Episode 27.13

So, there's probably a huge list of players from various seasons of Survivor who will never play the game again. There are many reasons why they wouldn't do that. I forgot what all I said that I would want to post in this blog that I haven't yet. I do know that some of what I want to post will be in separate blog posts that would be posted on the hiatus between this season and season 28. I'm still looking forward to whatever great events will happen in the 28^th season (even though they already have happened). I already mentioned how I'm fairly certain that the 28^th season has new players. Is it all new players? I hope so. I want there to be a normal season before the potential landmark 30^th season. So if it is not the 28^th, it could be the 29^th. Something I'm wondering about regarding the rocks is the chances of getting one. Hayden's alliance had a two in three chance of drawing a rock, which is probably why Tyson felt good drawing one. But what I wondering is this: does the order in which the rocks are drawn affect the odds? Does going last give you an advantage, disadvantage, or not make a difference? Can the same be said about going first? Maybe someone can contact the Parade magazine writer who would know how to answer a question like that. If you are math wizard, feel free to comment if you think you know the answer. I have a friend to contact about that to see if he knows. Maybe it is always a one to three odds of you grabbing the wrong rock. I, for one, would not risk picking a rock unless I was immune from picking it or Redemption Island was in the game. Cochran could have fought his way back into the game in South Pacific if he drew a rock and, if I understand the odds correctly, only two people out of the six on his tribe would have had to draw rocks. Unfortunately for his tribe, Cochran was one of the people who would have had to draw one.

I can't think of how else to ramble at the beginning of this blog post, so I will mention various players from various Survivor seasons who will probably never play the game again and I'll list the reason why as well. B.B. because the second contestant to die a long time after he played the very first season. He can't return. Sue quit the second time and she probably wouldn't want to play the game again. Stacy sued the show after she competed so it's highly unlikely that they would have her back. Kelly originally stated that she has no interest in playing the game again. Rudy is probably too old to return to the game. Colleen stated that she doesn't want to play again, although the producers have wanted her back. Greg has showed little interest in the game after he played so I'm not sure that we'll see him again. Debb, from the second season, stated at the reunion show that she would never do this again. It is widely believed that Elisabeth will never return, even though they really want her to. Amber is probably done with this part of her life so she won't be back either. Colby is also uncertain to return again. I'm not sure if there is anyone from the third season who will not play again, but there probably are and I'm just not thinking too hard into it. If there were any, Silas or Ethan might be them. From the fourth season, Hunter was a player who worked for the dream team in some way so they might not let him play again if he knows too well how challenges work. Boston Rob is probably more than likely done with playing Survivor. In the fifth season, Brian has been considered to come back, but ultimately, nobody who can bring him back want him to play again so it might be unlikely that we'll see him again, although you never really know. The sixth season might have one in Jenna, who has still been considered to return despite quitting the second time. It's also unknown if Rob from that season would play again considering how he's busy with a podcast. And Shawna didn't really have fun with the game so she might not play again either. From the seventh season, Osten isn't coming back and Johnny Fairplay is probably not coming back either.

From the ninth season, there was a contestant who dated the host and thus knows more production secrets than any other contestant. So that contestant named Julie probably isn't going to play again. There are a lot of people from the tenth season who will probably never play again. For one, we know that Jenn, who is dead, will never play again. Jonathan doesn't really want to play again since the opening twist eliminated him for no good reason. Ian probably would play again, but since some consider him a quitter, that's why he might not. Jeff is more of a sort of quitter so he's more likely to never return. Both Kim and Ashlee both had enough of the game. And Janu really did quit so she probably won't play again, even if it is rumored that she was an alternate for Micronesia. Gary from the eleventh season might not play again, although I can't think of anyone from that season who would never play again, even though none of them have yet. I'm also not sure if there's anyone from the twelfth season who wouldn't return. Terry hasn't for whatever reason so I don't know if that means that he never will. Both Ozzy and Parvati from the thirteenth season have stated that they never want to play again. The fourteenth season brought us the most infamous quitter who couldn't even make it to the game. Melissa quit before it even started and singlehandedly ruined the season for everyone involved. And Gary asked to be medically evacuated so he might not come back. While nobody considers him to be a quitter, they consider Dana to be a quitter and she left the exact same way. Besides, Yau-Man is the only person from this season that they've wanted back anyways (that we currently know of, at least). James from the fifteenth season is probably not going to play again since he hasn't done that well playing the game for reasons that are mostly not his fault. Denise caused controversy at the reunion show when she mislead people in some way. I'm not sure that she'll return either. And Todd is having current problems with alcohol that will prevent him from returning in the foreseeable future.

I've already mentioned the favorites from the sixteenth season who will probably not return (Johnny Fairplay, Ozzy, Parvati, and James). The fans that probably won't return are Chet, who asked to be voted out, Kathy, who officially quit, and Erik, who was pretty fed up with the game the last time he played and is convinced that he probably wouldn't return anyways. I doubt that Erik will never return a third time, but you'll never know what will happen for sure. In the seventeenth season, Sugar has already stated that she's not interested in playing again. And GC wasn't a real quitter, but he sure seemed like it when he asked to be voted out simply because he didn't want to play anymore. In the eighteenth season, Taj has openly stated that she doesn't want to play a second time. Sierra might have said the same thing, but I'm not so sure about that. From the nineteenth season, both Russells have said how they don't want to play the game again, each for different reasons that are kind of similar in the end. Shambo also doesn't want to play again either.

Who from the twenty-first season won't play again? Well, I would be shocked if they let either Kelly Shinn or NaOnka play again after they infamously quit so late into the game. I also heard that someone asked to be voted out that season (and they obviously wouldn't air that with the two quitters) and I think that person was Marty (although I could be wrong). The David and Jeff Survivor podcast episode with Holly mentions who she said did that. Sash caused an unaired controversy that could have gotten him expelled from the game. From the twenty-second season, Matt has stated that he doesn't want to play the game again. Steve might have thrown a Redemption Island duel so we might not be seeing him again. Francesca is probably done playing the game and I'm thinking that Grant is probably not playing again either. The twenty-third season brought us Brandon who is more than likely not allowed to return to the game. John has also stated that he doesn't want to play the game again. Bill from the twenty-fourth season may not play again due to an unaired incident where he threw Colton's hidden immunity idol into the sea. We don't know why this might have happened, but we do know that this is the real cause of their fights throughout the season. Colton ain't playing again either. And one also wonders if Kourtney will be able to play again for a while since she has cancer (at the time of the airing of One World, at least. She might be better now). Season twenty-five brought us the entertaining and confusing Zane who might not be back because he's considered to have quit. Dana might not be back either for the same reason. And I'm not certain that Sarah will come back if Jeff Probst is still the host of Survivor. Allie, Shamar, and Sherri are all players from the twenty-sixth season who will probably not play again because they didn't like what all happened to them or how production portrayed them and none of them loved the reunion show. I'd also say that it is probably too soon to guess who from this season won't play again (new players at least). But enough of my ramblings.

So, once again, watching this episode will get complicated. I hope that my cats won't mess it up. I have a bowl of cereal to eat for breakfast as I watch a tape of the show. I don't want to get the milk near my laptop. So I have to worry about eating breakfast and keeping my food away from the cats while I watch the old episode. Don't worry. I'll be here live for the finale. Here's what happened at the beginning of the episode: Katie arrived with the women on Redemption Island. Tina talks about letting Katie win the duel. Would she actually follow through with it? Hayden talks about what he can do to further advance his game. Tyson revealed his hidden immunity idol to his alliance. Monica might be playing too hard, but she doesn't like how Tyson hid the idol from them. Now if I don't fast forward through the commercials, I can still eat breakfast in enough time.

In the next segment of the show, Ciera thinks that she made a good move. But I can think of other ways she could have advanced her game without flipping. But I think that I'll mention that in a different blog post. Ciera's talk makes it seem like she could be the next one eliminated. That's when the Redemption Island duel happened. They are using jail break, which is a Survivor classic. Tina helps her daughter verbally and this makes me wonder if Laura will lose the duel. Maybe Tina will win or Katie will win. This is the only challenge to be used so far in every season with Redemption Island in it. I'd actually prefer it better if it was the last duel of the season. Laura wins the duel. Now it becomes a race between Tina and Katie. I think that Katie will lose the duel. Katie probably lost the duel when she dropped a key on the ground. Tina wants to make sure that Katie is okay with her mother eliminating her from the game. So, once again, the trick promo happens and Tina was never going to through the duel. And because of first a rock and then a key fall, Katie is out of the game. I might have to put her on an updated list for Survivor: Second Chances. She can replace Natalie, just like Vytas can replace Mike. Katie then joins the jury. Now I have to remember to watch the Survivor After Show with her and see her join Ponderosa.

In the next segment of the show, Hayden and Ciera are looking for the hidden immunity idol that Tyson already found. He didn't even plant a fake idol. Why does nobody do that anymore? Monica, Gervase, and Tyson are in the majority alliance, but we don't know if they can stay together or not. Hayden wants the good guys to win and he considers himself to be one of the good guys. That was a pretty short segment. So the immunity challenge happened next. And I'm fairly certain that there is no loved ones challenge this season, which makes sense since there is loved ones in the game for a change. This is the classic bring a buoy through a course and solve a puzzle at the end. We haven't even seen the Ciera tries to flip Monica moment yet. The challenge pretty much seems to be neck in neck, except for Ciera who is totally losing it. They are filling out a classic eight word Survivor phrase. I am currently wondering what the phrase is, although I will probably smack myself in the head when they figure it out. Ciera wins the immunity challenge, despite being behind in such a long part of it. Ciera chooses Hayden to join her with the meal she won as a reward.

In the next segment of the show, Ciera is glad that she won the challenge. Without her mother competing against her, she can actually do puzzle challenges. And she probably won't have to compete against her in a Redemption Island duel. Ciera is quite good at stirring the pot and she is definitely a villain this season. She tells total lies about Tyson and Monica appears to be eating it all up. Tribal council happens and we have yet to see how things will unfold and what crazy tribal council will happen this season. Hopefully Hayden doesn't get voted out, although he at least got a reward out of it. I just realized that Hayden and Gervase have a rivalry this season. So the vote happened after the crazy exchange of words happened. When asked if an idol should be played, nobody played one, but I'm not certain that Tyson was the target anyways. The person voted out was Hayden. It's a shame that nobody flipped which would have made things more interesting. There are three potential players to come back from Redemption Island. Will Tina, Laura, or Hayden return? I think that I know who might, but I'm not certain yet.

What will happen on the next Survivor? The promo is very vague as usual. The final three spoilers and winner spoiler that I heard have still not been proven false yet, but I'm still interested in how it might happen, if it happens at all.

Confessional counts of players on Redemption Island: Laura- 13, Tina- 12, Katie- 16. Confessional counts of players in the game: Monica- 19, Ciera- 24, Hayden- 22, Gervase- 15, Tyson- 31. New confessionals this episode: Hayden- 4, Gervase- 1, Tyson- 1, Monica- 3, Ciera- 3; Laura- 0, Tina- 1, Katie- 1.

I'm not sure what to make of the confessional count this season. Tyson has the most confessionals, but that probably doesn't mean that he wins based on that alone. I'm wondering if the final three spoilers I heard are correct but the winner is not. Many people thought that Michael Skupin was going to win the twenty-fifth season, but we know that's not true. I've long forgotten who my favorite to win is now. I still have to decide who is the breakout character of this season, keeping in mind that it must be a new player who wins this award, what are the three dumbest moves from this season (one might still happen in the last episode), the most memorable moment of the season, and who had different rivalries this season. There are different bets when can start making about the finale. How much will it be delayed on the east coast because of sports and other possible delays? How long will the recap be before the episode starts? How good or bad will the reunion show be? Who will return from Redemption Island? Who will win the game? Who are the other two finalists? What's in store for the 28^th season? This has been a pretty good and interesting season so far. It's especially interesting how there has not been all three returning player or all three new players on Redemption Island at the same time. There has always been a mix of new and returning players on Redemption Island, or at least when there's a duel about to happen. Not sure what else to say until the next blog post. For now, this is Adam Decker, signing off.