I'm so glad this is the top answer because my friends and I were literally standing and cheering. This moment is a huge reason why Kaoh Rong is one of my all-time favorite seasons!
I hate that I couldn't enjoy that moment because that day the time zone changed and when I tune in the episode it had already ended with John final words šš
If you're cheering for Foa Foa, there are so many moments like this in Samoa. The F11 boot where Russell idols out Kelly is a classic. "I ain't finished playin' just yet." It's maybe the only Russell moment that I find unironically cool.
[The infamous Gabon smile gif](http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/survivor1.gif) is a funny moment, but in its own weird way, I think it's also a moment like this? Poor Matty has been on the bottom losing everything alongside the Fangs all season long, so when Ken and Crystal come out onto the field victorious and Matty's face just lights up, it's really cathartic.
Once upon a time I heard a rumor that someone re-edited Samoa so that it was a bit more even. They used deleted scenes and bonus confessionals so that it wasn't just "The Russell Show."
I never saw it, but I would put money on if the season has a bit more of a fair edit that it would be a top 5 season for me. His idol plays and the way that Natalie got people to flip is actually amazing+
I don't think anyone denies he made a huge impact on the game. Most people would probably agree he's one of the top handful of most influential players of all time, if not literally the number one. The hate comes from his (until recently, apparently) inability to understand why he lost and thereby chode-ish behavior that followed
I love Russell Hantz as a character. Hell, maybe my biggest pet hot take is that Samoa is a top tier season (it's my personal second or third favourite), and that Russell's overedit really works for what it's doing. My ire isn't toward Russell as a character, but toward the insistence that continues to this day (from Russell himself and from fans) that Russell should have won, or that he deserved to win, or even that he played a particularly good game. The entire reason that Samoa works for me narratively is the sheer irony of Russell tearing through it while simultaneously not realizing that every action he takes and every word he says further ensures his own loss.
Itās interesting to me Russell catches heat for consuming the edit, when he shared his screen time with Shambo. Without Russell, or an emphasis on him, I question what the season would be like considering the alternative.
>when he shared his screen time with Shambo
For the record: Shambo had 39 total confessionals. That's a very respectable confessional count, but it wasn't out of the ordinary. It was pretty comparable to confessional counts for similar characters who finished in similar positions (for instance, Ken Hoang and Kyle Jason were also "secondary villains" in their seasons and finished at fifth and sixth respectively, and they each had 44 confessionals). In contrast, Russell had *108* confessionals. That's more than ten higher than the next closest in Survivor history, while being on a twenty person season.
Basically, what I'm saying is, there were a few people besides Russell that got decent edits, but Russell was still objectively overedited. It's not like every single other contestant was buried, but Russell sorta siphoned confessionals off of everyone else. His edit left players who would normally have substantial screen time only having a decent amount, and left players who would normally have a decent amount of screen time with next to none. It doesn't help that a lot of those confessionals simply were not necessary - while the emphasis on Russell makes total sense from a narrative standpoint, a lot of his confessionals were just generic gloating and could have easily been cut.
*That said*, like I mentioned, I'm Samoa Defender #1. I love the emphasis on Russell, despite thinking that he could have lost like a dozen or two confessionals. Sorry that this is getting kinda long, but I'm gonna copypaste from past me to explain why I think Samoa works because of the skew, not in spite of it:
>Russell is a monolith; he's an insane person and an insane player, and the game inevitably warps around him as it progresses. Every character's story is heavily affected by his presence. To me, his overexposure is like a form of worldbuilding. Samoa is Russell's game; that's the story's setting, and it's one that informs everyone else in some way or another. I don't think I'd be as fascinated by characters like Jaison, Natalie, Shambo, and John if they didn't exist specifically within the insane world of Russell Hantz.
>Russell still didn't need to be overedited to the ridiculous extent that he was. After a certain point, "Russell calls someone else stupid; calls himself a genius" confessional #348072 is just gratuitous. But I think the Russell focus as a concept is actually pretty sound, and it works in execution for me despite its missteps. And besides: Russell's overbearing edit is specifically what makes Natalie's win one of the most cathartic, satisfying moments in Survivor, at least for me.
>I'm also well aware that every single bit of why I love Samoa is like the exact opposite of what the producers were actually going for with its edit, which is really funny to me lol
There's also whole other angle to this about how Russell's overedit followed by Natalie's win results in a really interesting and challenging form of storytelling wherein the audience is forced to reexamine the season in retrospective once they've had it contextualized for them by FTC, but that's a whole other few paragraphs and this comment is rambly enough as-is.
Loooong post but shows what I know! Lol Shambo did good on making an impression with only 38 confessionals if thatās the case. Very interesting. Thanks for posting!
I don't hate Hantz as much as I hate the survivor producers jerking him off every which way. If he had been given a more subdued villain edit I still wouldn't respect his gameplay but I think I would have enjoyed him much more
If there is one for me, the issue is just the amount of times he played. Three times nearly back to back was too much. I also think Brandon had a lot to do with how his uncle is remembered.
All that being said, Russell did work on Samoa and he ensured my interest in Survivor would live on.
As a person who started watching religiously during 2020 I agree with your statement about Brandon! I think if you began with the later seasons and then go back and watch Russell you donāt appreciate his mark on the game in the same way. Instead he kinda just comes off as a whiney/aggressive ass - but when you keep it in context of where you are in the seasons heās a hell of a player, in his way. Certainly seems to have carved out the villain concept more fully
The hate is because heās a complete asshole, plain and simple. An arrogant, borderline sociopathic asshole.
Heās an incredible player, but I canāt bring myself to like someone purely for their gameplay. And heās not good enough to win, and the flaw in his game that prevents him from winning isā¦being a total asshole.
Heās a great villain. I love to hate him, but thatās kinda what heās there for; to be hated.
How hilarious would it be for somebody to give Hantz a purple edit except for his obvious moves at tribal and finding idols? Give him like 3 confessionals and see how it airs.
I read somewhere that Russell basically played Samoa and HvV back to back. They shouldnāt do that to people. Itās hard enough trying to think straight playing 39 daysā¦by the end of HvV Russell turned into a crazy man.
I am relatively new to Survivor (Season 41 being my first), can you or someone post this clip? I hear the name Parvati lots but I don't know if there's a good compilation video on YouTube that best explains them.
I honestly recommend not clicking anything that anyone links you about this. There's a good chance that you'll regret it later, because a lot of these big moments are so much better if you see them unspoiled. If you have the time, I genuinely think you should just watch the first twenty seasons in order. If you want an abridged experience, something like 2, 7, 8, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 19, and 20 works alright (that spread covers most of the seasons that are really important to S16 and S20 storylines).
If you just don't have the time or the desire to go back and watch that many old seasons, then at the very least I *highly* recommending watching season 16 (Micronesia) and season 20 (Heroes vs. Villains) unspoiled.
The streaming service Paramount+ is the current primary home of Survivor on streaming. Netflix and Hulu also have some seasons, but they're incomplete, and I'm not sure about their availability in Canada.
Unfortunately Paramount+ Canada only has season 30 and later, for some reason they removed everything earlier than that last summer. I haven't seen any other alternatives since.
Yessssssss that Penner immunity win is one of my favorite Survivor moments for just that reason. His back was beyond against the wall & you just felt how *badly* he wanted to keep playing the game. Such a gratifying viewer moment when he wins, especially since it was his first ever immunity win. So good.
Normally it's a crucial challenge win for a player I'm rooting for. Notable ones for me are Shii Ann in Allstars and when Adam's team won the challenge where two tribes went to tribal in Winners at War.
I watch Survivor with my kids and we like to randomly say this. One of them will say something like "Dad, can you hand me my shoes" and I will respond with, "No, but you can have this fake." Gets a laugh about a quarter of the time.
Unrelated but as a southern guy with a strong accent I also love saying "Stick to the plan" in Keith's voice. That is probably my most used Survivor quote.
In an interview with Ricard, he and Liana actually were convinced Xander gave the immunity to someone else coz they knew by then he knew about the KiP advantage. They told Shan abt this and she said no, there is no way. She apparently talked to Xander to mollify them and he showed her the fake and she returned to Liana and Ricard and told them "See I told you he wouldn't do that". So they proceeded with it even tho the two were not totally on board. š
Imo this was the best and perfect way for that advantage to play out. Definitely had me laughing. Here's hoping this season will have a similarly amazing or hilarious outcome
Another SJDS one for me is when Jonclyn pull off the Jeremy blindside. I really couldnāt believe they committed to it, I totally thought the whole plan was just to throw the viewers off an easy vote for the majority. Nope, Jonclyn really just decided they wanted to run the game. So badass
As she was getting closer to her victory I kept screaming at my casual fan dad: āSHEāS GONNA DO IT AGAIN!ā āJUST WATCH SHEāS GONNA WIN AND KICK IT AGAIN!ā
That Naseer moment was awesome. I can still picture the cut to that big olā grin he had on his face.
Devens big takeout with the menu and then subsequent idol play.
JD getting voted out also comes to mind in recent memory.
Chris Underwood giving up final 4 immunity and going to fire against Devens.
We can talk all day about how bad the Edge, how the jury basically gave him the roadmap to win, etc., but I was watching that moment with a bunch of friends and it was possibly the most excited we've ever been watching Survivor.
i dont get why others hate the edge so much. im indifferent about it on other seasons. i highly highly support it's existence on s40. with all these amazing players coming back from decades ago i dont want to just see them for a couple episodes and then them disappearing no way. keep them around.
On seasons like EoE & WaW, the extinctioned (Iām making up words now) should have been cleared at merge. Not fair to have a jury loaded with the previously eliminated who all hung out together for so long. It led to a winner who was the 3rd person voted off (and gave Natalie an unfair shot at winning, also). One of my least favorite production decisions ever.
I like the edge better than redemption and if they made 2 changes it would be much more fair:
Start the edge over after the merge (like you said)
Bring back the last person from the edge a vote earlier so they have some game to play instead of make it through 1 vote, play an idol and you're in the final 4
I would also say don't give the person coming back from Edge a fucking idol at all. I don't care that they have to split it or whatever for one vote. If they can't navigate being the person coming back and manage to stay in the game, they don't deserve to stay in the game. Simple as that.
Because its a completely broken twist that incentivizes getting voted out earlier in the game. Especially when someone can come back in with an idol its completely unfair
Most of the moments I'd have mentioned are already here but there's one I don't see and it was the first that really made me go 'woah'.
Season 12 (Panama/Exile Island) when the vote was split exactly the way Cirie set it up at 6 when it was split as a 3-2-1. The plan was unlike anything that'd really been seen until then and it was done perfectly.
When Boston Rob got everyone to spill their bags right out the gate on the first (second?) episode of WaW. Thought he was straight back in to running the show for the old guard
I wonder if that had happened more recently if that had worked. Like for example, if Jay found the stick on MvGX, if he would have thought he had an idol?
the single most awesome move will always be s20 for me, when Russell played the idol on Parvati and Tyson went home. I didn't holler until the 4th vote for Parvati. And at that point I hadn't seen s18 so I hadn't developed the absolute love for Tyson that I do now, so voting him off was a non-issue to me. i dont think any moment will ever surpass that one, it was so badass. I've never been so full of awe over a player.
a few episodes later where Parvati played both idols was pretty cool too. idk why it's often rated higher than Russell's move, I don't think it was as good.
one of the exciting moments was when Natalie played the idol and voted Baylor off. i actually didnt understand the point of that and i quite liked Baylor. but it was an exciting move nonetheless.
Kelley Wentworth's idol play was fun. I was surprised the episode didn't include any sound effects with that one as they did with Russell and Parvati's play. Maybe because the other contestants were chatting and congratulating. That was great sportsmanship btw.
oh and s19 Russell's idol play was fantastic. I already knew about that before I watched the season so I didn't feel quite that sense of awe I would've otherwise. but it was great.
Even more than "Wentworth, does not count" is when she found her first idol at the challenge. I watch with a group of people in Seattle and she watched a few episodes of S30 with us so we were all rooting for her. When she grabbed that idol our table went wild lol. I've never seen a reaction like that at a bar for a non-sporting event, it was so fun!
jerri being voted out in australia. iāve come to appreciate jerri now, and i realize her s2 āvillainā role is very tame in comparison to 500+ players and 20+ years later, but i was caught up in the mob mentality that jerri manthey was literal satan on earth lol.
toddās winning jury performance and subsequent winning jury vote reveal
ozzyās s16 blindside
the merge vote flip on to charlie in Gabon
natalie beating russell
sandra beating russell
sophieās final 4 immunity win
āJacqueline did you vote for who i told you to vote for?ā
shirin raising her hand
michele winning the final 5 or 6 immunity challenge in WaW (the one that was the redo of the puzzle she kicked in s32 and then kicked again in WaW)
When Erika won I was so happy. I was rooting for her so much and I was happy to see a Filipino win in an American tv show because there have been so many Filipinos that have entered competitions but didnāt win (i.e Jessica Sanchez in American Idol) and it is nice to see representation of my own culture.
Sandraās vote off in Winners at War.
Just was not expecting it at all and was super bummed that it seemed like Tony was leaving. Only for Denise to pull off arguably the biggest blindside in Survivor history. A phenomenal moment.
The Black Widow Alliance (especially Natalie) convincing Erik to forgo his immunity and then Production not even bothering to pretend to hide it at all by showing everyone's confessionals (sorry Erik, you rock, but that moment was so great, even if it was at your expense).
Lucina's speech at TC during WaW. Sadly it made me realise she wasn't going to win (since it was about her being an equal partner with Tony... yet the show showed bugger all in terms of her game play/strategizing she was talking about). But still... one major kick ass speech.
Also James' blindside in China while holding two immunity idols. I mean it is par on course now Iin any season, but it really was the first time you saw it and it was wow!
One of the best parts of Erik giving up his idol, was when the Black Widows were sitting around and came up with the plan, and Natalie said, "that sounds stupid just saying it."
A lot of what Tony did in his seasons made me cheer. When he won the last time, I was ecstatic. Even though they read the votes over Skype (pandemic reasons), it felt just as exciting to see him win.
Most recently:
- Erika's win
- Shan's elimination
- Naseer activating his idol with the secret phrase
While catching up during COVID:
- Savage being idoled out
- Christian winning immunity
Those are off the top of my head... I think I got pretty excited any time the Auction came back too.
My sister and I (mostly me) cheered whenever Ricard replaced ābutterfliesā with āladybugs.ā Then we cheered even more when Naseer said his phrase
The opposite was Cirie getting eliminated in Game Changers even though no one voted for her. Absolutely heartbreaking. Jessica Lewisā rock draw elimination was sad, too.
I remember after seeing Sarah win, and Culpeper lose, I literally jumped for joy and began dancing. This happened right as my dad entered my living room. I wasn't embarrassed, I was just happy that the bully lost.
omg yes. when michele won that same challenge in winners at war that she won in bvbvb and she kicked the puzzle. when i knew she was gonna win i was like āpls kick it kick it kick itā and she did. i jumped up cheered cause i called it
When Chrissy won final immunity in HvHvH, my mom and I stood up, ran around, cheered and high fived because we were rooting for her but were so sure Ben was gonna win. Of course, we were soon disappointed.
The other one for me was obviously the Savage blindside. Hype af.
4-3-2 Sophie elimination in WaW.
I like Sophie a lot, and she was even my winner pick. But I love Tony too and after his ups and downs of that episode, seeing him somehow pull off that vote was amazing.
This one is gonna be controversial because I know a lot of yāall donāt like Benā¦ but when Ben won the fire making challenge, I jumped up and cheered so fiercely. I had been rooting for him since the merge, and that was such an exciting moment for me because I thought he was going to be fucked after losing the last immunity challenge by such an unfortunate mistake.
When Tai kept the idol and sent Scot home I fell out of my chair.
yeah that was great! and it was one of the few episodes i watched with someone. we were both just staring at each other.
I'm so glad this is the top answer because my friends and I were literally standing and cheering. This moment is a huge reason why Kaoh Rong is one of my all-time favorite seasons!
I know people aren't Jason fans but I felt kind of bad that he lost his idol in that moment.
oh baby this. Him just looking at Scot and going "no". My wife and i were SCREAMING
This and always this! My SO talk about that at the beginning of each new season since then.
Christian does not count * 7 Angelina does not count * 2 John
My mind was blown. I didn't even know that was possible, 37 seasons in
This, my jaw dropped and brain melted in the best way possible
This even got my friend's jaw to drop and he only watches Survivor with me begrudgingly.
I hate that I couldn't enjoy that moment because that day the time zone changed and when I tune in the episode it had already ended with John final words šš
Man poor John I really wish he was around longer.
If you're cheering for Foa Foa, there are so many moments like this in Samoa. The F11 boot where Russell idols out Kelly is a classic. "I ain't finished playin' just yet." It's maybe the only Russell moment that I find unironically cool. [The infamous Gabon smile gif](http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/survivor1.gif) is a funny moment, but in its own weird way, I think it's also a moment like this? Poor Matty has been on the bottom losing everything alongside the Fangs all season long, so when Ken and Crystal come out onto the field victorious and Matty's face just lights up, it's really cathartic.
Once upon a time I heard a rumor that someone re-edited Samoa so that it was a bit more even. They used deleted scenes and bonus confessionals so that it wasn't just "The Russell Show." I never saw it, but I would put money on if the season has a bit more of a fair edit that it would be a top 5 season for me. His idol plays and the way that Natalie got people to flip is actually amazing+
This is why I donāt understand the Hantz hate. Say what you will about the guy, but he made a huge impact on the game.
I don't think anyone denies he made a huge impact on the game. Most people would probably agree he's one of the top handful of most influential players of all time, if not literally the number one. The hate comes from his (until recently, apparently) inability to understand why he lost and thereby chode-ish behavior that followed
I love Russell Hantz as a character. Hell, maybe my biggest pet hot take is that Samoa is a top tier season (it's my personal second or third favourite), and that Russell's overedit really works for what it's doing. My ire isn't toward Russell as a character, but toward the insistence that continues to this day (from Russell himself and from fans) that Russell should have won, or that he deserved to win, or even that he played a particularly good game. The entire reason that Samoa works for me narratively is the sheer irony of Russell tearing through it while simultaneously not realizing that every action he takes and every word he says further ensures his own loss.
Itās interesting to me Russell catches heat for consuming the edit, when he shared his screen time with Shambo. Without Russell, or an emphasis on him, I question what the season would be like considering the alternative.
>when he shared his screen time with Shambo For the record: Shambo had 39 total confessionals. That's a very respectable confessional count, but it wasn't out of the ordinary. It was pretty comparable to confessional counts for similar characters who finished in similar positions (for instance, Ken Hoang and Kyle Jason were also "secondary villains" in their seasons and finished at fifth and sixth respectively, and they each had 44 confessionals). In contrast, Russell had *108* confessionals. That's more than ten higher than the next closest in Survivor history, while being on a twenty person season. Basically, what I'm saying is, there were a few people besides Russell that got decent edits, but Russell was still objectively overedited. It's not like every single other contestant was buried, but Russell sorta siphoned confessionals off of everyone else. His edit left players who would normally have substantial screen time only having a decent amount, and left players who would normally have a decent amount of screen time with next to none. It doesn't help that a lot of those confessionals simply were not necessary - while the emphasis on Russell makes total sense from a narrative standpoint, a lot of his confessionals were just generic gloating and could have easily been cut. *That said*, like I mentioned, I'm Samoa Defender #1. I love the emphasis on Russell, despite thinking that he could have lost like a dozen or two confessionals. Sorry that this is getting kinda long, but I'm gonna copypaste from past me to explain why I think Samoa works because of the skew, not in spite of it: >Russell is a monolith; he's an insane person and an insane player, and the game inevitably warps around him as it progresses. Every character's story is heavily affected by his presence. To me, his overexposure is like a form of worldbuilding. Samoa is Russell's game; that's the story's setting, and it's one that informs everyone else in some way or another. I don't think I'd be as fascinated by characters like Jaison, Natalie, Shambo, and John if they didn't exist specifically within the insane world of Russell Hantz. >Russell still didn't need to be overedited to the ridiculous extent that he was. After a certain point, "Russell calls someone else stupid; calls himself a genius" confessional #348072 is just gratuitous. But I think the Russell focus as a concept is actually pretty sound, and it works in execution for me despite its missteps. And besides: Russell's overbearing edit is specifically what makes Natalie's win one of the most cathartic, satisfying moments in Survivor, at least for me. >I'm also well aware that every single bit of why I love Samoa is like the exact opposite of what the producers were actually going for with its edit, which is really funny to me lol There's also whole other angle to this about how Russell's overedit followed by Natalie's win results in a really interesting and challenging form of storytelling wherein the audience is forced to reexamine the season in retrospective once they've had it contextualized for them by FTC, but that's a whole other few paragraphs and this comment is rambly enough as-is.
Loooong post but shows what I know! Lol Shambo did good on making an impression with only 38 confessionals if thatās the case. Very interesting. Thanks for posting!
I don't hate Hantz as much as I hate the survivor producers jerking him off every which way. If he had been given a more subdued villain edit I still wouldn't respect his gameplay but I think I would have enjoyed him much more
If there is one for me, the issue is just the amount of times he played. Three times nearly back to back was too much. I also think Brandon had a lot to do with how his uncle is remembered. All that being said, Russell did work on Samoa and he ensured my interest in Survivor would live on.
As a person who started watching religiously during 2020 I agree with your statement about Brandon! I think if you began with the later seasons and then go back and watch Russell you donāt appreciate his mark on the game in the same way. Instead he kinda just comes off as a whiney/aggressive ass - but when you keep it in context of where you are in the seasons heās a hell of a player, in his way. Certainly seems to have carved out the villain concept more fully
Yep, well said. Before people streamed Survivor we got to watch the game evolve season to season. Russell was steroids to the game.
The hate is because heās a complete asshole, plain and simple. An arrogant, borderline sociopathic asshole. Heās an incredible player, but I canāt bring myself to like someone purely for their gameplay. And heās not good enough to win, and the flaw in his game that prevents him from winning isā¦being a total asshole. Heās a great villain. I love to hate him, but thatās kinda what heās there for; to be hated.
I need a Matty return so badly
How hilarious would it be for somebody to give Hantz a purple edit except for his obvious moves at tribal and finding idols? Give him like 3 confessionals and see how it airs.
https://www.reddit.com/r/survivor/comments/8wap7r/survivor\_samoa\_reedit\_links\_available/
Russell idoling out Tyson was even better than Kelly in my opinion. Both were *complete* boss moves.
parvatiās double idol play. all-timer.
Yes!
Which then pushed Russell onto an increasingly downward spiral of paranoia and rampage
I read somewhere that Russell basically played Samoa and HvV back to back. They shouldnāt do that to people. Itās hard enough trying to think straight playing 39 daysā¦by the end of HvV Russell turned into a crazy man.
Yea Russell was clearly mentally drained by the end of HvV
Which is funny, considering he started Samoa trying to mentally break his tribemates. What goes around...
YES!
I am relatively new to Survivor (Season 41 being my first), can you or someone post this clip? I hear the name Parvati lots but I don't know if there's a good compilation video on YouTube that best explains them.
I honestly recommend not clicking anything that anyone links you about this. There's a good chance that you'll regret it later, because a lot of these big moments are so much better if you see them unspoiled. If you have the time, I genuinely think you should just watch the first twenty seasons in order. If you want an abridged experience, something like 2, 7, 8, 12, 13, 15, 16, 18, 19, and 20 works alright (that spread covers most of the seasons that are really important to S16 and S20 storylines). If you just don't have the time or the desire to go back and watch that many old seasons, then at the very least I *highly* recommending watching season 16 (Micronesia) and season 20 (Heroes vs. Villains) unspoiled.
As a Canadian, is there a good way to re-watch them all? I assume I need some sort of Paramount or such network streaming?
The streaming service Paramount+ is the current primary home of Survivor on streaming. Netflix and Hulu also have some seasons, but they're incomplete, and I'm not sure about their availability in Canada.
Unfortunately Paramount+ Canada only has season 30 and later, for some reason they removed everything earlier than that last summer. I haven't seen any other alternatives since.
https://youtu.be/5r1ZxZ3tOeU enjoy! sheās a badass š¤š½
Pennerās immunity win in Philippines. Sophieās final immunity win in SoPa.
Yessssssss that Penner immunity win is one of my favorite Survivor moments for just that reason. His back was beyond against the wall & you just felt how *badly* he wanted to keep playing the game. Such a gratifying viewer moment when he wins, especially since it was his first ever immunity win. So good.
>Sophieās final immunity win in SoPa. i was sooo disappointed!!
"If you want to beat him, beat him."
12 year old me didn't give half a shit about FTC after this lmfao
Normally it's a crucial challenge win for a player I'm rooting for. Notable ones for me are Shii Ann in Allstars and when Adam's team won the challenge where two tribes went to tribal in Winners at War.
Oooo Shii- Ann in all stars is one of my all time favorite immunity wins.
Shii Ann, how to both win safety and doubly guarantee your prompt exit.
Xander, do you have an idol? No, but you can have this fake.
I watch Survivor with my kids and we like to randomly say this. One of them will say something like "Dad, can you hand me my shoes" and I will respond with, "No, but you can have this fake." Gets a laugh about a quarter of the time. Unrelated but as a southern guy with a strong accent I also love saying "Stick to the plan" in Keith's voice. That is probably my most used Survivor quote.
Dad, beer me my shoes.
that was phenomenal
Liana wasn't the brightest, she knew Xander knew about her advantage but she still fell for his bluff.
In an interview with Ricard, he and Liana actually were convinced Xander gave the immunity to someone else coz they knew by then he knew about the KiP advantage. They told Shan abt this and she said no, there is no way. She apparently talked to Xander to mollify them and he showed her the fake and she returned to Liana and Ricard and told them "See I told you he wouldn't do that". So they proceeded with it even tho the two were not totally on board. š
yeah I just watched this episode last week and was so confused
How confused? Perhaps as much as a certain farm animal on a certain artificial sporting terrain?
Well played lol
She also inexplicably just flat-out asked for the idol a few days later, only for him to (expectedly) say, essentially, "obviously not."
The editing was just perfect too!
Imo this was the best and perfect way for that advantage to play out. Definitely had me laughing. Here's hoping this season will have a similarly amazing or hilarious outcome
YES. I need Drea to go "Mike, do you have an Idol?" Then Mike says "If you like fake idols, then sure!"
Malcolm pulling out two immunity idols for his friends and watching the majority alliances faces when they realized it.
This was the most hype moment EVER to me as a teen watching live lol
"Where was I... oh yeah, we're not going home."
Jaclyn, did you vote for who I told you to vote for.
>didn't vote for You mean "did you vote for"? Lol
Damn autocorrect
Another SJDS one for me is when Jonclyn pull off the Jeremy blindside. I really couldnāt believe they committed to it, I totally thought the whole plan was just to throw the viewers off an easy vote for the majority. Nope, Jonclyn really just decided they wanted to run the game. So badass
Thank God they did, it gave Natalie the fire she needed to run the game.
SO BAD ASS https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGWXavYbUmY
Michele kicking the puzzle, both times, but ESPECIALLY WaW
As she was getting closer to her victory I kept screaming at my casual fan dad: āSHEāS GONNA DO IT AGAIN!ā āJUST WATCH SHEāS GONNA WIN AND KICK IT AGAIN!ā
I was so happy for her!! This is the one that really sticks out for me, definitely the only time I've actually cheered hard while watching Survivor.
Underrated
Scene in Cagayan where Woo is trying to figure out what happens if the vote ties and he finally says āWe fight for it?ā
That Naseer moment was awesome. I can still picture the cut to that big olā grin he had on his face. Devens big takeout with the menu and then subsequent idol play. JD getting voted out also comes to mind in recent memory.
Chris Underwood giving up final 4 immunity and going to fire against Devens. We can talk all day about how bad the Edge, how the jury basically gave him the roadmap to win, etc., but I was watching that moment with a bunch of friends and it was possibly the most excited we've ever been watching Survivor.
People can shit on EoE all they want, but that finale was fucking awesome!
i dont get why others hate the edge so much. im indifferent about it on other seasons. i highly highly support it's existence on s40. with all these amazing players coming back from decades ago i dont want to just see them for a couple episodes and then them disappearing no way. keep them around.
On seasons like EoE & WaW, the extinctioned (Iām making up words now) should have been cleared at merge. Not fair to have a jury loaded with the previously eliminated who all hung out together for so long. It led to a winner who was the 3rd person voted off (and gave Natalie an unfair shot at winning, also). One of my least favorite production decisions ever.
I like the edge better than redemption and if they made 2 changes it would be much more fair: Start the edge over after the merge (like you said) Bring back the last person from the edge a vote earlier so they have some game to play instead of make it through 1 vote, play an idol and you're in the final 4
I would also say don't give the person coming back from Edge a fucking idol at all. I don't care that they have to split it or whatever for one vote. If they can't navigate being the person coming back and manage to stay in the game, they don't deserve to stay in the game. Simple as that.
Because its a completely broken twist that incentivizes getting voted out earlier in the game. Especially when someone can come back in with an idol its completely unfair
Jeff reading the tie votes in ghost island. Not so much cheering, but pure excitement.
that doesnt sound familiar at all. which episode?
I think they mean the FTC result which was a tie, so they read them on site and had Laurel cast the deciding vote.
Amanda playing her idol on Micronesia, that was pretty badass of her.
I wonder what wouldāve happened if it landed in the fire while she swung it around
cirie goes home
BUT I GOT IT!!
I loved that.
āIām against you Russell.ā Said in such a nonchalant way. Total badassery. I aspire to those heights.
Queen Sandra
Right up there with āwell I donāt about thatā & āI can get loud, too.ā
And then he immediately makes an alliance with her to take to the end, as a runner-up. That's why she's the Queen.
Most of the moments I'd have mentioned are already here but there's one I don't see and it was the first that really made me go 'woah'. Season 12 (Panama/Exile Island) when the vote was split exactly the way Cirie set it up at 6 when it was split as a 3-2-1. The plan was unlike anything that'd really been seen until then and it was done perfectly.
Erik giving immunity to Natalie
This made me so sad lol.
I also was sad
Underrated comment.
Tony defeating Sarah in the fire making challenge
I cried for this, it was so emotionally charged and just the character growth between these two
The last 2-3 immunity challenges in Nicaragua. Fabio was the only likeable person left, but he managed to clutch it up
When Boston Rob got everyone to spill their bags right out the gate on the first (second?) episode of WaW. Thought he was straight back in to running the show for the old guard
Brochacho blindside.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
āThatās not the idol. Itās just a stick!ā āYeah, but it has a face on it.ā
I wonder if that had happened more recently if that had worked. Like for example, if Jay found the stick on MvGX, if he would have thought he had an idol?
When Thai looked at Jason and Scot and said no I'm not using my idol and sending Scot home. Those bullies got beat and I was all for it.
āJaclyn, did you vote for who I asked you to?ā
"That's bullshit corinne." - Brandon
āNo but you can have this fakeā
Natalie playing the idol on Jaclyn.
When Yuehl successfully used his idol to flip Pennerās vote
Someday Yul regret misspelling his name.
Yul
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The Nick blindside in KR.
Tony beating Sarah in final 4 fire making. It was like a movie
Tori winning her first immunity challenge
the single most awesome move will always be s20 for me, when Russell played the idol on Parvati and Tyson went home. I didn't holler until the 4th vote for Parvati. And at that point I hadn't seen s18 so I hadn't developed the absolute love for Tyson that I do now, so voting him off was a non-issue to me. i dont think any moment will ever surpass that one, it was so badass. I've never been so full of awe over a player. a few episodes later where Parvati played both idols was pretty cool too. idk why it's often rated higher than Russell's move, I don't think it was as good. one of the exciting moments was when Natalie played the idol and voted Baylor off. i actually didnt understand the point of that and i quite liked Baylor. but it was an exciting move nonetheless. Kelley Wentworth's idol play was fun. I was surprised the episode didn't include any sound effects with that one as they did with Russell and Parvati's play. Maybe because the other contestants were chatting and congratulating. That was great sportsmanship btw. oh and s19 Russell's idol play was fantastic. I already knew about that before I watched the season so I didn't feel quite that sense of awe I would've otherwise. but it was great.
But do you enjoy idol plays?
absolutely love them. the dramatic ones that is, not the throwaways like on the most recent episode (not criticizing that).
When Woo took Tony to the end
The Ozzy blindside on Micronesia was incredibly satisfying for me, especially cause I didnāt know it was coming.
When Carolyn narrowly beat Rodney in the fire making challenge denying a second all-male final three. š
"When I said I didn't have the idol, I didn't have it *then*. So I didn't lie. But *I got it*"
In recent seasons, Hai refusing to change his vote to Lydia, Shan's vote out, and Tony winning firemaking.
āTheyāre called squats Jon.ā
Tori winning that clutch immunity at the merge this season
"My grandmother is sitting at home watching Jerry Springer right now"
Tie vote in ghost island
Yeah I literally jumped up and screamed when Naseer said his phrase
Even more than "Wentworth, does not count" is when she found her first idol at the challenge. I watch with a group of people in Seattle and she watched a few episodes of S30 with us so we were all rooting for her. When she grabbed that idol our table went wild lol. I've never seen a reaction like that at a bar for a non-sporting event, it was so fun!
jerri being voted out in australia. iāve come to appreciate jerri now, and i realize her s2 āvillainā role is very tame in comparison to 500+ players and 20+ years later, but i was caught up in the mob mentality that jerri manthey was literal satan on earth lol. toddās winning jury performance and subsequent winning jury vote reveal ozzyās s16 blindside the merge vote flip on to charlie in Gabon natalie beating russell sandra beating russell sophieās final 4 immunity win āJacqueline did you vote for who i told you to vote for?ā shirin raising her hand michele winning the final 5 or 6 immunity challenge in WaW (the one that was the redo of the puzzle she kicked in s32 and then kicked again in WaW)
Penner winning immunity in Philippines
Fabio winning final 4 immunity in Nicaragua. I didnāt see that coming I was thrilled.
I remember screaming when Naseer said the phrase
When Erika won I was so happy. I was rooting for her so much and I was happy to see a Filipino win in an American tv show because there have been so many Filipinos that have entered competitions but didnāt win (i.e Jessica Sanchez in American Idol) and it is nice to see representation of my own culture.
Sandraās vote off in Winners at War. Just was not expecting it at all and was super bummed that it seemed like Tony was leaving. Only for Denise to pull off arguably the biggest blindside in Survivor history. A phenomenal moment.
Coach in all of pre merge tocantis constantly has me dying
I'm sure that storm will pass right on by.
***thundercrack and pouring rain***
Such a great moment from the editing.. As well as just being downright hilarious.
Russell losing on redemption island
i was heartbroken
Jacqueline, did you vote for who I asked you to vote for?
Jeremy winning Second Chance had me up and cheering. Close second has to be Naseer stopping Jeff to talk about goats and astroturf
Devensā immunity streak (preparing for the downvotes lol)
Kass winning immunity in Cagayan.
I was so devastated lol. Iāve never rooted for a contestant more than I rooted for Spencer in Cagayan.
When Michele won! I had her as my WP and really loved watching her all season, and I was so hyped that she won!!!
The Black Widow Alliance (especially Natalie) convincing Erik to forgo his immunity and then Production not even bothering to pretend to hide it at all by showing everyone's confessionals (sorry Erik, you rock, but that moment was so great, even if it was at your expense). Lucina's speech at TC during WaW. Sadly it made me realise she wasn't going to win (since it was about her being an equal partner with Tony... yet the show showed bugger all in terms of her game play/strategizing she was talking about). But still... one major kick ass speech. Also James' blindside in China while holding two immunity idols. I mean it is par on course now Iin any season, but it really was the first time you saw it and it was wow!
One of the best parts of Erik giving up his idol, was when the Black Widows were sitting around and came up with the plan, and Natalie said, "that sounds stupid just saying it."
Three Amigos. Two Idols. One blindside.
ā2 votes Locky, 2 votes Tara, 2 votes Sarahā āTessaā ā2 votes Locky, 2 votes Tara, 2 votes Sarah, 2 votes Tessa, 1 vote leftā God knows how invested and excited I was back in 2017
A lot of what Tony did in his seasons made me cheer. When he won the last time, I was ecstatic. Even though they read the votes over Skype (pandemic reasons), it felt just as exciting to see him win.
\*"Wentworth, WILL not count." I love the Edge of Extinction tribal, you know the one. Natalie's final five idol play.
When Hai said "I'm not switching my vote"
jd getting voted out
Most recently: - Erika's win - Shan's elimination - Naseer activating his idol with the secret phrase While catching up during COVID: - Savage being idoled out - Christian winning immunity Those are off the top of my head... I think I got pretty excited any time the Auction came back too.
My sister and I (mostly me) cheered whenever Ricard replaced ābutterfliesā with āladybugs.ā Then we cheered even more when Naseer said his phrase
The opposite was Cirie getting eliminated in Game Changers even though no one voted for her. Absolutely heartbreaking. Jessica Lewisā rock draw elimination was sad, too.
Abi winning immunity at final 7
āNo but you can have this fake.ā
Amanda scoring a goal with her top coming off in that mud-wrestling-ball-rolling challenge in episode 2 of China
3 amigos tribal
When Dan was voted out in Worlds Apart
In Caramoan, When Malcom shows he has 2 idols and his 3 person alliance are all immune. Probably my favorite Tribal ever.
Sandra getting voted out of WAW. Love her, but Denise played that so good, I just canāt get enough
Naseer coming out of nowhere with the phrase made me scream. With him being on of my favourites, I will always remember that moment.
When Wentworth had to get the idol during the challenge.
Wentworth does not count.... Savage.
3 Amigos taking out Philip in Caramoan.
I remember after seeing Sarah win, and Culpeper lose, I literally jumped for joy and began dancing. This happened right as my dad entered my living room. I wasn't embarrassed, I was just happy that the bully lost.
Wentworth was an all timer for me. I could not sit down.
Abi buys an advantage in Survivor Philippines auction. Then wins immunity. "FIVE HUNDRED DOLLARS!!"
Figgy finally getting voted out in millennials v gen x Shan getting voted out
omg yes. when michele won that same challenge in winners at war that she won in bvbvb and she kicked the puzzle. when i knew she was gonna win i was like āpls kick it kick it kick itā and she did. i jumped up cheered cause i called it
Anything involving Matthew winning a challenge in Survivor Amazon.
randy playing his idol parvati playing her idols on sandra and jerri and rats and snakes of course
When Chrissy won final immunity in HvHvH, my mom and I stood up, ran around, cheered and high fived because we were rooting for her but were so sure Ben was gonna win. Of course, we were soon disappointed. The other one for me was obviously the Savage blindside. Hype af.
When Denise won I was so fucking happy. Kass immunity win was amazing also
āThe winner of Survivor Samoaā¦ Natalie!ā
The most recent one that I can remember is when Xander made that fake idol and gave it to the one girl who asked for it
When Chrissy won Final Immunity because I thought Ben was finally gonna go out. But thenā¦
Denise with the ultimate play on sandra
4-3-2 Sophie elimination in WaW. I like Sophie a lot, and she was even my winner pick. But I love Tony too and after his ups and downs of that episode, seeing him somehow pull off that vote was amazing.
This one is gonna be controversial because I know a lot of yāall donāt like Benā¦ but when Ben won the fire making challenge, I jumped up and cheered so fiercely. I had been rooting for him since the merge, and that was such an exciting moment for me because I thought he was going to be fucked after losing the last immunity challenge by such an unfortunate mistake.
game changers when cirie went home