Development of Game Changers Cast

Once a person becomes a returning player, it is likely that their game is different in their new season. Even if they do try to play the same sort of game they did the first time, they will ultimately have a different game happen this time. So, as usual after new returning player seasons, I will go through the cast of the season and compare their most recent game to their previous games before this season. Hopefully, we can all learn something about how things change.

Ciera seems to be taking hits with each of her seasons. The first time she played, she was a likable villain who helped make huge moves even though it ended up costing her the game. The second time, she was still a villain but a bit less likable and her minority alliance never really took control of the game. Her struggles were most apparent with her third season where she played too hard too fast and got voted out first. Each time she has played, she seems to be getting worse. I don’t know if her reputation is ruined, but it keeps taking hits. Main transition: From a huge villain to an easy vote out.

Original thoughts on Ciera after Cambodia: Ciera may not have gotten that good an edit either of the seasons that she played. At least she was playing the game and trying to make moves. They may not have worked out as well as they could have. As to which season she did better in, she did make it farther in her first season and probably got a better edit that time around as well. Main transition: From a risk taker to a bit of an annoying person.

Tony might have taken one of the biggest hits this season. We all know the type of player that he is after his first season and he acted like a lunatic near the very beginning. This made him like an outcast on his tribe and got him voted out early after clashing heads with another winner. The first time, he proved that he could be a huge player and yet still win the game. This time, he proved that arrogance goes both ways and it got him an early exit. Main transition: From a great winner to an irrelevant player.

Caleb just didn’t seem to do well in the game this time around, which is sad. If only there were more to him. The first time he played, he was considered a good player even though we never saw much of him and he wound up getting medically evacuated early into the game. When he played a second time, he never seemed to do that much again as he didn’t make it that far. It’s hard to tell what really changed about him, other than that I’m glad he’s presented better here than on Big Brother. Main transition: From a short-lived player for medical reason to a short-live player for no good reason.

Malcolm is a wonderful player who largely fell victim to a twist this time around. The first time he played, he may have failed on his first tribe, but he succeeded on his second tribe and did well after the merge. Unfortunately, his ally turned on him and he was the last person voted out. When he played the second time, he had an advantage in being unknown to the other contestants and it got him far into the game, until his great game play got him voted out a second time. This time around, his great game play once again got him voted out by another tribe basically this time. He didn’t make the merge over the unusual twist, but his largely great game play remains intact, in my mind at least. Main transition: From a great player who made it far to a great player who didn’t.

Original thoughts on Malcolm after Caramoan: He first appeared in the 25^th season. He was put on a tribe that was pretty bad before being put on a tribe that was really good. He was a strong player and jury threat. He was the last voted out. | He returned to the game, despite the fact that his season hadn't aired yet. He was the first back to back player to do considerably worse the second time. He was a master of the hidden immunity idol and saved himself once with one while convincing someone else to play one for him earlier. He was on the jury again.

JT is an ever descending, three time player. While not the only player to do worse every time he played, he is the first person to finish all three ways (finalist, jury, premerge) in the order of greatest to least. The first time he played, he had a perfect game. No one had done that before and only one person has done it since (if I checked right). The second time he played, he made one of the all time dumbest moves by giving his idol to someone on the other tribe only to get idoled out of the game himself. This time around, he wasn’t nearly as dumb but still enforced the stereotype that nice guys finish last. He was on the wrong side of the numbers and made too many mistakes. Main transition: From a great contender to an idiot.

Sandra won twice before playing this, her third season. She didn’t win for the first time, but she did outlast all the former winners this season, so she has that in her favor. The first time she played, she may not have been the most flashy villain her season, but she was the most liked compared to her competition. When she played a second time, she played against the majority nearly the entire part of the game before the merge. She then worked with that side when the heroes wouldn’t work with her and the heroes still voted for her to win the game, which she did. She then got way too cocky when she played again and everyone knew it. She still made it far somehow, but wound up on the wrong side of the numbers and was voted out. Main transition: From a cocky person who won to a cocky person who didn’t win.

Jeff Varner is someone who I thought couldn’t get any worse in future seasons. But he probably feels the same way that Paula Deen felt after her racist remarks were made public. He could have been doing so well in the long term had he not wound up on the bottom of the numbers and made a terrible decision in a last ditch effort to save himself which turned out to actually be the last nail in the coffin that was constructed for him. Ultimately, the only way he could succeed in the game is in a back to the basics season. His first season got him with a tie-breaker rule that his tribe didn’t know about. The second season got him after tribe swaps. This season was also a tribe swap that got rid of him, but that wasn’t what ultimately killed his game this time around. He made one of the dumbest moves of all time. Hopefully, his reputation can recover. Main transition: From an unlucky target to his own target.

Original thoughts on Jeff after Cambodia: Jeff Varner definitely took a hit this season. He was remembered fondly in Australia where a strange rule at the time got the opposing tribe to vote him out. This time around, he came off as a bit dumb and slightly arrogant when we saw him in the game. All the airtime he got basically pointed to the reasons why he got such an early elimination this time around. If he’s back a third time, hopefully he can do better. Main transition: From a victim of a twist to a victim of himself.

Hali is someone that I didn’t like that much going into this season. You can read all my posts from before this season if you want to. They’ll all tell you about my old feelings regarding her. Only you may notice the past tense in this writing. You see, when she first played, there wasn’t much to her edit and she just became an obscure boot. Plus, she was on Worlds Apart, which was a pretty bummer of a season. This time around, I started to like the little devil that she is. She may have placed around the same place of the game this time around, but I felt she left a more lasting impression on me this time around, one where I actually like her. Main transition: From a forgettable player to a notable villain.

Ozzy has been all over the place edit wise throughout his various seasons. The first time he played, he was shown as a dominate player who fell short of winning the jury by one vote. The second time, he was still a power player, only he got voted out and wound up very bitter towards the end. The third time he played, he had his worst edit as he wound up being an egotistical maniac who made Redemption Island practically irrelevant after the merge. This time around, he got a better edit than the last two times and wasn’t really seen that much throughout the game. He did become the first player to make the merge four different times. I don’t know what to say about his difference between seasons, except that I’m glad he’s more toned down this time around. Main transition: From a major powerhouse player to an irrelevant player.

Debbie continued being the type of crazy player that I love because I love anyone who is crazy like I am. It’s good knowing that I’m not alone. The first time she played, despite her craziness, people still took her seriously enough to form an alliance with her. Only this alliance ended up blindsiding her. What was the reason for her downfall this time? I don’t remember this time. I could easily look it up. But I don’t think that there was any real change for her this time around. Main transition: From a crazy player to a more unexplained crazy person.

Zeke probably had the biggest change this season when we learned something new about him that we didn’t know before. Only that might not have changed his game. The first time he played, he thought that he had power and was ultimately blindsided by a former ally. This second time he played, we learned that he was a she at one point. It might have ultimately ruined his game this time around since he couldn’t really do much once it happened. We may never know for sure. But I really don’t see much of a difference between how he played. Main transition (no pun intended): From a strategic player to one we didn’t see as much.

Sierra has sadly been largely irrelevant to both seasons she played. I like her, though. The first time she played, she made it all the way to the finale, but had the most invisible edit of those who did. This time around, we never saw much of her outside of her legacy advantage that ultimately went to someone else. Main transition: From an invisible player to a slightly more visible player.

Andrea is someone who I’m not really sure if I liked that much, but definitely didn’t hate before this season. Now, I don’t really like her if I even did in the first place. When she first played, she lucked into an easy alliance and didn’t have much to do except for getting rid of her showmance for blabbing about what he could have done. Ultimately, she got blindsided by her alliance and got voted out as a result where she lucked her way back into the game after an insanely stupid challenge only to get voted right back out again.

When she played a second time, she never really did that much outside of once again being part of a power alliance and once again getting the short end of the stick in that alliance causing her to get voted out again, this time with an idol in her pocket. When she played this time, she seemed to lack a notable alliance and became quite mean for reasons that didn’t entirely show up on screen. Main transition: From a nice coattail rider to a mean person.

Original thoughts on Andrea after Caramoan: She first appeared in the 22^nd season. She was in a showmance with another contestant. She got voted out twice. She won Redemption Island duels. | She found a hidden immunity idol, didn't play it, and got voted out as a result.

Michaela is someone who seems like she fully embodies the crazy black lady stereotype. I hope that doesn’t sound racist of me, but I would have to blame casting for that. Why else would they keep doing that, finding those people? She was hardly the only contestant to fit that theme, just the most recent. Anyways, she was a more savvy player, it seemed, the first time around, except for a bit of weirdness that somehow got her voted out. When she played again, we only seemed to see the crazy aspects of her with the few times that we saw her. She made it to the jury and was ultimately voted out for reasons that seemed unclear in the end. Main transition: From a short lived, crazy player, to a longer lasting, equally crazy player.

Cirie might be a player that I like more than I realize. It can be hard to remember what all she did over her four seasons playing the game. I don’t remember much of her first game only it seemed as she might have struggled early on, yet made it far enough to be in the finale, only to be eliminated in a fire-making tie-breaker. The second time she played, she had a huge dominance over nearly the whole game, only to be voted out after learning of a surprise final two. The third time she played, she was gone very early into the game over a minority was able to blindside her. When she played this time, she played a subtle yet awesome game where no possible mistake she made seemed to come back against her in any way. She made her third finale, a first for any player, and was eliminated simply because all the other players were immune. Main transition: From a great player to a still great player.

Aubry is someone that I didn’t like going into this season and still probably don’t really like that much. However, I don’t think that she’s that bad a person in the end. The first time she played the game, she was whiny and annoying, yet still beloved by others who aren’t me. She didn’t win the first time, but she did come in second. This time around, we never saw that much from her, yet she made it to the finale again. Ultimately, she ended up getting voted out after getting on the wrong side of the numbers. Main transition: From an entitled player to a less noticeable presence.

Tai doesn’t seem to realize that sometimes nice guys actually do finish last. The first time he played, he became evil and blindsided his allies leaving him without any friends on the jury and he got no jury votes as a result. When he played this time, he wanted to avoid being an evil person, although he might have if given the opportunity. Ultimately, he was a threat enough to get voted out. Main transition: From a bad villain to a person who was too nice for his own good.

Troyzan originally played in One World. He tried to fight against the women that season, but wasn’t successful. He appeared in the poll to potentially be part of Cambodia, but was rejected by the fans who voted on the cast. When he played this season, he picked a good ally. In fact, this ally was too good as Troyzan practically rode his coattails all the way to the end and was rejected by the jury as a result. First he was rejected by the fans in terms of the vote, then he was rejected by the jury in terms of the vote. He could work on being more likable. Main transition: From an arrogant player to a less arrogant, but still mostly irrelevant person.

Brad originally played in Blood Versus Water. He played with his wife who was voted off premerge her first season and became the second place contestant this season. How is that relevant? Well, in his first season, he became a premerge book after enough of his alliance turned on him. Like Troyzan, he was considered for Cambodia and not picked by the fans. This time around, he wanted to play like his wife who he frequently brought up. Ultimately it worked as he too went from premerge to second place. That was clearly not the result he wanted. Main transition: From a cocky player who didn’t make it far from a cocky player who did, yet still didn’t win.

Sarah played first in Cagayan and thought she held all the power, but didn’t. She thought that she could flip her way to a win, but someone else flipped and she was voted out as a result. The next time she played, she actually continued with her flipping back and forth only this time, it actually paid off. It can be a bit surprising that people knew this was going on, yet still gave her the win. Main transition: From a flipper who didn’t win to a flipper who did.

Contestant	Original season	Second season	Third season	Game Changers season
Ciera	Best	Average	Was Game Changers	Worst
Tony	Best	Was Game Changers	N/A	Worst
Caleb	Quickly left game	Was Game Changers	N/A	Irrelevant
Malcolm	Best	Most notable	Was Game Changers	Strangest exit
JT	Best	Dumbest	Was Game Changers	Worst
Sandra	Pretty good	Best	Was Game Changers	Good, but not good enough
Jeff Varner	Sadly short	Bad	Was Game Changers	Worst
Hali	Irrelevant	Was Game Changers	N/A	Villainy
Ozzy	Best	Shortest	Bad edit	Good again
Debbie	Same	Was Game Changers	N/A	Same
Zeke	Same	Was Game Changers	N/A	Same
Sierra	Same	Was Game Changers	N/A	Same
Andrea	Furthest	Almost nothing	Was Game Changers	Bad edit
Michaela	Shortest	Was Game Changers	N/A	Furthest
Cirie	Introduced	Going strong	Worst	Still good
Aubry	Entitled	Was Game Changers	N/A	Irrelevant
Tai	Bad villain	Was Game Changers	N/A	Too nice a person
Troyzan	Bad edit	Was Game Changers	N/A	Irrelevant
Brad	Shortest	Was Game Changers	N/A	Furthest
Sarah	Worst	Was Game Changers	N/A	Best

Well, there’s not much else to talk about besides that. I hope that you enjoyed this blog post. I’ll be back later with my next blog post at some point, probably still Wednesdays for now. Do you think that I did a good job comparing people from this season versus their previous season or seasons? I hope that you did. For now, this is Adam Decker, signing off.