Survivor S40: Winners at War

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It took me a few months, but I finally finished my Kaoh Rong rewatch. I haven't seen it since it aired. A very underrated post merge. The premerge was a little bland, only helped by the crazy medevac, unfortunately.

I do get why Michele won, and she deserves it 100%, but I still don't agree with it. Aubry didn't play a flawless game by any means, but she played a much stronger game than Michele in Kaoh Rong. The thing that ultimately hurt Aubry is she didn't have relationships with a majority of the jury. There was virtually none with Scot, Jason, Julia, or Nick. And three of those people are ones to hold grudges. The other was Michele's best friend and future roommate.

The remove a jury member advantage was really bad. In the finale, Jeff says they were thinking about it for 7 years, but I think they just pulled it out when they had three medevacs on an 18 person season, and they needed something else to fill the time.

Speaking of filling time, they got really lucky that Aubry and Cydney made fire for that finale episode. Otherwise they would have had to drag it out even longer.

Cydney is a fantastic player. I honestly do not know who I think deserved it more had Aubry and her both been in the final 3. Cydney played a nearly flawless game. Her only issues were betraying Scot and Jason, who you know were going to hold it against her. And then not having a backup #1 ally outside of Aubry, when Aubry clearly had a stronger relationship with Joe than with her.

Aubry also got screwed by Joe leaving. If he stayed, it's very easy to see that the final three would have likely been Aubry, Joe, and Tai or maybe Cydney, but most likely Tai. I think Aubry wins that unanimously with Tai. Maybe Cydney gets a couple votes, but I doubt enough to win with how much Scot and Jason hated her.

I know people mention she could have been voted out had Neil stayed, but his idol could have changed that.

Overall a great season. I have it ranked #15 out of all 40 seasons! I've finally ranked all the seasons and all the players! I still want to go rewatch at least seasons 33-35 to refresh my memory and have a more accurate/updated list. Not sure how long that will take. Probably a while yet, but I'll share the full lists when I finish!

 

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So after it took me months to finish Kaoh Rong, it took me one week to finish my rewatch of Millennials vs Gen X.

My initial thoughts going into my rewatch was that MxGX was an overrated season. I remember being pretty "meh" on it when it was first airing. I didn't find anybody to really be a huge player, outside of David. Upon my rewatch, I have a better perception of the season. The premerge was fantastic. The post merge was pretty good, until we hit a little bit of a lull with the Sunday and Bret votes. I also don't think it was a very strong final 5, but I'll get to that in a second. Overall not a top tier season, but very good.

Adam's storyline was captivating throughout the season, but his gameplay was all over the place. He seemed to a largely strategic player, but when you think of his game, I have a hard time naming anything special he did. And I literally just watched every episode of his season in a week. His biggest move it getting the target off of him, and keeping stronger players in front of him. The problem was, there were at least 3 players who played a stronger game than him, and there could be a case for 1 or 2 more. But he saw that the big threats were voted out, so kudos to him for that. MvGX kind of started the trend of voting out the big players early, which leaves something to be desired in the final 3. It's happened before, but when you think of the three seasons before it, the final 3 had some big time players at the end... Mike/Carolyn, Jeremy/Spencer/Tasha (and Wentworth at 4), and then Aubry/Tai/Michele (and Cydney at 4). Adam/Hannah/Ken doesn't have the same energy and style.

So I guess that moves me into my earlier comment about a semi-weak final 5. Adam is a good player, no doubt. But he's not in that upper echelon of players. I have him currently ranked at #45, but I feel like that was boosted a lot simply because he won. If he had been voted out 4th, I probably would have him ranked somewhere around 100 or so. And if he hadn't won, I don't think he'd be a sure-fire candidate to return to play a second time. Hannah was a fun character with good development throughout the season. I feel she played a fairly equal game to Adam, but I think Adam had the stronger bonds. I would like to see Hannah come back. I have her ranked at #111. Again, a solid player, but nothing special. Ken was so old school, that he never had a chance in the modern era. I have him ranked #272, but that probably would have been much higher had he played in an earlier season. The problem is, context matters, and he played in season 33. David is really the only player I have ranked pretty high. I have him at #26, with his performance in 38 factoring in, too. If he could have won, I definitely would have had him in the top 15 for sure. Bret is someone whose value has risen post-Survivor with his RHAP appearances, but he really didn't do anything in the game. Chris was the guy who pulled strings. After that, he waited for people to tell him what to do. Then he told Sunday to do that. And when he did try to pull something off, he just kind of sat there and talked about how dumb the others were. Jay was 6th place, but he was solid. I feel like a lot of his game was just scraping by because other people brought up other names, and he got lucky to be the last of his trio left (his trio being him, Michelle, and Taylor). So by default he became an extra number for people to use.

But with all that said, it was a solid cast. Nobody in the post merge was an absolute bore. I just don't think there were any "WOW" characters outside of David, which is why I don't have it in a top 10 season.

The premerge was fantastic. David's early antics made great TV. Mari was a great narrator, even though she was the 2nd one voted out. We lost her far too soon, and I really hope production gives her another shot. I think they have enough premergers to do an entire premerge returnee season. But I don't think that'd bring in many casuals. So I hope to see her get a chance another way... maybe Second Chances 2? As much of an eye roll as she was, I really enjoyed Figgy. She was a fun character, and I see some potential there without Taylor. I wouldn't mind seeing her back, either.

An underrated player is Michelle. She really drove some of those pre-merge votes. She was the brains of her foursome, and she was ultimately hurt by Taylor and Figgy's stupidity. But she was really good at manipulating, as we saw her sway Hannah's vote at Tribal Council. Voted out too soon, and I doubt she ever comes back. But hey, if Hali Ford can get a second shot as a "game changer", then why can't Michelle come back?

I also would like to see Chris back. He was a good player, but his gameplay along with his physical presence and challenge ability made him too big of a threat.

I have this season ranked #12. I bumped it up from #16, because it's definitely not a middle of the pack season. It's between great and good. Similar to the Philippines, which I actually have ranked #13.

Up next is Game Changers. We'll see if I get to that. I'm kind of dreading that one.

 

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I was just finishing up the Talking with T-Bird podcast with Julie Berry today. First of all, I think she's one of the most underrated players in Survivor history. Second, I didn't know Bob Crowley was her teacher in high school! Super cool factoid there.

 

[artvandelay]

I was just finishing up the Talking with T-Bird podcast with Julie Berry today. First of all, I think she's one of the most underrated players in Survivor history. Second, I didn't know Bob Crowley was her teacher in high school! Super cool factoid there.

Is she the Julie who dated Jeff Probst?

 

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Angie Jakusz of Survivor Palau passed away yesterday at the age of 40.

 

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Is she the Julie who dated Jeff Probst?

Yep, that's her. She is also the godmother to Aras' son, apparently.

 

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According to Martin Holmes, Survivor is planning on starting filming for season 41 in April. Season 42 is planned to film in June. They will film in Fiji, as it is believed production struck a deal with the Fijian government to get them back filming in Fiji. Re-casting started last month, and is expected to finish in the next couple weeks. The cast reportedly had to go through the psych evaluations again to see if they are still a fit for the show.

The possible filming of a third season does not appear to be happening. Casting for season 43 isn't expected to happen until the fall.

As with anything, it could all change, but those are the plans as of now. I'm just excited that there is some more definitive news!

 

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I started my Game Changers rewatch, and I totally forgot that in the first episode, there was a very short moment where it looked like Tony and Sandra were going to team up with Malcolm, Aubry, and Caleb. What a different season that would have been. That would have been fantastic. But instead, they couldn't put their egos aside. They could have benefitted each other so much.

 

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I'm not sure if anybody is following the season rankings on RHAP. Each week he is revealing the fan-ranked seasons and discussing them, starting with #40. 40 was Island of the Idols, 39 was Redemption Island, and 38 was Thailand. Up next is 37 with One World.

First of all, One World is the most underrated season of all time. Second of all, I fully am aware that I only believe that because I am 100% convinced I am under a spell from Kim. I just can't help it. I love that woman. She might be my favorite player ever. Her and Parvati are definitely top two for me.

 

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According to Martin Holmes, Survivor has been given the clear to begin filming in Fiji! The crew is expected to depart soon, with the cast departing in March. They are set to start filming in April. Everyone must provide a negative COVID test before boarding the plane, and they must quarantine for 14 days when arriving in Fiji.

 

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I paused my Game Changers rewatch after dreading to watch it, but I've started back up again. I just finished the Malcolm boot episode where the two tribes go to Tribal Council together and vote off one person. JT is such an idiot. He has his man crush on Brad, and it throws his entire game out the window, as well as the game of his closest ally on his tribe, Malcolm. That vote was one of the most pivotal votes in the season, and a large reason why Sarah wins. If JT doesn't spill the beans, Sierra goes home. Sierra was a major reason why Sarah and Brad got to the end. Without her, it's likely a much different outcome. Perhaps Malcolm and JT go far. Or maybe this boosts Andrea a little farther. Maybe even Sandra makes the merge. This twist is a large reason why the season turned out to be pretty crappy.

Also, after rewatching Tocantins, Heroes vs Villains, and now 3 episodes of Game Changers, I can say with confidence... how in the world did JT win a season of Survivor? He really didn't pull off any move in Tocantins. He just relied on his good ol' boy persona, and his castmates gobbled it up. In HvV he makes an atrocious move. And I would say the move in Game Changers was even worse. I'm not sure you could even call it a move. He pretty much just told Brad who they were voting for.

 

[artvandelay]

I paused my Game Changers rewatch after dreading to watch it, but I've started back up again. I just finished the Malcolm boot episode where the two tribes go to Tribal Council together and vote off one person. JT is such an idiot. He has his man crush on Brad, and it throws his entire game out the window, as well as the game of his closest ally on his tribe, Malcolm. That vote was one of the most pivotal votes in the season, and a large reason why Sarah wins. If JT doesn't spill the beans, Sierra goes home. Sierra was a major reason why Sarah and Brad got to the end. Without her, it's likely a much different outcome. Perhaps Malcolm and JT go far. Or maybe this boosts Andrea a little farther. Maybe even Sandra makes the merge. This twist is a large reason why the season turned out to be pretty crappy.

Also, after rewatching Tocantins, Heroes vs Villains, and now 3 episodes of Game Changers, I can say with confidence... how in the world did JT win a season of Survivor? He really didn't pull off any move in Tocantins. He just relied on his good ol' boy persona, and his castmates gobbled it up. In HvV he makes an atrocious move. And I would say the move in Game Changers was even worse. I'm not sure you could even call it a move. He pretty much just told Brad who they were voting for.

JT won because Stephen guided him to the victory.

 

[JPPT1974]

Really missed the show. One of my very few TV go to TV show there. As really glad they are going to be back filming!

 

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I also totally forgot JT found an idol right after the Malcolm boot, then got voted out because he left it at camp when he was the clear and obvious odd man out. He's really not a smart player...

 

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Rob Cesternino is doing a countdown of the top 40 seasons of Survivor as ranked by the fans of RHAP. Each week he rewatches and does a retrospective podcast with a panel on each season, starting with the 40th best season, working all the way up to the 1st which will air sometime in September. It's been super fun to listen to everyone talk about these seasons. Even bad Survivor is great entertainment. If you haven't listened, I highly recommend you check it out. Each week Rob puts out some survey questions from the season and lets listeners submit questions. One of mine got answered in the podcast for One World.

 

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I'm in the middle of the Game Changers episode where Michaela doesn't find the secret advantage on her sit out bench, but Sarah does. And that's the same challenge that Cirie had the "inspirational moment" on the balance beam. At the time I didn't realize it, but I'm pretty sure Jeff just let her finish the beam after the challenge was over because Michaela hadn't found the advantage yet, so they wanted to give her more time to get it in the game. And then after Cirie got to the final platform, Jeff said they weren't going to make her swim. Instead they'd bring in a boat. But they had to pick up Michaela who was on another platform. So they had to swim over to Michaela's platform to get on the boat. I wonder why they couldn't have picked them up at the platform they were on? It couldn't possibly have anything to do with making sure that advantage got into the game, could it?

 

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I also have a hot take: Game Changers isn't nearly as bad as everyone thinks it is. Yes, the premerge is a pretty big drag. But the post merge is pretty interesting. There are alliance, but a few people who really are individuals blending in with alliances. I think we all got hung up on the big names going out early, and Aubry not being visible, and Cirie's elimination. But the season is definitely better on a rewatch when we already know what's happening. The journey is much more enjoyable when you know the outcome.

Rob C has said that about rewatching previous seasons in his weekly podcast rankings. He says we're too hard on the 30s, and I tend to agree. In the real time, they weren't great. But on rewatch, they're much better.

Granted, I haven't gotten to Cirie's boot episode yet, so I may feel different after that. And I am just beginning the "bad" portion of the 30s from 34-39 where most are considered subpar seasons. So I haven't actually rewatched any of them. So my thoughts are subject to change.

 

[artvandelay]

I also have a hot take: Game Changers isn't nearly as bad as everyone thinks it is. Yes, the premerge is a pretty big drag. But the post merge is pretty interesting. There are alliance, but a few people who really are individuals blending in with alliances. I think we all got hung up on the big names going out early, and Aubry not being visible, and Cirie's elimination. But the season is definitely better on a rewatch when we already know what's happening. The journey is much more enjoyable when you know the outcome.

Rob C has said that about rewatching previous seasons in his weekly podcast rankings. He says we're too hard on the 30s, and I tend to agree. In the real time, they weren't great. But on rewatch, they're much better.

Granted, I haven't gotten to Cirie's boot episode yet, so I may feel different after that. And I am just beginning the "bad" portion of the 30s from 34-39 where most are considered subpar seasons. So I haven't actually rewatched any of them. So my thoughts are subject to change.

I liked Game Changers. Advantagegeddon sucked, but It has a great cast and Sarah is a good winner. It was also the first season I listened to the RHAP podcasts after every episode.

 

[dmw]

Has anyone heard if the new season will be exclusively on Paramount+ or if it also be carried on CBS network TV?

 

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I liked Game Changers. Advantagegeddon sucked, but It has a great cast and Sarah is a good winner. It was also the first season I listened to the RHAP podcasts after every episode.

I think the cast is better in retrospect. Brad, Sierra, Michaela, etc, all had much better/more interesting games their second time around. Yeah, they weren't Game Changers and still aren't, but they are solid players. The true game changers mostly went out in the premerge. Cirie, Andrea, and Aubry were really the only game changers in the post merge. Ozzy probably, too, but I'm not an Ozzy fan.

I've also tried to figure out when I started listening to RHAP. I think the weekly listens of the Know It Alls began in the middle of Millennials vs Gen X. I think I tuned in here and there during Cambodia.