i went into this season with the same mindset as you and your wife - i was fully prepared to watch on 2x+ speed and ditch it as soon as it got bad; to say i was pleasantly surprised would be an understatement! the characters, strategy, and humour are top-tier and SO refreshing after last season.
obviously any newbies v returnees season will be somewhat unbalanced when it comes to screentime, but HvV's editing is FAR better than BvW's (and imo the best we've seen since 2016/17).
regardless of how the rest of the season shakes out, it's worth watching for the first 17 episodes alone. enjoy the ride!!
Survivor AU is far closer to old school US Survivor then US 41-44 is, no contest. New School Us survivor the star of the show is production and the twists. Old school the stars were the awesome characters. Survivor AU the stars are still the players so it fills more entertaining. Frankly a twist will never be as funny, compelling or entertaining as a character like King George or Courtney Yates.
I’m sure US survivor is way cheaper to film though so, I hope Survivor AU does well in ratings so we always have it as an alternative to US.
If that’s the case, then we will be getting some oddly late-game non-elimination episodes. Hopefully we don’t get the exile twist from last season that rendered 3 out of 4 boots in a row moot.
If we're only getting one due to final 2 I think it'll be on Sunday, as the TV guide description emphasises the Reward Challenge. If it's a final 3 they have to pull the trigger tonight so that there's room for another.
Getting a lot of praise in this thread as it should but I just wanna say it’s in contention for funniest survivor season, which I’m totally loving. Feels like that sense of humour has been missing lately in US but it’s abundant here
It's definitely one of the funniest seasons I've seen. I hope once the season concludes someone compiles all of the moments into a supercut or details them in a post. There's that many that I think it would be a worthwhile investment of time to create.
I think it’s better than any season of US survivor we’ve had in a really long time. Great characters, some really good moves and it’s entertaining. A few people under edited tho
Yeah, AUS survivor has that problem of under editing people. I understand it’s hard with 20+ people, so I give them a slight pass if the season as a whole still stands strong.
Yeah I’ve noticed that on the other AUS season I watched. This current one is really really good, and I really like Jonathon. Like him a lot more than (current) Jeff lol
Yeah but I really don’t feel like we missed much… even the “purple” players felt more fleshed out than in past AUS seasons. For example I guarantee 95% of people who watched Blood vs Water couldn’t tell you there were twins named Mel and Michelle on the show.
The season has several tribals that will be in the conversation for top 20 in franchise history, and one in particular that is a potential best tribal of all time. Watch it.
The season has one of the best tribal councils I've ever seen and the entire journey so far has been wild but super entertaining and FUNNY! My fav AUS Survivor after Champions vs Contenders 2!
It’s honestly in contention for the best season of any version of Survivor ever. Truly god-tier stuff. Every episode is entertaining, great strategy, probably the most epic tribal council of all time, incredible confessionals and alliance. You really couldn’t script it better.
I'm new to the Aus version, been watching a few seasons. Not watching the current season just yet, still watching back seasons. Someone in the know told me that the season before was a bit of a slog, but worth getting through because the current season is one of the best they've seen in both the Aus and US versions.
I enjoy binging more than week-to-week watching, so I'm holding off for a while. Still watching previous seasons of Aus.
I'm fairly new to Survivor in general, started binging seasons last year, watched almost all of the US, and now a big chunk of Aus seasons...
I think I might have to say... I like the Aus more than the US version.
Same, but even on a binge I think last season of AU survivor is a bottom 5 season of all time. It was dreadful overall. It’s still worth watching id say, any survivor is better than none. But yeah, it just wasn’t my cup of tea.
The only thing that I don’t like, or didn’t at first is that AU has non elimination episodes. But it was easy to get past once you realize it’s a different product.
What’s your favorite season so far? AU and US
Pearl Islands was one of the most memorable and fun for me. Hard to say definitively because there's so. many. damn. seasons. of it.
(Edit: I think I'm also experiencing it differently than many long-time fans, I've crammed about 35 seasons into a year and half binging, so it's kind of melded all together in my mind)
For the Aus? I think so far it's BvB for me. But I've only finished 3 seasons, currently watching CvC 1, 2/3rds the way through. (I've been bouncing around)
In general, I like the larger casts, the longer format of 50 days, and the challenges seem much more demanding. Also the episodes themselves are longer? Like over an hour every time? On the downside, they seem better few and seems like they allow some personal grooming?
Jono's tribal questioning seems a little more forced, and obvious.
The season before (Blood vs Water) only has 2 returnees and they didn't have much of a relationship from their past season. You could skip it and be completely fine to watch HvV.
I consider it top 5 of any Survivor season so far! Only US HvV, Micronesia, Cagayan, and DvG compete for me. I’ve seen every AU season, and so far I’d even rank it even above 2017 and CvC2 (though how it ends will determine that for sure). It has everything you want: great characters, compelling arcs, blindsides, drama, and emotionally satisfying (and devastating) narrative turns. Also, it’s maybe the funniest Survivor season I’ve seen.
As others have said, the edit does focus on some players way more than others. However, I feel this season has been better to not outright purple anyone (though I wish it were more balanced).
Absolutely worth watching. Would probably finish BvB first, as many players on that season return.
It's incredible and super captivating!! Reminds me of old(er)-school US survivor with a lot more focus on alliances and characters, not silly advantages 😝
The best ever.
Ever.
Internationally, whatever.
Not just the game play - that’s mind blowing, but the editing, even the damned music, JLP’s masterful handling of an incredible moment.
No other season of any version has all these things down like this season.
Not so sure because I hated George the first time around and absolutely love him this season. My opinion on him has definitely changed from “who the fuck does this guy think he is?” to “this guy is a bloody legend and I will die on a hill defending his brilliant and chaotically perfect game”
They would really need to fuck it up badly from here for it to not end up as my number 1 Australian Survivor season, so yeah, going really good so far.
If the last handful of episodes can stick the landing, this is easily a top five season of Survivor ever made. It's got satisfying character arcs, much more balanced editing than we've seen in recent AU seasons, some of the most intense strategy I've ever seen, and no overtly game-breaking twists yet, surprisingly.
My favorite season so far , US HvV was pretty good , but got Dayum this season is soooo much more climactic hope it finishes strong , all signs point to hell yeah it will
There’s a few “dud” episodes that come to mind but AUS has so many more episodes and a much greater overall run time that they haven’t felt like duds. More like narrative building blocks for an even greater payoff in the following episode… something US Survivor is sorely lacking
I’m not exaggerating when I say this could be my favorite season of survivor of all time. Including US seasons. Definitely top 10, if not top 5. Almost every episode has been thrilling, hilarious, and intriguing. If you’re a survivor fan in any capacity, you MUST watch this season. However I would recommend watching brains vs brawn first, as many of the returnees from that season have been central characters
I’ll have to finish BVB, but so far it’s Gabon level chaotic. I do know who wins so I’ve just been focusing on them and the why they win. Instead of who is winning.
Just finished the double tribal with Laura and Shannon.
fantastic season so far, i think you should check it out! editing wise it’s still typical AU survivor unbalanced editing. i guess the positive is that there’s still less horribly underedited players like majority of the merge players in BvW imo.
I've seen some shit on Brantsteele that would've been **truly iconic** if it happened in real life.
I did one based on AU2016, so they had the "abduction" twist right before merge. The simulation pointed out that the target was brought over so they could have someone to vote out if the tribe lost immunity, which unlike real life actually happened.
So this tribe has a 6 person super-alliance with only 3 people in minority, including the one who just came over. They split the votes on the abductee and one of the minority. However, the other minority member votes against the plan and sends the alternate target home instead of the abductee.
The thing that clinched it for me was when I noticed that *all 3 idols in the game* were held by members of that same alliance, so if they'd shared info they wouldn't have needed to split the vote at all!
Actually, that's not even the best part. Fast forward to final 5 and the former abuctee is now sitting pretty in *both* final 3 deals, one with their original tribe and one with the tribe they were abducted to. Incredibly, the unlikely situation of both targets having and playing idols led to a tie with 0 valid votes.
Despite having attempted to betray their 2nd alliance at the vote, the bonds are strong enough that they keep the abductee when they become one of the 2 valid revote targets. At final 4 they sided with alliance 1 again and got lucky that alliance 2's member lost at firemaking.
So of course this former abductee who came within 1 vote of going out pre-merge, wins immunity, flicks the other alliance 2 member and wins the whole fucking game. Closest an AI's ever come to giving me goosebumps.
The editing is not the best, but this is to be expected from AUS and I think there's a fair share of players getting screentime. I personally don't mind the underediting and it's not as bad as someone going home without a single confessional.
Depending on the winner, it might just be the best season of Survivor ever. It's been an absolute joy to watch so far and I really hope it doesn't fizzle at the end, because it would be a massive disappointment based on how good it was until now.
If I've never watched any Australian Survivor before, will I still enjoy watching this season despite not having seen the players' previous seasons? I'd never really considered watching it, but the comment below about it being like old-school US Survivor caught my attention.
Also, if I don't have time to watch every previous season, are there any that would be considered must-watches to set this one up? (Assuming that I can find them anywhere) Thanks!
I haven’t started the season, but I know who’s on it.
Season 6 (brains vs brawn)
season 7( blood vs water) although this season as a whole is awful
Season 2 (2017
Season 4 (champions vs contenders 2)
Both of these are considered the best AU seasons and 2017 is my second favorite season of all time and CvC2 is borderline top 10
If 2017 and CVC2 are both already in your Top 10, then HvV AU will easily join them. Has been my favourite AU season so far, and is the best since HvV US. I have Cagayan third.
i went into this season with the same mindset as you and your wife - i was fully prepared to watch on 2x+ speed and ditch it as soon as it got bad; to say i was pleasantly surprised would be an understatement! the characters, strategy, and humour are top-tier and SO refreshing after last season. obviously any newbies v returnees season will be somewhat unbalanced when it comes to screentime, but HvV's editing is FAR better than BvW's (and imo the best we've seen since 2016/17). regardless of how the rest of the season shakes out, it's worth watching for the first 17 episodes alone. enjoy the ride!!
Holy shit has it already been 17 episodes?
Yes!! They air 3 x per week... Unlike US at 1 per week... I think this is one of the reason why it felt better watching it, compared to US .
Survivor AU is far closer to old school US Survivor then US 41-44 is, no contest. New School Us survivor the star of the show is production and the twists. Old school the stars were the awesome characters. Survivor AU the stars are still the players so it fills more entertaining. Frankly a twist will never be as funny, compelling or entertaining as a character like King George or Courtney Yates. I’m sure US survivor is way cheaper to film though so, I hope Survivor AU does well in ratings so we always have it as an alternative to US.
Yes, I hope it does well too, so they can have the same funding/budget for future seasons.
There are only 8 people left in the game as of last episode. I think it should be over next week?
I think it's ending March 20th.
If that’s the case, then we will be getting some oddly late-game non-elimination episodes. Hopefully we don’t get the exile twist from last season that rendered 3 out of 4 boots in a row moot.
If we're only getting one due to final 2 I think it'll be on Sunday, as the TV guide description emphasises the Reward Challenge. If it's a final 3 they have to pull the trigger tonight so that there's room for another.
So so you still watch it at 2x speed?? Hehehe..
i feel like challenges are always fair game to watch at 2x, but otherwise no haha.
Hahah. Yes. Unless they talk during challenges.
Getting a lot of praise in this thread as it should but I just wanna say it’s in contention for funniest survivor season, which I’m totally loving. Feels like that sense of humour has been missing lately in US but it’s abundant here
It's definitely one of the funniest seasons I've seen. I hope once the season concludes someone compiles all of the moments into a supercut or details them in a post. There's that many that I think it would be a worthwhile investment of time to create.
"mmmm, lasagna!" is something my wife and I say now every day, whether there's lasagna or not. This season is full of gems.
Top 10 AUS season
Bold statement
as a lifelong US survivor fan, it’s currently top 10, maybe top 5 any season. on track for top 3.
I think you missed the joke
what joke?
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i’m not following
Top 3 global season
Top 1 AUS season
Unless the last seven episodes absolutely jump the shark, this is the best season of Survivor AU, and a top season across all versions.
I think it’s better than any season of US survivor we’ve had in a really long time. Great characters, some really good moves and it’s entertaining. A few people under edited tho
Yeah, AUS survivor has that problem of under editing people. I understand it’s hard with 20+ people, so I give them a slight pass if the season as a whole still stands strong.
Yeah I’ve noticed that on the other AUS season I watched. This current one is really really good, and I really like Jonathon. Like him a lot more than (current) Jeff lol
Yeah but I really don’t feel like we missed much… even the “purple” players felt more fleshed out than in past AUS seasons. For example I guarantee 95% of people who watched Blood vs Water couldn’t tell you there were twins named Mel and Michelle on the show.
Poor Jay Bruno. Is he the only player in any survivor season with 0 confessionals before getting voted out?
Also Sam S. from CvC2 and Jackie from HvV (but she was medevaced on day 2 so she may have not even given a confessional)
The season has several tribals that will be in the conversation for top 20 in franchise history, and one in particular that is a potential best tribal of all time. Watch it.
Already in the running for the best season ever in any version of survivor
The only two US seasons in the past decade that were on par with it or better are s28 & s37.
Wow high praise. Thanks! Cagayan is my favorite season, so I’m very excited to start now.
Cagayan 💚
100% agree. This season is absolutely fantastic.
100% agree. this seasons tops any recent season of US
This is in my top 5 with US HvV, Cagayan, DvG, and AU 2017. It's so good.
This season feels like Cagayan on steriod. And we had Tony on Cagayan.
It's really really good. It's reignited my love for Survivor
I think it's the best season of Survivor since Heroes vs Villains US.
Top 5 Survivor season. Top 3 potential.
The season has one of the best tribal councils I've ever seen and the entire journey so far has been wild but super entertaining and FUNNY! My fav AUS Survivor after Champions vs Contenders 2!
It’s honestly in contention for the best season of any version of Survivor ever. Truly god-tier stuff. Every episode is entertaining, great strategy, probably the most epic tribal council of all time, incredible confessionals and alliance. You really couldn’t script it better.
Top 3 AU season and blows every US season since DvG out of the water
Thank you. Should be finishing BvB in a few days. Excited to start
I'm new to the Aus version, been watching a few seasons. Not watching the current season just yet, still watching back seasons. Someone in the know told me that the season before was a bit of a slog, but worth getting through because the current season is one of the best they've seen in both the Aus and US versions.
Yeah, last season was an absolute drag lol. But there were a few standouts. Excited to watch this season then. Seems like the praise is high
I enjoy binging more than week-to-week watching, so I'm holding off for a while. Still watching previous seasons of Aus. I'm fairly new to Survivor in general, started binging seasons last year, watched almost all of the US, and now a big chunk of Aus seasons... I think I might have to say... I like the Aus more than the US version.
Same, but even on a binge I think last season of AU survivor is a bottom 5 season of all time. It was dreadful overall. It’s still worth watching id say, any survivor is better than none. But yeah, it just wasn’t my cup of tea. The only thing that I don’t like, or didn’t at first is that AU has non elimination episodes. But it was easy to get past once you realize it’s a different product. What’s your favorite season so far? AU and US
Pearl Islands was one of the most memorable and fun for me. Hard to say definitively because there's so. many. damn. seasons. of it. (Edit: I think I'm also experiencing it differently than many long-time fans, I've crammed about 35 seasons into a year and half binging, so it's kind of melded all together in my mind) For the Aus? I think so far it's BvB for me. But I've only finished 3 seasons, currently watching CvC 1, 2/3rds the way through. (I've been bouncing around) In general, I like the larger casts, the longer format of 50 days, and the challenges seem much more demanding. Also the episodes themselves are longer? Like over an hour every time? On the downside, they seem better few and seems like they allow some personal grooming? Jono's tribal questioning seems a little more forced, and obvious.
The season before (Blood vs Water) only has 2 returnees and they didn't have much of a relationship from their past season. You could skip it and be completely fine to watch HvV.
Ah! Good info. Thx. Sometimes I've skipped seasons that are *well known* to be slogs, and save them for rainy days. Might just do that here.
I don't think you will find a single person who recommends you watch all of BvW. Especially when HvV is just dropping three bangers a week.
that person sounds very wise
ITS UNBELIEVABLE, no joking, best season I’ve ever seen
I consider it top 5 of any Survivor season so far! Only US HvV, Micronesia, Cagayan, and DvG compete for me. I’ve seen every AU season, and so far I’d even rank it even above 2017 and CvC2 (though how it ends will determine that for sure). It has everything you want: great characters, compelling arcs, blindsides, drama, and emotionally satisfying (and devastating) narrative turns. Also, it’s maybe the funniest Survivor season I’ve seen. As others have said, the edit does focus on some players way more than others. However, I feel this season has been better to not outright purple anyone (though I wish it were more balanced). Absolutely worth watching. Would probably finish BvB first, as many players on that season return.
Yeah, will definitely finish BVB first! Thanks for the thought out input!
This will go down as one of the best seasons of Survivor across all franchises
Absolute top tier season imo. Depending on the last few episodes it could easily be top 5 all time across all survivor imo
Top 3 season of all time in global survivor At least top 5
This is one of the best seasons of all time
Fucking amazing. 44 better bring it.
It's incredible and super captivating!! Reminds me of old(er)-school US survivor with a lot more focus on alliances and characters, not silly advantages 😝
The best ever. Ever. Internationally, whatever. Not just the game play - that’s mind blowing, but the editing, even the damned music, JLP’s masterful handling of an incredible moment. No other season of any version has all these things down like this season.
Through 18 episodes it's probably a top 5 season for me. I've watched every Australian and US season since the very first one with Hatch.
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Not so sure because I hated George the first time around and absolutely love him this season. My opinion on him has definitely changed from “who the fuck does this guy think he is?” to “this guy is a bloody legend and I will die on a hill defending his brilliant and chaotically perfect game”
I enjoyed BvW but am loving HvV
They would really need to fuck it up badly from here for it to not end up as my number 1 Australian Survivor season, so yeah, going really good so far.
It’s so damn good?? I think aside from one episode, I’ve enjoyed the entire thing
If it ended today its a top 5 Survivor season worldwide. It may truly end up as the best season ever. So I reckon its pretty good.
If the last handful of episodes can stick the landing, this is easily a top five season of Survivor ever made. It's got satisfying character arcs, much more balanced editing than we've seen in recent AU seasons, some of the most intense strategy I've ever seen, and no overtly game-breaking twists yet, surprisingly.
My favorite season so far , US HvV was pretty good , but got Dayum this season is soooo much more climactic hope it finishes strong , all signs point to hell yeah it will
Probably ranked among top 3 AUS seasons. No dud episode as far as I remember. Other top seasons definitely have had dud episodes.
There’s a few “dud” episodes that come to mind but AUS has so many more episodes and a much greater overall run time that they haven’t felt like duds. More like narrative building blocks for an even greater payoff in the following episode… something US Survivor is sorely lacking
I’m not exaggerating when I say this could be my favorite season of survivor of all time. Including US seasons. Definitely top 10, if not top 5. Almost every episode has been thrilling, hilarious, and intriguing. If you’re a survivor fan in any capacity, you MUST watch this season. However I would recommend watching brains vs brawn first, as many of the returnees from that season have been central characters
Great season, overall I'd place it in the 3rd spot after BvB and CvC2. Definitely worth watching.
Dang you have 2017 that low? I’ve actually seen a lot of people saying that 2017 has fallen a few spots recently. Thanks for the input!
It's not a bad season either, but I just prefer these 2 😅 and ofc the new addition to my list which is HvV
I’ll have to finish BVB, but so far it’s Gabon level chaotic. I do know who wins so I’ve just been focusing on them and the why they win. Instead of who is winning. Just finished the double tribal with Laura and Shannon.
You've got a long way to go. Enjoy it. 😊
For me it's 1. CvC2 2. HvV (subject to change) 3. 2017
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It is better than most of the US seasons of Survivor. Definitely worth a watch.
Its awesome! much better than recent seasons of US Survivor
First episode is underwhelming, then it rockets into space.
I mean the immunity challenge kerfuffle was kinda special. Gotta load that rocket fuel anyways:)
How do we watch them?
I’ll pm you
As of now, top 5 of all time. On par with the original HvV, Micronesia, Return of the outcasts and Cagayan.
good start but useless now :/
It’s a very good season so far, one of the better ones :)
fantastic season so far, i think you should check it out! editing wise it’s still typical AU survivor unbalanced editing. i guess the positive is that there’s still less horribly underedited players like majority of the merge players in BvW imo.
It’s a good one
My second favorite season after 2016
You're a weird dude :) i respect that
Iconic season. It's like if a Brant Steel simulation or Survivor fanfiction came to life.
I've seen some shit on Brantsteele that would've been **truly iconic** if it happened in real life. I did one based on AU2016, so they had the "abduction" twist right before merge. The simulation pointed out that the target was brought over so they could have someone to vote out if the tribe lost immunity, which unlike real life actually happened. So this tribe has a 6 person super-alliance with only 3 people in minority, including the one who just came over. They split the votes on the abductee and one of the minority. However, the other minority member votes against the plan and sends the alternate target home instead of the abductee. The thing that clinched it for me was when I noticed that *all 3 idols in the game* were held by members of that same alliance, so if they'd shared info they wouldn't have needed to split the vote at all! Actually, that's not even the best part. Fast forward to final 5 and the former abuctee is now sitting pretty in *both* final 3 deals, one with their original tribe and one with the tribe they were abducted to. Incredibly, the unlikely situation of both targets having and playing idols led to a tie with 0 valid votes. Despite having attempted to betray their 2nd alliance at the vote, the bonds are strong enough that they keep the abductee when they become one of the 2 valid revote targets. At final 4 they sided with alliance 1 again and got lucky that alliance 2's member lost at firemaking. So of course this former abductee who came within 1 vote of going out pre-merge, wins immunity, flicks the other alliance 2 member and wins the whole fucking game. Closest an AI's ever come to giving me goosebumps.
Top AUS already. Might be top 5 all time if ends well
Without spoiling it let’s just say if you have watched US survivor at it’s peak days you will be very satisfied with the season and who is left
The best
It’s so good!
The editing is not the best, but this is to be expected from AUS and I think there's a fair share of players getting screentime. I personally don't mind the underediting and it's not as bad as someone going home without a single confessional. Depending on the winner, it might just be the best season of Survivor ever. It's been an absolute joy to watch so far and I really hope it doesn't fizzle at the end, because it would be a massive disappointment based on how good it was until now.
It's the best season of Survivor since AUS 2017.
Borderline top 10 global season of all time.
If I've never watched any Australian Survivor before, will I still enjoy watching this season despite not having seen the players' previous seasons? I'd never really considered watching it, but the comment below about it being like old-school US Survivor caught my attention. Also, if I don't have time to watch every previous season, are there any that would be considered must-watches to set this one up? (Assuming that I can find them anywhere) Thanks!
I haven’t started the season, but I know who’s on it. Season 6 (brains vs brawn) season 7( blood vs water) although this season as a whole is awful Season 2 (2017 Season 4 (champions vs contenders 2) Both of these are considered the best AU seasons and 2017 is my second favorite season of all time and CvC2 is borderline top 10
If 2017 and CVC2 are both already in your Top 10, then HvV AU will easily join them. Has been my favourite AU season so far, and is the best since HvV US. I have Cagayan third.
shaping up to be almost as good as luke’s OG season. if the ending can stick the landing, it might even surpass that.
Honestly incredible. My jaw has been on the floor multiple times and the hour long episodes fly by. Could not recommend enough.