Development of Winners at War Players

Well, it would only be a matter of time that I did this recurring post in this blog again. I have this trend of posting how some players did in various seasons that they did after a season with returning players or sometimes with other seasons that I find important where I write down comparisons of the games that they have played. Obviously, they would have played different games when they played different times. I’ll even share again stuff posted from the previous times I’ve done this when relevant to those players. I realize that I should do this with All-Stars. Hopefully that post will come soon before too long.

Before I get to the post, I should probably explain the order that I put people in. It wasn’t hard for me to think of an order even as edge of extinction kind of confused things a bit. If you don’t like the order, then that’s fine but I thought that I would stick with it myself.

Sandra thoughts: She seems to have taken the biggest hit this season among some fans, if not all of them. In her first season, she won more easily then you would expect while still proving that she was quite the competitor. In her second season, she pulled off an even more marvelous win by getting all the jury votes from the side she never even joined. By the time she reached her third season, however, she began to falter and got voted out for the first time on day 16. In her fourth season, she did the absolute worse she has ever done by sitting out most of the challenges and then getting blindsided with her own idol. To cap off her horrible game, she left without even trying to get back in. Is that really a legacy you want to leave behind? Main transition: From a great winner to a dumb player.

Original thoughts on Sandra after Game Changers: 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 [flashiest] 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.

Amber thoughts: The first time she played, she didn’t seem as good as she could have been. But she did do well enough to be considered for the first returning player season that wound up happening. When she played that, she wound up in a showmance with Rob and they wound up slaughtering the others and making it all the way to the final two together. Possibly being less hated than her now husband, she wound up winning the game this time around. Her connections with her husband wound up being what got her in trouble the next time around as she was out early and couldn’t win her way back into the game. But she is still a way better player than most people (including herself, apparently) would give her credit for. Main transition: From an underrated player to an underperforming player.

Danni thoughts: When she first played in Guatemala, she didn’t get as good a reception to her win as other fans do earnestly give her. She was and is a better player than people give her credit for. What is sad, however, is that she proved to be disposable this time around as she was voted out earlier instead of those that had better chances in the game this time around. Main transition: From a huge factor in the game to a non factor in the game.

Ethan thoughts: He was a popular winner and player the first time he played the game where he proved to be quite likable as a result. When he played the second time, he made it furthest out of all of the past winners on that season where they were worried that he would win again and voted him out. This time around, he was the victim of the old school versus new school rift that was going on. He might have even been at risk of being pulled from the game at some point. But he managed, even if he did not get back in the game in the end. Main transition: From a likable winner to a likable early boot.

Rob thoughts: There’s a whole lot that one can say or not say about Rob. When he first played, he made the merge but not the jury as he made too many enemies. The second time around, his villainous ways remained, but it got him only second place. The third time, he was more of a hero this time around, but his game was ultimately cut short in the end.

The fourth time, he finally won both a rematch against his rival from the previous season and the game itself, becoming the only runner-up thus far to win the game on another try at it. When he played the fifth time, he was too much of a threat and everyone knew it so they voted him out earlier than he could have been otherwise. While his edit was strong and it seemed like he could get back into the game, he fell short at both challenges. Thanks to the edge of extinction twist, he finally got to be on the jury. Main transition: From a huge villain to a bit of a lesser one.

Parvati thoughts: One of the most liked players and winners, she first appeared on Cook Islands where being on the wrong side of the numbers got her voted out and sent to the jury. The next time she played the game, her woman’s alliance got her all the way to the end and she won as a result. When she played a third time, she did so well that she might it all the way to the end again, only to get second place this time around. At the time, she had played the most days of any Survivor contestant. When she played this next time, she made it a bit further than other old school players, but she was ultimately on the wrong side of the numbers again and was voted out again. Does anyone know if she has the longest gap of time played between being voted out? It’s either her or Sandra. Main transition: From a wonderful winner to a wonderful vote out.

Yul thoughts: The first time he played, he became the first and I’m pretty sure still only Asian-American man to win the US version of Survivor. His win came after facing off against another well liked player and some might have thought less of him as a result, even if Ozzy got to play more as a result. When he played in this season, blah blah blah, old school player voted out by new school players, blah blah blah, and that is how we wound up where we are now. Main transition: From a struggling player who won to a struggling player who didn’t win.

Wendell thoughts: The first time he played, he very nearly might have lost had a tie-breaker gone a different way than it did in the end. He might come off as a surprise winner due to this. But he still had a lot to learn in general from this. It was after this when he played the next time and this time, his nature didn’t do him much good as he was voted out as a result. And all he wanted was to avoid losing a challenge. Main transition: From a cocky player who won to a cocky player that didn’t.

Adam thoughts: He was one of my favorite players the first around when he played the first time. While I liked other players that season, he won by more than just his mother’s story. This time around, he did not make much of a positive impression on people and he came off as a goof, but not the good kind. He did not have as much to his story and never seemed to have much of a path to victory. Main transition: From a wonderful player to kind of an oddball.

Tyson thoughts: One of only two people thus far to win on their third game, his first game had him go as far as the jury, being blindsided by his own alliance. The second time, a mistake with voting got him voted out by his own hand when he was manipulated to not splitting the votes the right way. The third time around, he had a much improved game and was able to win as a result. This fourth time, he did have some struggles as he was voted out, but won reentry. Sadly, he didn’t stay in the game that long the next time until he returned to the edge of extinction and couldn’t get back in the game again. Main transition: From a lovable goof to a more rounded player.

Original thoughts on Tyson after Blood versus Water: Tyson first appeared in Tocantins. He was one of two contestants to win individual immunity for no reason since a contestant was medically evacuated and no tribal council was held. I don’t really remember his time on Tocantins that well. Anyways, he returned as a villain in Heroes versus Villains and made a dumb move that got him voted out. He returned for this season, Blood versus Water, and played a much better game. Like Rupert, he lasted a long time in the game, although his injury wasn’t focused upon that much so I’m not even he had it that long. He might have recovered from it or he might have had it until day 39. Regardless, he played a great game and really deserved the win. So, he obvious did the best in this season. Main transition: From a dumb guy to a genius winner.

Sophie thoughts: The first time around, she came off as mean but yet won the game in the end even though it was hard to tell who might have even deserved to win after Edna left the game. Some think that she could have actually won this season, but I don’t see it. I couldn’t tell what she had going for her and wasn’t sure if she meant to be more of a floater this time around or if she just didn’t seem to have much to her game this time around. Main transition: From a mean winner to a forgettable player.

Kim thoughts: When she played the first time, she dominated so much that she faced no real danger in the game and didn’t face a bitter jury. She more or less had it locked at the final five unless she wasn’t in the game anymore, but she kept winning immunity at the end. I’m not sure what went wrong with her game this time around, other than it didn’t work out for her even though she lasted a long time in it. Main transition: From a great player who won to a great player that didn’t.

Jeremy thoughts: He could have done well the first time, but this ultimately didn’t happen as he was voted out right after his rival and they had no one left who seemed sure to win until they did. When he was voted back into the game the second time, he dominated and won every jury vote. This time when he played, he found himself on the wrong side of the numbers and only lasted longer once due to his ability to leave tribal council before voting. He didn’t seem as good this time around. Main transition: From a great player to a great threat to win again.

Original thoughts on Jeremy after Cambodia: Jeremy won this season and he could have won his last season if he weren’t such a power player. For some odd reason, nobody saw him as a threat and he coasted clear to the end. He’s the first winner whose only immunity challenge win was the last one. I do wonder if he played a perfect game, but I don’t think that he did. But I’m not sure what the difference is between his two seasons. I mean, he came off great in both seasons; he just only won this one. So I’ll have to say that he did better this season. Main transition: From a great player who didn’t win to a great player who did win.

Nick thoughts: The first time around, he was somehow able to overcome a lot of challenges, which seemed appropriate given the David versus Goliath theme that put him on the underdog tribe at the start of the game. He made it to the end and won against the other Goliaths that he fought against. In this time around, he was an underdog at the very end and it got him voted out as a result as his only remaining ally was immune instead of him. Main transition: From an underdog who won to an underdog who didn’t win.

Denise thoughts: You might not have been able to guess that someone who would have attended all of the tribal councils in a single season could have ended up winning the game in the end, but that is what she did. She was perhaps the ultimate underdog winner of any season thus far. This time around, she dethroned the “queen” and then faded into obscurity. She couldn’t survive any late game advantages and was voted out of the game as a result. Main transition: From a power winner to a player known for just one real move.

Ben thoughts: His first time around, he was able to find so many idols that many are convinced that he got help from production which I don’t believe. Still, his win was not without controversy due to a brand new way of doing the final four that no one could have known was going out outside of the people who did the show who wouldn’t have known at first that Ben would have even needed it. I still like and respect his win, even if it can seem shady. This time around, he made a move that maybe should have been on the dumbest moves of this season awards as he effectively wanted Sarah to prove that she could make a move if she were up against Tony. Main transition: From a hero that won to a hero that fell on his sword.

Sarah thoughts: She could have been a better player the first time around, but she was blindsided by her own ally early after the merge. The second time around, she was able to play a much better game and won as a result. This time around, she seemed overshadowed by other players even as she worked with her old ally again and they could have made it to the end together given a more normal final four. I do not see how she made it out of Tony’s shadow this time, although I’m sure she would have gotten a different edit if she did make it to the end. Main transition: From her own player to a sidekick.

Original thoughts on Sarah after Game Changers: 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.

Michele thoughts: I don’t think that she was a controversial winner the first time. Underappreciated is the word that I would use. She never went to tribal council until after the merge and proved that she was more of a threat to win. In my mind, she’s the only one in the final three that season who made since as a winner. This time around, she did complain too much about how fans feel about her and did not seem to make much of an impression as she didn’t get any jury votes. Main transition: From a great winner to a great whiner.

Natalie thoughts: Her game the first time around only seemed to pick up after Jeremy was voted out as she knew who to target and side with after her ally was gone, being able to win as a result. This time around, she became like her sister and was the first voted out of the game. But due to this, she made quite the influence on the rest of the game by finding tons of advantages. When she managed to get back in the game after the final reentry competition, she pulled what could have been an impressive and completely unexpected turnaround that might have gotten serious backlash had she won much like two seasons ago. But she only came in second, being only the second winner to come in second place when playing the game after her win. Main transition: From an unlikely winner to an unlikely finalist.

Tony thoughts: He just might be the king of Survivor now if we are to believe self labels like that. When he played the first time, he proved that villains can be likable and win the game. The second time, he messed up horribly and was voted out second. Learning from his mistakes, he did quite a good game this time around to the point of seeing the end again and winning again, becoming the richest winner thus far in all of Survivor, if only due to an increased payout this time around. Main transition: From a winner to a loser then back to a winner again.

Original thoughts on Tony after Game Changers: 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.

Contestant’s name	First season	Second season	Third season	Fourth season	Winners at War
Sandra	Great	Best	Bad	Was Winners at War	Worst
Amber	Better than most think	Best	Was Winners at War	N/A	Worst
Danni	Best	Was Winners at War	N/A	N/A	Worst
Ethan	Best	Not as good	Was Winners at War	N/A	Decent
Rob	Villainy	Better	Worst	Best	Decent
Parvati	Nice	Best	Pretty good	Was Winners at War	Worst
Yul	Best	Was Winners at War	N/A	N/A	Decent
Wendell	Best	Was Winners at War	N/A	N/A	Worst
Adam	Best	Was Winners at War	N/A	N/A	Worst
Tyson	Decent	Worst	Best	Was Winners at War	Pretty good
Sophie	Best	Was Winners at War	N/A	N/A	Worst
Kim	Best	Was Winners at War	N/A	N/A	Decent
Jeremy	Great	Best	Was Winners at War	N/A	Not as good
Nick	Best	Was Winners at War	N/A	N/A	Decent
Denise	Best	Was Winners at War	N/A	N/A	Obscure
Ben	Heroic	Was Winners at War	N/A	N/A	Sacrificial
Sarah	Worst	Best	Was Winners at War	N/A	Decent
Michele	Best	Was Winners at War	N/A	N/A	Lonely
Natalie	Best	Was Winners at War	N/A	N/A	Close, but no cigar
Tony	Great	Worst	Was Winners at War	N/A	Best

Well, that’s about it for this post. I might try to figure this out for All-Stars at some point in time. I never did this with the three returning players from Philippines and decided that I won’t go back and do that retroactively yet as there’s no current reason for me to do that anyways. There are many other seasons that I could do at some point in time, but won’t just yet as I’m either not interested or don’t yet see a point in it. Plus, there are a lot of seasons that haven’t been made yet that are certain to have returning players in them. I look forward to them. For now, this is Adam Decker, signing off.

Ranking the Winners

After the all winner season happened, I thought to myself that it might finally be time for me to share my ranking of the winners thus far while rearranging them a bit to make sure that they are in a good order that I like. I’ve seen maybe something like this on that one facebook group that I talk about from time to time, but thought that I would do my own in this blog myself.

First, I need to get to sharing the rules and other criteria for this post. You might wonder if I should consider the two players who won twice separately. I will not as they were the same person in both of their separate wins. I am also largely only focusing on the season or seasons that they won and not any other seasons that they might have played. Some of this will be based just on how much I like or don’t like a winner, but will also consider other factors like number of jury votes and more important things like that. For your convenience, I will separate this into different sections. I won’t say that none of them deserved to win, but that doesn’t mean I have to like them. I will start at the worst in my mind and work my way up to the top.

The bad winners

Brian is my lowest ranked winner because I hate how someone as despicable as him could actually win the game. Can you believe that someone who put on such an obvious villain persona and wasn’t above screwing his own allies over still got four jury votes, which was all he needed to win.

Sophie isn’t someone that I hated as much when she played the second time, but I still wasn’t fond of her first season. I felt she was awful and don’t think that it was just my sister’s original hatred of her also rubbing off on me. She remains the most recent winner that I didn’t really like. Even in the finale, it was hard to understand why someone with an edit as bad as hers was about to win the game.

Vecepia was too much of a floater for me when she played the game and that wasn’t something that I could get behind originally back then. She was the first winner that I didn’t really like as much. I may yet some around on her, but it was hard for me to accept someone as villainous and somehow who flipped so much while also not seeming to do much throughout the game actually winning it in the end.

Danni might not have been that bad a winner to other people, but to me, it didn’t seem like she had done that much to get to where she was. She voted out Rafe at the final three after he dumbly voided his deal with her at the end. She faced a horrible villain that time in the game and won easily, but it was still hard to see what she did in the end.

Todd has dealt with a lot of personal struggles in his life so I hope that he doesn’t see this post. I don’t think that he’s a bad person outside of the game. I just found it hard to get behind his win when it seemed like he was not doing as well as he could be with it.

Aras didn’t even get to vote out his number one thorn in his side and only seemed to win based on a move that another player made. After Terry was voted out, one couldn’t see much else that he did to deserve the win other than not be as hated as the other player in the game who could win. One could say that they got rid of the final two as a result of his win.

Chris Underwood might be the most recent winner to garner the ire of tons of other players in the game as he hadn’t gotten as far as he could have without a brand new twist benefiting him while also having the edge of having knowledge of what the jury members wanted or didn’t want from other players. He only avoids getting a worse place on the list by personally taking out who would have almost certainly won otherwise in the game and can at least say he did something.

The average or acceptable winners

Boston Rob could have been a much better winner had he gotten it under other circumstances. Instead, he got too much of an edge over a bunch of noobs who were star struck by him to the point of letting him dance circles around them and walk all over them. Still, even if one doesn’t like how easy the win of his season came to him, you have to admit that he had a strong social game and deserved every bit of what he got in the end.

Bob is the oldest winner thus far and made it easily by sticking with his alliance in the end. He isn’t that much higher on the list as he isn’t that really a standout of a winner and he could have done more to impress the general public. Still, I felt that he did a better job than the others in the final three his season and was a pretty deserving winner in the end.

Amber ranks at least higher than her husband because she had a harder time getting to the win and had to deal with the fact that her husband was quite the capable player, even if she was slightly more liked by those in the jury that season. She didn’t piss off as many people and had an edge.

Yul was a very smart and capable person the season that he won. He largely had to deal with the fact that another very capable player, Ozzy, was also playing a good game that impressed so much of the jury in the end. I may have wished that Ozzy won that season instead and might have some issues then with Yul as a result. But I still think Yul wasn’t as bad as he could otherwise be ranked.

Natalie Anderson may not have been the most likable person at the start of the game, but she was more than respected by the end of her season by what she was able to do in the end. She may not have been that star a winner and it may not have even been obvious to some that she would even make it as far as she did. But many people would have to agree that no one else should have won that season.

Ben benefitted from a lot of idols and other advantages in the game such as a brand new final four format that no one had ever heard of or knew would happen before. But they are forgetting how much he deserved the win and did well in certain parts of the game while ignoring that he wasn’t the target as much as some points as he could be.

John Cochran might be hated by a lot of people still, but did play a pretty decent game the second time around. He proved that he could be a great player and work with others. He was never once the target at a vote and he did get all of the jury members to vote for him in the end.

The better winners

Nick thankfully didn’t need a revised final four format to save him as he won the final immunity and was able to do pretty well against the Goliaths in the game. He could have easy been the first one out of the game were it not for a freak accident. But he is a great player and I don’t think that he got the level of hatred that many winners of today get.

Kim was wonderful and had a tribe of men totally self destruct even when they had an even lead in the game. By the time that the final five had started, there probably wasn’t a way that she couldn’t win the season in the end and she was wonderful as a result.

Parvati is quite the great player and inspired tons of others to want to be like her. At one point, she had played more days than any other player in the game as she did quite well in the game.  Could she do better in future seasons? I guess we’ll see.

Earl was the first person to win a unanimous jury vote, a feat that has rarely been duplicated by even the best players that came afterwards. He might have benefited from going up against hated people in the end but more than deserved his win, if not a higher place on this list.

Wendell won a tie-breaker in a way that no other player had before. He knew what to do in order to have certain alliances in the game take him where he needed to be and have another player blunder as much as he did in the end.

Mike may not have been the first winner to possess an idol, but he was the first one to have an idol save him from certain elimination. His struggles against the axis of evil made his public enemy number one, but he did manage to not only overcome them, but also get a lot of their jury votes to win in the end. And the fans were all ready to vote him into the next season.

Michele is hated by some people, but she shouldn’t wonder why people don’t like her when she played such a great and exceptional game in the end, being able to oust the right people and being seated with others who did somehow have a great chance at winning the game. She deserved her win and was such a great winner in my mind that she ranks this high to me.

Tommy Sheehan may not have had a flashy game or seemed to do that much as a lot of focus on who was doing well his season was shot on a lot of short term wonders with him doing poorly in the edit, but not bad with the jury. He wasn’t duped by things or too eccentric and he could prove himself to be a good player if he ever returns to play again.

Jenna might be the first winner that many fans hate, but she was also the first winner who got a landslide vote that became so common in the future that many forget that no one had done it before her. Even her number one enemy voted for her to win the game.

Fabio doesn’t have a lot of fans supporting him and has a questionable win status since he won by only one vote and both of the quitters that season voted for him, but I quite like him and think that he did as well as he could considering all that went on that season.

The great winners

Natalie White is also highly underrated by all those who are delusional enough to think that Russell Hantz was somehow a better player than her. She helped arrange a blindside and got this person to give his support for her. From being on a tribe that truly sucked before the merge to knowing how to get rid of the other tribe’s members in the end, she also knew that others wouldn’t want her allies to win and she got quite a good win as a result.

Tyson may be the only three time player to have won thus far, but it was quite an impressive win. He got his revenge when the other tribe voted out his then girlfriend (now wife, I think) by doing all the he needed to in order to get to the end of the game and win it in the end.

Jeremy was doing wonderfully the first time until his tribe mates had the sense to get rid of him and he was voted out as a result. The next time, the players never had the sense to get rid of him. He did so well that it wasn’t too hard to think of a better ranking for him.

Sandra may be a two time winner, but there were other winners that I liked more than her in the end. She got rid of all the heroes and got every single one of their votes in the end. She was great the first time as well playing the game. And I think that this is where she belongs.

The top ten

Sarah knew how to embrace her inner villain in the end when she won, being able to manipulate all the other players in the game. I couldn’t tell if they wanted her to have the best edit when she won as I wasn’t sure if they wanted her to come off as that great a person in the end. Did that make sense? Oh, well. I think that her ranking works as starting the top ten.

Richard was the first ever winner and sort of invented many of the great aspects of the game that we saw in the end and still see today like alliances in the end and very other great parts of it. Some say that he did the game best.

Adam was such a wonderful player that even without his poor mother’s health, he still would have done well in the game in my mind. Can you think of someone who got as well as he did without the benefit of an usually high number of people on the jury?

Tom Westman could only be voted out of the game three times as he won immunity for his tribe or himself tons of times in the game. He was well liked and couldn’t really be that bad a person for others which is why he did as well as he did.

Chris Daughetry had to deal with surviving as the last man on a tribe of six other women and he was able to outsmart them all into lasting as long as he did in the game. Quite the player, he did such a good game that it is shocking that he hasn’t been asked back.

Tina was quite a good player with her tribe largely doing bad at some parts in the early game, only for her to manage to do well despite voting everyone out of the game successfully. I don’t think that we saw someone as well as her being as nice as she was, even if she was sly and managed to fool others into thinking that she was as nice as she was.

The Mount Rushmore of Winners

Denise attended every tribal council and played with every player in her season (only three others in the fourth season played with every other player, I think, in a normal season that had tribes at the start) and could be considered a huge legend in the game due to this feat. Who could be on a tribe that did as bad all the time and yet still prove to be a good player deserving of the win in the end? She is.

JT played a perfect game so to speak. He was and remains very likable that first time he played and was very well liked among everyone including, possibly, Stephen Fishbach fans. It is hard to think of a man or woman who had as great a first game as other winners like him have.

Tony proved that you can be a hardcore villain and win not just once but twice that way. His third time that he played redeemed his terrible second time by more than a lot. It might have been hard for me to see that he’d be doing well, but I like what happened with his game and think that he may be the most likable villain and best villain who ever played the game.

Ethan is my favorite winner still to this day even if he never made it as far as he could have other times he played the game. He is one of the most likable winners in the game and was quite the hero in the end. I’m glad that he’s still alive and hope that he lives for years to come.

That’s about it for this post. Sorry that it was as lately posted as it was today as I really need to get to writing all that I need to in order to publish it and might not have even had a post at all if I didn’t live in the time zone that I do. I don’t expect it to make as much sense to others. I hope that you liked this post, even if you don’t agree with a lot or any of it. For now, this is Adam Decker, signing off.

Has Jeff Gone Soft on Quitters?

I had thought about doing this post for a while now, but wasn’t entirely sure when I’d do it or how much there was to include in this theory of mine. I think that Jeff Probst isn’t treating quitters as hardly as he should be or used to at times. I will delve more into this theory of mine.

You see, it was only inevitable at some point that people would start quitting the game. I don’t think that anyone would let themselves be part of the show with the idea of quitting in the end. But maybe some do as they want on for a variety of reasons, such as simply promoting themselves. We didn’t have an official quitter until Pearl Islands where it seemed like Jeff was so angry at Osten over the idea that he was going to quit that Osten’s quit was more or less forced as a result. I mean, the whole tribe said that they were going to vote him out and Jeff forwent the vote that would have gone forward in plenty of other seasons before and after it so that his exit was officially a quit.

Jeff might have soften on quitters a bit when Jenna left to be with her dying mother only to be confused by them once Sue left. Janu was a crazy quitter to make it further than any one before her. She also started the terrible precedent that quitters got to be on the jury. Kathy had similar issues to Janu which lead her to quit. But what might be the biggest slap to the face to everyone was when NaOnka and Kelly Shin left right after each other very far into the game. One would think that there might never be more quitters again after that.

It wasn’t that long until Dana played a season and quit. But many wouldn’t see it as that plus it changed the definition of Gary’s exit from Fiji which was never seen as a quit before. She made quitting seem okay again. But there were still issues with it to come.

When Colton played the second time, he ultimately quit for reasons that don’t seem to make as much sense in the edit and came off as making him look even worse as a person than he did before. But this might have been the last time that Jeff was ever mad or upset at someone for quitting. He went soft on quitters from the very next season onward.

When Lindsey quit, Jeff just seemed to understand whatever strange thing she was going to as she didn’t want to stay in the game after the vote out where Cliff was eliminated from the game. But what made me convinced that Jeff was soft on quitters was when Julie quit in the very next season. She had nothing going for her and the other players hated her. Then there was some disagreement with food and she up and left. But Jeff didn’t chastise her for her pathetic decision. He seemed to agree with her in the end. What was up with that?

Bi’s exit was pretty much a nonfactor on Jeff as he didn’t have any tense feelings about it in the end. While he has yet to be present for a new quit, others have happened, albeit with players who were already voted out of the game first. But they still quit.

Sandra’s quit seems to have split the Survivor fans into two halves much like the series finale of How I Met Your Mother split up fans of that show. What should be a simple willing exit from the game is no such thing in the end as Jeff tweeted that he didn’t think that she quit. This is how soft he has gotten on quitters of the show. He refuses to even admit that a Survivor legend couldn’t handle even trying to get back in the game, even though tons of other players who didn’t have a chance of winning their way back into the game still stuck it out until that point. She did quit and he refuses to admit it. He has gone soft on quitters and that tweet is all the proof you need to know that he has.

There’s not too much else to say in this post. I think that Jeff has gone soft on quitters when he just shouldn’t be giving people terrible ideas like that. There are a lot of things that he has done wrong and is doing wrong in the game, but this isn’t something that he should be doing. If you go soft on quitters, they will think that quitting is okay and it will keep happening season after season. I hope that he gets to be better with them if one terrible one happens in the end again. He shouldn’t be soft on quitters. For now, this is Adam Decker, signing off.

Survivor: Winners at War Finale

Something that I will wonder about in the future is the future airdates of Survivor. In a normal year, they would have already filmed the next season. I don’t know yet if the normal fall season will happen like it normally would at some point. I’ll see what the announced schedule will be in the future and if they end up being able to stick with it in the long run. I’ll do an announcement more at the end of this blog post about what the future of this blog will hold in the near future.

Something else I wonder as we go into the finale is this: could the winner be on the edge of extinction? I wouldn’t think so, but I didn’t think that last time except for the part when Rick was on the edge. At one point, Rob and then Adam had the highest confessional count of those in the game. I would think that it is possible, but unlikely that a voted out player would win the game this time around. Maybe it could happen, but I don’t currently see it. As for who would return, Rob seems the most likely guess for me right now even if Adam and Jeremy have more confessionals. If it isn’t one of those three, then I doubt that they will make it to the end.

Last time they did the edge of extinction, they didn’t do it as well due to all the crazy ways that they did the advantages. I think that the fire tokens improved the edge of extinction, but I wouldn’t want to see them normally in a season without it. They get too close to making it like bribes which are against the very rules of Survivor itself.

Due to the strange way that the reunion show will be done this year, I will not be doing points at the reunion show that I have often done in previous seasons. It doesn’t make sense to do them this time around. But enough of my ramblings.

In the first segment of the show, Jeff talks to the audience introducing the show to us. I like how they got a nice set in his garage. Tribal council for dummies. That would make a good book. It should be required reading for every new player so they don’t make dumb mistakes that are often made. Jeff says that so much is going on, there won’t be room for a reunion show.

Going into the show, we see the challenge set up. The final five gets to watch the challenge. This will be the last time that these people will gather from the edge of extinction. They will then be sent to the jury. There is a lot of rope for this challenge. Some people have advantages with Natalie the only one having more than one. Despite not doing as well with her advantages, Natalie wins her way back into the game. And you thought that Chris Underwood getting back in was a problem. She was the first one out.

Kim talks after the challenge about how she screwed things up, but was still glad that she did it. Tyson thinks that his whole life has been Survivor. No one’s whole life has been Survivor. Not even Jeff’s or Mark Burnett’s. Amber says that she was here for her husband. She wasn’t sure that she deserved her win and felt that she only won since people hated Rob. Lex hated Rob most to give her the win, but she shouldn’t sell herself short. Parvati is asked why she left her “swishy” child behind to play. Is he going through all the contestants? He asks Ethan about his struggles with cancer and stand up to cancer. The money sent to it created the drug that saved his life. They leave and the final six is formed. Jeff talks to us one last time before the votes are read. We are shown footage of all the players talking to us about their journey thus far. I’m not going to count this in the confessional count.

In the second segment of the show, Natalie returns to camp. Is this the same one she was on? She has a huge feat in front of her. It could be so huge that it’s a yard long. Natalie wants to lie and says that it is Tony that everyone likes. Sarah thinks that Tony wouldn’t have gotten as far without her. She wants them to know that a man isn’t calling the shots here.

In the third segment of the show, we get to the next challenge. It is for immunity, of course. Michele struggles at the early part of the challenge, getting lapped by Natalie at one point. But she is the first of all of them to solve a layer of the puzzle despite being the last to start it. She won with this puzzle the first time that she played this game. And she wins the challenge again, destroying her success the moment it is done. Tony is worried that Natalie has an advantage or idol. He is right this time. But it is not the same as last time nor was she guaranteed it. And she won’t have to split it.

In the fourth segment of the show, Tony is worried that Natalie has an idol, but Ben is more worried that not too much is going on. He is more concerned about powering through too much and not learning from what he did wrong in the game before. Splitting the votes is brought up, with Natalie and Denise being brought up as the targets. Michele is told by Natalie about her idol. They want to work together to make sure that they control the game. Do both Tony and Ben have idols? Sarah isn’t worried about a potential idol by Natalie and refuses to believe that one would exist as she is convinced that Natalie would have told her and that she knows what is going on. This has to be ironic foreshadowing. The next act is tribal council.

In the fifth segment of the show, people talk about Natalie’s entrance back into the game and how it might affect everything else. Natalie admits that she told people that Tony was running the game. Sarah talks about gender biases and how she thinks that she won’t be defeated by it. How can one run seven marathons on seven continents in seven days? That doesn’t seem possible. Ben thinks that a woman can do everything that a man can do. They can do more. Men can’t have babies. And we wouldn’t have a human race anymore if men did. Jeff admits that he might form a better relationship with men. Jeff thinks that someone has to find a crack and take advantage of it. I think that is called sodomy. Tony also says that they are fighting the invisible person long before covid19 was known to the world.

After the votes are cast, Natalie plays an idol. Tony then plays his. Ben plays his after that. Sarah and Denise are the only people that can be voted for after all the votes are nulled. A tie-breaker would be with fire if there is a tie. Denise has all the votes against her at a revote and she’s voted out. Did they really not air a confessional of hers this episode? Who in a finale gets voted out without any confessionals of them aired?

In the sixth segment of the show, Tony is upset over the vote as the idols are taken out. He then goes looking for a new idol. He’s doing a midnight special. Let the midnight special, shine a light on me. He comes up short looking for it. It is Natalie who finds it in the end. Ben is convinced that they are screwed if either Michele or Natalie found the idol and the other wins immunity.

In the seventh segment of the show, we get to the next immunity challenge. Michele struggles at it again, but does not pull a come from behind victory this time. Tony wins. Ben is unsure who should be targeted as he is worried (rightfully) that Natalie has an idol that could blow things up. Now he’s the one who is worried about Ben bombs going off at tribal council. More irony.

In the eighth segment of the show, Natalie wants to know who to target to break up the threesome. Tony tries to figure out what to do and hides in his spy nest again. Sarah lures Natalie to the spot. After talking for an hour, Natalie’s idol is revealed. Natalie wants to vote out Ben. Ben is okay with being voted out if it will help Sarah win and prove that she wasn’t dragged along to the end. Will she do it? Sarah has to make a big decision and she isn’t sure what to do.

In the ninth segment of the show, we got to the tribal council at hand. Jeff talks about how they might have gone through too much of a quick pace in this game. There is personal scrutiny going in their lives based on how they will be portrayed this season. The people at home only see the good and not the bad in the game. Thus, there are issues with how things are portrayed. Ben thinks that tonight is about being brave in the game. Michele talks about being against the alliance. Natalie plays the idol for herself. The votes cast are between Ben and Michele with Ben getting most of the votes and getting voted out of the game as a result.

In the tenth segment of the show, we go immediately to the next immunity challenge. So far, everyone who has won the challenge won the game, even if only one of the four competing right now won the final immunity challenge. Tony loses the challenge first, leaving the women left to duke it out. Sarah is then the next one out of the challenge. Michele loses next and Natalie wins as a result. Tony thinks that his fate will now come down to fire.

In the eleventh segment of the show, Tony teaches Sarah how to make fire. Michele works on doing it herself. Who will Natalie chose? She might risk it by sending her ally Michele into the fold to face Tony instead of having Sarah impress the jury by beating Tony. Tony doesn’t seem to be trying to face it as well as he could be. Natalie likes being in this position. We get to this tribal council at hand where we learn that Sophie isn’t feeling well and won’t be at this tribal council. That hasn’t happened since Paschal couldn’t attend a tribal council all the way back in the fourth season.

Natalie talks about how she made it to the end. Sarah wants them to shoot at each other than have one of them shot by someone else. Natalie brings Michele to the end as she wants to keep her ally safe in the game. Sarah has issues when drinking water. They get ready for the challenge and they go to commercial next.

In the twelfth segment of the show, we get to the fire making challenge. It seems at one point that Sarah has it locked, but her fire fizzles out at some point. Tony winds up winning it and an emotional Sarah talks about their bond after it is over.

In the thirteenth segment of the show, the final three gather together for their Survivor breakfast. Michele still can’t see how she was supposed to win the first time around. I don’t know what people saw in Aubry. She thinks that she is still a good player despite these hardships. Natalie thinks that although she had a hard time in the game, she can still win in the end. I don’t think that she has the advantage that Chris Underwood had. But she could surprise us. Tony is worried that he might be facing bitter people in the jury. He is hoping that he can be the king of Survivor. Just know that despite what the producers of Survivor or others on the show think, king is just a label you give yourself. We then see the people gather at tribal council. It is the first final tribal council in the rain.

Jeff talks about how they have had a great season thus far. They start with the outwit part of the game. Yul starts things out by wanting them to fill in the missing gaps and Denise wants them to admit any missteps or flaws in their social game. Natalie admits that she got voted out and had missteps as a result of not knowing what to expect. Michele thinks that she didn’t do things well with Wendell. Tony thinks that he had to play a vicious game. Ben thinks that he could test his loyalty. But Jeremy thinks that his game was weak. Adam thinks that Natalie crushed the edge of extinction part of the game. Rob thinks that many of the jury members were isolated by Natalie. She didn’t know if she wanted to tell those in the game about what was going on. She admits that she has a strong personality.

Parvati is glad that Natalie isn’t apologetic. Others are wondering how Tony avoided being a target when he played the game. Wendell wants Michele to speak to the outwit in her game. She found cracks and wants to move within the cracks. She is sitting here despite not seeming that bad and Ben respects that she did a good game since he understands being controversial.

Moving on to the outplay portion of the game, Natalie explains that she sent a lot of advantages to the game and did a lot of things. People talk about how they won challenges to stay in the game. All of them had won an immunity challenge in the game. Natalie talks about why she didn’t want to face Tony in the fire making part of the game. Michele talks about her advantage from the edge.

Jeff gives them final words in the outlast portion of the game. Natalie talks about how she did what she did and was able to do what she did after coming back from the edge. Michele talks about how she had changed from the previous season to this one. She thinks that she played with as good a hand as she could have when she was dealt with it. Tony talks about how he changed who he was during the game and how he make sure that people didn’t vote for him. No one voted against him, right? That’s what he thinks, although I haven’t done a running tally of what’s going on thus far in terms of who got votes. People on the jury talk about how they like what the others did in the game. The only thing that is left is declaring who wins the war in the end. Who will the jury vote for?

Total confessional count: Tony- 44, Ben- 32, Michele- 25, Sarah- 26, Denise- 15; Natalie- 23, Amber- 16, Danni- 13, Ethan- 13, Rob- 24, Parvati- 17, Yul- 14, Wendell- 12, Adam- 26, Tyson- 21, Sophie- 17, Kim- 13, Jeremy- 25, Nick- 16. New confessionals this episode: Ben- 4, Michele- 4, Sarah- 3, Denise- 0, Tony- 9; Natalie- 7, Amber- 0, Danni- 0, Ethan- 0, Rob- 0, Parvati- 0, Yul- 0, Wendell- 0, Adam- 0, Tyson- 0, Sophie- 0, Kim- 0, Jeremy- 0, Nick- 0.

In the fourteenth segment of the show, we get to people casting their votes on the jury. Votes are seen for both Natalie and Tony, but not Michele. Michele thinks that this was the longest season ever. But it wasn’t. Australia was. Everyone knows that. Jeff talks to the final three and family is invited in. Tony is now the king of Survivor by getting the second two time win in Survivor history, improving on his second game quite a lot. Jeff talks about the upcoming season and how it hasn’t been filmed yet. We’ll see what happens with that and if something happens. The show ends here with no other gatherings of those who were in the game.

There wasn’t really a reunion show this time around. I hope that this is the only time that they don’t have a real reunion show. They could have done more with it even with the limited amount that they could do. If things go back to normal, we can only hope that they won’t put so much finale in the last episode and we’ll see the actual reunion part again. I think that they used covid19 to get rid of the reunion show since they don’t like it or don’t care about it as much as they should.

Let’s get to the three dumbest moves of the season. The bronze will go to production for adding too many advantages to the game, making the season harder to track. The silver will go to Sophie for not playing her idol and getting voted out of the game as a result. The gold will go to Sandra for trusting Denise and getting blindsided with her own idol.

Now we will get to the most memorable moment of the season. I think that Sandra’s blindside might be the best part of the season as it should out more than anything else throughout all of the craziness in the game. Thus, it is the most memorable part of the season as a result.

Let’s get to ranking the tribe swap of this season versus others. I will put it as 9^th out of the 31 that I have mentioned thus far this season. It was done better than a lot of them, but not as well as some of the others were. Still, I liked this switch a lot more than others.

Now it is time to rank this season against all the others. I know that a lot of people like this season, or that’s what they’d have us believe. I wouldn’t rank this as the best. But I would rank it as 15^th best of all 40 seasons of the show thus far. It was pretty good, if not top ten.

I have no idea yet when the next season will be or even if it will be during the fall as usual or even later than that. I also don’t know yet when I’ll be back with more Survivor: Gabon episodes. I do have to catch up with some posts in the future to replace what was deleted. You will know that I am caught up when you see posts on Survivor: Gabon again. Until then, expect updates on both Sundays and Wednesdays until things go back to normal again. I should hopefully have another old season to blog about in the future if all goes well. I will have to check the status on that. I will see you in the future with more posts of this blog and old seasons before the new one starts. For now, this is Adam Decker, signing off.

Episode 40.13

When I was on the addicted to Survivor facebook group recently, I noticed that there was a discussion that basically boiled down to this: did Sandra quit? I might have commented in the thread, only after seeing someone else say, “This tired discussion again?” I figured that it wasn’t worth addressing there. But it is worth talking about here. Sandra was a great player in other seasons. This season was her worst ever game. It was even worse than the last time. She sat out so much and got blindsided with her own idol. Then, she did quit. It may not have been the same type of quit as other seasons without the edge of extinction twist to it, but she chose to leave the game. She didn’t even last as long as Wendy did two seasons ago and Wendy actually tried to get back in the game once.

Fire token count: Jeremy- 1, Ben- 0, Michele- 1, Sarah- 3, Denise- 6, Tony- 3, Nick- 3; Natalie- 8, Amber- 0, Danni- 0, Ethan- 0, Rob- 0, Parvati- 6, Yul- 2, Wendell- 2, Adam- 0, Tyson- 2, Sophie- 2, Kim- 0; Tony- regular idol, Jeremy- maybe still the coin flip advantage?

In the first segment of the show, we return to Koru. Michele talks about how Jeremy didn’t play the advantage and how everyone knows about it now. She brought a butter knife to a gun fight. Jeremy doesn’t know why people are going after him. Why are most people targeted after the merge? Because they are threats to win, that’s why. Jeremy doesn’t want his game to come down to a 50/50 flip. Denise is done with the old way of doing things. She wants to come up with tattoos. She needs to endure and let go. Both of those things are okay.

Tony and Jeremy have a disagreement on work and what counts as a week. I don’t get this. It is the lions versus the hyenas. Be prepared! Tony talks about his alliance with Sarah and his desire to go all the way to the end with her. She is unsure of how to handle Ben. She also wants Nick voted out of the game next. Ben talks about this plan with Tony. The plan is blowing up. What will happen and who is the target? Will we even know for sure?

In the second segment of the show, we get to an immunity challenge. Already? Michele is emotional over how terrible she did at the challenge. Nick wins with Tony being bested by a puzzle again. Denise needs to figure out what the plan b is.

In the third segment of the show, Ben wonders what to do and tries to figure out who to target. It seems that he is trying to sow discord among the others. Michele wants to play her advantage on herself. Ben tries to play both sides and the target might be him now when Michele and Jeremy figure this out. Tony wants to vote out Jeremy instead. They want to split the votes and hope that it works. Sarah is still a bit worried about Nick. He has to figure out what he can do to win this game.

In the fourth segment of the show, we get to the tribal council at hand. Jeff talks about how Michele struggled at the challenge. Ben talks about how people present themselves on the show. Nick thinks that it is tough to play the game. People have to betray others. What can one do to better themselves as humans when they get home? Michele can’t trust people back at home. In fact, tons of people have all the trust issues after they played. Jeremy thinks that everyone has their own idea of what a group is. It takes this long to bring up the 50/50 coin. Michele claims that this is the last day it can be played. Denise isn’t sure if she can trust her place in the game. Everyone without immunity is nervous. Jeff goes to get the vote and we go to commercial.

In the fifth segment of the show, Jeff asks if idols want to be played or not. Michele decides to play her advantage. Michele plays her advantage on herself and not Jeremy or anyone else. She gets the safe option and votes against her don’t count as a result. Jeremy is voted out, something that would have happened without Michele’s advantage going the way it did still played on herself. He gives his fire tokens to Michele.

Ben talks about how the old Western showdown occurred. I do believe that I put the good, the bad, and the ugly in a previous post in this blog. Nick and Michele talk to each other and they look to form an alliance. Well, she does, at least. She wants to kick it into high gear and go out fighting. She wants to do all sorts of crazy things to survive. She thinks that she is the next target and talks to Sarah about it. She wants to throw a hail Mary, queen of grace, the Lord is with thee. Is that how it goes? Sarah thinks that Michele should be voted out and talks about how Michele is trying to stay in the game.

Back on the edge of extinction, everyone gets a scoop of rice. Jeremy talks about wanting to get back into this game. Yul brings a new message to the group and people run off right after it. Here we go! They all run after the stone in question. Wendell is ahead, but keeps going. Natalie knew where to look and then finds the advantage in question. She has to give this disadvantage to someone in the game and they will give it to someone else once they get it.

Nick gets it, but it will cost him 8 fire tokens, 2 more than he has. Why does Nick think that Tony has no tokens? He got them from winning the challenges in the game. He wants to ask Michele for two of hers. They have to figure out who to play it on in the end.

In the sixth segment of the show, we get to the next immunity challenge at hand. This is the last time that fire tokens can be played and the last time people in the game will get it. Ben gets the disadvantage in the game. Jeff thinks that you can go from last to first in this challenge. Doesn’t he mean that the other way around? I guess that character is character. Michele wins the challenge. She is glad that she can win since everyone wants to target her or thinks that she can’t win.

In the seventh segment of the show, they have to go with plan b again. Denise wants to go a good will gesture since she thinks that she is the target. She wants to make sure that there are no other surprises. Ben wants to vote out Nick since Nick is causing chaos around camp. Ben feels safe and doesn’t want to play an idol. Since when did he have an idol? Nick wants to work together with Tony. Tony wants to get rid of Ben himself. He hides in his spy nest when Sarah and Denise talk to each other. He wants to get rid of Denise now as a result. They can’t do a logical plan this season. Denise slayed queen Sandra. I don’t think that the queen remains queen.

In the eighth segment of the show, we get to the next tribal council in the game. Michele talks about her win and how she felt that she needed it. One should never let one know when one is in trouble, at least according to Jeff. He talks to Ben about his disadvantage and wonders who did it. The very next person that he talks to about who to target is Nick. Sarah wonders what will go on with the game. The fire tokens changed the game a lot, but also, not as much as they could have. I don’t yet hate the twist at this moment, but don’t know what else it could still do.

Ben thinks that fear that takes over is like a lion coming out of the cage. Denise talks about her food gesture. She doesn’t want to go, but can only do so much in the game. She doesn’t want to do the cat and mouse. Neither do Survivor producers. They banned that challenge after it appeared the first and only time in Micronesia, causing the injury that lead to Jonathan being evacuated. Jeff goes to tally the votes and the show once again goes to commercial.

In the ninth segment of the show, no one plays an idol and Jeff reads the votes as a result. Nick is then voted out of the game. Someone will win their way back into the game next. Everyone talks about what they hope to be their last day on the edge of extinction. Amber hates this place, yet is going to miss leaving it in the end. Things are simple there. Rob points out that the idol he purchased is still good. They want to use their fire tokens for an advantage in the challenge. They can get whatever they want to with the fire tokens that they can spend. Natalie got all of the advantages that she could and bought an idol for Tyson in case he gets back in the game. He isn’t sure that he felt that type of motivation from anyone in the game before.

Jeff gives more of a promo of what is going on, talking about who is in the game thus far. Natalie was the first out of the game. This is a recap. Apparently, since they went without one for so long, that means that they have to play one at some point. All of the old school players were voted out. Those who lived on the edge had to deal with a ton of hardships. I don’t even know what to write now so I might as just let this weirdness happen. Next week is the finale of the show.

On the next Survivor, there are more problems with players. The battle isn’t over. We end this by having the players not on the edge talk about the fact that others are coming back to compete with one of them heading back into the game next.

Total confessional count: Michele- 21, Sarah- 23, Denise- 15, Tony- 35, Nick- 16, Jeremy- 25, Ben- 28; Natalie- 16, Amber- 16, Danni- 13, Ethan- 13, Rob- 24, Parvati- 17, Yul- 14, Wendell- 12, Adam- 26, Tyson- 21, Sophie- 17, Kim- 13. New confessionals this episode: Sarah- 5, Denise- 4, Tony- 5, Nick- 4, Jeremy- 3, Ben- 6, Michele- 5; Natalie- 3, Amber- 1, Danni- 1, Ethan- 1, Rob- 1, Parvati- 1, Yul- 1, Wendell- 2, Adam- 0, Tyson- 3, Sophie- 0, Kim- 0.

Since fire tokens aren’t important after this episode, I won’t be talking about them in the finale or again in this post. I won’t remind you of the count of it as a result. I think that the most important thing to note going into this finale is the confessional count going into it. The highest of those in the game is Tony with 35. The highest of those on the edge of extinction is Adam with 26. The lowest of those in the game is Denise with 15. The lowest of those on the edge of extinction is Wendell with 12. Going back into the reentry competition, only Adam, Sophie, and Kim had no new confessionals this episode. I do not know what else there still is to gather from this so I will let you go until the finale. For now, this is Adam Decker, signing off.