Playing Survivor is hard. Surviving on very little food and sleep can be difficult in the real world, but it gets even harder during a competition show.

Some Survivor fans have succumbed to thinking that the New Era is easier because it is shorter and that new players have been pampered.

The 26-day seasons have led some fans to call the experience much easier than in the past, but it doesn’t account for habituation.

As the season progresses, fans tuning in for each episode watch as the players evolve – emotionally and physically. It’s not easy to note weight loss between episodes, but it’s still happening to the players.

Likewise, just because an episode doesn’t feature people scrambling for Immunity Idols doesn’t mean it isn’t happening.

Footage has to be cut for time, even when the episodes are 90 minutes long. A fruitless search for an...