Survivor: David vs. Goliath’s pre-merge among the best ever

In a season with a medical evacuation and a quit before the tribe swap, Survivor: David vs. Goliath’s pre-merge shouldn’t have been this good.

It’s been a rough couple of seasons of Survivor. Whether it’s a two-horse race for more than half the game in Ghost Island, things only picking up at the 10th episode of Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers, or everyone fun getting voted out before the merge in Game Changers (plus that heinous display of bigoted selfishness), it’s been a few years since we’ve had a great season front to back.

Even Millennials vs. Gen X had a very uneven pre-merge, especially when it heavily hammered on the differences between the generations. It would take a few episodes to drop that mentality completely amid forgettable eliminations (excluding Michaela Bradshaw’s memorable tribal exit), picking up at the merge. It’s been a while since a season has started off extremely well.

Survivor: David vs. Goliath has started impossibly strong, balancing character development and personality with strategy, intrigue, drama and gameplay. I have not seen as great a pre-merge since Heroes vs. Villains, surpassing even that seen in Kaoh Rong. Let me explain why.

A diverse cast of various backgrounds

I’m honestly flabberghasted that casting director Lynne Spillman has left Survivor after leading the casting decisions for this cycle, as David vs. Goliath has brought us the perfect group of characters. Every archetype cast for the show is among the best in their categories, led by the best “Cochran” nerd type with Christian and the most well-rounded jock type in John Hennigan.

Not only that, but the cast skews more towards the demographics of America today. We saw our first woman over the age of 55 compete, close to half the cast coming from a non-caucasian ethnic background, players coming from all across the country (not just California like Redemption Island); we have the first duo of African-American men competing in the merge since Fiji’s Earl Cole and Dreamz.

People from all walks of life, ages, backgrounds, states and territories angling to become the 51st state competing in Survivor, and David vs. Goliath has been methodical in letting these characters shine through. Though drama has been ramped up for some characters, these players’ personalities have shone through the difficulties of this season.

A well-balanced edit

You don’t need Ghost Island Chelsea stans to tell you that recent seasons have been unbalanced in the edit. Chelsea ended up being the most purple-edited player in the history of Survivor, and the edit focused on Domenick, Wendell, Kellyn, Donathan, Laurel and the downfall of everyone else.

David vs. Goliath, for the most part, has shown off everyone befitting an excellent narrative. There are some screen hogs, for sure (Christian and Nick come to mind), but for the most part, everyone’s edit has been fairly balanced with confessionals. Alison is the only player who has received fewer than eight confessionals before the merge, with everyone else averaging at least one per episode.

More importantly, the edit among tribes hasn’t been dominated by one group or another. The Davids, Goliath, Jabeni, Vuku and Tiva each have had their stories shared, with most players setting themselves up as players and reflecting on their life in the real world. There are a few winner contenders, but nothing feels solid.

It’s not obvious who will win David vs. Goliath. That’s a huge accomplishment in modern Survivor at the merge!

A non-overbearing theme fitting well into the story

You can’t predict the weather, but you cannot deny its impact on Survivor: David vs. Goliath. This season has provided some of the toughest cyclones, tornadic winds and unrelenting rain for days at a time, requiring production to give the tribes tarp at one point and evacuate them at another.

While not the leading storyline, it does play well into the David vs. Goliath season theme, where players are overcoming difficulties and fears in their life. We’ve also seen the transformation from David to Goliath and vice-versa, with characters grin and bearing the difficulties of the game with triumphant backing.

No scene fits this motif better than the most recent Immunity Challenge. Jabeni suffered a tragic performance of biblical proportions, with the tribe having to give up before completing the task and Mike crying over having to vote someone out of the game.

Despite this being the fifth season in a row taking place in Fiji, David vs. Goliath has a unique feel and vision to it that separates itself from a pack of middling to bad seasons.

Interesting characters staying and leaving the game

One reason why Game Changers petered out on its early momentum was due to the fact all the fan favorite characters were sent home before the merge. When Sierra Dawn Thomas, a last-second alternate for winner Natalie Anderson, is the one calling the shots at the merge, something terribly wrong went down.

David vs. Goliath has built up each of its characters who have left the game; something that rarely happens in Survivor. Pat got a mixed-tone exit that shared his highs, lows and ended with a heroic closure. Jessica was a winner candidate for some after episode one before being subject to a shocking blindside. Jeremy burnt out like an exploding sun, Bi got a fairly balanced edit for someone who quit, Natalia had an entertaining tribal exit, Natalie napalmed the earth on the way out, and Lyrsa was the David who was one life too short.

Many will be sad about Natalie, Pat and Lyrsa not making the merge, but arguably some of the strongest personalities, game players and storylines remain intact heading into the next stage of Survivor: David vs. Goliath. 

We’ve arguably witnessed one of the top 13 seasons of the show so far; let’s hope David vs. Goliath keeps up the pace heading into, and past, the merge. Doing so would push a great season into top 10 contention, without a doubt.