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I made a similar thread with FvF back when it aired. Now I'm asking the same question with the show's current all-stars season.
So HvV, Survivor's landmark 20th season, is coming to a close next Sunday, with the penultimate episode airing this Thursday night. But before the season ends, how has it been for you so far? Like it? Hate it? Discuss it here!
Personally, it has been a very solid season. The pre-merge is usually a time when things are boring and worn out... and that's how it was with HvV for a couple of episodes. But overall, the pre-merge was actually pretty interesting, especially in retrospect. That's when the Rob vs. Russell showdown occured, when we saw Tyson made that ginormous mistake, and when JT made a huge mistake of his own. We Rob fans also got to see Rob for the couple of episodes that he lasted.
The merge is usually when things start to pick up, and this season surely didn't disappoint. For one thing, the merge episode was one of the best episodes this season!
Coming in, I was really disappointed to hear that this show would be doing another all-stars so soon after FvF. So much so, that I was kind of dreading HvV. But now, I'm excited to see how this season ends. At the same time however, I'm a bit sad to see it go already. It really has been a great season, and it definitely exceeded my expectations.
With this being another All Stars type season, I had high expectations; I thought FvF was still the best so far. I think this season is idol-mania, and so many players annoy me (Russell, Rupert, Colby--yes, the dud-like Colby who irrationally went off on Candice). It's been solid for sure, but I'm just not very impressed with this season for some reason. I really do think it's because I'm so sick of Russelland idol after idol every single round (literally).
The only one I can really root for is Parvati now, and it sucks because to be honest, I don't even think she's that impressive this season (she did depend on Russell for the first quarter of the season, and honestly I wasn't THAT impressed with her double idol move. I don't know, I was just way more impressed with how she controlled the game in Micronesia, so I hold high expectations for her).
I feel like Sandra and Russell are getting too much credit, Parvati is getting too little credit, and Rupert, Colby, and Jerri are just useless space fillers.
Wow, I didn't mean to sound so negative
My opinion on HvV? Meh.
The people I was really looking forward to seeing (Tom, Colby and Cirie among others) turned in relatively lame performances, and the one person I was hoping and praying to see less of (Russell) has gotten too much air time. Again.
And let's be honest: This season has just been a sequel to the Russa Hayntz Show... except - like most sequels - it's not as good as the original. Watching Russell squawk about have freakin' awesome he is has gone from grating to tedious.
All that being said, one thing that may redeem this season is if Russell makes it to FTC and gets ripped to shreds by the jury. Oh, and JT's biggest-bonehead-move-in-Survivor-history (and Parvati's reading of his pathetic letter) were also almost worth the price of admission.
Liked it a lot better in the beginning but now? Eh. It's gone way downhill. The heros are absolute idiots and because of that helped make this season become dull (well, except for the moments where they got played). This has been the season of idiotic mistakes.
Rupert has and will always continue to annoy me and I hope to God this is the last time he ever sets foot on this show. Whichever castoff said in their interview that he wants the title Mr. Popularity Survivor said a mouth full. I don't care how good of friends Colby is with Probst, he's been absolutely worthless this time around. He has no game. This was his chance to probably re-start his acting career. I still don't know why Amanda, James, Candice, and Danielle got cast, but I keep imagining the much better players we could have had. Parvati I still can't stand but give her credit where it's due, she gets the game, she's always playing, strategizing, and thinking things through, and at least she's learned from her 2 previous attempts. Frankly, he's one of the only heros that I enjoyed and wish he had a bigger backbone and stuck with Tom.
I did a complete 180 on Boston Rob. I like him a lot better without Amber around. I wish he could have lasted longer. Courtney is always a hoot, mainly because she doesn't give a crap. Jerri I'm glad has grown a sense of humor about being a villain so maybe there will be no walk outs during the reunion show this time. I did always like her, but she let her reputation on this show really get under her skin. I don't really think she's done a heck of a lot, game wise, but she's one of the only ones left I'm enjoying watching. Yes, I do like Russell, and if anything else find his attempts at wanting control and total credit for everything only to have it fall on deaf ears amusing. He can play the game, but this isn't Richard Hatch's era of Survivor where even if you proudly boast to the jury that you're the reason they're sitting there you can still win. Unfortuantely, making friends is a bigger deal now on this show and that's where it'll get him. But game-play wise, he's been outdone by Parvati this time. He should have just let her take all the credit and then throw it all back on her should they be there in the end together. I'm liking Sandra. If I missed anyone, they didn't leave much of an impression.
I'm really tired of the idols. They've changed the game so dramatically. I liked the rule better when once they were used, they were out of the game. I hope if they do another AS in the future they cast better. I liked FvsF a lot better. This season isn't the worst, imo, but it ranks down there pretty low for me.
I've LOVED this season. It has been very fun to watch because people have been playing hard the whole time. Not everyone - the heroes cast has overall been pretty lame, but the drama going on at the villains camp was enough to carry many of the early episodes. And since JT got voted off, the rest of the heroes have had to wake up and start playing. I agree that it has been overkill with the idols, but it has kept everyone on their toes kept the game interesting.
At this point, I am rooting for Parvati or Sandra for the win. I can't believe I want a former winner to take the prize again, but they are the only two who seem to really know what they are doing. If either of them get it, they totally deserve it. Russell is a brilliant schemer, but as we saw last season, has made so many enemies that I can't imagine anyone would vote for him should he make it to the end. For the record, I still love Rupert, but he doesn't have what it takes to win this game.
Overall, excellent season! But I'd like to see all new faces for next time.
I'm finding this season to be pretty intense, actually.
You can tell these Survivors have played the game before, and several of these players are really bringing their A Game.
In fact, the level of play has exposed the weaknesses of past survivors who have finished well against lesser competition - J.T., Russell and Amanda for instance. IMHO these guys are much less impressive against the REAL competition. Think about it - who has really dissapointed you this season?
It's like the cream of the crop is rising to the top. After watching this season I count Pavarti and Sandra as 2 of the best Survivors to have ever played the game.
I think that's what the All Stars concept was SUPPOSED to be about.
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