I’d be interested
@Zcsund1234 for an interesting read.
It seems season 1 was more balanced, I noticed than when I randomly rewatched an episode of season 1, too. 3 tribes was also a great way to bring it in and the cast were super interesting.
I really liked that the editing at least felt like they didn’t have a favorite, but still have a good cast…. I long for a season like that once again.
I'm going to see what I come up with and if its lengthy (which it probably well be) I'll start a thread and compile my thoughts. I have a few weeks to go until any of my university assignments are due so I have a lot of free time to rewatch the seasons.
Season 1 was so much more balanced. And I agree, I've always wanted them to go back to three tribes but I recall in an interview with JLP he stated that it costs to much to acquire a third era. Probably why the use of Exile beach has decreased since the post All stars era. But it helped a lot for the audience to understand the dynamics. With only 8 people on each tribe it was logical that each tribe had an alliance of 4-5 people, which allowed for the dynamics on each tribe to be easily understood. There was not a single episode where I was left confused with who was getting voted out. I felt I understood why perfectly.
And yes the editing shows there was no single favourite. In the beginning people like Conner, Kylie, Nick and Phoebe are given the most airtime, then moving onto the swap Phoebe takes over naturally but then come merge the person with the most confessionals was constantly changing after each episode. Kristie, Flick, Matt, Sam, Brooke and Nick all had a point where they were the top confessional getter. I long for this style of editing to return. There were also confessionals occasionally used during challenges, and when the challenge was over and as well as the walk to tribal council it was common for 3-4 people to share insight through confessionals.
Looking back on the season 1 cast, I don't recall liking any of the top 7 or so (though Matt was ok).
But they were basically a gang, and Kristie.
Some good players and interesting personalities were voted out early (particularly Nick).
So I don't think I enjoyed that season more than this one.
The Saanapu tribe swap doesn't help with this. I too felt the same. With the unfair tribe swap twist all of the Saanapu members were rarely given airtime outside of two segments because there was no reason to show the tribe at all. The boot order was horrendous. From Rohan to Nick all of the biggest characters were taken out. Which left a final ten of very under edited people. At the time I was rooting for the Vavau members Jennah-Louise, Sue, Kate and also Kristie and Conner. Not so much changed in my rewatch but I didn't dislike El, Brooke and Flick as much as I did the first time.
I went into the season trying not to be close minded about the stagnant gameplay. The narrative is very strong and I was impressed if anything by Brooke's social control of the game and how well she positioned herself. Kristie's win was great for TV even if she is a very weak winner in terms of game. It's a season that I think has held up. Kristie winning saves the story arc, it's just a shame the series itself was very slow at the merge. The pre merge is extremely fun, overall a mistake by production in not making the swap random is what resulted in the poor gameplay. The Saanapu tribe was also just way too stacked from the beginning.