A friend of mine participated in PotSawp (Secret Santa handmade pottery goods exchange) and her mug was from Rachel. She isn’t a Survivor watcher, so was expecting a pottery profile on Instagram and was very surprised at what she found instead.

Title kinda says it all. What are some real Survivor records held by real players that you wouldn’t want to hold? I’ll start with an easy one. Jeff Varner, everyone’s absolute favorite player, is the only player to play more than twice and never make it to the jury stage of the game.

In the first episode, Rob doesn't get a confessional until 33 minutes into the episode. We all know that if Boston Rob had not won Redemption Island, he would have gotten a confessional straight away like in Heroes vs Villains. I wonder if anyone ever noticed this before finding out Rob wins the season. If I was a big Survivor fan at the time this ep aired and I knew how much Rob was edited in his previous season and I noticed he didn't get a confessional until 33 minutes into the episode, this would have been a giveaway to me that he was winning the season. Did anyone else notice this? And if so, when?

The edit always showed Teeny when there was any sort of alcohol involved. The producers made it a point to show Teeny’s excitement when Jeff said there would be wine or beer at any given reward (always panning to Teeny during the beer or wine line), and they made it a point to show Teeny always going for refills or giving others a refill, or just discussing alcohol in general. The blowup on Sam for not taking her on the reward? The edit made it seem as though it was partially because Teeny was unable to get the alcohol.

Hey, I’m not saying the edit should hide people getting drunk on the show, but it seemed oddly specific at a certain point with how often they showed Teeny with alcohol or Teeny’s excitement for alcohol.

Important for me to say that I am NOT suggesting anything about Teeny’s relationship with alcohol, I am just calling out that the producers seemed to try to.

Idk. Felt weird. Anyone else notice or did I perhaps pick up on something not there?

I just wrapped up watching SoPa after watching Nicaragua and Redemption Island right before it, and I feel extremely underwhelmed. I came into it hearing that it was a pretty solid season and “Survivor: Redemption Island done right” but I feel like it’s the opposite.

As much as I felt like 22 was pretty lackluster, I felt like I still had some rooting interests and the cast wasn’t ALL bad. Phillip is an all time character, I liked Stephanie Valencia’s run in the premerge and even though this is arguably Rob’s weakest season as a character (probably due to him not fucking around this time)… it’s still Boston Rob.

Whereas 23 just feels like a watered down version of it all. Coach wasn’t nearly as fun, I’ve never been much of an Ozzy guy and the rest of the casting besides Jim and Cochran felt… uninspired? I guess you had a couple of standouts like Stacey and Brandon but even then. Stacey left so early and Brandon Hantz should’ve stayed at home for his own sake.

What are some of your opinions on 23? Should I give it another chance down the road? Is it crazy to say 22 is better?

Anika seems like a social person outside of Survivor,based on her social media presence.If she had made it to the merge,she would've been unstoppable.She literally had an woman alliance with Sierra and Rachel,imagine she made it to the merge,the women alliance would've succeeded.The only reason why Sierra voted for Anika,was because Sam threatened to play the idol for Andy and she had no choice but to vote for her out.Imagine if Anika didn't lose her vote,she would've dominated, probably would've been Dee 2.0,she messed up by going to the journey.But anyways that's my take on this matter.What do you guys think?

I love 47! Are there other Survivor seasons/episodes where players use advantages in new ways like Rachel’s SITD move?

He was essentially leaking information to both alliances post-merge - to the Four Horsemen and the larger alliance. The larger alliance only prevailed in the blindside because they didn't tell Dreamz that Edgardo was the real target so Dreamz told the Horsemen it was Alex. What was the strategy with playing both sides?

I was more active a few years ago and there were quite a lot of AMA back then. I love S47 so I came back here again. When I checked the AMA archives, there isnt any recently. Is it a policy thing? or just no one updated the archives? I quite enjoyed reading the AMAs.

First off, congrats to a well deserved Survivor win for Rachel! Great season and she totally killed it. This may seem very Anti-Rachel at first but that couldn’t be more opposite from the case.

As someone who has watched survivor for over 12-13 years, having caught up on the old seasons, I am getting a bit tired of Survivor having a twist,advantage or journey EVERY SINGLE EPSIODE. I feel like they are trying to cram in as much action into 26 days as possible and it feels a little forced to me. What made me fall in love with Survivor was that the players were left to their OWN devices to create the narratives and storylines. Everything was natural and shapes the entire season. There’s a reason Tocantins is in my top 5. All newbie cast, great characters and storyline, and best of all? The CAST is what made that season great. There were no dynamic twists or tribe swaps. So we TRULY got to see dynamics play out in the most entertaining way possible. Which brings me to 47…..

Sincerely one of the better casts in my opinion out of the 40’s. At the start of the merge I was truly like “anyone can win this” so I think they nailed the casting on this season. I REALLY wish these people could have been left to their own devices. This could have been a very high level of entertainment if you ask me. I feel like when so many advantages and twists are forced down our throat every episode, it takes away from the story the season is trying to tell. More specifically I have a huge issue with the advantage that Sol found that he was forced to give to Rachel. I was assuming that an advantage would be hidden on the island that Rachel and the rest of the Tuku were seperated to. (Which would make sense). But no Sol finds it and is forced to give it to someone. And it’s “safety without power” that is WAY too strong of an advantage to just be handed out 20 minutes before tribal council. (If I’m Rachel I would have played it too duh) But you gotta admit, how the hell is that fair to anyone. The greatest strategic minds in survivor HISTORY wouldn’t be able to plan around that. I mean how can you? Your target was handed safety 10 seconds before tribal 😭. There’s no planning for that and that’s what makes me feel like CBS is doing too much to force the action. The whole advantage in the fries thing was mad stupid too. No shot complete luck should get you advantages. ONCE AGAIN my issue is with the advantages, twists and journeys, NOT Rachel. Rachel just happened to be the person who got these advantages and I’d be complaining regardless of who got them. I feel it takes away from the spirit of survivor. With all these twists and advantages just being chucked into the game, it feels less like survivor every season. The social dynamics of this game is what made me fall in love with the show. The idol plays are cool and are iconic but not the entire base of the show. I’m not sure where I read this quote so i can’t give credit to whoever said it, but it was

“Survivor used to be about a group of people playing a game. Now it’s about a game being played by a group of people.”

Essentially Survivor has become nostalgia warriors, relying on the games past and Jeff quotes to cover the fact this is almost an entirely different show at this point. They are relying too much on the past to cover the issues with the 26 day seasons. All this stuff about a “survivor bucket list” all but proves that. People are coming in trying to force action because they have only 26 days to do it. The show used to highlight the PEOPLE, showcasing the different dynamics and power struggles. Nowadays the merge hits and everyone just drops their alliances and they all vote out the big threats one by one. And that’s because this has become very much a game rather than an experience. That extra 2 weeks people spend getting to know eachother is crucial and make blindsides that much more meaningful. Nowadays, when they merge it’s been like 10-12 days so they don’t give a fuck about anyone on their tribe. I wouldn’t either for a million dollars. But that’s the issue. It’s not about the people anymore. It’s the game.

Survivor is trying to make it so every season is entertaining regardless of the cast, which from their perspective I get. However I wish more effort was put into actually great casting rather than creating a game with so many forced advantages and twists every single episode.

I love Survivor, it’s my favorite show. Just miss what made the show so great.

I would say,I would play mostly like Omar from Survivor 42,I feel like I'm more of a person who has a strategic mind,that can control the game in more subtle strategic way.But personality wise,I would say Emily,I am blunt, pessimistic and wiling to improve as an individual.What about y'all?

The amount of attention and scrutiny survivor players get nowadays make me question applying.

IF I were to apply, then get screened, selected, then play…..I honestly think the part I would most dread isn’t the hunger for 26 days….it would be the life under a microscope (like is currently happening on this sub)

Am I the only one off put by that?

This became a part of the show in the late teens/early 20s seasons (I’m watching Nicaragua now but it’s been prevalent in a few seasons until now).
Even in last season, the dynamics of why Sol gave Rachel the Safety Without Power advantage was about the previous tribe numbers and not anything that was ascertained at the tribal council.

While watching S47 my wife and I started watching from S1.

Is there an app, website or someway to play fantasy for past seasons?

Just a few off the top of my head that really fumbled the bag in every which way. I won’t be considering Hannah or Jackson given they didn’t even really “play” the game.

JD Robinson - Bad in challenges, bad at lying, and couldn’t even handle an extra vote properly.

Zach Wurtenberger - Formed an alliance early on only to blow it up within the first 2 days. Also fumbled the first immunity challenge so bad it saved Rocksroy from imminent doom.

Daniel Strunk - Ran his mouth all the way out the door. What more can I say?

Chanelle Howell - In one fell swoop, Chanelle completely tanked her game and went from swing vote to outsider. Bring back Jenny.

Lindsey Carmine - How does one get so paranoid their own alliance breaks from an easy vote to get you instead? Welcome back Jamie Newton, I guess.

Geo Bustamante - Clueless. That is all.

Elie Scott - Morriah did not deserve to be the first boot. And yet Elie really got that big of a head she tanked her own alliance on Day 3. And then she just proceeded to ruin her goodwill with everyone she possibly could. Bottom 10 new era player imo.

Josh Wilder - It takes a lot for all 3 tribes to unite in voting one person out, and yet Josh managed to get it done. Congrats.

Brandon Donlon - The challenges. That’s all.

Sean Edwards - Got duped, made a compelling case on why he should stay and then…quit? What the hell, guys?

David Jelinsky - It won’t take several hours to explain this one.

Bhanu Gopal - He won a million hearts, but I’m not one of them.

TK Foster - When the strongest guy on the tribe gets ousted for his difficult personality, that’s how you know you’ve got a bad player. Even Jonathan Young wasn’t this difficult.

Rome Cooney - What better way to finish than with Elie Scott's annoying male doppelgänger? Bless your heart, Sol.

Anyone I missed? Discuss below.

In my opinion, Rachel has been so lucky this whole season (mainly during the merge). First off, she got the safety without power advantage from Sol when she was stuck with five tukus on one tribe. This allowed her to leave tribal council without voting or being voted for. Secondly, she got an advantage in her prize at the auction, which got her an idol, and she was somehow able to get it without having any of her tribe mates catching her in the act. Lastly, when it came to who was getting on that boat, it was between Sam, Genevieve, and Rachel. This gave Rachel a 1/3 shot. She got the right rock and headed out. When she got there, she had to do a challenge where she had to get all of the same colour balls into each section in a certain amount of time. What made it harder was that the table that she was working on was attached to ropes. Once all the rope got into the water, the table would go into the water as well. However, Rachel got really lucky with first getting on that boat and second being able to quickly finish that task and get a vote block. In total, when it came to advantages, Rachel got a lucky safe without power, a lucky clue to the hidden immunity idol at the auction, and the right rock, which got her onto the boat to receive a vote block advantage. Now let’s talk about the immunity challenges. In my opinion, all of the immunity challenges she won were really easy. Kyle was right on her tail for the “a bit tipsy” challenge. It was really all about luck and trying not to have the blocks fall while also balancing the platform with a rope. If Kyle was much faster, then he would have most likely beaten Rachel during the challenge. The final task for the “wizard’s staff” challenge was pretty simple and all about luck. It was just getting 3 small balls into three out of the five holes. Now for this challenge, no one was really close to beating her, but at the same time the challenge required no skill. She got really lucky during her recent immunity win, “stacked up.” So basically, it was her vs. Genevieve going back and forth trying to win. Rachel was trying to put on her last ball very carefully with the fork so it wouldn’t fall. Meanwhile Genevieve had already put up her last stand, and she went back to get her last ball. When Genevieve was trying to get her last ball with the fork, her stack just fell over all of a sudden, which gave Rachel a huge advantage. If Genevieve’s stack didn’t fall, she would most likely have won immunity for that challenge. In conclusion, if luck is Rachel’s overall strategy, then I totally respect that.

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I was looking up some of the best seasons of survivor and found a bunch of posts that led me to the China season (season 15). I’m almost done with episode 3 and I really don’t get why it’s one of the best. It’s pretty basic, less drama or sneakiness than usual, people aren’t forming alliances (just speaking up during tribal council), the Zhan Hu tribe is full of people that are too afraid to vote off the biggest A-hole despite they literally have the power to… It just annoys me. Does anything get better after episode 3? Or should I just jump to another season?

For reference, I started watching survivor a little while ago. I only had access to season 33 (Gen X vs Millennials) and in my opinion, it was a great season to start with. There were constantly cliffhangers, strategizing, alliances being formed, fake immunity idols being made by sneaky islanders. Overall, I liked it so much that I thought I should start watching Survivor. But after watching season 9 and now season 15… idk. Any reccs for seasons similar to season 33 or explanations for why Survivor China is good would be appreciated. Thanks!

I don't hate the fire making challenge as much as most do. As a game mechanic, I admit it stinks. It's provided great drama, though, which is why it's never going away. I rewatched and ranked all of them (including the pre S35 ones) based on entertainment value: narrative, drama, comedy, etc. I did not rank the ones that were used as normal immunity challenges.

1. 40: Tony vs Sarah - Culmination of three seasons of story building with an epic payoff. The winner of this won the game. Both had strong fires and it was super close. One of the most dramatic moments in Survivor history.
2. 47: Sam vs Teeny - Not much needs to be said. Epic comeback and a great narrative payoff with Teeny's one-sided rivalry with Sam. Don't think this is recency bias.
3. 13: Becky vs Sundra - This is just as funny as it was the first time. The jury's reactions, Jeff's reactions, and Yul/Ozzy's reactions are priceless. Jeff is clearly fed up and him deciding to go to matches is so funny. Sundra running out of matches is the cherry on top.
4. 41: Deshawn vs Heather - Super similar to 47, Deshawn's comeback is insane as he looks completely out of it at one point. I think this is the only FMC where both flags pop, Heather was a second behind.
5. 38: Chris vs Devens - The challenge itself isn't that great and it's a bit visually unsettling with it taking place in the voting booth. Included this high because I'm factoring in Chris's decision to give up immunity to take down Devens and doing it successfully. High drama.
6. 44: Heidi vs Carson - Similar to the one above but not nearly as dramatic. Heidi making a fire that fast and Carson still holding his own is an impressive showing.
7. 43: Gabler vs Jesse - Jesse never really got much going, but his devastation is palpable and knowing what happens next with Gabler's surprise win makes this more memorable than others.
8. 12: Danielle vs Cirie - Both had solid fires and it has the uniqueness of being at the start of the finale thanks to the To Be Continued in the episode prior. Poor Cirie.
9. 30: Carolyn vs Rodney - Dollar store Becky and Sundra as both of them took nearly an hour. Them constantly asking Jeff to swap out their flint and it not mattering because of how much they suck was pretty funny. Ended up being a close finish and Rodney's rage quit exit is amusing.
10. 42: Mike vs Jonathan - Not very notable but both made fires so that's a plus.
11. 39: Dean vs Lauren - Same as above.
12. 32: Aubry vs Cydney - Aubry's fire nearly breaks the rope, then dies, which provides a brief moment of excitement. Cydney gets absolutely nothing though. Her speech as she leaves about how much she needed to win was powerful.
13. 46: Kenzie vs Liz - Apparently way longer than we saw. Obviously carried a lot of weight given Maria's vote. Liz booing and delusionally saying that she would've won on her way out was baffling and funny.
14. 45: Jake vs Katurah - Not a lot happens here. Jake being emotional at his win is great and Katurah revealing that she's a lawyer is also great.
15. 10: Steph vs Bobby Jon - Gets a bump due to the novelty of being the first one ever, but they were still working out the kinks. Super weird that they use matches and just have to light a torch, so it's over in seconds. Pretty unfair to Bobby Jon. Conspiracy theory that they redid this challenge because Steph complained?
16. 36: Wendell vs Angela - Boring as hell but a funny moment when Wendell is clearly freaked out about using the orange station and rather than gaining a psychological competitive advantage, Angela just doesn't care. I don't know if she even knew what show she was on.
17. 17: Bob vs Matty - Matty does nothing during this challenge but the music during his sendoff is EPIC.
18. 10: Ian vs Jenn - Yawn. At least it kept the drama of Tom, Ian and Katie's alliance alive to allow the epic ending to the season to unfold properly.
19. 37: Mike vs Kara - Completely unmemorable in every way.
20. 35: Ben vs Devon - Not only does Devon not get anything going at all, this one has the added ugliness of being an unfair surprise to Chrissy, Devon and Ryan, who would've just voted out Ben had they known the rules of the season they were playing on.

What happened to him since survivor aired?? His instagram account is set to private

Wow, it holds up on a rewatch and binge. The Bhanu storyline seams to be less important, everyone is hilarious and their is amazing drama and tension. You can see all the seeds the editors put in for the winner. Still my favorite new era season.