We’re only six days away from the premiere of “Survivor 40: Winners at War” and what better person to bring on the podcast than Dalton Ross of EW.com. He and Stephen Fishbach are my two go-to guys for all things “Survivor” and Dalton definitely doesn’t disappoint today. He is an encyclopedia when it comes to this show and how easy and effortless he can recall past seasons, past storylines, etc is awesome. One of my favorite podcast guests to have on, and coming up on arguably the most anticipated “Survivor” season ever, it was great to get his insight. Remember, he goes out to filming pre-show and gets to interview all the contestants, and you can see all the effort he puts into his coverage on EW.com. Nobody tackles this show like Dalton does and his work is second to none on “Survivor.” I hope if you’re a fan of this show as I am, you are reading Dalton’s stuff daily leading up to the premiere, and then are there every Thursday for his recaps, interviews with Probst, and interviews with contestants. We cover a lot of areas around season 40, plus end with a quick look back on the disaster that was season 39. As always, if you’d like to reply to the interview, please include Dalton’s Twitter handle (@DaltonRoss) in your replies. Loved having Dalton on and I hope you enjoy it.
You can listen to today’s podcast on a number of platforms, but you can also tune in by clicking the player below:
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Music written by Jimmer Podrasky
(B’Jingo Songs/Machia Music/Bug Music BMI)
(SPOILERS) First I begin by giving thoughts on last night’s “Bachelor” episode. Then Dalton Ross joins me to talk about “Survivor 40: Winners at War.” We talk about his visit to Fiji pre-show and interviews with the cast, strategies going into the game, are some contestants at a disadvantage, who impressed him the most pre-show, who his prediction is to win, and we end with final thoughts on last season’s harassment scandal (10:29).
Twitter – @DaltonRoss
Instagram – thedaltonross
The complaining about this season has pretty much reached an all-time high. And yeah, the women this season seem like a very catty bunch. But this notion that things will change, or they need to cast better, etc. That ain’t happening. Remember Hannah’s season? It was the Luke P. show for every episode. That’s all anyone talked about on Tuesday’s, which was what Luke did the night before. They were annoyed with it. They complained about it every week. They said we never saw a love story. But every episode still followed the same format we saw every season. Travel begins, two 1-on-1 dates and a group date. They just chose to put a ton of focus on Luke P. And tons of people watched Hannah’s season. So to me, nothing is different this season. Same stuff, different cast.
My issue is more about HOW they talk to each other, not necessarily what they’re bickering about. Because this show thrives on drama and people are always not gonna get along with someone else in the house for as long as this show is on the air. That’s a given. But the constant name calling, telling people to f**k off, woman continually hating on other women – it’s all just a bit much. And look, the show doesn’t care. The show encourages it behind the scenes. If every season, every single contestant got along, they all loved each other, they were all buddies/friends, and there was NO drama in the house, everyone at home would complain how boring the show is. You want controversy. You want drama. That’s why you watch reality TV. Hell, it’s WHAT reality TV is. Who wants to watch a show where everyone gets along and there isn’t in-fighting amongst the cast? I watch these women this season in particular and just constantly wonder if they remembered they were being filmed. It’s one thing to have a beef with someone in the house, not like them, and disagree with them. But these women don’t know how to argue, and it’s showing their age.
One thing we saw last night was Hannah Ann tell Peter that she’d never been in love before, even though she was in a 3 ½ year relationship. This was her ex, Ben Taylor:
And I posted that just because I knew people would want to know who her ex was. There’s still a couple pics on her IG, and some on his still. There are other pics floating around where you can see Hannah Ann’s comments on his page saying she loves him, can’t wait to be together forever, etc. I think that’s kind of a cheap shot. I don’t have an issue with Hannah Ann saying “I love you” on pictures but then telling Peter she’s never been in love. I don’t think she’s trying to hide anything. I think a lot of us have been in relationships where we’ve told someone we love them, but once the relationship ended, you realize that you were never in love with that person. I don’t think that’s far fetched to think. Some of us have been there before, so I don’t hold that against Hannah Ann like others are on the internet.
So was off on the detail that Mykenna and Tammy both got sent home on the 2-on-1 date, but knew that Mykenna didn’t make it out of the episode, so it wasn’t surprising she got eliminated at the rose ceremony. I mean, was it really even a 2-on-1 date if he doesn’t give a rose to one and not the other? Tammy gets sent away, but when he doesn’t give a rose to Mykenna, that seemed kinda pointless, when just hours later in real time he sends her home. Huh? How did that make any sense. “Ok Mykenna, I believe you over Tammy, so thank you. You’re staying. But in a couple hours I’m gonna tell you you’re not good enough to stay over the others.” Geez. Just send her home with Tammy then. That made zero sense.
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justsaying
February 6, 2020 at 9:06 AM
Victoria F was RIGHT!! She was sick and wanted to throw up LOL!!
Peter is a sociopath. I have bosses just like him. Peter is getting off on his power as theeee Bachelor or the boss. Acting all innocent, “conflicted” and nice when he is busy creating chaos from the top, pitting everyone against each other, putting people in awkward situations, pulling the rug out from under their feet by raising their hopes only to send them home hours later, ravenously eating meat in front of a vegetarian (WTF??!!). Secretly, he is sitting back laughing at all the women.
Also studies say, people who swear a lot are actually more honest. So take it for whatever.
dbla31
February 6, 2020 at 9:19 AM
Reply to “justsaying”‘s comment. I don’t think Peter is a sociopath, getting off on power or laughing at the women. I do think he’s not very bright and in over his head.
ctrealitygirl
February 6, 2020 at 1:11 PM
I agree with you dbla31. I’m sure Peter had a very different picture in mind about what being The Bachelor was all about – namely he thought he’d be like a pig in sh*%t dating/kissing/canoodling many different women, and never gave any thought to the drama involved with so many women competing for his attention. And the way he needs constant reassurance all the time indicates that he’s insecure. Like you commented dbla31, he’s in WAY over his head.
irisvioletgrey4
February 6, 2020 at 3:26 PM
I agree with you, dbla31. For Peter to be a sociopath and all those other despicable and premeditated things would require him to have a completely different personality type. I believe the truth is far simpler: He just doesn’t have much serious, mature dating experience, so he lacks emotional wisdom, and he’s not savvy enough to be a polished lead on this show. I’m sure he’s a very effective and responsible pilot or he would have lost his job, but pilots are primarily gadget people — they have to be. Their focus is on making computers and other equipment work, not on dealing with the unpredictability of people.
irisvioletgrey4
February 6, 2020 at 3:45 PM
RS questioned why Peter didn’t just send both Tammy and Mykenna home at the same time. Unless the decision was solely producer-driven, my take is that sending Tammy home alone was meant as a statement that Peter believed she was the instigator of all that drama (not Mykenna), and that was, in fact, correct. I understand why Mykenna got her hopes up as a result, but Victoria F. was right in her ITM when she said that if Peter had ever had any interest in Mykenna in the first place, he would have made a point of seeking her out to spend time with and he never did. Shiann suffered from the same frustration for the same reason. A great book for women who keep getting their feelings hurt by that kind of dynamic is “He’s Just Not That Into You.” In spite of how the title sounds, it’s very empowering and takes the pressure off women who get caught in those emotional traps, teaching them how to recognize when a guy actually IS interested in them so they stop wasting their time and energy on the wrong ones.
crushonspivey
February 6, 2020 at 4:16 PM
I still think the producers pushed much of this, and it just made Peter look stupid. Listened to the wrong girls, and acted like a dolt in the process.
HE also tells lots of girls what he thinks they want to hear to get action. I know that is the premise, but it still is very disingenuous. Makes him look selfish.
This show has edged too far into the drama realm too late into the season. They need to start making it real, and play favorites around 10 girls left, and let that be the drama. Not other stupid stuff. The lead needs to favor 2 girls and then lets see it play out. It’ll create enough havoc.
rob22
February 7, 2020 at 8:25 AM
We’ve reached the point where there are only 6 girls left and hometowns are on the horizon. So, I guess the show will now shift from 100% drama to some kind of love story. I was struck on a recent podcast where a very level headed woman from a past show discussed how you’re in the house with nothing to do but think about the lead. And, if you’re competitive like she was, you want to win. I know that’s kind of obvious. But when she said it, it really hit me how easy it would be for anyone to have this happen. And you can see that there will be some women every year who THINK they’re into the lead. So, I guess some of the remaining 6 will be into Peter. Victoria, however, really doesn’t seem like one of them. I mean, I know who makes it to the end, but I’ll be very interested to see how this “love story” gets pulled together. There’s not a lot to work with.
justsaying
February 7, 2020 at 9:59 AM
Well our most favorite, realistic and star Kelley just liked some tweets hating on Pete and the process.
She would know what’s she’s talking about. She’s only attractive, smart, successful, normal and the best!!
dogmomma
February 7, 2020 at 3:47 PM
I also don’t think Peter is a sociopath, and agree with the rest of the comments that he is just not prepared for this kind of show and maybe lacks some experience dealing with the drama. I would imagine it’s hard for him to watch his story play out on TV with all of the editing and manipulating that goes on behind the scenes. I hate seeing the show become a circus. It isn’t fun to watch this season at all.
I hope Kelley doesn’t go on Paradise. She’s way too good for this show.
jlal
February 10, 2020 at 9:57 AM
I was going to say that “Justsaying” doesn’t know what a sociopath is, because Peter is definitely not one. He does seem to be very easily manipulated by production and the girls. He also isn’t the only lead that has run right to someone after being told they said something. That seems to be a guy thing to do.
As for the Tammy and Mykenna thing, I agree that only sending Tammy home during the date was a statement that he believed Mykenna and thought Tammy was the instigator. Him believing Mykenna is not the same as wanting a relationship with her. I actually thought it was a subtle class act thing to do.
I don’t see even a remote connection with Peter and any of the girls. Either this season is a dud or they are editing out any romance that is going on. The laser focus on just drama for drama’s sake is getting old. I would watch Big Brother if all I wanted was drama.
its me
February 10, 2020 at 9:08 PM
Such a boring season! Kelley was correct- Victoria F is a hot mess, and the remaining girls are too immature for marriage. The problem is women with a career are not willing to hop off their respective career tracks for 15 mn of fame or Instagram followers- we have mortgages to pay, bills and responsibilities. And 20 year olds are just not ready for a real commitment.
How come these girls have such poor vocabulary and/or comprehension of the English language.