[Celirra]

Season 1, Episode 3: Quest For Food

100% hindsight I know, but note two things from the opening via the Tagi side:

Firstly, the conflict between Rudy and Stacey is emphasized. This is good to take note of because it shows that either there will be some kind of culmination of the argument, and/or one of the two will go home in this episode (effectively reminding the audience of what possible negatives people have, and reminding them of who should be relevant to them this episode).

Second, the reminded characterization of Richard about him being homosexual. Reinforcing the complex nature of the character is often a good sign to tell who would be a winner in editing (why would they waste effort like that on someone who doesn’t go far/win?), especially when he’s nigh the only person with this kind of focus. Also interesting is the resurgence of the Rudy good-guy angle in regards to Richard. The editing that makes the audience like a character (Rudy here) is a good way (notably in old survivor, less consistent in newer seasons) to also figure out who could potentially be going home. Very rarely do good guys go home over an antagonist (unless it’s season-wide antagonism), which draws away from a chance of Rudy being voted off. Pair this with point number one for obvious connections. That said, Stacey had some positivity via editing for winning the challenge, however I’d consider the tie to the person getting the winner’s edit to outweigh the positivity from winning a challenge; the challenge winner must be emphasized, however social elements do not necessarily have to be.

Honestly, Stacey is more game aware than I remember with the Sue not voting with them analysis. That said, I think both Stacey and Sue did a good job in general with the social/strategy dynamic.

TAPIOCA GONE WILD

Something about Dirk preaching christianity to Richard is really… well, I feel like it’s a good example of something that could have gone much more wrong if the people involved weren’t so mellow.

“You don’t meet many 23 year old guys who are virgins” and then the internet era was brought along. Good ol’ 20th century culture.

Anyways, forget the whole Dirk x Richard comment earlier, I forgot that shit hit the fan later on. The dynamic of Dirk becoming scummy via editing (overly preachy, creepy vibes with Kelly, “pent-up sexual frustration”, and now the anti-homosexuality) and against Richard notably draws another pair for rivalry (much like Rudy x Stacey), and also since the popular player is well-known as such and unlikely to be voted off soon (Richard), it shows poorly for the other end of the rivalry (Dirk).

The SUPERPOLE 2000 is hilarious for so many subtle reasons, but to list one it’s really just how proud of it Sean really is despite the silly name. In regards to Sean, similar notes to Dirk with the antagonism against Richard, plus his illustrated pairing with Dirk furthers both of them looking poor hand-in-hand.

Greg is great, his trap is hilarious and just like Sean being big about his pole, Greg being subtly proud of the trap is hilarious too. “Rats aren’t bad, rats are rats” I really hope Greg has pursued rat culinary skills, he seemed very into it and I wonder if he has a good rat gravy recipe.

The idea of being told about a challenge ahead of time and told to build something in preparation is super cool to me, and I wish it was still done. Sure, there’s balance issues with it, but fuck it, it makes for cool challenges.

Colleen is so cute, ahh. Just an aside but it’d be fun to hang out with her and talk with her.

It’s funny how the idea of talking about who to vote for as mentioned by Richard was an unpopular topic, given how integral to Survivor strategy it is in nigh all other seasons.

The conch of truth is the dumbest thing, sure it’s a cute gimmick but gosh is it dumb. I’m glad it didn’t stick. I know Lord of the Flies is a common comparative line and the conch is a nod to that, but even still… not a fan.

Anyways, not a lot to say about Stacey other than she made the (later on common) mistake of being too pushy while also not being terribly useful. From what I’ve seen, it’s usually a sure sign of an early boot both in old and new seasons, but if they can make it beyond the early game it proves to be a relatively fine approach.