Talk:Land of the Midnight Sun/@comment-9949103-20200106034811

IT'S BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! :D

You have NO IDEA how happy and pumped I am to finally be reading another season of yours (Even though it hasn't even been two months since Hashima ended), and this season, in particular, had me captured early on from it having another unique location and very versatile-looking cast. Just from this premiere, I think that my high hopes going in have more than been met and I am beyond ecstatic to keep reading along!

To start off, I just wanna give my obligatory kudos for the creativity of the location. I don't know if it's just the fact that every current season of the real show never leaves Fiji or what, but between this and Hashima I feel like you are always amazing at choosing some of the most intense and interesting places to set a season. I've always wanted to see a season done in a more "cold-weather" environment and I have a feeling that this one is going to be a lot more intensive than Canada.

Secondly, lemme go through all THREE people eliminated this episode, something of which I was not expecting but honestly should've seen coming with the extended cast and all:

Eulogy to Mercedes: Though I honestly found her brazen attitude to be hilariously moronic, I am VERY glad that Mercedes was the one to be kicked off by the Right to Stay. Of all the people in this cast, she seemed to be the most likely to fill the "Farrah" role this time around so her getting the big boot this early means more growth and depth for more unique characters. Her whole whining and crying about "the modeling industry breaking her down and giving her thicker skin" was something I found really annoying anyway, especially since her skin seemed to be thinner than melted ice by the way she just WENT OFF on Dane and the Nunavik tribe. Hey, if anything though, getting kicked off first will really give her a reason to eat her pain away, so that's one less eating disorder in the modeling world, right Mercedes? ;)

Eulogy to Ezra: Going in, I was very hard-pressed to like Ezra because he was basically a walking, or wobbling in this case, sob story. His bio was super tryhard and OTT, so I expected him to be the same way. Luckily, but also unluckily, he ended up being way nicer and more down-to-earth than I was expecting, truly wanting to focus himself on playing the game and not wallowing in his own misery like Peter. So seeing him get kicked off in the first episode was really heartbreaking. Between the two, I was happy it was him over Carrie, but I still think he wouldn't be a long-shot contender for a second chance season, seeing as he had so much influence in the casting before the game even started only to, unfortunately, be taken out only three days into the game actually starting.

Eulogy to John: Whoo boy, can anybody say massive blindside? I can because I thought John was FOR SURE going deep into the game. He was just such a meme, such an odd character, that I was so sure that he was making merge at the very least, so seeing him out this early is utterly shocking to me. Though we do love a default "boring" icon, I am honestly glad that he went out because a Ty or Ryan boot would've devasted me even more. Plain John's rise to power will just have to wait for another time xD

As for the rest of the Sallirmiut tribe, I'm honestly loving all of them. It sucked that they had to lose half of their tribe in this first episode, but then again I also am in LOVE with Nunavik as well so it wasn't going to end pretty for me either way.

Ty and Ryan as a couple are just amazing already! They are so cute together with Ty's over-the-top self-balancing out Ryan's more grounded and chill personality. I originally thought Ryan would be a bore, but he's actually been really likable and learning that he was actually gay adds more layers to his character that I'm already enjoying. Ty, also, wins extra brownie points for brilliantly getting Ryan to change his vote to John at the second vote to counter Carrie's idol play. Super smart play on both of their parts. I hope the two of them stick around for a long time!

Carrie as well, though, she was someone who I found underwhelming and boring before the season started but is honestly another one of my faves after this premiere. She, like Ryan, isn't the biggest personality and is definitely in hot water with her tribe at the moment, but she just has this enthusiastic and awkward energy about her that I can't help but fall in love with. Her whole interaction with Probst during introductions was hilarious, along with her stomping on and recovering a half-burnt idol in front of the rest of her tribe<3

The Nunavik tribe is probably gonna be my favorite tribe though honestly. Like, I love the three people left on Sallirmiut, but COME ON! How is anyone going to compete with the iconic duo/rivalry of Helen and Wylie? I mean, that rowing scene though. At first when Wylie was trying to sneak off with the canoe, I thought it was going to turn into a stereotypical "race" for the advantage that the canon show often feeds to us, but the moment that Helen stupidly shouted "Oh, are you ready?" to Wylie IN FRONT OF THE REST OF THE TRIBE, I knew I was in for something truly iconic. Even though I want Nunavik to lose to protect Carrie, Ty, and Ryan from leaving, I really don't want them to because I want as much Helen and Wylie for as long as they can be milked, because the oLd NuN and the strategic trainwreck on wheels really are the stars of the show so far imo.

Wylie, in particular, is someone who I REALLY want to hate, but the fact that he's already getting sussed out for his antics and his over-the-top interactions with Helen make him much more bearable to me than someone like Derek or Auggie. He's someone who I find to be truly entertaining and unintentionally funny, qualities that those other two clowns could stand to learn a thing or two about.

I'm also digging Dane the nudist, he's already built up a really fun persona for himself though I'm not keen on his chances to make it super far. He's really putting himself out there already and I see him being the victim of a late pre-merge/early post-merge downfall. Tara Michelle though is the exact opposite for me, I think she has the right stuff to take it all the way to the end with how she's playing so far. I was worried about her going in, as I was getting strong Tara from Survivor AU 2017 vibes from the whole "tomboy" thing, but she seems to have a good head on her shoulders and even an idol in her pocket, so I am pleasantly surprised at what she's accomplished so far.

Stephanie better pick up that accent though, girl! xD If she can keep up her stupid little persona for longer than 4 episodes, hell she deserves the win because I don't know how anyone could stand to fake an accent for that long! Especially on the behest of such a half-baked plan xD I'm just waiting for the moment when someone asks her to speak in French, that'll be the moment when things start to get good.

Overall though, I'm loving this side of the cast. A lot more than I initially thought honestly! xD After just one episode, they're already showing that they've got good gameplayers, iconic trainwrecks, and complex characters in the group and I couldn't be more pleased. Definitely a step up from the Hashima premiere and I could not be more excited to keep reading to find out what happens next and, more importantly, how the other 12 people supposedly fit into this season xD (I'm thinking we probs won't get that answer until episode 5, if Bryce's theory about the two separate seasons rings true).

Fantastic job, Wafflez. I know that you have been really enjoying the writing process with this season so far and it is definitely showing in the final product. Up there with Koh Khang Khao for best starts/premieres from your series and I'm hoping the season can keep that energy going for the rest of its duration :)

Rooting for Sister Helen, Dane, Tara Michelle, Stephanie, Wily, Carrie, Ryan, and Ty! Basically everyone except for Frost at this point (Whom I am hoping to get to know more in the coming episodes).