Survivor: Kaôh Regōng Trail

[Scrambled Aegon]

I gotta rewatch the episode I think, because it didn't do much for me on the live airing, but I also got sort of distracted. But I did love Scot/Jason getting more sympathetic portrayals and Tai's epic Tai-ness during the challenge, and obviously I'm very happy we're done with Nick.

So here's some interesting news on Survivor 34 (all from Redmond who has reliably spoiled like every cast/season for a few years - but who stays away from boot spoilers.) I'm going to spoiler-tag it in case anyone doesn't want to hear it.

Very general S34 info:

 

The season will (according to Redmond) be all returning players. This has been known for a little while; Redmond added a lot more info a few days ago, though, announcing a lot of the contestants who might be on the season. He gave a list of 28 names who are all being considered - there are more in the running he isn't sure on yet, and the final cast will be chosen from this larger pool, so not all these people will be on the season and at least a few not on this list will probably be on the season. Since that's a deeper tier of spoilerness I will put it under a second tag for people who don't want to know any of the cast.

 

 

 

Potential contestants and my thoughts on them/their hypothetical returns:

 

Alexis Maxwell (S28) - Alexis Maxwell would be one of my absolute top "second chance" picks, probably my second next to Dawson. I think she has a lot of untapped potential, and while I didn't really care about Kelley last season, I'm happy she was popular enough that the producers are now considering Alexis. I would absolutely love to see the producers take a chance on her, and I'd be thrilled to see what she'd bring on a second season. She'd be a fantastic choice.

 

Andrea Boehlke (S22/S26) - Didn't care about her in RI, liked her a little more in Caramoan (one of the only contestant I can say that about) - but still didn't love her, and more than that, I don't know what more there is to her that we haven't already seen, nor do I think what we have seen is particularly special or unique. She really doesn't need to join the likes of Jerri, Colby, Parvati, Stephenie as a three-time player, especially in such a short timeframe. I don't dislike her so I'm not opposed to her returning in a vacuum, but it's pretty much guaranteed that it'd push out someone I like more. I hope she doesn't make the cut.

 

Caleb Reynolds (S31) - Eh. His exit was epic and it was obvious he was going to be brought back on the next returning player season, but I also don't know what he can bring as a long-term character - and I really don't dig the blatant favoritism for Caleb over Neal (who I'd rather see return.) I don't really want him back but I've made peace with the fact that it's inevitable.

 

Carolyn Rivera (S30) - I didn't have her on or anywhere near my Cambodia ballot, because she's really not needed on back-to-back seasons, but I'm okay with her as a wild card pick for a second season. I hated her alliance in Worlds Apart so I ended up rooting against her, too, but I did like her in the first episode and pre-show, so I could see her being interesting on another season. I really won't care whether she makes it in or not. I won't miss her if she's not there, I won't resent her if she is.

 

Chelsea Meissner (S24) - Chelsea was also a last-minute cut from Cambodia, so the producers clearly like her, and while I don't think almost any other fans do, I really like her, so I'm thrilled about the possibility of her returning. I think she managed to play a typically generic archetype (~tough country girl!~) pretty well in the early episodes, and as the season went on, her struggles about playing a manipulative game against people she liked were a really nice counterbalance to Kim's endless strategy confessionals. We also saw her kind of sassy with Tarzan, so I think she is a very strong casting choice overall who would be almost guaranteed to shine more on a second season. I hope she makes the cut. I imagine we won't get both her and Andrea, so that sets me even more in favor of a Chelsea return/against an Andrea one as I already was.

 

lol okay now things get weird but I swear to God this guy is legit and has reliably spoiled everything for years

 

CIRIE FIELDS (S12/S16/S20) - ...Yup. The rest of this so far has kind of read like a second chances list - but then, bam, Cirie. I am hesitant about bringing back most of my all-time favorite contestants because it could hurt their legacy or story or whatever - but with Cirie, I have none of those concerns. Her legacy is pretty much set in stone, and HvV was such a fizzling out that it's not like she has a strong story ending the way Jerri arguably does. Cirie is an incredibly dynamic force in the game, she's a fucking fantastic narrator, she's adorable.... I can't think of a better pick for the first female contestant to play four times. Cirie will "Make Big Moves" but won't turn around and say how nobody else is "playing the game"; she'll turn around and giggle about how Erik is like Simba. She's one of the greatest contestants ever from any perspective, she almost feels like a "second chances" pick because she still has only exited the game in kind of weird ways, and I would be fucking thrilled to see her in this cast. Even if she's out early again. But if she's not? If we get another full season of Cirie mindfucking everyone 10 years later? That'd be fucking amazing. And the producers know how amazing she is, they know how she's one of the most revered contestants of all time, so I can't imagine them passing on this one. I absolutely fucking adore Cirie and can't wait for her to return. <3

 

Danni Boatwright (S11) - They are going for the freaking deep cuts here. The producers have never cared about Guatemala, and Danni isn't the most colorful TV character - but she is one of the absolute best players in Survivor history with maybe the most holeproof game ever played. And, as it happens, the producers love her. This makes no logical sense in any way, but Probst, as weird as it is with his other opinions, has said Danni's one of his all-time favorites and they've begged her to return, but she's always said no. It looks like they finally got her to say yes, and while I don't care much about Danni herself, I do still like her, I think she's a fucking incredibly good player, I'm happy for a Guatemala return, and she's such a wild card I can't imagine people will properly fear, so yeah. Very very interested in what she'll bring (again, none of these people are guaranteed to make it - but when someone like Cirie or Danni is in the pool, I think we can be more confident the producers will choose them than that they'll choose, like, Chelsea - especially Danni, who Probst has been begging to come back for years) and I could easily see her repeating Sandra's 2-0 record.

 

Debbie Wanner (S32) - Feels too soon but she's still fun; holding out judgment til we see how the rest of her story goes this time. Does she randomly dethrone Michele and win? Does she get a heartbreaking Day 38 medevac? Who knows.

 

Alright get ready to pick your jaws up off the floor because the next one is Earl Cole (S14).

...Earl? They went for fucking EARL? Like, one of the all-time most underrated players? The first unanimous winner with a jury of 9 who effectively got 0 votes against him, despite having never seen the show before?

Earl is so fucking awesome. He's such an A++ human being, he's classy and intelligent, and he's bold enough that in Fiji, when someone dropped out for medical reasons with 2-3 weeks to go before filming started, and the casting directors had to ask this random "Earl" guy "Hey, uh, we're from Survivor and need a contestant now. Like, now. Can you get your vaccinations tomorrow and be on a plane to Fiji within a week?", Earl shrugged his shoulders and went for it... then, despite having pretty much no idea on Day 1 what Survivor even was, he tore through the entire fucking cast and played one of the greatest games of all time. And along the way, the guy was witty! Probst told him to be careful of snakes and he said he'd eat them. He named Exile "Earl Island" and pretended to be advertising it. And he made such killer TV, dramatically fighting a snake while quoting Saving Private Ryan, giving super eloquent and inspirational confessionals and really taking in the whole experience as not just a game but a journey.

Earl is just great. Love him and he's a fucking titan of a player from a highly forgotten season. Basically it's the Danni choice, only this time with much more personality. I'm less confident about him making the cut but god damn do I hope he does, because if anyone but Danni could repeat the 2-0 streak, it's Earl, and he'd be fun as hell doing it.

 

Hali Ford (S30) - lol this is such a weird group because I write these long things about CIRIE and DANNI and EARL, and then we go back to ordinary returning player picks like Hali. I feel like she and Alexis might fit similar molds? And I'd rather have Alexis. But Hali did grow on me throughout the season as a fun, quirky character I really wish we'd seen more of, so I'd be happy to see her return. I think she has untapped potential as a character and am pleasantly surprised production sees it.

 

James "J.T." Thomas, Jr. (S18) - Seriously what is this pool? Personally I don't need JT back because I fucking love how he went out in HvV and think he has a killer two-season arc, but obviously with his reputation being what it is.. He was considered maybe the all-time greatest player for exactly one year before actually winning an award for having Survivor's flashiest tailspin ever. There's no middle ground with him. He went from Spradlin to Zane. So what do we even expect from him on another season? Does he go back to a quiet Tocantins game, effective but kinda boring? Does he just stay an entertaining trainwreck like HvV? Or does he strike the right balance the third time around and become another two-time winner? I don't know. I am not huge on JT myself but he is objectively a huge name who it'd be big to see again and who definitely belongs with Earl et al., if they're going for some kind of "Second Chances vs Legends" theme, and I'd be reasonably interested in seeing what he'd bring.

 

John Cody (S27) - Was also almost on the Cambodia ballot so I guess producers love them some Codys, for whatever reason. I mean, sure? I like him but don't need him to return, so I think it'd end up taking up a spot of someone I like more. I'd rather see him on a future season with like 18 early boots, if we see him again, but he does fill an interesting archetype. I just think it was filled better not a year later by Jon Mi

 

Jon Misch (S29) - ...well that settles that. I can't imagine we'll see John and Jon on the same season (although if we do and they teamed up, it'd probably make me even more excited about John. That'd be a hilarious alliance.) I am a HUGE fucking fan of Jon in SJDS - like, one of my favorite players of all time, especially after around Panama or so. A lot of that comes from his dynamic with Jaclyn and I worry about bringing one of them back but not the other? If they do bring him back, I hope we see Jaclyn back again later, too. But ultimately, fuck it, the guy is a great casting choice on his own and he'd definitely do his part to make a second season a lot more fun. I feel like he'd be our fourth boot. It'd make this cast even more star-studded if he's also in it. God damn I'd be torn about who to root for.

 

LJ McKanas (S28) - ...why? Yeah, no. LJ is the most bland "physically dominant white man who is a vague strategic threat but never actually in contention to win then is predictably voted out early post-merge" ever and absolutely no part of me wants to see him again, especially with a cast like this.

 

Malcolm Freberg (S25/S26) - Overkill. Like Andrea, I don't think there's anything more than what we've seen, and I don't think what we've seen is unique. I feel like the producers will save him for a more traditional returning player season, though, as opposed to whatever theme "Cirie vs Hali" is, since he's neither Cirie nor Hali. I also think they don't want to blow their load with Malcolm/Joe/etc, and they know it might be smarter to save him for season, like, 37 or something, with a little more distance to get the fans really hype about it. But maybe I'm just projecting my own feelings onto them and they just want to bring him back right away because he's popular. I hope not, though.

 

Marty Piombo (S21) - Marty is a big favorite of mine from Nicaragua, but honestly, I feel like a lot of that is because he went insane as an underdog dealing with NaOnka; when he gets his way I think he's kinda a douche. But even then he's a more fun and less negative douche than some others. Basically I'd take him over Jim Rice any day of the week, but I worry that he could end up more Jim Rice-y on another season than he was on Nicaragua. I am happy the producers at least have him in mind, though, and we definitely need more Nicaragua returnees.

 

Mike Holloway (S30) - Yeah no. Really, really soon, nowhere near the caliber of character and player the other winners in this pool are but the biggest threat to take up a bunch of air time, not to mention how much his real-life worldviews kind of make him the negative brand of "Merica!" I honestly did really enjoy him on Worlds Apart and I would be fine with seeing him again eventually, but two years later up against legends really doesn't feel like the right time for a contestant who we can pretty much predict.

 

Monica Culpepper (S24/S27) - She's maybe the weirdest entry in the entire pool (LJ sucks but I'm not too surprised producers care about him because, hey, a man who's good at challenges and strategy!!), yet I'm oddly okay with this? I don't know. We've seen enough of Monica that I'm okay with her two-season story, but I really like her in Blood vs. Water and think it'd be interesting to see that same competitive energy on a season without Brad, and possibly with a more accurate edit. I'd be happy to see her in the final cast, but I get why others aren't and I'm not clamoring for her, either.

 

Natalie Anderson (S29) - Friend of mine put it very well recently: If you have a season like Cambodia, Natalie is one of the best picks for it, but if you want to avoid a season like that, she's probably one of the last picks you want. I agree with that. I really enjoyed what she brought in S29, but that game played out in a very specific way to let her have the story she had, and I worry she'd shift another season really far to the "Big Moves" side of the spectrum, as well as thinking it's still a little too recent for her and there'd be more hype a few years down the road. If she ends up being more fun and less Cambodia Ciera-y than I'm expecting, I'll be okay with a Nat A return, but it's a risky pick that I wouldn't want to make on this season myself. But I do like her.

 

Natalie Bolton (S16), who is now 40 years old - lmao why the fuck not

 

Ozzy Lusth (S13/S16/S23) - ...???

yet I also find myself thinking lmao why the fuck not. If they don't give him an absurd amount of air time, that is. I'd definitely rather see him on this season than Malcolm, though. I think Ozzy's kinda a fun trainwreck as much as the show tries to paint him as something else, and I think he'd make the season fun while not actually being a threat to win, or possibly even to go far. I like this pick more than I probably should. But Ozzy being a 4-timer feels fitting, and he is a lot more interesting than Malcolm, primarily because he is a lot more raw.

 

Peter Baggenstos (S32) - ...??????????????????

...yet I also find myself thinking lmao why the fuck not. He's fun to watch, he's not going to do well, nobody's going to take him seriously, and he'll probably go home in episode 5 again. If he and we are both lucky, he'll go home in like episode 8 and then we'll get a bitter-as-FUCK jury speech out of him. I'd actually take him over some of the others here.

 

Oh and back to the big names with

Sandra Diaz-Twine (S7/S10) - !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

...!

 

!!

 

Yes.

 

Sarah Lacina (S28) - Her implosion in Cagayan was hilarious, and if she's that much of a mess through her whole second appearance, it'd be pretty fun. I think I'd still rather see her out of the cast, though, because her story works perfectly as it is and I could see her just being blandly sour a second time around, but there's a lot of potential for her to be a fun returnee and she's a decent wildcard pick.

 

Sophie Clarke (S23) ......!?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YES. Holy fuck I NEVER thought the producers would ask Sophie back unless they wanted an all-winner season and were really starved. God yes. I hope she's not shafted for Nat A. Sophie is a killer player who would probably go incredibly far, and she's even more ruthless as a confessionalist. Having Sophie Clarke as a returning player is an ultimate dream come true and is guaranteed to make the season better.

 

Tai Trangel (S32) - See Debbie though I like him better.

 

Troy Robertson (S24) - Not really my top pick with such a star-studded lineup and could be awful if he goes far, but probably he'd just get a Useless Douchebag edit for like three episodes where Sophie just sits around making fun of him. He is a decent walking punchline and I think he brings dynamic TV with him. Another one where they could go either way and I'd be happy, though I lean towards not wanting him in the cast.

 

Tony Vlachos (S28) - It's been pretty obvious for a while that Tony would be a lock for the next returning player season they can reasonably stick him on, and while I'd much, much rather go without him, that's probably not happening, and I do think I could enjoy him more a second time around, maybe? idk, he's a lot of things I don't like on or about the show and I'd love to see them exclude him, but if he makes it I'll mostly just be unsurprised.

 

[SpaceChampion]

Wow, nice list.

Spoiler

Earl!!!  Yess!!!!

Cirie!!!!  YeSSSS!!

Cat-face?  Ok.

Natalie... why not her twin instead?

 

[Criston of House Shapper]

16 hours ago, Scrambled Aegon said:

 

  Reveal hidden contents

The season will (according to Redmond) be all returning players. This has been known for a little while; Redmond added a lot more info a few days ago, though, announcing a lot of the contestants who might be on the season. He gave a list of 28 names who are all being considered - there are more in the running he isn't sure on yet, and the final cast will be chosen from this larger pool, so not all these people will be on the season and at least a few not on this list will probably be on the season. Since that's a deeper tier of spoilerness I will put it under a second tag for people who don't want to know any of the cast.

 

  Reveal hidden contents

Potential contestants and my thoughts on them/their hypothetical returns:

 

Alexis Maxwell (S28) - Alexis Maxwell would be one of my absolute top "second chance" picks, probably my second next to Dawson. I think she has a lot of untapped potential, and while I didn't really care about Kelley last season, I'm happy she was popular enough that the producers are now considering Alexis. I would absolutely love to see the producers take a chance on her, and I'd be thrilled to see what she'd bring on a second season. She'd be a fantastic choice.

 

Andrea Boehlke (S22/S26) - Didn't care about her in RI, liked her a little more in Caramoan (one of the only contestant I can say that about) - but still didn't love her, and more than that, I don't know what more there is to her that we haven't already seen, nor do I think what we have seen is particularly special or unique. She really doesn't need to join the likes of Jerri, Colby, Parvati, Stephenie as a three-time player, especially in such a short timeframe. I don't dislike her so I'm not opposed to her returning in a vacuum, but it's pretty much guaranteed that it'd push out someone I like more. I hope she doesn't make the cut.

 

Caleb Reynolds (S31) - Eh. His exit was epic and it was obvious he was going to be brought back on the next returning player season, but I also don't know what he can bring as a long-term character - and I really don't dig the blatant favoritism for Caleb over Neal (who I'd rather see return.) I don't really want him back but I've made peace with the fact that it's inevitable.

 

Carolyn Rivera (S30) - I didn't have her on or anywhere near my Cambodia ballot, because she's really not needed on back-to-back seasons, but I'm okay with her as a wild card pick for a second season. I hated her alliance in Worlds Apart so I ended up rooting against her, too, but I did like her in the first episode and pre-show, so I could see her being interesting on another season. I really won't care whether she makes it in or not. I won't miss her if she's not there, I won't resent her if she is.

 

Chelsea Meissner (S24) - Chelsea was also a last-minute cut from Cambodia, so the producers clearly like her, and while I don't think almost any other fans do, I really like her, so I'm thrilled about the possibility of her returning. I think she managed to play a typically generic archetype (~tough country girl!~) pretty well in the early episodes, and as the season went on, her struggles about playing a manipulative game against people she liked were a really nice counterbalance to Kim's endless strategy confessionals. We also saw her kind of sassy with Tarzan, so I think she is a very strong casting choice overall who would be almost guaranteed to shine more on a second season. I hope she makes the cut. I imagine we won't get both her and Andrea, so that sets me even more in favor of a Chelsea return/against an Andrea one as I already was.

 

lol okay now things get weird but I swear to God this guy is legit and has reliably spoiled everything for years

 

CIRIE FIELDS (S12/S16/S20) - ...Yup. The rest of this so far has kind of read like a second chances list - but then, bam, Cirie. I am hesitant about bringing back most of my all-time favorite contestants because it could hurt their legacy or story or whatever - but with Cirie, I have none of those concerns. Her legacy is pretty much set in stone, and HvV was such a fizzling out that it's not like she has a strong story ending the way Jerri arguably does. Cirie is an incredibly dynamic force in the game, she's a fucking fantastic narrator, she's adorable.... I can't think of a better pick for the first female contestant to play four times. Cirie will "Make Big Moves" but won't turn around and say how nobody else is "playing the game"; she'll turn around and giggle about how Erik is like Simba. She's one of the greatest contestants ever from any perspective, she almost feels like a "second chances" pick because she still has only exited the game in kind of weird ways, and I would be fucking thrilled to see her in this cast. Even if she's out early again. But if she's not? If we get another full season of Cirie mindfucking everyone 10 years later? That'd be fucking amazing. And the producers know how amazing she is, they know how she's one of the most revered contestants of all time, so I can't imagine them passing on this one. I absolutely fucking adore Cirie and can't wait for her to return. <3

 

Danni Boatwright (S11) - They are going for the freaking deep cuts here. The producers have never cared about Guatemala, and Danni isn't the most colorful TV character - but she is one of the absolute best players in Survivor history with maybe the most holeproof game ever played. And, as it happens, the producers love her. This makes no logical sense in any way, but Probst, as weird as it is with his other opinions, has said Danni's one of his all-time favorites and they've begged her to return, but she's always said no. It looks like they finally got her to say yes, and while I don't care much about Danni herself, I do still like her, I think she's a fucking incredibly good player, I'm happy for a Guatemala return, and she's such a wild card I can't imagine people will properly fear, so yeah. Very very interested in what she'll bring (again, none of these people are guaranteed to make it - but when someone like Cirie or Danni is in the pool, I think we can be more confident the producers will choose them than that they'll choose, like, Chelsea - especially Danni, who Probst has been begging to come back for years) and I could easily see her repeating Sandra's 2-0 record.

 

Debbie Wanner (S32) - Feels too soon but she's still fun; holding out judgment til we see how the rest of her story goes this time. Does she randomly dethrone Michele and win? Does she get a heartbreaking Day 38 medevac? Who knows.

 

Alright get ready to pick your jaws up off the floor because the next one is Earl Cole (S14).

...Earl? They went for fucking EARL? Like, one of the all-time most underrated players? The first unanimous winner with a jury of 9 who effectively got 0 votes against him, despite having never seen the show before?

Earl is so fucking awesome. He's such an A++ human being, he's classy and intelligent, and he's bold enough that in Fiji, when someone dropped out for medical reasons with 2-3 weeks to go before filming started, and the casting directors had to ask this random "Earl" guy "Hey, uh, we're from Survivor and need a contestant now. Like, now. Can you get your vaccinations tomorrow and be on a plane to Fiji within a week?", Earl shrugged his shoulders and went for it... then, despite having pretty much no idea on Day 1 what Survivor even was, he tore through the entire fucking cast and played one of the greatest games of all time. And along the way, the guy was witty! Probst told him to be careful of snakes and he said he'd eat them. He named Exile "Earl Island" and pretended to be advertising it. And he made such killer TV, dramatically fighting a snake while quoting Saving Private Ryan, giving super eloquent and inspirational confessionals and really taking in the whole experience as not just a game but a journey.

Earl is just great. Love him and he's a fucking titan of a player from a highly forgotten season. Basically it's the Danni choice, only this time with much more personality. I'm less confident about him making the cut but god damn do I hope he does, because if anyone but Danni could repeat the 2-0 streak, it's Earl, and he'd be fun as hell doing it.

 

Hali Ford (S30) - lol this is such a weird group because I write these long things about CIRIE and DANNI and EARL, and then we go back to ordinary returning player picks like Hali. I feel like she and Alexis might fit similar molds? And I'd rather have Alexis. But Hali did grow on me throughout the season as a fun, quirky character I really wish we'd seen more of, so I'd be happy to see her return. I think she has untapped potential as a character and am pleasantly surprised production sees it.

 

James "J.T." Thomas, Jr. (S18) - Seriously what is this pool? Personally I don't need JT back because I fucking love how he went out in HvV and think he has a killer two-season arc, but obviously with his reputation being what it is.. He was considered maybe the all-time greatest player for exactly one year before actually winning an award for having Survivor's flashiest tailspin ever. There's no middle ground with him. He went from Spradlin to Zane. So what do we even expect from him on another season? Does he go back to a quiet Tocantins game, effective but kinda boring? Does he just stay an entertaining trainwreck like HvV? Or does he strike the right balance the third time around and become another two-time winner? I don't know. I am not huge on JT myself but he is objectively a huge name who it'd be big to see again and who definitely belongs with Earl et al., if they're going for some kind of "Second Chances vs Legends" theme, and I'd be reasonably interested in seeing what he'd bring.

 

John Cody (S27) - Was also almost on the Cambodia ballot so I guess producers love them some Codys, for whatever reason. I mean, sure? I like him but don't need him to return, so I think it'd end up taking up a spot of someone I like more. I'd rather see him on a future season with like 18 early boots, if we see him again, but he does fill an interesting archetype. I just think it was filled better not a year later by Jon Mi

 

Jon Misch (S29) - ...well that settles that. I can't imagine we'll see John and Jon on the same season (although if we do and they teamed up, it'd probably make me even more excited about John. That'd be a hilarious alliance.) I am a HUGE fucking fan of Jon in SJDS - like, one of my favorite players of all time, especially after around Panama or so. A lot of that comes from his dynamic with Jaclyn and I worry about bringing one of them back but not the other? If they do bring him back, I hope we see Jaclyn back again later, too. But ultimately, fuck it, the guy is a great casting choice on his own and he'd definitely do his part to make a second season a lot more fun. I feel like he'd be our fourth boot. It'd make this cast even more star-studded if he's also in it. God damn I'd be torn about who to root for.

 

LJ McKanas (S28) - ...why? Yeah, no. LJ is the most bland "physically dominant white man who is a vague strategic threat but never actually in contention to win then is predictably voted out early post-merge" ever and absolutely no part of me wants to see him again, especially with a cast like this.

 

Malcolm Freberg (S25/S26) - Overkill. Like Andrea, I don't think there's anything more than what we've seen, and I don't think what we've seen is unique. I feel like the producers will save him for a more traditional returning player season, though, as opposed to whatever theme "Cirie vs Hali" is, since he's neither Cirie nor Hali. I also think they don't want to blow their load with Malcolm/Joe/etc, and they know it might be smarter to save him for season, like, 37 or something, with a little more distance to get the fans really hype about it. But maybe I'm just projecting my own feelings onto them and they just want to bring him back right away because he's popular. I hope not, though.

 

Marty Piombo (S21) - Marty is a big favorite of mine from Nicaragua, but honestly, I feel like a lot of that is because he went insane as an underdog dealing with NaOnka; when he gets his way I think he's kinda a douche. But even then he's a more fun and less negative douche than some others. Basically I'd take him over Jim Rice any day of the week, but I worry that he could end up more Jim Rice-y on another season than he was on Nicaragua. I am happy the producers at least have him in mind, though, and we definitely need more Nicaragua returnees.

 

Mike Holloway (S30) - Yeah no. Really, really soon, nowhere near the caliber of character and player the other winners in this pool are but the biggest threat to take up a bunch of air time, not to mention how much his real-life worldviews kind of make him the negative brand of "Merica!" I honestly did really enjoy him on Worlds Apart and I would be fine with seeing him again eventually, but two years later up against legends really doesn't feel like the right time for a contestant who we can pretty much predict.

 

Monica Culpepper (S24/S27) - She's maybe the weirdest entry in the entire pool (LJ sucks but I'm not too surprised producers care about him because, hey, a man who's good at challenges and strategy!!), yet I'm oddly okay with this? I don't know. We've seen enough of Monica that I'm okay with her two-season story, but I really like her in Blood vs. Water and think it'd be interesting to see that same competitive energy on a season without Brad, and possibly with a more accurate edit. I'd be happy to see her in the final cast, but I get why others aren't and I'm not clamoring for her, either.

 

Natalie Anderson (S29) - Friend of mine put it very well recently: If you have a season like Cambodia, Natalie is one of the best picks for it, but if you want to avoid a season like that, she's probably one of the last picks you want. I agree with that. I really enjoyed what she brought in S29, but that game played out in a very specific way to let her have the story she had, and I worry she'd shift another season really far to the "Big Moves" side of the spectrum, as well as thinking it's still a little too recent for her and there'd be more hype a few years down the road. If she ends up being more fun and less Cambodia Ciera-y than I'm expecting, I'll be okay with a Nat A return, but it's a risky pick that I wouldn't want to make on this season myself. But I do like her.

 

Natalie Bolton (S16), who is now 40 years old - lmao why the fuck not

 

Ozzy Lusth (S13/S16/S23) - ...???

yet I also find myself thinking lmao why the fuck not. If they don't give him an absurd amount of air time, that is. I'd definitely rather see him on this season than Malcolm, though. I think Ozzy's kinda a fun trainwreck as much as the show tries to paint him as something else, and I think he'd make the season fun while not actually being a threat to win, or possibly even to go far. I like this pick more than I probably should. But Ozzy being a 4-timer feels fitting, and he is a lot more interesting than Malcolm, primarily because he is a lot more raw.

 

Peter Baggenstos (S32) - ...??????????????????

...yet I also find myself thinking lmao why the fuck not. He's fun to watch, he's not going to do well, nobody's going to take him seriously, and he'll probably go home in episode 5 again. If he and we are both lucky, he'll go home in like episode 8 and then we'll get a bitter-as-FUCK jury speech out of him. I'd actually take him over some of the others here.

 

Oh and back to the big names with

Sandra Diaz-Twine (S7/S10) - !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

...!

 

!!

 

Yes.

 

Sarah Lacina (S28) - Her implosion in Cagayan was hilarious, and if she's that much of a mess through her whole second appearance, it'd be pretty fun. I think I'd still rather see her out of the cast, though, because her story works perfectly as it is and I could see her just being blandly sour a second time around, but there's a lot of potential for her to be a fun returnee and she's a decent wildcard pick.

 

Sophie Clarke (S23) ......!?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YES. Holy fuck I NEVER thought the producers would ask Sophie back unless they wanted an all-winner season and were really starved. God yes. I hope she's not shafted for Nat A. Sophie is a killer player who would probably go incredibly far, and she's even more ruthless as a confessionalist. Having Sophie Clarke as a returning player is an ultimate dream come true and is guaranteed to make the season better.

 

Tai Trangel (S32) - See Debbie though I like him better.

 

Troy Robertson (S24) - Not really my top pick with such a star-studded lineup and could be awful if he goes far, but probably he'd just get a Useless Douchebag edit for like three episodes where Sophie just sits around making fun of him. He is a decent walking punchline and I think he brings dynamic TV with him. Another one where they could go either way and I'd be happy, though I lean towards not wanting him in the cast.

 

Tony Vlachos (S28) - It's been pretty obvious for a while that Tony would be a lock for the next returning player season they can reasonably stick him on, and while I'd much, much rather go without him, that's probably not happening, and I do think I could enjoy him more a second time around, maybe? idk, he's a lot of things I don't like on or about the show and I'd love to see them exclude him, but if he makes it I'll mostly just be unsurprised.

 

Wow, there's some pretty great people in there (and also some people I'm really not excited about at all, as usual).

Spoiler

I'm especially excited about all of the winners on that list. I didn't expect Earl to ever be in the running to play again, he's pretty awesome, yet forgotten by most.

Who came up with the new thread title? 

[Gertrude]

I usually don't do cast spoilers too far ahead of times, but I already caught wind of this

Earl. Fucking. Cole! Earl's Island! God damn yes, please make this happen. And Sandra and Cirie? I already love this season. Tons of good names, I won't go over them all, but those were my top WOO HOO moments. I saw it mentioned that it could be a three-tribe season - winners, jury and pre-merge. That makes sense with the uneven list of names we've seen.

I will say that the least excited I was to see a name was Monica. I was wanting more of her after One-World, but totally fine with what we saw of her in BvW and don't want. Bottom of the list for me - Monica, Nat B, John, Jon. It doesn't feel like there is untapped potential there we haven't already seen, and none of them are so engaging that I want them back.

[Scrambled Aegon]

  Hide contents

I can't figure out how to add a line outside of the spoiler tag because this layout is horrendous. But I edited the chat title, thanks  I just wish I had thought of it a week earlier.

 

Happy everyone else is so thrilled on Earl. I really hope he makes it into the final cut. Four more names today: Sabrina, Jeff Varner, Jonathan Penner, and Aubry.

[Gertrude]

 Fiji was aaages ago in terms of Survivor, but I loved the hell out of that season ... sort of. The premise was ass and not fun to watch. I wasn't a fan of Dreamz and wasn't a fan of him lasting so long and on my screen, but wow! The characters.

Earl, obviously - what a cool, laid-back guy. Loved his win, loved him. Only Yau-Man was above him in terms of faves this time. And one of the funniest moments captured on camera was this season. Michelle being the caller for her blind-folded team. She gets so excited she falls off the stage with a little squeak while we see Yau-Man in the frame obliviously groping around.

Rocky was ... well he was Rocky. Fun as hell to watch. Except when he was bullying Anthony. My poor, poor Anthony. He got screwed almost as hard as Michelle did. The blindside of Edgardo? Beautiful. Lisi was a trip, and I didn't like her, but she wasn't boring (like Stacy). Not all the characters were gems, but there were more than enough. Too many good moments to list, but anything Yau-Man did was gold. Earl was a boss doing the native dance.

So yes, I am a fan of that season and definitely a fan of Earl's!

[Criston of House Shapper]

Spoiler

Fiji gets a lot of hate for no reason, it was actually really fun to watch and very strategy-based. On the other hand, can we stop bringing back people from One World? They all suck, it's the worst season ever and I don't want to see any of them back except maybe Kim and Troyzan. (Kim probably won't come back anytime soon though, she has better things to do at the moment).

 

[Scrambled Aegon]

Well that was fucking beautiful and amazing and hilarious.

 

Jason and Scot are such delightful villains. That TC was all kinds of awesome.

[Gertrude]

So, wow. We can stop talking about Jason and Scott as slightly negative edits. Douche waffles. Not just the tools/fire/water shit, though that's bad enough, it was the showboating at tribal that is gonna taste super sour to people when they look back at it. And ... oh, it breaks my heart to see Tai fall in with a bad crowd. I really hope that his small confessional about feeling bad was a seed to bring him back to the light. Damn, I know gloating at tribal is a thing and it's sometimes hard to rein it in when the feelings are running that high. I give some leeway there, but this was over that line. Is it possible to now count out Michelle from the running? Two back to back episodes that had some major strategy happening and she gets a few lines reacting to it, but not making it happen. I'd at least have expected her to have something about people turning on Julia, her number one ally.

[Criston of House Shapper]

Another fun episode, the endgame should be really interesting. Still think Aubrey is the front-runner for the win.

[dbunting]

Man that was an action packed episode. Don't know that I have ever seen one like that before.

Scott, Tai, Jason rampage, WTF...hiding the tools and putting out the fire, drinking the water Debbie was pouring for herself. We knew Scott and Jason were bullies and Tai has gotten sucked into it.

Tai, why oh why! It was one thing when he was kind of in the background of the rampage but then he actively participated while everyone was sleeping, can't blame anyone but himself for that. Is he genius enough to now keep Jason's idol and pretend to play it next time to save Jason only to not do it and let him get voted off? Then Tai would have two idols for himself?!?!? That would almost lock him into the end.

Julia, the only thing I would have done differently would be to signal to the other girls before joining the bully team in the challenge. At least it would have thrown some heat off of her. Or, she could have sabotaged the challenge so the girls would win, she would miss out on the food and would be the target of Scott and Jason's wrath, but she would have been a hero to the others. Fallout next week from the vote? Julia didn't go with the boys and vote Cydney, she instead voted Debbie with the girls. Likely a very smart move on her part. Yes Scott and Jason may not like that, but she can rationalize it because she can say she helped get out Debbie and her leaving is better than Cydney going and them playing their idols. Julia also looks good to the girls since she voted with them and not the guys.

Cydney, too quick to not trust people. She is rubbing some of her own alliance the wrong way and it could cost her.

Joe, he at least uses his head and knew voting out Debbie made no sense. Other than that he is basically Michelle except he doesn't do well in challenges like she does

Michelle seems like she is just there taking up space and reacting to what's happening around her.

Aubrey, still looks like the winner. She is there and involved in most decisions that her alliance makes. I do not however understand voting Debbie out, it made no sense. Vote a guy and flush the idols, then deal with Debbie.

Debbie, see you later, maybe next time we see you, you will have had five more jobs!

 

[brAnthelAstgreenseer]

The Super idol sucks , why do they insist on bringing it back .   Scot and Jason just acted like kids, that was no strategy it was just how some 5 year would behave if things didn't go their way . Voting Debbie out just made things messy for the end game , i just don't get it .

[Whiskeyjack]

That was so unbelievably awesome. 

[Gronzag]

Awkward at the end! But it would be funnier if they voted out Jason with Tai holding both idols and then turning into a Darth Tai dictator very next morning. Jason is fucked, though.

[Slurktan]

20 minutes ago, Gronzag said:

Awkward at the end! Jason is fucked.

He is, Julia even moreso. Jason may at least win immunity or be a goat to be taken to the end.  Kind of well played by Tai  in the sense of he got his target out by blindside but he can't win anymore, he won't have the votes unless it's a final two against Jason. Also I kind of feel he could have gotten the Jason idol as well.

And for as bitter as he came off during the game, Scot was down right classy in his end speech.

[Gronzag]

16 minutes ago, Slurktan said:

He is, Julia even moreso. Jason may at least win immunity or be a goat to be taken to the end.  Kind of well played by Tai  in the sense of he got his target out by blindside but he can't win anymore, he won't have the votes unless it's a final two against Jason. Also I kind of feel he could have gotten the Jason idol as well.

And for as bitter as he came off during the game, Scot was down right classy in his end speech.

   I actually think that he improved his chances now. Nobody in their right mind would want to sit next to a saint at  the final 3. He made his 'big move', dirtied himself a little bit in a process but is still sympathetic enough for any jury member to give him money.

   Besides, who is going to condemn him for screwing over Scott and Jason, the villains of the season?! Not Scott, apparently.

[Scrambled Aegon]

I was barely conscious during the episode so I'll comment after I rewatch, but for now everyone here should watch Scot's Ponderosa video whether you loved him or hated him or didn't care or whatever. Particularly starting at the 8 minute mark.

[dbunting]

Well that was about the way it had to happen. Tai isn't like Scot and Jason, not the bullying type so he had to break free at some point.

Tai - Big move, really tough since Scot has been his strongest ally since the tribe switch several weeks ago. They bonded and I wasn't sure if Tai could do this. I could see him cutting Jason loose easily, Scot though had to hurt him to do it. So now he still has an idol and has an extra vote.

Jason - He may last until the end as a goat now, but no chance at winning.

Julia - This sealed your fate, unless she wins immunity next week she is a goner.

Joe - Michelle - the damn chicken has more action than these two

Cydney - still alive for the final three but I could see Aubrey cutting her loose after Julia since Cydney is more of a threat than Michelle-Joe-Jason.

Aubrey - Still looks like the winner. Here determination in the challenge today and the little spitting thing shows her strength. It would be interesting to see if she would be willing to face Tai and a goat at the end, or would she take Joe and secure the win?

[Criston of House Shapper]

Well, this was fun, but a little predictable, there wasn't a point in the episode where I felt like Scot wasn't going to be voted out. Aubrey is getting more and more attention, I feel really good about her chances.

I'm intrigued to see what happens to Mark the chicken, he's probably the greatest non-human character that has ever been on Survivor, even considering Osten's pelican. I hope the storyline ends with him getting murdered and eaten. 

[dbunting]

4 minutes ago, Criston of House Shapper said:

Well, this was fun, but a little predictable, there wasn't a point in the episode where I felt like Scot wasn't going to be voted out. Aubrey is getting more and more attention, I feel really good about her chances.

I'm intrigued to see what happens to Mark the chicken, he's probably the greatest non-human character that has ever been on Survivor, even considering Osten's pelican. I hope the storyline ends with him getting murdered and eaten. 

I am surprised that you thought Scot was going home from the start of the episode. I had thought in the beginning Tai would get rid of Jason but maybe hesitate on Scot, then when Jason won immunity it lined up.