I will never forget Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen-X. It was on the day of the premiere episode of Season 33, when my first born child, my son Clayton, was born. Perhaps it’s because of this that I may have watched last week’s premiere episode through rose-colored glasses. I was ecstatic, I was pumped (I was on very little sleep). But I felt excited for the premiere, and excited that I had a “Survivor Baby,” born on #whitericewednesday. Maybe one day this little dude will compete on Survivor, or maybe at least curl up next to dad to watch the Season 45 premiere. He’s already been bought a “The Tribe Has Spoken” onesie, so there is little hope that he will not become enamored with Survivor as his dad is.
But Episode 1 is now behind us, a solid episode overall that introduced several seemingly likable players, and what appears to be a pretty interesting overall theme. We now pivot to Episode 2, airing tonight, to see if this season can begin creating some momentum moving forward.
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I’ve always enjoyed posting Episode Previews (not too many sites do), because I feel it helps prime us for what’s ahead, and gives us an opportunity to discuss last week’s episode after having a week to ponder on it. This season – my first writing for RealityTea.com – I thought I would do something a little different than what many of you might remember from my Survivor Examiner (RIP) column. In addition to just previewing what’s in store, I thought I could also try addressing and answering some of the questions that were raised from your comments. I am just loving this amazing community of Survivor fans here at RealityTea.com and while I’d love to answer all of your comments individually, time (and a new baby) just does not permit me to. That being said, please rest assured that I am reading every last one of them. And because of the enthusiasm, I’ve decided to add a new portion to this weekly Episode Preview: “The Fans Have Spoken,” a weekly paragraph or two commenting on or responding to reader comments and questions. Yeah, it’s a pretty cheesy title, but we’ll work with it for now.
But first things first: What can we expect for tonight’s new episode? Here is the official synopsis from CBS:
Episode 2 – “Love Goggles” – One castaway dons his “love goggles” when he’s struck by another’s beauty. Also, heat exhaustion takes the air out of one castaway, on SURVIVOR, Wednesday, Sept. 28 (8:00-9:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network.
Also, take a look at the preview video on CBS.com:
We saw this coming last week, the love connection between Millennials Taylor and Figgy, two pillars of the “TriForce” alliance (along with Jay). As Adam points out in the video, showmances are never a good idea strategically, but hey, easy for us to say. The heart wants what the heart wants. Nothing is more glorious than young love, and it’s such a Millennial thing to do, to fall in love and just live in the moment, even if these moments are playing out on national TV. If it’s a real showmance, than this is not a good sign for any member of the TriForce alliance this early in the game. Figgy fashions herself to be like Survivor-great Parvati Shallow, but Parvati never took things beyond flirting…she knew how to manipulate and how to get what she wanted from men, but she never became smitten or allowed this to impair her game. Time will tell if Figgy has control of her emotions or not.
Elsewhere, we see what looks to be a scary sight: When Doctor Joe shows up in an episode, it’s rarely because he’s giving health tips. He might as well wear a black robe and bring a sickle with him, because typically his presence spells death within the game of Survivor. It appears that one of those old Gen-Xers might have had a heart-attack. Let’s hope it’s nothing serious and doesn’t lead to an evacuation.
Usually Episode 2‘s of Survivor are solid, as they expand on the introductions allowed in the first episode. But it looks like tonight’s episode will show us whose hearts are in the game, and whose might cost them a chance at the million bucks.
“The Fans Have Spoken.” So again, thanks for all the great comments on last week’s Survivor Recap. Here’s some general replies to some of the common questions you all raised. First off, it didn’t seem like anyone really minded that Rachel got the first boot. But overall it seemed like most everyone liked the episode? The big question many had was regarding still trying to figure out the definition of “Millennial” or “Gen-Xer,” but as defined by Survivor: “Gen-Xers built this current world, and the Millennials just have some different ideas as to how it should be ran.” It’s not perfect, but we all get what they’re trying to do. But we all will have to just accept Zeke as a 28 year-old “Millennial,” born in the 80s, and Paul as a 52-year-old “Gen-Xer,” born in the 60s.
The other big question was concerning why the Gen-Xers decided to split their votes. Simply put, I think it was a mistake to do so, especially on their very first vote. But the reason I think CeCe got a number of votes was simply because she was not in the majority’s alliance, and she was seen as the closest ally to the target, Rachel.
And thanks to everyone for the kind wishes and comments regarding our new baby…much appreciated!
So check out Episode 2 tonight at 8pm on CBS, and then check back here for another recap!
TELL US – WILL THE SHOWMANCE BETWEEN TAYLOR AND FIGGY LAST? WILL WE SEE A MEDICAL EVACUATION? WHO WILL LEAVE THE GAME TONIGHT?
Photo Credit: CBS/Monty Brinton/Robert Voets
