I thought there was some medical issue. That's a shame, though. I think RC would have done well in another season. But I feel like her chance has come and gone at this point. She almost reminds me of the female version of Spencer.
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Survivor S40: Winners at War
- Thread starter PUSH
- Start date
Just watched the episode where Jeff Kent was voted off. I don't even remember that episode, but it was so good. Probably one of the best ever. Definitely one of the most underrated episodes ever.
Everyone agrees Penner is going home. Penner wins immunity after coming from behind during the puzzle. They get back to camp, and the 2nd option is Skupin. But then Lisa tells Peter that Malcolm has the idol, so they need to blindside him. Then Peter asks Malcolm if he has the idol, and Malcolm convinces him that he does not, and they get the vote to be thrown on Jeff. Last minute, Jeff catches wind that he's the vote, and they try to turn it on Pete.
We get to Tribal Council and Malcolm reveals he does have the idol, and he's playing it tonight. Lisa reveals her plan to everyone and admits she was playing both sides. Abi also reveals she has an idol, for seemingly no reason. Penner speaks out loud to everyone that there are 6 people who can vote out Pete, and then Lisa proposes her plan again to vote out Jeff. It was awesome, chaotic, and entertaining. There was NO WHISPERING, and it was still awesome! And we knew what was going on! Another example of why they should ban whispering at Tribal.
In the end, Malcolm does not play his idol, and Jeff goes home by one vote over Pete.
Fantastic episode! Jeff was a really good player, but his problem is he got tunnel vision of voting off Penner and returning players, and he was too vocal early in the game that he had no shot to get to the end.
Everyone agrees Penner is going home. Penner wins immunity after coming from behind during the puzzle. They get back to camp, and the 2nd option is Skupin. But then Lisa tells Peter that Malcolm has the idol, so they need to blindside him. Then Peter asks Malcolm if he has the idol, and Malcolm convinces him that he does not, and they get the vote to be thrown on Jeff. Last minute, Jeff catches wind that he's the vote, and they try to turn it on Pete.
We get to Tribal Council and Malcolm reveals he does have the idol, and he's playing it tonight. Lisa reveals her plan to everyone and admits she was playing both sides. Abi also reveals she has an idol, for seemingly no reason. Penner speaks out loud to everyone that there are 6 people who can vote out Pete, and then Lisa proposes her plan again to vote out Jeff. It was awesome, chaotic, and entertaining. There was NO WHISPERING, and it was still awesome! And we knew what was going on! Another example of why they should ban whispering at Tribal.
In the end, Malcolm does not play his idol, and Jeff goes home by one vote over Pete.
Fantastic episode! Jeff was a really good player, but his problem is he got tunnel vision of voting off Penner and returning players, and he was too vocal early in the game that he had no shot to get to the end.
Just watched Penner's boot episode. I remember him playing a stronger game in the Philippines, but on a rewatch, he was a little naive and made a lot of mistakes. If it wasn't for Matsing being Matsing, he probably was gone pre-merge. With that being said, he is probably one final four deal away from being in the final 3 with Skupin and Lisa, and I think he wins in that trio. But being noncommittal on a final 4 deal is a really bad mistake. On the flip side, he was masterful in every aspect when playing with Lisa. He effectively swung her vote to his side, getting him halfway through the merge, when he probably would have been one of the first gone after the merge.
Still one of my favorites. I love his back and forths with Jeff, and he's always in such good spirits. I still don't get why he takes all the heat from his mutiny in Cook Islands, when Candice stepped off first. She seemed to take no heat. In fact, Candice was labeled as a hero for it in HvV, and Penner was contacted that season to be a villain, but he was told there was someone in the current season being filmed that was playing really well and would be getting a spot. That was Russell. Sounds like calling Penner was just to gauge interest.
Still one of my favorites. I love his back and forths with Jeff, and he's always in such good spirits. I still don't get why he takes all the heat from his mutiny in Cook Islands, when Candice stepped off first. She seemed to take no heat. In fact, Candice was labeled as a hero for it in HvV, and Penner was contacted that season to be a villain, but he was told there was someone in the current season being filmed that was playing really well and would be getting a spot. That was Russell. Sounds like calling Penner was just to gauge interest.
I'm getting close to the end of Randy's Talking with T-Bird. It's been fantastic. Randy definitely plays a character on TV, and in his interactions on social media. He's a really cool guy. I loved T-Bird's failed game near the end. Hearing Rob laugh and genuinely joke like he's with friends is not too common, as he maintains his professionalism, but I love when he does.
Always happy to talk Survivor!
I finished Randy's Talking with T-Bird, and I needed a new podcast to listen to on my commute home today. There were no more Talking with T-Birds available, so I started listening to the RHAP podcast where they match former players to their Myers-Briggs personality. It's actually really entertaining and fun, and his guest is fantastic at podcasts. I've only gotten through a little, but I realized that Rob and I have very similar personalities. Like... very similar.
Finished The Philippines. I liked this season a lot better on my rewatch. The first time watching it, I remember it being "the season that saved Survivor", and I was a little let down. But it's a pretty solid season, and I have it sitting at #12 overall out of the 37 seasons I currently have ranked.
The season has 4 of my top 100 players (of the ones I currently have ranked). Denise is highest at 26. Malcolm is at 34. Penner is at 39. And Lisa is at 92.
Lisa was without a doubt the narrator of this season. She had a huge transformation, and I think she articulated her game very well at the final Tribal Council, and that's why I have her just squeaking in the top 100 players. She did have a lot of urgency in the game, and she was the decision maker many times. She battled with her heart vs her head, but it paid off for her.
The greatest gift this season gave us was Malcolm. He was amazing this season. I wonder now that some time has passed since he had a huge impact in a game, if he would fair better than Game Changers. I know he's always a threat, but his name doesn't seem to get mentioned as much anymore among the greats, or even the greatest to never win.
I feel like this season gave us a lot of good players who have been forgotten, like Pete, Jeff Kent, RC, and Lisa.
The season does feel like a turning point in Survivor history, where we went from "meh" game play from 21-24 to increased strategic the rest of the way. It feels like this is the season where players started to consistently think outside the box to move themselves ahead.
Overall, a really good season with good gameplay.
I have already watched 26-28 two times each, so up next is San Juan del Sur! I have not seen it since it aired, and it was just the fourth season I watched live. I started watching live with Caramoan.
The season has 4 of my top 100 players (of the ones I currently have ranked). Denise is highest at 26. Malcolm is at 34. Penner is at 39. And Lisa is at 92.
Lisa was without a doubt the narrator of this season. She had a huge transformation, and I think she articulated her game very well at the final Tribal Council, and that's why I have her just squeaking in the top 100 players. She did have a lot of urgency in the game, and she was the decision maker many times. She battled with her heart vs her head, but it paid off for her.
The greatest gift this season gave us was Malcolm. He was amazing this season. I wonder now that some time has passed since he had a huge impact in a game, if he would fair better than Game Changers. I know he's always a threat, but his name doesn't seem to get mentioned as much anymore among the greats, or even the greatest to never win.
I feel like this season gave us a lot of good players who have been forgotten, like Pete, Jeff Kent, RC, and Lisa.
The season does feel like a turning point in Survivor history, where we went from "meh" game play from 21-24 to increased strategic the rest of the way. It feels like this is the season where players started to consistently think outside the box to move themselves ahead.
Overall, a really good season with good gameplay.
I have already watched 26-28 two times each, so up next is San Juan del Sur! I have not seen it since it aired, and it was just the fourth season I watched live. I started watching live with Caramoan.
I just started San Juan del Sur, and I never realized that Jeremy, Natalie, and Kelley Wentworth all started on the same tribe and formed an alliance on day 1. Those are three of the best players ever, and imagine that alliance if it was able to stay intact.
Finished the episode where Kelley Wentworth was voted out. She was totally swap screwed. I know she talked about how playing with her dad brought her down, but it really was the only reason she was voted out. She was in a very good position on her first tribe. Dale's lack of a social game was the reason she was voted out.
She didn't get a big edit, understandably, but after seeing her in Cambodia and EoE, you can definitely tell Kelley was a good player in SJDS, too. She just didn't have the time for us to see it.
She didn't get a big edit, understandably, but after seeing her in Cambodia and EoE, you can definitely tell Kelley was a good player in SJDS, too. She just didn't have the time for us to see it.
Just watched Keith's "stick to the plan" episode. Another great episode. Keith essentially got his own son voted out because he didn't know how the game works, and that Reed was just trying to throw the others off. Natalie has to tell Jon to play his idol, which is great for her in two ways. First, it will still get rid of one of the guys in Reed, Keith, Wes, and Alec's alliance. And it gets rid of Jon's idol, who Natalie wants to vote out soon since he took out Jeremy.
I just watched the SJDS finale. Overall, it was a decent season. I feel like the lore of the season hold this season in higher esteem than when it aired, or even rewatching it. When it aired, I remember people saying it was a bad season. Probably because Cagayan was right before it, so most seasons will look bad in comparison. It also was the lesser of the two Blood vs Water seasons. But it was not bad by any means, it just didn't seem to have anything that stood out to make it special. Yes, there were great moves, but they were very subtle, drawn-out, calculated moves that don't make it as exciting. We knew exactly what was happening every vote. I feel like the editing was not great. It almost gave us too many of the answers and didn't make us wonder much at all.
The pre-merge was pretty good. Dale was a lot more entertaining than I remembered. After the merge, it was the clash of Josh and Jeremy, but that build up was not that exciting as Julie quit in the merge episode. Afterwards, we pretty much figured out based on the edit that Josh would be going. And then the very next episode Jeremy left. That left us with the storyline of following two couples the rest of the way who you really didn't enjoy. Jon/Jaclyn and Missy/Baylor. They drove the storyline, but none of them were very rootable. Natalie was masterful in her process to get out Jon, but until she made the vote for Alec, it was kind of boring.
This season suffered from the better, more rootable characters/players getting voted out early. It also had a lot of decent players that made it far, but they weren't that fun to watch. For example, Jon, Jaclyn, and Missy were not bad players by any means, but they weren't stellar. I think their loved ones held all of them back. I think Baylor could have been more exciting without Missy, too.
Ultimately, the loved ones theme kind of held this season back a bit. And the problem with BvW without returnees, is you sometimes have to bring along boring cast members in order to get the great ones. To get Keith, we had to get Wes. To get Drew, we had to get Alec. To get John Rocker, we had to get Julie. To get Jon, we had to get Jaclyn (who isn't a slouch, but I don't think she is particularly entertaining).
But with all that being said, it's a solid, average season. I've already outlined the positives in previous posts.
I have SJDS sitting at 16 out of the 38 seasons I currently have ranked. The season contains 5 of the top 100 players on my current list, but a couple of them are only there because of future seasons. Jeremy sits at #6, Natalie sits at #21, Kelley Wentworth sits at #24, Jon Misch sits at #99, and Josh sits at #100. Jon and Josh will very likely be bumped out once I finish season 30, as I know Mike and Carolyn will for sure enter the top 100, but currently remain unlisted.
Up next... Worlds Apart!
The pre-merge was pretty good. Dale was a lot more entertaining than I remembered. After the merge, it was the clash of Josh and Jeremy, but that build up was not that exciting as Julie quit in the merge episode. Afterwards, we pretty much figured out based on the edit that Josh would be going. And then the very next episode Jeremy left. That left us with the storyline of following two couples the rest of the way who you really didn't enjoy. Jon/Jaclyn and Missy/Baylor. They drove the storyline, but none of them were very rootable. Natalie was masterful in her process to get out Jon, but until she made the vote for Alec, it was kind of boring.
This season suffered from the better, more rootable characters/players getting voted out early. It also had a lot of decent players that made it far, but they weren't that fun to watch. For example, Jon, Jaclyn, and Missy were not bad players by any means, but they weren't stellar. I think their loved ones held all of them back. I think Baylor could have been more exciting without Missy, too.
Ultimately, the loved ones theme kind of held this season back a bit. And the problem with BvW without returnees, is you sometimes have to bring along boring cast members in order to get the great ones. To get Keith, we had to get Wes. To get Drew, we had to get Alec. To get John Rocker, we had to get Julie. To get Jon, we had to get Jaclyn (who isn't a slouch, but I don't think she is particularly entertaining).
But with all that being said, it's a solid, average season. I've already outlined the positives in previous posts.
I have SJDS sitting at 16 out of the 38 seasons I currently have ranked. The season contains 5 of the top 100 players on my current list, but a couple of them are only there because of future seasons. Jeremy sits at #6, Natalie sits at #21, Kelley Wentworth sits at #24, Jon Misch sits at #99, and Josh sits at #100. Jon and Josh will very likely be bumped out once I finish season 30, as I know Mike and Carolyn will for sure enter the top 100, but currently remain unlisted.
Up next... Worlds Apart!
So I started binge watching Worlds Apart a little bit, and I'm through the first 5 episodes. The 5th episode was a double header where they swapped and Max went home in the second episode. Some initial thoughts...
- I forgot how crazy Max and Shirin were. Like holy cow. I consider myself a super fan that has an unhealthy obsession with Survivor, but I can't even find words to describe their level of craziness. They spent seemingly a whole day talking and strategizing with each other about how they were running the game, when they left the other 5 players to just sit and talk without them. What do you think is going to happen? Zero self awareness for either of them.
- Dan is one of the worst social players of all time. And we haven't even gotten to the events with Shirin. His lack of empathy and understanding of others' feelings is baffling. He always has to be the victim. He called Rodney's mother very inappropriate names. In his confessionals he was patronizing to women, and in person he talked to them like they were dumb. He's one of those people who doesn't even realize how offensive he can be towards others. He lacks more self awareness than Max and Shirin. He might be one of the least self aware players to ever play Survivor. And just the was he articulates and uses expression is so annoying.
- Mike really hasn't been great in the early game, either. He has gotten in several arguments with multiple tribemates. He does dumb things like eating a scorpion on the first day, followed immediately by throwing up. He talks like he is so much better than others, and he doesn't acknowledge that anybody else is doing any work. I remember thinking while watching live that he felt like he was a "holier than thou" type of player. And I am seeing that again a little bit. And then upcoming I know he makes the blunder at the auction, and then has to win his way to the end because of that big mistake. And he has no alliance or really any social game. It makes me wonder why he won, but I have to keep watching. Can it really only be because he won so many immunities? I guess looking at this jury, that doesn't really surprise me.
- Rodney is someone who I think has been held to a higher standard as time has passed, but some of the comments he made about women is mind boggling. If he had made those on a modern season, I can't imagine the backlash. Even back then... five years ago. Wow.
- Lindsay was voted out early, but I liked her on the rewatch. She was outspoken, but she was was dead accurate with what she was saying.
- And my last thought for this post... I loved Carolyn watching live, but I kind of forgot how bad a** she was. She amazing. Absolutely love her. She's controlled the early game, and I remember thinking I would have voted for her over Mike. There's a long way to go in my rewatch, but so far those thoughts are holding true. Mama C is my favorite player from Worlds Apart, and I am absolutely shocked she has not been back since.
Thank you for the kind words!
I would absolutely love to be a Survivor podcaster or blog writer. I've said that before on these forums, and anybody who knows me knows I can talk Survivor to no end. But I think the Survivor media world is crowded with some people who are pretty great at what they do - Rob Cesternino being at the top. Not many people can top him. But Rob, if you're reading this, you can invite me to be a guest on your podcast. Maybe a regular. Just name the time.
Just watched the merge episode of Worlds Apart. This is quietly a great episode of Survivor that goes forgotten. I really didn't remember anything about it, other than Kelly went home.
First of all, you have the tribe name being called Merica. Mike loves it. Shirin hates it, and her confessional about it is fantastic. It really is the dumbest tribe name in Survivor history.
The challenge is one of my favorite... the one where you just have to hang onto a pole. In the middle of it, Jenn gets stung by a bee in a place where you don't want to get stung. And then it starts pouring rain, and Joe, Carolyn, and Jenn do a great job even after that. Jenn drops out, and Carolyn puts up a good fight after that, but Joe wins, throwing off the plans of the Blue Collars.
Back at camp, the craziness is exciting. We don't know where Will is voting, or Tyler/Carolyn, or really even Shirin. At TC Jenn successfully plays her idol, negating 7 votes. I totally forgot that happened, and it was fantastic. Kelly received all but one of the other votes. My only gripe is why they didn't target Mike. He was kind of the pin holding the blue collar together. He was the one who had Dan. He was the one who had Kelly. He was the one who had Rodney. And he was the one who had Sierra. Take out Mike, and everyone else hates each other. They would have fallen apart. Instead, they think they'll fall apart if Kelly is voted out. I get that Kelly seemed to be a strong player, but she just spent the previous two votes on a tribe away from the rest of the Blue Collars. If they stuck together on another tribe, don't you think one of them is the glue holding them together? How can Kelly hold them together when she's on another tribe? Doesn't make sense.
I also wish Jenn would have come back by now. I remember her pretty much just giving up after Hali was voted out, but she's a great character. I wonder if she's ever been asked back and she's said no, or if the producers didn't like her giving up and don't want her back.
As I progress through the season, it becomes apparent that the reason this season is not highly regarded (outside of the controversy that happens later on in the season) is that there are just not many characters you want to root for. I like Carolyn and Jenn, but that's about it. Joe is painted as "the golden boy", but he's actually never really been shown so far. Mike is there, but I'm not sure any fans were clamoring for him to win. The rest of the cast is unlikable, or are just there and kind of boring. I mean, you have Dan and Rodney who nobody really likes. Shirin is quirky and a good character, but she's not someone you're excited to cheer for. Tyler, Sierra, and Hali are pretty quiet and boring this season. Will is a dud. The casting process just gave us mostly boring or unlikable people.
First of all, you have the tribe name being called Merica. Mike loves it. Shirin hates it, and her confessional about it is fantastic. It really is the dumbest tribe name in Survivor history.
The challenge is one of my favorite... the one where you just have to hang onto a pole. In the middle of it, Jenn gets stung by a bee in a place where you don't want to get stung. And then it starts pouring rain, and Joe, Carolyn, and Jenn do a great job even after that. Jenn drops out, and Carolyn puts up a good fight after that, but Joe wins, throwing off the plans of the Blue Collars.
Back at camp, the craziness is exciting. We don't know where Will is voting, or Tyler/Carolyn, or really even Shirin. At TC Jenn successfully plays her idol, negating 7 votes. I totally forgot that happened, and it was fantastic. Kelly received all but one of the other votes. My only gripe is why they didn't target Mike. He was kind of the pin holding the blue collar together. He was the one who had Dan. He was the one who had Kelly. He was the one who had Rodney. And he was the one who had Sierra. Take out Mike, and everyone else hates each other. They would have fallen apart. Instead, they think they'll fall apart if Kelly is voted out. I get that Kelly seemed to be a strong player, but she just spent the previous two votes on a tribe away from the rest of the Blue Collars. If they stuck together on another tribe, don't you think one of them is the glue holding them together? How can Kelly hold them together when she's on another tribe? Doesn't make sense.
I also wish Jenn would have come back by now. I remember her pretty much just giving up after Hali was voted out, but she's a great character. I wonder if she's ever been asked back and she's said no, or if the producers didn't like her giving up and don't want her back.
As I progress through the season, it becomes apparent that the reason this season is not highly regarded (outside of the controversy that happens later on in the season) is that there are just not many characters you want to root for. I like Carolyn and Jenn, but that's about it. Joe is painted as "the golden boy", but he's actually never really been shown so far. Mike is there, but I'm not sure any fans were clamoring for him to win. The rest of the cast is unlikable, or are just there and kind of boring. I mean, you have Dan and Rodney who nobody really likes. Shirin is quirky and a good character, but she's not someone you're excited to cheer for. Tyler, Sierra, and Hali are pretty quiet and boring this season. Will is a dud. The casting process just gave us mostly boring or unlikable people.
NYwdwfan
Well-Known Member
Has anyone that gave up been asked back?
Colton, kind of. Jeff made a comment in BvW that they brought back a quitter, and he quit again. I'll have to pay attention when I get to the episode, but I remember Jenn just kind of losing motivation and feeling defeated after Hali was voted out. It felt different than "quitting". But I haven't seen the season since it first aired, so details are pretty fuzzy.