Not a bad season overall...
Campbell | 04/03/2009
(3 out of 5 stars)
"My husband and I are Survivor junkies. I started watching the show starting with the final episode of season one (I caught on late!) I was completely hooked by season two! (By the way...The description of this season on the product page names Amber Brkich and Jerri Manthey as survivors on this season...that's either Australia or All Stars, not Palau)
We enjoyed Survivor Palau overall. It was like watching it for the first time b/c we had very little recollection of this season...we coudln't remember who won in fact. It was a unique season for a lot of reasons. We were able to see how challenges and game play for future seasons was set up in Palau. I never got overly invested in the survivors this season however. Most of them were totally devoid of personality. One tribe in particular seemed like a high school clique filled with mean girls and jock boys who took pleasure in mocking the quiet and shy. There was no open mindedness, no attempt to even get to know each other beyond a surface level. The interpersonal relationships seemed a very small part in this game beyond the inevitable "cuddling to keep warm" couples of Barbie and Ken types. The obnoxiousness and flat out meanness of most of the survivors was extremely off putting to me and I had a hard time caring about any of them. (Except for Stephenie and Bobby Jon! Those two were fantastic, full of personality and a lot of fun to watch!) Part of the fun of survivor for me is getting involved with the storyline...Season two Australian Outback and Survivor All stars (Rob and Amber in particular!) were seasons that had a lot more social complexity. For some reason the strategy of riding coattails works well for several survivors in Palau. I'm not overly fond of this strategy and it seemed a popular one on this season.
I didn't enjoy this season as much as I have enjoyed others. But it wasn't bad, especially early on. Once the true spunk and personality is gone...I found the rest boring."