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July, 2021

Jeff Pitman's SurvivorAU: Brains v Brawn recaps

Episodes 4-6: An avalanche of idols

By Jeff Pitman | Published: July 31, 2021

The second week of Survivor AU: Brains v Brawn was all about the idols. And about the people holding them, although those people were also what the first week was about, before they had idols. The show also creakingly, reluctantly remembered that the Brains tribe also has people named Georgia and Andrew on it. In short: Survivor AU has not only imported US Survivor's challenges and twists, it's also ratcheting up some of the American version's worst production and editorial tendencies.

Jeff Pitman's SurvivorSA: Immunity Island recaps

Episode 8: Vuna rises to the top

By Jeff Pitman | Published: July 27, 2021

As hoped, the Survivor SA: Immunity Island merge delivered a tense, idol- and advantage-filled conflagration at Tribal Council, and a genuinely exciting outcome, as the ragtag Vuna alliance deployed a series of moves to seize the numbers advantage from the uncrackable Zambas.

Jeff Pitman's SurvivorAU: Brains v Brawn recaps

Episodes 1-3: That's not a Brains tribe, THIS is a Brains tribe

By Jeff Pitman | Published: July 24, 2021

Australian Survivor has always been Survivor, just bigger: More contestants, more days. This season's outback location is quintessentially Australian, and is a welcome departure from always-Fiji. The format, "Brains v Brawn," is that used by one of US Survivor's best seasons (Cagayan). Here, the results are a bit more mixed. The traditional deficits in SurvivorAU casting persist — lack of diversity, over-representation of athletes — but by the third episode, the season is succeeding despite all this. There a lot to like here. (Also a lot, period.)

Jeff Pitman's SurvivorSA: Immunity Island recaps

Episode 7: Pre-merge closeout sale

By Jeff Pitman | Published: July 19, 2021

While the final pre-merge episode of SurvivorSA: Immunity Island didn't end in a particularly surprising vote, the show still managed to pack in some compelling, deeper insights into the people competing and their relationships with each other, while arming them all for what appears to be a much bigger battle ahead, as they join together.

Jeff Pitman's Panama rewatch recaps

Episod 7: The world's worst dictionary salespeople

By Jeff Pitman | Published: July 15, 2021

The merge in Survivor: Panama - Exile Island brings together long-separated original tribemates, like Bruce and Shane with Terry, Aras with Austin and Nick, and Danielle and Courtney with Sally. Do any of those old connections pay off? Nope. It's just a straight Pagonging, after the La Minas feebly try to strong-arm select Casayas into flipping. And it's all downhill strategically from there.

Jeff Pitman's SurvivorSA: Immunity Island recaps

Episode 6: Loyalty vs. grudges

By Jeff Pitman | Published: July 14, 2021

In an episode jam-packed with action, SurvivorSA: Immunity Island sheds another superfan, but also manages to cram in some in-challenge lifesaving heroics, a surprise mid-episode swap, an idol find, an idol play, and lots of people starting to make moves in retaliation for past moves. Let's hope the post-merge can maintain this pace.

Jeff Pitman's SurvivorSA: Immunity Island recaps

Episode 5: Diverging paths from the bottom

By Jeff Pitman | Published: July 5, 2021

After two straight episodes set almost entirely in Zamba, we finally explore post-swap Vuna in Episode 5 of SurvivorSA: Immunity Island, and well ... they're a mess. With both tribes forced to vote this time, the four people on the bottom take wildly differing approaches to saving themselves, all because there are no useful cracks to be found in the ex-Zamba majority. Some efforts prove more fruitful than others.

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