Survivor: Heroes vs Healers vs Hustlers

[flynnibus]

I think Devon would have won the game over Chrissy and Ryan. He got screwed because of a twist that totally alters the entire point of the game.

The point of the game?? They compete every day to stay in... this is just another one.

The "point of the game" didn't change when they changed from final two to final three, etc.

 

[flynnibus]

Also, the final immunity challenge was great. At first I thought, really? This is what they're doing for a final challenge? But it turned out to be one of the best battles ever.

Remember when the final immunity challenges usually included an endurance challenge? Pepperidge farms remembers....

 

[flynnibus]

The first 2/3 of this season was pretty standard Survivor fare, but the last 1/3 was great. Very entertaining.

Agree - this season was a snoozer for me until the Ben playing both sides element came in and the group of 7...

 

[artvandelay]

Not a fan of the final 4 twist. This season seemed very “Big Brother”y. The only things missing were Julie Chen saying to expect the unexpected and Paul walking in day one and ousting a potential good player.

 

[artvandelay]

The final three started because they were losing strong players at the final three. Then you had strong players being eliminated at four (Malcolm, David Wright, and Kelly Wentworth). Looks like they’re trying to make sure a strong player or a strong personality has a chance at final three.

I’m a watcher from season one, watch every episode, read Dalton Ross on ew.com and listen to Rob Cesternino’s great podcast. I love the strategic game play and person to person dynamic that the show brings out. The beauty of tribal council is the players vote out one of their tribe and your behavior and game play is usually the basis on why you’re eliminated. The final four fire challenge eliminated that aspect of the game. No one was voted out. One person was safe and the other two battle it out. The producers have made changes to the game that have worked (hidden idols, pre merge tribe swaps) and some that have not (medallion of power, redemption island). I hoping that after Ghost Island the final four fire challenge is sent to redemption island (in later seasons was not an island) to sit with the medallion of power.

 

[sunsetblvd26]

The final three started because they were losing strong players at the final three. Then you had strong players being eliminated at four (Malcolm, David Wright, and Kelly Wentworth). Looks like they’re trying to make sure a strong player or a strong personality has a chance at final three.

And now, the big threats are going to go out at five. Players will adapt, this really won’t change anything, just make the ending worse.

I’d be surprised if it lasts more than one more season given the overwhelmingly negative fan reaction to this finale.

 

[artvandelay]

And now, the big threats are going to go out at five. Players will adapt, this really won’t change anything, just make the ending worse.

I’d be surprised if it lasts more than one more season given the overwhelmingly negative fan reaction to this finale.

I think you’re right, but Jeff said it is part of next season. Players on Ghost Island will not know About it because it was taped before HHH was aired.

 

[sunsetblvd26]

I think you’re right, but Jeff said it is part of next season. Players on Ghost Island will not know About it because it was taped before HHH was aired.

I read that players were actually told about the twist pregame (I guess for continuity since the audience knows it as part of the show now). So it’ll be interesting to see how that works out.

 

[PUSH]

Remember when the final immunity challenges usually included an endurance challenge? Pepperidge farms remembers....

Endurance challenges are my favorite. One of the reasons I love Parvati and Andrea so much... because they are amazing at endurance.

 

[PUSH]

The final three started because they were losing strong players at the final three. Then you had strong players being eliminated at four (Malcolm, David Wright, and Kelly Wentworth). Looks like they’re trying to make sure a strong player or a strong personality has a chance at final three.

I’m a watcher from season one, watch every episode, read Dalton Ross on ew.com and listen to Rob Cesternino’s great podcast. I love the strategic game play and person to person dynamic that the show brings out. The beauty of tribal council is the players vote out one of their tribe and your behavior and game play is usually the basis on why you’re eliminated. The final four fire challenge eliminated that aspect of the game. No one was voted out. One person was safe and the other two battle it out. The producers have made changes to the game that have worked (hidden idols, pre merge tribe swaps) and some that have not (medallion of power, redemption island). I hoping that after Ghost Island the final four fire challenge is sent to redemption island (in later seasons was not an island) to sit with the medallion of power.

I agree. The power went from the players to production. Production definitely had a hand in the winner this season, more so than ever.

 

[PUSH]

And now, the big threats are going to go out at five. Players will adapt, this really won’t change anything, just make the ending worse.

I’d be surprised if it lasts more than one more season given the overwhelmingly negative fan reaction to this finale.

It's probably happening again because they filmed back-to-back seasons, and if it worked out well, they didn't want to go away with it. I would have introduced it in an even-numbered season, so you aren't stuck with two seasons of badly received twists.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

I agree. The power went from the players to production. Production definitely had a hand in the winner this season, more so than ever.

This sums it up.

I didn't even feel like I was watching a show where players make alliances and vote each other out.

Idols are one thing, even if overdone as they were this season.

It's quite another thing to completely change how the final three is decided. This was basically them throwing in another immunity challenge, but a less interesting one.

Ben should have been gone at the last tribal council.

 

[flynnibus]

At first I didn't like the way the final TC was playing out with the back and forth arguing... but then they salvaged it a good bit. I like this format better than other recent ones as they gave them some structure and I think each player got an opportunity to make a 'closing argument' - a critical element lacking recently

 

[flynnibus]

How many idols are in play is reflective of how frequently they are played. Without hoarding... they can be played more often.

Bens sneak idol has to be one of the best 'played them...' moments in recent memory (when Lauren got sent home).

 

[artvandelay]

How many idols are in play is reflective of how frequently they are played. Without hoarding... they can be played more often.

Bens sneak idol has to be one of the best 'played them...' moments in recent memory (when Lauren got sent home).

Ben used all three of his idols perfectly. Each time he played the idol, he would of gon home if he hadn’t.

 

[No Name]

I haven't participated in weekly discussion, but I'll just chime in and say I thought this was an excellent season, and Ben was the clear deserving winner. There's no question he played the best game. Just about every other player got royally duped week by week, first by Ben and his alliance, then by Ben alone. He was the only one in the final 7 who even understood how the game works. I'm not a cowboy kind of guy to say the least, but I respect the way he played and the effort he put in.

As for the twist at the last tribal, the timing did seem a little coincidental, but I like it in general. The most deserving players naturally become the biggest targets, and such players deserve a last chance to battle it out. Overall, very happy with how this season played out.

Idols are one thing, even if overdone as they were this season.

They were not "overdone." The way the game works is, once an idol is played, it's put back into play. It would've been a break from tradition if the idol wasn't put back into play. The other players showed their lack of knowledge of the game by laying on their laurels saying "oh, there can't be another idol," as if there are a finite number throughout the season.

 

[Wendy Pleakley]

I haven't participated in weekly discussion, but I'll just chime in and say I thought this was an excellent season, and Ben was the clear deserving winner. There's no question he played the best game. Just about every other player got royally duped week by week, first by Ben and his alliance, then by Ben alone. He was the only one in the final 7 who even understood how the game works. I'm not a cowboy kind of guy to say the least, but I respect the way he played and the effort he put in.

As for the twist at the last tribal, the timing did seem a little coincidental, but I like it in general. The most deserving players naturally become the biggest targets, and such players deserve a last chance to battle it out. Overall, very happy with how this season played out.



They were not "overdone." The way the game works is, once an idol is played, it's put back into play. It would've been a break from tradition if the idol wasn't put back into play. The other players showed their lack of knowledge of the game by laying on their laurels saying "oh, there can't be another idol," as if there are a finite number throughout the season.

Oh, for sure, it just felt that Idols and advantages overwhelmed the game this time. Credit to Ben for playing them often, and playing them well. It just felt that all other strategy was completely negated. It felt imbalanced.

The end was a big shift in how the game plays out. Before, an idol could only get you so far. At the final four you also needed to have a strategy in place, or deliver at the hardest challenge of the season. Chrissy delivered in that regard, and it was undone by throwing in an extra challenge, and not a very hard one at that.

 

[JenniferS]

I might be the only one who liked the fire-making challenge to determine final three. I liked both Ben and Devon, so would have been happy with either outcome.

 

[krause]

I might be the only one who liked the fire-making challenge to determine final three. I liked both Ben and Devon, so would have been happy with either outcome.

I think I would have liked it in a season where it didn’t seem like production trying to get someone into the final. Or if I had been rooting for Ben then I would have liked it haha. It was very exciting to watch.

 

[PUSH]

The way the editing was going, too, made the twist a lot more intolerable for me. Playing Ben off as an emotional wreck to go home, but that edit made it clear something was going to happen, and he was going to win the game. There was no doubt in my mind. And then when they showed Devon embracing a challenging, it made it even more obvious that he would go home on the challenge he embraced.