Hello all!

Have to admit I'm not crazy about returning players, although I did enjoy S16 Fans vs. Favorites. So I'm going to give this season a shot. First episode was okay, but not great.

I am NOT a fan of Philip at all, and of the returning players I wanted Erik to do better. And already we're seeing him make a stupid mistake by not going along with Philip. While I would've rather seen Philip go asap, Erik should've known that he did not have the weight or the numbers to oppose him. All I can say is I hope Philip cannot survive once the tribes shuffle. But I'm getting way ahead of myself, onto Ep1 editing thoughts...

Thoughts on the "Fans" tribe:
Appeared to me that it was more about the leading men, rather than the supporting women, on this tribe. And on a tribe of 10, the first episode showed some clear "pairings" that will play out. Leaving us wondering which ones will be pre-merge story, and which ones will be longterm.

First noticeable pair was Shamar and Matt. Shamar was clearly the most vocal on the tribe. Which will likely be to his disadvantage. Although he did already receive some redemption in starting the fire and getting the accompanying confessional. Matt was also vocal about the beginnings of camp life for the Fans. We also were given his confessionals both for and against Shamar. Is this the beginning & end of their squaring off, or will we see this continue. And while I felt that there was a clear manipulation of Matt juxtaposed with Shamar, he did have a nice scene with Michael (who I note as part of a different pairing) It was scene that hinted of what may be to come, especially as we see Matt and Michael sitting in the water with traditional Survivor music playing softly in the background.

Next pair, we have leading male Reynold and his supporting woman Allie. Reynold was the first fan to be shown on the boat, he had a nice number of confessionals in the narrator role, and he was the first to be shown making an alliance. He appears to know the game as we hear him speaks and he did very well in the challenges. But already we see him go back on his intuition to keep his alliance with Allie hidden. Will this be the kink in his armor. While he did share in confessional that he was aware that he made his Allie connection obvious in the shelter, could this still be a later issue for him. Allie may fair better if one of the pair has to go, as Reynold will be a bigger target when tribes mix-up or merge. It's also to her favor that her early confessional went something like this: "I know enough about the game... that I'll make it to the very end" - With no million-dollar quotes so far, this is one of the most promising confessional soundbites.

Next pair, we have a lesser leading man Eddie and his supporting lady Hope. Not only were they seen less than Reynold/Allie, they were shown talking about how they were the best looking on their tribe. We heard "showmance" music around their night time beach scene. At least Eddie was shown tied to Reynold directly and had a confessional. Hope on the other had little showing and no confessional. This pair was shown with the pair of Reynold & Allie, noting things like being "cool kids" and feeling secure in their alliance of 4. Notables that we've seen in other seasons that proved flawed for the players involve. I guess "cool kids" don't know that an alliance of 4 on a tribe of 10 is not a numbers advantage. Already we have been made of possible stupid moves by the first alliance revealed.

A more inconspicuous pair is Michael and Laura. Michael certainly had one of the best showings on the Fans tribe. He was prominent in the camp scenes, and even more so when shown that he was aware that he could be in a swing position with Matt to vacillate between choosing to side with the women on the beach or with the "cool kids." This will remain to be seen, but I think it's important to note that editing took specific manipulation to note that he is tied to Laura. A highlight was the scene in which Laura shared the information to counter the "cool kids" alliance. This is a nice juxtaposition to the fact that Laura and Michael had back to back early confessionals, right after Jeff mentioned first impressions. Laura stated that Michael is particularly observant and that she thinks he's going to be another stategist like her. Michael was then shown to state that "one of the blondes looks 18 yrs old" - adding "what in the hell is she doing out here." Will Michael end up working with her despite his first impression? We were shown Laura to have some game savvy in her second confessional stating that the cuddling pair of Reynold & Allie needed to be broken up.

The final pair on the Fans tribe is Sherri and Julia. Both seem cool enough, and each got a confessional. But they are clearly the least tied to any of the developments that were chosen to be highlighted in the first days of their tribe. That doesn't look too good for them right now. It will be interesting to see if either of them come into light next episode, or if they will continue to simmer on the back burner.

Regarding the "Favorites" tribe, it may prove more challenging to note the editing, especially for the characters like Philip, Cochran and Brandon. Although we haven't seen gratuitous attention to Brandon yet, Philip and Cochran did get considerable showings. And I believe they would no matter what their longevity in the game. One can hope though, that those relevant to the story and to the endgame will get their share of airtime as well.

Philip and Francesca got the lions share of confessionals and storytelling, which makes sense as Fran was the first boot (again). Philips declaration of the BR rules could prove as a blueprint for the season. Perhaps for him or for someone else? Although one could argue that this was shown no matter what the outcome, as it was homage to Boston Rob, and connected Philip to his original season. We shall soon see if Philip will continue to be top man on his tribe - there's a good chance we will get a lot of Philip each episode, whether he is out in few more tribals or makes it further in the game.

Good showings also came from Cochran and Dawn. They had their own confessionals (Dawn being the first of her tribe when they arrived at their beach) and both sharing about their ties to the game. They both also had a key conversation about this episode's boot, and were the swing vote for the outcome. Once again with no million-dollar, it is possible to take Cochran's quote about a "new Dawn" to be telling to the progression of the season.

I felt that Malcolm faired well the first episode. He did great in the first challenge, and had a nice early confessional about his strategy coming into the game. While he was low key the rest of the episode, he was not shown receiving any flack for the IC loss. To his favor, he was brought in by Philip to main alliance on the "Favorites" tribe. Corrine and Andrea were also brought in and were shown in key scenes giving each of them what appears to be good standing. With Andrea surviving as the first alternate boot choice.

Erik got 2 confessionals tied to his opposition of Philip. And while this might side with sentiment of viewers, it's not looking good that this will be sound strategy for Erik to make it to endgame. He was shown more than Brandon and Brenda, but could Erik nudge his way to the next phase of the game, after having defied Philip so early in the game? I hope so, but it's looking like production might be favoring Philip right now. Episode 2 will be very telling for Erik's chances. As for Brandon and Brenda, while they each had a confessional, they both had little ties to the story at the "Favorites" camp, and even worse, they fell on the losing side of the first vote.

It's looking like the stronger players lie in the faction of those in the majority of the first vote. And of them, I'm hoping we see the rise of a "new Dawn" rather than crazy man's Machiavellian play of "BR's rules"

Enjoy the season!

-- aaron