Survivor Is Officially Back To Being The Best Show On TV
It's been a rough last few years for Survivor. After experiencing a huge surge in popularity during quarantine, Survivor came back with some absolute dud seasons in their "new era" starting with Season 41. The casting, the stupid over the top twists, the shortening to 26 days, the general softness, and a lot more led to some really shitty seasons. I was beginning to fear that the show I've loved my entire life was fading away. For years, I looked forward to new Survivor episodes like it was a Super Bowl every week. I'd count down the hours until it was 8 PM on Wednesday (formerly Thursday) nights. But those feelings waned over the last few years and it felt more like a chore to watch it every week.
But that's all changed this season. Survivor 46 has been absolutely FANTASTIC television and deserves to get its flowers. This season has felt like vintage Survivor. Great characters. Great gameplay. Great blindsides. I fully feel like I'm watching a season from 10 years ago and loving every second of it. Wednesday nights at 8 have once again become appointment television, and that feels amazing to say.
We got off to a slow start with the Bhanu crying show. Truly one of the most insufferable players in the history of the show and the fact that he got casted is a disgrace no matter how much Jeff Probst tries to defend it. But I will say this, given how good the season has gotten it might be funny to look back on his saga one day as some of the wildest few episodes we've seen. It sucked in the moment because it looked we were getting another shit season, and it's unfortunate that since we spent so much time on him that we didn't get to know some other players, but with the hindsight of knowing things do get better, I think we can look back on it with more of a smile now.
And since then, there's just been great episode after great episode. I think one major reason for this is that we haven't had dumb advantage after dumb advantage shoved down our throats. We've seen the extra vote and the beware advantage/idol but nothing over the top. This might be because we saw some failed "journeys" where people didn't earn advantages, but I think that's been for the best in the long run. Survivor is at its best when the gameplay is focused on alliances and social strategy instead of stupid shit like the "Knowledge Is Power" advantage. Idols are a key part of the game, and I'm always fine with them being included. But we haven't had a big idol moment and instead have seen two people in a row get voted out with an idol in their pocket. The blindsides have been wonderful and every tribal council seems like a must watch event.
But in addition to that, let's look at some other highlights from this season.
-Everything about Jelinsky. Just an all-time goofball. The seven/several mix up has already gone down in Survivor lore. I bet we see him back on another season. It's a shame we didn't get more of him.
-The Liz meltdown over Applebee's last week is one of the greatest freak outs we've ever seen in 24 years of the show. She is a fascinating weirdo.
-Venus thinking she's a mastermind of every vote while in reality having no idea what's ever going on.
-Q. Everything about Q. He looked like a very strong player at the start of the game and then promptly lost his shit. The tribal council quitting was bizarre, but the Hide And Seek game where he judged everyone on their hiding spots was hilarious. "Big mistake."
And none of that is even about the blindsides we've been seeing week after week. I think we're set up for a really solid finish with the "several" people we have left too. Q is a wild card who I'm rooting for that could end up becoming a dominant player again or he could just flame out in spectacular fashion. Charlie and Maria are both really really really good players who would be very deserving winners. Kenzie is also a strong player who would be a good winner. Liz is capable of giving us more wild moments. Venus is Venus. Ben is whatever.
We have three episodes left and I can say that I'm very excited for every single one. Let's finish strong and remind everyone why Survivor is still the greatest show in TV history.
Catch up on our Snuffing Torches episodes from this season and subscribe everywhere HERE.