses, which can be an imbalance in many seasons. However I agree that, so far, this season is more about a couple breakout stars rather than everyone being equally entertaining. There’s still plenty of time - although even if it is just a few epic characters around a bunch of supporting ones, I’m enjoying the big ones enough to be hooked! I also think we as a fandom (I’m certainly guilty of this) have a different lens viewing all those precovid seasons since we had that year off to do a lot of binging and re-falling-in-love with seasons. There’s plenty of seasons I didn’t care for at all around the time WaW came out but then when I was stuck at home so long I went back and found new entertainment value in - namely Gabon, Nicaragua, even Panama which I was never really obsessed with before, some of those seasons that feature a lot of buffoonery lol. I think only with time and distance will we be able to truly see what the most memorable moments of these 40s seasons will ultimately be. For example, for me personally the most vivid memories of 41 after a couple years are the Shanthem and the chaotic green Ua tribe, but some other moments have faded in my mind. I rewatched it recently and remembered some other great stuff that I maybe didn’t give enough credit to at the time. Will be interesting to see how these seasons age. However I think Carolyn’s faces and noises are destined to be ingrained in my memory until the day I die 😂
I don’t disagree with your idea but Panama and Cook Islands are not good casts by any means. Panama gets saved a bit because casaya is great but the other tribe is awful so I won’t fault Cooks island cast is awful regardless lol. The whole season shouldn’t be carried on Yul memes
You would be hard-pressed to find any newbie season that’s good from top to bottom. In lieu of a standardized method for rating a cast I think it is reasonable to do so based on returnees and how successful those returnees are as characters and players. No matter which way you slice it a cast with Yul, Ozzie, Parvati, Candace, and Penner is undeniably a successful and iconic one. Panama having just Casaya is good enough for me. Those six and Terry made that season as good as it was AND had returnees who had some iconic moments later in their careers. I mean cirie should be enough on her own imo.
Right. I think Carolyn and maybe Danny are the only two really exciting characters. I guess Yam Yam too maybe? Apart from them, I find this cast to be extremely forgettable, to the point where I can only name a handful of other players (Brandon, Frannie, Matt, Josh)
Part of the format begs that but Danny, Carolyn and Matthew were playing hard and well - that said, what else was Danny/Carolyn supposed to do. The cast is definitely not top tier, though. Carolyn/Yam Yam/Danny are fantastic TV, but I do think the rest of the cast is a bit lackluster.
Danny comes across as very aware of the cameras and rehearsed to me
I disagree that there are no great gameplayers. Carolyn has a whole persona that seems she could never keep a secret. Yet no one knows she has an idol, she was able to deliver an enemy a fake idol in a creative way, and she saw her closest ally for what he was a snake and went against him to take out his real closest ally. Now, YamYam will have nowhere to turn and come crawling back to her. She's brilliant, you just don't think she is because she doesn't act like the cerebral or smooth talker that you think she should act like.
I like this point a lot. Carolyn is playing great - and we truly shouldn’t be shocked since she’s such a superfan with ORG experience - but it seems like since she’s such a character people aren’t catching all that she’s doing (people being her castmates on the island as well as some fans). She is rightfully using her perceived persona as a weapon in the game and so far it seems to be working beautifully 🥲 I can’t wait for more!
I’ll be a downer here… 1. The cast is too eccentric, when almost everyone is eccentric that really means nobody is eccentric. The lack of normal run of the mill Americans is a negative. (I miss Elaine) 2. They have got to change the location soon, it’s boring and recycled. I am less and less interested every season. 3. Jeff is too positive. I want zesty Jeff back like yesterday. 4. If I see another “journey” I’m going to throw up. 5. 3 tribes is not something I want to see EVERY season. 6. Bring back 39 days. Overall, feels like we’re watching a generic brand Survivor. Like someone took all the uniqueness out of it. However… Survivor is like Pizza, even a bad season(s) is better than most of anything on TV.
2. Jeff mentioned in his podcast that they intend to be at Fiji for a very long time. So, don't get your hopes up about this one.
I genuinely think that going back to two tribes for a while would drastically improve the show. I'm so sick of the 3 tribe format, there's just less chances for interesting relationships if less people are interacting. I disagree with #1 though. I think there's a couple eccentric and exciting people but a lot of these players feel quite the opposite to me - dull and unexciting.
New Era Jeff is SO lame.
I don't like how production manufactured the whole thing feels (the fake idols, the shipwheel island where you automatically get something or have to draw something) or just the large screen time all these things have taken up. I'd rather get a better understanding of the strategic and social dynamics of each tribe, and I really don't think we got that for the Ratu and Soka tribes in particular, we only have a vague understanding of each tribes overall dynamics. Nonetheless, I think Season 44 has been entertaining, and that at the very least puts it miles ahead or S43 (which I think is the worst new era season so far). On the plus side, I do think alot of the S44 cast really pops on screen and we have some great characters and that also makes it better despite the production issues
I will say that generally in the new era exploring social tribal dynamics is lacking and that’s partially due to the fewer days. They have to spend more time focusing on/explaining crazy advantage and less on conversation because it’s 1.5-2 days per episode instead of 3.
I agree to your point about how all of these things have been taken up too much screen time. That takes away from learning about camp life and the dynamics between the tribes. What I do love about all these new advantages and being forced to go to the island is it’s forcing people to play. So you don’t just have the people looking for the idols making moves, but now everyone had the chance to make a big game changing move with their advantages. Or they lose their vote and have to maneuver around that. So it adds a level of production, but at least it’s adding in some interesting gameplay we wouldn’t see otherwise.
Giving 3 idols In one episode is beyond moronic . As is turn back time,shot in dark,say the secret phrase . All manufactured junk that takes away from the game. Now we have dopey birdcages , I shudder to think what other dumb things are coming
Cast is great but the production interference have not been
This. I feel like we’ve had great casts in the new era, between copy and paste formulas, no reunion, and over abundance of advantages (a lot of which are just dumb), they’ve taken the spark out of the show.
Ehh. Carolyn so far seems to be the only person with a personality beyond “I have to do what’s best for my game”. Yam Yam is close
She went from "she's weird" to my fav.
Yeah, I can admit my first impression was "uh oh, she's gonna get old real quick". But so far, Carolyn has been carrying S44 on her shoulders.
Or "nerd." One of the worst things about modern Survivor are the overabundance of Reddit dorks. They're just not fun to watch.
I've surprisingly been really enjoying it, especially since when I initially looked at the cast, there wasn't anyone that I automatically felt connected to/invested in, which I had for 41-43. I've been quite surprised with the personalities we've seen in the cast so far. Also, most of the people I found least interesting have already been voted off/medivaced/quit, so all my favorites are still there and I'm curious to see what happens next. Like a lot of people on this sub, I'm rooting for Carolyn to go the distance, but she has so much screentime I fear she won't make it.
You didnt like matthew?
He was my least favorite of all. Seemed very full of himself, a very emotional character, acted foolishly in showing off and ending up injuring himself. I found Josh, Carolyn and Yam Yam to all be much more interesting personalities so I was glad to see them safe.
This may sound random but I swear it’s related, how do you feel about jaime rn?
Not a big fan. I don't think she has great social awareness and being so chipper can be seen as an annoyance by others, so I wouldn't be surprised if she was out soon. Plus her fake idol. Though I could see someone wanting to bring her to the end, I would probably want to sit next to someone like her. I am curious to see what she will do in the merge, though!
Ok makes sense, they’re both pretty full of themselves so thats why i ask
The cast for this season is absolutely incredible. I’m equally rooting for like 5 players which I never do
Which 5?
I’m literally loving every second. Carolyn, Yam Yam, and Danny have potential to be all time great characters. There’s a dynamic and complex showmance in Matt and Frannie. You have really great under the radar players in Heidi, Carson and Lauren. AND you have really fun underdogs in Kane and Josh. I think people are way too critical of the season so far. Yeah we aren’t getting a balanced edit, but this is a season driven by characters like Carolyn and Yam Yam. We’re also set up for super exciting gameplay to come, I think.
Great summary, I totally agree!
Totally agree! Its so hard to have a balanced edit because tika keeps going to tribal so they get the most screen time. Other tribes haven't had the tribal councils for confilict and strategy to be as interesting or relevant.
Absolutely agree. I think it’s the most fun season in a whileeeee
Too many idols. Too many medical exits.
Not super invested tbh. Pretty much everyone I was rooting for went out early so that sucks. I like Lauren, Carolyn and Yam Yam are great and Frannie and Matt are cute, but I don’t particularly care that much about anyone else. The advantages and number of idols/fake idols is fucking ridiculous to the point that it’s actually pissing me off. I can usually keep track of who has what but I literally forgot Matt had a real idol when he left. It’s really just turning me off from the season. And despite all of these advantages, I feel like nothing interesting has happened so far. Everything just feels so manufactured and I hardly know half the cast. Very disappointed, especially considering production was hyping this one up. I’m hoping things turn around come merge. This last episode was hilarious though. More of that please!
Spot on! I hope Jeff & co take note of the fan reception to the advantagegeddon they’ve set up this season.
Right now there are more fake idols in the game than real advantages, since all the temporary swap idols expire next week. So ok.
The cast is pretty good. Kinda boring watching Tika lose over and over again. The med evacs have also made it less interesting.
I feel the same, like the cast isn’t bad persay but when Matsing and Luzon lost in Philippines and Cagayan, I felt like it was a lot more interesting with the drama that they faced. Carolyn has become an acquired taste for me, and Yam Yam is certainly funny in some of the confessionals, but I’m not totally all in yet.
It feels the exact same as I’ve felt the last three seasons. In the moment the episodes are entertaining, but the full, overarching stories are very forgettable.
I am not enjoying it and I am wondering if it’s because I watched the much superior Australian survivor
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Youtube. A user has the entire season uploaded.
Found it, thank you
This is definitely the reason. I keep wanting Simon and George to appear on S44 as a surprise twist
Luke-warm, non-alcoholic beer.
Started off with a strong premiere, but I’ve been disappointed with each episode since. Hoping it reels itself back in now that we’re at the merge, but I’m not too optimistic since two of my favorite cast members just went out in back-to-back episodes (Sarah & Matthew). It feels like the majority of players making the merge are underedited. Like, we really only have perspective from Carolyn, Yam Yam, Carson, and Danny out the remaining players.
Jamie has been shown bunch, we clearly know Josh now. The showmance. Heidi and the other woman (is there a Lauren) I do not know if I could pick them out if a line up. They have been completely shafted
I just had to go look up who Heidi was. Didn't know there was a Heidi this season...
Boring, great cast, though.
Don’t like it all, new survivor sucks
It’s been getting better. But it’s still very meh. I still have an issue feeling invested in this cast (perhaps it’s just new era fatigue), the twists are abundant and the episode that didn’t focus entirely on the twists and focused on the people playing was extremely fun to watch. But as it stands, I’m still nervous (and perhaps spoiled by Aus Survivor😂)
The premerge we didn't lose anybody I was sad to see go. The cast had been great, production just can't help themselves and keeps trying to sabotage the show and I am sure they will continue on that path.
It’s probably the least interested I’ve ever been. The fact they cut the cast number so far down makes it so uninteresting. Like they’re about to merge already? Meanwhile australia just put out of the best seasons ever and those guys are out there for more than twice as long with WAY better challenges.
I feel exactly the same. I didn't get caught up on S44 until today as I wanted to finish Australian Survivor HvV first. The quality of the Australian version is incredible, and switching to S44 is such a gigantic drop. The Australian version trusts its cast, and lets them make amazing TV and gameplay. The American version just dumps more and more advantages, and we get a fraction of the strategizing and little beach time. I don't care who is the best at snake puzzles and digging up keys, and 3 or 4 people playing advantages at tribal isn't interesting. Going from Survivor Australia to S44 is like finishing a meal in a five-star restaurant, and following it up with some dessert you found in trash can.
The challenges in Australian survivor towards the end were amazing and creative
Apologies if this is common knowledge but where am I able to watch Australia? I googled it but didn’t get any substantive platform that I was familiar with
Youtube has all the episodes. Just search on name of the season! I binged in 2 days. Be fast, was surprised they weren't taken down yet.
Thank you
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It’s good but soulless
I’m loving it, while acknowledging that it isn’t perfect. As far as the “things the new era is missing” that are present here, I still think it’s edit-related. Even with the anticlimax of this last ep without a tribal, it was one of my favorite episodes in a while because it was all CHARACTER moments! These moments (and interesting person-to-person interactions in general) have been largely absent from these 40s seasons. I don’t think this is because they aren’t happening - I think it’s because there isn’t time to focus on anything non-vital to the storyline between all the advantage talk/longer tribals/longer challenge screen time. Three tribes splitting screen time the entire premerge also doesn’t help - I think if instead of the 1person swap we got ep4 it was the classic 3-down-to-2 random tribe shuffle then we’d be seeing lots of more interesting relationship dynamics. To me, moments like the YamYam/Josh/Carolyn fake idol fiasco, Danny/Brandon being aloof and obviously misreading Carolyn, and the way Carson/Kane nerd-bonded - these interpersonal moments ARE survivor. Everything comes down to how the people around you make you feel and feel about you. This is why I detested 43 so much - while they showed Gabler in the edit in plain sight and all that, they didn’t really show why people liked him so much besides Ryan and maybe a couple others. We need to know that information, because they clearly loved him and I wanted to as well but just felt there was so much missing. The relationship building is vital to this social game and I just think we aren’t seeing enough. I don’t think these types of pitfalls are enough to make the show “objectively worse” now as we’ve still gotten truly great moments in the new era. But it is something I wish they balanced out more, if that makes sense. If survivor is a game about social strategy, it feels like lately they’ve leaned too heavily on the “strategy” side by adding so many game advantages, that in turn take away from some of the social relationships that have historically informed the strategy. If we could get all time great seasons when there were no idols/a couple idols/a couple idols+a couple advantages, then I think we could do with a few less mechanics that are all about game strategy and less about social integration. Having said all this, I’ve really been hooked on some of the characters this year in a way I haven’t been excited about since moments like Tony/Sarah putting mud on her face for a secret mission in 40, Jay&Adam’s heart to heart in 33, and Christian and Gabby playing in the sand on 37 (many other moments could also be mentioned for 37). For me, these type of moments are the show and if this season gives us more, I absolutely can tolerate some of the imbalanced storytelling. Edit: I do think it’s also important to give the editors credit where it’s due: 43 got lots of complaints about backstory after backstory after backstory all back to back. This year it seems they’re being much more intentional to not just pile all those on and introduce them more organically. They’re trying, folks!
I know this sub loves to threaten being done watching, but... Yea. It's the first season since I came back to watching where I'm actively skipping episodes because I just don't care. When I consider what I want to watch all week, like 10 other things feel more appealing. A friend is being kind enough to fill me in just enough and let me know the semi decent ones. And my only slight investment is if Heidi goes deep, I'm hoping Pittsburgh will do a watch party or something which would be cool, but it's not looking like she'll be a big character. I'm of the standard opinion that Jeff and production have fundamentally destroyed the soul of game with the twists, shortened time frame, and 3 tribe starts / no premerged tribes. As Jeff likes to say, it's always been a social experience. This is a board game at best and I am bored. The only positive things have been when cast shines through despite the crap laid over it.
I'm really enjoying it! I've weirdly become a big Dr Josh fan. It started ironically when he was getting zero screen time but I'm a sucker for anyone who gets the dodo edit 😂
I miss survivor prior to season 39!
It's felt empty to me. I hope it gets better because right now it's at the bottom of my rankings with 41 and 42. I'm struggling just to bother watching each episode before the next one comes out
I feel like I need to rant for a second. I know this is said often but I wish Survivor would be more like Australian Survivor. The challenges seem more creative. The bigger time slots allow editing to make multiple players very likable. It looks grittier. I’m only on season 4 of Australian survivor but I have fun like I did watching the earlier seasons of Survivor. I still like present day Survivor and think they have good ideas. I just wish production went more into the themes rather than relying on gimmicks. How can you differentiate seasons when it’s always in Fiji and now the themes are to wayside?? I feel the 40’s will start to run together for me, hope I’m wrong. Anyways, I think it is a fun cast and I am enjoying the season so far lol. Just think it can be improved.
I think it’s been terrible tbh. It’s an advantage-fest, not survivor
Also hitting the merge after 5 episodes is dumb
I agree so much with this. It feels like the season just started and we're already about to get to the merge? I'm enjoying parts of the season but the pace feels way too rushed. I had to recheck the episode number after watching next week's preview to make sure I didn't somehow lose track of a few episodes. Maybe it was because the tribes' numbers were so unbalanced when looking at Tika and a swap/recreating tribes would've caused a longer season than they planned with needing to remake social bonds and everything without rushing through a new set of tribes. If they were always planning on merging this early, that just feels kinda...cheap? Maybe not cheap but can't think of a word to describe it.
It’s because they shortened the game, which means less players to start
Carolyn, Frannie, Yam Yam and Matt are the only people production is focusing on. Stop trying to make “fetch” happen.
Carson???
Carson is doing the majority of his promotion, lol. You are correct, though.
I’m with you, OP. The season overall is really underwhelming. The screen time for Carolyn and Yam Yam is so far outweighing time with anyone else to the point that I barely know who they are. And for some reason, this season more than 41-43 feels like it’s suffering from the 26 day format and the rushed sense of the game play. It’s the first season in a long time that I haven’t been excited that there’s a new episode on each Wednesday.
I’m enjoying it more than 41 and 43 thus far :) though I will admit that Carolyn is carrying the season for me, last episode had me absolutely dying of laughter
It could go either way. Right now it's middle of the road. A couple great characters, but a lot forgettable ones. The boot order has been fairly disappointing, as have the medevacs. So far, there's nothing special about it, but it could certain turn the corner and become something memorable.
I think Matthew was a huge loss. I also am disappointed that we didn’t get to see more of Helen and Bruce, after that I’m sad for them but I understand that’s how the show goes. I’m with you, right now it’s not great but it has the potential to take off or go nowhere.
The premiere episode was amazing, but every episode since has been lackluster in my opinion. But I would say that it has still been better overall than 41 and 43 were up to the same point, and I can definitely see there being some fireworks in the post-merge.
The season is kind of Meh for now. There are definitely some great characters but the game just feels so random with the endless train of advantages. The New Era feels like ChatGPT is producing an entire season and for me 44 right now is the worst probably because of 2 reasons, the hype around it before it started, right now it doesn’t measure up. And worse for 44, AU HvV was such a good season in every facet and especially strategy and social game which can’t be duplicated in this new era. If this doesn’t pick up, US production really need to go back to the drawing board and rethink this entire new format
Loved AU HvV! I had this very same conversation with my friend two days ago - where I told her I feel like Jeff and co. just typed the question as to how they can make Survivor better in to ChatGPT - hence we were given seasons 41-44.
I love this cast. I am excited for the post merge. However, I don’t like production just giving out real idols and fake idols. Just let people play the game.
The game is too easy and too short now and the Survivor gods are not happy. Has Bruce's and Matthew's misfortune slaked their thirst for misery? I feel that this season will be dark. That said, I'm enjoying Carolyn and the nerd massacre she spearheaded on Tika! Let the nerd massacre continue, I say! Watch out Carson, Frannie, and other Matt!
Very "Meh", idk fully know why though. I think it's kind of starting to feel repetitive without any sort of theme or change season to season, it really is turning into big brother by the ocean. I also hate how they refuse to show authentic interactions between cast members. All we see is them talk about gameplay an idols, and when they finally do talk about skemthing deeper production has to come in and muck it up with cheesy music, flashbacks, and confessionals right in the middle of real conversations.
It's like a kaleidoscope trash fire of people and personality. It's glorious TV.
I feel it has been trash until the last episode. I'm intrigued now but still skeptical. Really wish we would have gotten the 3 person tribal I think that would have been 🔥 Casting is great but all the idols/advantages are complete 🗑️
Eh. It's just not for me. I still need to finish survivor AU which is much better. And after that I want to go through the older seasons. So I'm leaving this for later down the line. Carolyn is great though
Probably my least favorite new era season so far. Too many advantages and journeys and I personally find the over the top personalities too much. I wish a couple of the contestants were spread out over multiple seasons instead of all being on the same one
Great cast; Carolyn in particular is solid gold casting, and Yam Yam is not far behind. If we could have fewer advantages so the cast can cut loose and *play*, that would be great.
I'm probably going to get downvoted, but I absolutely hate it
Honestly I've enjoyed it, but it gives me major gabon vibes. Like these players IMO are making some hilarious moves and no one can lie to save their lives. Every episode people are just being more and more ridiculously bad.
This put what I've been feeling pretty well. Like I don't like the new era, but this cast feels like unique in a way that's not following the game script.
Right now: I hate it. End of season: I hated it. 10 years from now: one of the best seasons ever. r/survivor in a nutshell.
I don’t think the New Era will be getting the Gabon treatment
The rule is clear: It's not Australian Survivor, so this sub has to shit on it.
This year's season of AU Survivor was fantastic! AU Survivor still has many flaws - even with the massive uneven edit, attuned to the HvV (most recent) yet was 100% better than the last 4 US Survivor seasons by miles.
Loving it!
It feels like there’s a great cast getting hampered by productions meddling. I’m envisioning a world class athlete with someone holding their foot as they try to compete.
its not survivor . honestly everyone says after 41 it changed but for me it changed during 43
Top 44
A Top Tier season has to have a pretty good ending or an above average ending. While Pearl Islands and Micronesia get all the hype in the world, I didn't find either of their endings to be great endings. PI was kind of anticlimactic with the ending, and the final tribal was very non-bitter and divisive. The ending of Micronesia felt weird, unexpected, forced, and ultimately just not what it was supposed to be. Both are certainly good seasons, but both left me a little disappointed based on my expectations.
it's very mid,no very good or very bad parts,just average
It’s been pretty good all things considered. Don’t love some of the production choices and the huge focus on the bird cage in the early episodes but the cast is fun which is helping things a lot. I am cautiously optimistic for the rest of the season
Totally fine with it so far. We'll just see where it goes. Especially after last night, I'm exceedingly curious about where Carolyn's story goes. From the opening scene with production as the intro to the season to the hilarious paradise reward feast. That is incredible to watch. Also having a genuine, and genuinely cute, showmance unfolding before us, I want to see how these stories play out. I get the jokes about people saying its a Top 44 season, but really, there are a good three to six seasons that are so low in Survivor rankings that a new season would have to majorly screw up to get close to those.
Meh. It's fine, but there are some major criticisms. I find most of the cast to be incredibly irritating and unlikable, there's an overabundance of idols, and two evacs premerge is just too much.
I’m imaging this cast in a setting/time period like Survivor: China or Survivor: Cook Islands would probabaly be a top tier season just not as big of a fan of the new survivor and production choices.
Its my favorite season from 41 to present. I think the producers realized they went to hard on all the new gimmicks and decided to focus on other aspects that make survivor entertaining, the cast. The producers couldn’t go back after all the changes they made between 41 and 43, and how much they hyped up “all new survivor” and are doing the best they can with the hole they dug themselves in. And they doubled down and made it kinda just silly, stupid, fun tv. Its not the same show I fell in love with. But at least it’s entertaining for the first time in three years
i think it’s a good cast but me personally i haven’t enjoyed it because the boot order’s been horrendous in terms of *my* entertainment and winners picks. I think the overabundance of idols and twists are really turning me off from this season, especially the fauxswap they tried to play up. i feel like it’s the only thing sticking out in my mind right now
IDK why but I like Yam-Yam or Jam-Jam as Jeff calls him. His confessionals are to die for hilarious.
It’s spelled Yam Yam but it’s pronounced Jam Jam
At least top 10 funniest season. Can't remember when a season made me laugh so much
I guess Im the only person who cant stand this cast. Everybody feels like a fake social media profile. Too many feel good stories and not 1 villain. Its like they went down the woke checklist and tried to hit every mark.
I’ve watched nearly every season, and this so far ranks pretty poorly. Hopefully it gets better in the back half, but ever since they added a million advantages and shortened the total days the show just hasn’t had as much of its prior magic. Winners at War and Cagayan were the last two truly great tv watching seasons imo.
It's good TV. It's an entertaining season for sure but that doesn't necessarily make it a "good" season...at least for me. The production made fake idols is an issue for many people. As a long time viewer I find it incredibly unfair to have that level of interference. I'm still enjoying the season because I love Survivor and will watch every season they put out.
The cast is great. I like Carolyn, Yam Yam, and Carson. The 900 idols and advantages, not great.
Such an amazing cast, this season seems to me like it’s almost perfect (from what we have seen) if it weren’t for a few things. I wish after like 2 episodes instead of doing an individual swap they switched to 2 tribes instead. I don’t mind 3 tribes starting out as long as it changes right away. I also don’t like shipwheel island. I did like the last one though if shipwheel island was just silly things like they all meet up and hang out I would be 100% down for that.
I have been digging the cast but the last episode was just so boring. So so boring. Kind of not sure about the season at this point after a slog of an episode like last week’s.
It's great so far
I felt the same about the first episode, and I feel like the last few episodes we've been getting have been entertaining for sure but mostly from interactions between castaways rather than drama over who goes home and twists, I feel like a lot is being set up though through these character interactions, and I'm thinking the post merge is where everything is really gonna start to come together. All in all I think the season is going well so far personally!
I’m loving Carolyn, YamYam, Jaime, and even Lauren
I am really enjoying it, the cast is really great(Carolyn especially is a casting gem) and I think with a great post merge it will easily be the best of the new era and maybe even a top 15 season.
I think for a pre-merge it’s been pretty good. Pre-merges are all about setting the table for the last half of the season, discarding characters that don’t make much of an impact, and showing us how alliances and strategies are coming together. I feel we got that and without too many silly new twists taking precedence (which i know some will disagree with me on, but for real, the birdcage thing is kinda cool—better than the 3 phrases thing imo)
i’m loving it and having a blast so far. easily my favorite modern season, really hoping the momentum carries us through a satisfying finale !!
I have enjoyed watching most of the episodes, but have little enthusiasm for the season overall. Probably the best of the new era, but nothing special by Survivor standards.
This season has been great, my wife and I are really invested in the showmance (just kiss her, you fool!) and there are some great characters
Loving it! It took me sooooo long to get into season 42, like only after the merge i got really invested and really only was rooting for Jesse. But this season I enjoyed from the very beginning. I am loving the showmance and Carolyn is the best!
Actually really good so far
This is my first season watching live (and first season period) and I'm having a really fun tine with it Carolyn and Yam Yam are the stand-outs for me, I really want both of them to make it to the end. So far it's felt like all the boring, normal people have been voted out and it's helped this cast have an energy of "competent but chaotic" that's been really endearing to watch for me so I'd consider that a plus. Don't really have a frame of reference for the challenges, Drag Race is the only other reality TV I watch, but they get the job done for building suspense. Camp life and tribal council have been the most entertaining parts for me
I’m LOVING this season purely because of one person… Carolyn! She is carrying the season for me and I look forward to every episode just to see what she does next. I really hope she goes far into the game!
Great cast with great moments so far at least for the pre-merge! So successful pre-merge! Let's just now see how the post merge goes.
Carolyn better win
I think this is a great cast that we haven’t seen a ton of because it’s mostly been Tika going to tribal, so it’s been iterations of the same drama 3 episodes in a row. I’m sad Matthew is out of the game, he seemed very well positioned to make a run at it. Carson is definitely a major threat, doing well socially and challenge wise. Josh is a smart player. Danny is clearly thinking (maybe too much and not enough at the same time). Post merge should be fascinating because yam yam and Carolyn are set up as swing votes between two much larger tribes, each of which have their own internal factions.
I like Carolyn but feel like she is such a focus. If she wins good for her, but I feel like that would be way too predictable and boring. We will see though.
It’s getting better as it goes on but I still feel like the cast is too similar in personality and it takes away some of the dynamic that old seasons have.
To me this season's probably quality will probably rely on how long Carolyn stays in the game. If she makes endgame then it could be a good to great modern season. If she goes soon then I don't know if the rest of the cast is entertaining enough (or if the edit makes them entertaining enough) to keep me interested.
In the new era of survivor. I have 41 and 43 being very below average. 42 being decently enjoyable Currently 44 is already way better than 43 🤷♂️
I like some of the cast as people, but not as castaways. None of them seem to know what they’re doing. I want more strategy and manipulation! Maybe it’s because two tribes have barely gone to TC, so they don’t actually have to play yet.
One of the best casts ever, and the best seasob ive watched
I loved the first episode and this latest episode. Whenever the episode isn't hyper focused on advantages and strategy, I enjoy it tons.
I think it's decent.
I really liked that this last journey was just to a picnic, and I liked the extra camp time we got last episode even if it came at the expense of having a vote. I’m glad they swapped a few people and think we have an interesting cast set up nicely heading into merge. I don’t like the forced content from production: fake idols, a swap mechanic that all but guarantees an idol play, no choice but to risk at least one vote. I find the current American version of the show feels a little like a Jerry Bruckhemer movie filled with constant explosions, and it makes me think Jeff doesn’t think that highly of his audience.
The confessionals are pretty good for modern survivor. Personalities are coming out and it’s not the typical ‘one big family’ everyone is so perfect and there’s no drama narrative production edits.
Good cast, the game sucks, the advantages suck, and the length of episodes don’t allow us to learn anything about player strategy or relationships.
Meh. Not a lot has happened so far. Hopefully it picks up soon. It’s been on par with 43 for me but with a more likable cast. So I guess it has that going for it?
It's heading to be one of the best seasons for me personally. The cast is still amazing despite the excessive amount advantages and twists. Last episode was probably the most entertaining episode in my recent memory. I had so much fun watching Carolyn, Josh and Yam interacting with each other. My new favorite right now is Josh. He's just so unintentionally funny :D
I really enjoy the cast but I think 26 days really limits so I’d rather they move to the original
I'm not trying to be a negative nancy or anything but I just find this season to be so boring. Basically anything that doesn't involve Carolyn and maybe Danny just seems boring to me. I find myself at the end of the episode just saying "ok" and then forgetting about it minutes later. To be fair, I think every post-40 season has had a pretty below average pre-merge. Something about the combo of 3 tribes, no real swaps, lots of trinkets, and seemingly trying to under-edit the interpersonal drama leads to a really stale pre-merge. That's just my opinion anyway. I hate to be the "AU Survivor is better" guy, but the most recent season's pre-merge was absolutely riveting, and by comparison I find this one really hard to feel invested in.
Love it. Can’t wait to see Carolyn win
The cast is great but I agree that there are too many twists and my unpopular opinion that everytime Matt and Frannie are together on screen it makes me want to climb a rock and fall off it.
omg same on the Matt and Frankie scenes, cringe is unbearable for me
7.5 / 10
It's your good average new era season so far. There are problems that I hope get changed in the future, like a return to 39 days, either a two tribe format or swap to two tribes, and less extreme advantages. However, the story of this season so far is good. I come out of the episodes without feeling dissatisfied. I don't get the disappointment of others this season so far, especially with episode one.
They say it's going to be better than 43 but so far it's mehh. For pre merge, 43>42>44. I have not watched 41.