New twist on “Survivor” draws back old fans

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By Katelynn Mulder, Senior Assistant Editor

Recently coming out with it’s 36th season, “Survivor: Ghost Island” once again follows the classic Survivor tradition of leaving 16 players in two different tribes to compete against one another for a chance at a million dollars. Taking place in Fiji, the two tribes Malolo and Naviti appear to be very similar to previous casts. However, with a new twist in the game called Ghost Island, viewers who are lifelong fans or who are new to the show will find themselves eagerly looking forward to the next episode.

This season of the reality show has so far lived up to fan expectations. This new twist in the game, where idols and advantages from previous games, whose past owners failed to use correctly, are made available to the current players, added an interesting new dimension to the game. With someone being sent there from the losing tribe of every reward challenge, players at a disadvantage in the game have the opportunity to quickly gain control.

However, there are a couple downsides to this new twist. Viewers can find it hard to keep track of the variety of extra advantages in the game on top of the already present immunity idols, objects that can grant a contestant immunity for one tribal council so they can avoid being voted out.

There is a also very real possibility of one player gaining enough extra advantages that they could become immune for most of the game. And while the producers have taken some precautions against this with making gaining, an additional advantage happens only a couple of times on the island, there is already a contestant that has an Immunity Idol and the Legacy advantage, which acts like an immunity idol in special circumstances. Overall, the nostalgia a Survivor fan will feel when seeing old idols and advantages make their reappearance makes this twist to the game more than worth it.

With a variety of personalities and skills, viewers are sure to find someone that they can root for. From the single mother with the ability to easily swing votes, to the young 18 year old who wants to be seen as more than a kid, to a lifelong Survivor fan looking to make his own mark on the game, this season has a variety of contestants that viewers can sympathize with and cheer for.

Although only five episodes in, confrontations at Survivor tribal council and big games moves are already occurring. This could possibly be due to this seasons twist, but as the action only grows from one episode to the next, viewers will find themselves unable to stop watching. Ultimately, this unique season is certain to force the survivors to create new tactics and strategies that are certain to only increase in number as the game progresses. Old fans will feel nostalgic seeing previous game’s advantages and idols get a second chance at being used, and new fans will find themselves theorizing late into the night about who the ultimate winner will be.

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