Call me old school, but I'm not a fan of the latest twist in Survivor 48. We all knew this was where we were headed after the last episode in Survivor 48.
In Survivor 48 episode 7, "Survivor Smack Talk," two players would be voted out after the tribe of 12 was split into two smaller voting groups via a random draw. One player would have immunity heading into Tribal Council while five other players in each group would be eligible to be voted out.
We've seen this twist before. The last time was in Survivor 46. Then, I don't think I hated it as much as I did last night, and it doesn't really have anything to do with the players who were voted out or anything like that. It's just all about the inauthentic and inorganic manufacturing of drama that happens with a twist like this.
Basically, instead of just letting the game play out, we get random intervention to make smaller groups, cut players off from their potential allies, and force gameplay to happen. In other words, it's to manufacture intrigue because it's much harder to get 11 players to agree on who to vote out than it is to get five players moving in that direction.
And, like, if you want to vote two players out in one episode, just do two Tribal Councils with the full group. It's so much more interesting to see the scramble or lack thereof with a big tribe like this. Sure, two Tribal Councils mean two challenges, so maybe it's not possible, but I just don't love splitting the tribe up one vote into the merge.
Maybe I'm waxing nostalgic for the old days of Survivor, but the result of these random groupings usually lacks drama. In Survivor 48, Sai Hughley and Cedrek McFadden, the only two players who received votes in the pre-merge, 13-player Tribal Council, were voted out. In essence, the two players on the bottom were picked off. Why not just let that happen organically? The result might be the same. Or, it might not be.
It's so much more to watch an idol play with a full tribe than it is with such a small group. Of course, an idol play didn't happen, but we could have seen a Shot in the Dark. We could have seen misdirections. Instead, it played out like chalk. No one, in theory, is better off. It just feels like a waste.
I love the old merge votes where you had two tribes, deadlocked, with a few swing votes. Of course, that can happen later. Maybe, I'll change my mind later, but I'm ready for this twist to be gone.