So we know a little about Blood vs. Water, but how will it actually work?
It’s unclear as to how the tribes will be split, though there are two likely options. First is to simply have the favourites on one tribe against their family on the other. This seems to limit the family/favourite interaction though until the merge. It does present interesting opportunities for contestants to try to throw immunity challenges if their loved one on the other tribe is in danger of being sent home. Come merge, it would be interesting for pairs to meet up and try to negotiate their existing alliances. Do they go with the favourite’s alliance or the loved one’s?
Or they could mix things up. Put five favourites on a tribe with the loved ones of the other five favourites, and vice versa. I like this idea better. Both Fans vs. Favorites seasons primarily focused on the Favorites tribe, but mixing it up allows more screen time for the new contestants and creates more interesting dynamics. For instance, Tina may make an alliance with RC’s father but that might turn pear-shaped if RC votes out Tina’s daughter.
I think they’ll probably combine the two: start as favourites vs. family and then have a tribe mix-up after a couple of episodes.
What I hope they don’t do is put five favourites with their five loved ones on a tribe. Pairing couples up from day one is a disaster waiting to happen because you can be certain that three pairs will get together and vote off the other two pairs. There goes the suspense.
So that’s how the format may work but I don’t see how it will work well.
Favourites and their loved ones will naturally seek to pair up. That’s obvious to everyone. No one’s going to blindside or backstab their mother or husband. If the returnees and their loved ones are split into two separate tribes then I don’t see the concept coming into play much.
The merge is where things may get interesting as pairs are reunited. There could be an interesting revenge element where players seek vengeance when their partner is voted off. If Rupert finds out his wife was voted off surely his natural response would be to discover who voted her off and then reciprocate by voting off their partner?
What I’m most afraid of is obvious boot orders. The strategy seems to be to pick off one member of each pair, in order to prevent their natural alliance. Once one member is picked off, it’s likely the attention will turn to another pair to eliminate one of their members. If a few pairs make it to the merge, their best bet is to team up and pick off the single players, dominating the post-merge.
It’s possible that the concept will create some very interesting dynamics. But it’s also possible that it will create very predictable outcomes. I’m hoping for the former. We really need a good season of Survivor. I think the most interesting element of Blood vs. Water will be players trying to balance their strategy with their emotions. Obviously they will want to protect their partner but what if doing so isn’t the best move for their own strategy? What if a favourite and their partner end up on competing alliances come merge-time? Will a player seek revenge after their partner is voted out or will they stick to their strategy? Will anyone actually throw their partner under the bus? (Probably not but they’d earn instant villain status for doing so).
If pulled off correctly, Blood vs. Water could be very entertaining. I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.
Survivor Tribal Council 