Chapter 13: Secrets and leverage
Published: December 21, 2017
In his final Heroes v. Healers v. Hustlers column, Dan assesses the outcome of the season, determines the archetypes of the final five contestants, and has some hot takes on the winner and runner-up, that F4 twist, and the next season, Ghost Island.
Pre-Episode 14: Jury jeopardy - HvHvH
Published: December 18, 2017
The True Dork Times writers (Ben Martell, Dan Otsuki, Pat Ferrucci, and Jeff Pitman) combine their predictive powers to forecast the voting preferences of the Heroes v. Healers v. Hustlers jurors, with an eye to predicting the winner. And, of course, beating Inside Survivor, A Tribe of One, Purple Rock Podcast, and the RHAP bloggers at the same game.
Chapter 12: Contenders and champions
Published: December 14, 2017
Dan takes a parting look at Ashley's archetype and lots (lots!) of idols, then sorts the mere contenders from the potential champions heading into the season finale of Survivor: Heroes v. Healers v. Hustlers.
Chapter 11: Twists of fate
Published: December 8, 2017
Dan contrasts the balanced play of Lauren with Ben's chaotic turn, and with Mike's nothing-to-lose approach, as they collided in Episode 12 of Heroes v. Healers v. Hustlers. Also some thoughts on the loved ones visit and what it tells us about where the season might end up.
Chapter 10: Deceptive arcs
Published: December 5, 2017
Dan argues that the story shows the rise of Devon and Ashley may be a red herring, why Lauren reminds him of Natalie White, and where the season may be heading after Episodes 10-11 of Heroes v. Healers v. Hustlers.
Chapter 9: Scotch 'n' Survivor
Published: November 24, 2017
Dan takes a stream-of-consciousness, somewhat scotch-aided tour through the highs, the lows, and head-scratching-even-while-sober events of Episode 9 of Heroes v. Healers v. Hustlers.
Chapter 8: The clues and the clueless
Published: November 16, 2017
Dan praises the secret feasts and the big discoveries by Lauren and Ryan, explores Cole's lack of gameplay, questions the tone of Ben's edit, and peers into the future beyond Episode 8 of Heroes v. Healers v. Hustlers.
Chapter 7: The Love, the Queen, and the Fool
Published: November 10, 2017
Following the merge, Dan looks at Ben's and Lauren's decision as one between royalty and comic relief, notes the importance of the merge vote, and finds an underdog who might overcome the long odds of being on the wrong side of it.
Chapter 6: Good move, bad TV
Published: November 3, 2017
Dan laments the loss of Ali (for TV purposes), then gathers himself to project the post-merge likelihood of success for the remaining dozen players of Heroes v Healers v Hustlers.
Chapter 5: When a bad move looks good
Published: October 27, 2017
Dan takes a critical eye to Ryan's big move, and posits its long-term significance, and praises Ben's moment, Mike's find, and Chrissy's manipulation. He also holds out hope for an Ali comeback after the fifth episode of Heroes v Healers v Hustlers.
Chapter 4: A mini moral quandary
Published: October 20, 2017
Dan finds problems with three key characters, praise for three new couples, and a divided opinion on short-lived but luck-based twists, as in the fourth episode of Heroes v Healers v Hustlers.
Chapter 3: Stupidity as a plot device
Published: October 13, 2017
With horror shows on his Friday-the-13th mind, Dan praises the show's focus on ill-advised, bumbling gameplay, plus the surprisingly good showings of two previously overlooked contestants.
Chapter 2: Foolish innocence
Published: October 6, 2017
Dan looks at the importance to the narrative of people playing the roles of literary fools (of various types) in the second episode of Survivor: Heroes v Healers v Hustlers.
Chapter 1: A tale of two people(s)
Published: September 30, 2017
Dan takes time to pay tribute to the unfortunately undershown first one out of Survivor: Heroes v. Healers v. Hustlers, then looks in depth at the bevy of duos pairing up in the season premiere.
Pre-season: TDT Survivor: HHH contestant draft
Published: September 22, 2017
Ben Martell, Dan Otsuki, Pat Ferrucci, and Jeff Pitman come together to rank and draft fantasy teams of the contestants from Survivor: Heroes v. Healers v. Hustlers. Who will reign supreme?
Pre-season: Who will reach the top?
Published: February 6, 2018
Dan makes his pre-season cast assessments for Survivor 36: Ghost Island, finding a lot of superfans in the game makes it more difficult to accurately project finishes.
Dan Otsuki has been watching Survivor religiously since season two, and is a recent graduate of the University of Puget Sound, where he double majored in English and Religious Studies. He's also applied to play on the show every time he's been able to do so.
Follow him on twitter: @DanOtsuki
Other It's Kind of a Funny Story editions:
Survivor: Ghost Island | Survivor: Heroes v. Healers v. Hustlers | Survivor: Game Changers
See also: The full True Dork Times index of past seasons.
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