Episode 8

[runesandribbons]

Yeah, Jack really did get a lopsided edit compared to everyone else, but I really think it added to the show because like someone said above, it really showed what a strategic player he was #JackSilverforSurvivorSeason45. But I also feel like the edit didn't start to feel lopsided until the later episodes, mainly because there were fewer people to focus on. Also doesn't help that so many of Red Team's confessionals in this final episode were how they're really worried about Jack. I think to, he also had a really great story of going from first out to coming in to replace someone last minute to first-ever Karma Champion and he's a pretty good storyteller.

I liked that they brought the teams back for the Final Challenge and they all had a hand in helping the final two teams. I kind of wanted the final challenge to be longer, seemed like it was over in just a few minutes. There's definitely a few things that I would change like making them solve the riddle on the spot, changing the phrase to something that's not as obvious/making it a longer phrase. I honestly really liked the Golden Pyramid Challenge from Endurance (after watching Fiji, I had a theory as to how it worked, but I definitely need to watch other seasons' finales to see how it holds up), so I guess I was expecting something more like that as the final challenge.

Overall as a season, I was slightly disappointed that there weren't more challenges, like how there were Endurance missions and Temple missions, but I guess since there isn't something like the Samadhi, those Endurance mission-type challenges, wouldn't have been as eventful and we would have lost camp life scenes, plus now we have the Offering with Karma Coins. It'd be interesting to see if they do add more laws like they did with Pyramid Pieces, though.

[Cruise meerkat Youssy]

Who is most different than what you expected?

I thought Sienna would be super bubbly and popular. I expected her to be kind of like Kelsey E5. Someone who's big in the game. But they really didn't show her much at all. And idk if this is just editing but they never showed her smiling or having fun.

I thought Avon would be louder and have a bigger personality. I still thought she was lovely, but I expected more from her.

I definitely thought Andrea might be a villain. When I'm telling y'all, I was so sure she was the next Sabrina! But I loved her actually. Not a villain in the slightest, actually super chill and likable.

[Cruise meerkat Youssy]

Oh and I was so into my conspiracy theories that I thought Ciera was gonna be the best first episode boot from Endurance/Karma LMAO. But then she was mostly irrelevant and disappeared into thin air.

[runesandribbons]

Definitely Andrea! Preseason I thought she gave off Sabrina E1 vibes, but she ended up being really nice and super likable. I also thought Sienna would have a much more boisterous personality, but she was very reserved. And Ciera, even though she was the first boot, I really wished we had seen more of her!

[Cruise meerkat Youssy]

What did y’all think of Skyla overall?
I actually liked her and think she’s a solid winner.
Yes, it was kinda bratty of her to cry when she found out Jack was her partner. But it’s not much different than Bryanah’s reaction when she found out Monroe was her partner.
But Skyla impressed me with how competitive she was. Okay, I know the laws of karma are different than the pyramid pieces and all but I haven’t memorized those yet lol. But I’d say she embodied the qualities of the pyramid pieces from Endurance. She was very determined and tenacious. But she also made strong friendships and was overall nice and supportive to everyone.

[kwdrewfan]

I agree with you on Skyla. This could be wrong, but based on the show's portrayal I feel like she's the kind of person who experiences things very deeply, so it's easy for her to come across as overreacting? Haha but, being one of those people myself, I completely get it. I don't think she reacted any worse than Bryanah did regarding the partner switch-up. Plus, Skyla warmed up to Jack by the very next episode I think? It was definitely more of an in-the-moment reaction rather than a bad attitude.

I agree with all the positive qualities you mentioned as well!

[multiyapples]

I love how Jack went from boldly claiming he'd win 50K to being eliminated in the same episode to winning it all.

[multiyapples]

I also wish that they had brought Harrison and Ciera back as well.

[multiyapples]

I can honestly say I thoroughly enjoyed Karma. Congrats to the Purple Team on winning it all.

[fanofe2]

Jun 20, 2020 20:51:11 GMT -5 Cruise meerkat Youssy said:

Who is most different than what you expected?

I thought Sienna would be super bubbly and popular. I expected her to be kind of like Kelsey E5. Someone who's big in the game. But they really didn't show her much at all. And idk if this is just editing but they never showed her smiling or having fun.

I thought Avon would be louder and have a bigger personality. I still thought she was lovely, but I expected more from her.

I definitely thought Andrea might be a villain. When I'm telling y'all, I was so sure she was the next Sabrina! But I loved her actually. Not a villain in the slightest, actually super chill and likable.

Andrea definitely had that Sabrina/Ashley vibe at first!

[fanofe2]

Jun 21, 2020 8:27:04 GMT -5 Cruise meerkat Youssy said:

What did y’all think of Skyla overall?
I actually liked her and think she’s a solid winner.
Yes, it was kinda bratty of her to cry when she found out Jack was her partner. But it’s not much different than Bryanah’s reaction when she found out Monroe was her partner.
But Skyla impressed me with how competitive she was. Okay, I know the laws of karma are different than the pyramid pieces and all but I haven’t memorized those yet lol. But I’d say she embodied the qualities of the pyramid pieces from Endurance. She was very determined and tenacious. But she also made strong friendships and was overall nice and supportive to everyone.

High Sierras: "I don't want Garrett!"
*Sobbing*

[amplify26]

--Final two baby!
--Jack: "The karma will come...and it has if I'm still here." Interesting...
--I wonder how much is the retail tag of the winners' trips on endurance--is it around the same amount?
--This is already more interesting than the Final Temple!
--Skyla: "There's nothing but crazy here."
--Skyla: "We're not going to be Hucks."/Jack: "It doesn't matter--this is for $50,000."
--Take a drink every time someone mentions how smart Jack is.
--This is the worst time to implode.
--Throw the bag!
--Aaron: "Sand bag gods, I appreciate you for being on my side this time!"
--An alright final mission, though not a particularly great one.
--Tied at the end, just like endurance 1.
--Michelle and Aaron doing that handshake reminds me of a camp counselor teaching tricks at camp. It's actually quite heartwarming.
--And Skyla and Avon went back to right where they left off! How cute.
--Andrea and Skylie too!
--Seeing all the Karma teams here, all day I keep thinking about what would've happened if endurance came down to a final vote, like a final Tribal Council. How would that change some winners? And for Karma too?
--Skyla: "We're all going to be friends forever!" If only...
--Skylie the journalist. <3
--I could see the eliminated e1 contestants just hating on Blue and Yellow if they had to help out in some way.
--This is the final three twist on High Sierras, only with higher stakes.
--"Sun". Haha.
--Shouldn't it be 14? Because two of the medallions don't have letters--they contain symbols.
--Come up with another option Andrea!
--I almost expected Green to give their clue to Purple, because of Red giving their Karma Coin to Yellow.
--And speaking of Yellow, I'm surprised they gave their clue to Red.
--The clues seem to affirm Aaron's answer quite a bit!
--So they took the mental challenges that should've been scattered all across this season and crammed it all here. Interesting.
----Hopefully, if they keep this challenge for the final mission, they mix up the phrases every year. Alternatively, that could pose a problem because there wouldn't be a source of consistency for all teams. But I wouldn't have something luck-based, especially because the prize is money, not a vacation. It sort of lets random teams slip through the cracks and win (looking at the last two endurance champions, haha).
--Jack: "That's the best chess game I've ever played!" It definitely seals up his hero arc, haha.
--I'm a bit mixed on Purple as the winners. I loved seeing their arc, and this final challenge seems like an "earn your happy ending" moment for them. It definitely looked like they might lose it with that misplaced "u", but they were comfortably ahead for the most part. At the same time, Red had more mission wins and would've earned it all the same, but Andrea froze during the final challenge, which I think cost her (to be fair, she is dyslexic, so I could understand being hampered by that). But yay!
--Karma is a solid season, which I hope Goodstory, HBO Max, and co could give a second chance. It's a bit less focused on improving yourself than with endurance, with the focus on doing good for others. There were some things which could be ironed out (like having separate missions to earn Karma coins, so as to not rely on your contestants for when one needs to go to the Cave), but hopefully they add to the core themes of the show. In addition, despite the hour-long format, I didn't feel like the editing team do the best job in getting to delve into the contestants as well as they could (eg Sienna). Though we've also gotten a number of interesting characters to come out of it! (e.g. Illya, Huck, Avon, Jack) Let's see where this all goes in the future--hopefully it gets a cult following...

And of course, here's my team rankings after watching this season (until I do that inevitable rewatch a few years down the road...)
1. Purple: Like I said before, I have mixed feelings about them winning, but they were still a cool team to watch! Jack, of course, is a fantastic character who manages to turn the game on its whims; anybody who tries to follow in his shoes will have a lot of work to do. And seeing Skyla warm up to him and appreciate him as a teammate just makes me smile. 
2. Pink: Avon really helped in how to break this tie between this and third; she's a cute presence and is always persistent. While she and Justin have their disagreements, they do work together in challenges and make up quite the team! (I also can't forget Justin's liking towards Sienna, haha)
3. Yellow: The underdog team that never was; instead they were assumed to be strong without proving it. That said, Eli and Illya are cool people (especially the latter; she's so persistent!) and have held their own throughout the season.
4. Red: A worthy runner-up team, though they sometimes get lost in my orbit. Interesting to see so many people think Andrea would've been a new Sabrina, but I never got that from her! On the contrary, she's a competitive girl who can hold her own most of the time. And Aaron is a little sprite too, in how he made it this far.
5. Orange: Something about Presley's personality piques me, which sort of holds up this team a bit. Adren was fine, albeit quite a bit loud and prone to making some wild moves.
6. Gray: A pretty good team; I could see Huck a competent partner, though one who's prone to making mistakes at times. Sienna is nice, I guess...
7. Green: Two strong competitors who got knocked off early. Seeing how Mack managed to screw up the teams, I wonder what tricks he would have up his sleeve...
8. Blue: Something about them rubbed me the wrong way. They are good in competitions, but tend to be quite abrasive when it comes to their social game. Ariana's "you need to control your partners" will stick out a lot.

[amplify26]

Oct 19, 2020 0:48:48 GMT -5 fanofe2 said:

Jun 21, 2020 8:27:04 GMT -5 Cruise meerkat Youssy said:

What did y’all think of Skyla overall?
I actually liked her and think she’s a solid winner.
Yes, it was kinda bratty of her to cry when she found out Jack was her partner. But it’s not much different than Bryanah’s reaction when she found out Monroe was her partner.
But Skyla impressed me with how competitive she was. Okay, I know the laws of karma are different than the pyramid pieces and all but I haven’t memorized those yet lol. But I’d say she embodied the qualities of the pyramid pieces from Endurance. She was very determined and tenacious. But she also made strong friendships and was overall nice and supportive to everyone.

High Sierras: "I don't want Garrett!"
*Sobbing*

Then doesn't get Garret--gets a partner she initially thinks she could get along with, but clashes too often. Then wins a mission with Ike, only to get involved in the team switch and get yet another partner, whom she gets on better.
Never underestimate someone who can win two missions with two partners.