The State of Survivor After 41 & 42

[@spilledsalt]

I think casting has improved but I think the abundance of advantages can be exhausting and haven’t had a big change in gameplay. More advantages doesn’t = better gameplay.

[@molinli2148]

editing is a huge role because barely any 41 twists were as impactful, no successful advantage plays, irreleveant shipwheel extra votes, Erika won just by using classic social manipulation to get her way from final 10 onwards (getting ricard to turn on naseer, getting deshawn and danny to turn on liana, convinving her alliance to vote danny instead) but no, we just had to see sydney, tiffany, and brad meet at night for literally no reason! Meanwhile, 42 gameplay was literally affected by twists at 90% of tribal councils and Maryanne's sole winning move was the EV + having the idol but because they were overall reduced in the edit like the idol nullifier just not being shown, and we got to see more camp and interpersonal dynamics, it was viewed as an improvement when 42 literally had more twists than 41 did lol.

[@shaneg4388]

For some reason production seems to think people will be bored with actual gameplay so they have to throw some random out of nowhere thing into the game every episode

[@birdleaf1496]

I also think that so many advantages take time away from character moments. 42 had such a great cast but sometimes it felt like it took a backseat to all the advantages

[@FoxxyFire-HellFrost]

I thought the casting was terrible. I didn't really find anyone to be likeable and, in season 42, almost no one was athletic aside from Jonathan which made challenges incredibly one sided until the merge. I hate the way they have decided to change the game and wish they'd go back to the previous format.

[@darlenechimilar2556]

@@FoxxyFire-HellFrost I agree, the casts have not been interesting to watch aside from Xander and Jonathan in the past 2 seasons. I want to watch people like Boston Rob, Tyson, Parvati, Russell Hantz etc. People who play the game like they DESERVE to win!

[@kendyll8483]

Things I would like to see moving forward 1) give them their rice back 2) auctions would be nice 3) if the rice isn’t given back, at least make the rewards nicer than a sandwich at camp 4) tired of all of these advantages and I agree with Danny about the hourglass 5) don’t like that flint is taken away it a challenge is lost, they’re already losing a player 6) if covid restrictions allow for it, I’d love for them to get out of Fiji 7) again, if restrictions allow, I miss the 39 days

[@Hockeyhobo89]

I truly think (and hope) we get to 50, but after that I’m just not sure. I think it could keep going as long as Jeff and the crew are still invested.

[@MythicalPhoebe]

we need a return to form. these last two seasons definitely had something missing.

[@Hockeyhobo89]

@@MythicalPhoebe I agree but I think 41 truly was the start of a new Era like Jeff said. I don’t think 26 days is going away. I do think ship wheel island and do or die need to go. The game has changed like it has many times.

[@JMaster9877]

I have no doubt in my mind that it'll make it that far. Jeff seems to be fully invested as always.

[@IdoledOut]

I think the consistently high ratings, 42 being very well received, and Jeff's continued enthusiasm for the show means Survivor isn't going anywhere for a long time

[@FoxxyFire-HellFrost]

@@IdoledOut Which, unfortunately, means the crappy changes to the game likely aren't going anywhere either. :/

[@unclesquirrelstache7431]

I hope that Jeff and production get to the point where they realize that minimal advantages, or none at all, would be a way to freshen up the formula. I doubt it, but with them tweaking things between 41 and 42, they do seem aware that viewers are taking issue with too many advantages.

[@teresawatson1038]

i like lot of advantages it make each player feel like they have a different moveset

[@seanf1451]

I like what they did with Omar's null. If it doesn't play a part to the story, cut it out.

[@SpanishFly120]

Honestly, my issue with Probst "giving Survivor a makeover" after Season 40, is that he took it in the OPPOSITE direction of where it needed to go. They needed to scale back on and rip out twists, advantages, etc, in order to put more time and focus on the cast, story, and so on. Cagayan and David vs Goliath are beloved seasons for their cast and characters, as they were what drove them. Instead, Probst doubled and tripled down on twists/advantages in Survivor 41 and Survivor 42, and the casts suffered for it because a lot of focus turned to things like phrases, wheels, hourglasses, and Probst talking directly to the camera instead. Think of how much more we could have appreciated those players, and how much more they could've shown of Erika's game in Survivor 41 if they didn't have more advantages and twists than there are players in the game. The amount of advantages Drea alone had could fill an entire season. So really, Probst kinda took a right when he should've gone left.

[@seanf1451]

No, there were definitely more advantages in 40 than 41. 42 might be even though.

[@elitettelbach4247]

Great breakdown! Casting is doing really well whereas the twists are mixed and need some retooling. I don't mind the home packages, and agree that the editing stepped it up, especially in 42.

[@matthewburdette248]

“No one took things personally when they lost in 42.” Y’all forgot about Drea

[@airhawkey]

hoping this script was made before the ponderosa stuff came out - which is fairly likely I’d think?

[@matthewburdette248]

@@airhawkey yeah you're probably right

[@itszaque]

@@airhawkey where do you find ponderosa this season, I’m having no luck

[@Kaibat1205]

@@itszaque they didn’t do ponderosa for 42

[@materthetater]

@@itszaque they’re talking about Omar talking about Ponderosa in his RHAP interview

[@TDCT26]

The only thing I'd say about the personal flashbacks is don't put them post-merge, because it kinda spoiled Hai's boot in the episode, and we had to wait ~10 episodes to get to know Lindsay when she was very important overall

[@ChubbyMcCheesburger]

Like all of us, I have fantasized about being on the show. That fantasy was really ignited watching 42. The cast was so much fun, no one took it too seriously, and everyone was positive and got along (for the most part). As someone who prefers old school survivor over new school, 42 was really fun to watch and made me all the more excited for future seasons!

[@therealbensoule652]

I want a "back to basics" season so bad. Super bare bones, and do some crazy twists like past votes breaking ties like back in OG survivor. Way way less advantages. It would work.

[@vituhasspoken]

DAMNNN! I agree so much with this vid! -The casting was awesome, especially the 42 -I liked the idol weird phrase twist despite being impossible to do it again in the near future -HATED the hourglass and the Do or Die! The hourglass was so predictable and the Do or Die is random (I hate when people are eliminated by randomness (rocks has some of social involved so I do agree with it)) and too late in the game and it ruins the fun while so much is going on at the time -And I agree that the editing was incredible, I liked how rough it got sometimes, I love when they play with the editing like showing flashbacks in game and such, they change a little of the same old narrative! And I do agree Erika got so undersold by it, she deserved better! Heather from 41 and Lindsay from 42 too!

[@bellasmith2444]

Lindsay was not underedited overall in 42, she was slightly underedited in the premege (never to heather or erika levels) and then was "overedited" in the second half and ended up with the 3rd highest confessional count. This is the issue because since she was established early on as the "underedited" person, she never beat those allegations even when the end result for her was an even edit says a lot about how the early episodes can easily establish someone as whatever they portray.

[@vituhasspoken]

@@bellasmith2444 I agree with you! I wish she had a more balanced editing throughout the game instead of being underedited pregame and then overedited

[@TheTastyTounge]

I agree with some takes and disagree with others. One thing that I want to say is that I think casting super fans should stop. Everyone from seasons 41 and 42 were obviously huge fans and knew everything. And this has been going on since like the early 30s. I just think this stunts the growth of the game and gameplay is at a huge plateau. Basically every player that has intent to realistically win, is trying to play the same game. Because they are super fans they know what blue print to follow and it's getting stale seeing the same winning game over and over again. They want to have a low threat level, still be on a majority of the votes, and be very very sociable. That is literally like the last 10 winner minus Tony. And Tony is just an Outlier in general. I think they can fix this by casting people who aren't massive fans. Maybe a few a season, 3 or 4, but having every single one is too much. There needs to be people who can come in with a totally different outlook on the game. I mean at the very least try it for a season and see what happens, I can't imagine anything negative coming from it.

[@MagicalMarioBros]

You may have forgot about Drea talking about nobody being upset in 42 when voted out

[@TheJustinianCode]

Except her who apparently went off on everyone and started trash talking players like Omar at Jury Villa?

[@clairtroyant8360]

@@TheJustinianCode it's Ponderosa btw. Jury Villa is Australian Survivor

[@TheJustinianCode]

@@clairtroyant8360 lmao you can tell what I’ve been watching

[@seanberrodin801]

9:23 so you’re saying you don’t want survivor 43 to be Boston rob driving the island with Jeff in the front seat and amber in the back?

[@mr.pencilsharpener8004]

I’m glad you didn’t completely bash the twists like other people. I’m of the opinion that none of them are perfect, but all of them can be retooled into something good/great (except the hourglass) SitD: make it more visually interesting Do or die: make the punishment losing your vote; no one wants to see an episode without a proper vote out Earn the merge: good concept without the hourglass Ship wheel island: good strategic/social opportunities, just don’t make it a huge time sink (fixed in 42) Beware advantages: unlocking is a great concept, just switch up the unlocking methods each time KiP: only use it in seasons with less public idols Amulet: really cool idea, but maybe get it somewhere other than the opening challenge (maybe at ship wheel island?)

[@stainedglassbeauty6945]

For me, the lack of coverage on the rewards bugs me. I miss the day of winning a car, family visits, and the food auction. I love that they are changing it up. I just think that you have to show the good with the bad. I want to see more of the good, the rewards have been pretty lame recently.

[@ata984]

Instead of that convoluted hour glass mess, if they insist on not doing the good old merge, they could have just made the winning half tribe choose between immunity and food.

[@statsy150]

Why is Mike white behind half of production’s decisions of everything. Jeff should make him producer at this point

[@llorona7847]

I hope they get back to minimal advantages. Maybe a season with no idols to throw off the cast. But definitely digging the reunion where the cast actually has more time to speak and without too many past players or audience questions.

[@Quetzal00358]

The hard part is that it feels like Jeff doesn’t care about what the fans think

[@SpanishFly120]

Probst has actually said in interviews regarding the recent seasons that: "We don't make Survivor for the fans, we make it for the players", so there's certainly some truth to that.

[@ThorHC11]

@@SpanishFly120 I kind of understand that - however, the more casts become more and more filled with superfans, the more that statement becomes self-contradictory IMO.

[@jasonsnider3133]

I've seen it said and I will say it a thousand times over TRUST 👏 THE 👏 CAST 👏 The two recent casts have both been wonderful. If the game scales back unnecessary twists (do or die mostly, refine the idol twist a little), and continues to edit the cast as well as they have, they'll stay successful!

[@IdoledOut]

I hope this is their biggest takeaway from this cycle. The casting department is on fire lately, the cast will deliver the gameplay and drama without Do or Dies / Hourglasses

[@ElvishPrinceling]

Agree, the casts have been the absolute highlight of the past two seasons. 42, I genuinely had a final 5 that I liked the entire time (except Romeo. Who I didn't dislike, or like, bc he was literally just... there. Existing. Like the campfire or the shelter) and was happy for any of them to win

[@Yeaster]

The jury segment in the finale was a nice touch. My suggestions would be to dial back on the twists a bit, and keep up the strong editing. Twists are important for a show as old as Survivor; it needs to come up with ways to be fresh. But we probably don't need SO many of them. At the end of the day, the cast and editing make a season a great. A "back-to-basics" season with no twists, like some people are suggesting, would be a HORRIBLE idea. I appreciate Borneo for all it did and its dynamic cast, but the season is kind of hard to watch today because it moves at a crawl.

[@KBonilla]

Bring back villains. Everyone is too strategic and likes each other.

[@duolingotm111]

today is a good day because lukey uploaded

[@Lechgang]

41's biggest issue was its editing. 42 was definitely an improvement. If they keep that up, the other flaws will show themselves.

[@molinli2148]

if 41 was edited as well as 42 more ppl would like it and imo, it had more compelling gameplay on paper while 42 just had more balanced editing

[@Noid1220]

survivor just doesn't know how to edit those types of players like Danni, Sophie, Michelle...

[@molinli2148]

@@Noid1220 ok Michele got such a generous edit she's just not a strategic player so I wouldn't lump her in with the others and I heard Danni intentionally didn't tell producers her strategies. For SOPHIE, it doesn't make sense why got like 20 confessionals compared to coach's like 70 but coach was kinda close to winning so maybe. But, the worst part of Erika's is that she was literally the biggest jury threat and got like half of what Deshawn and Xander got when they were both basically goats 🙄

[@Noid1220]

@@molinli2148 they should've doubled down on her alliance with heather from the get go honestly coz it seems it was very important to her story but i dunno with these editors why they thought focusing on a red herring was a smart decision. Or maybe the personalities in 41 were just too big for a subtle player like erika to get screen time. But honestly, this might just be the negative with getting almost all superfans to play coz ppl are better off with playing under the radar if they want to get to the end.

[@molinli2148]

@@Noid1220 xander was def not a big personality, he was very passive and a huge follower, he reminded me of laurel. Also, erika was a huge threat early on.

[@frog8779]

I have to disagree with your take on the diversity aspect, we have had players and winners from all different backgrounds. What we need is more diverse regional background. 90% of the cast shouldnt be from either the north east or California, with the exception of a token southerner or midwesterner

[@mooserocka522]

I agree. I think they do that on purpose also to have no one from the right on anymore. And it’s really messed up that they do this. Cause people hated Sara for being a Republican . No one should care how people vote.

[@frog8779]

@@mooserocka522 couldn't agree more brother

[@gregoryfuller9736]

Poc of doesn’t mean black the most fair season of survivor base on race is cool island

[@VictoriatheWolfGirl]

Then why are you mad about the enforced diversity thing? If it's *always* been like it then this means nothing. It just seems like you're mad that a majority white cast isn't possible anymore. Also it did do better in diversity, more LGBT, disabled, and varied religions help bring people together. I do agree that the show needs to bring more Midwesterners

[@frog8779]

@@VictoriatheWolfGirl I never said I have a problem with the cast being diverse. I am just saying that there is no problem with how diverse the cast is, and as such, no necessity to enforce diversity. I could care less the race of who is on the cast, or where they go on Sundays, or if they even go anywhere. I am just tired of looking at the cast list and it looks like this. Tribe 1 : California California New Jersey California Illinois Massachusetts Tribe 2 : California Oregon California New Jersey Texas Florida Tribe 3 : New York New York California Hawaii Massachusetts California

[@brettreinert5465]

How about less 4th wall breaks by Jeff? Was I the only one that thought they were cheesy??

[@sportitojoe]

For the hourglass, my suggestion was to make it more "thematically correct" as much as can be done. Turn back time meaning the merge challenge is re-played. But this time, with everyone in the teams. The detail of switching who "won" immunity is too big a change. Instead, you just "turn back time" to before the merge challenge and have a do-over. But this time, everyone participates. Also, give the merge feast ahead of the challenge so the two tribes will think that they're actually merged already. That way also, no one gets cheated out of the merge feast.

[@Flying_V]

Survivor 42 was the first season I saw live since Borneo (I was 11 and didn't really understand the game part of it and only really got into survivor in earnest the last year). This was the most excited I'd been for anything on TV in many years and I'm glad that my excitement was matched by the community at large. I hope this momentum can carry into 43/44

[@brettreinert5465]

When you said the hourglass was the most controversial twist you clearly forgot about the loss of “come on in GUYS”

[@pockylovingranger]

This is kind of agree with. While I understand why Jeff asked the question, I think most of the cast didn’t gave the phrase itself much thought (cause it was just Jeff’s way of bringing them into the challenge). When Ricardo said he thought Jeff should change the phrase, he said it in a way that I thought sounded really snotty and self centered. I REALLY ended up not liking most of the cast in 41 after they sent Erica to Exile via Rock, Paper, Scissors and the 42 was a MASSIVE improvement for me

[@brettreinert5465]

@@pockylovingranger i just don't understand what there is to be offended about. I understand that the idea of guys being boys and gals being girls. But I've always used guys to refer to everyone. I never ever thought that when Jeff was saying "come on in guys" he was meaning "come on in men." Am I expected to stop calling people guys. It's a confusing demand. Especially when he's already been calling men AND women "guys" for the last 20 years, I don't understand how nonbinary people fit in.

[@pockylovingranger]

@@brettreinert5465 This is what I meant.

[@mooserocka522]

Yep that was one of the worst weakest moments

[@brettreinert5465]

@@pockylovingranger glad we’re on the same page

[@kingstyn]

id just like to say that 41 might have actually been more carefree like 42 since 41 had people like heather who we saw with the ponderosa video was a great character, but the editors might have edited the season to be more serious as heather was not shown basically at all the whole season, while others who were more serious were seen more. :p

[@NewEvolutionTime]

Great video and thank you for focusing on the positives when most people had been extremely negative about these two seasons online. I really enjoyed 42 and while 41 isn't my favorite I still liked the show trying something new. I just want some of the more random and unnecessary advantages that belong in Mario Party to go. Do or Die is basically a Bowser minigame but you literally lose the entire game and the hourglass has the same feeling when you end up swapping stars between first and last at chance time on the last turn.

[@bellasmith2444]

My biggest issue with the 41 vs 42 comparison is how horrible the editing was for 41 and how good it was for 42 make people view the non editing issues of 41 worse. Like you said 42 was happy go lucky and nobody took things personally but, Omar literally received psychological trauma from the way he was treated at ponderosa by Drea like... lol. In the storytelling part, episode 3 of 41 was the most irrelevant episode as nothing happened and for some reason, it was still included? probably one of the most useless episode ever. Finally, while it might seem fun for Erika to get a different type of "hidden style" edit, it was very unfair for her and Heather's games to be ripped off like that which generated a lot of undue hatred towards her for no reason. Comparatively, Xander got an unnecessarily generous edit for no reason when he was a goat. other 0 vote finalists like Noura, Julie, Laurel never get shown that way. Examples include: not showing why Liana had a vendetta against him which was because he ostracized her on Yase, giving him too much credit for the knowledge is power which was a plan from tiffany/evvie, giving him confessionals on the Shan and Liana votes where he didn't do anything, etc. and just the overall, they gave him WAY too much credit and screen time and actively portrayed a false narrative with his edit for no reason. This led Erika to receive so many death threats and inaccurate fan opinions such as "xander was robbed" or "erika was usless/didn't deserve to win" which are extremely untrue all because it was a waste of time to watch the prejury when the literal winner and her closest ally who made final 4 were never shown.

[@ciennaquidd6486]

IDK, i really liked 41. I feel like people were just being kind of reactionary during it. It was a pretty good season.

[@molinli2148]

Another issue I had with 41 was the whole "telling but not showing" like everyone on the season was so threatened and obsessed with Erika but she didn't get any strategy content until episode 9... She's obviously a really good player but since her edit was shit, barely anyone recognized it and tbh her game reminded me of Natalie Anderson or like, Tyson in BvW. The Xander stuff like you mentioned and all the things that have come out post show that just debunk the edit were crazy. Apparently Deshawn also had an alliance with Erika and Heather from day 1 which is why he was fighting with Shan to protect her at the Tiffany tribal? And also he apparently was trying to thrown the challenge? When I read his EW interview, he said: "So, funny fact is that I was actually gunning for Sydney before Erika was gunning for Sydney. The reason why was because Danny and Sydney became really, really close. I was actually the one who initiated the target on Sydney in the vote. There was no camera there, so you didn't see that on screen. So everybody on the team was in on the challenge throw except for Heather and Naseer. Erika was in on it. She just thought that we were throwing the challenge to get rid of Sydney." So not only did Erika get less than bare minimum content, the only scene she got premerge was completely fake for no reason?? I'm still baffled at the editing choices made on 41 tbh good thing 42 fixed that.

[@bellasmith2444]

@@ciennaquidd6486 same, although I didn't like the large amounts of hate that Erika (and Liana) got which were just due to bad editing. other ppl like ricard or shan got hate but that wasn't really editing, it was just them being aggressive villains.

[@ciennaquidd6486]

@@bellasmith2444 It's hard for me to understand cause I thought Erika was going to win for much of the game. Sometimes I feel like other people watched a different season than me. I'm newish to Survivor so all I can imagine is that it had become so formulaic that others were looking for usual signifiers in the edit that I wasn't looking for. As someone who watched a whole bunch of seasons for the first time in 2021 though, I thought her edit was just fine and plenty enjoyable.

[@bellasmith2444]

@Ciara Lynn which seasons did you watch as a frame of reference

[@AmaraEmme]

I want there to be a season with no idols except for one hidden on the podium

[@llydrsn]

I like the shot in the dark. Had Tori succeeded in getting immunity during her boot episode, it would surely supercharge an already turbo charged episode. It will be a wildcard that people would have to plan for so it adds more complications in the vote. The secret phrases for immunity are a curiousity for me as I was interested in how the survivors would try to weave it into the conversation without becoming awkward or giving away that something amiss is happening. Having said that, I doubt it would work again in succeeding seasons with people having already seen it. I don't like the Monty Hall and Prisoner's Dilemma personally. And the Hourglass twist is just plain stupid, I doubt anybody would even think about smashing that hourglass to get automatic immunity.

[@Souten66]

I want to see shot in the dark matter. If Tori’s had paid off it would have been EPIC. I want these twists to matter. No one has successfully used the Knowledge is Power advantage which is a shame imo. I want them to have to work for the idols be it phrases or like Cambodia where it’s at the challenge or in camp and they gotta try and snag it without getting caught.

[@the_UF365]

One thing I could not believe was that nearly everyone I cared about in 41 got booted before getting anywhere close to final tribal in, besides Xander, but my top three picks to win from early in 42, Mike, Romeo, and Johnathan, all made it to final 4.

[@caedenbross7967]

I do like how MTV's The Challenge is casting people from Survivor seasons both pre-40 and post-40 on The Challenge: USA, since the main Survivor series seems to be treating them as two separate eras.

[@EzraDair]

Bring back TV villains, disgusting evil players who love to be hated and bitter jury Also bring back the jury speeches we missed those

[@lindsaymcmillan9051]

I’d love to see a shakeup in dynamics. Maybe instead of having two tribes that have only 1-2 tribe swaps, why not have the tribes reshuffled after every tribal council? It keeps people from getting comfortable and could make for a great edit showing unpredictability

[@ElvishPrinceling]

That would be too chaotic for the viewers, I think? I like the idea, but it'd play havoc for a lot of disabled folks. Speaking for myself, I am autistic and thus largely faceblind (propsopagnosia), so it often takes me 3 or 4 episodes to really know who everyone's name and face, and which tribe they're on; often the tribal split is the only consistent way to tell the two groups apart. So flipping them around would be interesting and fun to watch in theory, but nightmarish in practice. If they had another way to easily ID who folks are, that'd make it doable- maybe buffs with their name on?

[@WoodlandT]

While I’ll always be grateful for any new season of Survivor, I think the show is going in the wrong direction. Shorter seasons, more advantages, same location agaaaaaaiiiiiinnnnnn, lame rewards and the essentially similar challenges over & over & over again etc. Almost everything except casting is going in the opposite direction I’d prefer. I wish they’d look at Australian Survivor and take cues from them. AS is doing almost everything right IMO. They’ve got longer seasons, longer & more numerous episodes, changing locations, great rewards, a moderate number of classic style advantages and great & varied challenges. I’ll certainly watch any Survivor they give us. But I’m afraid the show is programming it’s own extinction

[@tenerife_sea]

let me pitch an idea. Survivor 43: Return to Borneo they'll film back to where it all started, and there's not a single hidden idols or advantages. however, the players is not told that info by the production team. let them figure out that this season, will be purely social strategy, and see how it affects their gameplay!! edit: maybe still gives player hidden "clues to idols" which started out very vague, but if you gather enough clues, (or collected info from multiple people who got different clues), you'll get to know the twist is "the idol is not on this island, and nowhere on this season. use this info however you'd like to further your game"

[@juliejustdance]

The thing that makes me nervous is that I feel like Jeff has a different idea of what makes the show good then the fans

[@tessjune88]

Everyone has their own thoughts and ideas of what they think will make it good or better. Personally I love and enjoyed all of the new twists. Some weren’t perfect but I love that they are trying things. It allows for new experiences as a player and a viewer. I think it’s really cool.

[@categoricalvariable4141]

the "reunion" is by far my biggest problem with this era

[@SpanishFly120]

You know, I almost feel like Probst really IS trying to make Survivor into his own talk show, with all the talking directly to the camera, him trying to control the direction FTC takes more, and now how the Reunion is changed even more, when it had already actually been more talk-show like since Caramoan.

[@MythicalPhoebe]

i think the cast for season 42 was alot better than 41

[@SohGuhd]

As a fan who dreams of competing, I really enjoyed that they are freshening up the game. I do however dislike it being shorter. 🤷‍♂️

[@annesophieg-n]

i think the cast was what made the seasons two of my favorites! i don’t really have total hatred for any advantage in particular, but the amount is just overwhelming.. i think they need to trust the cast to make things exciting! can’t wait for 43 😊

[@PoisonWoah]

I agree with every single point you made in this video. A lot of people are underselling 41's cast because 42's cast was one of the best newbie casts of all time. 41's cast was still good!

[@ElvishPrinceling]

I actually thought at first 41 had a better cast, but by episode 3, 42's personalities were shining through and they seemed to just be having fun, so now I like both casts a ton (with a few exceptions)

[@Hamsterlovin]

The shot in the dark seemed like it would be good, but it literally hasnt changed the game. I miss themed shows, like heroes vs villains or the one where they played against their family. I agree that the casting is good right now.

[@andrewwilliams5772]

I didn’t mind the Shot in the Dark as a concept, but it definitely needs to be reworked somehow. Yes, the action itself is rather boring, but the fact that it didn’t work once in 4 or 5 tries also shows that it’s broken. Yes, I know it’s a Hail Mary, but if it doesn’t work then why even have it? Maybe just increasing the odds to 1 in 4 would help, I don’t know. The idol phrases I thought were also fine in principle, though the phrases themselves were the issue. It made it way too obvious who had an idol, and not a single one was played in either season. If you want to nerf them that badly, just get rid of them. Honestly, I’d be cool with that, especially if they don’t tell the players there are no idols. Might be fun watching them scramble and panic over something that isn’t there.

[@brendanon30fps39]

I personally thought Survivor may have been dying down like all good things after season 41. I’m really glad tho that 42 reignited some hope even tho I still would argue the 30’s were a lot better. I think the big changes are a little too much too fast and I think it is a lot better with the gameplay of the 30’s, specifically the no-phrase idols

[@myperspectiveisimnotblind]

love the video as always ♡ but just a minor note, some of the info given should be "updated" :) i.e some of the advantages and twists that you talked about with 43 and beyond because some of those have been announced to be coming back and are in 43 (like the silly phrases, sitd, etc.) :)

[@mikes2real]

Shot in the dark needs better odds. Maybe 1 in 4 but their hasn't been a payoff since the odds aren't in the players favor.

[@shaneg4388]

No wtf. The odds are not supposed to be good thats why its called “shot in the dark”. Although it would be better if it just didnt exist at all

[@95KyBoo]

Wow both Seasons were amazing but I favored Season 42 more overall!

[@thr3LoadR]

Looking at the casting, and the reception of the cast, it brings me back to Seasons 1 and 2. Borneo had a good cast that was well received, but the Australian Outback cast were so popular and well loved that they were treated like celebrities.....to the point that Debb Eaton's questionable personal life was brought to the surface against her wishes. Fast forward to the reboot of Survivor in 41, and we have a solid cast that was well received....but then we get to 42 and the cast is one of the best in the show's history. Half of this group could end up on an All Stars season...another throwback to Australian Outback, where 5 of the cast members were on the first All Stars season. I'll be interested to see how the cast of 43 turns out.

[@AmaraEmme]

I was rewatching outback this past week and thought the same thing!

[@rheller2086]

every episode should not have multiple sob stories in it, otherwise both seasons were great

[@IdoledOut]

On the plus side, it is pretty hilarious when they try to turn what is very clearly not a sob story into one, like with JD and Xander

[@chewydewok]

The last couple of seasons, there were so many advantages and idols in the game at times it was hard to keep track who had what.

[@__darsoyea5149]

"is my opinion on being kidnapped, avoid going to a second location" Gotta love that John Mulaney reference!!

[@kylepleban6956]

“More diverse” casting doesn’t mean the contestants are interesting, or quality players. The 30’s and now beginning of the 40’s is a step down in terms of the personalities and actual survivor player skill/investment compared to prior seasons. Cast die hard fans who are actually fit to survive the elements and bring back some of the survival element like they claimed they would with 41. I’m not out there and we’re only shown what makes the cut but these contestants are playing Big Brother camping edition these days.

[@Yeaster]

This isn’t true. If people were playing Survivor like they would Big Brother, they would be joining huge alliances and then doing nothing else. You saw how quickly the big alliance broke apart in S42 😛 Nothing is wrong with the diverse casting. The casts weren't more interesting when they were 90% White. PoCs aren't getting on the show just because. They still have to be telegenic and play hard

[@denisemal7027]

What you say is true they really had to make the challenge’s less physical for these last two seasons heck they had to cancel part of a challenge because they were too weak to finish no way they could handle Australian survivor

[@silentassasin-q8l]

@@Yeaster he's saying just because the casting is more "diverse" doesnt automatically mean its going to be a great cast and what do mean pocs's arent getting on the show just because? they werent getting casted because they just werent applying, heck the original fiji(14) season's mostly minority cast were all recruits except one

[@gregoryfuller9736]

The most diversity cast is still cook island

[@bigsouth5773]

I personally think the shot in the dark deal is super underrated. I mean that 1 time the 1 on the chopping blocks luck changes can make things super intresting

[@MM-tz2bs]

I enjoy players having to earn or give up something to get the HII, it became boring how players would take a walk and just find an idol in the recent seasons. I also liked shot in the dark, but they should refine it. I hated do or die, merge twist and did not love the knowledge is power (even though KIP advantage brought some great moments in tribal).. I like story moments where they show people's real life photos.

[@br5ande938]

No one took things personally when they lost - what about Drea?

[@michaelbuell3711]

Wasn't the jury speaks in winners at war? Sorry might be wrong. Also I loved the jury speaks section

[@maxhunter3006]

fantastic vid man, I agree with all the points made and am very excited for the show is going!!!!!!!

[@Alex.1Q84]

You know what I'd love to see? But it's crazy. A ranking of all survivor players in history from best to worst. Or at least make up a bunch of leagues from best to worst and see where all players lay. I think it would be interesting with some players. For example Debby, cause this is where I got the idea. I'm rewatching season 32 and even thou Debby is wacky and has wickneses in self-awareness, she's not that bad of a survivor player. What do you guys think?

[@BanditSurvivorContent]

If only the idol phrases didn't exist then the knowledge is power advantage could be a cool advantage to aid someone with good social skills to work out who has advantages

[@TheDarkFiddler]

1000% agree about Shot in the Dark. Hoping it comes back, think there's plenty of room for it to develop, but for the love of god if you give the players dice, let them roll dice!

[@categoricalvariable4141]

the beware idols are terrible. you shouldn't have to lose your vote. the most fun part of idols is when they are played correctly by the person on the bottom (which requires them to be kept secret) and you absolutely should be able to play your idol as soon as you find it.

[@seanf1451]

This might be a hot take, but I want a challenge where last place is just eliminated. Plus an extra thing, first place earns immunity from the vote. So basically, if this is at the f11, you can either: Sit out: Move into the f10 but potentially get voted out or Play: Play for immunity and win going to f9, get last, in which your 11th, or just not win immunity

[@MayaByard]

What did you think of the flashbacks to earlier moments like nasser finding his idol and Mike giving his idol to omar

[@IdoledOut]

I've enjoyed the flashbacks, freshens up the storytelling a lot. The Naseer moment was an all-timer for sure

[@why2goatdagame]

Picking a scroll out of a bag is essentially just drawing rocks on yourself control in the game.

[@ASG-nm4cz]

I don't think showing the jurors was about "why Mike lost" but instead making FTC interesting to show that Maryanne didn't have it in the bag as well as to provide insight as to what the jurors were looking for going into the FTC. I hope they bring that back for future seasons, especially ones like 42 where you could tell the jury wasn't locked into def voting for somebody specific. I also understand why you did but in the diversity discussion there should have been mention of both seasons having a racial tribal council discussion. I know that aspect did turn some people off.

[@katewelch2115]

You have to keep a little chart to keep track of advantages. They're often offered to multiple people. Their full advantage is sometimes delayed. There is sometimes a downside like a loss of vote. And eventually there are multiple advantages floating around. As you get further into the game, do you still remember who walked up the hill and risked their vote and what they earned? Do you remember who rubbed dirt and fake blood on themselves *and* what their advantage is worth at that point?

[@dakotaterry62]

When Naseer said his quote, I literally jumped off the couch. It was pure hype

[@danjones2164]

I'd like to see larger group votes in the future. I would also like to see the timeline for advantages/twists/idols run out sooner. I don't mind them not going 39 days for a season but maybe a happy medium of 32 days might be best.

[@Captain_Subpar]

Do or Die is not a fair twist. Why? Because the people most likely to play are the people who think they're in danger. So they're pushed to play while those in power aren't. It's a mechanic that increases the chances of those on the bottom to be the next boot. I'm surprised you didn't talk about the lacklusterness of the live reunions that are complete snoozefests because no one has had time to reflect on their game and Jeff is focused on seeing starving people eat.

[@marinoangeloni6229]

Please make one after 44 finale!

[@mississippitornado6842]

I really miss the drama

[@GalaxyWulf342]

I like what you said about Brad's boot episode

[@dannydoyle4798]

They need to keep it simple, cast a good cast, and get rid of useless advantages and twists.

[@sportitojoe]

I made the same comment about the shot in the dark as well! The die should show whether or not the castaway is safe. Otherwise, they could have just use the fire tokens as a means of currency to get a scroll.

[@dylangallagher4220]

what im so confused about is why people are caught up on the abundance of twists coming back or not. when in survivor has it been that way lmaoo, like most twists are a 1 off thing or used for a few seasons especially considering the reason they were repeated was due to the production schedule id be extremely confused if any of these twists made a return other than SITD which is a more seamless addition than some of the game breaking things they tried

[@jarrettbakersr]

Excellent video!

[@chongalewa9815]

Can u please do a whole video on your thoughts of NBC's new island show, MIllion Dollar Island?

[@xmodrecordshypersyncrecord843]

I knew as soon as Maryann got all the air time finding that idol out of the blue she was the winner.

[@benmerkin3202]

I really like the idea behind shot in the dark I just think it was kinda snuffed bc we never even saw someone get safety from it over the two seasons

[@SpanishFly120]

Yeah, Shot in the Dark is a solid idea in concept, it's just the Hourglass is crazy for the reasons Danny brought up (as it's outright lying and overturning Immunity, which is supposed to be the only thing that's guaranteed), while Do or Die is just immensely unfair. The idea of Survivor is supposed to be that you're only eliminated by being voted out, with each round before the Final 2/3 ending with a vote. Do or Die (and the forced F4 Firemaking) go against the nature of Survivor with that. They could at least lower the penalty for failing Do or Die, like say...you can't compete at the next Immunity Challenge.

[@Jack-ol1io]

I agree 42 is a top 10 season for me too

[@lightningmonkey706]

I think the jury speaks was also added as ponderosa was gone.

[@jobush5630]

Best development was the lack of rice and reward. It brought the physical aspect of Survivor back to the forefront.

[@chuck2469]

What's the state of your take on stew is what we really want to know

[@IdoledOut]

Still against

[@alannagilmore8982]

I’m a new survivor fan I started watching after coming across this channel and binged almost all the seasons.. I do not like the shortened time and these last challenges sucked! They used to have some seriously cool rewards! Love it though and can’t wait to watch again!

[@texaspatriot4215]

In my opinion there has not been a good season since 40, though i have been giving each of the last 6 seasons a chance, but i think after 46 im about done, at least watching live, maybe if i hear something good about 47 or 48 maybe ill do a season binge watch. Great video.

[@survivorturnover]

season 43 lowkey gonna be legendary & insanely good

[@cassieopea]

i think there are way to many advatages, BUT the three way idol is just SO SO COOL! like im obessed i love it!!

[@winstonchaos3761]

About 42: “No one took anything too seriously” Well. Onscreen at least

[@NewNoob-vq4uh]

Well I have an idea now as to why there’s no ponderosa for 42.

[@helpmejanice8123]

Things that I want New location (I know it's not likely) New challenges Bring back the jury speeches instead of the discussion Lose hourglass, do or die, earning the merge in other words alot less twists Honestly one thing I've been annoyed is how it seems like every person has to inspire person

[@liljb5257]

Was i the only one that loved Ghost Island. Dom, Wendell, and Chris were awesome. We need a returning season with 3 tribes of absolute challenge beasts and then the second season of 3 tribes of strategist beasts. I think these groups would be interesting since there normally the interesting players that get ganged up on by the unexciting middle of the pack group that most of the time ends up winning.

[@sibernout7717]

No, Ghost Islands editing was awful. Players like Chelsea, who was a major strategical player and a challenge beast, had the lowest confessional rate out of any survivor player in history. Not to mention Jenna was actually really hilarious on the island but they edited it all that out just to fit in the Wendell and Dom storyline making the overall edit very forced and lopsided. A 4/10 season for me with the cast and a 1/10 in terms of storytelling.

[@benjaminrubin5263]

Something needs to be done about the meta in my opinion, I love both past winners but had some very similar paths and I'm kinda bored of that. Otherwise love the show

[@FoxxyFire-HellFrost]

I thought the casting was terrible. I didn't think anyone was likeable and, in season 42, Jonathan made challenges so incredibly one sided until the merge, it literally felt unfair. As a fan since day 1 of the series, I really hate the ways they've changed the game and wish they'd go back to the previous format. Keeping some of the changes would be okay, but the overabundance of advantages, the shot in the dark, and the lack of a reunion show really diminishes the quality of the series. I did appreciate the diversity these last two seasons brought as well as the introduction of the Do or Die game. But that's kind of it.

[@shaneg4388]

How is do or die good lol

[@FoxxyFire-HellFrost]

@@shaneg4388 Because it can send you home for losing a challenge and none of the trillions of advantages they added in these two seasons can negate it.

[@shaneg4388]

@@FoxxyFire-HellFrost thats not a good thing lol. Survivor has always been about voting people out getting rid of voting is so stupid and makes it an entirely different game. Especially when its entirely random? Wtf

[@FoxxyFire-HellFrost]

@@shaneg4388 That's your opinion. If you don't like mine, don't complain.