My Thoughts on the Seahawks moving on from Pete Carroll

 When the Seahawks announced on Wednesday, January 10, 2024, that they were moving off of Pete Carroll as their head coach, I was, to say the least, surprised.  I knew Pete had built something in this organization that had never been seen before: A culture that kept players like Sherm, Kam, Michael Bennett, Cliff Avril, Marshawn Lynch, and others coming back and visiting and lending their expertise to the current Hawks.  Therefore, I really felt that when it was time, Pete would leave on his own terms.  Instead, he was essentially removed as head coach.  Yes, it came across as more mutual, but I'd be willing to bet that had Pete not accepted it, they would have been forced to fire him, and he would not have left on as good of terms.  Instead, he will stay on in an advisory role.  (Supposedly)

I understand why it was done.  I think the main sticking point, the main reason it happened was due to Pete not being able to keep up with the modern game and compete against the younger coaches in the league.  If you listen to his press conferences or interviews, you hear that he wanted so badly for the team to do better in certain areas (like stopping the run), but they couldn't.  And it was not due to lack of talent.  They weren't picking guys off the street or relying upon undrafted free agents.  Also, Pete continued to struggle to come out on top against Kyle Shanahan and Sean McVay's teams.  He had way more experience and was twice their age, but more often than not, the Hawks would come off looking worse in the divisional matchups with their teams.  

The next hire could not be more important.  The Hawks have a lot of young pieces and could easily make a Super Bowl run next season under the right leadership.  Alternatively, the wrong hire could lead to disastrous results where we could see this team head to a larger rebuild, a possible sale of the team, and a very uncertain future.  The wrong hire could set off a chain of events that spell doom for this organization.  But it could also continue the winning culture set forth not only by Pete Carroll but one of his predecessors, Mike Holmgren.  We cannot forget the impact coach Holmgren had, taking a perpetually mediocre team and elevating them to occasional contenders.

Whoever they hire has to be able to enter and immediately command the locker room and garner respect.  I don't think he can be too different from Pete Carroll, but he can't be too similar, either.  If he's too similar, the players will simply think this guy is trying to be the next Pete Carroll and won't respond as well.  However, a coach who is too different will be a bit of a culture shock to players like Geno, Tyler, DK, and Bobby (if he's here) and they won't respond well in that regard, either.  

I don't want to get into the specific candidates out there.  That's either for another post or maybe I'll evaluate each coaching hire once they are all done.  

Honestly, I'm excited.  The Hawks haven't had to actually search for a coach really in my NFL-viewing life.  Jim Mora Jr. was the heir apparent to Mike Holmgren, and Pete Carroll was hired to replace Mora after he became available.  There was never a real thorough process of bringing in multiple coaching candidates for interviews at that time.  I'll be excited to hear who flies in for an interview.  I'm sure some I'll be wishing they don't get the job and some I'll be wishing they do get the job, and some I'll be in-between on.  

Time will tell.  I'll definitely detail my thoughts once the hire is made.  Whoever it is, the 12s will give their full support and hopefully he can keep the Seahawks as consistent contenders.  GO HAWKS.

Rating New Era Survivor Twists and Changes

Something I still need to do, being a big fan of Survivor, is rating the new ERA twists and changes.  I'm gonna recall from memory each twist added or change made to the game since the start of 41, and then give it a rating out of 10.  A 10/10 is a perfect idea, and I honestly don't know if I'd give that to any twist in Survivor history, including the hidden immunity idol, so you won't be seeing that here.  A 0/10 would be an idea that is so asinine, whoever came up with it should be fired.  

There may be the occasional advantage that I have forgotten, but if I forget it, it's because it had such little impact on the game, and therefore isn't worth rating.

26 Day Format: 3/10
I don't think I'll ever fully come around on this.  Leave it to Survivor to stick with the 26-day format after COVID restrictions end since it's cheaper.  The bad thing about it is that it doesn't allow for close bonds to form or for people to struggle out there.  There's no time for the game to breathe, in a sense.  It feels like when Survivor reduced its quantity, it also reduced its quality.

No food/losing flint if immunity is lost: 5/10
I'm okay with teams suffering a penalty if they lose, although going to tribal council should be penalty enough.  But taking away flint doesn't have the impact it used to, since they are given access to clean drinking water, and the pre-merge lasts no more than 2 weeks.  Meanwhile, odds are each player will eventually get access to food via some sort of reward.  It seems like taking away flint is just for show, and honestly shouldn't even be mentioned anymore.  It's not an awful idea, just an unnecessary one that adds nothing to the show.  Also, I might add, taking away flint from the losers only increases the chance that they'll lose again, thus creating a "disaster" tribe that enters the merge with only 3 or even 2 members.  

Hourglass Twist: 1/10
The hourglass twist is easily one of the dumbest things Survivor producers have implemented.  The worst part is that people who rightfully won immunity had it stripped away from them.  If anything, the hourglass twist should have made them replay the challenge, and see if we get the same result--although that wouldn't have made for as good of TV: seeing the same challenge done twice.  Maybe they could've used a different challenge.  But heaven forbid Survivor pay for another challenge set.  

Knowledge is Power: 5/10
This is an advantage that has yet to work, other than causing people to swap their idols and advantages.  That effect really made it confusing to track who had what.  It did create some good moments, such as Dwight going home with Jeanine's idol in 43 and her shock at finding out, even though the KiP wasn't shown on that season.  I wouldn't hate it if they brought it back, but I'd rather it be tweaked a little.  My suggestion is that if the owner of the KiP can correctly name who has an idol or advantage, you get an extra vote.  I don't think people's idols/advantages should be able to be stolen.  

Reunion not live/held right away: 2/10
I understand not being able to do it in the early stages of the new era due to COVID, but just like with 26 days, again Survivor sticks with it since it's a cost-cutting measure.  I really hate it because players are not given the chance to think about and digest their games.  I also love hearing the audience's reaction to the votes being read, and without it, the result always feels subdued.  It's like seeing the final out of the World Series but no one in the stands to cheer on.  Bring back the live reunion!  

Most idols being beware advantages: 6/10
I can live with this.  The reason I kind of like this is that it doesn't allow players to keep finding idols easily and playing them one after the other, like Ben in HHH.  It makes players work for it.  Idols were getting too easy to find, so adding steps to "activate" or find their idols made it more difficult.  I wish players didn't lose their votes until they fully found or activated their idol, but there's got to be some "punishment" to it, I guess.  I was not a fan of having to wait for a certain phrase to be said at the immunity challenge mat chat like we saw in 41 and 42.  I much prefer having to accomplish something, like getting beads in 43 or the cage twist in 44, and not having to rely upon someone from another tribe.  

Amulet(s): 4/10
Again, another idea that just falls flat.  We've seen this now in 42 and 45, and each time it just seems to put a target on people's backs.  I think if the showrunners try it a third time and the players are given the option, I think they'll choose not to have it.  I get that they're trying to create cross-tribal alliances, but all they're doing is making them targets for one another.  They should change it so that the combined amulets become more powerful so long as all owners are still in the game at certain points.  All three make it to the merge?  Extra vote.  Final 10?  Steal a vote.  Final 6?  Full-blown idol.  But they haven't really laid out who gets control of the advantage once it gets those points, so that'd be interesting to see...

Shot in the Dark: 7/10
The "SitD" as I call it, is one of the better new era ideas.  It creates drama when there likely is none.  Obvious boot?  Well, there's still the shot in the dark, which could save them!  It also adds a layer of strategy, because you have to decide if losing your vote is worth it.  For example, in 41, if Sydney hadn't played her shot in the dark and instead had voted, she likely survives.  I just can't rate it higher than 7/10, because, to me, it overcomplicates the game a bit.  With SitD's being transferrable and only able to be played once, I now have to keep track of who currently has their SitD?  There comes a point where there's just too much to keep track of.  

"Merge-atory": 4/10
Jeff says that you have to "earn the merge".  You know what, Jeff?  They earned the merge by getting that far in the game, you dick.  Fortunately, it's a lot better without the hourglass twist, but I'm still very against the idea of likely only 6/13 people being eligible to be voted for.  I also do not like when they add a layer of luck to the game, because some good players can get unlucky and have to leave the game, and a layer of luck is added when they randomly divide them into two teams.  

Split Tribal at Final 12 or 10: 2/10
Just... stop this.  Please.  I get having to have two people be voted out in one episode.  But instead of dividing them into two teams of 5 or 6, just have two tribal councils with all 10 or 12 people.  We've lost some decent players because of this awful twist, such as Matt in 44.  It adds another layer of luck that I am not a fan of.  And I think they've done this in seasons before 41 (Ghost Island, for one), but since it's been used every season since the start of the new era, I consider this a "New Era" twist.  

Three tribe format: 4/10
The worst part of this three-tribe format is that they never swap into two tribes.  I'm okay watching three-team immunity challenges, because there's usually some drama, either between 1st and 2nd or 2nd and 3rd.  But only having 6 players per tribe is getting very tiresome.  There's not much room to maneuver as a player, and if you are put on a struggling tribe, you will likely not make the merge.  Also, if there is one tribe having a lot of success that never goes to tribal council, the whole tribe could end up getting purpled, like we saw with the Coco tribe in 41.  If we had a regular two-tribe format, we likely see J.D. in 41 at the merge.  But because his tribe struggled so much pre-merge, he was voted out.  

Do or Die: 1/10
I almost gave this a 0/10, because it was that bad.  What saves it from that 0 mark is the fact you can opt out of the challenge, therefore not risking elimination via a game of chance.  I wish everyone had opted out of one of these, just to spite the showrunners.  Fortunately, each time the Do or Die did not work, saving Deshawn and Lindsay.  Thank goodness they stopped it after 42.  But much like with the hourglass twist, it breaks a Survivor cardinal sin.  This time, you can get eliminated from the game without a single vote against you.  You could be playing a perfect game, but because you wanted to compete in a challenge, you get eliminated from the game.  If it had eliminated someone, I wonder if Jeff was going to say, "The tribe has spoken".  Probably not.  

Choose Your Champion: 7/10
We've only seen this once, in 43, and unfortunately, we might not see it again.  Essentially, you choose who you think will win an immunity challenge, and if they do, you win immunity as well.  I wish the reveal was done sooner, rather than at tribal council.  I think people should know if they can vote for you or not.  But I guess it's like an idol, which a lot of people don't get to know about.  But I liked the element of how well people know their tribemates.  I think they should incorporate these for reward as well.

Sweat or Savvy/Earning Supplies: 4/10
I'm just not a big fan of having to "earn" your supplies.  As viewers, what do we care if someone has their supplies or not... honestly?  They kept tweaking the sweat vs. savvy challenges.  At first, they were too easy, then they were too hard, then they just got rid of it.  They clearly couldn't design sweat vs. savvy to be the right difficulty.  For 47, they made a "captain" from each of the losing tribes compete in a kind of scavenger hunt, which is slightly more fun to watch.  But again... why do we care?

Average: 3.93/10
The twists and changes in the new era have largely been disappointing.  Survivor's at its best when its a slowly evolving game, and I felt like in the new era, they did too much too fast.  I like how bad ideas were phased out, such as the hourglass or "Do or Die".  I wish they'd go back to two tribes or 39 days, but we can't always get what we want, can we?  Anyway, that's all I have for now, but if there are any others, I'll add them to the list and give my thoughts.

Five Things I would change about each Star Wars trilogy

Anyone who knows me knows I love Star Wars.  It's my favorite series of films and my all-time favorite fandom.  But Star Wars, like anything else, is not without its flaws.  I'm going to list 5 things that I would change about each of the three film trilogies.  Some of these I've known for a while, others like for the original trilogy, I had to really think hard for.  

Prequel Trilogy
1. Introduce Anakin at an older age
Do we really need to see the person that becomes Darth Vader at 9 years of age?  No.  We got introduced to Luke at age 19, why not split the difference and introduce Anakin at 14 or 15 years of age?  That's old enough that we could see a bit of his rebellious side already when he is introduced, but still young enough to show some innocence.  

2. Either cut out Jar Jar or change him completely
I get why Jar Jar Binks was put in the prequel trilogy, to appease and entertain children.  But Star Wars, for the most part, is enjoyed by adults, young and old(er).  I would either remove him or change him so he's not the clumsy fool that we know, but is maybe instead a wise-cracking Gungan that tries to bend the rules.  A Gungan Han Solo, if you will.  

3. Remove midiclorians
Was this a necessary inclusion?  Most Star Wars fans would say no.  There's no measure of a wizard's power or potential in the Harry Potter universe, why does there have to be that in the Star Wars universe?  

4. Don't have Anakin as a virgin birth/created by the Force
Is this even clear yet, 17 years after the release of Ep. III?  There's still speculation on how Anakin was created.  Anyway, I would have introduced Anakin's father, have him be a scumbag who deserted Shmi shortly after Anakin was born.  Maybe have a plot point where Anakin kills him, even?

5. Changing or removing the line, "What have I done?"
For a while, Anakin's full fall to the dark side has kind of bothered me.  And I realized the one little thing that's always bothered me.  It's after Anakin cuts off Mace Windu's hand to prevent him from killing Palpatine and Palpatine blasts him out the window.  Anakin then stumbles back and says in a regretful tone, "What have I done?".  Instead, I would have Anakin mad at Mace Windu for attempting to assassinate the chancellor (someone who he had grown close to), and just have him not saying anything.  He would simply breath heavily, realizing what he had done and how he had chosen Palpatine's dark side over the Jedi.  

Original Trilogy
1. Have things thought out ahead of time
One of the few flaws with the original trilogy is the fact that George didn't plan things out, seeing as when he was writing the original Star Wars, he was not planning on any sequels.  I would change how Obi-Wan describes how Luke's father dies, and I would remove any kisses between Luke and Leia and any desire Luke has for her (and have their relationship be more like Harry and Hermione in Harry Potter).  

2. Have a little better choreography between Obi-Wan and Vader in their final fight
Their fight scene has not aged well, but keep in mind it was the first lightsaber battle in Star Wars history.  If I could, I'd have the choreography be at least a little more intense.

3. Have the Ewoks be the final reason, not the sole reason, the rebellion wins in the end
It's been long criticized how a civilization such as the Ewoks, essentially giant teddy bears, were able to take down "A legion of the Empire's best troops".  I would make it so the rebellion had more forces and just needed a tiny bit more help, perhaps with stalling the Empire.  

4. Flesh out Boba Fett more or don't kill him off
Somehow Boba Fett developed a cult-like status after the original trilogy.  I'd either develop a bit more of a backstory for him (which lines up with the prequel trilogy) or I wouldn't have sent him down the sarlaac pit.  

5. Have Han be a bit younger
I'm grasping for straws here, but I'd have Han be a bit younger in the original trilogy.  At the start of Ep. IV, he is 31 while Leia is 19.  Not exactly an ideal age difference.  I'd make him somewhere between 25 and 28, old enough to still have some life experience.

Sequel Trilogy
1. Have Rey be Obi-Wan's great-niece, not Palpatine's granddaughter.  Or have her ancestry be inconsequential.
Rey's ancestry is one of the critical points of the sequel trilogy.  She is descended from pure evil.  This is equivalent to finding out Harry Potter is Voldemort's grandson.  I mean, they technically had a common ancestor, but it was back hundreds of years.  I think it would have been much better if Rey was related to someone else or no one (that we know of) at all.  My ideal choice would have been Obi-Wan.  We did see in the Obi-Wan Kenobi series Obi-Wan mention that he had a brother; that would have been a perfect opportunity to create Rey's lineage by making her Obi-Wan's great-niece.  Such a shame.

2. Have the Jedi appear as ghosts to help Rey
In TRoS, we hear from many different Jedi calling out to Rey.  I think what would have potentially saved the film is having them appear as Force ghosts and rallying behind her to help her.  Imagine seeing Obi-Wan, Anakin, Yoda, Mace Windu, Qui-Gon (potentially), and Ahsoka (also potentially) gathered behind her to help her.  It would have been equivalent to seeing all of the heroes and Avengers in Avengers: Endgame at the end fighting Thanos.  It would have given many Star Wars fans like myself goosebumps.  

3. Don't kill off Snoke in TLJ and replace him with Palpatine
I'm okay with Snoke being an altered clone or whatever he is, but I'm not okay with bringing Palpatine back.  It was Anakin's way of returning balance to the Force, and they undid all that.  Instead, I'd have Snoke survive TLJ and be the main antagonist in TRoS.  Not much needs to change.

4. Have Finn somewhat explore his force abilities and train with Rey
Another wasted opportunity.  We basically have it confirmed that Finn was Force-sensitive, so what they should have done was have his abilities be discovered in TFA (which they almost were), then in TLJ, he and Rey could be training together with Luke.  They don't have to necessarily be joined at the hip, but it would be cool to see two Jedi learning together.

5. Handle the OT characters better
The overall treatment of the OT characters was pretty bad, to put it nicely.  I'd have Luke and Han reunite, I'd have Leia and Luke reunite, likely with Luke leaving Ahch-To with Rey (and Finn in my version).  Also, imagine if it was Leia who talked to Ben in TRoS and was able to bring him back to the light.  We didn't even get to see Leia interact with her son.  

Honorable mention: Don't kill off Ben/Kylo Ren
I had to include a sixth, just because there are so many things I would change.  I would have Ben survive Exogol and form a bond with Rey (doesn't have to be romantic).  I know they wanted to end the Skywalker lineage, but they didn't have to kill off Ben.  Maybe, like Luke, he just doesn't have kids.  


Again, I can't stress this enough, I still love Star Wars.  I love the music, special and practical effects (outside of the prequel trilogy, maybe), and the action.  There are just a few plot points that could've made each trilogy even better.  

Ten Things I Would Change about Survivor

I have often posted about Survivor here; being a huge fan, why not?  I hope to go on the show someday, and I have applied to be on the show.  So this post might not look great for me if I ever were to get on Survivor.  However, I would hope if anyone from CBS/Survivor sees this, they'd use this as constructive criticism and a way to improve their show.  

Don't get me wrong, I love the show, but I nitpicked to find ten things I would change about the show.  These ten things aren't in any order, although I will count down from #10.  Here they are:

10. Avoid "team reward" challenges, especially when there are an odd number of players
I hate it when, after the merge, Jeff splits the individual players into two teams for a reward challenge.  It's as if the crew is saying they don't have enough individual challenge ideas and need to save them for immunity.  I could live with these "team reward" challenges, so long as they only happen when there are an even number of players in the game.  When they do these types of reward challenges when there are an odd number of players, it leaves one person out with no shot at even competing for reward.  Everyone should have a shot.  Also, when a single individual wins reward and they pick 1-3 players to go with them, it can have a ripple effect on the game, which adds a layer of complexity in the social game.  

9. Go back to the original final tribal council format
One of my favorite parts of each Survivor season is when the jury questions the Final 2 or 3.  But with the new "open forum" Final Tribal Council format, it's not as entertaining.  It's not as organized, and it can leave a few jurors with little or nothing to say.  I would often look forward to the old format to see if certain players would hold a grudge and lash out at the Final 2 or 3.  I mean, think about the most entertaining or memorable jury speeches of all time.  Have any happened since this change?  Nope.   Also, I liked how each member of the Final 2 or 3 got to have an opening and closing statement.  At some point, they got rid of the closing statements, and then in "Worlds Apart" Season 30, they got rid of opening statements as well.  Bring those back!

8. Less advantages
In more recent seasons, there has been an almost crazy amount of advantages.  It's to the point where even the most dedicated fans and viewers have a tough time keeping track.  I do like immunity idols and the occasional advantage, but when there are so many, the value of them diminishes.  Fire Tokens aren't a terrible idea, but the casual viewer cannot be expected to keep track of everyone's Fire Token count.  If they absolutely must keep Fire Tokens and a large number of advantages, perhaps display an overlay of advantages/Fire Tokens at certain parts in the show, such as when someone earns Fire Tokens or an advantage, or during the booted person's final confessional.  

7. Show a little more of the "survival" aspect
I miss when Survivor showed the players fishing, foraging for food, or building the shelter.  They still show a little bit, but I know most fans would like to see more.  If anything someone does earns them respect around camp, I feel like we as viewers have a right to see it, even if it's mundane as fishing.  For example, Wendell may have won Ghost Island because he did a great job at building shelters, but we never really got to see that.  I know they have a lot of other things to fit in, such as challenges, strategy talk, and whatnot, but seeing a bit more of the survival aspect would definitely balance out the show a bit.  

6. Film somewhere else besides Fiji
I understand the financial benefits of filming in Fiji for every season, but doing that is becoming extremely repetitive.  Survivor filming locations should be like Super Bowl locations: it's okay to use the same location, just not twice (or more) in a row.  As I understand, they film two seasons back-to-back, so one idea is that they could film two seasons in Fiji, then next year film two seasons in Nicaragua or somewhere else, then go back to Fiji the following year.  If Survivor stays in Fiji, it will die in Fiji. 

5. Bring back the auction
One thing I miss is the Survivor auction!  I think they stopped it because too many players would sit on their money waiting for an advantage (thanks, cast of Worlds Apart).  There are ways around this.  They could include hidden advantages at random with different food items.  They could have Jeff announce there will not be any advantages and there will be only food.  Or if they use Fire Tokens again, they could have a "Fire Tokens Only" auction where you bid on items with Fire Tokens.  Just bring back the auction!  

4. For the love of God, no more Edge of Extinction
I know they have only used it for two seasons, but the Edge of Extinction has allowed two early boots to make it to the Final Tribal Council, and one of them to win.  A huge majority of Survivor fans do not like this twist.  In fact, basically any twist that allows a player to return to the game after being voted out is generally not well-received, especially when the earlier boots have an equal or better chance of getting back in to the game.  I don't know what their fascination is with bringing back voted out players, but it needs to stop.  In my opinion (and a majority of Survivor fans opinions as well), the Edge of Extinction twist really put a damper on "Winners at War".  

3. Jeff needs to calm down a bit at challenges
If anyone remembers, Jeff's commentary at challenges was way toned down in earlier seasons compared to what it's been in recent seasons.  In fact, in season one, it was non-existent.  I enjoy Jeff's commentary at challenges--in doses.  I may be in the minority on this one, but I feel like Jeff's commentary has been a bit over the top in recent seasons.  I do like when he berates players for struggling as it's pretty funny.  But when he says things like "That's how you do it on Survivor!", it makes me roll my eyes.  This is something I am honestly really nitpicking at; Jeff is definitely one of the highlights of the show.  But Jeff was at his peak with his commentary in seasons 10-20, I'd say.  

2. Bring back more physical challenges
I know there are safety risks involved with them, but they are the most entertaining challenges in Survivor history.  "Sumo at Sea" is my favorite.  But we haven't seen it used since "San Juan Del Sur".  I also like "By Any Means Necessary", but we haven't seen the beach/sand version since "Heroes vs. Villains".  These challenges are wildly entertaining, and I'd love to see at least "Sumo at Sea" brought back.  And maybe come up with new challenge ideas which are fairly physical (but safe).  

1. Cast more Survivor fans and "recruit" less players that aren't fans
I love when we see hardcore Survivor fans on the show.  They play the game hard and well.  When various players are recruited, to either fit a theme or because of their looks, they become cannon fodder, basically.  Players that are recruited don't really play the game; they just go along with the flow.  And when these players make it to the end, they never have a shot at winning.  I'd love to see a season of ONLY hard core fans and perhaps even only fans that have applied multiple times.  That would be interesting to see.  

If CBS/Survivor even makes a handful of these changes, it will benefit the show in the long run and allow it to continue for many more years.  If not, we could see the beginning of the end of one of my favorite television programs of all time.  I'd rather the show go out on top than be forced to cancel because of a decline in viewership/production value.  

Good and Bad Things about Fortnite Season 3

Just a week ago, Fortnite Chapter 2 Season 3 premiered and with it came many (mostly welcome) changes.  It's the most the game has changed in almost a calendar year, so many players, myself included, are still getting used to all the changes.  I'm going to go over most of the changes and whether they are good or bad. 

This time, we'll start with the good:

- Increased mobility
This is something that has plagued Chapter 2 since its release.  In season 1 of this chapter, there were literally no mobility items, the only being a trap-slot item in launch pads.  The only vehicle at the time was boats, and they didn't do well on land (especially going up hills).  In season 2, this was improved upon with the introduction of helicopters and crash pads.  But still, mobility was fairly limited.  Now with season 3, we have new zip lines, sharks that can be ridden, and whirlpools.  Two of the mythic bosses even have mythic mobility items (grappler and impulse grenade launcher).  Not to mention the game still has both boats and helicopters as well as crash pads.  Lachlan, an Australian Fortnite player on YouTube, even joked that there is too much mobility.  

- Significant map changes
I'm not going to comment specifically on the map changes themselves (that will be below), but I'm glad there were significant map changes period.  The map was starting to get stale and old.  When I first started playing in season 3, I was amazed at the amount of changes to the map.  It almost doesn't look like the same map.  

- Sticking with Mythic bosses
One of the best parts of season 2 was the mythic bosses.  Epic Games realized this and at least kept us with three mythic bosses (as opposed to 5/6 last season).  They nerfed the weapons so that none of them are too overpowered.  In season 2, in certain games if someone else got the mythic weapons, it felt vastly unfair.  Now it doesn't feel that unfair.

- Sharks
I have thalassophobia (fear of the deep sea and its creatures), so sharks at first were not a welcome addition for me.  Having gotten used to them now, I like them.  They can be used to get loot from, ride on (as mentioned earlier), and even use to attack enemies and their builds.  I hope this leads to Epic Games including other living things we can interact with.  Maybe giant birds we can ride on?  Maybe horses?  

- The right amount of new weapons/items and unvaulting
Epic Games unvaulted the hunting rifle, bolt action sniper, P90 SMG and Chug Splashes, as well as introducing the new charge shotgun and fireflies.  They also have two mythic items for bosses that were either unvaulted (Chug Jug) or new (Impulse Launcher).  This is exactly what they should do every season.  Come up with new weapons and items while unvaulting a few popular ones as well.  They obviously listened to us because many of us (myself included) wanted the hunting rifle and chug splashes brought back.  

- More healing items
One problem the early part of this chapter had was not enough healing items.  Even with the introduction of fishing, healing was a bit tough to do at times.  In season 3, we now have fruits and vegetables that 1) can be placed into the inventory instead of having to be consumed and 2) are a wider variety.  There are apples, corn, cabbages, shield and slurp mushrooms, and chili peppers (although those are for speed).  So someone in desperate need of health or shield can grab some of these.

All right, now onto the bad things.  This season is definitely an improvement, but it is not without its faults.  

- Too much water
As I mentioned earlier, I'm glad the map changed a lot, but I wish they hadn't added this much water.  A lot of old landmarks and locations are completely submerged now.  If they had added a feature which allowed us to dive underwater, I would be ok with this amount, but too much is simply "unexplorable" right now.  

- Not enough material options
With all of the water on the map, there are far less ways to get a significant amount of materials.  Weeping Woods is submerged, so forget that.  It is clearly much harder to build up materials quickly.  The new things that popped up on the map (The Fortilla and Rickety Rig) do not have enough material options. 

- Too many things vaulted, especially ones needed for challenges
The pump shotgun, heavy sniper, C4 remote explosives, and proximity mines all got vaulted.  RPG's are now only available by killing and taking them from Marauders on the map, so they are no longer available at all in Team Rumble play.  There have been these "quick challenges" which include getting explosive damage or eliminations.  The only way to do that now in Team Rumble is by using grenades.  Either Epic realized this and didn't care, or they failed to realize all the explosive weapons they vaulted while keeping explosive challenges.

- Quick challenges are more work for not much more XP
Daily challenges have been replaced by quick challenges.  There would be a new daily challenge every new day you played.  These challenges only needed one thing accomplished and gave 55,000 XP.  Now, there are five that generate each day.  They start out at 1,400 XP and after a day become 14,000 XP.  Even if you complete all 5 of those challenges, that is 70,000 XP.  Basically, it's four more challenges to complete for just a bit more XP.  They do keep regenerating after completing, but are only 1,400 XP for each challenge unless you wait a day.  It's a clever technique by Epic Games to get us to play a bit longer, but I am not a big fan of this change.

All in all, this season is definitely an upgrade from the previous season.  I do have one major recommendation if Epic Games wants.  As I said above, all of this water on the map would have been made better if there was a new mechanic to dive down underwater.  Our characters could hold their breath for 20 seconds before losing health (10 health per second after that).  There could be oxygen tanks which would allow our players to go for about a minute underwater before running out.  One problem I do see with this, however, is players trapping others underwater, but hey, if you can't shoot your way out, oh well.  That's the risk you take for going underwater.  This would be cool to see if they wanted to implement it next season.