Natalie was an exceptionally strong physical player who dominated on Extinction. She played as strong as Tony given the hand she was dealt early on. She influenced the remaining players more than any other exiled player.

I agree her only chance to win was to put herself in the fire challenge against Tony. But hindsight is 20/20.

Both Natalie and Tony were solid players deserving to win.

Sarah was lucky that she wasn't voted off after her bonehead move convincing Tony that Natalie didn't have an idol. That foolish move flushed out all the idols killing their advantage.

Getting rid of Ben made sense because Michelle had no chance of beating anybody in the end, so keep her. Especially once Ben told her it was okay to vote him out.

Personally, i don't understand Ben's sacrificial decision telling Sarah it"s okay to vote him. I don't think she would've done it otherwise.

Sarah gave a good "I am woman hear me roar" speech before making the final Q &A. And gloated a bit to Tony before losing to him in the fire challenge.

I liked Tony and Natalie better.

I heard Probst really disliked him. And Danny Partridge wasn't too kind to him either.

And the backstage aftermath:

I really like Survivor but Jeff Probst has slowly evolved into a new age douchebag.

It was clear he wanted loving affirmation when he had already decided he'd stop saying "guys. "

But the only response was from a lesbian who had no issue and preferred it remain. She inadvertently crushed his plan.

Then the drama queen speaks up after the discussion was dead, and Probst jumps all over it, completely praising his "bravery," making the change, and completely disregarding the only person who spoke up when he originally brought it up. What a douche.

Probst thinks Survivor is more important than what it is - just a Reality TV show.

He's taking himself too seriously. He's good at what he does, but the show is not about him.

Great pic.

So you were part of the faceless group that they film demonstrating the challenges before the contestants begin? That's very cool.

I generally warm up to each season as it progresses. It's still early, but so far this season sucks. The success is usually dependent on the interaction and conflict between the different personalities.

I think Jeff Probst is part of the problem now. It was better when he had a more subtle presence. He's too vocal. The show isn't about him.

His proclamation to stop using the word "guys" was his ego saying that he and the show are way more important than they really are.

He could've just stopped saying it if he thought it was improper.

I agree with you on this. They are manipulating the game too much.

They placed the "Beware Advantage" into very public camp locations at their own discretion, involving themselves into the game

They manipulated any randomness to who could find it by choosing the time and location they wanted it to suddenly appear in camp.

Totally agree. I am coming to the conclusion that the show sucks now and Probst deserves a lot of the blame.

I think the show is on its way out. The cast is not helping. They're mostly douche heads that I can't get behind.

And Probst is like the douche leader. He needs to be less front and center, and shut up a bit with his commentary and influence.

I can't stand watching any of those singing shows however. Never could. Those have sucked from day 1.

Probst pre-vote chatter is not neutral. He has a specific agenda and is interfering too much.

He is so proud of himself thinking Survivor is more important than it really is.

It's still just a dumb reality show, but it has transformed into a soap box for Probst.

The perfect host should be neutral and unnoticed. He needs to go.

When he first suggested the change, he clearly expected an enthusiastic "hells yeah Probst, you're so great!"

But he was clearly disappointed that only one brave soul (Evvie, the cool proud lesbian) spoke up at the time saying, "no, it doesn't bother me and I think it's fine to keep 'guys'."

She totally shot down Jeff's dream to show how woke he is. He didn't expect it and was disappointed.

Then days later, Ricard said he didn't like it but failed to speak up at the time. BAM! Good enough. The change was made.

Probst completely disregarded Evvie's opinion without a 2nd thought Her opinion didn't matter because it contradicted Probst's agenda. All he needed was anyone else to do what he wanted.

I'm gonna check out Australia.

You nailed it! This is exactly right. We love seeing stupid, arrogant players get blindsided.

It's the number one reason to watch.

A remote second reason to watch is to see a smart, likable player show a solid understanding of each situation, and make all the correct moves.

A weak player (Liana) acts emotionally and will want to get rid of people they don't like. A smart player will act rationally because they understand all ramifications and see the big picture.

The harmony of the diverse cultures coming together representing a microcosm of society? Sorry Probst. You're trying too hard.

The producers are showing they have lost sight of what made the show good.

I really didn't see Heather do anything but take up oxygen on the island. She was never a factor in any strategy discussions, big moves or challenges. She was however spot on about Xander's chances against Erika.

She would've for sure been listed as "and the rest" had this been Gilligan's Island.

It really was the shittiest season ever. So much preaching about personal hardships, triumphs and growth. I don't tune in for empowering life lessons. They gotta improve next season.

There wasn't enough conflict between the participants. Too much hugging and appreciating each other, not enough acrimony, scheming and tough competition. That's what makes the show watchable. It felt really sterile. The show needs to have a few asshole personalities.

It also seemed like the show controlled how it wanted events to unfold by strategically placing advantages mid-game in locations that were not exactly random. The season also seemed more like a bully pulpit for Probst and the producers.

Usually I had a strong opinion of who deserves it and who I really hate. In this season, I didn't really care for any of the players if they win or lose. It made for a weak season.

I think your cynicism was correct. One post promoting his YouTube channel, then nothing.

Fame may be fleeting, but the internet is forever.

Such behavior is completely in line with his character. Here's an interesting article on Fairplay and Probst's thoughts.

https://heavy.com/entertainment/survivor/jeff-probst-jonny-fairplay/

Na’Onka Mixon was by far the worst person ever. Colson was a close 2nd.

Sandra was no worse than Parvati or Russell.

I agree about Sandra. She is more memorable.

And I had to look up Na’Onka Mixon's name too, but I remembered her behavior when she was on.

She was the absolute most despicable human with the worst qualities in a person I've ever seen on TV. And I include evil fictional characters on that list.

She was unbelievable in her crass, rude and nasty behavior. I watched in disbelief how she was selected for the show and not incarcerated somewhere. I recall that she was fired from her job as a teacher after her season aired. She certainly deserved it.

Colson was a total pig, yet was still much nicer and decent in comparison.

After how shitty the last season was, and Probst in particular, I'm gonna check out Australia season 3, and proceed from there. .

I thought the first episode was good so far. Probst was less douchy and even self deprecating when the contestant was gushing about him at the original gathering. More promising than last season.

There's plenty of people to hate which has potential for a good season. I already hate the blonde who looked for an idol.

The strong white guy with braids is cool but he'll get voted out. Asian chick who played it safe on the hike up the mtn seems cool too.

Yep.

It was interesting that the two contestants who felt race was at play were clueless to not think having an idol could be a more relevant factor than their skin color.

Mission accomplished in flushing out both idols in a single tribal, AND getting rid of that annoying blonde chick.

And Rocksroy had a terrible social game, unable to relate to the millennial players. Maryann is someone you'd want to bring to the end. She's a pawn.

This season is as good as last season was bad. Such a great challenge and tribal last night.

The season could only be better with a new host. Probst annoys me everytime he says "come on in" without "guys."

Skip it. It sucked and nobody cared who won. I don't even remember who it was.

If Marianne saved Lindsey, Lindsey would've gotten all of the votes.

Once the better players were gone, Marianne found herself in the right place at the right time and strategically pulled out her unused idol for maximum advantage to sway the jury.

She deserves credit for that. However, she appeared as an "also ran" for most of the show, similar to Romeo. She expressed a lot of clueless-ness early on. You gotta be good to win at Survivor. But you still also have to be lucky.

I had been primarily rooting for Jonathan due to his physical strength and tolerance of others, but in the end, I have to say Lindsey was the most deserving player. Smart, physical, social and a true fighter never giving up.

Jonathan was strong and likable, but he didn't understand the repercussions of each vote as well as Lindsey. Doubtful he would have done any better than Mike in the end either.

Last season was better than the one before, which was the season that made me dislike Probst. He used to facilitate and stay in the background.

Now it's like the show should be called "Jeff Probts Presents: Survivor"

I liked Boston Rob okay. The issue with the show is when the better players that you like get voted out, and lesser players win and act like it was all their doing.

This season has provided a carefully crafted group of diversity.

Unfortunately, they failed to include any rude, offensive, and totally crass players who actually make the show a bit more fun to watch. As someone mentioned before, the best part of the show is watching the people you hate get voted off.

The show is striving so hard to be progressive, it lost a bit of its edge.

Gotta say that this season is really kinda boring. It lacks the core gut drama and passion that made it good in the past.

They've diluted it too much so as not to offend the weenies. Everybody now has a stupid tear-jerking backstory of overcoming hardship. They all profess their love to the remaining players as they are voted off.

Bring back the a-hole personalities. They are fun to watch go down. It's just too vanilla now.

(Spoiler alert.)

Yep the end game of this season is proving to be very good.

I almost thought Cody was brilliant in how he retained his idol back from Jesse. But then he was stupid and gave it back. He failed to see the consequences.

Jesse was smart to take advantage of Cody's mistake. It's cut- throat. He wouldn't beat him with integrity. He also cleverly flushed the other remaining idol out by how he played the stolen idol.

Jesse is my pick of who should win.

Oh yeah, I think you're right. I suppose it's unclear if Cody actually gave his back to Jesse or not.

But when Jesse played an idol for Owen, why wouldn't Cody clue in and play his if he had it?

I still think Jesse outplayed Cody. Especially if he still has another idol in his pocket that nobody knows about.

Cody definitely returned his idol back to Jesse. It was just edited out.

Jesse psyched Cody into thinking Karla had the knowledge is power advantage and would steal it, so Cody gave it back.

Jesse played the situation perfectly.

https://tvline.com/2022/12/08/survivor-cody-assenmacher-exit-interview-season-43-episode-12/

I was super disappointed that Jesse failed the fire challenge. The pressure on him was immense.

He deserved to win. After he was eliminated, it was now all about Cassidy losing.

She was so out of touch and over-confident thinking she had won before any voting. And the shocked look on her face when she failed to get the votes made that last episode worthwhile. She sure seemed unaware of her standing with the jury.

These final 3 were not the best players. Carla, Jesse and Cody deserved to be there more. But Gabler was the best of the final three.

And I have total respect for Gabler donating the money. What a statement.

I agree with most what you say, but not about Owen deserving to be there. He was never a real threat.

After Jesse, Cody and Karla were better players. They both deserved to be there more than Owen or Cassidy.

Without Jesse in the running, It would've been a closer final vote, but I'd guess Karla would've edged him out.

I've only seen the first one so far, and it was not great. I assume it'll get better as personalities develop.

I'll stick with it at least through ep 3.

SPOILER

The idol was a liability because everyone knew Brandon had it. He was right to get rid of it, and it was ultimately the correct move to play it the way the votes all went to him.

He was stupid to have outed it to the entire group, but he already failed to be discreet when he pocketed it.

The group discovery was a total clusterfuck since it included the authentic fake idol with it. Such a waste of potential strategy.

My early pick to win is the nerd with glasses.

This thread has been dead during this current season, but the finale is now in two days.

These early comments after the first show remain relevant into the final episode.

This season was fairly forgettable, but not awful. I prefer to see more cut- throat behavior.

There was too much loving each other, hugging and being "so proud of themselves" with how they've grown.

Jeff fricking loves that shit.

And SPOILER,

Bold move by Heidi to volunteer herself to make fire and take out Carson. But it really seems like one's fate is already determined once its down to 3. She couldn't overcome how Yam Yam had already endeared himself to all the players.

I thought Carolyn had the best back story and might've won for being underestimated.

To be fair, Yam Yam earned immunity doing the psychologically toughest physical challenge there is - suffering underneath a cage during a rising tide. He showed some grit in the game too.

It's not bad, but I miss the really awful personalities from earlier years. I like to see the real arrogant assholes get their comeuppance.

These players are borderline boring and forgettable. None that I care much about if they win or not. That's been the general trend in recent years.

I still watch it though.

It would've been a great twist if they couldn't quit, but HAD to be voted out.

And then have the remaining players keep them as pawns to bring to the final three.

I know they voted the last guy who missed his boyfriend boo hoo, but they should've kept him in against his wishes.

This is where US Survivor went to shit in my opinion.

It used to have genuine assholes interspersed. I loved watching the dickheads get their come- uppance when they got voted out.

Now it's all kumbaya with everyone strategizing in woke harmony.

Jeff now finds the word "guys"offensive.