Following up Cagayan was gonna be a tough battle, no matter how good this season actually was. On that note, they opt to return to the Season 27 format of Blood vs Water with a slight variation. In my opinion, this format does not work as well as the original. As mentioned in my review of Season 27, it was a welcome change of format because it felt like a spin-off season. You get a season that is half characters you know, and half of their loved ones, and the Redemption Island element. It created a dynamic where you already know characters and their play styles and personalities, and got to see how their game evolves when you put the emotion of a loved one in the game with them. Not to mention Redemption Island of squaring off against loved ones was great. With that being said, the best part of the original was kind of wiped out here. You do not know anybody, so you are developing all people with a specific view of the emotional play where people are kind of hindered in their actions. Then they exchanged Redemption Island for Exile Island, so the loved one head to head matchup of win or go home was essentially eliminated. The stakes were much lowered when the head to head was only for reward.
With all of that being said, this is still a good season that is easy to enjoy. The first two players that lost loved ones were the easiest to get invested in. Why? The training wheels were off. Jeremy and Natalie had to fight to get to the end. They weren't restrained by their loved ones. They weren't sharing screen time with their loved ones. They were the show. While Jeremy didn't get super close to the end, Natalie ends up winning. And she played a great social game. She destructed the pairs while maintaining loyalty and civility. Her use of idols was impressive and her social awareness and levelheadedness down the stretch is truly something to admire.
Again, the two "solo" players were the big winners of this season. The duos all tend to smudge together and it is not quite as good as already knowing 1/2 of all pairs. If you are a fan of the show, check it out. But I definitely recommend Blood vs Water 1 before this one.
Rating: 8/10
Shout by pntjrBlockedParentSpoilers2016-05-25T02:43:01Z
This season was okay. Natalie being Tony Lite was great, and the Josh vs Jeremy rivalry was pretty cool, but I've never seen a cast with people who knew so little about the game. The Downfall of Drew Christy was entertaining though.