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Jeff Pitman @truedorktimes.bsky.social · 9h

#Survivor49 I guess unsurprisingly, she swam in high school and college. washubears.com/sports/swimm...

Jeff Pitman @truedorktimes.bsky.social · 9h

#Survivor49 It's unlikely to have any relevance in any challenge, ever, but Sophie is a really good swimmer. A full body length or two ahead of the pack. (We are long past the era where an Ozzy could be a tribal asset for this.)

Sophie, head down, calmly pulling way ahead of everyone else swimming in the Ep5 IC of Survivor49, as everyone else paddles frantically along behind her.

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Jeff Pitman @truedorktimes.bsky.social · 1d

By this Probst logic, Tina Wesson is the only true winner of US Survivor, at 42 days, ironically in Survivor: The Australian Outback. (Which means US Survivor isn’t a real win, since that’s far short of Kristie Bennett and Jericho Malabonga and their 55-day wins in SurvivorAU.)

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Jeff Pitman @truedorktimes.bsky.social · 1d

Also, lots of past players have returned to the game after receiving IV fluids, going back at least as far as Lindsey Richter in S3. There is no such rule that it’s unfair.

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Jeff Pitman @truedorktimes.bsky.social · 1d

(I think Jake's medevac was actually because they couldn't be positive he'd really had a dry bite, and decided he needed antivenom to be 100% sure, which required a trip to Australia. Not "well, he had an IV, so that wouldn't be fair.")

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Jeff Pitman @truedorktimes.bsky.social · 1d

#Survivor49 Ep6 press release ... the "heat and exhaustion take a major toll" would be the other (potential) medevac that was featured in the Ep1 montage of future events. We'll see if they're held to the same "you can't go back in if you've had IV fluids" standard Probst created for Jake.

“The Devil’s Shoes” – A major shakeup hits the game when two tribes turn to three. New tribe members size each other up, but with only four players on each tribe, there is not much room to hide. Then, heat and exhaustion take a major toll on one castaway, on SURVIVOR, Wednesday, Oct. 29

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Jeff Pitman @truedorktimes.bsky.social · 2d

This is a reasonably fun logic puzzle to work out from the preview. I think you're probably right, but I can't be 100% sure about Sage and Shannon.

Jeff Pitman @truedorktimes.bsky.social · 2d

(From Dalton Ross's summary of On Fire: ew.com/jeff-probst-...)

I would also argue 24 players in 26 days is an even bigger ramping up of the intensity ... Probst just listed things that are there to fill space in 90-minute episodes, now that reward challenges are more rare than idols.

Jeff Probst explains why no season 40 winners were asked back for 'Survivor 50'

Jeff Probst explains why season 40 winners like Boston Rob, Parvati, Sandra, and Tony were not invited back for 'Survivor 50.'

ew.com

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Jeff Pitman @truedorktimes.bsky.social · 2d

#Survivor Not really seeing how Beware advantages or journeys really change a pre-S41 player's approach to the game (beyond avoiding the journeys), and the Shot in the Dark has a 1-in-6 chance of hitting, so it's barely a concern. The main difference is 26 days is a lot faster ... not these things.

“Let's just remember seasons before 41 did not have things like a Beware Advantage or a Journey or the Shot in the Dark,” says Probst on the podcast of the new twists. “So all of that changes the nature of the game. And that's what's going to be interesting about 50 is somebody like Jeremy or Colby [Donaldson] who have played many times, but they played a slower pace. Not an easier or more difficult game, but a different pace because of the game design. How's that going to work?”

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Jeff Pitman @truedorktimes.bsky.social · 2d

I would argue Parvati’s second win should count way more than Boston Rob’s only one because of the much higher level of competition she faced. (Jeremy’s was legit, at least.)

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Jeff Pitman @truedorktimes.bsky.social · 2d

#Survivor49 Producer: “Congratulations, sir. We’ve achieved the previously unthinkable: A *second* disaster tribe after a swap dissolved the first.”

Probst: “Let’s do another swap! I want three! THREEEEEEEEEE!!!!”

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Jeff Pitman @truedorktimes.bsky.social · 2d

Aren’t the bags and water bottles marked with player initials? I don’t understand how Jawan keeps mixing up JP vs SL? Relatedly, is there some way to game this system and frame someone for taking another player’s bag or bottle?

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Jeff Pitman @truedorktimes.bsky.social · 2d

(*Shannon’s idea)

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Jeff Pitman @truedorktimes.bsky.social · 2d

I would love to see more strategy move from AU to US Survivor. (Wasn’t Savannah’s idea just the David Genat/Mat Rogers deal from AU: All-Stars?) I’m tired of waiting for production to copy the SA/AU idol-at-Tribal idea, so maybe the players can do the importing themselves.

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Jeff Pitman @truedorktimes.bsky.social · 2d

#Survivor49 Here is Damnbueno's deep dive on lone wolves who made it through swaps, and then his recap of Ep5, which did a lot of heavy lifting to make you think that might happen again, until... www.truedorktimes.com/s49/damnbuen...

Surviving as a lone wolf | Screaming at the Screen - Damnbueno's Survivor 49, Episode 5 recap/ analysis

Damnbueno revisits lone wolves who survived swaps in Survivor history, then recaps Episode 5 of Survivor 49, in which contestants did a lot of heavy lifting, but not nearly as much as the editors, who...

www.truedorktimes.com

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Jeff Pitman @truedorktimes.bsky.social · 3d

Yeah. The sales pitch for that challenge was Probst liked the fact that the audience could play along at home. But I guess it's now more important to imagine carrying several-hundred-pound cages.

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Jeff Pitman @truedorktimes.bsky.social · 3d

#Survivor49 Savannah: "It's a level of exhaustion that normal people will never understand." Way to tell instead of show, Survivor.

(It doesn't *need* to be that tough, it doesn't come through on-screen, this is all to satisfy Probst's ego that 26 days is still "hard".)

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Jeff Pitman @truedorktimes.bsky.social · 3d

#Survivor49 I dunno, if I was picking, Jason's preference of Mudkip would make him the clear choice to keep over Jawan, who likes Totodile.

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Jeff Pitman @truedorktimes.bsky.social · 3d

Heh. (on their feet, in the mud)

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Jeff Pitman @truedorktimes.bsky.social · 3d

#Survivor49 Episode 1 (2 hrs): 2 challenges
Episodes 2-5 (90 minutes): 1 challenge.

All that extra time, and I still have no idea who Sophie (original Hina, now Kele) is.

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Jeff Pitman @truedorktimes.bsky.social · 3d

#Survivor49 Having said all that, I do wonder if Jawan rigging the rock draw is an homage to JT (Muirhead) rigging the drawing straws in SurvivorNZ: Thailand. (Cool either way.)

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Jeff Pitman @truedorktimes.bsky.social · 3d

#Survivor49 Hooray, it's now where the unused Sweat vs. Savvy ideas became undead, except that Savvy stayed dead.

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Jeff Pitman @truedorktimes.bsky.social · 3d

#Survivor49 It still mystifies me that Survivor took a beloved twist (The Outpost, originally on SurvivorNZ), and managed to turn it into something hated by fans and players alike. Incredible work.

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Jeff Pitman @truedorktimes.bsky.social · 3d

I never particularly liked "Shine" by Collective Soul, but I'm still offended that by my recognizing it, Amazon wants everyone to know I'm a lame old person. (I mean I am, but still.)

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Jeff Pitman @truedorktimes.bsky.social · 3d

#Survivor49 First it's Sam Phalen walking around the jungle in just socks in 47, now it's Steven and MC? Why?

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