Survivor S40: Winners at War

PUSH

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Damn! They’ll probably put the new Amazing Race in that time slot.
Yep, that's exactly what they're doing. I'm just hoping at this point that season 41 will be ready to go in the spring. I worry for what a year off of Survivor could do... I know it still gets top ratings on Wednesday nights, but still. A year off is not good.
 

artvandelay

Well-Known Member
Yep, that's exactly what they're doing. I'm just hoping at this point that season 41 will be ready to go in the spring. I worry for what a year off of Survivor could do... I know it still gets top ratings on Wednesday nights, but still. A year off is not good.
True.
I’m waiting to see if they can do Big Brother this summer. Two weeks ago I thought it would happen. Now, I’m not too sure.
 

PUSH

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
True.
I’m waiting to see if they can do Big Brother this summer. Two weeks ago I thought it would happen. Now, I’m not too sure.
I'm not a BB person. It feels very silly to me. Survivor, while I know it's a very edited and produced show, feels so much more real and serious.
 

artvandelay

Well-Known Member
I'm not a BB person. It feels very silly to me. Survivor, while I know it's a very edited and produced show, feels so much more real and serious.
Older seasons on BB relied on social strategy and good game play. Newer seasons have been “tricked up” with twists and powers that have hurt the game. BB is addic and it’s tough for me to quit.

I still hold out hope that someone will reboot The Mole.
 

NYwdwfan

Well-Known Member
Older seasons on BB relied on social strategy and good game play. Newer seasons have been “tricked up” with twists and powers that have hurt the game. BB is addic and it’s tough for me to quit.

I still hold out hope that someone will reboot The Mole.
I’m waiting on The Swan. Such an awful and hideous show but I never missed an episode.
 

PUSH

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Just finished my Nicaragua rewatch. Honestly, that wasn't as bad of a season as I remember it. In my season rankings, I have it at 28 out of the 33 seasons I currently have ranked. I remember it being one of the absolute worst seasons. The problem with the season is there weren't a lot of good players. I think the best two players were Brenda and Holly. I think the show tried to paint some others as good players, but they really were just good characters. The two names I'm specifically thinking of are Marty and Jane. Marty is a great character, but he really didn't play the game all that well. He really only had an alliance with Jill, who was booted just before the merge. He gave up an idol. He made up lies for seemingly no reason, such as his grand master lie. And people saw right through him. He was painted as a strategic mastermind, when he really had no control in the game past the Jimmy T vote. Jimmy T was voted out 4th. After that, it was downhill for Marty.

Jane was a decent character, but she had absolutely no strategic chops. The entire first half of the game she just wanted Marty out because she hated him. She blindly pushed Marty's name multiple times, and often coming up unsuccessful. And when she was backstabbed, she threw a tantrum by dumping water on the fire. She didn't try to get the votes in her favor. She just immediately gave up and went crazy. She thought very highly of herself throughout the whole game. She thought she was the only thing keeping the tribe alive with her fishing They painted it as endearing and lovable, but I think that's because they had no other endearing or lovable characters. Outside of maybe Holly.

Dan was one of the most boring and insignificant characters in Survivor history. That's all I really have to say about him. Same for Benry.

NaOnka was ridiculous, but in her Final TC question, she seemed very level headed. I just don't think a game where she's cold and hungry and mental drained is for her. But she was strategic while she was there and in control. And Purple Kelly... the best thing about her is Purple became part of Survivor vocabulary. It's funny watching it back and hearing her called Purple Kelly, now that the word Purple has an actual meaning. But overall, quitters are frustrating. Especially the way these two quit. In my player rankings, the quitters are at the very bottom of all of them, with some exceptions. There is one player I have ranked below the quitters... I wonder if you can figure out who.

The final TC between Fabio, Chase, and Sash was a pretty weak final 3. I definitely get why Fabio won. Chase was noncommittal the whole game. Sash was the best strategic player, but he came across as insincere and like a used car salesman.

And while I just bashed a lot on the season, for some reason I enjoyed watching it a 2nd time. I think it's because I didn't remember all the details like I do in the more popular seasons. And Brenda was definitely my #1 rooting interest. Holly was easy to root for, too, with her transformation from almost quitting on Day 5, to becoming one of the more strategic players in control late in the game. I also really enjoyed Jimmy Johnson while he was there.

Is Nicaragua a good season? No. Does it have many good players? No. But is it a little better than the worst of the seasons? Yes. And I think that's a win for Nicaragua.

Up next... Redemption Island... 😬
 

PUSH

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Four episodes into Redemption Island. I still can't believe how easily everyone just follows Rob. It's mind blowing. And there are absolutely zero newbies who are worth rooting for. They are all boring. Maybe Stephanie Valencia, but she doesn't last long. As much as Redemption Island itself is a terrible game mechanic, it really is the only thing that's bringing a little excitement to this season.

But Survivor producers, if you are reading this, do NOT bring Redemption Island back. Ever.
 

PUSH

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Watched the merge episode of RI earlier today. In that episode, Matt goes from conquering RI and returning to the game, to being the power player in the middle, to being sent back to RI. Wishy washy never works. Make each side think you're with them. And don't tell someone that you were seriously considering flipping to the other side.

Matt is great at RI, but he is not great at the real game of Survivor.
 

PUSH

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I finished Redemption Island. I will restate what I said before. There are almost no interesting people on that season. The newbie cast is atrocious. On Zapatera, the only interesting newbie was Stephanie, but she went pre-merge. On Ometepe, there were a couple interesting characters. Phillip obviously was entertaining, and I feel like Francesca and Kristina could have been had they made it far. Andrea was a bit of a bore most of the season until her first blindside. At the end she came around. She was fun on RI and after she returned, even though it was short lived. You could tell she had a fire and was thinking strategically when the others were not. I'm very happy she came back.

I also feel like Ashley could have been fun if Rob and Russell were not part of the cast. She showed independent thinking once Zapatera was taken out. I would have liked to see her game without Rob there for everyone to follow.

Ultimately, I feel like Rob got very lucky this season by drawing the Ometepe buff. He could have easily been in Russell's position on Zapatera. And I know it must have been a lot of work, but he got a very easy tribe of people to follow him. It didn't seem that hard for him to keep people in check. I think his All Star game was better, just due to a much higher level of competition. And he made more moves. I did bump him down one spot in my overall player rankings, but he's still at #4. That's not too shabby.

Redemption Island as a season comes in at #32 out of my 34 ranked seasons.

Here's a list of my ranked season if you're interested:

  1. Micronesia (16)
  2. Heroes vs Villains (20)
  3. Cambodia (31)
  4. Cagayan (28)
  5. David vs Goliath (37)
  6. Winners at War (40)
  7. The Amazon (6)
  8. Borneo (1)
  9. Blood vs Water (27)
  10. Cook Islands (13)
  11. China (15)
  12. Panama (12)
  13. Pearl Islands (7)
  14. Caramoan (26)
  15. Millennials vs Gen X (33)
  16. Palau (10)
  17. Africa (3)
  18. All-Stars (8)
  19. Tocantins (18)
  20. Vanuatu (9)
  21. Samoa (19)
  22. Fiji (14)
  23. Game Changers (34)
  24. Gabon (17)
  25. Guatemala (11)
  26. Marquesas (4)
  27. The Australian Outback (2)
  28. Heroes vs Healers vs Hustlers (35)
  29. Nicaragua (21)
  30. Thailand (5)
  31. Ghost Island (36)
  32. Redemption Island (22)
  33. Edge of Extinction (38)
  34. Island of the Idols (39)

Here's my updated top 10 players:

  1. Parvati Shallow (13, 16, 20, 40)
  2. Tony Vlachos (28, 34, 40)
  3. Kim Spradlin (24, 40)
  4. “Boston“ Rob Mariano (4, 8, 20, 22, 40)
  5. Sandra Diaz-Twine (7, 20, 34, 40)
  6. Cirie Fields (12, 16, 20, 34)
  7. Sarah Lacina (28, 34, 40)
  8. Jeremy Collins (29, 31, 40)
  9. Yul Kwon (13, 40)
  10. Tom Westman (10, 20)
Up next... South Pacific!
 

manmythlegend

Well-Known Member
I'm not a BB person. It feels very silly to me. Survivor, while I know it's a very edited and produced show, feels so much more real and serious.

I prefer Survivor to BB but BB normally airs in the summer which is a relatively dead period for TV. Only thing I watch normally is Masterchef, MLB, and BB. So Thank God for BB normally.
 

Little Green Men

Well-Known Member
We don't allow that kind of negativity around these parts. You can take those comments and leave.

Just to be clear, that was a joke. Anyone who knows me knows Survivor is a way of life for me.
Haha that’s me with bb. I watch feeds non stop when I have free time which I’ll prob have a lot of this season. Survivors great too but doesn’t attach me as much.
 

PUSH

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I'm nearing the end of my South Pacific rewatch. I just finished the second to last episode where Brandon gives up his immunity to Albert and gets voted out. I'll share my overall thoughts on the season when I finish the finale, but here are some quick ones.

First, Brandon clearly was dealing with a lot of psychological issues before coming into the game. How he was chosen by production to come onto the season is very questionable. And how they brought him back a second time in Caramoan is even more so.

I remember the first time I watched thinking Coach was robbed of a win. But watching it now with a lot more insight into the game and how it works, I understand why he didn't. His end game has been hard to watch. It gets very arrogant, knowing he has control of the game. And he plays to the cult-like culture he built in order to keep people in check. The problem is, he constantly preaches family, honor, integrity, but he does so many people dirty. And not a normal Survivor dirty where you're blindsided, but he made people feel like they had this deep bond that went far beyond the game. But he cut Cochran, Edna, and Brandon in a very dirty way. And he already has an opposing tribe that hates him on top of it.

On the flip side, you have Sophie who plays along with the crap Coach is spewing, but she subtly distances herself from it. You never hear her talk about it at Tribal or around camp. She never leads any of their prayers. She never uses it as a bargaining chip to move herself ahead. And subtle moves like eye rolls when the topics are brought up at Tribal Council are things the jury sees and notices. Those small actions, whether intentional or not, help the jury relate to her because that's what they're doing, too.

I don't believe Albert was really into the cult-type thing either, but what makes him different from Sophie is he uses it to advance his game. He plays Brandon. He openly talks about the brotherhood he has made with Brandon and Coach and how God has brought them together. It is very insincere, and it comes across in an obvious way. By doing that, you get jurors thinking you're full of it. He sets himself up for a tricky final Tribal Council performance where he either has to admit he used that to his gain, or he has to lie about it. Neither option gains respect from the jury.

Okay, that was more than I intended to post. But I'll come back once I finish the finale and post some other thoughts on the season.
 

PUSH

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Just finished the South Pacific finale. Here are some different thoughts from last night...

I ranked this season at 29 out of the 35 seasons I currently have ranked. That would put it in one of the lower tiers, but low-tier Survivor is still very entertaining. In fact, the only season I would say is not "rewatch worthy" is Island of the Idols, for obvious reasons.

I also think South Pacific should have been the end of the road for Ozzy. He really didn't offer much in Game Changers, and Jeff supposedly did not want Ozzy back, but CBS pushed for it. He was a little arrogant in Cook Islands, but he got very arrogant in his following seasons, with Micronesia standing out. The best version of Ozzy is him living at Redemption Island away from everyone else. But even then he talks way too much about how great he is at catching fish. Nobody cares how good you are at survival. That's never really been a big part in winning the game. That's also a reason Rupert had never won. They think providing is a strategy. And while it is to a certain extent, you need to have social relationships and a strategic vision on how to move forward. Ozzy lacks that big time.

I also really liked Mikayla Wingle. She was a Second Chance candidate, but she was entertaining and had good confessionals. Not the best at making social bonds in her season, but I felt like she could have a really good second effort. I think her time has come and gone on returning, but it's unfortunate that Brandon had his weird feelings toward her. He gunned for her because he thought she was flirty and attractive, and he didn't want to be tempted by that. That is an alarming problem itself, and another reason why Brandon should have never been cast in the first place, but very unfortunate for Mikayla. She was not flirting at all. Brandon just seemed to be threatened by an attractive woman who was a hard worker. He voted her out because he didn't know if he was going to be able to control himself around her. That's very sad.

The Final Tribal performance was a little hard to watch. The jury just bashed all three of the players. I really think the Savaii trie (Ozzy's tribe) was just a negative, cliquey group who excluded everyone who wasn't from their original tribe. Their attitudes and behaviors are the reasons they lost. Pretty much everyone on the tribe except Dawn and Cochran were bullies. But Sophie was the only one of the final three to be completely honest. Albert and Coach lied a lot until Coach finally owned his game on the last answer. But it was too late at that point after his holier-than-thou attitude the entire game. There was actually a confessional with Coach being sick of players who have that attitude. Coach had a lot of contradictory confessionals and conversations at camp. That's a major reason he didn't win.

Overall, South Pacific is not a great season, but it's still entertaining. It's helped out by having two double elimination episodes that speed up the Pagonging process.

Up next... One World!
 

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