FTA-TV Survivor 40 (Winners at War)

glenferry23

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There were many gameplay moments in that finale that left me as confused and angry as last week:
- Ben and Sarah flat out refusing to believe Nat would have an idol​
- Michelle and Nat voting Ben and not Sarah​
- Michelle and Nat not splitting the votes b/w Denise and Sarah​
- Ben and Sarah's pact.​
And yet, I thought that was a very compelling two-hour finale and a great end to what's been a good (and at times great) season of Survivor (probably cracks a top 10 list).

Tony, the most deserving win in a while, probably since Sarah. Yet don't think I'll get over how he wins with no votes on him. But his arc with Sarah is truly memorable, and I would have loved to have seen those two up against each other at the end.

Yes that was very bizarre Ben and Sarah were so adamant that Natalie didn’t have an idol. Tony of course was all over it. They’re very lucky they survived such a mistake, and Denise goes home instead.

Speaking of which, I found it odd Natalie/Michelle voted for Denise. Natalie in particular talked up her game about trying to conquer that alliance of 3, but she missed the opportunity there.

It also would’ve been good to see a scene between Sarah and Tony after she voted Ben out, was interested in the reaction. Anyway, very good finale overall.
 
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Yes that was very bizarre Ben and Sarah were so adamant that Natalie didn’t have an idol. Tony of course was all over it. They’re very lucky they survived such a mistake, and Denise goes home instead.
Tony is the kind of guy that thinks everyone has an Idol, and needs Sarah to talk him down from doing something crazy. It's just in this one case Sarah was wrong.
 

glenferry23

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Tony is the kind of guy that thinks everyone has an Idol, and needs Sarah to talk him down from doing something crazy. It's just in this one case Sarah was wrong.

He was the only one of three to have a read of Natalie and knowing his history from previous Edge returnees coming back with advantages. I’m amazed he was dismissed so casually.
 
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Tony is the kind of guy that thinks everyone has an Idol, and needs Sarah to talk him down from doing something crazy. It's just in this one case Sarah was wrong.
But she was soo wrong for such a bad reason. She said "from our one day together I think she would have told me if she had an idol"
 

glenferry23

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But she was soo wrong for such a bad reason. She said "from our one day together I think she would have told me if she had an idol"

It came across as very arrogant/entitled. So deep in the game, was a huge mistake to make but lucky for her they had Denise in their group who was “expendable” in this situation.
 
Given how much being considered a "not worthy winner" apparently affected Michelle's self-esteem, I imagine getting zero votes (and therefore being the goat) would be a lot worse

The cheque for thirds a lot more significant then it is for 7th so i'd take the GOAT seat.
 

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Survivor brings out very nostalgic feelings for people, the old schoolers appear to be held in higher regard.

I'm not sure the show can last without returning players, it appears it's all gone in a full circle.
Old schoolers have generally appeared multiple times so we've seen more of them. Add that people like Nick have grown up idolising people like Parvati and there is more nostalgia because of that. Producers challenge is to invite back the correct players from more recent series (more likely those that didn't win as they aren't as big a target) so that they might win or do very well and build their own legacy to perhaps become the next Rubert, Sandra, Rob, Tony, Sarah or Jeremy. My preference is for most returning players to be in a returning players season rather than mixed in with newbies.
 

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It came across as very arrogant/entitled. So deep in the game, was a huge mistake to make but lucky for her they had Denise in their group who was “expendable” in this situation.
When I think about it, it may have been lucky for Tony too. If Sarah and Ben had listened to him I think Denise would still have left at 6 but with Tony and Ben still having their idols. Then at 5 Ben could have saved himself and Tony saved Sarah (last time to play idol) and Michelle would have gone (repeat of Cirie leaving as only one not immune from a vote). Assuming Natalie still won final 4 immunity (Ben might have beaten her) she would probably pit Ben against Tony in fire and I think Ben wins that.
 

Lefthanded

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Very true, Sarah's best chance was with Ben still in the game. Surely with Michele gone and Ben there, Natalie still wins the final immunity challenge. She could then have sent Ben to defeat Tony at fire, since he's won it before. A final 3 of Natalie, Sarah and Ben would definitely see Sarah the favourite.

Odd choice by all concerned really. Tony should have been the one trying to get rid of Ben, while the others should have been saving him.
I like your logic. I can also see why Tony was happy to keep Ben as part of his alliance and friendship and Tony wasn't one to be afraid of other players beating him.
 
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Given how much being considered a "not worthy winner" apparently affected Michelle's self-esteem, I imagine getting zero votes (and therefore being the goat) would be a lot worse
I hope shes okay. Shes certainly not Noura or Julie or Angelina. This was probably the most even final 3 since HvV and China. Even Courtney admitted that Amanda played better and her votes were Anti todd/Amanda votes.

If the jury voted in a 3-2-1 format the results would end up something like Tony 44, Natalie 24-30 and Michelle 24-30.
 

Lefthanded

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Giving up on $2 for his family just to have a friend....

I actually liked Ben the season he won. This season he was a donk.
That's one way to look at it. Ben (or anyone with PTSD and mental health battles) might see it as $2m not worth much if self image and how others perceive you mean those battles could get the better of you.

I liked him in his 1st season and he was okay this one.
 

Lefthanded

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Tony got no votes despite being a threat for most of the game.

Deserved winner every year - I thought eventually they would look to vote him out and they never did.

The returnee from the EoE was only going to be win if they spend enough time in the game and on the edge - first out, you were never going to get enough people to vote, no matter how well you played once back in the game.

What are we going to do now? There is no Survivor for how long...........boo........
From Sarah's reaction to Natalie saying EoE players perceived Tony as 'the boss' makes me wonder whether a big part of Sarah's game was keeping votes off Tony, especially in the middle part of the game.

I think it was very much a case of neither would have gotten as far as they did without the other. Tony superior in timing his move and challenge wins.
 
It was great to see some of the former winners once again, probably for the last time. Brought back so many memories of the past twenty years watching Survivor and remembering how addicted I became after the first show on May 31, 2000. I think watching The Australian Outback less than a year after I had left Australia and returned to the US for what I thought was forever, might just have started a homesickness that led the way to my eventual return here three years ago. The Survivor competitions, the spoilers and finding an American Survivor site I've posted on for 19 years have become a memorable part of my life.

Tony was a worthy winner. The best.

Oh yeah... I've seen every episode of every season except the second half of an episode Sept 23, 2004(Vanuatu). Reason for missing it? I was taken by ambulance to hospital with a kidney stone. Just not tough enough to wait until the episode had finished. :)
 
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Sarah not voting Michelle instead of Ben just to impress the jury was so dumb. If Michelle goes there, each of Natalie, Ben and Tony are taking her to the final 3 instead of sending her to fire. And if Natalie won, Ben likely beats Tony in fire and she wins $2 million.

There are times where it's a good idea to make a move just to impress the jury, that wasnt one of then
 
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I can't believe the lack of comments about effectively quitting at F5. It made zero sense for him or Sarah

The end game of Sarah, Ben and Denise was effectively at the level of the chumps that Kim and Boston Rob toyed with.

If they were fresh players rather than returnees they would be all getting absolutely destroyed.
 
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The end game of Sarah, Ben and Denise was effectively at the level of the chumps that Kim and Boston Rob toyed with.

If they were fresh players rather than returnees they would be all getting absolutely destroyed.
I agree however you could actually see the love Sarah and Tony have for each other. Always the issue with returning seasons, they bring in outside relationships that are hard to turn off. Add in the fact that they already had a million dollars from the game I can forgive them for not potentially ruining a friendship for money.
 

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Agree with everyone that said Tony was a very worthy winner. Played an outstanding game and everyone knew it but still didn't vote him out. Deserved to win just for the spy shack! What about Wendall couldn't even throw a vote to Michelle for old times sake. She was never going to win so would have be a nice thing to do.

No fan of Extinction Island. Tokens were rubbish idea as well. Not enough time to devoted to strategy discussions - that seems the difference in US/Aust version. We devote a lot of time to that part of the game.

Felt like that was the farewell to the ex stars of Survivor - Boston Rob on twitter pretty much confirmed that.

All hail Tony.
 

Lefthanded

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Speaking of which, I found it odd Natalie/Michelle voted for Denise. Natalie in particular talked up her game about trying to conquer that alliance of 3, but she missed the opportunity there.
Me too. On reflection I can only assume that Natalie knew the EoE perception of Denise's game was as stronger than Sarah's. Kind of makes sense given Denise took out Sandra and had multiple immunity wins. We perceived Sarah's game as stronger as she was more dictating the game than Denise but when your game is primarily social /strategic as Sarah's was it is easy for others to have a different perception. Much of Sarah's game in Game Changers was under the radar which is a good game because you are perceived as less of a threat (more likely to get to end). It took a polished FTC that revealed moves like finding the clue / advantage under Michaela's sit out bench for jury to know how good her game had been. IMO she played better in Game Changers than in W@W.

Edit: Alternatively it might have just been Nat (or Nat's EoE friends, rather than the entire group) who perceived Denise to be a bigger threat at end than Sarah, given Nat's strong physically and maybe less so socially so her vote and perception may be skewed accordingly.
 
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revo333

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Speaking of which, I found it odd Natalie/Michelle voted for Denise. Natalie in particular talked up her game about trying to conquer that alliance of 3, but she missed the opportunity there.

I think they assumed Ben and Tony had idols.

They appeared closer to Sarah than they were to Denise.
 
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I think they assumed Ben and Tony had idols.

They appeared closer to Sarah than they were to Denise.

On the re-vote, I also didn't understand why they didn't vote Denise and Sarah to fire but the talk at Edge must have been that Denise was a bigger threat to win. Yet another reason to hate Edge, the returning player knows who the jury will most likely vote for.
 
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I hope shes okay. Shes certainly not Noura or Julie or Angelina. This was probably the most even final 3 since HvV and China. Even Courtney admitted that Amanda played better and her votes were Anti todd/Amanda votes.

If the jury voted in a 3-2-1 format the results would end up something like Tony 44, Natalie 24-30 and Michelle 24-30.
With a 16-person jury, I still couldn't see Michelle getting more than 16 votes. Surely everyone who voted for Tony would give Natalie their 2nd vote, and vice versa. Michelle just did nothing all game to provide anyone with a reason to vote for her.
 
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With a 16-person jury, I still couldn't see Michelle getting more than 16 votes. Surely everyone who voted for Tony would give Natalie their 2nd vote, and vice versa. Michelle just did nothing all game to provide anyone with a reason to vote for her.
There would be some that are that against the EOE concept that they never would vote for Natalie. Sarah, Ben, Nick, Denise, Sophie, maybe Yul and Ethan.

Sandra too, if she was still there.
 
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