Survivor: Worlds Apart

originally aired February 25, 2015 to May 20, 2015

The order in which players left the game and the impact they left behind:

• So (White Collar) Why Carolyn did not win is because of moves like siding with someone like Shirin rather than So or Joaquin, who were the first players to actually consider strategy this season.
• Vince (No Collar) Next time, ah, try and spend a little less time on jealous obsession (concerning Joe) and a little more on the, oh, game...
• Nina (No Collar) Right, the deaf one.  Who unfortunately made it an issue perhaps a little bigger than it needed to be.  Although weirdly, her No Collar tribemates weren't particularly cool about it, either.
• Lindsey (Blue Collar) The one time Rodney was effective all season was in getting her eliminated.
• Max (White Collar) The only White Collar nearly as weird as Shirin, and the other one who walked around naked.  Also, hipster beard included.  Thankfully was not given a second chance by fans for the thirty-first season.
• Joaquin (White Collar) As indicated above, Joaquin was an early favorite of mine because he was, y'know, playing the game.  
• Kelly (Blue Collar) Survived getting busted open in the blindfold challenge.  This surprisingly won her very few points.  It's always odd when the players take the blindfold challenges in stride, because as a viewer it always seems like such an important moment in the game.  Either way, on that score alone I'd love to see what else she could accomplish.
• Hali (No Collar) Most of the season I identified Hali and Jenn as the No Collar ditzes.  Eventually, Jenn redeemed herself.  Hali?  Not so much.
• Joe (No Collar) More often than you'd think but less often than you'd wish, Survivor casts someone who seems totally at home playing the game, not so much strategy-wise but people who just get how to exist within it.  It figures that at least one of them is clearly identified as a No Collar.
• Jenn (No Collar) Until the final tribal council and she went the full Spencer, explaining to the jury (it's surprising how seldom this occurs) why Mike should be declared the winner, I didn't think much of her.  But she totally got it.  Finally.  If there's such a thing as someone you want on a jury, she's it.  
• Shirin (White Collar) Until she popped up in the Second Chance vote and I found out how much sympathy she garnered from fans, I honestly had no clue.  She looked like a lunatic throughout the game.  I'm sorry she had a rough early life, but I'm equally sorry that she's never moved past it, no matter what kind of success she's had in life.  In her mind, she's very much the victim she used to be.  This is true of many people.  But hopefully most of them would not confuse their past with something someone says to them in a game, based solely on experiences within the game, and mount a crusade that's every bit as silly as how Rodney behaved.  I mean, people weren't throwing themselves all over Brandon his second time around, when it was clear that the sins of Hanz before him had drastically affected his thought process.  It's no different, and as silly to me as heaping praise on Cirie for "getting off the couch."  I understand it's important to champion people and send messages, but...c'mon.  If you must exaggerate, at least be honest.  I'm not at all saying Shirin and her mother asked for whatever it was that happened to them, but at a certain point, and because of all the success she's had in business, you'd think she'd stop considering herself only a victim.  But all the behavior she exhibited this season...It paints a very unstable portrait.  At best, I'd say Survivor did a poor psych test.  Wouldn't be the first time.  It didn't make for good viewing, and as far as I'm concerned, she made a poor argument, and never looked good the whole season, for any number of reasons.  So no, I'm not happy she's returning, and I fully expect she'll be voted out early next season.  I'm sorry for what happened to her.  But she needs to make peace with herself.  Not with Will.  With herself.  That much is hugely obvious.
• Tyler (White Collar) Started playing hard, but way too late in the game.  If he ever plays again, I would expect a much better result.
• Dan (Blue Collar) Dan, Dan the Lunatic Man...If he could just get out of his own way, he could easily have this game thoroughly in hand.  Tried to play the Kim (One World) plan of ousting his main ally (Mike) and still coasting to victory.  Found out lightning rarely strikes twice.
• Sierra (Blue Collar) I liked her (I mean, she's one of the better-looking players all-time), but wanted to see some more actual gameplay.  At times it looked like she would oblige.  Then again, she was the only one to vote for Carolyn in the finals.  So I don't know.
• Rodney (Blue Collar) Boston Rob this guy was not.  Not quite the full Jamie (Guatemala), but somewhat very close.  Like Dan, but more so, got in his own way.  And could not figure out how to get out.
• Will (No Collar) I don't know how he made it to the finals except by way of attrition, his one notable moment was rather one of infamy, picking on the surprisingly fragile Shirin...
• Carolyn (White Collar) If this is how she behaves in the business world, I don't know...And to think it looked like she was this close to convincing the jury she deserved the win...Someone who very much needed a good player to make it all the way, because otherwise she was all over the place.  At times looked like she knew what she was doing, and actually somewhat decent in comparison to others...But honestly, Survivor stacks the deck with bad players every season.  She nearly cost a good player a much-deserved win because, well, she is definitely White Collar...
• Mike (Blue Collar) Another well-deserved winner!  I love it when this happens (far too infrequently, alas), and I'm happy to say I nailed it early, the second time in thirty seasons to do so (the last time...Richard Hatch!).  Like Tom in Palau, had to sweat the final few weeks, but this guy showed everyone up, he really did, and it made a lot of people resentful, until someone (Jenn) pointed out that he did exactly what you're supposed to do in this game, which is to play to win.  Mike was a master of tribal council, which is a true art form, and for a season like this, the part of the episode packed with the best moments.  And he accomplished all of that without a single stable alliance (thanks for everything, Dan and Carolyn!), which is even more striking.