Old vs. Young is a tribe division twist which divides the tribes based on their age.
In most cases, both the younger and older tribes have suffered with camp life and delegation that has resulted in numerous factions and counter-alliances being created, typically led by a more devious contestant.
Men have achieved more success with this twist than women, as six out of ten people to make the merge in Survivor: Panama were male, nine of the thirteen people to make the merge in Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X were male, and Survivor: Nicaragua featured an all-male Final Three.
History[]
Panama[]
The contestants were split into four tribes to begin the game: La Mina (older men), Casaya (older women), Viveros (younger men), and Bayoneta (younger women). This initial separation lasted only one episode, as the four tribes became two (La Mina and Casaya) on Day 4 after a Schoolyard Pick. This season featured one representative from each of the original tribes in the final four: Cirie Fields for Casaya, Terry Deitz for La Mina, Danielle DiLorenzo for Bayoneta, and Aras Baskauskas, the eventual winner, for Viveros.
Nicaragua[]
The twist returned in Survivor: Nicaragua; however, the tribes were only split based on age rather than age and gender as previously seen in Panama. La Flor was the "younger" tribe, consisting of contestants 30 years or younger. Espada was the "older" tribe, consisting of contestants 40 or over. On Day 12, both tribes took part in a switch, thus dissolving the "old vs. young" twist. This season featured a Final Tribal Council made up of three members of the original La Flor tribe: Sash Lenahan, Chase Rice, and Fabio Birza. Fabio went on to defeat Chase and Sash 5-4-0, respectively.
Millennials vs. Gen X[]
The twist is the titular twist of Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X, where the tribes are again split entirely based on age. Vanua was the tribe consisting of the Millennials, while Takali consisted of Gen-Xers. They would undergo a tribe switch on Day 13, thus getting rid of the age division.
The final six featured 3 members of each original tribe. Ultimately, the Final Tribal Council was made up of 2 Millennials - Adam Klein and Hannah Shapiro - and 1 Gen-Xer - Ken McNickle. Adam defeated his fellow finalists unanimously in a 10-0-0 vote.
Trivia[]
- All seasons featuring this twist produced a younger male winner.
- All seasons featuring this twist had an older woman as the first person voted out and a member of the older tribe being the last person voted out.
- Ken McNickle is the only "older" contestant to have reached the Final Tribal Council.