Survivor: Game Changers

This is the fourth season to feature a full cast of returnees, after Survivor: All-Stars, Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, and Survivor: Cambodia.

After a chaotic season packed with multiple strategic shifts, the person who ended up controlling most of the post-merge with her calculated flips, Sarah Lacina, won in a 7-3-0 final vote over Brad Culpepper and Troyzan Robertson.

Production

The season was filmed 25 days after the filming of Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X, following the back-to-back filming pattern of seasons since Survivor: Samoa.

This season features a nautical theme. The Tribal Council set is comprised of ten actual shipwrecks, most of which were retrieved in the aftermath of Cyclone Winston, the cyclone that hit Fiji before production for Millennials vs. Gen X began.^[3]

Twists/Changes

• Game Changers: 20 returning contestants, selected for the impact they had made on the game of Survivor, will return to battle for the title of Sole Survivor.
• Tribe Expansion: As in Survivor: Cambodia and Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X, a third tribe was introduced during the pre-merge stage of the game. The Tavua tribe, wearing green buffs, was introduced on Day 7 of the game with 18 players left.
• Simplified Tiebreaker: In an event of a tie at Tribal Council, the re-vote would be retired, and an open forum would commence. If the non-tied players are unable to make a unanimous decision who to eliminate, the rock draw takes place.^[4]
• Hidden Immunity Idol: The idols will be inconsistently hidden at camp, in challenges, and even at Tribal Council.^[5]
• Legacy Advantage: The Legacy Advantage was dropped at the ship used during the marooning, and allowed its holder to gain immunity at either the Final 13 or the Final 6. In the event that the holder is eliminated, he or she must will it to another player still in the game.
• Joint Tribal Council: The two tribes who lost the fourth Immunity Challenge on Day 11 were both sent to Tribal Council as a group, but unlike a standard Double Tribal Council, they would vote as a group and only one person was voted out.
• Tribe Switch: At the Final 15, a second tribe switch took place.
• Exile Island: At the Final 15, one person was sent to Exile Island because of not being placed on a tribe.
  • Advantage Option: The exiled castaway was given three possible advantages - an extra vote, a kit with which to design a fake Hidden Immunity Idol, as well as a challenge advantage for their new tribe.
• Early Merge: As was the case with Survivor: Cambodia and Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X, this season's merge took place at the Final 13.
• Vote Steal: At the Final 11 Reward Challenge, a "secret advantage" was placed by the sit-out bench. It was revealed to give its holder the right to steal a vote from another contestant, effectively denying that person a right to vote and allowing the holder to vote twice at one Tribal Council. It is usable up until the Final 5.
• Expanded Jury and Final Three: Instead of the conventional Final Two facing the jury of seven, the Day 39 Tribal Council was held with a Final Three facing a ten-person jury.
• Reformatted Final Tribal Council: Instead of having each jury member speak one by one, an open forum was held to ensure a more insightful rapport between the jury and finalists.

Castaways

Contestant		Tribe Affiliation				Finish	Votes Against
		Original Tribe	Expanded Tribe	Switched Tribe	Merged Tribe
	Ciera Eastin 27, Salem, OR Blood vs. Water & Cambodia	Mana				1st Voted Out Day 3	9
	Tony Vlachos 42, Jersey City, NJ Cagayan	Mana				2nd Voted Out Day 6	7
	Caleb Reynolds 28, Hopkinsville, KY Kaôh Rōng	Mana	Mana			3rd Voted Out Day 9	5
	Malcolm Freberg 29, Hermosa Beach, CA Philippines & Caramoan	Mana	Nuku			4th Voted Out Day 11	5
	J.T. Thomas 31, Mobile, AL Tocantins & Heroes vs. Villains	Nuku	Nuku			5th Voted Out Day 13	3
	Sandra Diaz-Twine 41, Fayatteville, NC Pearl Islands & Heroes vs. Villains	Mana	Nuku	Nuku		6th Voted Out Day 16	5
	Jeff Varner 50, High Point, NC The Australian Outback & Cambodia	Mana	Nuku	Nuku		7th Voted Out Day 18	6
	Hali Ford 26, Knoxville, TN Worlds Apart	Mana	Mana	Mana	Maku Maku	8th Voted Out 1st Jury Member Day 21	8
	Ozzy Lusth 34, Venice, CA Cook Islands, Micronesia, & South Pacific	Nuku	Tavua	Nuku		9th Voted Out 2nd Jury Member Day 24	7
	Debbie Wanner 51, Reading, PA Kaôh Rōng	Nuku	Mana	Nuku		10th Voted Out 3rd Jury Member Day 26	6
	Zeke Smith 28, Brooklyn, NY Millennials vs. Gen X	Nuku	Tavua	Nuku		11th Voted Out 4th Jury Member Day 29	11
	Sierra Dawn Thomas 29, Roy, UT Worlds Apart	Nuku	Mana	Mana		12th Voted Out 5th Jury Member Day 32	15
	Andrea Boehlke 27, New York City, NY Redemption Island & Caramoan	Nuku	Tavua	Nuku		13th Voted Out 6th Jury Member Day 33	14
	Michaela Bradshaw 25, Fort Worth, TX Millennials vs. Gen X	Mana	Nuku	Mana		14th Voted Out 7th Jury Member Day 35	11
	Cirie Fields 45, Norwalk, CT Panama, Micronesia, & Heroes vs. Villains	Nuku	Tavua	Mana		Eliminated 8th Jury Member Day 36	0
	Aubry Bracco 30, Cambridge, MA Kaôh Rōng	Mana	Nuku	Mana		15th Voted Out 9th Jury Member Day 37	9
	Tai Trang 52, San Francisco, CA Kaôh Rōng	Nuku	Mana	Nuku		16th Voted Out 10th Jury Member Day 38	12
	Troyzan Robertson 54, Miami, FL One World	Mana	Tavua	Mana		Second Runner-Up	2
	Brad Culpepper 47, Tampa, FL Blood vs. Water	Nuku	Mana	Mana		Runner-Up	2
	Sarah Lacina 32, Marion, IA Cagayan	Nuku	Tavua	Nuku		Sole Survivor	3

Season Summary

The 20 returning players were initially divided into two tribes of ten: Mana and Nuku. There were two Tribe Switch during the premerge phase. The original Mana tribe struggled as they lost six of their ten members before the merge while Nuku only lost one. The pre-merge phase of the game what characterized by the early eliminations of perceived dangerous and manipulative players, previous winners, physical threats, a somewhat higher amount of twists, and a controversial incident that sealed Jeff Varner's demise in the game.

The tribes merged with 13 players remaining: 9 original Nuku's and only 4 original Mana's. Two alliances fought for power: One led by Cirie Fields and Andrea Boehlke, and another led by Sierra Dawn Thomas and Brad Culpepper. While Sarah Lacina was a part of Cirie's and Andrea's group, she would navigate between both alliances to eliminate members from both sides. She later betrayed Andrea and Cire and aligned with Brad and Troyzan Robertson. The three used Brad's Immunity Challenge wins, Sarah's Legacy Advantage, and Troyzan's Hidden Immunity Idol to make it to the finals.

At the Final Tribal Council, Sarah was respected for her strategic control throughout the merge, and ability to manage her social relationships, but criticized for her numerous betrayals and manipulations, Brad was commended for dominating in Immunity Challenges but castigated for being condescending and not socializing with people on the bottom, and Troyzan was virtually ignored for his perceived coattail riding. Sarah's strong strategic control beat out Brad's dominance in challenges and Troyzan's lack of gameplay, and she was awarded the title of Sole Survivor with seven votes to win while Brad received three.

Voting History

Survivor: Game Changers Voting History
Tribes		Original Tribes		Expanded Tribes			Switched Tribes		Merged Tribe
Episode #:		1		2	3	4	5	6	7		8	9	10	11		12
Voted Off:		Ciera	Tony	Caleb	Malcolm	J.T.	Sandra	Jeff	Hali	Ozzy	Debbie	Zeke	Sierra	Andrea	Michaela	Cirie	Aubry	Tai	Troyzan	Brad	Sarah
Vote:		9-1	7-2	5-1	5-01	3-2	5-2	6-03	7-4-2	7-4-1-14	6-5	5-3-2	6-3	6-2	4-2-1	Default6	4-1	3-1	7-3-0
►►►	Sarah	—	—	—	—	—	Sandra	Jeff	Michaela	Ozzy	Debbie	Zeke	Sierra	Andrea	Michaela	Tai	Aubry	Tai	Jury Vote
															Michaela
►►►	Brad	—	—	Caleb	Malcolm	—	—	—	Hali	Ozzy	Andrea	Tai	Andrea	Andrea	Michaela	Aubry	Aubry	Tai
►►►	Troyzan	Ciera	Tony	—	—	—	—	—	Hali	Ozzy	Andrea	Tai	Andrea	Andrea	Michaela	Tai	Aubry	Tai
►►►	Tai	—	—	Caleb	Malcolm	—	Sandra	Jeff	Hali	Ozzy	Andrea	Sierra	Sierra	Andrea	None5	Sarah	Aubry	Troyzan			Sarah
►►►	Aubry	Ciera	Tony	—	Sierra	Michaela	—	—	Hali	Zeke	Debbie	Zeke	Sierra	Brad	Tai	Sarah	Troyzan				Sarah
►►►	Cirie	—	—	—	—	—	—	—	Michaela	Sierra	Debbie	Zeke	Sierra	Andrea	Aubry	Sarah					Sarah
►►►	Michaela	Ciera	Tony	—	Sierra	J.T.	—	—	Zeke	Zeke	Debbie	Zeke	Sierra	Andrea	Tai						Sarah
►►►	Andrea	—	—	—	—	—	Sandra	Jeff	Michaela	Zeke	Debbie	Zeke	Sierra	Brad							Sarah
►►►	Sierra	—	—	Caleb	Malcolm	—	—	—	Hali	Ozzy	Andrea	Tai	Andrea							Brad
►►►	Zeke	—	—	—	—	—	Sandra	Jeff	Michaela	Aubry	Debbie	Sierra									Sarah
►►►	Debbie	—	—	Caleb	Malcolm	—	Exiled2	Jeff	Hali	Ozzy	Andrea									Brad
										Ozzy
►►►	Ozzy	—	—	—	—	—	Sandra	Jeff	Hali	Zeke										Brad
►►►	Hali	Ciera	Tony	Caleb	Malcolm	—	—	—	Zeke												Sarah
►►	Jeff	Ciera	Tony	—	Sierra	J.T.	Tai	None
►►	Sandra	Ciera	Aubry	—	Sierra	J.T.	Tai
►	J.T.	—	—	—	Sierra	Michaela
►	Malcolm	Ciera	Tony	—	Sierra
►	Caleb	Ciera	Tony	Hali
	Tony	Ciera	Aubry
	Ciera	Michaela
Notes: ^1 This was a Joint Tribal Council. Tai played a Hidden Immunity Idol on Sierra, therefore 6 votes cast against her were negated. ^2 Due to the odd number of players at the time of the tribe switch, Debbie, the odd person out, was sent to Exile, and rejoined the game as a member of Nuku, replacing Sandra and evening the tribes at 7-7. ^3 Jeff was voted out unanimously by the Nuku tribe. Due to the nature of the verbal vote, Jeff did not cast a vote. ^4 Debbie used the extra vote advantage, allowing her to vote twice at Tribal Council. ^5 Sarah used the vote stealing advantage, allowing her to cast a second vote by denying another player the right to vote for that Tribal Council. She chose to steal Tai's vote. ^6 Sarah used her Legacy Advantage, negating the 3 votes cast against her. Tai played Hidden Immunity Idols on himself and on Aubry, negating the two votes and one vote received by them respectively. Troyzan played his idol on himself, negating zero votes. Because Cirie was the only person left without any form of immunity, she was automatically voted out by default despite not receiving votes against her.

Trivia

• The pre-merge tribe Buffs for this season are the first since Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains to not have tribe names prominently printed on them.
• This season is the fourth season comprised entirely of returning players, following Survivor: All-Stars, Survivor: Heroes vs. Villains, and Survivor: Cambodia.
• All three pre-merge tribes, including Tavua, won the same number of Immunity Challenges.
• This season saw the most players immune at a given Tribal Council with five, as well as the first instance where a player was voted out with 0 votes and due to there being no other non-immune option.
• This was the first season to feature multiple fourth time returning players. The only other four time players were Rob Mariano and Rupert Boneham who played separate seasons being Survivor: Redemption Island and Survivor: Blood vs. Water respectively.
• This season is tied with Micronesia and David vs. Goliath for the most LGBT contestants with 3: Jeff Varner, Tai Trang, and Zeke Smith.
• Game Changers has the fewest episodes of any American season with 13.

References