Survivor: Winners At War

 originally aired February 12, 2020 to May 13, 2020

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

• Natalie (Sele/San Juan del Sur) A victim of the early voting strategies targeting existing relationships (Jeremy), only to make it back in the game later and prove quite adept at maneuvering 
• Amber (Dakal/All-Stars) Same as Natalie; wife of Boston Rob.
• Danni (Sele/Guatemala) Even among winners it's apparently bad form to appear too desperate.
• Ethan (Sele/Africa) The battle lines between old school and new school players quickly found an early victim in a very classic old school player.
• Tyson (Dakal/Blood vs. Water) Brilliant as he was in his winning season, he didn't have the leverage to get far this time, and too many schemers around him.
• Boston Rob (Sele/Redemption Island) Even one of the undisputed best players ever couldn't overcome the numbers.
• Parvati (Sele/Micronesia) Another brilliant player who couldn't overcome the numbers this time.
• Sandra (Dakal/Pearl Islands, Heroes vs. Villains) A two-time winner became a huge target, and brilliant tribal council strategy made sure she was taken out.
• Yul (Dakal/Cook Islands) A classic old school player too good for his own good in this setting.
• Wendell (Dakal/Ghost Island) Never found the solid allies his game depends on.
• Adam (Sele/Millennials vs. Gen X) Minus the absolute perfect mix of tribemates around him, Adam looked like a much different player.
• Sophie (Dakal/South Pacific) You can go back and look at what I thought of her originally, but this was the most pleasant turnaround of the season for me.  She was a much easier player to root for this time!
• Kim (Dakal/One World) In her original season pretty easy to project as winner or very close.  This time there was no such guarantee.
• Jeremy (Sele/Campodia) Always worth rooting for!  Just a hugely underrated player of this game.
• Nick (Dakal/David vs. Goliath) Generally proved he knew how to play the game regardless of what's happening around him.
• Denise (Sele/Philippines) Honestly, since I'm doing this recap well after the season, a delay caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and its many disruptions, I don't remember what Denise did.
• Ben (Sele/Heroes vs. Healers vs. Hustlers) What made me like him so much his previous season was that he basically accomplished a huge turnaround from the kind of player he basically is, because scrambling made him look good.  He had no such redemptive arc this time.
• Sarah (Dakal/Game Changers) Loved her the first time, didn't love her the second time, when she won, and now I can say I love her again.  So on average, I think she's a great member of the Survivor legacy.
• Michele (Sele/Kaoh Rong) Clearly knows how to play this game despite being an under the radar player (or perhaps because of it), making it to the finals in her second attempt (and of course winning the first one).
• Natalie (Sele/San Juan del Sur) Something of reality TV competition royalty at this point, I guess.
• Tony Vlachos (Dakal/Cagayan) Such a favorite even before this, becoming the second-ever two-time winner, in typically brilliant fashion.  I don't know how a guy with such well-known tactics (see what happened the second time he played) can pull this off, but that just goes to show.  As deserving a win as there's ever been in this game.  A true legend.

Survivor: Cagayan

originally aired 2/26/14-5/21/14

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

• David ("Brains"/Luzon) The first and truest victim of the "Brains" tribe was arguably its smartest member...and so his elimination was telling for the whole season.
• Garrett ("Brains"/Luzon) The first victim of the real "Brains" implosion.
• Brice (Beauty/Solana) I don't really remember him at this point.
• J'Tia ("Brains"/Luzon) A crazy person who perfectly represented the bulk of the "Brains" tribe's legacy.
• Cliff Robinson (Brawn/Aparri) Acquitted himself better than Jeff Kent.  In an ultra-competitive season, that was not good enough.
• Lindsey (Brawn/Aparri) The main reason why I stopped liking Trish, because I sided with Lindsey in that feud.  Huge props to Lindsey for taking herself out of the game.  Hopefully gets another chance to play.
• Alexis (Beauty/Solana) The babe this season.  (Looks a lot like Amy Acker.)  Not the whole reason I was sad to see her go.  A victim of the ultra-competitiveness of this season, a better player than she might have seemed.  Sad to see her leave in tears.
• Sarah (Brawn/Aparri) An early favorite of mine, and an early signal that Tony was going to go far by the way he handled her.
• Morgan (Beauty/Solana) Lasted longer than anyone would've expected.  I think with a little more seasoning she might be more competitive.
• LJ (Beauty/Solana) One of the more anonymous members of the Beauty block.  Blandly competitive.
• Jeremiah (Beauty/Solana) One of the more competitive members of the Beauty block.
• Jefra (Beauty/Solan) Waited a little too long to become relevant.
• Tasha ("Brains"/Luzon) One of the few actual Brains in the "Brains" tribe.
• Trish (Brawn/Aparri) Didn't have a lot of respect for her.  A standout in the jury final voting session, but for the same reasons she was a standout elsewhere.  Not exactly in a good way.
• Spencer ("Brains"/Luzon) As close to a new Cochran as we're ever likely to get (early in the season he seemed more like an improved Todd, so his game play actually improved in my eyes).  Hopefully and likely will receive future shots at winning.  Also the best jury member ever.
• Kass ("Brains"/Luzon) The embodiment of everything that was wrong with the "Brains" tribe.  I developed an entirely new perspective on intelligence thanks to her, actually!  Measured intelligence is not the same as intelligence in execution, basically.  Because this was one stupid decision after another.  The new Lil.  The same fate.  The same delusional misunderstanding of herself.  I hope watching this season back makes her reevaluate a few things about herself.  That would be a huge step forward in her ability to actually earn a spot in a tribe made up of people known for their brains.  Because she just didn't show anything worthy of that.  All season long.  One blunder after another.  She did keep trying.  But in this instance, memorable for all the wrong reasons.
• Woo (Brawn/Aparri) The one smart thing Kass did was equate Woo with Fabio.  Because that's probably as accurate as you can get with this guy.  Likable in an easy, low-key kind of way.  The other, better way to describe him would be an improved version of Ian, the one who did the right thing in the best possible circumstances, chose honor over opportunity.  Cost him the win, obviously, but there are few runners-up worthy of more respect than Woo.  Hopefully gets another shot.
• Tony (Brawn/Aparri) Obviously had the time of his life playing (until he had to sit in front of the jury), one of the best competitors to ever play the game.  The good version of Russell, and was rewarded for it, with an assist from game jurist Spencer, who made an unprecedented appeal to his colleagues at the end of the Q&A session to look at the facts rather than instead of reflecting on their emotions.  There are so many past competitors who could've benefited from that (Amanda, in two separate seasons, comes to mind).  (Russell still deserved to lose.)  I was rooting for him virtually the whole season, until he started pulling a Kim.  But by the end, he even had me reevaluating Kim, who looks like a more and more deserving and smart winner, too.  (Although I'd been rooting for her from an early point, too.)  Ranks instantly as not only one of the best players but best winners, too.