Survivor 31, Episode 1
"SECOND CHANCE"
I was out of town for almost a week and could not wait until I got back to find out what happened, so I read the recaps first. This is an addiction, I'll take whatever I can get. With Cambodia format, we the fans are bursting with excitement even more. We (some of us?) voted, read and listened to tons of interviews, checked the calendar for filming dates, speculated alliances and gameplay, and maybe have hunted for spoilers and failed. But most importantly, we now know what #crotchframing is.
So, the much awaited season starts with the shots of players making the journey to the starting line through the colourful Cambodian village and temples. While I've forgotten a lot of details from past seasons, Cambodia's stunning visual -- from the local shots to the intro montage (dancers in traditional costume, monks in beautiful bright orange), to the intro of the challenge -- has to be one of the best.
After a few minutes of reminding everyone that they are now 15 years older and/or were losers from past seasons, and 19 of them are about to lose for the second time, Jeff announces that they can now jump off the boat. Maybe it was the hype and the wait, but the race for the supplies and later the rice is really a great three minutes of suspense. (I need a hug, I'm geeking out alone here.) Another plus is when there's no shot of Probst screaming something from a helicopter. Always hate those.
Then, after everyone gets to their beaches, and Spencer and Terry have braided each other's hair and all, we get to the first order of business: the bracelet.
Is Abi an early boot? Is she on the clock here that her drama has to be broadcast while there's a chance? In the middle of the chaos settling on the beach, it's so easy to get things mixed up. There is zero need for drama over a piece of bracelet when coexisting civilly will do more to help you win a million dollars. Didn't you say you wanted to play a different, better* game this time around? Her "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt" is passive aggressive. No one, NO ONE, wants that bracelet. Regardless, that red Brazilian dragon dress is pretty, and she does have some good lines:
"Abi, you want some yoga?" ~ Vytas.
"No."
"How are you feeling? How's your body?"
"I feel great..." ~ Abi, not impressed.
(*I've forgotten her pregame interviews. Possibly, she didn't say "better" or "different". Possibly, she just said that she was going to be "spectacle" or something.)
I hunted for spoilers. No, I don't have the boot list, but I know Vytas doesn't win because apparently he was home long before the game ended. From the few hours seeing him on edited TV and another few hours listening to him on podcasts, I can imagine how he got voted out early and gave exactly zero care to stay in Ponderosa for another 36 days. Ok, if it were me and I had a young kid at home, I might try doing the same too, but in his case, I imagine a little delicious hide and seek drama might have been involved.
Vytas was a favourite on his first season. On Second Chance, from the "smarmy, inappropriate yoga teacher" edit to awesome undies, he was hilarious. It is unfortunate and a deja vu that he was voted out, both times, when he had little to no time to regroup before tribal. And now we are robbed of more Vytas on TV. Also, apparently, Spencer is no longer welcome on Vytas' couch.
For many of us who are familiar with "winner's edit" and no "casuals", we are probably excited to see Stephen the most. I love his -- what I hope is a -- Cochran edit. If you have a bad day today, turn it around and go watch the 30 seconds branch-gate on YouTube.
And that brings us to Savage. Oh Savage, the man who has everything but got his heart crushed by Pearl Islands. You cannot not roll your eyes listening to his Captain America speech, but Bayon would be boring without characters like Savage who wants to align himself with the alpha males and the perfect Joey Amazing, cuts a tree by only swinging his machete three times, and found out from Survivor Wiki of how big of a threat Fishbuck is. I don't know which page this is because one that I found says -- and I hope it's a work of a prankster -- during his free time, Stephen likes to take part in a race called Idiotarod.
At Ta Keo, Kelley has a great episode, grabbing the idol at the challenge. Survivor needs to show more big female players, and this is great.
Then, OMG, we have Varner. We remember the charming, mischievous Varner from 15 years ago, and Varner on Second Chance has even more refined talents: giving us confessional golds and downplaying his ability to catch up with the high-speed game in front of his tribemates, pretending that this is all too fast for him. There are so many good lines to pick from Varner. My favourite:
"I don't care who's pulling me into the woods, yes is your answer."
And finally, Keith doesn't care about #joega. Haha. The. Best.
Image: @officialsurvivor_cbs
I was out of town for almost a week and could not wait until I got back to find out what happened, so I read the recaps first. This is an addiction, I'll take whatever I can get. With Cambodia format, we the fans are bursting with excitement even more. We (some of us?) voted, read and listened to tons of interviews, checked the calendar for filming dates, speculated alliances and gameplay, and maybe have hunted for spoilers and failed. But most importantly, we now know what #crotchframing is.
So, the much awaited season starts with the shots of players making the journey to the starting line through the colourful Cambodian village and temples. While I've forgotten a lot of details from past seasons, Cambodia's stunning visual -- from the local shots to the intro montage (dancers in traditional costume, monks in beautiful bright orange), to the intro of the challenge -- has to be one of the best.
After a few minutes of reminding everyone that they are now 15 years older and/or were losers from past seasons, and 19 of them are about to lose for the second time, Jeff announces that they can now jump off the boat. Maybe it was the hype and the wait, but the race for the supplies and later the rice is really a great three minutes of suspense. (I need a hug, I'm geeking out alone here.) Another plus is when there's no shot of Probst screaming something from a helicopter. Always hate those.
Then, after everyone gets to their beaches, and Spencer and Terry have braided each other's hair and all, we get to the first order of business: the bracelet.
Is Abi an early boot? Is she on the clock here that her drama has to be broadcast while there's a chance? In the middle of the chaos settling on the beach, it's so easy to get things mixed up. There is zero need for drama over a piece of bracelet when coexisting civilly will do more to help you win a million dollars. Didn't you say you wanted to play a different, better* game this time around? Her "I'll give you the benefit of the doubt" is passive aggressive. No one, NO ONE, wants that bracelet. Regardless, that red Brazilian dragon dress is pretty, and she does have some good lines:
"Abi, you want some yoga?" ~ Vytas.
"No."
"How are you feeling? How's your body?"
"I feel great..." ~ Abi, not impressed.
(*I've forgotten her pregame interviews. Possibly, she didn't say "better" or "different". Possibly, she just said that she was going to be "spectacle" or something.)
I hunted for spoilers. No, I don't have the boot list, but I know Vytas doesn't win because apparently he was home long before the game ended. From the few hours seeing him on edited TV and another few hours listening to him on podcasts, I can imagine how he got voted out early and gave exactly zero care to stay in Ponderosa for another 36 days. Ok, if it were me and I had a young kid at home, I might try doing the same too, but in his case, I imagine a little delicious hide and seek drama might have been involved.
Vytas was a favourite on his first season. On Second Chance, from the "smarmy, inappropriate yoga teacher" edit to awesome undies, he was hilarious. It is unfortunate and a deja vu that he was voted out, both times, when he had little to no time to regroup before tribal. And now we are robbed of more Vytas on TV. Also, apparently, Spencer is no longer welcome on Vytas' couch.
For many of us who are familiar with "winner's edit" and no "casuals", we are probably excited to see Stephen the most. I love his -- what I hope is a -- Cochran edit. If you have a bad day today, turn it around and go watch the 30 seconds branch-gate on YouTube.
And that brings us to Savage. Oh Savage, the man who has everything but got his heart crushed by Pearl Islands. You cannot not roll your eyes listening to his Captain America speech, but Bayon would be boring without characters like Savage who wants to align himself with the alpha males and the perfect Joey Amazing, cuts a tree by only swinging his machete three times, and found out from Survivor Wiki of how big of a threat Fishbuck is. I don't know which page this is because one that I found says -- and I hope it's a work of a prankster -- during his free time, Stephen likes to take part in a race called Idiotarod.
At Ta Keo, Kelley has a great episode, grabbing the idol at the challenge. Survivor needs to show more big female players, and this is great.
Then, OMG, we have Varner. We remember the charming, mischievous Varner from 15 years ago, and Varner on Second Chance has even more refined talents: giving us confessional golds and downplaying his ability to catch up with the high-speed game in front of his tribemates, pretending that this is all too fast for him. There are so many good lines to pick from Varner. My favourite:
"I don't care who's pulling me into the woods, yes is your answer."
And finally, Keith doesn't care about #joega. Haha. The. Best.
Image: @officialsurvivor_cbs
Comments