‘Survivor’ Is Better When Everyone Gets A Little Silly With It

I remember individual seasons of Survivor by and for their "mood." This is a nebulous bit of recall, because "mood" (or "vibe," if you will) is both subjective and insufficient; distilling roughly twelve hours of programming into one word is inevitably going to leave a lot out. But this is how my brain works, and so we're all just going to have to roll with it. Some seasons are chaotic [derogatory] (Gabon) and others are chaotic [complimentary] (Cambodia — Second Chance). Some seasons are dark (Island of the Idols , Caramoan), and others are brutal (Kaoh Rong with its three medevacs, Africa with the poop water). It's easy to love the ones that can be filed under the "epic" label (Heroes vs. Villains , Winners at War), and most everyone who cares about the show does. But, in my heart of hearts, I think I love Survivor most when it's just "silly."

While it normally takes most of the season to decide upon a corresponding mood, the second episode of Survivor 's ongoing 50th season, "Therapy Carousel," has made it very clear that this is going to be an extremely foolish season. Again, that is not a bad thing, and it is also not an all-encompassing designation; there have been plenty of thrilling strategic and physical moments already; you've got Cirie swiftly dictating her tribe's votes away from herself and from her ally Ozzy Lusth in back-to-back episodes for the former; anything Jonathan Young has done in challenges for the latter, as much as it pains me to say that. And there was a real bummer of an ending in episode one, as season 48 winner Kyle Fraser had to be pulled from the game after rupturing his Achilles tendon. (He seems to be taking it all in stride.) Survivor is a bloated game, and season 50, with its 24 initial players, couldn't help but avoid the "something for everyone" temptation. It's unclear to me as yet whether that's [derogatory] or [complimentary].

All that being said, wow did episode two really lean into both the intentional and unintentional comedy that's inherent in the show's ridiculous premise. Putting this many people into the wilderness with minimal supplies and food eventually drives everyone more than a little crazy, and while that sometimes manifests in uncomfortable ways, it also opens everyone up to a healthy dose of insanity. Oh, and also gastrointestinal distress, which is how episode two kicked off: Christian Hubicki was simply chatting with tribemate Joe Hunter when he made the same face a baby might make when they fill their diaper. He did this because that's essentially what happened. Christian, a robotics professor and one of the most intelligent and likable contestants to ever play Survivor , fully shat his pants on day four.