The 43rd season of Survivor is set to premiere on Sept. 21, and the show promises to introduce new and fascinating elements to keep fans engaged. Not only that, but it intends to introduce a new crop of castaways who will become the new faces of the show.
Yet while fans are excited to see another season of their favorite reality TV series, there are some things that they're hoping are changed before the season starts. After all, given the woefully unpopular "time travel" twist in seasons 41 and 42, there are certainly some things fans hope don't reappear in Season 43.
More From Camp Life
As the show has progressed through the seasons, it's shown less and less of what made life on Survivor different from shows like Big Brother: The survival aspect. "Show us more of camp life and people being resourceful getting food and maintaining a shelter/keeping warm and dry," says Redditor Tantelle.
After all, that element is what sets the show apart and brought fans to it in the first place. It's a lot of fun watching people who may never have set food in nature get cast off onto an island by themselves. With the slow shift to being a show about strategy alone, Survivor has lost a lot of what made it great in the first place.
Change The Twists
Some twists on Survivor help to enhance gameplay by introducing curve balls at the last minute, like the show introducing a surprise Final Two in Cagayan. Others, however, interrupt gameplay to introduce confusing twists that remove any chance for players to control the votes.
"I personally dislike twists that take away the elimination via voting aspect the show is known for," says Reddit recent "do-or-die" Survivor twist was one such example that took away power from the players. While it may be fun on first glance, it removes agency for most players, which hurts the social and strategic gameplay the show is known for.
Warring Casts
While the show has recently had some instances of interpersonal conflicts, like Lindsay experienced with Jonathan in Survivor 42, the years have seen a sharp decrease in on-set arguments. Reddit stangoldenchild says it would be great "if the cast was just as good as 42 but with more clashing personalities, kinda like Survivor Cagayan."
Part of the allure of the show is getting to see incredibly different personalities trying to survive together, and that tends to lead to arguments. Yet, the show's shift to more strategy-based gameplay has taken away some of that element. It would certainly be nice to see it again.
A True Villain
Once, Survivor had enough villains that they were able to fill an entire tribe with them. Now, though, the show has more morally gray figures in the cast. Some fans aren't exactly happy with the change. "A half decent villain would be a good start. And not like the 'villains' they’ve had the past few seasons, but like a vindictive villain," says Reddit Drewhasspoken.
With villains of old stealing clothes, spilling rice, and setting things on fire, they certainly added a fun element to the show. Notorious villains made Survivor great, and it has been disappointing to see the show move away from them. Where have the Russells and Johnny Fairplays gone?
Bring Back Idols
While Survivor hasn't always had immunity idols, it's undeniable that they've become a major part of the show. Every season, players desperately try to dig through the muck to find an idol of their own. Unfortunately, they haven't been using them very much lately, and there haven't been many successful idol plays either.
"I just want some idol plays back," says give Survivor players the chance to vote themselves out, which is always fun, and production should work to try to encourage that.
Fewer Blindsides
There's nothing better than a good Survivor blindside. After all, the best Survivor blindsides shock fans as much as the players. Yet, despite how exciting they can be, they may be happening too often. "I think I like less blindsides because it makes the blindsides that do happen more exciting," says Naive_Feed_726 on Reddit.
With the introduction of the Shot In The Dark, players have been encouraged to blindside their opponents. Yet, when every vote is a blindside, it just gets predictable, which isn't exactly what the show is going for. Decreasing their frequency can increase their impact.
New Challenges
For the past few seasons, challenges have grown somewhat stale. Every individual challenge seems to involve balancing, and every team challenge has players throwing something. It's a far cry from Survivor's brain-melting puzzle challenges and gross food challenges of old.
"China had that amazing nighttime firework reward challenge," says Reddit SagginBartender. "Some memory game, anything different than balance a ball. Just no more small balls really." Creative challenges can make rewards and immunity competitions less of a drag, which would certainly help keep the show interesting.
Earn The Merge
While fans had some problems with the concept of earning the merge from the past two seasons, they do see some potential in it. "Earn the merge suggestion - it's individual immunity and half the contestants can win, and half can lose," says Reddit bigtimebasketballfan.
A change like that can ensure that players don't have their immunity stolen from them through time travel, while it also encourages them to play as hard as they can to get food and immunity. Plus players can't just be dragged along by challenge beasts. Every player will have to earn their spot — without getting lucky with a rock.
Change Final Four
There have been some controversial vote-outs recently in Survivor but none are more controversial than the ones where players have not been allowed to vote out their competition at the Final Four. Instead, they're forced to compete in fire-making. While it's been the subject of considerable critique, one fan has an idea to improve it. "No fire making at F4, but don’t tell the players," suggests mbjackson1987 on Reddit.
The change can take players by surprise, and it can even force some on-the-spot votes that can cause a major split in the camp just before Final Tribal Council. It would be a major change, and a fascinating one at that.
A New Setting
After spending numerous seasons in Fiji, some fans are ready for a change of pace. Reddit joshCHEWa wants "a new location where we get lots of cultural challenges and rewards." Considering that some of the show's best challenges incorporate the environment in unique ways, like the challenges from Gabon and China did, staying in Fiji has removed the chance for creativity in challenge designs.
Still, staying in Fiji is likely something that helped cut down costs for production on the show, so it's unlikely Survivor will be looking for a new location anytime soon. Besides, if it helps ensure that the show stays on screen, it's worth it.