‘Survivor Caramoan: Fans vs. Favorites’ preview: In case one ‘loved one’ isn’t enough

There’s no way around saying that the family visit on “Survivor” is almost always polarizing. There are some people out there who are genuinely moved by seeing these people get an opportunity to see someone from their ordinary lives, and this in many ways serves as a badge of honor for getting this close to the end of the game. Meanwhile, other people just want to watch strategy rather than people crying all of the time.

Part of the fun out of seeing this family visit this time around is that of the four people still left in the game, Erik Reichenbach is the only one that made it far enough in his first season to actually get a visit from a loved one, and so for everyone else this will be a new experience. There’s also another sort of twist here in that for the first time ever, two loved ones from home will be coming into the game. (If this had happened in Gabon, it would have made things even more awkward for Randy, who apparently had no one listed as a part of his family.)

While this family visit is meant to be a good thing for the castaways, it looks almost as though this time it is yet another reason for emotions to run high. Erik seems to be struggling under the conditions, Dawn is crying yet again, and Sherri also seems to have some tears going of her own. While all of this is happening, Cochran is left to sit around and ponder whether or not he has hit the end of the road as his name starts to float around as a possible target.

Do you like these episodes of “Survivor,” or find them to be drippy and rather annoying? We want to hear your thoughts below! If you want to also read our reviews with the recently-eliminated Reynold and Andrea, you can do so over at the link here.

Photo: CBS