Wednesday night aired the show's 500th episode, the premiere of Survivor: Game Changers, and naturally, there is plenty to dissect.
1) Why is it Survivor: Game Changers?
The episode opens with a sweet intro that shows some of the game's biggest personalities making some of the most memorable moves in the show's history, followed by Jeff emphasizing how each member of the cast has changed the game in someway. Okay. So did Hali change the game by being the first female to chop a coconut at approximately 2:02 p.m. on day 2? Did Caleb change the game by being the second contestant to ever almost die in the middle of a challenge? And Brad Culpepper changed the game by being the first man whose wife lasted longer on the show than he did?
"Game Changers" is just a cheesy, generic title, as very few of the game's competitors have anything in common with each other as players. Only a select few can be characterized as "game-changers", while another handful can be pegged as "all-stars." Though some contestants may not appear as worthy as others for a return on an all-star season, I will say however that I was pleasantly surprised with the showing from the cast this week (more on this later).
Jeff proceeds to go in to his typical "this game is all about big moves" spiel that he has grown accustomed to over the past 15 seasons or so. This isn't necessarily true, and it showed last night...
(Also I have no idea why Jeff feels the need to narrate the scramble that happens on the boat every season now... When did that become a thing?)
2) Ciera's sin was playing the game too hard, too fast
When you find yourself in a tribe of 10, the best thing that you can do is stay out of drama, pull your weight at camp, do well enough in the challenges and keep your head down. It's easier to hide in a group of 10 than it is in a group of six (we've have seen a good number of six-person tribes in recent seasons). By throwing Tony's name out immediately, Ciera exposed herself as a schemer. Obviously everybody that's playing on an all-star season is going to be scheming (whoops, maybe not everyone on this cast), but at that first vote, people are looking for a reason to vote someone out; it doesn't matter who, just someone. You don't want to be the person controling the vote at this point. It's only day 3 and there is plenty of Survivor left to be played. Instead, you want to be in someone like Malcolm's position, who gave a good quote about how all you want to be doing is being friendly and having people approach you and want to work with you. Conversations and relationships, especially at this stage of the game, are key.
Ciera should have taken a more hands-off approach, especially considering that she isn't one of the tribe's strongest physical competitors. Unfortunately for her, this may have been her last chance to play. However, I also thought Second Chances would be Jeff Varner's last chance to play.
3) Tony's sin was also playing the game too hard, too fast
Coming in, we knew Tony could find himself in danger early, mainly because everybody had seen the way he played Cagayan and now had a Tony Vlachos scouting report in their back pocket. Initially, I liked the way he started the second half of the episode by pulling Sandra in. Winners sticking together and covering each other's backs makes a lot of sense. But Tony fell victim to his own paranoia. It seemed that he was more concerned with putting on a show for the fans and building a "Spyshack 2.0" than laying low and playing differently. The best players are able to adapt. Tony actually had a lot of people willing to play with him, but it was too hard for him to not play the game aggressively. As a result, the first to players attempting "big moves" had to take the fall.
4) Sandra is the queen
Sandra flexed her muscles once again as the game's best. The biggest key to Sandra's game is escaping the first couple votes. Everybody knows how good she is at playing Survivor, clearly. She also is an all-time challenge liability. Somehow she was able to convince her tribe to vote off the physically imposing Tony and keep her instead. Her elite social game was on full-display.
For Sandra, I don't blame her at all for turning on Tony. She was in on sticking with him until he accused her of plotting against her. She wasn't. After playing the game with two of the zaniest schemers in Jonny Fairplay and Russell Hantz, she finally had had enough and cut ties with Tony. It was the right move for her at the right time, and it appears that she has gained a loyal following in her tribe.
5) The buffs are about to be dropped
After just two votes, it appears that a tribe swap is among us. After watching the Mana tribe lose for the second straight time, I caught myself thinking, "It's time for a mix-up already." Mana looks significantly weaker and without Tony, it definitely appears to be at a heavy underdog. In a double-episode premiere, it's most exciting when you get to see all 20 castaways go to tribal council. I want to see the other group have to make a move and I'm glad the tribe swap is happening now.
It wasn't great for Cirie to be put on the same tribe as Ozzy. Naturally the tribe members are going to side with the all-time challenge stud over the all-time schemer in a one v. one shootout. Hopefully the tribe swap plays itself out in that Cirie and Ozzy land on different tribes.
Everything is about to change and it'll be an entirely new season if there is a tribe swap. The last six days will in many ways, be erased.
6) Strong night from the castaways
Initially looking at the names of the cast, I was in many ways disappointed. 20 castaways are returning for Game Changers, and spots are being filled by Brad Culpepper and Sarah? Can't we bring back real game changers like Lex, Fairplay, Kathy and Brian Heidik?
While I will always hope for more old-school players to come back, I must confess that I was pleased with what I saw from the cast last night. I saw a lot of smart confessionals made by some of the fringe players, particularly Sierra and Culpepper. If Culpepper can sit back and not play the bold game that he did in Blood vs. Water, he could do pretty well. Caleb was good too.
I like Sierra and Hali to go deep in Game Changers, as non-threatening females tend to do very well on all-star seasons. Sierra was a good challenge competitor her first time out and I don't see anyone having any reason to target her. Now she's got the legacy advantage and if she finds herself a good alliance, she'll be in a great spot.
Michaela's performance was not the best in week one. Though she managed to keep her mouth shut for the most part, she did show a bit of her fieriness that she possesses. I don't think she's going to be able to keep it all in the rest of the way if she nearly blew up on day 3, but it's a marathon, not a sprint, and several players have turned it around after a rough showing week one.
We didn't see a lot of interactions involving both JT and Zeke. I think Zeke could be targeted by JT as the last time JT played with an unknown returning player, he got screwed badly by Russell. JT knows Zeke was brought back as a "game changer" for some reason. JT's going to remember what happened and he may plan accordingly with Zeke. I expect him to be cautious if they find themselves on the same tribe after the swap.
Tai was hilarious and fun as always, and it was fun seeing him interact with JT. Once again, I'm reminded of how fun returning players are at the start, and how great it is to see our favorite Survivors interacting with each other.
Overall, I thought it was a very strong first episode for Survivor: Game Changers and I can't wait to see what lies in store next week.
1) Why is it Survivor: Game Changers?
The episode opens with a sweet intro that shows some of the game's biggest personalities making some of the most memorable moves in the show's history, followed by Jeff emphasizing how each member of the cast has changed the game in someway. Okay. So did Hali change the game by being the first female to chop a coconut at approximately 2:02 p.m. on day 2? Did Caleb change the game by being the second contestant to ever almost die in the middle of a challenge? And Brad Culpepper changed the game by being the first man whose wife lasted longer on the show than he did?
"Game Changers" is just a cheesy, generic title, as very few of the game's competitors have anything in common with each other as players. Only a select few can be characterized as "game-changers", while another handful can be pegged as "all-stars." Though some contestants may not appear as worthy as others for a return on an all-star season, I will say however that I was pleasantly surprised with the showing from the cast this week (more on this later).
Jeff proceeds to go in to his typical "this game is all about big moves" spiel that he has grown accustomed to over the past 15 seasons or so. This isn't necessarily true, and it showed last night...
(Also I have no idea why Jeff feels the need to narrate the scramble that happens on the boat every season now... When did that become a thing?)
2) Ciera's sin was playing the game too hard, too fast
When you find yourself in a tribe of 10, the best thing that you can do is stay out of drama, pull your weight at camp, do well enough in the challenges and keep your head down. It's easier to hide in a group of 10 than it is in a group of six (we've have seen a good number of six-person tribes in recent seasons). By throwing Tony's name out immediately, Ciera exposed herself as a schemer. Obviously everybody that's playing on an all-star season is going to be scheming (whoops, maybe not everyone on this cast), but at that first vote, people are looking for a reason to vote someone out; it doesn't matter who, just someone. You don't want to be the person controling the vote at this point. It's only day 3 and there is plenty of Survivor left to be played. Instead, you want to be in someone like Malcolm's position, who gave a good quote about how all you want to be doing is being friendly and having people approach you and want to work with you. Conversations and relationships, especially at this stage of the game, are key.
Ciera should have taken a more hands-off approach, especially considering that she isn't one of the tribe's strongest physical competitors. Unfortunately for her, this may have been her last chance to play. However, I also thought Second Chances would be Jeff Varner's last chance to play.
3) Tony's sin was also playing the game too hard, too fast
Coming in, we knew Tony could find himself in danger early, mainly because everybody had seen the way he played Cagayan and now had a Tony Vlachos scouting report in their back pocket. Initially, I liked the way he started the second half of the episode by pulling Sandra in. Winners sticking together and covering each other's backs makes a lot of sense. But Tony fell victim to his own paranoia. It seemed that he was more concerned with putting on a show for the fans and building a "Spyshack 2.0" than laying low and playing differently. The best players are able to adapt. Tony actually had a lot of people willing to play with him, but it was too hard for him to not play the game aggressively. As a result, the first to players attempting "big moves" had to take the fall.
4) Sandra is the queen
Sandra flexed her muscles once again as the game's best. The biggest key to Sandra's game is escaping the first couple votes. Everybody knows how good she is at playing Survivor, clearly. She also is an all-time challenge liability. Somehow she was able to convince her tribe to vote off the physically imposing Tony and keep her instead. Her elite social game was on full-display.
For Sandra, I don't blame her at all for turning on Tony. She was in on sticking with him until he accused her of plotting against her. She wasn't. After playing the game with two of the zaniest schemers in Jonny Fairplay and Russell Hantz, she finally had had enough and cut ties with Tony. It was the right move for her at the right time, and it appears that she has gained a loyal following in her tribe.
5) The buffs are about to be dropped
After just two votes, it appears that a tribe swap is among us. After watching the Mana tribe lose for the second straight time, I caught myself thinking, "It's time for a mix-up already." Mana looks significantly weaker and without Tony, it definitely appears to be at a heavy underdog. In a double-episode premiere, it's most exciting when you get to see all 20 castaways go to tribal council. I want to see the other group have to make a move and I'm glad the tribe swap is happening now.
It wasn't great for Cirie to be put on the same tribe as Ozzy. Naturally the tribe members are going to side with the all-time challenge stud over the all-time schemer in a one v. one shootout. Hopefully the tribe swap plays itself out in that Cirie and Ozzy land on different tribes.
Everything is about to change and it'll be an entirely new season if there is a tribe swap. The last six days will in many ways, be erased.
6) Strong night from the castaways
Initially looking at the names of the cast, I was in many ways disappointed. 20 castaways are returning for Game Changers, and spots are being filled by Brad Culpepper and Sarah? Can't we bring back real game changers like Lex, Fairplay, Kathy and Brian Heidik?
While I will always hope for more old-school players to come back, I must confess that I was pleased with what I saw from the cast last night. I saw a lot of smart confessionals made by some of the fringe players, particularly Sierra and Culpepper. If Culpepper can sit back and not play the bold game that he did in Blood vs. Water, he could do pretty well. Caleb was good too.
I like Sierra and Hali to go deep in Game Changers, as non-threatening females tend to do very well on all-star seasons. Sierra was a good challenge competitor her first time out and I don't see anyone having any reason to target her. Now she's got the legacy advantage and if she finds herself a good alliance, she'll be in a great spot.
Michaela's performance was not the best in week one. Though she managed to keep her mouth shut for the most part, she did show a bit of her fieriness that she possesses. I don't think she's going to be able to keep it all in the rest of the way if she nearly blew up on day 3, but it's a marathon, not a sprint, and several players have turned it around after a rough showing week one.
We didn't see a lot of interactions involving both JT and Zeke. I think Zeke could be targeted by JT as the last time JT played with an unknown returning player, he got screwed badly by Russell. JT knows Zeke was brought back as a "game changer" for some reason. JT's going to remember what happened and he may plan accordingly with Zeke. I expect him to be cautious if they find themselves on the same tribe after the swap.
Tai was hilarious and fun as always, and it was fun seeing him interact with JT. Once again, I'm reminded of how fun returning players are at the start, and how great it is to see our favorite Survivors interacting with each other.
Overall, I thought it was a very strong first episode for Survivor: Game Changers and I can't wait to see what lies in store next week.
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