I've been watching this show for 20 years. For different reasons, it never seems to go down quite right anymore. The handful of Survivor seasons I've caught have whatever is missing from this. Survivor feels "fair." This feels like the reigns have been not-so-slowly passing towards an Andy Cohen production. There's "evolving with the times" and then I think there's "the tyranny of low expectations." "Reality" TV in that sense has been finding lower levels for the bar to sit for some time now, and the amped up gossip and children they cast from not-in-the-spirit adjacent shows of the producers speaks to it. I miss watching the old genuine competitors. I miss thinking there was a measure of real teamwork and strategy that could be employed. I miss recognition of individual effort and skill, social or otherwise. One of the most baller politic moves in this season gets obliterated by this joke of a "mercenary" system. The random "grenades" and weaker and weaker challenges from last season still leave a bad taste in my mouth. Champs get saddled to people who don't even bother to workout for the show and spin-off ridiculous personalities make the roster and act like they run the place.

I guess I'm just sad. I think the spirit died a while ago, and now this is like a vestigial piece of my fleeting hope and youth I cling to for nostalgia pains.