Survivor S40: Winners at War

PUSH

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I found Colton funny and I liked the weird old plastic surgeon. And Kim was just awesome.
Colton had potential to be a good player, but he was never someone who should have gone out. He was not cut out for Survivor.

I didn't care for Tarzan, and some comments Sabrina made in an RHAP podcast lead me to believe he really crossed the line during the game, but we did not see it on TV.

Kim is fantastic. You all know how I feel about Kim.

I also am really liking Sabrina in the 2 episodes I've gotten through in my rewatch. Kim has been very quiet, but Sabrina is dominating. I'm also liking Chelsea more than I remember.

Monica has been entertaining, too, even though she doesn't last long.

Kat is annoying. Alicia is a piece of work. And most of the guys are absolute duds. But the women are quite entertaining, even if some of them are annoying.
 

PUSH

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I'm in the middle of another episode. I'm pretty sure it's the one where Colton gets medevac'ed/quits. Alicia and Colton are the absolute worst. They are really just bullies. Telling Christina, who's on the bottom, that she's going next and then calling her names. Telling her she can either enjoy her last two days, or quit, or jump in the fire. They are terrible people.
 

NYwdwfan

Well-Known Member
I'm in the middle of another episode. I'm pretty sure it's the one where Colton gets medevac'ed/quits. Alicia and Colton are the absolute worst. They are really just bullies. Telling Christina, who's on the bottom, that she's going next and then calling her names. Telling her she can either enjoy her last two days, or quit, or jump in the fire. They are terrible people.
I have no recollection of any of that. I only remember a couple of confessionals that Colton made me laugh.
 

PUSH

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I have no recollection of any of that. I only remember a couple of confessionals that Colton made me laugh.
I have to say, I am enjoying watching these less revered seasons, because I don't remember everything that happens. For example, I completely forgot that the men gave up immunity to the women to vote Bill off. I forgot that they merged right after Colton left. And they merged at Tribal Council. That's pretty cool. The pre-merge of One World was actually decent. I wish they would have kept the One World theme throughout and not made a tribe go to a new beach at the swap. Living together offered a lot of interesting content, and it would have been very interesting to have them live on the same beach after a swap. That would have really blurred the lines between old tribes and new tribes.

The theme of One World is great, but production totally backed off for some reason. Maybe just because it would have been confusing to keep track of who is on what tribe without the men/women split. But it's already confusing enough with the constant swap these days. I'd be for another One World try. Give it a fair chance, and I think it could be super interesting. Just imagine how idols could be given to the opposing tribe, or the side deals that would go on. Season 24 just hit the tip of the iceberg with the possibilities. Some of the most interesting scenes were the men and women bargaining with each other to get fire, or use the other tribe's boat, etc. In today's fast-paced game, it would only be better, IMO.
 

PUSH

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
At the merge immunity challenge... Jeff: "Michael with balls hanging on both sides of his disc."

That challenge was invented just because of how close words are to other words, right?
 

PUSH

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
I know I haven't finished my rewatch of the season, but I don't get why One World gets all the hate. I just finished the final 9 Tribal Council. It's been a pretty entertaining ride to get to this point. Most of the episodes have been up in the air in some capacity. I know after this point, it becomes a bit of a Pagonging, but there aren't many men left, so it's not like RI or South Pacific where the entire post-merge is a Pagonging.

And the cast was actually really good this season, IMO. The pre merge had a couple interesting characters, whether you love them or hate them with Monica and Colton. And the post-merge cast hardly has any duds. Leif and Christina are the only complete duds. Mike is a little boring, but not a dud. I think Jay is an underrated player. He was naive and blindsided, but I really enjoyed watching him. I think a second time playing, he would be more aware. Jonas is also an underrated player that I think would have been a real threat had the women not stuck together, and had Kim not seen him as a threat. And then you have Troyzan, Kat, Alicia, Chelsea, Tarzan, Sabrina, and Kim who all provide at least some form of entertainment. And Kim was a dominant player - one of the greatest of all time. Sabrina was also a great player this season, and I can't believe she hasn't been back. I know she's been in the running multiple times, but she was a big part of this season.
 

PUSH

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Just watched the episode where Troyzan went home. Two thoughts...

First, Sabrina tells Christina that they are throwing a couple votes her way, just in case Troyzan has an idol. WHAT?! You told her that?! And your reasoning is because she's used to getting votes?! If he has an idol, she's going home! Why would you tell somebody that?! That flat out tells Christina that she's expendable and not in anyone's future plans. And then Christina tells Troy that she's the person they're splitting votes with, further increasing the odds that Troy is able to get one more person to vote along with him to get Christina out. She is not the smartest player, and she's very lucky Kat didn't flip with Troyzan to get her out.

Second, Troyzan had so much fire and energy in One World. It really is a shame that he was such a dud who did nothing in Game Changers. He had a lot of potential. If one thing had gone Troy's way, he could have ended up as the winner of One World. He was the only person to see Kim as a threat to win. That's a credit to him, but also to Kim.
 

PUSH

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
No One World take today. I've been too busy to watch the past couple days. But I am here to say that I started the Talkin' with T-Bird podcast with Kathy Vavrick-O'Brien. May be one of my favorite ones yet. Such a classic character who is so down to earth. I love listening to Rob interview people who were on his seasons. I am a little over halfway through, but I highly recommend it to anyone who hasn't listened already. Here's a link to the download:

 

PUSH

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Finished One World. Here are some takes that are going to be quite controversial...

I really like this season. It's not as predictable as it seems after the fact. While watching the season, it was apparent that Kim was always the one controlling things, but you never knew where she was going to land. The pre-merge was pretty good with a lot of drama, and the One World theme was entertaining while it lasted. After the merge, almost every vote had some sort of intrigue. Jonas was pretty obvious, but then Michael was voted out in a great strategic move by Kim that nearly fell apart when Jay was about the blurt the plan out to Michael. Kim quickly interrupts him and saves herself from being outed. That was one of the most entertaining, and one of the best subtle moves in the show's history. After Michael left, the battle to get out Troyzan was interesting. He won immunity to save himself, but then in his boot episode, it was still up in the air as to whether the players on the bottom would flip to him. At this point, loyalties had not really been proven yet within the women's alliance. After Troy left, the Kat vote was very compelling. Then Tarzan suddenly looked like a strategic player, because he was giving confessionals that made sense and made it look like he had a plan. Kim, however, was too good and blew up his plan with Alicia. After that, we weren't sure whether Kim was going to go with Sabrina and Chelsea or Alicia and Christina. Then the Christina vote was a bore, but it was during the finale, so they could rush through that and show more interesting things. The final three was actually very solid with Kim, Sabrina, and Chelsea, but Kim was just leaps and bounds above everyone else that season, and in Survivor history, really. Sabrina would have made a fine winner had Kim not been there.

At the end of the day, it was pretty apparent Kim was going to win once Troyzan was voted out. The only other option would have been Sabrina had they somehow managed to get Kim out, but they didn't show enough of Sabrina to make that seem realistic. And while the winner was obvious, it was still entertaining.

Another thing I like about this season is it focuses on social and strategic gameplay. Idols and advantages weren't a big factor. We really got to know everyone, even going back to the pre-merge. There were a lot of characters and personalities, and I think that's why so many have been brought back to play again. The casting that season was great, and while there were a few duds, most of them were voted out pre-merge anyway. I would rather watch a season like this than one that is taken over by twists and advantages.

I have One World sitting at a very controversial 19th place out of the 36 seasons I have ranked.

In my players rankings, One World has two of my current top 100 players. Kim is at #3, and Sabrina is at #91. I am pretty confident Kim will stay in that position, but it's possible Sabrina could move around once I complete my rewatch.

I have the following seasons to include in my rankings.... Philippines, San Juan del Sur, Worlds Apart, and Koah Rong. But I will also rewatch at least Cambodia, Millennials vs Gen X, Game Changers, and Heroes vs Healers vs Hustlers, since those seasons are starting to get a little fuzzy in my brain, too, and I want to make sure I have fresh rankings.

Up next... Philippines!
 

PUSH

Well-Known Member
Original Poster
Just finished the episode of the Philippines where Dana left and Dawson was voted out.

First, Dawson was super obsessed with Jeff Probst. Very weird. She kissed him at the end and stared him dead in the eyes the entire time he snuffed her torch.

Also, the first four episodes were kind of boring with Matsing losing, especially when you know what's happening. Russell Swan is not that great of a player, and he really has nothing going for him physically other than his pure strength. But most Survivor challenges don't require pure strength. His social game is not good, and he really has no strategy. He really weighed that tribe down.

Some quietly entertaining characters, though. Obviously you have the players like Malcolm, Penner, Denise, and Abi. But you have some people like Pete and RC who would make some decent returnees, IMO. I know RC was supposed to return for Blood vs Water, but I can't remember why she didn't. I believe she was supposed to come with her dad. I think Candace and John took her place, which is why Candace was voted off right out of the gate.
 

artvandelay

Well-Known Member
Just finished the episode of the Philippines where Dana left and Dawson was voted out.

First, Dawson was super obsessed with Jeff Probst. Very weird. She kissed him at the end and stared him dead in the eyes the entire time he snuffed her torch.

Also, the first four episodes were kind of boring with Matsing losing, especially when you know what's happening. Russell Swan is not that great of a player, and he really has nothing going for him physically other than his pure strength. But most Survivor challenges don't require pure strength. His social game is not good, and he really has no strategy. He really weighed that tribe down.

Some quietly entertaining characters, though. Obviously you have the players like Malcolm, Penner, Denise, and Abi. But you have some people like Pete and RC who would make some decent returnees, IMO. I know RC was supposed to return for Blood vs Water, but I can't remember why she didn't. I believe she was supposed to come with her dad. I think Candace and John took her place, which is why Candace was voted off right out of the gate.
I think RC’s dad had a cardiac issue.
 

Register on WDWMAGIC. This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.

Back
Top Bottom