‘Survivor’ Fans Are Bored With Season 43 and Its ‘Bad Gameplay’
Survivor is only five episodes deep into the new season, but some fans are already sharing their dislike toward it. It’s part of the “new era” of the CBS reality competition series, meaning that it is only 26 days long, has numerous unexpected twists, and less food. But compared to seasons 41 and 42, Survivor Season 43 isn’t measuring up for viewers.
Some ‘Survivor’ fans aren’t happy with season 43
One Reddit user started a thread expressing annoyance with Survivor Season 43. They titled it, “Anyone else feeling a bit ho-hum and uninspired by the season so far?”
They wrote, “I feel like, with 41, we were all so revitalized to have Survivor back, and there was a new format, you had the [Yase] underdog story, episode 4 with JD [Robinson]’s boot was a brilliant episode. With 42, you had the insane Chanelle [Howell] risking her vote storyline by this point, Jonathan [Young]’s entire thing, and, IDK, that season, it just felt like the cast popped.”
“Here, I just feel like it’s a bit ‘we’ve seen this all before,'” the Reddit user continued. “Sure, Cody [Assenmacher] is great, and Karla [Cruz Godoy] is a breath of fresh air — but most of the players are bad. The big twist is getting beads from other players? OK … I don’t know what it is, but this season just hasn’t really been super compelling, even if the last two Tribal Councils have been objectively good. There’s a lot of bad gameplay.”
A fan commented, “This season has had such a spate of really straightforward, obvious, boring boots? Not a lot of complexity, and so many players making really strategically poor moves, and in ways that are boring.”
“I’m realizing the ‘advantage-focused’ edit is draining some of the creativity of Survivor,” someone else added. And another Reddit user said, “I spent half of this episode on my phone reading Reddit. Definitely not keeping my attention.”
Other fans defend the season
Whereas some fans pointed out why they think Survivor Season 43 is boring, others shared their thoughts on why it has potential.
“It’s the opposite for me,” a Reddit user wrote. “The bad gameplay is what makes the players extremely compelling for me. The twists are better executed here, in my opinion. Each tribe this season is not as kumbaya as 42, which is very refreshing plus, how can you not love the return of snarky Jeff [Probst].”
One fan replied, “We even get some balanced editing. There was a lot of male focus early, but this episode toned it down and gave focus to the female players. Cody didn’t even have a confessional.”
Another Survivor viewer is choosing to be positive. They commented, “I’m hopeful for an interesting post-merge. The pre-merge felt a bit slow, but I think that there are interesting enough characters and dynamics to lead us into a compelling endgame, especially if the more exciting characters have longevity. Could just be a slow-burn season. Or at least, I hope so.”
Will the tribes merge in ‘Survivor’ Season 43 Episode 6?
Perhaps some fans who find Survivor Season 43 boring will change their mood after episode 5. The preview for episode 6 teased that the castaways will “merge,” but there’s a twist. Unfortunately, we don’t know what surprise Jeff Probst has in store for the players, but we have a guess.
Similar to the other seasons of the “new era,” the season 43 castaways will have to earn the merge. Producers will likely split the contestants into two groups for the Immunity Challenge. However, there won’t be an hourglass this time.
The synopsis for episode 6 reads, “The game intensifies when the tribes meet each other at the same camp. Also, castaways must scramble and strategize before Tribal Council to avoid being the sixth person voted out.”
Survivor Season 43 airs Wednesdays at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.
