Survivor is the hardest game in the world and is back with a bang with a large cast of outstanding, likable, hate-able and intricate characters one of whom, out of twenty-four, will become Australia’s second, sole survivor. Welcome to Australian Survivor.
The editors, producers and Jon have a lot to be proud of here. The weaving of stories, the little details and relationships being formed between characters and the unique and well thought out challenges were epic and extremely reminiscent of the American seasons while still having some Aussie style. Well done.
My own favourite cast members so far are:
- Aimee Stanton (23): Just seems like a good sheila, didn’t get much air time on the premiere however her promos were brilliant. She fell down like ten stories (two people high) in the first immunity challenge and got straight back up. Extremely excited to see how she does in the game.
- Locky Gilbert (27): Very fit, young and relatable guy, seems to be well liked by his tribe and has his head screwed on. Worried that he will get targeted pre-merge for a possible merge due to his athleticism. He solely carried his tribe through the physical part of the immunity challenge (literally on his shoulders.
- Mark Wales (37): I like army people. Fit, smart, possibly out early merge due to his abilities in challenges as well as being a strategic threat. Could go far if he finds the right alliance to get him there.
- Sam Gash (32): A tad forceful but she knows what she wants, could come off as too controlling. All being said however, she is still controlling the vote (or controlled the first vote). Could be targeted early because of being too bossy, however I like her character and persona.
- AND JOAN! (29): Someone who I thought would go a long way, what an extremely interesting person to watch, however had an extremely huge mouth. Lemme in on one of those escape rooms! (Note to all survivors who say they’re puzzle masters, you’re usually not).
The cast is quite abundant with characters and there are not too many fadeaways (boring contestants) in a season of twenty four people. I’m keen to meet all of them. However, there are a few of whom I dislike/think are stupid, such as:
- A.K. Knight (29): Way, way, way to strong bro! Didn’t you learn anything from Nick Iadanza’s season! Don’t come out of the gate to early otherwise you will crash and burn. He isn’t trying to make lasting relationships with his teammates, as can be seen through his interaction with Tara. He is going to get bitten in the arse, hard.
- Luke Toki (30): When he started talking about his family I started to feel for the guy, but then he started talking. When he is literally talking about anything else I wanted to punch him in the face. Its not that hes not likable, he just seems like an idiot. Don’t know if he’ll make it very far, I feel like he’ll stir the pot too much causing it to spill all over him. Nobody likes over stirred soup.
- Kent Nelson (51): Sole reason. He didn’t go home and Joan did. That is all.
The challenges were also extremely entertaining! The first challenge was back and forth all the way through with both tribes fighting hard for the rice and belongings from the ship. The Samatau tribe (wearing Maroon) used their wits to position themselves towards the rice first by ditching all of their scrounged supplies while the Asaga tribe (wearing a bluey-green colour- I am not an artist) was slow to react, keeping all of their items. By getting rid of their supplies, the Samatau tribe were able to reach the rice, get Jarrad Seng (29) onto the shoulders of his tribe and hooked off the rice with Sam Gash from the Asaga tribe hanging off his waist, trying to fight for the rice in a fit of pulling and struggling. What a way to start!
The fire making challenge (with the reward of flint) showed off the Asaga tribes guns with Special Ops contestant Mark Wales leading the way for his tribe to get fire before the maroon tribe.
In the immunity challenge, both tribes were neck and neck, however, Asaga fell short at the last hurdle being unable to finish the puzzle. This put puzzle-makers Joan and Clark on the chopping block.
Then came tribal, AND WHAT A FIRST TRIBAL!
The first vote revealed a tie between Joan and Clark. Now, if this had of been American Survivor (IT WOULD HAVE BEEN AWESOME), there would have been a rock draw. In this situation Kent and Joan would have been safe from a random draw of rocks. This means that the remaining ten tribe members would all be at risk of going home, and would go home if they drew a black rock. A one out of ten chance to go home. THAT WOULD HAVE BEEN INSANE.
However, there was no rock draw (a little disappointing but expected). On the re-vote, Joan was sent home and so was my hopes of one of my top three. How disappointing.
This season of Australian Survivor is going to be off the charts amazing, and I cannot wait for this twists and turns this season gives the audience. Finally, Australian’s are getting the chance to watch amazing survivor gameplay. I can’t wait to see where it goes from here.
~krisesandchrosses~
krisesandchrosses 