Has the show gone too far with secret weapons?

Even before this edition of Koh Lanta does not start, we were already wondering: should we expect an even more strategic season than usual? By presenting the various secret weapons to us, the production ensured that these novelties should not “transform the whole of Koh Lanta in strategic play ”, according to the words of the producer, Julien Magne, who specified during the videoconference of press that there would always be as many clashes on the tests and of resourcefulness on the camp.

Ten weeks later, it is clear that the public remembers more the betrayals of each other rather than the unsuccessful attempts of the yolks to try to light the fire on their camp. This is somewhat the case every year. But a line seems to have been crossed at the end of the ninth episode. The victims ? Vincent and Laëtitia. The murder weapon? Lucie’s black bracelet. The motive of the culprit? Help her friend Maxine.

Misunderstanding and injustice

The use of this ultimate secret weapon could have been a success in the eyes of the viewers if everything had not happened so quickly: Laëtitia who discovers her immunity collar, Lucie who decides to help Maxine while she is itself protected, all this during the linked destinies… Not insignificant detail, the fact that Vincent, the public’s darling of the season, pays the price, did not help calm the enthusiasm of Internet users.

“What shocked me the most is the fact that the immunity collar has been relegated to a simple device when symbolically, it is one of the most important weapons of Koh Lanta. We are torn between incomprehension and injustice ”, testifies Malika, a reader of 20 minutes. According to her, “you really feel the omnipresence of the production through the screen, it’s very scripted”, which prompts her to stop watching this season right now.

Other netizens have expressed their grief over the events of the ninth episode. Following the example of Maé, 24 years old: “The blow of the black bracelet, it was clearly too much. If this secret weapon had been found before or after, it would have shocked me less. But here, we have the feeling that she was clearly disposed here and now to eliminate the Vincent / Laëtitia duo. “

Kyrian, another faithful of the TF1 program, agrees: “The secret weapons give too many“ insane ”twists, which makes the show lose its charm. In previous editions, the most interesting thing was to see the candidates fighting for immunity, or trying by all means to rally people with them to try to escape the council … This year, we feel that there is less that side, ”he laments.

Weapons placed “before the start of filming”

Faced with the almost general outcry that broke out on Friday evening after the elimination of Vincent and Laëtitia, Denis Brogniart made a point of defending his point of view during his weekly debriefing live on Instagram, from the location of the next season. “I understand that some did not appreciate the black bracelet, this secret weapon. It was the hardest, the most difficult, launched the host. You’ve known me for twenty years, I’m turning the Koh Lanta 20 years old. At one point or another, please don’t talk about cheating or rigging ”.

These two words actually appeared a lot on social networks Friday evening, when Lucie discovered the black bracelet. However, the production denies hiding the secret weapons as it sees fit over the episodes. “The necklaces of immunity, and the secret weapons this season, are placed by the production upstream of the start of filming, and therefore before the arrival of the adventurers on their camp, she assures to 20 minutes. At this moment, certain close-ups of the collar, or secret weapon, are made, which can be used during assembly if he or she is found. “

This is not the first time that the TF1 show has been accused of manipulation, as the production recalls. “There were also a lot of comments when Clémentine, on the edition The Heroes’ Fight, had found an immunity collar. Internet users had been very suspicious and called for a boycott because they wanted to see her go out, ”she underlines, arguing that the numerous reactions of last Friday“ are at the height of the affection that viewers have for -vis of the adventurer who finds the necklace or who leaves the adventure with a necklace. “

What impact on audiences?

For Damien Jodeau, podcast host Around the fire, devoted to the show, “these are the enormous strings of the elimination of Vincent and Laëtitia” which provoked so many strong reactions on social networks, even going as far as a call for a boycott. As a reminder, Laëtitia did not find a simple immunity necklace but an instant necklace, which she could not play until the next day. “The production’s desire to create unnecessary drama by adding a necklace valid only to the next tip, canceled out by a bracelet found just after, it’s big, much too big. “

According to him, the doubts “on certain necklaces opportunely found by candidates who were in danger” reflect the public’s incomprehension in the face of the stranglehold of the production on the natural course of the game. Clearly, why not let the candidates spawn a path to victory themselves without a collar or a secret weapon? “Off, many candidates have complained about the interventionism of the production,” said the host of the podcast. The public, he did not hide to complain about the twists and turns. Will this have an impact on the audiences of the game? Response from Saturday morning.