Survivor: Winners at War

[cmjh10]

Just watched the Survivor episode celebrating 40 seasons. Previewed the upcoming season. Im so stoked for this season. Probably not going to live up to the hype I have conjoured up.

Anybody else ready?

 

[stormchaser2014]

I haven't watched since Boston Rob and Amber were not even a thing yet, but I saw he's back again.

 

[cmjh10]

I haven't watched since Boston Rob and Amber were not even a thing yet, but I saw he's back again.

She is as well

 

[Drew0311]

This should be good. Can’t wait to see who gets bragging rights between rob and Amber. Also not to many people I dislike so not real sure who I will root for yet. Probably Rob and Ben

 

[cmjh10]

Im hoping Ethan wins, but I doubt he goes far

 

[CyGuy5]

The fire tokens will definitely be interesting. Hopefully they aren’t just a dumb gimmick

 

[Drew0311]

The fire tokens will definitely be interesting. Hopefully they aren’t just a dumb gimmick

I bet they end up being a dumb gimmick. No gimmick has actually been worth it since they started with immunity idols. The rest of the stuff has been blah

 

[mj4cy]

I've listened to over 20 hours of pregame podcasts....yeah I'm just slightly excited.

 

[mj4cy]

Recap of the show that aired tonight

https://robhasawebsite.com/survivor40-recap-of-the-pre-cap/

 

[mj4cy]

I bet they end up being a dumb gimmick. No gimmick has actually been worth it since they started with immunity idols. The rest of the stuff has been blah

The worst thing the show ever did was add the firemaking challenge at final four. It kills strategy.

 

[Clark]

Just finished season 19 aka the first Russell season. The guy was a bigger **** than I remembered, which is saying something

 

[cmjh10]

Just finished season 19 aka the first Russell season. The guy was a bigger **** than I remembered, which is saying something

I know he was a ****, but he might be the greatest Survivor player ever. Definitely greatest to never win.

 

[Clark]

I know he was a ****, but he might be the greatest Survivor player ever. Definitely greatest to never win.

disagree, the social game is part of the game too. He should have won season 19, but nobody was scared of taking him to the finals because they knew he wouldn't get any votes

 

[CYdTracked]

disagree, the social game is part of the game too. He should have won season 19, but nobody was scared of taking him to the finals because they knew he wouldn't get any votes

I thought he played a pretty good social game the 1st two times he played because he had to form alliances to get him to the final 3. His downfall was when he made moves he burned a lot of bridges doing it but the guy was a master of deception and convincing people to vote with him. He's probably one of the most disliked personalities to ever play but if I was on a jury he would have got my vote to win because Survivor isn't about playing with all fuzzy warm feelings.

 

[CYdTracked]

So let's get some lists out there of who you are rooting for in Survivor 40 and who you think needs to go home first. I'll keep my list to 3 each as I could go a lot deeper since there are a lot of good players on this season.

Rooting to win:
Sarah Lacina - she's from Iowa and I thought she played a good game when she won so gotta go with the home state girl
Danni Boatwright - one of my favorites, maybe it was because I'm a KC Chiefs fan like her but she's also from the KC area so somewhat of a local connection there too
Ben Driebergen - I think he has to be on your short list of one of the best players ever to play the game

My wife had Wendell and Ethan on her list with Sarah her other and I like both those guys too so they'd probably be my 4th and 5th if I made a top 5. Also forgot that Denise Stapley is from Iowa too but I don't see her going too far as she is the oldest person on the cast this season

Needs to go home first:
Sandra - Only 2 time winner, people are nuts if they give her any window to be in contention this season. If she is not the first or one of the first to go it is a bit shocking to me with a season full of previous winners they wouldn't take out the obvious right away
Boston Rob - he's been around the game more than any contestant whether he was playing or being a "mentor." Another one I wouldn't let make it far
Parvarti - I hate putting her on this list because she is one of the more attractive females to have played and she is fun to watch play the game too but she's probably one of the most strategic players and plays a well rounded game that if you let her go too far she can manipulate her way to the end.

 

[Gonzo]

disagree, the social game is part of the game too. He should have won season 19, but nobody was scared of taking him to the finals because they knew he wouldn't get any votes

That's what, in my opinion, keeps him from being anywhere close to the GOAT discussion. He might be the best ever at getting to the finals, but he never had a chance once he got there. Killing every chance you have at getting votes in the final council on the road getting there is just bad strategy.

 

[Fitzy]

My top three to win this season are:

1. Denise Stapley. Yes, she's the oldest, but she appears to be in even better shape than she was the last time she played and I think she will fit the role of "not enough of a threat to vote out early, under the radar enough to survive post-merge." And I'm absolutely rooting more for her since she's from Iowa.

2. Yul Kwon. Yul is generally likable but also has the smarts and physical ability to do well. IMO he's one of the most underrated winners the show's ever had and I don't think he'll be targeted as early-on as names like Boston Rob / Parvati / Sandra.

3. Kim Spradlin-Wolfe. Another strategic player who won't be seen as a huge threat early-on but will likely have made good connections by the later half of the game.

My top three to go home first:

1. Tony Vlachos. Yes, he bombed in his second go-round, but that's because his tribe mates did the right thing by getting rid of him immediately. Tony's the kind of guy who will search for immunity idols relentlessly and you have to get rid of idol hunters before they are given days to search (and find) idols.

2. Boston Rob / Sandra. Sorry... The "Idols" are Idols for a reason. Give either of them a chance to hang around and they'll have more time to cement themselves for the long term.

3. Amber Mariano. Since they split up Amber from Rob, Amber's tribe is going to be playing the odds and know they need to get rid of Amber in the event she and Rob were to both get to the merge.

 

[CyGuy5]

I think Yul has a good shot to win, just because it seems like he’s in the middle. No ones favorite, but he’s not a likely shot to be one of the first voted out. In the words of Dwight Schrute, he’s the person I most medium suspect

 

[ImJustKCClone]

I haven't gone past the first layer yet, but my pick FTW is Yul. Still young enough to be a beast in challenges, savvy enough to maneuver his way through the social game, and is a very likeable guy (unlikely to piss people off or make them feel threatened).

 

[CYdTracked]

Tony is one of my least favorite players who I find annoying whenever he opens his mouth. Him going home early would put a smile on my face.

This has the potential to be one of the most cutthroat seasons ever I think, especially post-merge. Everyone has won before so they are all threats in some sense and I think most will have to play different than they have before if they want to get to the end because I would think the first sign of playing the same games they did in the past and it would put a bigger target on their back. Parvarti kind of hints at changing her game up this time. I don't think the flirty game or villain type game this time around will fair well for her this time so guessing she will try playing more of a caring social game this time around to build some strong relationships to trust.