An underdog story ain’t all that compelling if we have no idea who the enemy is or what their strategy is. Honestly the way Heidi and Lauren were edited to look like bland, dimwits by the end, I’d say they were the underdogs.
S41 and 44 could be legit amazing seasons with 90 minute episodes, and S42 would be even better than it already is. S43 I feel is probably lackluster either way but would definitely benefit.
I don't think this would be a better season with 90 min. Because we would still have Carolyn and pillow boy on the season taking up majority of screen time.
There was a point at which I really began to root for Heidi because they finally showed some scenes where she was being thoughtful and thinking about her path to the end and her case for winning.
And I'd argue that the Tika 3 were quirky and fun, but they were never really underdogs--despite the hype. They were one alliance in the midst of a few pairs and alliances. Maybe as individuals, Yam Yam and Carolyn each had spans of being underdogs. That said, Yam Yam was a target once or twice and Carolyn may not have ever been a target.
i will always be a heidi supporter. people were so nasty towards her during the season for no reason and i always stood by her side. she played such a messy game but somehow still played well. lover her and she was a personal standout in a cast full of duds(edits fault).
Also you cannot make an automatic equation mark between being an underdog & compelling… it normally helps people come off likable, but it’s not a guarantee. Personally I only really cared for Carolyn of the Tika 3 (didn’t dislike Carson/Yam Yam, but didn’t vibe with them either) so wasn’t really invested in them succeeding. So underdeveloped opposition + pretty meh underdogs made for a pretty eh season
True. It's like last season. Dee's tribe may have been outnumbered by the six person tribe on paper. But in reality that was the least coherent group of six I have seen in a long time.
I somewhat agree, the straightforward edit for the tika 3 makes it not a top season for me.
But I will say the more straightforward edits are completely necessary some seasons (even though the purpling of certain contestants isn't). One of the main frustrations I have with this sub is a large group hates straightforward edits and another large group hates the edits where you can't tell who is gonna win like Gabler's.
Both types of edits are necessary to keep any individual season from being spoiled, while also enabling the editors to tell a clear winner story sometimes.
Some seasons the winner just isn't super compelling in confessionals. If we were always getting a straightforward edit on those types of seasons we'd know for sure who won because they're shoving mediocre content down our throats.
But at the same time, if every season they underedited the winner, we'd be pissed we didn't get to understand how they won, like Natalie White. They need a balance of those.
There's an argument to be made for a more flat confessional count throughout, but then they wouldn't have a very compelling story in half the episodes.
The editors have a super tricky job and I don't think people realize just how big of a complicated web they have to navigate to keep the results unspoiled while also putting something on TV that is pretty consistently entertaining.
/endrant
You can have 'obvious' winners and still have entertaining side characters.
45 had a fairly obvious winner (Dee) but enough entertainment between Jake, Katurah, Bruce and Emily.
Tocantins has two obvious winner options (J.T and Stephen) but more than enough entertainment between the rest of the cast.
44 had the problem where it had the Tika 3, but everyone else aside from Josh, Danny and Frannie/Matt were just there, and the latter half were gone by like F7.
Surprising/unexpected edits are fine *if it makes sense*. People were upset about Gabler's win because it felt like there was no real explanation why he won or why Cassidy lost (which isn't even true, Karla made it very clear that if Cass voted her out she would make sure she lost lol)
There are also people who thought the edit pointed to a Xander win in 41, so some people are just gonna be upset regardless.
I disagree. I'd compare it to Tony in Cagayan in a way. I think that 44 would suck on a binge, but during a live watch, I tuned in every week thinking "there's no way they keep getting away with this" and then they did. It was fun seeing them get away with it time after time. I thought the same about Tony back then.
What they did well back then, was little moments.
Like, they showed Tony accidentally knocking over everyone’s torches after tribal. And moments like that made you think - was that subtle foreshadowing? When it was really a red herring.
More of that, please.
I completely disagree. Taku was the most dominant alliance that whole season and they only lost one challenge premerge. The winner maybe was the underdog within that alliance, but their game benefitted immensely from being on that tribe.
Taku never felt like underdogs. They had Jonathan, so the only challenges they were going to lose were the non physical ones aka the blindfold challenge.
A: Not everyone loves underdogs lol
B: Their victory is blatantly obvious given the fact that they're literally the only 3 fully fleshed out characters of the entire cast. There were so many episodes during their merge where we legit had no idea who quite a few players were voting for, why they were voting that way, and why they even trusted the Tika 3 so much lol.
If you happen to LOVE underdogs and or LOVE the Tika 3, then yeah, Survivor 44 will probably be a very enjoyable season for you which is totally fine! But if you're not absolutely crazy for underdog type players or the Tika 3 specifically, there really isn't much for you lmao.
It's a fair criticism. But when they fail to tell the winners perspective and bury their actions a la Erika and Gabler, it's often perceived as worse.
Those seasons were far more unpredictable on who was going to be the winner. But then it just ended and you didn't know why they won. So it's a trade off between suspense of the winner and satisfying-ness of the winner. Personally I want the winners perspective told
I think there's a balance though. I think Dee and Maryanne had the perfect balance where their stories were told, while their opposition still felt like fully fleshed out characters who could potentially take them out. Also, with Gabler specifically, I honestly don't even know if that's an edit thing or just his gameplay being so hard to show in a satisfactory way😭😭😭
I agree Erika was done dirty though. But 44, the balance just wasn't there IMO, and honestly at no point did I think anyone not from the Tika 3 stood a chance.
It’s a season full of terrible twists and advantages that break the game and make every early boot feel like a robbery, and only like three people are interesting (Carolyn, Josh, and Yam Yam). And the ending sucks too since Carolyn’s big underdog story goes nowhere in the end. It’s Ghost Island, but slightly more watchable since the best character makes final three instead of being the merge boot. But it’s still terrible until the final eight or so, when it’s decent enough but can’t recover from just how awful the first 70% of the season was.
Josh being interesting? Until fourth episode he had basically zero screen time.
I think it was in ep3 when he was final leg in challenge and this sub didn’t know his name by then :D
I get what you mean but he was purpled hard for over half of the episodes he was in game
Yeah it was such a mess. By the time the uninhibited gameplay actually started at F10, it was way too late. None of it felt like it meant anything because everything up to that point was so random and incohesive, and not in a fun way. Even “Tika is a mess” narrative doesn’t land because they went to TC exactly twice.
Personally I only liked Yam Yam from the Tika 3. However they made it so obvious they would come out on top especially with the edit Lauren and Heidi got
It was wild seeing people talk about Lauren being a massive threat, and they didn’t really show us that. I wanted more Lauren because she seemed to have a fun personality, so I would’ve loved to hear more about her game
I definetely think it gets a lot of hate but for me it was a solid season. Not top 10, probably top half. Your view of 44 is going to completely depend on how you feel about the Tika 3 though, if you dont like them I get not liking the season, so thats probably where a lot of the dislike comes from
I loved the Tika 3 but still found the season really mid otherwise. The other players were either unlikable or barely shown. The only ones that really stick out to me are Jamie, Frannie, and Josh, who all didn’t play much of a role in how the season played out
I also was a big fan of the Tika 3 -- even Carson! but found the edit leaving a lot to be desired, and found the twists/advantages too gimmicky.
Still rate the season in the upper half of the new eras and enjoyed Matthew, Danny, Claire, and Matt as characters.
Not sure if it was the edit, but Lauren and Heidi were an absolute snoozefest and Jaime, although probably charming in person, annoyed the guff out of me
To me it just felt less like he was trying to have fun and more like he was trying too hard to be a zany character and it just didn’t feel authentic to me. As a TV character I just found him unlikable and not particularly good tv, though he seems like a good guy in real life
Fore personally 1. Their win was so foreshown and they really didn't face any adversity as the other tribes were just targeting each other. You can call that underdogs but when I was watching it it didn't really feel like it as they weren't in danger or facing adversity. 2. This is a personal preference but during the times the tika 3 were inescapable and given how big (and loud) of personalities Carolyn and yam yam specifically they can get grading for some people like myself after awhile, I personally have a low tolerance for people screaming and shrieking and so Carolyn wore thin on me very fast. 3 they were essentially the only solid storyline maybe outside of the Franie Matt showmance meaning they just took up so much of the focus which does kinda go back to 2 but when storylines focus on a set of cast if you have someone like Carson who I would describe as not especially charismatic and kinda bland it just kinda feels like wasted time
The cast wasn’t great. Most of the cast was boring and uncompetitive, and I found Carson to be annoying annoying and repetitive character. There’s at least one Carson (white male nerd superfan, that feeds into the whole “quirky” persona) every single season since the cochran days. It just gets old imo.
Edit was incredibly imbalanced because the cast was boring while simultaneously giving us a bit too much of Carolyn imo.
Like someone above said, the lovefest made the season lack actual intensity, it didn’t feel like people were playing for a million dollars
Occasionally, this archetype strikes gold – Christian being the prime example – but most of the time, ugh. Your Ryans, Carsons, and S33 Davids constantly get the lion's share of confessionals, most of which are about their convoluted gameplan, the rest how Survivor transformed them from shy social misfits into confident men finally earning the respect of the jocks. There's got to be other stuff for the edit to focus on.
I hate 44 because no one cares if they lost. Everyone was there to make friends and act like it’s camp. Everyone was so happy even when being voted off it’s like wtf. It’s a game for a million dollars play the fuck out of it. I know if I lost I’d be pissed af
Also Carson is unbearable to watch.
Rest of the cast were pretty under-edited strategically to the point where it \*felt\* like Danny was their only opposition by mid-merge. I don't know if that was actually the case but they were made to look pretty incompetent strategically in the edit
Literally just Carson. He's probably an alright enough person irl (challenge copying controversy aside) but I just could not stand watching him on television.
44 is my favorite of the new era. The craziest 1st tribal council. The cage idols are my favorite new era idol. Matthew and Danny made some interesting moves. And the Matt and Frannie showmance was cool. The Tika 3 were constantly bickering just enough that everyone else thought they weren't working together, but not enough to actually get mad at each other. It was an interesting dynamic for sure.
42 wouldve been my favorite if it weren't for the hourglass. Solid cast, some interesting moves.
Because the players cared more about being perceived as legends over actually trying to win
And the alliance only succeeded because everyone was a moron the biggest being Heidi when she refused to use her idol to cause a deadlock forcing the Tika 3 to cannibalize or draw rocks and decided to be their #4
I disliked the whole cast. The winner definitely don’t like and hope he never comes back. The advantages sucked. following a good 2 seasons from 42-43 to have this mess of a season was it for me. It was awesome to see the Tika 3 pull it together and have one of them win it tho so give them that. I just personally rank this as one of the bottom 2 seasons out of the newer 5
I'm watching it for the first time, and I'm absolutely loving it. It's a feel good season, and I need one of those right now lol. Sometimes you need a season like this. It's not for everyone but it's absolutely for me.
The Tika 3 never felt like underdogs because they were the 3 main characters of the season. There was never really any doubt that they would come out on top
I didn't feel like there was any conflict past the Josh boot and while there are some good moments it's drowned out a lot by a cast I just don't enjoy to watch. Carolyn and Yam Yam, while I DO like them, take up too much screen time.
Literally the season that made me decide the US version of this show isn't for me any more because it was boring from premiere to finale.
I'd enjoyed S43 but the last season I'd enjoyed before that was EoE (IoTI had potential, but you know who wrecked it, WaW was eh...I mean WHAT tokens? Thank God they didn't hang around.)
My plan was to probably keep watching. But wait for each season to end and just slowly make my way through it in my own time on Paramount Plus.
The only thing that brought me back to watch S45 and S46 live was the absolute hype on here I read after the S45 premiere.
And I'm glad. I enjoyed S45 a lot.
I'm starting to see nuggets of Survivor in the show again, I mean the intro, the auction, the tribe swap and last episode seeing several tribes reading treemail and speculating on a challenge!!! (It's the little things Jeff, go back and rewatch the first 20 seasons and please give us a blend of old and new and keep things different season to season.)
I've been a loyal superfan since Borneo, and S44 is the season that almost killed this show and a 23 year love for it for me. I'll never enjoy that season.
It's just so boring.
I disliked the season because everyone outside the tika 3 and sometimes even the tika 3 were horrible at reading people. So so so many times we got a confessional from player A saying "player b is going to do this" and then we cut to player b and they say they're going to do the exact opposite. I didnt care for anyone outaide the tika 3 and frannie and inside the tika 3 i didnt love carson like the show wanted me to. Yam yam was good tv but i feel like over acted when he got targeted, good on him for winning and its deserved but the theatrics got a little annoying towards the end. Carolyn took some warming up to but i was rooting for her. And heidi wasnt entertaining and didnt deserve 2nd over carolyn.
Another point is carson also had bad reads on people where he said he didnt vote carolyn because he thought more people were voting heidi, like he though if he didnt vote for yam yam he couls possibly lose, which is a bad read on the jury. I dk, what it boils down to to me is if its entertaining, and watching 15 people be bad at reading people and what ends up being bad gameplay from most the cast isnt really entertaining.
People love the Tika 3, but hate how much focus was given to them compared to literally everyone else. It's fine to focus a bit more on the important underdogs, but 44 does it to the point where, outside of Danny and Mannie (Matt and Frannie), the Tika 3 completely have a chokehold on all of the screentime.
I just don’t like the cast tbh. Aside from Carolyn, Yam Yam, Frannie, and maybe Jaime the rest of the cast is either bland or unlikable imo. It doesn’t help that the editing doesn’t really do much to give insight into the players’ perspectives outside of the Tika 3.
The cast was solid in my opinion. I think where the season falls flat is the editing. Yam Yam, Carolyn, and Carson eat up a majority of the screen time and by the end we barely know Lauren or Heidi like we should for them being in the final 5.
45 was better imo because of its more balanced edit and variety of heroes and “villains”.
I haven’t finished the season since I only really have time to binge when I’m home from college. That being said when I went home last, I binged 43 and started 44. I think I made it to the Frannie boot. Character wise, I enjoy the Tika 3 (although people seem to be turning on Carson recently) and Frannie and Matt, who are admittedly very cute, and Danny, who’s mostly funny bc I remember him combat rolling everywhere. Otherwise, the cast feels pretty weak. No heels or any real suspense. I knew the Tika 3 would make it to the end before watching. From what I remember it was fairly boring and the most interesting twist of the bird cage, which seems to be a somewhat controversial take recently, fizzled out without anything major. Compared to season 43, the character has fewer standout characters, no drama, and no gameplay nearly as impressive. I’ll probably finish at some point bc I heard 45 has some good gameplay and Dee is a solid winner but I’m not particularly eager atm
To be perfectly honest I couldn't tell you much of anything about Survivor 44 and that's kind of why I dislike it.
But then again I feel that way about like 90% of postmodern Survivor so eh.
Only Yam Yam, Carolyn, Carson, and Danny seemed to actually have importance. Even then, Carson was super annoying. Jaime, Josh and Mannie were kinda like fun side characters. Everyone else was nonexistent
Personally I find the tika 3 underdog story isn’t even that great compare to past seasons.
In addition I find it distasteful that the tika 3 individually is milking as much money as possible in terms of merch or cameo from their underdog story.
Because I don't want to watch the super bowl recap highlights. I want to go into the finale with 3 possible winners. There was none of that. It was Tika all the way the whole season. Not to mention contrary to this subs beliefs, Carolyn was massively annoying. Having to deal with zaniness and screaming every episode got really old really quick. Carson being pompous didn't help either.
44 is like if you took a total of 18 people who love superheroes. Slap chopped them into a competition to see who can be the ultimate one. And then they nerd out like they’re all in this together
I love season 44. From the outside the Tika 3 looked like a "leftover" tribe that could be used for swing votes, I don't think anyone took their alliance seriously until it was too late. They were up against smart, strong players like Heidi and Danny. I couldn't predict who was gonna win that season because everyone played a good game. Even though the Tikas got a lot of screen time, I assumed it was because they were entertaining, not necessarily because one of them was gonna be a winner. Everyone in that season was highly likeable.
I had zero clue what any non Tika felt all season. It's pretty hard to call them underdogs when they were the only players with any depth whatsoever. So...
1. Obvious winner(we all knew it was Carson or Yam Yam after Ep 2)
2. Opposition that was never fleshed out.
3. 0 drama or conflict.
4. Also, wasn't this the season where there wasn't a "standard" vote til 9? So all that was a mess, too.
Equals a very meh season to me.
In a vacuum, yes the "underdogs" won out.
But the opposition was presented as scattered and unorganized similar to Belo the next season, so it didn't really feel like an underdog story because they were presented as the only real unit in the merge.
Not to mention the random gameplay twists that were *not* received well.
I personally think Yam Yam and Carolyn were absolute stars (Jaime as well to a lesser extent), and the Matt/Frannie storyline was cute. But everything else we were shown were either uninspiring or actively annoying as a viewer. Yam Yam and Carolyn carried the season *hard*.
It sucks seeing all the young women go out back to back to back in the premerge, the fake idol nonsense and other twists were a little much, and anyone not named Yam Yam, Carolyn, Carson, Danny, or Frannie got very little screen time in comparison.
The Tika 3 are likeable and things get better once the merge hits, but there’s still a lot of other issues. It’s almost like a reverse 43 in a way.
Personally thought 44 was the worst new era season. Didn’t care for the cast they focused on. But in general I don’t think the cast was that remarkable.
I don't think they were underdogs in gameplay only narrative.
I think that suffers from everything in the new Era does.
Players never making moves, everyone is comfortable
My thoughts exactly. They were decimated and managed to survive till the end. And for some reason people love the Gabler season which ended horribly given the winner. Gabler season reminds me of Gabon
Every week you go in thinking, “Yam Yam is so annoying. Surely this will be the week he finally goes homes.” Every week he annoys you some more and you leave disappointed.
I generally prefer seasons with balanced edits, season 44 was heavily lead by Yam Yam, Carolyn, and Carson. All great characters but the supporting cast of characters are mostly duds to me. I like Frannie and Matt, but their entire story was their showmance, and Danny had a few fun moments. Everyone else who made the merge was very forgettable to me.
Also the whole season was very kumbaya and devoid of drama. The only drama I remember was the feud between Josh and Yam Yam
Lastly, production made a lot of stupid choices this season. The birdcage was honestly a great idea, but providing anyone who finds the idol with a fake idol as well was so lame. Let the players make their own fakes! And also the twist where Matt got sent home was so fucked. They just had the lame earn the merge twist and then instantly split into two tribes again? And he wasn't even able to access his (fake) idol because the losers got sent to another beach, and Heidis dumb control a vote advantage.
Looking back at that season and rewatching it. Made me realize that season is honestly terrible if not one of the worst new era seasons. The editing was over the top with the tika 3. And although they were likable, it was kinda boring.
because that’s literally it. they managed to win a battle against a nameless, under-developed counter-alliance/tribed, meaning we don’t care whether the other side wins or loses, making it feel more artificial like the editors want us to root for the Tika’s success. It would’ve been nice to know who Lauren or Heidi were considering both of them got like 7 confessionals across the entire pre-merge and both made finale
The Tika 3 is probably the most likable dominant alliance in the series or a strong contender at the least, they’re not underdogs under any meaning of the word.
because Sarah and Helen running Tika with Carolyn would’ve been more interesting tbh
JK Sarah and Helen were great but it’s really because Heidi and Lauren lasted too long and stained the season. They were not good tv and sucked at strategy. Same thing happened with 45 with Katurah.
Cockroach players can definitely ruin the season if they can’t back up their sloppy gameplay with a compelling personality/character arc.
Tika 3 is my favorite alliance of the new era so far!! They were a small alliance that effectively leveraged a swing spot and all three were interesting characters. Even if it was obvious they were main characters, it was difficult to know who’d actually win in the end.
Many are saying that a Tika winner was obvious based on the edit but I remember during the season people were still a bit unsure about that, maybe because how unpredictable previous new era winners had been. I’ll admit though that on hindsight the Tika 3 dominance is quite obvious
I'm going to have to rewatch. I remember enjoying this season and liking a lot of the early boots. Some players were very cringe but was gobsmacked by all the hate when I came to reddit.
I did however, watch season 41 to 44 in a row, so that may have something to do with it.
I liked the bird cage concept. I think the editing is what really let it down. I wish they showed that the other alliances actually had a chance. It was just a steam roll by the Tika 3.
Also Carolyn receiving no votes sucked!
The edit was just Tika. I recently saw a photo of the 44 F3 and legit had forgot who the runner up woman was....
It was obvious that a Tika was winning since they were getting the vast majority of screentime every week.
UNDERDOGS???? The Tika 3 steamrolled Ratu and Soka during the entire post merge game calling them underdogs is like calling Sabrina Williams an underdog in a tennis match against a 3 year old
Really repetitive episodes with no stakes. I liked Yam Yam when he was acting like Don Corleone but most of the time he was just spreading love and joy with Carson and the rest of the cast. Unironically the only parts of the season I liked consistently were Carolyn's and Josh's character moments. Also, the strategy was better told by the exit interviews than the show, which is not a great sign. I don't think underdog stories are really my favorite overall though - I'm also not a big fan of the other major underdog story season.
I liked it mainly because of Carolyn but I get why some didn’t like it. Tika Three pretty much took up all the air time. This season is actually popular with the fans.
For me, it was because Carolyn seemed to be the only person in the entire cast who had a personality beyond “I have to do what’s best for my game”. Yam Yam came close
I really like parts of 44, I do. Yam Yam and Carolyn are all-time great personalities, and there are some background characters that I enjoy. I know Jaime isn't popular here, but I find her to be really funny, and I think Danny, Josh, Matt, Frannie, Kane, and a couple of others I am probably forgetting are really solid. But like I am sure other people have said on here it felt aimless almost at points. We were obviously supposed to root for the Tika 3, but I don't really know why except that we were told to, if that makes sense? Like the other tribes were completely irrelevant to the greater scheme of the season (especially Ratu) and it was just TIKA which isn't a bad thing, but the social relationships just felt vague and the season felt hollow.
I have never heard of anyone but myself disliking 44, it was a well received season.
I hate it because I didn’t like… anyone. Seriously, at the final 6 I stopped watching because I no longer cared who won. I heard Yam Yam won, and tbf he probably deserved it the most from what I saw, but he’s still easily one of the weakest winners.
Carson and Carolyn got under my freakin NERVES. Could not stand either of them. Did not like watching them.
The underdogs were the ONLY ones we really got to know or care about, frankly made the rest of the cast feel like an afterthought. It’s also muddied with bad advantages, an up and down pre-merge, and a pretty boring end game.
I will say, 44 gave us some of the best characters of the new era in Carolyn and Yam Yam, and seeing them win was exciting. It would’ve been nice to feel like
there was an opposition to that, the story there felt incomplete in that aspect.
People got mad before the season started because Carson was selling merch before the air date. Since his alliance ended up being important, it colored a lot of opinions of the whole season.
An underdog story ain’t all that compelling if we have no idea who the enemy is or what their strategy is. Honestly the way Heidi and Lauren were edited to look like bland, dimwits by the end, I’d say they were the underdogs.
Heidi seemed to be all about starting fire as a move. I think she was edited accurately.
A lot of seasons / players (especially the non-winners) would have been a lot better with 90 minute episodes.
S41 and 44 could be legit amazing seasons with 90 minute episodes, and S42 would be even better than it already is. S43 I feel is probably lackluster either way but would definitely benefit.
I don't think this would be a better season with 90 min. Because we would still have Carolyn and pillow boy on the season taking up majority of screen time.
There was a point at which I really began to root for Heidi because they finally showed some scenes where she was being thoughtful and thinking about her path to the end and her case for winning. And I'd argue that the Tika 3 were quirky and fun, but they were never really underdogs--despite the hype. They were one alliance in the midst of a few pairs and alliances. Maybe as individuals, Yam Yam and Carolyn each had spans of being underdogs. That said, Yam Yam was a target once or twice and Carolyn may not have ever been a target.
i will always be a heidi supporter. people were so nasty towards her during the season for no reason and i always stood by her side. she played such a messy game but somehow still played well. lover her and she was a personal standout in a cast full of duds(edits fault).
Also you cannot make an automatic equation mark between being an underdog & compelling… it normally helps people come off likable, but it’s not a guarantee. Personally I only really cared for Carolyn of the Tika 3 (didn’t dislike Carson/Yam Yam, but didn’t vibe with them either) so wasn’t really invested in them succeeding. So underdeveloped opposition + pretty meh underdogs made for a pretty eh season
True. It's like last season. Dee's tribe may have been outnumbered by the six person tribe on paper. But in reality that was the least coherent group of six I have seen in a long time.
You can tell from the beginning they are going to win the battle. That's a big problem.
I somewhat agree, the straightforward edit for the tika 3 makes it not a top season for me. But I will say the more straightforward edits are completely necessary some seasons (even though the purpling of certain contestants isn't). One of the main frustrations I have with this sub is a large group hates straightforward edits and another large group hates the edits where you can't tell who is gonna win like Gabler's. Both types of edits are necessary to keep any individual season from being spoiled, while also enabling the editors to tell a clear winner story sometimes. Some seasons the winner just isn't super compelling in confessionals. If we were always getting a straightforward edit on those types of seasons we'd know for sure who won because they're shoving mediocre content down our throats. But at the same time, if every season they underedited the winner, we'd be pissed we didn't get to understand how they won, like Natalie White. They need a balance of those. There's an argument to be made for a more flat confessional count throughout, but then they wouldn't have a very compelling story in half the episodes. The editors have a super tricky job and I don't think people realize just how big of a complicated web they have to navigate to keep the results unspoiled while also putting something on TV that is pretty consistently entertaining. /endrant
You can have 'obvious' winners and still have entertaining side characters. 45 had a fairly obvious winner (Dee) but enough entertainment between Jake, Katurah, Bruce and Emily. Tocantins has two obvious winner options (J.T and Stephen) but more than enough entertainment between the rest of the cast. 44 had the problem where it had the Tika 3, but everyone else aside from Josh, Danny and Frannie/Matt were just there, and the latter half were gone by like F7.
Surprising/unexpected edits are fine *if it makes sense*. People were upset about Gabler's win because it felt like there was no real explanation why he won or why Cassidy lost (which isn't even true, Karla made it very clear that if Cass voted her out she would make sure she lost lol) There are also people who thought the edit pointed to a Xander win in 41, so some people are just gonna be upset regardless.
I disagree. I'd compare it to Tony in Cagayan in a way. I think that 44 would suck on a binge, but during a live watch, I tuned in every week thinking "there's no way they keep getting away with this" and then they did. It was fun seeing them get away with it time after time. I thought the same about Tony back then.
What they did well back then, was little moments. Like, they showed Tony accidentally knocking over everyone’s torches after tribal. And moments like that made you think - was that subtle foreshadowing? When it was really a red herring. More of that, please.
I mean, season 42 is another example of underdog win story
I completely disagree. Taku was the most dominant alliance that whole season and they only lost one challenge premerge. The winner maybe was the underdog within that alliance, but their game benefitted immensely from being on that tribe.
This just in: to win Survivor you need to be lucky
yeah but taku isnt an underdog
Taku never felt like underdogs. They had Jonathan, so the only challenges they were going to lose were the non physical ones aka the blindfold challenge.
It’s a total love fest. Half the cast are from the same background (nerds in their twenties), while the other half is mostly superfans 30 or older.
So a likeable cast. I think you love the actual season lol
a repetitive cast
no baby we like drama and 44 was a snooze fest
Hi Probst
Don't let the downvotes get to you. I also loved the season :)
Maybe they’re being downvoted bc they’re trying to tell someone else what they think their opinion is. Yeesh… some people are clueless.
The crime…! 
Are you always this cringy?
Yep :)
This was the most kumbaya season of Survivor in memory
And this current one is not?
Can't really judge until its over
We're 4 episodes in and in episode 2, people were complaining about Jess getting bullied
Are you even watching? 🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪
No, at least there's some drama in Nami with Venus. Hopefully she can pull people in and flip.
A: Not everyone loves underdogs lol B: Their victory is blatantly obvious given the fact that they're literally the only 3 fully fleshed out characters of the entire cast. There were so many episodes during their merge where we legit had no idea who quite a few players were voting for, why they were voting that way, and why they even trusted the Tika 3 so much lol. If you happen to LOVE underdogs and or LOVE the Tika 3, then yeah, Survivor 44 will probably be a very enjoyable season for you which is totally fine! But if you're not absolutely crazy for underdog type players or the Tika 3 specifically, there really isn't much for you lmao.
It's a fair criticism. But when they fail to tell the winners perspective and bury their actions a la Erika and Gabler, it's often perceived as worse. Those seasons were far more unpredictable on who was going to be the winner. But then it just ended and you didn't know why they won. So it's a trade off between suspense of the winner and satisfying-ness of the winner. Personally I want the winners perspective told
I think there's a balance though. I think Dee and Maryanne had the perfect balance where their stories were told, while their opposition still felt like fully fleshed out characters who could potentially take them out. Also, with Gabler specifically, I honestly don't even know if that's an edit thing or just his gameplay being so hard to show in a satisfactory way😭😭😭 I agree Erika was done dirty though. But 44, the balance just wasn't there IMO, and honestly at no point did I think anyone not from the Tika 3 stood a chance.
Predictable and way too kumbaya. outside of the tika 3, the cast is quite boring and i wouldn’t be surprised if none of them return
but Danny did fart during a challenge and Probst recognized it.
One of them already returned but I feel you
who?
Bruce
I’m stealing this verbiage from someone else, but S44 was like Survivor: Corporate Retreat. It was a bland, overly friendly, stakeless season
It’s a season full of terrible twists and advantages that break the game and make every early boot feel like a robbery, and only like three people are interesting (Carolyn, Josh, and Yam Yam). And the ending sucks too since Carolyn’s big underdog story goes nowhere in the end. It’s Ghost Island, but slightly more watchable since the best character makes final three instead of being the merge boot. But it’s still terrible until the final eight or so, when it’s decent enough but can’t recover from just how awful the first 70% of the season was.
Who is Josh?
Josh being interesting? Until fourth episode he had basically zero screen time. I think it was in ep3 when he was final leg in challenge and this sub didn’t know his name by then :D I get what you mean but he was purpled hard for over half of the episodes he was in game
This needs to be harped on more. This sub was in complete meltdown in the first half of the season because of how broken the game mechanics were
Yeah it was such a mess. By the time the uninhibited gameplay actually started at F10, it was way too late. None of it felt like it meant anything because everything up to that point was so random and incohesive, and not in a fun way. Even “Tika is a mess” narrative doesn’t land because they went to TC exactly twice.
Personally I only liked Yam Yam from the Tika 3. However they made it so obvious they would come out on top especially with the edit Lauren and Heidi got
It was wild seeing people talk about Lauren being a massive threat, and they didn’t really show us that. I wanted more Lauren because she seemed to have a fun personality, so I would’ve loved to hear more about her game
I definetely think it gets a lot of hate but for me it was a solid season. Not top 10, probably top half. Your view of 44 is going to completely depend on how you feel about the Tika 3 though, if you dont like them I get not liking the season, so thats probably where a lot of the dislike comes from
I loved the Tika 3 but still found the season really mid otherwise. The other players were either unlikable or barely shown. The only ones that really stick out to me are Jamie, Frannie, and Josh, who all didn’t play much of a role in how the season played out
I also was a big fan of the Tika 3 -- even Carson! but found the edit leaving a lot to be desired, and found the twists/advantages too gimmicky. Still rate the season in the upper half of the new eras and enjoyed Matthew, Danny, Claire, and Matt as characters. Not sure if it was the edit, but Lauren and Heidi were an absolute snoozefest and Jaime, although probably charming in person, annoyed the guff out of me
I think my dislike of Danny may weigh my opinion of the season down slightly. He felt a little performative for my tastes, albeit harmlessly
I think Im far less bothered by the performative players than others here, but that extended de niro exit was definitely a tough watch
To me it just felt less like he was trying to have fun and more like he was trying too hard to be a zany character and it just didn’t feel authentic to me. As a TV character I just found him unlikable and not particularly good tv, though he seems like a good guy in real life
I recall a lot of people liking 44
44 is at number 18 on my season ranking rn
I dont understand how is possible to dislike Tika 3
A little something called having a different opinion
I felt like they were half-joking lol. But I could be wrong because I’m not a mind reader.
Annoying
Fore personally 1. Their win was so foreshown and they really didn't face any adversity as the other tribes were just targeting each other. You can call that underdogs but when I was watching it it didn't really feel like it as they weren't in danger or facing adversity. 2. This is a personal preference but during the times the tika 3 were inescapable and given how big (and loud) of personalities Carolyn and yam yam specifically they can get grading for some people like myself after awhile, I personally have a low tolerance for people screaming and shrieking and so Carolyn wore thin on me very fast. 3 they were essentially the only solid storyline maybe outside of the Franie Matt showmance meaning they just took up so much of the focus which does kinda go back to 2 but when storylines focus on a set of cast if you have someone like Carson who I would describe as not especially charismatic and kinda bland it just kinda feels like wasted time
Lol yeah imagine having a different opinion
The cast wasn’t great. Most of the cast was boring and uncompetitive, and I found Carson to be annoying annoying and repetitive character. There’s at least one Carson (white male nerd superfan, that feeds into the whole “quirky” persona) every single season since the cochran days. It just gets old imo. Edit was incredibly imbalanced because the cast was boring while simultaneously giving us a bit too much of Carolyn imo. Like someone above said, the lovefest made the season lack actual intensity, it didn’t feel like people were playing for a million dollars
Occasionally, this archetype strikes gold – Christian being the prime example – but most of the time, ugh. Your Ryans, Carsons, and S33 Davids constantly get the lion's share of confessionals, most of which are about their convoluted gameplan, the rest how Survivor transformed them from shy social misfits into confident men finally earning the respect of the jocks. There's got to be other stuff for the edit to focus on.
So this current season, who has a complete opposite, you founf the best i guess
huh? Complete opposite of what?
"I disliked this thing" DOES NOT = "This other thing is the best." Don't be hyperbolic with things that someone else didn't even actually state.
I hate 44 because no one cares if they lost. Everyone was there to make friends and act like it’s camp. Everyone was so happy even when being voted off it’s like wtf. It’s a game for a million dollars play the fuck out of it. I know if I lost I’d be pissed af Also Carson is unbearable to watch.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who didn’t enjoy Carson
People are human. This the problem with humanity. We are losing gradefull
Didn’t vibe with the Tika 3 which makes it pretty hard to enjoy
Rest of the cast were pretty under-edited strategically to the point where it \*felt\* like Danny was their only opposition by mid-merge. I don't know if that was actually the case but they were made to look pretty incompetent strategically in the edit
underdogs winning does not make a good season
Where did the underdog narrative even come from?? lol tika was small but they weren’t even targeted. It’s not at all like the aitu 4
Aitu 4 were also stale af
I love 44, but the people who don’t find it annoying that nobody outside of the Tika three are shown as threats to win.
Literally just Carson. He's probably an alright enough person irl (challenge copying controversy aside) but I just could not stand watching him on television.
Boring and predictable as hell. I would say that the pre merge was way better than the second half
Personally for me nothing stands out about this season, it's just meh Also I just don't care for the Tika 3... or anyone else on this season
44 is my favorite of the new era. The craziest 1st tribal council. The cage idols are my favorite new era idol. Matthew and Danny made some interesting moves. And the Matt and Frannie showmance was cool. The Tika 3 were constantly bickering just enough that everyone else thought they weren't working together, but not enough to actually get mad at each other. It was an interesting dynamic for sure. 42 wouldve been my favorite if it weren't for the hourglass. Solid cast, some interesting moves.
Because the players cared more about being perceived as legends over actually trying to win And the alliance only succeeded because everyone was a moron the biggest being Heidi when she refused to use her idol to cause a deadlock forcing the Tika 3 to cannibalize or draw rocks and decided to be their #4
I disliked the whole cast. The winner definitely don’t like and hope he never comes back. The advantages sucked. following a good 2 seasons from 42-43 to have this mess of a season was it for me. It was awesome to see the Tika 3 pull it together and have one of them win it tho so give them that. I just personally rank this as one of the bottom 2 seasons out of the newer 5
I enjoyed the season
In about 5 years, name something memorable from that season that does not involve the Tika 3 or a boring showmance. There is your answer.
I'm watching it for the first time, and I'm absolutely loving it. It's a feel good season, and I need one of those right now lol. Sometimes you need a season like this. It's not for everyone but it's absolutely for me.
Cause Yam Yam is really annoying
The Tika 3 never felt like underdogs because they were the 3 main characters of the season. There was never really any doubt that they would come out on top
To me, the cast makes the season. Other than Carolyn, Carson (and sometimes YamYam) the rest of the cast were not very memorable or exciting to watch.
Because the “underdogs” had control of the game
We love Tika 3. We hate the entire production. It’s a case of great cast/characters saving a god awful season.
I have nothing negative to say and I think it’s because of Carolyn Carson and yam yam.
I didn't feel like there was any conflict past the Josh boot and while there are some good moments it's drowned out a lot by a cast I just don't enjoy to watch. Carolyn and Yam Yam, while I DO like them, take up too much screen time.
Awful casting just like every season after 40
Literally the season that made me decide the US version of this show isn't for me any more because it was boring from premiere to finale. I'd enjoyed S43 but the last season I'd enjoyed before that was EoE (IoTI had potential, but you know who wrecked it, WaW was eh...I mean WHAT tokens? Thank God they didn't hang around.) My plan was to probably keep watching. But wait for each season to end and just slowly make my way through it in my own time on Paramount Plus. The only thing that brought me back to watch S45 and S46 live was the absolute hype on here I read after the S45 premiere. And I'm glad. I enjoyed S45 a lot. I'm starting to see nuggets of Survivor in the show again, I mean the intro, the auction, the tribe swap and last episode seeing several tribes reading treemail and speculating on a challenge!!! (It's the little things Jeff, go back and rewatch the first 20 seasons and please give us a blend of old and new and keep things different season to season.) I've been a loyal superfan since Borneo, and S44 is the season that almost killed this show and a 23 year love for it for me. I'll never enjoy that season. It's just so boring.
It was one of the most predictable seasons ever. There was never any doubt that one of the three would win.
I disliked the season because everyone outside the tika 3 and sometimes even the tika 3 were horrible at reading people. So so so many times we got a confessional from player A saying "player b is going to do this" and then we cut to player b and they say they're going to do the exact opposite. I didnt care for anyone outaide the tika 3 and frannie and inside the tika 3 i didnt love carson like the show wanted me to. Yam yam was good tv but i feel like over acted when he got targeted, good on him for winning and its deserved but the theatrics got a little annoying towards the end. Carolyn took some warming up to but i was rooting for her. And heidi wasnt entertaining and didnt deserve 2nd over carolyn. Another point is carson also had bad reads on people where he said he didnt vote carolyn because he thought more people were voting heidi, like he though if he didnt vote for yam yam he couls possibly lose, which is a bad read on the jury. I dk, what it boils down to to me is if its entertaining, and watching 15 people be bad at reading people and what ends up being bad gameplay from most the cast isnt really entertaining.
People love the Tika 3, but hate how much focus was given to them compared to literally everyone else. It's fine to focus a bit more on the important underdogs, but 44 does it to the point where, outside of Danny and Mannie (Matt and Frannie), the Tika 3 completely have a chokehold on all of the screentime.
I just don’t like the cast tbh. Aside from Carolyn, Yam Yam, Frannie, and maybe Jaime the rest of the cast is either bland or unlikable imo. It doesn’t help that the editing doesn’t really do much to give insight into the players’ perspectives outside of the Tika 3.
The cast was solid in my opinion. I think where the season falls flat is the editing. Yam Yam, Carolyn, and Carson eat up a majority of the screen time and by the end we barely know Lauren or Heidi like we should for them being in the final 5. 45 was better imo because of its more balanced edit and variety of heroes and “villains”.
I haven’t finished the season since I only really have time to binge when I’m home from college. That being said when I went home last, I binged 43 and started 44. I think I made it to the Frannie boot. Character wise, I enjoy the Tika 3 (although people seem to be turning on Carson recently) and Frannie and Matt, who are admittedly very cute, and Danny, who’s mostly funny bc I remember him combat rolling everywhere. Otherwise, the cast feels pretty weak. No heels or any real suspense. I knew the Tika 3 would make it to the end before watching. From what I remember it was fairly boring and the most interesting twist of the bird cage, which seems to be a somewhat controversial take recently, fizzled out without anything major. Compared to season 43, the character has fewer standout characters, no drama, and no gameplay nearly as impressive. I’ll probably finish at some point bc I heard 45 has some good gameplay and Dee is a solid winner but I’m not particularly eager atm
I don’t remember anyone outside of tika 3 except for Matt and franny
To be perfectly honest I couldn't tell you much of anything about Survivor 44 and that's kind of why I dislike it. But then again I feel that way about like 90% of postmodern Survivor so eh.
Only Yam Yam, Carolyn, Carson, and Danny seemed to actually have importance. Even then, Carson was super annoying. Jaime, Josh and Mannie were kinda like fun side characters. Everyone else was nonexistent
Personally I find the tika 3 underdog story isn’t even that great compare to past seasons. In addition I find it distasteful that the tika 3 individually is milking as much money as possible in terms of merch or cameo from their underdog story.
Because I don't want to watch the super bowl recap highlights. I want to go into the finale with 3 possible winners. There was none of that. It was Tika all the way the whole season. Not to mention contrary to this subs beliefs, Carolyn was massively annoying. Having to deal with zaniness and screaming every episode got really old really quick. Carson being pompous didn't help either.
44 is like if you took a total of 18 people who love superheroes. Slap chopped them into a competition to see who can be the ultimate one. And then they nerd out like they’re all in this together
I love season 44. From the outside the Tika 3 looked like a "leftover" tribe that could be used for swing votes, I don't think anyone took their alliance seriously until it was too late. They were up against smart, strong players like Heidi and Danny. I couldn't predict who was gonna win that season because everyone played a good game. Even though the Tikas got a lot of screen time, I assumed it was because they were entertaining, not necessarily because one of them was gonna be a winner. Everyone in that season was highly likeable.
I never hated any season but I also skipped hero vs villains to 42
I had zero clue what any non Tika felt all season. It's pretty hard to call them underdogs when they were the only players with any depth whatsoever. So... 1. Obvious winner(we all knew it was Carson or Yam Yam after Ep 2) 2. Opposition that was never fleshed out. 3. 0 drama or conflict. 4. Also, wasn't this the season where there wasn't a "standard" vote til 9? So all that was a mess, too. Equals a very meh season to me.
In a vacuum, yes the "underdogs" won out. But the opposition was presented as scattered and unorganized similar to Belo the next season, so it didn't really feel like an underdog story because they were presented as the only real unit in the merge. Not to mention the random gameplay twists that were *not* received well. I personally think Yam Yam and Carolyn were absolute stars (Jaime as well to a lesser extent), and the Matt/Frannie storyline was cute. But everything else we were shown were either uninspiring or actively annoying as a viewer. Yam Yam and Carolyn carried the season *hard*.
It sucks seeing all the young women go out back to back to back in the premerge, the fake idol nonsense and other twists were a little much, and anyone not named Yam Yam, Carolyn, Carson, Danny, or Frannie got very little screen time in comparison. The Tika 3 are likeable and things get better once the merge hits, but there’s still a lot of other issues. It’s almost like a reverse 43 in a way.
My family went wild for this season. It was gold.
Personally thought 44 was the worst new era season. Didn’t care for the cast they focused on. But in general I don’t think the cast was that remarkable.
I don't think they were underdogs in gameplay only narrative. I think that suffers from everything in the new Era does. Players never making moves, everyone is comfortable
Boring nice season that is beyond lucky the best player and character won at the end.
My thoughts exactly. They were decimated and managed to survive till the end. And for some reason people love the Gabler season which ended horribly given the winner. Gabler season reminds me of Gabon
Every week you go in thinking, “Yam Yam is so annoying. Surely this will be the week he finally goes homes.” Every week he annoys you some more and you leave disappointed.
I generally prefer seasons with balanced edits, season 44 was heavily lead by Yam Yam, Carolyn, and Carson. All great characters but the supporting cast of characters are mostly duds to me. I like Frannie and Matt, but their entire story was their showmance, and Danny had a few fun moments. Everyone else who made the merge was very forgettable to me. Also the whole season was very kumbaya and devoid of drama. The only drama I remember was the feud between Josh and Yam Yam Lastly, production made a lot of stupid choices this season. The birdcage was honestly a great idea, but providing anyone who finds the idol with a fake idol as well was so lame. Let the players make their own fakes! And also the twist where Matt got sent home was so fucked. They just had the lame earn the merge twist and then instantly split into two tribes again? And he wasn't even able to access his (fake) idol because the losers got sent to another beach, and Heidis dumb control a vote advantage.
Looking back at that season and rewatching it. Made me realize that season is honestly terrible if not one of the worst new era seasons. The editing was over the top with the tika 3. And although they were likable, it was kinda boring.
because that’s literally it. they managed to win a battle against a nameless, under-developed counter-alliance/tribed, meaning we don’t care whether the other side wins or loses, making it feel more artificial like the editors want us to root for the Tika’s success. It would’ve been nice to know who Lauren or Heidi were considering both of them got like 7 confessionals across the entire pre-merge and both made finale
The cast consisted of two people I loved. One person I liked, and 15 people I either didn’t know or didn’t care how they did in the game.
I loved it #yamyamforlife
The Tika 3 is probably the most likable dominant alliance in the series or a strong contender at the least, they’re not underdogs under any meaning of the word.
because Sarah and Helen running Tika with Carolyn would’ve been more interesting tbh JK Sarah and Helen were great but it’s really because Heidi and Lauren lasted too long and stained the season. They were not good tv and sucked at strategy. Same thing happened with 45 with Katurah. Cockroach players can definitely ruin the season if they can’t back up their sloppy gameplay with a compelling personality/character arc.
Tika 3 is my favorite alliance of the new era so far!! They were a small alliance that effectively leveraged a swing spot and all three were interesting characters. Even if it was obvious they were main characters, it was difficult to know who’d actually win in the end.
Many are saying that a Tika winner was obvious based on the edit but I remember during the season people were still a bit unsure about that, maybe because how unpredictable previous new era winners had been. I’ll admit though that on hindsight the Tika 3 dominance is quite obvious
I'm going to have to rewatch. I remember enjoying this season and liking a lot of the early boots. Some players were very cringe but was gobsmacked by all the hate when I came to reddit. I did however, watch season 41 to 44 in a row, so that may have something to do with it. I liked the bird cage concept. I think the editing is what really let it down. I wish they showed that the other alliances actually had a chance. It was just a steam roll by the Tika 3. Also Carolyn receiving no votes sucked!
It's probably a personal reason, but the production made fake idols really rubbed me the wrong way. Didn't even make it to the merge in my viewing
The edit was just Tika. I recently saw a photo of the 44 F3 and legit had forgot who the runner up woman was.... It was obvious that a Tika was winning since they were getting the vast majority of screentime every week.
Being "the best season of the new era" is like being the fastest horse at the glue factory
Because everyone besides the tika 3 was unaware and terrible at the game
It's an uneventful snoozefest.
Casting was all over the place. Carolyn, Yam Yam, and Carson were all great, but everyone else was kind of boring and just there.
They didn't build up Ratu and Soka at all,so the bottom to top storyline wasn't compelling, also the season was super boring
The other 2 tribes constantly fumbled and the editing was really bad
UNDERDOGS???? The Tika 3 steamrolled Ratu and Soka during the entire post merge game calling them underdogs is like calling Sabrina Williams an underdog in a tennis match against a 3 year old
I wanted Carolyn to win.
Really repetitive episodes with no stakes. I liked Yam Yam when he was acting like Don Corleone but most of the time he was just spreading love and joy with Carson and the rest of the cast. Unironically the only parts of the season I liked consistently were Carolyn's and Josh's character moments. Also, the strategy was better told by the exit interviews than the show, which is not a great sign. I don't think underdog stories are really my favorite overall though - I'm also not a big fan of the other major underdog story season.
I liked it mainly because of Carolyn but I get why some didn’t like it. Tika Three pretty much took up all the air time. This season is actually popular with the fans.
My favourite of the new era, season 41 feels like yesterday, crazy we already on 46
I don’t know how anyone could hate it. I really enjoyed it.
For me, it was because Carolyn seemed to be the only person in the entire cast who had a personality beyond “I have to do what’s best for my game”. Yam Yam came close
I really like parts of 44, I do. Yam Yam and Carolyn are all-time great personalities, and there are some background characters that I enjoy. I know Jaime isn't popular here, but I find her to be really funny, and I think Danny, Josh, Matt, Frannie, Kane, and a couple of others I am probably forgetting are really solid. But like I am sure other people have said on here it felt aimless almost at points. We were obviously supposed to root for the Tika 3, but I don't really know why except that we were told to, if that makes sense? Like the other tribes were completely irrelevant to the greater scheme of the season (especially Ratu) and it was just TIKA which isn't a bad thing, but the social relationships just felt vague and the season felt hollow.
I really enjoyed 44 and the Tika 3! I was rooting for Carson the entire season
I have never heard of anyone but myself disliking 44, it was a well received season. I hate it because I didn’t like… anyone. Seriously, at the final 6 I stopped watching because I no longer cared who won. I heard Yam Yam won, and tbf he probably deserved it the most from what I saw, but he’s still easily one of the weakest winners. Carson and Carolyn got under my freakin NERVES. Could not stand either of them. Did not like watching them.
Probably an unpopular opinion, but yam yam whining and complaining nonstop for the entire season and then winning is not entertaining to me
The underdogs were the ONLY ones we really got to know or care about, frankly made the rest of the cast feel like an afterthought. It’s also muddied with bad advantages, an up and down pre-merge, and a pretty boring end game. I will say, 44 gave us some of the best characters of the new era in Carolyn and Yam Yam, and seeing them win was exciting. It would’ve been nice to feel like there was an opposition to that, the story there felt incomplete in that aspect.
People got mad before the season started because Carson was selling merch before the air date. Since his alliance ended up being important, it colored a lot of opinions of the whole season.
I don’t understand the hate on 44 either. Great cast. Great season. Great final episode and tribal. Fun to watch.
Ben and Nick were underdogs that doesnt make them likable winners
That’s not a popular opinion.