Shot in the dark is actually a fairly cool non-game breaking mechanic in the new era... HOWEVER I have one major gripe:

The methodology of the presentation of the mechanic asks us to trust the fairness of the scrolls in a bag performed off camera.

1.) It doesn't make for good television. Having Jeff unroll the scroll doesn't have that POW! of emotionally impact. .

2.) It feels like we're transitioning the players agency to Jeff as he is the one who unrolls the scroll.

3.) I know that the player chooses the scroll in what we are asked to trust is a 1 out of six scrolls. While I truly believe that Survivor sticks to the odds and that there really is 1 of the six scrolls that is safe and 5 of six that are not safe, it does ask a lot of trust from the players and the viewer that it isn't rigged in some way by production (I know they have someone on the show whose entire job is to make sure the game is fair and that the mechanics behave in the way that we are told).

4.) It does seem a little extra lucky Season 46 Spoiler ahead: That Tevin saves himself with it. It seems like if there was one time production would want shot in the dark to work it would be this moment for Tevin!

INSTEAD
As the shot in the dark that the player has seems to be a dice why not allow the player to roll the dice either in the voting booth or in the moment before or after the votes are read!? It would make it obvious that there truly is a one out of 6 shot at safety and would be a more impactful onscreen moment while demonstrating the players agency that they are the ones who roll!

Do you agree!? What is another good way we could see this mechanic work? A cap gun with 1 cartridge in the gun that is spun and fires the bottle cap?

What do you guys think about how Sol and Teeny are or may be feeling about Genevieve?

To me, it feels like their relationship has had medium ups and downs.

For instance, Genevieve voted for Aysha at the first Lavo tribal, which Teeny participated in out of fear of Rome’s idol - and Sol benefited from by staying in the game.

Then Genevieve holds really firm on keeping Rome around and takes advantage of Teeny not having a vote and Sol being on the bottom and somewhat strong arms them into voting out Kishan.

Then they hit the merge and Genevieve (smartly) allows Rome to be the first person taken out. She cut her goat loose to appease the rest of the merge tribe - which also makes Sol and Teeny happy and feel like they got their way.

It’s been a couple of weeks now since any of these three have been targeted, so they haven’t had a chance to turn on each other.

Does this trio strike you guys as a three person alliance? Or do you feel that they are fractured enough that it wouldn’t take much for any of them to break ranks?

I feel like we are seeing a lot of great strategic content from Genevieve, great social content from Sol, and great game-sense from Teeny.

Curious what you guys are thinking!

Simple idea here, a friend wants to pick up Survivor, but they do not have the time nor energy to watch 47 seasons in order to catch up. They ask you for a list of the 10 most important seasons to watch in order to catch up.

In my opinion, seasons 41+ don't have a 'story' yet, with only 1-timers and no All-Star season to worry about, so my suggestions are gonna stay from seasons 1-40. As a bonus, this mystery friend can watch season 47 (both because it's currently airing and because it's a solid representative for the new era). If I'm sorting from seasons 1-40, I'll sort these seasons in batches of 4. Remember, these aren't just the 'best' seasons, but the 10 most crucial (though being a good season is obviously a large part of my decision making). Skip to the bottom if you just want the list without the explanation.

Here's my list of the 10 most important Survivor seasons:

Seasons 1-4 -- Season 1, Survivor: Borneo

One of the easiest choices, you can't tell the story without the start. The beginning of the idea of alliances, the foundation of the games' rules, etc.

Seasons 5-8 -- Season 8, Survivor: All Stars

How can you not include the first all stars, so many key characters grow their reputation here, namely Boston Rob and Amber, but it would also serve as an introduction to past winners like Tina and Ethan who our fictional friend would've missed.

Seasons 9-12 -- No Season

I really considered Panama, but there are two more important seasons in the next batch that better summarize the 'Golden Age'.

Seasons 13-16 -- Season 13, Survivor: Cook Islands and Season 16, Survivor: Micronesia

It came down to Cook Islands and Panama for the season that would bridge the gap between All Stars and Micronesia, I feel Cook Islands is more important. Ozzy, Yul, and Parvati alone are a pretty good argument, it has good gameplay and a rootable outcome. As for Micronesia, duh this was gonna be here. 2 of the 10 best players ever compete on this season, and Parvati and Cirie are such integral characters it's impossible not to include Micronesia.

Season 17-20 -- Season 20, Survivor: Heroes Vs. Villains

Come on, I wasn't not gonna include HvV. Though Tocantins is a tough one to cut, I want the first 20 and last 20 seasons to have a balance of 5 and 5 each.

Seasons 21-24 -- No Season

One of the worst stretches in the shows history. South Pacific is the closest because of the Coach and Ozzy resolution, but overall not significant enough. You can just tell your friend that Rob wins during this stretch, it's been obviously coming for a while.

Seasons 25-28 -- Season 27, Survivor: Blood Vs. Water and Season 28, Survivor: Kaguyan

BvW is crucial because of Tyson's win. It also has strong games from the supporting cast and is a good resolution for Tina, Gervase, etc., as well as the start of Brad Culpepper. Kaguyan just has to be here. Woo and Sarah are important characters, but of course, the main draw is Tony. Can't just exclude the GOAT's first win. After all, it starts the story arc that WaW finishes.

Seasons 29-32 -- No Seasons

Not much to say, there just aren't many significant going ons in this stretch of seasons when it comes to the overall puzzle.

Seasons 33-36 -- Season 34, Survivor: Game Changers

The obvious choice as a returnee season, while of course there are weak players making an All Star cast and that does drag things down, too many huge characters continue to develop/cement their legacies in this season.

Seasons 37-40 -- Season 37, Survivor: David Vs. Goliath and Season 40, Survivor: Winners at War

I went with DvG as my 4th and final 100% newbie cast season because it is the best in my opinion. While only Nick is a returning player, it's my personal favorite newbie Survivor season ever, and I think you will find no better cast (gameplay and likeability wise) amongst almost any newbie seasons. And of course, WaW had to be included. I mean, this whole list is basically a "here's what you missed before watching WaW".

The balance I wanted to achieve was:

4 newbie seasons, 4 all-star seasons, 2 half-and-half seasons.

5 from seasons 1-20, 5 from 21-40.

TL;DR

Borneo, All-Stars, Cook Islands, Micronesia, Heroes Vs. Villains, Blood Vs. Water, Kaguyan, Game Changers, David Vs. Goliath, Winners at War

Which ones do you disagree with? If you think I left off a season, remember to say which season should be cut in its place, this was way harder than I thought.

And have they changed over the years?

Somewhere in the low teens we started encouraging Jeff to do what he was going to do anyway.

“That’s right, you go tally those votes, Jeff!”

Somehow it stuck and we still say it every dang time.

What are yours?

I doubt I am alone in thinking this, but I've been thinking that a reason certain tribes like Galu that dominate in challenges pre-merge but struggle strategically in the post-merge is because they become victims of their own success. They haven't engaged in the core mechanic of the game (voting people out) nearly as much and are therefore not as strategically sharpened, so to speak, when compared to a tribe like Foa Foa that had been learning the ropes in having more of those associated discussions and having to put pen to parchment. By the time they hit the merge, part of their problem is that Foa Foa were just more experienced in playing the overall game. What do you all think?

I mean, there is no way he wins out, but the first time he looses. I'm assuming he is gone?

Here are the results from S47 E8 Day After Survey.

You can view Google's interactive summary of the results here.

Total Responses: 311

Overall Reactions

 Average: 8.19 Standard deviations: 1.20

​

Contestant Reactions

The top 5 Survivors are listed below. In all questions, up to 3 picks were allowed.

Which Survivors played the best strategically?

1. Rachel (86.1%)
2. Sol (61%)
3. Andy (53.5%)
4. Genevieve (47.4%)
5. Caroline (27.1%)

Which Survivors were the most exciting characters to watch?

1. Rachel (77.8%)
2. Andy (75.9%)
3. Sol (54%)
4. Genevieve (24.8%)
5. Kyle (22.2%)

Which Survivors gave the best confessionals?

1. Andy (75.6%)
2. Rachel (55.3%)
3. Sol (40.3%)
4. Genevieve (31.2%)
5. Sam (22.4%)

Which Survivors gave the best challenge performances?

1. Kyle (96%)
2. Sue (92.7%)
3. Andy (64.1%)
4. Rachel (8.3%)
5. Sol (5.6%)

Which Survivors gave the best Tribal Council performances?

1. Rachel (89.5%)
2. Andy (42.7%)
3. Gabe (19.3%)
4. Sol (13.2%)
5. Genevieve (12.2%)

Overall, which Survivors stood out to you the most in this episode?

1. Rachel (89.8%)
2. Andy (73.8%)
3. Sol (44.9%)
4. Genevieve (19.7%)
5. Sierra (13.8%)

​

Gameplay

Who would you have voted for at Tribal Council?

1. Sierra (45.7%)
2. Sam (41.2%)
3. Rachel (9.6%)
4. I don't know (3.5%)

What do you think of Rachel playing her Shot in the Dark at Tribal Council?

1. Great move (87.5%)
2. It's alright (9%)
3. Bad move (2.3%)
4. I don't know (1.3%)

In one word, describe Sierra, the eighth boot

1. Overconfident (15)
2. Sam (13)
3. Chickens (12)
4. Social (7)
5. Margarita, Pretty (5)

Would you like to see Sierra return in a future season?

1. No (81.5%)
2. Yes (18.5%)

​

Editing/Production

Overall, how would you rate how this episode was edited?

Average: 8.21 Standard deviation: 1.42

​

This is our second time seeing a new era Auction. What did you think of the format?

1. It's alright (65.8%)
2. I hate it (18.2%)
3. I love it (13.7%)
4. I don't know (2.3%)

What do you think of the twist where Survivors can receive extra cash back as a reward along with their food at the Auction?

1. It's alright (49.8%)
2. I love it (23.3%)
3. I hate it (19.7%)
4. I don't know (7.2%)

What do you think of the twist where Survivors can pay to compete in a mini-challenge in order to win food at the Auction?

1. I love it (60.5%)
2. It's alright (33.7%)
3. I hate it (5.2%)
4. I don't know (0.7%)

What do you think of challenges where both the winning man and winning woman get Individual Immunity?

1. It's alright / Only in certain challenges (77.5%)
2. I hate it (12.1%)
3. I love it (9.8%)
4. I don't know (0.7%)

​

Challenges

How would you rate the immunity challenge?

Average: 6.83 Standard deviation: 1.76

​

Next Time on Survivor

The top 5 Survivors are listed below. Up to 3 picks were allowed.

Which Survivors are in the most danger next episode?

1. Sam & Kyle (75%)
2. Rachel (43%)
3. Gabe (42.7%)
4. Andy (18%)
5. Sol (15.7%)

many tips have been given about the audition video, but I had some questions about other parts of the application.

In step 2 it asks for a bio. What should this entail? I put a 2 sentence descriptor of me + 1 sentence of why I feel like I'm good for the show, but it also feels a bit repetitive from my video, so I'm wondering if they're looking for something else.

When submitting the picture in step 3, should it be a headshot or can it be a full body picture? I assume a picture with sunglasses/a cap wouldn't be optimal?

Lastly, is it the optimal time to be applying for S49? Does applying closer to when they're actively looking at auditions increase your chance of getting cast? If so, when would that be?

Thanks in advance.

Every time I see Sol he reminds me of a character from a movie or book that I imagined and I just can pin down which. Does anyone else have this sensation and if so who does he remind you of?

To preface, I am a brown Latino. Intially, one may look at the villains, and say woah...I tried to cast the 5 BEST male and the 5 BEST female villains, it just so happens they all are BIPOC, which shouldn't be a surprise given how there's more representation. And if you still disagree, please name some of the players who you think are better villains.

Another point I would like to stress is how I view villainy. I see villains on a spectrum: 0 - 50 are Villains and 51 - 100 are Heroes. For example, Yam Yam might be a 48 or 49 on the spectrum, but he's still on the half of villains (this could be inversely applied to other names such as Jonathan).

List of Alternates (In Descending Order):

- Owen (Hero)

- Tori (Villain)

- Julie (Hero)

- Frannie (Hero)

- Drew (Villain)

- Austin (Hero)

As for Season 47, Rome is VERY LIKELY to bump off Omar, but even then I wonder if Rome and Q are too similar in archetype. Gabe is a pretty okay villain, but not enough to be considered Top 5 Male Villains. Andy very well could bump Jake or Cody out of the Heroes tribe. Sol, Kyle, Sam, Teeny and Sue all have decent chances of making the Heroes tribe. Genevieve is still TBD, could be a hero, could be a villain, could not make the cast entirely.

https://preview.redd.it/8x3e4hpeoc0e1.jpg?width=493&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=fc9c4d6ad332e38bf04f527d9076973d897be1cf

(With the caveat that I’m a big fan but not as savvy as y’all, so the answer may be silly or obvious…)

I feel like we’ve seen a lot of speculation this season about whether a player intentionally failed at something for strategic purposes (e.g. Rome not getting a puzzle piece, Andy not finding the auction money).

Other than the Brandon Hantz “tribal”/staged PsychEvac where I believe they didn’t mention the challenge was thrown, have there been other times when a player/tribe intentionally failed or lost at something, but we never saw it acknowledged or confirmed in the edit?

Who do you think will be the first to complete the OG Trifecta? Only accounting for people who have played 39 Day Format Survivor.

My bet is on Cirie and I'm very surprised that she hasn't done TAR yet. Anyone know why? It's not crazy physical and even if she goes out first, it still counts as being the first to do all three.

If we were to add in The Challenge USA and made it a quadfacta, realistically only Hayden and Caleb would qualify because I don't see any of the Survivor players going on Big Brother.

In terms of just completing the Trifecta as is, I feel like Rachel Reilly (BB and TAR) is overdue for a stint on Survivor.

Spoiler in case anyone hasn't seen.

Rewatching S3 and completely forgot about the tiebreaker in episode 3. 4v4 deadlock between Carl and Lindsey, since it was the first tribal council and neither had any votes against the tiebreak was a quiz based off a survival booklet provided before the season. Super interesting mechanic.

I have seen every season live and am one that saw season 1 episode 1 the day it aired. I’ve seen each season between 1-40 between 2-10 times. I haven’t started 47 and am kind of dreading it as I have lost interest to be honest. Is it good? If I do, what are some non-spoiler events that I would have no clue what you mean until I watch it?

Update: read all of your comments. Thank you and it is giving me motivation to watch tonight!

Iyo who was a player thay was robbed in a survivor season and should have won because they played a better overall game, but struggled with a bitter jury

IMO Rob in all stars (still cool amber won) and Colby

I have a very vague memory as a child of watching a season where Bobby Jon and Stephanie stayed in a cave-like environment with a fire together one night. Was this season 10 or season 11? It’s driving me nuts so any info helps!

Here’s the remaining contestants and their original tribes!

I’ve been thinking a lot about this season, since Survivor will do something big for it, and I assume it will involve returning players…

That said, I think an Old Era vs. New Era season would work wonderfully.

Here are my tribes:

New Jonathan (42) Jesse (43) Carson (44) Q (46) Drew(45) Tori (42) Cassidy (43) Julie (45) Marie (46) Tiffany (46)

Old Christian (37) Devens (38) Devin (35) Dean (39) Dom (36) Angeline (37) Chrissy (35) Lauren (36) Hannah (33) Kellee (39)

What/who would you like to see?

We all have seen these moments, when a player is the consensus target or the easy vote out, and with their back against the wall, they some how some way escape, doesn’t have to be a winner, but in your opinion what is your favorite moment when someone had their back against the wall and survived?

After watching the previous season I was adamant to start this one knowing it is set in the so called Dark Age of Survivor. The only thing that kept me eager to watch it was Coach, my second favorite player after Cirie. So after taking a break once I finished RI (mind you how awful I found it to take a break when this year I watched from Palau to RI almost non-stop) I decided to see this season

Nothing could've prepared me for the level of insanity this season has. I thought nothing would come closer to Gabon/Nicaragua, and despite that South Pacific gets to a level of insanity that I couldn't believe.

Of course we have the religious under(over)tone. I have read about it before but I didn't expect it to be so heavy. The way Coach used it to manipulate his way into the competition was both fascinating and terrifying, yet fitting for a man like him. Unlike 18 and 20 you can see this time around the man wants to win and willing to do anything to get to the end and it was amazing.

But it's not only the Cult of Coach that's weird this season. Even at the start with Samhair and the poems, the disturbing stuff with Brandon and Makayla, the constant bullying of Cochran, the revolting ham challenge, and so on... Everything's so weird this time around I can't believe this is something from Survivor.

I understand the criticism of this season but I personally found it really entertaining. I don't know if I'm biased because I watched it after RI and it may look good only in comparison to 22, but I might even consider South Pacific one of my favorites. Just an amazing social experiment and the way religion works around people.

what do we have to sacrifice to get ponderosa back I'm so serious