Survivor Ghost Island: Learning to love (many) historic twists
Many Survivor fans believe that the show relies on an overabundance of idols, advantages and twists. Ghost Island paying homage to the past should be different.
If Survivor in 2017 gave us any indication of the show, it’s that CBS and Jeff Probst are in love with dynamic, twisty gameplay that has fans on the edge of their seats. That means that Secret Advantages, Hidden Immunity Idols, one-round bonuses and long-term options are going to be prevalent going forward.
To me, the sheer number of advantages in modern Survivor has brought the game dangerously close to a hide-and-seek adventure over a competition about social dynamics and elevated gameplay. Hell, a guy idoled his way into the Final Tribal Council after the final twist of Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers allowed him to compete in a forced, non-optional fire-making challenge.
When I first heard about Survivor Ghost Island and its premise of bringing 20 players onto an island and subject them to the mistakes and misplays of players from past seasons, I had a mixed reaction. Having 20 players in a season makes for rushed gameplay on its own, and throwing more gameplay items into the mix will draw away focus from the characters and emphasize more on its tools.
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That was all before I saw the trailer for Survivor Ghost Island. After watching it, I knew that there is an opportunity for CBS to present its advantages in a new light without making them feel familiar; they would respect the history of its show and the players who made it so intensely watchable for 35 seasons.
Just from the intro to the preview alone, you can see how CBS pays homage to its past seasons. Logos from past Survivor seasons include Pearl Islands, All-Stars, Africa, Thailand, The Amazon, Vanuatu, Guatemala, Panama, Nicaragua and China. Not all of those seasons are top of the minds of fans at home, and I’m surprised that production even remembers Guatemala was a season that even happened!
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- Survivor: David vs. Goliath introduces new idol advantage
- Survivor: David vs. Goliath’s Gabby Pascuzzi already trolling fans
Most importantly, the way Survivor Ghost Island is teased comes intrinsically through a variety of big moments in Survivor history, ranging from players’ gameplay, strategic decisions or straight-up embarrassments. These twists, and how they apply to the upcoming season, don’t have an inherent pattern to them besides how memorably bad it went for one player, meaning how they can play in a season filled with redemption opens up to a ton of possibilities.
By doing so, Survivor Ghost Island will likely benefit those who are intimately familiar with the show and how such misplays worked in order to counter their effects during the season. With token items, idols, torch snuffers and other memorabilia draping the island, the pressure is on both players and production not to repeat the mistakes of the past.
Jeff Probst notes that this will be the first time players have the opportunity “to reverse the curse of some of the worst decisions in Survivor history,” yet also showed the hint of a “Game of Chance” as the first clue of what to expect. The zoom-in on “feeling lucky,” while player quotes talk about not “making the same mistake” and “listening to their gut.”
To me, it seems like Ghost Island won’t feed into extra bonuses without a possible consequence, and how that is presented to the players in the audience should be make-or-break on how the “ghost of misplays past” shakes up. The show loves to make players earn their advantages in the game, and similar to how Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers included timed bonuses, we could see some players actually be disadvantaged from these twists.
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Blending in narrative and gameplay while sprinkling in loving passages to Survivor legends, Ghost Island, at the very least, offers a window into the opportunity to please both old school and new school fans of the game. Let’s just hope it works out this time!