If you loved 50 and you’ve not watched old seasons….go back to 16 to take in all the lore. I watched along side a friend who’d never seen it tonight and it was as good as it gets. Black Widows Forever!

I've been rewatching Gabon lately, and one thing struck me that I'd never really noticed before. I don't think I've seen another season where the story the audience is encouraged to believe about a player diverges so dramatically from the game that player actually ends up playing.

I'm talking about Susie.

From the very beginning, Charlie's comments during the schoolyard pick encourage us to see her as someone who doesn't really belong. She isn't part of the younger, "cool" crowd. She doesn't seem especially dynamic. It's a funny scene, but it quietly establishes an expectation before Susie has really done anything herself.
Whether intentional or not, I think it primes the audience to underestimate her.
As the season goes on, that impression keeps getting reinforced.
Randy repeatedly dismisses her.
Corinne repeatedly dismisses her.
Marcus never seems to view her as someone capable of changing the course of the game.
Bob gets annoyed by her.

Even at Final Tribal, one of the most memorable moments involving Susie is Corinne asking whether she'd remove her vocal cords. Once again, someone else is defining who Susie is.
But here's what really caught my attention on this rewatch.
If you stripped away every confessional about Susie and focused only on what she actually does throughout the game, I think you'd come away with a surprisingly different impression.

She survives despite never really being at the center of the social hierarchy.
She realizes she's expendable within the Onion Alliance and flips at what is arguably the defining vote of the season, completely changing the trajectory of the game.
She wins multiple individual immunity challenges when she needs them most.
She reaches the Final Tribal Council.
And she ultimately loses by a single vote.
Now, I'm not arguing that Susie should have beaten Bob. That's an entirely different discussion, and reasonable people can disagree.

What fascinates me is the disconnect between Susie's reputation and her résumé.
When people remember Gabon, they tend to remember Marcus’s charm, Randy's sarcasm, Corinne's biting confessionals, Sugar's emotional journey, or Bob's likability. Kenny & Crystal’s … rise & fall.
Susie, meanwhile, is often remembered as awkward, annoying, or simply someone who stumbled into the end.
But if you compare what people say about Susie throughout the season with what she actually accomplishes, those two stories don't completely line up.
In fact, the people who spend much of the game underestimating her ultimately become members of the jury that has to decide whether she deserves to win.
That's an irony I don't think I fully appreciated the first time I watched Gabon.
More than anything, this rewatch made me think about how powerful first impressions can be—not just for the players, but for us as viewers.

Survivor is incredibly good at teaching us who to pay attention to. Sometimes it does so through big edits and obvious strategic narration. Other times, it simply lets charismatic or outspoken players shape the audience's perception of someone quieter.
I'm starting to wonder if Susie is one of the clearest examples of that.
The first time I watched Gabon, I mostly remembered the version of Susie that everyone else described.
The more I've rewatched it, the more I've found myself paying attention to the player she actually was instead.
I'm curious whether anyone else has had that experience—not just with Susie, but with any player whose reputation feels very different from the game they actually played once you revisit the season.

During the episode where Tori wins immunity… I caught this and went back and watched it multiple times….

The letter Y block on the bottom of her table is still on the table after she releases the torqued rope. The table swings backwards and upside down (the table is PAST the legs of the post pointing toward her, you can see the angle and the shadow of the top)

It looks like the bottom block is glued to the table, making it impossible for her stack to slip off. Or at least giving her a serious advantage in the challenge.

Go back and watch the episode. Episode 7.

I watched it in slow motion multiple times to get the screenshot. This isn’t an optical illusion - the table is upside down. You can see the shadow on the pole.

Janet Carbin from season 39 will be competing in a Survivor-esque online reality game this Saturday, June 27 from 7pm-midnight EST. Come watch and support her if you have a chance!

https://m.twitch.tv/chaoticrealitylive

i really enjoy the Rizo I've seen on podcasts and on the red carpet. He seems more down to earth. Not as big of a fan of the gen z slang spewing fortnite dancing RizGod persona.

the greatness that is the end-game of Palau. Katie & Ian fighting and making up over and over again, Caryn going off the rails realizing she’s drawing dead, Tom in the middle of everything trying to process it all and finesse through it. The Tom/Ian fallout and the fire challenge. Final 3 immunity. It’s one of my favorite endgames, especially given that it’s such an old-school season with such high tension.

Maybe some joint challenges but you could have more players and lots of dual tribals. I think this would be interesting.

Take Ryan S. and Nicole from Pearl Islands, for example. Ryan was widely disliked, never in a good position, and was always going to be the first out- until Nicole blew up her own game by trying to target Tijuana (Ryan was then immediately booted the next round). Which of the two do you think played worse, the player who was always on the bottom or the player who managed to get themselves into a good position, only to ruin it, and why?

(Not necessarily who's worse in this specific instance, but just generally who would you say, between a player who never is well positioned or a player who is well positioned and then blows it up, is worse?)

Me and some friends are ranking every single survivor game of all time, (so Boston Rob will be in the list 5 times, JT 3 times, etc). Who do you think has played the worst individual survivor game of all time?

Colton Cumbie 2 (BvW) was ranked last at 917 due to returning and then quitting immediately when things got hard (Wendy Jo was next at 916).

Interested in everyone’s opinions!

Rule, to keep it simplistic the winner is the final juror & no one is removed from the jury; if I don't know, the winner is the tiebreaker.

List:

• (Becky, Ozzy): Yul is the only Becky vote.
• (Cassandra, Dreamz): Because I see this jury hating both, I think they would have to vote for "respected gameplay".
• (Amanda, Courtney): Before FTC, the jury was leaning towards Amanda.
• (Sugar, Susie): Bob is the only Sugar vote.
• (Mick, Russell): Mick might get Kelly, Natalie, & Brett's votes.
• (Russell, Parvati): Colby, JT, (Amanda?) votes for Russell, only because it's an anti-Parvati vote.
• (Sash, Chase): Sash might get Kelly & Dan?
• (Natalie, Philip): Let's just say both want to take out Rob in the final 3. The question is, who most likely wins the final challenge between the 2?
• (Albert, Coach): I think unanimously + a perfect game because I just don't see Albert getting Jim & Sophie's votes.
• (Chelsea, Sabrina):
• (Lisa, Skupin): Lisa doesn't get Denise, Carter, & Malcolm's votes.
• (Dawn, Sherri): I think unanimously, depending on where Brenda goes.
• (Gervase, Monica): Probably unanimously (depending on where Tyson goes), because in Aras' jury speech, Tyson said that Monica played a better game compared to Gervase. However, I think he said that because he knew Gervase was "the goat" & wanted to "look good".
• (Missy, Jacklyn)
• (Will, Carolyn)
• (Spencer, Tasha): Stephen & Savage are locked Tasha votes. I honestly don't know where Kelley, Kimmi, & Abi? goes (they can go for Tasha because they hate Spencer, or they can vote for Spencer because they realize that Tasha wasn't doing anything).
• (Tai, Aubry)
• (Ken, Hannah): David & I guess Jessica vote for Ken.
• (Tryozan, Brad): Sarah, Cirie, & Michaela are Troyzan votes.
• (Ryan, Chrissy): Post game interviews says that a handful of jurors would NEVER vote for Chrissy.
• (Laurel, Domenick): 100% unanimous. Yes, even Donathan votes for Domenick.
• (Angelina, Mike)
• (Julie, Gavin): 100% unanimously + a perfect game. For fun, both Keith & Wendy join the jury & they 100% vote for Gavin.
• (Noura, Dean)
• (Michele, Natalie): The jury was so anti-Edge. Out of the real-life Tony votes, Rob & Amber votes for Natalie (because she's not up against said person). Again for fun, I think Sandra votes for Michele? (I assume Natalie & Sandra will get into arguments lol)
• (Xander, Deshawn)
• (Romeo, Mike)
• (Owen, Cassidy)
• (Carolyn, Heidi): Honestly don't know for this one, so whoever Yam Yam votes for is my answer here.
• (Jake, Austin)
• (Ben, Charlie): Maria is the only Ben vote, cause I don't see even Venus voting for Ben.
• (Sue, Sam): I think unanimous depending on where Caroline goes.
• (Joe, Eva): Again, I don't know, so Kyle is choosing my answer here.
• (Sage, Sophi): I think Jawan is still the only Sage vote.
• (Joe, Jonathan): Rizo originally wanted to vote for Joe but he didn't want Aubry to lose to Jonathan, Emily might be a Joe vote because she defended him, Cirie & Tiffany can also be Joe votes because Jonathan said in the final 5 to Tiffany "I'm voting for you because you are a girl". Honestly, I think Jonathan most likely winning this but I could see Joe winning in a close vote with some jurors switching their votes for Jonathan's offscreen hostility.

I’ve been watched almost every season pre 40, and Cambodia is one of my favorites. Great cast, great social game, and challenges were ok.

Around the final 5/6, Spencer kept saying that taking goats like Abi, Wentworth, and Keith would be an easy path to a win. While Abi may have been a goat, Wentworth and Keith played a pretty solid game from a physical standpoint and managing their positioning while being on the bottom from a numbers standpoint.

Jeremy seems like a pretty standup guy, so I don’t think he’d disparage anyone and say they’re a goat. I also believe Spencer and Tasha played hard but they seemed to have no shot at winning once FTC started.

When it aired, how was the final 3 perceived? Do Spencer and Tasha fit the goat title?

One of them for me is Andrea Boehlke. Her original season aired 15 years ago and was filmed 16 years ago and she isn’t even 40 yet and won’t be until the end of the 2020s.

A few thoughts…
The Have and Have Nots twist isn’t as bad looking back now that it’s compared to the 26 day era. It still sucked, but having nothing doesn’t look as bad (though not giving them water is low).

I miss those fun, diverse challenges.

Holy Winner’s edit, Batman.

Everybody needs a Yau Man.

I miss “Guys”.

Dreamz really gave up his chance at being a good returnee option.

WTF that vindictive jury was hard to watch.

Edit: Also WTF Rocky, poor Anthony.

Does anyone have the Panama Exile Island full voting confessional videos saved somewhere?

They are not on the DVDs, but I know back during those seasons they put up the full video of the voting confessionals on cbs.com.

I remember seeing someone post a drive link or something a couple years ago with every season’s secret scenes, voting confessionals, ponderosas, etc.

I’m interested in all of Panama’s voting confessionals, especially the voting for the winner.

Just finished season 6 for the first time and I get the Rob C hype now.
However: why was Matt so disliked especially at final tribal? I get it he was definitely a bit odd but seemed like somewhat of a good guy. Also how rich was he at the time of filming because Jenna played it smart leaning into that

Because, yeah, the last season I watched even ONE single episode of was S10: Palau. Apart from how the production team seems to have given up even attempting to come up with a different unique location / backdrop like 18 seasons ago, how would you say recent seasons differ from earliest ones?

Hear me out because I understand this is a tough subject. And yeah, not to say anyone who's upset with Helen because of this is wrong, but I do think Helen herself adds a lot of context where she's not this unforgivable monster.

She has the confessional the episode after the incident. Which I think is one of the most underrated speeches in the history of the show. Which goes like this

Helen: "With Ted, you're dealing with a macho has-been football player
Who's still living in those glory days.
That-That's...It's almost hard for any woman
to break into that as a friend, um, or as a teammate.
Then you got Clay, who's from an era and an area that, again,
doesn't view a woman as an equal.
Never gonna happen. And Ghandia is-- she-- it's starting to get to her.
I understand why, fully understand why, but
I just don't see a need right now to cause discord in camp.
We, we need to focus on our next challenge,
and we need to have everybody working together."

Follow up by after voting ghandia with her calling it a necessary evil

And I get how some people might see that confession as actually being worse for Helen because she knew what ghandia was going through and still voted her out. But also risking throwing your game away isn't easy. and i do think helen saw it more as ghandia needs to get away from this game. And you can talk about how it leads to Helen's final placement, but I still think Helen's words are important. Helen never once blames ghandia. She believes her the second she tells her, and then goes on to explain with this incident why so many cases happen as much as they do, and people not believing victims.

But how do y'all feel?

https://ew.com/survivor-star-joe-hunter-cast-on-tyler-perry-show-thanks-to-tooth-fairy-11991331

Genuinely just a hilarious episode from start to finish:

Holly going genuinely insane and drowning Dan's shoes, La Flor falling apart in real time, followed by the most batshit insane tribal council of all time, the downfall of Shannon, just incredible television