I remembered not liking the post merge a huge amount since how meta and kinda cringey the intense strategy was. I will always value characterization over strategy (thus why I love Worlds Apart), but on a rewatch it's not nearly as bad as I remembered. MvGX is kinda like if you took the strategy of Cambodia but actually gave it some heart and soul. MvGX is what Cambodia could have been if it were edited decently and not rushed.
A good part of the cast are huge irrelevant duds (CeCe, Paul, Mari, etc), but the hits are BIG hits.
David has a really great and admirable transformation journey and is fascinating as a strategist, in addition to being very well spoken
I'm known to believe Jay as one of the best characters in modern Survivor
Ken's a very unique and interesting character in his old school ways, even though hes kind of a cunt irl
Adam's story is genuinely very moving, if a bit repetitive at times, and his young superfan take on strategy is interesting once you get to know it
Hannah, who I disliked the first time around, has a good amount of pretty funny scenes
Taylor is a GREAT and HILARIOUS trainwreck character
Chris and Jess are understated but very likable
Bret has some great confessionals and facial reactions
every Michaela scene is pure gold
Michelle is amazing outside the game
Zeke isn't anything special but I like him
even fucking Figgy was pretty fun to watch, and the scene where she "reveals" her romance to Jess and Ken is IMO one of the funniest scenes we've had recently
The pre-merge isn't nearly as boring as I recalled. It's actually great. There are many dynamics and storylines at play and they all come back together to form a merge with complex relationships and blurred lines.
It has it's downsides, sure, like the terrible cringe theme which is made exponentially worse by Probst trying to have his own little talk show every episode on "oh those cah-rAAAAAAZY millennials". Also the term "trust cluster" is fucking stupid and I swear to god if anyone ever says it in a future season I WILL switch over to Big Brother, do not test me.
It's an amazing season that's still fun after recency bias dies down.
Welcome to Gingey's top 10, MvGX!
In order of appearance, not favorite:
1. Borneo
2. Pearl Islands
3. Vanuatu
4. Tocantins
5. HvV
6. Philippines
7. Cagayan
8. Worlds Apart
9. Kaoh Rong
10. Millennials vs Gen X
RightToCensor Yes and no. I really enjoyed doing the first ones, the problem is CBS's copyrighting. They let Michaela's slide but they aren't giving me the green light for Jay's or David's so far. I really want to continue but i'd have to look into editing the footage so that CBS's bots don't pick up on them.
andalarew_2231Simplyobsessed Nope, two of my most controversial opinions, China and Micronesia are both fairly mediocre in my eyes, at least in terms of how much I enjoyed them. If I ranked all seasons, China would probably be in the very middle. Micronesia would be above it but still not top 10.
Also the term "trust cluster" is fucking stupid and I swear to god if anyone ever says it in a future season I WILL switch over to Big Brother, do not test me.
