Ryan’s Analysis: Survivor 46, Episode 9
It's always fun when you find yourself yelling at the TV screen during an episode of Survivor. I was absolutely yelling at Hunter to play his Idol. It's frustrating that he didn't listen to me, but it was still an exciting episode of Survivor that leaves the door wide open for some craziness next week.
Ryan’s Analysis: Survivor 46, Episode 8
I love how much of a trainwreck this season is becoming. There are so many chaotic personalities that you never know what's going to happen next. This is a really fun cast, and while this Tribal Council may have been dumb, it was certainly entertaining.
Ryan’s Analysis: Survivor 46, Episode 7
I don't love the placement of the double boot episode here. I'd really like at least one normal episode between the Mergatory and the double boot just so we get a better understanding of the full tribe dynamics.
Ryan’s Analysis: Survivor 46, Episode 6
That was a solid Mergatory episode! It had a nice dash of chaos, but it was never hard to follow and their wasn't any production interference to make the episode feel gimmicky.
Ryan’s Analysis: Survivor 46, Episode 5
This was probably my favorite episode of the season so far. It was really exciting to finally see another tribe go to Tribal Council, especially a tribe like Siga, which has gotten along very well up to this point.
Ryan’s Analysis: Survivor 46, Episode 4
Well, that wasn't what I would call a typical episode of Survivor. A friend of mine called the episode boring, and I can see that in terms of gameplay, but I saw the episode as more of a character study of Bhanu, which I did find interesting even if there wasn't a ton of interesting gameplay to discuss.
Ryan’s Analysis: Survivor 46, Episode 3
Well, I loved the first 98% of this episode. Bhanu's episode-long meltdown was gloriously entertaining. I felt really bad for the guy, but there were times that I couldn't help but laugh at his paranoid spiral. I can't remember the last time we saw a meltdown this intense. All that said, Tribal Council getting canceled pissed me off.
Ryan’s Analysis: Survivor 46, Episode 2
You know, I really want to be on Survivor, but if I get on, can we not do this Immunity Challenge? Holy crap, that looked brutal. It's nice to have evil Jeff back, but damn. Calm down there, Satan. This was a crazy episode with the Yanu tribe being a total trainwreck. It may not have been good gameplay, but it was certainly interesting.
Ryan’s Analysis: Survivor 46 Premiere
Survivor is back, baby! This was a fun premiere with a unusual first boot. Going in, I never would have correctly guessed who was going first. I loved the Andy Griffith alliance and the geckos used in the Immunity Challenge were adorable. I want one!
Ryan’s Analysis: Survivor 45 Finale
Wow, what a roller coaster. I was honestly expecting a pretty straightforward finale without a ton of tension. While I ended up being right about the winner, there was actually a ton of tension in this episode. It was much closer strategically than I thought it would be as well as at the Final Tribal Council. I loved it and it's a great ending to an awesome season.
Ryan’s Analysis: Survivor 45, Episode 12
Love is in the air, and so is some questionable gameplay. This was a fun, if pretty straightforward episode until we got to Tribal Council. I also think it made it pretty obvious who is going to win the season, but I could definitely be wrong.
Ryan’s Analysis: Survivor 45, Episode 11
Wow, what an epic episode. It had everything! A wild and tragic backstory, a really fun Immunity Challenge, romance, tension, betrayal, and a very exciting Tribal Council.
Ryan’s Analysis: Survivor 45, Episode 10
Okay, the Top Gun montage sequence in this episode might be my favorite Survivor moment since Tony won Winners at War. I don't know whose idea it was, but they deserve a raise. This episode was a blast even if the gameplay was questionable at times.
Ryan’s Analysis: Survivor 45, Episode 9
This ended up being a pretty straightforward and uneventful episode despite the best efforts of production. I always like it when production tries to force something crazy and it just doesn't happen. Straightforward episodes are fine! Straightforward doesn't always mean boring.
Ryan’s Analysis: Survivor 45, Episode 8
Wow, what a fun episode. It was great to have the auction back and I loved Kellie's reaction to getting voted out. Best of all was Jeff pulling out a knife and stabbing the bag of rice. More evil Jeff please!
Ryan’s Analysis: Survivor 45, Episode 7
I was concerned going into this episode, not gonna lie. I wasn't thrilled that we were getting a double boot immediately after the mergatory episode. I just wanted a normal episode to let the battle lines get drawn. However, the twist ended up working for me.
Ryan’s Analysis: Survivor 45, Episode 6
Wow, that was an absolutely wild episode and a ton of fun. It was already shaping up to be a great episode with all of these personalities interacting for the first time, but that Tribal Council really took the cake.
Ryan’s Analysis: Survivor 45, Episode 5
This was a bounce-back episode for Survivor 45. We got solid setup for the possible conflicts in all three tribes going into the Immunity Challenge, so I had no idea who was going to Tribal Council. We got some fun scheming and plotting and interesting character backstories.
Ryan’s Analysis: Survivor 45, Episode 4
I was really enjoying this episode until I wasn't. The tribe swap was a breath of fresh air. I think seasons should generally have one, and not just a mini-swap like they had in 44.
Ryan’s Analysis: Survivor 45, Episode 3
Wow, what a Tribal Council. I feel like that's going to be iconic. This was such a fun episode. It's crazy to me how hard these Idols are to get and making them weaker Idols is just brutal.