Talk:No Fishing Spears Were Harmed/@comment-27391152-20191207040511

OKAY. Finally caught up on this season and... whew, what a ride. To think after episode 1 I was hard-pressed to pinpoint a single person who would have the capacity to say something negative about another person... oh how the tides have turned lmao.

This entire episode was GLORIOUS. It's not often I'm able to sit down and read through an entire episode without taking a single break, yet somehow I managed to do it this episode so that must be saying something about how well-written this episode was. Honestly, I have been SO impressed with the writing quality this season. I don't know if it's the new style of confessional or what but I feel like the few issues I used to have reading your fanons (like your iconically but also infuriatingly essay-long confessionals xD) are gone and I am REALLY enjoying how enjoyable of a read this season has been so far. The character-strategy balance has been on point, I fucking adore the story-telling on both tribes and I actually have a really strong sense of these tribes feeling like actual TRIBES. In modern Survivor, too often do I lose that feeling of the tribes actually having some sense of unity and harmony, rather than just being temporary assortments of people that are way too obsessed with dA gAmE to worry about enjoying themselves. I could go on and on about how much I'm loving this season but I should probably get to my actual thoughts on the characters lmao.

FIRST OF ALL, ALISSA SUCKS AND SUYAI WAS RIGHT!! I'm so relieved that the comment section seems to be on the same page as me (mostly) but holy crap was she infuriating this episode. It was bad enough that she's already set her mind on being a Forrest enabler but to be smug and rude on top of that? There's no saving her. Like, I'm sorry, but I actually fully agree with Suyai's reaction to #UNOgate. Was it a little too aggressive and OTT? Sure. But with that being said, I totally cosign the sentiment that if Alissa is willing to betray a deal in order to increase her chances of winning a bloody UNO game, then she's absolutely going to do the same, if not more, to win Survivor! Not to mention that Suyai made it abundantly clear that it wasn't -just- about the UNO game. Like... I don't understand the rationale behind sending Suyai home, I honestly don't. Everyone already agreed that Alissa was not to be trusted, but because Suyai decided to "play emotionally" (which honestly she had plenty of logic to support this emotion but whatever), suddenly she's "a liability" and "could easily turn on them". Honestly, I really dislike the whole trope that being emotional instantly makes you untrustworthy. Emotional people are arguably some of the MOST loyal, it's just a matter of knowing how to properly manage someone like that to ensure that they are loyal to you. I mean, maybe I just upset because I liked Suyai but I really think this was a mistake on... everyone but Forrest's part.

One thing I will disagree with the comment section about is that from my POV, Jeonsa is by far the more interesting and dynamic tribe and they have been since Episode 1. Sure, maybe Hwangjie is more enjoyable as a unit and I do like the generally 'vibe' of their tribe a bit more I suppose, but when it comes to the individual characters and what's actually happening on each tribe, Jeonsa wins for me. Ingvar, Mercedes, and Valentina are easily my three faves at the moment. Ingvar was actually a huge surprise to me because for someone who's manga just oooozes boring stratbot vibes, he's been surprisingly compassionate and likeable. I adore the fact that unlike SOME *cough*Aren, Patrick, Ophelia*cough*, he was willing to stick by and vote with his ally no matter what, which may be small but is something that I miss seeing in Survivor. Valentina is someone I see a lot of potential in. Yeah, I'm a sucker for cutthroat older women but axing Suyai like that was underratedly ice-cold? Especially since Suyai was the one responsible for bringing her into the other alliance to begin with.

Mercedes, though, has to be my absolute favourite and I'm shocked that nobody else (besides Winona, queen of taste <3) seems to be on that train with me? Oh well, like Angela, some of the best gems will always go unappreciated~ (fyi YES I'm still pressed she didn't make it onto Lombok, don't @ me). I LOVE how unfiltered she is. Her clap backs at Alissa <3. Her reaction to Suyai when she told her about UNOgate lmao <3. I also love that she's not willing to dedicate her entire experience to winning the game and isn't willing to compromise absolutely everything to get ahead like so many people are. IDK, I just love her ~aura~. Also:

"If my name comes up, the only thing that’ll concern me is if it’s spelled right."

Iconic.

As for Hwangjie, I feel like it suffers from not having too many engaging characters. Like, yes, I am enjoying Ophelia and Christian's power struggle, and Patrick's comic relief is amusing (although he feels a liiiiiiittle bit too aware of how he's coming across for me to truly appreciate him), there's isn't as much for me to hold on to. I guess I just don't have much of an opinion on any of them yet. I like Therese and Ophelia, and Christian I am mixed on. Like, if you're gonna be a cocky flirt, BE a cocky flirt, don't apologise for saying something conceited a sentence later. But as for the others, they're just not clicking with me for whatever reason. However, as I said before, I do absolutely love the whole "family" feel to the tribe and I am looking forward to seeing how they interact once they come into contact with Jeonsa. I also kinda hope they continue to lose because I feel like they're going to be more likely to stick together and I am not here for a Jeonsa pagonging, no thank you!

I suppose I should probably finish this comment up because lol we're at 1000 words. tldr: SUPER PUMPED FOR THE SEASON, TANGLE! xD