Surviving Barstool Episode 1 Review/Recap: Is Anyone Stopping Tommy Smokes?

 The following is a recap, review, and predictions for the inaugural season of Surviving Barstool that I wrote yesterday after watching the premiere.

It is Super Bowl week and that means so is the biggest week of the year for Barstool Sports. Traditionally flocks of employees migrate to wherever the location of the big game is, but this year with a little thing called COVID, (ever heard of it?) the Super Bowl week content looks a lot different. With that being said, it looks to be that the silver lining of this strange Super Bowl week experience is the first season of Surviving Barstool. 

Going into this show I gotta say I was stoked. It seems like everyone had been gassing up the show on Twitter and radio this week, and boy did it live up to the hype in episode one. First off I can confidently say this is the best piece of barstool content I can remember from a pure production standpoint. The sets are fantastic, it’s shot just like a network reality show and the confessionals were paced extremely well. On top of that how about the performance we got from the hardest working man in the office Mr. Kevin Clancy. KFC is, and I can not stress this enough, the PERFECT host for this show. His nonchalant demeanor, top-notch comedic timing and not to mention fantastic hair essentially made him a live-action Chris McLean with crippling alimony payments. Much like Behind The Blog and Friday Night Pints did, I think we will get to see KFC show off his versatile range in this show and I am HERE for it.

Now moving onto the episode itself. In the 28 minute premiere, we saw the contestants arrive at HQ, Tommy find all the clues to and the illustrious immunity idol, the legend of WSD grow as he became what I presume every person at Toby Keith’s Chicago tour stop looks like, Trysta win what could have been an ESSENTIAL immunity victory, and The Cowboy get sent home after just one day in the city, which sadly still isn’t Dave’s shortest trip to NYC in his Barstool career… Talk about an absolute heater of a first episode.

Now with seven competitors left, and the easy target out the game is going to get intense. All seven have a real shot at this thing and here is where I think things stand with each contestant:

Tommy Smokes

Tommy has got to be in the best position in this thing right now. I mean I don’t understand why they didn’t vote him off right at the beginning! The dude lives and breathes survivor. If Tommy can make it past the next three rounds and not get caught with his pants down getting voted off without playing his idol, I think he has a great chance to go far in this game. The way he got the idol on NIGHT ONE! What a play right out the gate for Fox News’ Millennial Vaping Expert. Between his competitiveness, knowledge of gameplay strategies, and what might be some slight psychopathic tendencies, Tommy has some huge advantages in the game. His disadvantage though is that well, he is the known survivor fan. Everyone came in here knowing Tommy is going to be playing to win and that he knows what he is doing. Skills like that can make players be distrusting of Tommy. One might say that throughout the season once people start showing their skills, people may forget about Tommy’s knowledge of the game, but I’m not sure. Either way Tommy is in great position after episode one, looking like he should be the favorite based on skills / possession of the idol.

Donnie

Donnie is someone who I was really excited to watch this season. It feels like The Wonton Don is an absolute natural at most things he does, and surviving Barstool seems to be no different. It already seemed like he will be making an alliance with Zah during the immunity challenge which could be a powerful duo down the stretch. He held his cards close to his chest during the voting ceremony, and was also the lone vote against Keegs, which is sure to create some drama around the office. That vote against Keegs I think actually could be the most important piece of this episode. All seven of the non Cowboy Dave competitors were on the same page going into the vote, the change in heart by Donnie is surely going to create a sense of unease in the group and if it comes out that it was him who voted for Keegs, I’m sure we will see a line in the sand drawn. How that line will go? I think we’d see Donnie and Zah on one side with Kelly and Brianna on the other, and Tommy, Nick and Trysta in the middle being pulled to each side.

Zah

Aside from getting absolutely bullied by the other contestants in the bobbing for nips competition, we really didn’t see much of Zah in episode one. Although we didn’t see him much, I think that he is going to be a big factor in this season. One thing I think Zah really has going for him is how he is universally well liked by the office, which should buy him a day or two of safety before things start to heat up, which is huge in a show that only lasts a week. I mean seriously, who hates Zah??? Also, even though he had 15 nips in his bucket, Zah fought just as hard as anyone in the first competition, showing the inner grit and competitiveness that is going to be needed to outwit, outlast, and outplay his opponents this season (unsure if I can say that legally but fuck it nobody is seeing this). One thing that I think could hurt Zah is the graphic that came out right as shooting started on the season that gave him +150 odds to win the competition, the best odds by FAR of any contestant on the show. Putting that graphic out right as shooting began couldn’t have been good for Zah’s game and may have put a target on his back without him having any control of it.

Brianna Chickenfry

Brianna Chickenfry is one of the most interesting players in this competition for me. For one, she’s new in the office, and unlike Kelly Keegs hasn’t been around the Barstool world for years. But, to be completely honest I really liked what I saw from her in this first episode. She was the only contestant to give an extremely observant, well thought out description of why she was voting Dave off that wasn’t just fuck White Sox Dave. The one negative to her game? I think all the girls are at a similar disadvantage where if the guys are smart enough to team up they have the numbers right now and can easily pick off the girls one by one. Should they do this? Absolutely. Are they smart enough to do so? Probably not. 

Trysta

I think Trysta might be in a little bit of a sticky situation. Going into the competition it felt like WSD and her were going to be at the bottom of the totem pole, and tonights episode didn’t do nearly enough to change my mind. Keegs literally already said that Trysta was fucked if she didn’t win immunity, traditionally a bad sign. And on top of that, the conversation between her and Keegs after the competition when Trysta was trying to form an alliance was beyond awkward. However, all that being said, there is one thing to remember: Trysta. Krick. Is. A. Goddamn. Baller. I wouldn’t be surprised if she won one or two immunity challenges on pure competitive adrenaline, but that being said she may have to to stay alive. May she get blamed for the vote against Keegs? Possibly. But if it comes out that the vote was casted by Donnie and things blow up, the girls alliance could stick and Trysta could find herself with new life.

Kelly Keegs

To be honest, going into the show Keegs was my pick to win so I may be a little biased here. I feel like she’s well enough versed in reality TV to keep up with the strategies of players like Tommy without as much of a target on her back from the jump, and she also is pretty well liked and playing with her podcast co host which should give her a pretty good social game starting point. On top of that, and I mean this in the most positive way possible, Kelly scares me. I feel like she is going to be out for blood this season especially if anyone crosses her. On top of that Keegs could be a sneaky competition threat, and she already has an “alliance” with Trysta in the works which although maybe not the most legit alliance, it is a bridge to heal the bad blood between them from the competition. The downside? There’s definitely a 50% chance Keegs also could be a ticking time bomb to create some drama and blow up her game, which although makes great tv wouldn’t be great for her game.

Nick

I mean, there is simply just no way to know if any given thing coming out of Nick’s mouth is true or not. He really is more of an idea rather than a person. Much like when he is on the dance floor of Melty’s, Nick showed he is down to get damp in the heat of competition. Nick might honestly win this whole thing as a bit, there is simply no way to tell. I don’t know what he’s going to do or who he is going to team up with at any given moment, and that may actually be his strongest advantage in his competition against more logical thinkers like Tommy.

And of course I would be remised to not mention Cowboy Dave, who although had a short lived run on the show, showed yet again that whether you like him or not, WSD is going to be at barstool for a long time. I mean the guy gets kicked in the balls time and time again and comes back stronger each time. I hope we get to see The CowboyTM  back on season two for another shot at the 10,000 dollars, even if it’s another one night trip.