I think I mostly agree with the sentiment you’re expressing here, Jyssica.

I’m very very behind on this current season, but even in the episodes I have caught up on, I do find myself fast-forwarding through many of the backstories to get to the runs (which I’ve never really done before). And now I’m at the point where I’m even contemplating just watching once the Vegas episodes hit, when it seems like more runs get shown and the backstories aren’t given such focus.

I, too, watched ANW back before it ever came to NBC, and so there’s a big part of me that tunes in still to see how my favorites that I’ve watched on the show for 3, 5, or even 10+ years perform this season. That said, I do feel like I’m continually drawn to seeing how the ninja veterans rebound from bad seasons, and thus in a sense are overcoming adversity. As you mention too, almost no one ever wins, and so I think what keeps people (like myself) coming back is the up and down journey…seeing how all these people pick themselves up from defeat and try again the following year.

Perhaps in more recent seasons though it’s started to feel like the ninja veterans’ stories are being edited out, their runs are montaged if not skipped over entirely in favor of those with the *most* adversity or the *most* devastating sob story. There’s no denying how incredibly moving and frankly inspiring most of these backstories are — at the same time, it just feels like a different show entirely.

Sorry if I’m just talking in circles and reiterating your points here. I’m not really sure what the show should do…the producers clearly love crafting these poignant and inspiring narratives, and when I can just be patient and watch the episodes in full, I tend to appreciate the backstories and this overarching theme of overcoming adversity…it’s just a bummer that it comes at the cost of less runs being shown and many ninja veterans/favorites becoming a bit irrelevant.