User blog comment:Survivor321/Survivor Nicaragua blog episode 8: "Heads Will Roll"/@comment-1034367-20130104213105

I’m actually addicted to reading this. It’s quite good, and a real separation from the real Nicaragua season. We’re seeing evil sides of some castaways, good sides of others, and some of them are just getting more emotion. There is a great balance between camp life and strategy in the editing – for example, Kelly S’s farting incident was a great way to intertwine humor into a strategic moment, and Jimmy T’s obnoxiousness caused by that moment was kind of a fun way to place an elimination reason into camp life. It’s something you don’t see much on normal Survivor…someone getting eliminated, not because they were on the outs of their alliance, but due to their annoyingness.

I like the Kelly S/Fabio plotline. Both of them were edited so they would be perceived as kind of dumb blondes in IRL Nicaragua, so it’s fun to see two personalities mesh like that. Making it more than a super happy fun go-time kissy-kissy love bond alliance like Rob and Amber that don’t take up all of the strategic editing is what they need to put in Survivor editing. (Although, to be fair, Malcolm and Angie succeeded with this in Philippines. However, it wasn’t a full story arc as it was cut short.)  I really love how their relationship isn’t dictating all the strategy, but rather changing the strategies of others! Shannon’s rage against the alliance is fun to watch, and you captured his hotheaded personality well, especially at Alina’s boot.

Most of the castaways’ portrayals are very similar and believable when compared to their edits and real personalities (in and out of the game). The elements of realism in IRL Survivor are there, too. There are only a few concerns I have, and they aren’t much. Considering he had been making fake idols the entire game, would Sash not have been a bit suspicious about Marty’s fake idol? Also, unless I missed an alternate description of the idol, the Nicaragua idol is a key. I find it hard to believe that people who have seen the idol before have not noticed the fake qualities of the fake idols, especially when it’s something so distinctive (and hard to replicate) as a key. On the subject of fake idols, I do love their addition to the plot and strategies, but more than one fake idol had been played, and plenty were made – and no one seemed suspicious of an idol being given to them as being fake.

The challenges are great, as they are mostly fun throwbacks to past challenges. The one that I really liked was the Guatemala throwback, as that’s my favorite season. I wish this had visuals, because seeing Marty beat out the youngsters would have been a great “take that!” moment to see.

Another aspect I’d like to comment on is Jill’s injury. It reminded me a lot of James’s injury in Heroes vs. Villains, seeing as she tried to scramble from an inevitable fate. I just think she’d have been medevaced by then if her foot was infected and full of pus. As for comparisons to past contestants, I’d say Shannon had a very Boston Rob aura coming off of him when he wanted to split Fabio and Kelly up. It reminded me of both of Matt’s blindsides in Redemption Island. They were both ultimately linked to his relationship with Andrea, and the want to make sure he was everyone else’s number one was very Rob-like. It also reminded me of Russell, because he had to split Danielle and Parvati up in HvV to make sure they wouldn’t choose each other over him. The need for power was something in that vein. Seeing him go downhill with a power obsession and “playing with his hormones” really gave me vibes of a certain Survivor contestant…who was it again? Oh, I think it was Jaime and Judd from Guatemala… Jaime was very opinionated, and his hormones and alpha-male personality played a big role in his game. Judd’s comparison is because his rage against Margaret had its own little arc, and he got the entire tribe to vote her off because of a personal vendetta. Come to think of it, didn’t Colton do this too?

Yve reminds me a lot of someone you’d label as a “Brain” in a Brains vs. Brawns season. She seems like a mix of Yul and Kim Spradlin, seeing as she’s already controlled a vote before. She had good reason to do so, too; she’s doing what’s needed for her game and her game only. She isn’t waiting for anyone else to do it for her, and that’s what makes a good Survivor player – being proactive.

Marty is honestly acting like a more bad-ass version of himself from IRL Nicaragua. Now that Sash is gone, we can see Marty act more strategic a little bit. He’s more fun to read/watch from the first time around, and I’m glad he’s escaped from that CPN4 edit.

The only editing concerns I have are Kelly B. and Tyrone, who have been UTRP1 for a few episodes (note: just read the merge episode, glad they got more screentime).

Well, that’s it for now…all I can think of. Hope you keep it up!