First to Shore Physical Race

This season, Survivor returns to the country of Palau, and fittingly enough, the first challenge of the season is the exact same as the first challenge of Survivor: Palau. The first person from each tribe to arrive at the beach wins Individual Immunity. In Survivor: Palau, this immunity protected them from the obnoxious "2 people don't even get chosen to join a tribe" twist, but this season, the Individual Immunity idols are good for the first Tribal Council that person attends. The way the challenge begins is also different than in Palau. In that season, all of the players started in the same boat out in the water. In this season, everyone starts on the beach, we get a bit of exposition as the Favorites are introduced, and then, Jeff prompts everyone to swim across the ocean to a different beach, where the idols rested, along with the tribe boats. In this season, it also happened to be pouring down rain during the beginning moments of the game, so that adds a bit of intensity that didn't exist in Palau. Now, if you recall, my main issue with this challenge was that in Survivor: Palau, because I didn't know who any of these people were, I had no reason to be invested in the challenge, since I had no reason to care who won; I couldn't even know who to root for. At the same time, I pointed out that it was a very novel concept, and in future iterations, wouldn't feel as special. Well, here we are, six seasons later, and the scenario has sort of flipped around; the challenge is no longer new, we've seen it before. But also, this time, we have returning players involved, so I have a reason to root for specific people that I want to see go far in the game. So with that said, the challenge is about equally engaging to me here as it was in Palau. Although Erik is the first to arrive to the beach, he isn't able to find the idol, and neither are the next few to show up. Jonny Fairplay suddenly spots one, and grabs it, but then he realized he grabbed the idol belonging to the Fans' boat. Before he is able to grab the correct idol, Yau-Man sneaks in, and nabs the Favorites' idol before Fairplay is able to. It is a funny moment, but I don't think the editors did a very good job at setting up the fact that it was very important to grab the specific idol that corresponded to your tribe. Meanwhile, the Fans' idol is just sitting on the ground after Fairplay dropped it, and Kathy walks by. Yau-Man yells to her to pick it up, and just like that, we have our two winners!

3/5

Reinventing the Wheel Physical Race / Mental

Now, the first traditional challenge of the season, and it's a new one. Although, it does remind me a bit of Pearl Islands' first challenge, what with its format of transporting a large object through a narrow obstacle course. In this season, that object is not a cannon, but a wagon, with large wooden wheels. The challenge starts with the wheels off of the wagon and broken into three pieces each, so they need to be assembled and placed onto the wagon in something of a mini-puzzle. Once the wagon is all geared up, two members of the tribe have to hop in, and it can be pulled through a series of wooden posts sticking out of the ground, until the tribe reaches a pit of sand, at which a bundle of planks need to be dug up. The planks are used to build a bridge, which the wagon can be pushed over once completed. After crossing the bridge, the tribe has reached the final, puzzle portion of the challenge, and this is a really cool puzzle. It doesn't look particularly difficult, but the way it's set up is very inventive. Basically, you need to take the wooden wheels off the wagon, and disassemble them back into their original pieces. Now, these pieces which were once used to make wheels are repurposed as puzzle pieces, which need to be carefully fit into a "turnstile," in a jigsaw-like fashion. Once the puzzle is complete, the turnstile can be twisted, raising a fire wak, and winning the challenge for the first to light their platform. I've mentioned before how much I like it when elements from earlier in a challenge are somehow used to solve the puzzle in the end; we saw a lot of this in Cook Islands. It's great to see it here too. At one point, the Favorites crash their wagon into a tree, and Eliza falls out of the wagon, which is very entertaining to see, although it does leave her with a bruised eye. In the end, it's a fun, difficult, intricate challenge that acts as a great first challenge to the season.

4/5

Smash and Grab Physical Race / Mental

Speaking of Cook Islands, our next challenge comes straight from it! This is the challenge where one person from each tribe at a time must swim out, climb a ladder, jump off a platform, and smash a plaster with a club, releasing a key. Once all five keys are collected, they can be used to unlock a crate of puzzle pieces, which the designated puzzle solvers can use to solve a jigsaw puzzle— a map of the region of Micronesia. A new section to the challenge has been added since Cook Islands: Before swimming out to the ladder, a series of floating lily pads need to be run across. This addition never really trips anyone up (except for Ami), but I appreciate its inclusion nonetheless. Things start off pretty evenly between the two tribes, but things take a turn for the worse for the Fans once it's Chet's turn to swim out. Chet certainly has a bit of a legacy this season for his... less than stellar challenge abilities. Chet is able to smash the plaster, but once the key falls into the water, he is utterly hopeless at obtaining it, and it takes a screaming Joel to prompt him to return to the beach empty handed. The Fans are able to return to their normal pace after Chet returns, but they aren't able to make up enough time to remotely catch up, so the Favorites end up winning. There isn't anything that happens in this rendition of the challenge quite as memorable as the "why aren't you swimming?!" shenanigans back in Cook Islands, but it's still an enjoyable watch.

3/5

Nut Bucket Endurance / Skill

Next, we have a pretty unique challenge, unique in that I believe this will be the only challenge that I am able to classify as "Endurance / Skill." The concept is simple: Each tribe elects two men and two women to use ropes to hold up a large net, while members of the other tribe try and throw coconuts into the net, making it more difficult for the people with the ropes to hold. The first tribe able to make the other tribe drop their net wins Immunity. So, you can certainly compare this challenge to other pre-merge endurance challenges we have seen already; "Water Torture" from The Australian Outback, and it's updated variant, "Shoulder the Load" from Pearl Islands. I suppose it also bears similarities to "Never Tear Us Apart" from Cook Islands. I gave those challenges a 4/5, 3/5, and 3/5 respectively, and I have to say, this challenge is one of my favorites out of the four. I don't know if it's necessarily better than Water Tortue, but I think it's in the same tier, because it puts a lot of pressure on not only the players bearing the weight, but also, the rest of the tribe, in this case, responsible for throwing coconuts into the net. That's an element I very much appreciate; it tests a tribe's perception of not only their strongest, but also, most accurate in precision. Perhaps the strongest player would be better suited for throwing coconuts because they are just so good at that type of thing? Certainly the type of question tribes must have pondered while preparing for this challenge. During the game, Penner delivers some entertaining commentary, for instance, calling Jason a "squirrely boy." What's great about these types of challenges though, is being able to clearly see the weight bearers slowly burn out, as agony grows on their faces and sweat begins to pour down their cheeks. The Fans end up winning this one, so kudos to them!

4/5

Crosswalk Physical Race / Mental

This challenge is taken from Survivor: Fiji, and while I praised it quite strongly in that season, I don't think it holds up quite as well in this season. While the general concept is the same, some changes have been made to the format which I think hurt the challenge. Just to recap though, this is the challenge where the tribe members are harnessed together in a six-point sliding hub, and they need to maneuver through a series of obstacles using immense teamwork and cooperation. In Survivor: Fiji, each tribe had to travel through their own, narrow lane, which at times, crisscrossed with the other tribe's lane, causing traffic jams which were brutal and entertaining. The first tribe to the finish won. Let's see the changes that Survivor: Micronesia has made. The most notable is that there is a new section at the beginning involving locks and keys. Essentially, each person's sliding mechanic is locked at the start of the challenge, and needs to be unlocked before they can take on the course. To do this, they must pass around a ring of keys, and each person has to figure out which key is the correct one to unlock their section of the hub. As I pointed out when talking about the "Pole Dancing" challenge in Survivor: Guatemala, I do not like it when challenges use keys which you have to fumble around with in order to progress. It adds a pointless layer of luck to the challenge, and it doesn't make for good TV. The first minute or two of this challenge is just watching this mundane key portion, which ends up giving the Favorites a big lead, taking most of the suspense out of what happens. That's not to say a challenge needs to be suspenseful to be enjoyable, as I still enjoy this challenge, but I think it certainly would have been better if they just removed the key portion. The way the obstacles are set up is different as well: Instead of each tribe having their own path, we get a more open-ended course, where each tribe needs to travel around collecting necklaces with large, colored beads. On one hand, it's cool to see actual trees acting as natural obstacles; I've pointed out many times how I like when challenges take advantage of their physical location. On the other hand though, I still think this is a downgrade of Fiji's course design, which encouraged the two tribes ramming into each other, and was also easier to see what was going on from an audience perspective. Also different from Fiji, the challenge ends with a puzzle, and it's another relatively easy but pretty clever one. There is a decoding wheel with a bunch of painted letters on it, and the beaded necklaces have to be placed along the wheel so that certain colored beads highlight specific letters, revealing the answer: "Tribe stays intact." Overall, it's an intricate, creative challenge, which doesn't quite live up to its previous appearance, but still provides solid entertainment.

3/5

A Stone's Throw Skill / Mental

This challenge has two portions, first, a section where tribe members have to throw rocks to break ceramic tiles to release bundles of puzzle pieces, and second, a section where the puzzle-solvers use the pieces to complete a puzzle. It's actually a pretty generic challenge, but one thing that it has going for it is, once again, Jonathon Penner. He is just so funny. During the first section, which kind of reminds me of the "Rows and Throws" challenge from Survivor: Guatemala, only not nearly as interesting or culturally relevant, the Malakal tribe rock-throwers are able to finish before him. Penner exclaims, in frustration, "Bull, we say bull, bull, bull!" In anyone else's voice and tone, it wouldn't be as funny, but Penner just has this way of delivering lines that makes almost everything he says instant comedy. Jeff Probst retaliates, telling Penner he has the same tiles, the same ropes. Then, Penner throws a rock at a tile, but it doesn't break, and he yells "I mean— my ASS!"  This causes James and Parvati, and me, to laugh, and Jeff says that he needs to "stop bitching and start throwing." Penner: "We're just hitting them as hard as we can, Jeff." I love the dialogue we get between Penner and Jeff on Survivor. Everytime Penner plays, you know you're going to get something like this at some point. The puzzle involves lining up colored square tiles to create a cohesive pattern, and despite Malakal having a substantial lead, Airai is able to pull off an impressive comeback and win the challenge. To be honest, on an ordinary season, I could actually see this being a 1/5 challenge, but the combination of Airai's unlikely victory and Penner's hysterical commentary make this a challenge I get genuinely excited for when rewatching the season.

3/5

United We Stand Physical Race

How exciting that they chose to bring back one of my very favorite challenges from Survivor: Cook Islands! Yes, this is United We Stand, the challenge where each tribe has to use tall stepping poles to transport two other members (one at a time) across the water from platform to platform. Then, the entire tribe needs to prop themselves up on a very small platform sticking out of the water, something which looks absolutely impossible but which one tribe is always able to somehow accomplish. I'm not going to spend a bunch of time talking about why I love this challenge so much and why I think it is such a brilliant idea, because I already did that in my Cook Islands entry. Instead, let's focus on what makes this Micronesia iteration stand out. For one, they actually removed part of the challenge since its original appearance. If you can remember, in Cook Islands, before the tribes could use their stepping poles, they actually had to assemble them in what were essentially two mini-puzzles. I don't really mind at all that they decided to remove this element of the challenge, as it was kind of a nothing-bit that none of the tribes seemed to have any trouble with and which wasn't particularly interesting to watch. One little detail in this version of this challenge is that the tribes start in boats which are paired next to each other, but they are in the wrong lane, so the tribes need to collide which each other to get into the correct lane, which is a nice touch, since collision always provides a certain degree of entertainment. But what really stands out about this rendition of the challenge is not in its difference in design, but in the difference of strategy that the players use. The Airai tribe, specifically, comes up with an entirely new strategy that we never saw attempted in Cook Islands, and which I'm not even sure the challenge team anticipated. It's actually silly, because it seems like such an obvious strategy in hindsight, but no one had ever thought of it before, including, as Jeff remarks, the challenge team. Instead of using the two stepping poles to create a path for the person above the water to perilously step across, the Airai tribe decides to use just one stepping pole, and simply carry the person above them across the water to the next platform. It is a beautiful strategy that ultimately gives Airai a big, satisfying lead, and they end up winning the challenge.

5/5

What-er Drag Physical Race / Mental

Here's a pretty interesting water challenge: One at a time, one person from each tribe has to race out across a floating bridge carrying one end of a rope until they reach a platform. Once they reach the platform, they clip the rope onto a large, floating puzzle piece, and hold on tight. Then, the rest of the tribe, back at shore, cranks a giant winch, which pulls the person on the puzzle piece back to shore at a surprisingly rapid speed. I'm just going to say what we've all thought when watching this challenge: This looks like SO MUCH FUN! I mean seriously though, what a neat, fun idea! Each tribe needs to do this five times in order to retrieve all five puzzle pieces, and once they have them, they can work on solving the puzzle. This puzzle is kind of hard to explain, but basically they need to unfold the pieces in such a way that they form a perfect square. From my perspective, it looks pretty tricky. While Malakal is ahead for most of the challenge, largely thanks to Ozzy, who excels at the physical portion of the challenge, Airai once again makes a very impressive comeback with the puzzle and ends up winning the challenge.

4/5

The Gauntlet Physical Race / Skill

Advice for future seasons of Survivor: If you ever want a quick and easy way to boost your overall challenge score, just bring back a challenge from Survivor: Palau. Any challenge. Chances are, it will be a top tier challenge, since many of the challenges from that season were, The Gauntlet being one of them. This was the challenge where one member from each tribe at a time was tasked at navigating through an obstacle course over a pool of water, while members of the other tribe, positioned off to the side, got to swing heavy bags at them, attempting to knock them off. I love this format so much; it allows the tribes to interact with one another, which I pretty much always enjoy in Survivor challenges, and the idea itself is just plain fun. The thought of knocking someone off of an obstacle course into the water with a swinging bag is so cartoonish, so delightful. At the end of the course are flags, and the first tribe to collect five flags wins the challenge. In this version of the challenge, the obstacle course consists of a stepping stone bridge, rolling barrels, a narrow balance beam, some large, floating platforms, and some netting. And of course, once you get to the end of the course and grab a flag, you have to go back the same way. The most difficult part of the challenge for most people seemed to be that initial stepping stone bridge, as several people fall there, and Erik in particular wipes out pretty hard while attempting to cross it. It's probably worth noting that there are never any crazy direct hits where someone just nails somebody with a swinging bag and they fall off, which is unfortunate, but I'm not really complaining. Either way, it's a super entertaining challenge to watch, and extremely creative and original.

5/5

Last Gasp Endurance

Speaking of bring back challenges from Survivor: Palau, LAST GASP IS BACK!!! Yes, if you've read my Palau entry, you would know that I am basically in love which this challenge. This and Folklore are my two favorite challenges of all time, and if you are wondering why I like this challenge so much, feel free to head to my Palau entry where I proceeded to write a very long explanation as to what I think makes this challenge so magical. Just so I'm not being redundant, I'm not going to spend so much time in this entry talking about why I love this challenge all over again. I will talk about it some though. This is the challenge where everyone takes a spot underneath a grated steel barrier during low tide, and they stay there as long as possible. The only issue— over time, the tide begins to rise, reducing the amount of space each person has to breathe, until eventually, they completely run out. I just can't shake how unbelievably cool I think this concept is. Cool that it takes place entirely in the water, cool that it takes advantage of an inherent element of nature, the rising of the tide, and does so in such an ingenious way. Perhaps coolest of all, this is an endurance challenge that tests something no other endurance challenge ever has; it isn't a test of upper body strength, or having a good grip, or having a lot of stamina, or focus, or willpower, or anything like that— it is a test of fear. Fear of drowning, one's ability to overcome that fear, to convince themselves that the fear is all in their head, that there is no reason to panic, that they can stay under a bit longer— it is fascinating to me. I mean, just listen to how Jeff always introduces this challenge: "Today's challenge is going to test your ability to remain calm, when everything else in your body urges you to do otherwise." It is so... eerie; it gives you goosebumps! This doesn't sound like a Survivor challenge, it sounds like a Saw trap! Alright, let's talk about the differences between this version and the Palau version. There aren't many, and they are very small, but there's a couple things. First, in Palau, the first person eliminated got sent to Exile Island as... punishment I guess. That's not a thing in this version. Also, Palau's version was painted a very rough, metallic-like color, which fit that season's rusty theme, whereas in Micronesia, we have a much more colorful set. One other cosmetic difference is that there is another layer of grates already submerged when the challenge starts. I'm not sure why it's there, but I guess it looks interesting. Moving on, highlights from the challenge: Well first, early on, James complains about getting bit by some fish, which is funny. But where things really get interesting, and I'd say even more interesting than they ever did in Palau, is when we get down to the final 3, James vs Ozzy vs Jason. At this point, the water is above the grate, and it appears that all three guys are just barely hanging in there. We start hearing these disturbing sounds as they try and spit water out of their mouths, and Parvati comments how it is "painful to watch." James is the first of these three to bow out, leaving just Ozzy and Jason, which is a great story, because prior to the challenge, Jason was talking about how he wanted to beat Ozzy to... make a statement or something. But really, Jason knows that he needs to win Immunity in order to keep both himself and his sole ally, Eliza safe, using what he thinks is a real, but which obviously isn't, Hidden Immunity Idol. There are a couple of points where it seems like Ozzy is finished, but he is able to get back into a bearable position. It is extremely tense watching these two guys going head to head, half drowning. Finally, Ozzy can't take it anymore and comes up, and his facial expression is of pure exhaustion, as he coughs up a bunch of seawater.

5/5

When It Rains, It Pours Endurance

Get ready, it's time for another edition of this amazing endurance challenge! This rendition in particular though, I think, is one of the greatest challenges in Survivor history. This is the one where each person has to hold their arm up for as long as they can, and if they lower it, it causes the bucket above their heads to tip, and they are out of the challenge. This challenge has a tendency to last a very long time, which is something that I have made clear that I love, and which, by this point in the show, has already reached the point of being pretty rare. This particular rendition of the challenge is chock-full of memorable moments and impressive thresholds for pain. Just like in Africa and All-Stars, Jeff tries to tempt people down from the challenge with food after certain amounts of time. First, at 20 minutes, her emerges with a bowl of candy, which Cirie and Erik decide to split. This seems to take James by surprise, who utters a very memorable line: "What in the Nickelodeon is going on around here?!" Then, at 45 minutes, Jeff returns with another bowl of food, and what happens here is amazing. James starts talking out loud, "if it's steak, then I'm out, but if it's—" suddenly, Alexis' arm falls and she's out of the challenge. She doesn't get the food, because she didn't even let Jeff say what it was yet. This is so pitiful, but it's certainly unforgettable. But it gets better— Jeff says "Let's be clear: If you want this chocolate cookies and milk, you have to let me know," and just as he is delivering that final word, Natalie falls out of the challenge too. At this point, you can't even feel bad for her, it's just funny. But we're still not done yet— James, giggling, says "Damn, that would suck!" Then, literal seconds later, his facial expression drops as he realizes what is about to happen. "Oh, bitch!," he remarks, an absolutely golden line just as his bucket of water spills over him. This whole scene is absolutely hysterical. That is three people who drop out, totally out of the blue, back to back, while cookies are being offered that could have been enjoyed by any of those three had they just told Jeff they were intentionally dropping out. But remarkably enough, that whole ordeal might not even be the most memorable part of the challenge. Before we get to that, at 1 hour, Jeff offers three chocolate covered donuts, which Ozzy accepts, which in hindsight, is a massive mistake as this is the famous episode where Ozzy gets blindsided— with an idol in his pocket even. Next, we get some amazing editing that shows just how grueling this challenge is and just how long it goes on for. Keep in mind, the last chyron said the elapsed time was 1 hour. Well, the next one appears in the midst of pouring rain— 3 hours. Then, we get to see the storm end and the skies clear, illustrating that this challenge has lasted through an entire rainstorm. Elapsed Time: 5 Hours. I can't imagine how painful that must be, although we did see some similar mindblowing performances back when this challenge was done in Africa. This is the point that Amanda announces she is done because "she has to pee." Unfortunate. We're down to just Parvati and Jason. Next chyron: 6 hours. Incredible. Jeff walks out with a huge plate of food. It's basically all of the previous offerings combined, plus a lot more. Jeff also says that they will get to share the food with everyone else who has been eliminated, essentially allowing that person to curry favor with the rest of the tribe. Now, here is some context you need to consider in order to appreciate the following scene: Jason is alone in the game; recall that in the previous episode, Eliza was voted out after playing his f***ing stick. Jason thinks that he needs to win this Immunity to stay alive, and at this point in the episode, he does. Everybody wants Parvati to win immunity so they can vote him out, but they also want all of that food Jeff has in his hands. So... they try and cajole Jason to accept Jeff's offer by lying to him. Natalie is the first to speak up: "If he took one for the team, we could all very likely say 'you know what, we're gonna spare him for the night.'" Beside her, James has his mouth covered, but you can see him begin to smile. Jason says that he would need a guarantee from everyone that he is not going home. So, one at a time, the people on the bench start to "guarantee" it, and Jason actually counts out loud; Natalie, "one," Erik, "two," Parvati (who's still in the challenge), "three." Then, we see some whispering on the bench, and then, we get one of the funniest, most ridiculous things to happen on Survivor. Cirie crosses her fingers behind her back, and proceeds to guarantee to Erik that she won't vote him out. Alexis does the same thing. Because yes, as we all know, it is not a lie as long you have your fingers secretly crossed. After that, the remaining members of the tribe guarantee as well, and Jeff asks Jason if he believes them. Jason says he needs to think about it for a moment, and while this is happening, the camera shows the hands of Cirie and Alexis, their fingers still crossed. Parvati eggs him on, saying he can "turn this into something good," and he actually does it— he lets go, and what I love about this is that as he let's go, he also crosses his fingers, but for an entirely different reason. As Jeff gives Parvati the Immunity necklace, he tells her that she is safe, and "as for the other eight of you, someone just made a deal that's going to cost them their spot in this game." Just to gush about how much I admire this season for a moment, the audience clearly thinks that the person Jeff is talking about will be Jason. Sure, it's going to be a fun blindside, but one the audience can see coming, sort of like the Roger Sexton vote in Survivor: The Amazon. But instead, unbeknownst to everyone, including the audience, and the people who are ultimately going to make the move, Ozzy is actually the person who is going to get the raw end of the deal. And if you want to hear what was going through Parvati's head during those agonizing 6 hours, check out this video that she posted to her YouTube channel a number of years back. This Immunity Challenge is absolutely insane, there are very few challenges in Survivor history that provide even nearly as many memorable moments and shocking events.

5/5

Pool Party Skill / Physical Race / Mental

This is one of those elimination-style challenges. Now, I was pretty confused, because the Survivor Wiki does not consider this to be a version of Survivor Pentathlon. I mean, to be fair, Jeff never says that this is their chance to revisit challenges from earlier in the season like he normally does, but... that's basically what this is. Pretty much every part of the challenge except one comes from an earlier challenge. The first round is taken straight from the "A Stone's Throw Challenge," where each player needs to throw a rock to smash a tile releasing puzzle pieces. Only the first four move on to the second round. The second round is to dig for a key (digging was an element of the first Immunity Challenge) to unlock the puzzle pieces, and the puzzle is the return of the wooden puzzle wheel. (Also from the first Immunity Challenge.) The finished puzzle wheel needs to be placed on a winch, and spun, to release two planks. This winch section clearly harkens back to the "What-er Drag" challenge. The first two to complete this move on. The final round does start with something new, having to use those planks to cross a plank bridge, something which actually never happens this season, but after that, they need to cross a stepping stone bridge, which did happen this season, in the "The Gauntlet" challenge. So for all intents and purposes, I'm going to go ahead and consider this the return of the Survivor Pentathlon. At the start of the challenge, Natalie whispers to Jason that she sent him to Exile Island for a reason, so that if it came down to them, she would be able to get Jason to throw the challenge to her so they could vote him out. It's a smart, evil strategy, but nothing comes of it since both of them just end up being eliminated unceremoniously before the final round. Normally I give the Survivor Pentathlon a score of 4/5, but I'm not quite as high on this version, because I don't think the tasks they decided to bring back were all that interesting, and I think it's really weird how they don't even mention the fact that this is the Survivor Pentathlon.

3/5

Shoot to Thrill Skill

This is another challenge that harkens back to Survivor: Palau, the gun-shooting challenge! In Survivor: Palau, this was a tribal Reward Challenge, where members from each tribe would take turns trying to knock out their tribe's tiles. You may remember that this was one of the few challenges that Ulong managed to win! In this season though, it's for Individual Immunity: Each player has to shoot three sake bottles, all the same color, with their names on them, and the first person to pull it off wins the challenge. One touch that I like is that when a bottle is successfully shot, it explodes with colorful paint. There's not a whole lot to say about it; it's a fun, different kind of challenge, and Erik foils the Black Widow Brigade's plans by winning the challenge.

3/5

Dash, Dig, Decode Physical Race / Mental

This challenge is the return of Puzzle Dig from Survivor: Panama, and it's even in the exact same spot as it was in that season— the Immunity Challenge of the penultimate episode. There was a team variant of this challenge in Survivor: Cook Islands which I didn't quite like as much, so it's nice to see this challenge return to its awesome roots... well, mostly; the design is a bit different than it was in Panama. Just to refresh, this is the challenge where you are given coordinates in the form of symbols which tell you where to place two ropes over a ring of sand. When you dig where the ropes intersect, you find a bag of jigsaw puzzle pieces which, once completed, give you the next set of coordinates. This continues until you solve the final puzzle, winning you the challenge. The main difference between this version and the Panama version is that in Panama, everyone had their own ring (which was also hexagon-shaped, instead of circular) to dig in, and all of their bags were buried in that same ring. In this season, everyone shares the rings, but each person only has one bag buried in each ring. It's a pretty minor difference from a practical perspective, but I do think the Micronesia version looks prettier. The design of the course just looks so nice and sleek. Erik ultimately wins this challenge, once again foiling the Black Widow Bri— oh wait, this is that episode. Well, one thing no one can ever take from Erik is the title of being the last person to ever win this challenge! (Unless they... bring it back, which would be nice.)

4/5

Crystal Method Skill / Physical Race

Next, we have the return of another Survivor: Panama challenge, "Perch," in this season, called "Crystal Method," but most commonly known by its future name, "Vertigo." This is the one where each person starts on a perch out in the water, and they have to use a bucket to fill a chute with water, which causes it to lift an object so they can reach it. In Panama, that object was a flag, and the first person to get their flag won the challenge. In this season, they've added another section, so the object is actually a set of keys, which they need to take and swim back to shore. Once they get back to shore, they can use the keys to unlock a chest, which contains 16 ladder rungs, all with slightly different shapes. They then must use the ladder rungs to complete a puzzle ladder, and this is an obstacle which is taken straight from Survivor: Vanuatu's "Great Escape Run" challenge. Not much to say, but pretty good challenge overall. Good job to Amanda who wins this challenge!

3/5

The Ball Drop Endurance

And now, the final challenge of Survivor to be filmed in standard-definition, it's The Ball Drop! In this endurance challenge, each person has to keep a ball balanced on a wooden cylinder by applying pressure to each end with additional wooden cylinders sandwiched between two grips. Every 5 minutes, to make the challenge more difficult, they have to add another wooden segment to each side. The last person to not let "the ball drop" wins the challenge. Sort of like in Thailand's "Slip Through Your Fingers" final challenge, I do appreciate the double entendre of the challenge's name, where if you lose, then yes, you did literally drop a ball, but for the person voted out that night, they figuratively "dropped the ball" as well. The challenge also seems pretty fair for everyone, with a greater emphasis on focus than brute strength. At the same time though, I can't shake this feeling that this challenge is just, kind of... lame? I don't know, especially for the Final Immunity Challenge, it's just kind of boring. It's not a particularly difficult challenge by any definition, it isn't tense in the same way last season's "Broken China" Final Immunity was, but it also doesn't feel simple and climactic in the same way that a "Hands on a Hard Idol" does, which is purely willpower-based. This just feels kind of lazy, like they wanted a challenge that wouldn't last very long, that I could easily set up using regular household items. It isn't a bad challenge, but in a season of very, very good challenges overall, I feel like this is probably the weakest of them. I do enjoy that there is some strategy involved with how you hold the grip, where some players went with an overhand approach, while others went underhand. It comes down to Cirie and Amanda, but Amanda ends up winning Immunity once again.

2/5